Page 13 of Above Cursed Winds

Without waiting for a reply, she drew her wings in close to her core as she flipped soundlessly toward the earth, before flaring them again to catch her downward momentum. Jeremiah’s presence followed through the air behind her. Though his psychic signature was less abrasive to her senses now that he’d cooled off, he still bore the same roiling rage within him. He was a mass of undigested emotion with grief, guilt, and unhappiness all waring for the most prevalent sentiment.

The moment she’d sensed him on the edge of their territory, she’d known who he was. There was no hiding his psychic signature from her. When she’d teleported to intercept him, Jeremiah had surprised her by appearing out of thin air.

Her shock had led to her spiteful tongue—until she remembered that he was here to fix her mistake. That she was expected to be courteous. It soured her stomach.

Having spent twelve hundred years learning how to maneuver within the sky, riding the currents was second nature. One powerful pump of her wings after another, Zia propelled herself forward toward the heart of Nero’s territory. They were on the outskirts of clan lands, swathed in darkness, with weak lights dotting the landscape below them.

Raeths needed far less sleep than their human counterparts, requiring only four hours to be fully rested. Most of the Osé clan tended to sleep during the hours of midnight and four in the morning, taking full advantage of the sunlight.

Her ivory and violet feathers caught the wind, the sensation as familiar as breathing. As a Raeth gifted with Flight, her wings were an extension of her being, a literal appendage that was flesh and bone at her back. Unlike arms and legs, her wings could retract into nothingness when she so chose. A handy trick, it helped her maintain her human façade when she interacted with the general populace.

Each powerful wingbeat closed the distance between them and her home, and for a fleeting moment, her mind wandered. Air Elementals were said to be exceptionally swift, and she couldn’t help but wonder if the man could outfly her. Or if he could cause her wings to falter if he wanted to make her fall.

Risking a glance back, Zia saw him comfortably floating a length behind her, a lazy expression on his handsome face. When she caught his eye, his lips tipped up in a telling smirk before his speed increased three-fold.

In a heartbeat, the Elemental was in front of her, pivoting to glide effortlessly on his back.

“Shall we race, Z? See which one of us gets there first?”

“We’re already here, Elemental,” she replied, “but if you’d still like to prove your superiority tomorrow, we can certainly pencil that in.”

Jeremiah feigned insult. “Z, you shame me. What type of man do you think I am?”

“The type that’s cruel to women who’ve made a mistake.”

The retort was quick off her tongue, but she didn’t take back the words, even when his grin vanished, and his features grew sharp once more. A sneer found its way to Jeremiah’s face.

“Can we get on with it? I’ve had a long day, full of annoying people and trying discussions, and I can’t quite keep up appearances any longer.”

“Oh, it gets worse than this?”

Eyes slitting, Jeremiah threaded the needle. “Why should I justify myself to a woman who can’t even decide which color she wants to dye her hair?”

“That’s your best shot?” Zia buffed her nails on her shirt. “A quip about my hair?”

Jeremiah’s dark chuckle foreshadowed his response. “It was either that or tell you exactly how much your incompetence might cost us in the long term. Do you even care that your breach has put heads on the chopping block? That your sloppy security might’ve inadvertently killed younglings not even out of their first year?” He snarled at her. “Once the Citizens claim something, there’s no finding it again.”

A vise snapped around her heart, cold fingers of anxiety gripping her. Every thought had been consumed with the failure, and her guilt in it. Regardless of how many times Nero reassured her it wasn’t her error, she would never stop blaming herself. Apparently neither would Jeremiah.

Eyes blazing, Zia’s wings propelled her toward the air Elemental before she halted with a bare foot between them. Jabbing her finger at his sternum, she snapped, “If you think there is even one second I don’t think about the children who’re in harm’s way because of my mistake, you’re wrong. No one knows better than I what danger they’re in, Elemental.”

Zia tried to ignore the way electricity seemed to spark between them, the way Jeremiah’s gaze grew heated as he studied her features. She tried to ignore the way the scent of warm sunshine permeated her senses as the most intoxicating aroma she’d ever smelled.

With a deliberate shove, Zia’s finger jammed into him while she propelled herself away from him. “Again, I’ve things to do that don’t include babysitting an Elemental throwing a tantrum. If you don’t mind, I’d prefer to show you to your accommodations and go home for the night.”

Silence was her answer.

No words were exchanged as Zia touched down. Something about being near him set her teeth on edge.

She shook off any residual moisture that clung to her feathers before pulling them in toward her back. The familiar heaviness at her back vanished as she willed her wings away.

The whoosh of air behind her signaled Jeremiah’s presence, his landing as soundless as hers. Zia teleported the condo’s key into her palm, the cool metal biting into her skin. She slid it into the door handle, fidgeting slightly before the lock clicked, while her every sense was focused on the man at her back.

His presence was a brand against her senses, and Zia couldn’t quite figure out the undercurrent that ran beneath her skin. Her mystifying response to him was as foreign as his Elemental abilities, and she didn’t like it.

Zia let herself into the condo and flipped on the lights, throwing the key onto the wooden table in the foyer before striding into the kitchen.

Sleek onyx countertops and brand-new appliances, gleaming with cleanliness, greeted them as they walked in. Jeremiah dropped his camelback on the surface and opened an empty cabinet.

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