Page 39 of Above Cursed Winds

Smiling to herself, she remembered the cahoots Myko and their house guest had gotten into last night. They’d managed to form an alliance, ensuring that Zia received all the worst cards and attacking her ruthlessly when the hand allowed for it.

She had been the first victim of the exploding felines. Jeremiah fell only minutes later, Myko’s evil cackle filling the room as he was proclaimed Emperor of the Exploding Cats. The Elemental was proving quite adept with nicknames.

Twirling her hair into a fishtail braid, she blinked at herself in the mirror. In the last few days, Myko had been happier than she’d seen him in months, and Zia had no doubt that was due to a certain Elemental.

A noxious feeling slithered over her skin at the thought of Jeremiah leaving. Myko would be devastated, and Zia had a feeling she’d echo the sentiment all too well. She’d try to do what she could to mitigate the effect, for both of them.

She found herself in the kitchen only minutes later, pouring herself a steaming cup of coffee to compliment the bags beneath her eyes.

Though she typically got four hours of sleep, she’d had less than one last night, and Nero’s telepathic knock on her mind signaled another errand.

Yes, sovereign? she responded, knowing the man was just as tired as she.

May I come to you?

Of course.

Two seconds later, Nero appeared in her kitchen, munching happily on an apple. “Your home weather the storm without issue?”

“From what I can tell, yes.” Zia glanced over at the kitchen window, then over to the sliding glass doors. “I think we got off easy thanks to our Elemental guest.”

Nodding, Nero propped a hip against the island. “Glad to hear it. I need someone to do a fly-over of the territory and check for wider damage. Can you fly in this?”

As if hearing Nero’s ask, the gale whistled once more. Zia strode over to the window and peered outside. Cloudy grey skies greeted her, but the winds battering down on the grasses and trees would be nearly impossible to fly in.

Shaking her head, she glanced back at Nero. “I don’t think I could, sovereign. Those gusts would take me right outta the air.”

Faintly, she’d registered Jeremiah’s arrival into the kitchen from downstairs. Yawning, he interjected himself into their conversation.

“I’ll go with her. She’ll be fine.”

“While I have no doubt in your ability, are you certain? That’d be controlling flight safety for both you and Zia, and her large wingspan will make things trickier still.”

The confidence on Jeremiah face sent a thrill down Zia’s spine, and not for the first time, she wondered how powerful the Elemental truly was. When he’d briefly ‘disappeared’ yesterday, every instinct within her had yelled the same thing: his consciousness had simply vanished from his body.

“I’ll be fine, Nero. And so will Zia.”

Myko chose that moment to barrel into the kitchen, headed straight for the massive male Raeth. “Sovereign!”

With a genuine grin, Nero opened his arms for Myko as the boy launched himself toward him. Zia barely noticed the brief flash of agony written over his features.

To his credit, the male Raeth had never rejected any attempt at affection from Myko, even though her son wasn’t able to control setting off Nero’s vision of his worst fear. Their sovereign had yet to mention it to anyone.

“Hey kiddo. Causing all sorts of trouble, I hear?” Nero gamely ruffled Myko’s hair.

“Oh yeah!” Her kid beamed. “I keep beating these guys at all the games. Pretty soon, I’ll be King of the Island, sovereign.”

Straightening to his full height, the Raeth’s expression shifted to mock suspicion. “Is that a challenge I hear, Myko Giradi?”

Her son’s mischievous cackle sounded in response, putting up his dukes as though he’d duel the much larger male for it. He bounced around in front of Nero.

“I think I could take you.”

In response, Nero grabbed her son, throwing him over his shoulder with a maniacal laugh. “While I put this guy in his place, you guys go. Keep her safe, Elemental.”

“Cross my heart and hope to die.” His pointer finger made an X over his heart before Jeremiah turned his impish gaze to her. “Ready, milady?”

“As long as you know what you’re doing.”

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