Page 75 of The Keeper of the Kingdoms

I hadn’t forced her to open up to me because it seemed hypocritical, but it was getting harder not to ask her mind to mind to find out the truth. Only the risk of my own secrets being exposed was stopping me.

When we reached the landing, she impatiently waited while I stripped, studiously looking anywhere but at me.

“Shall I take a bag?” she offered. So that I could have my clothes when I shifted back.

“No, I can leave them here. We can just fly, then come right back. I don’t want you out for too long.

Her eyes rolled again, though I could tell she thought it was discreet.

I shifted and shook out my wings, relieved to feel their weight after too long. This flight would be good for me as well. I hadn’t been flying as often as I liked, trying to balance everything lately. And now that I had a ryder, flying solo never quite hit the spot like it used to.

Kiera tried twice to haul herself up that first step but she was still weakened, so I moved over to the benches without a word so that she could give herself a boost. She didn’t complain, and that time, she was able to seat herself with little trouble.

“Ready?”I asked through the bond.

“This is the worst part. Just do it,”she said, tensing.

I didn’t waste any time getting airborne and despite her distaste for the height itself, she relaxed after I leveled out.

“It’s the takeoff and landings you don’t enjoy. You seem to be fine while we fly,”I noted, taking a wide sweep over the city.

“If I’m being honest, the flying is something I think I’ll grow to love. Up here, I feel in sync with you. I can sense your changes in movement somehow. Almost like I’m making the decision to turn when you turn. So I feel comfortable and safe.

“The issue is, when that thing happened to me, that was notflying. I was toyed with. The takeoff was terrifying. I was wrenched from the ground, dangled almost upside down as we climbed steeply, and then just let go. It was the lack of control and the sensations on my body as the ground was ripped from beneath my feet one moment and then was rushing towards me the next. As we take off and land, those sensations trigger the memory. So I’ve never got past that part to actually experience flight.”

I bared my teeth and snarled, thinking of what she went through. Never mind this compassionate leadership style I was trying to foster. Being reminded of exactly what he did to Kiera, I decided I still needed to spend some alone time with Koen.

Her fingers stroking the scales on my neck soothingly.“Don’t go all growly on me. Let me just enjoy this, okay?”

I huffed out the smoke I could taste on my tongue and let it drift over her to show my disapproval.

“Dragons,”she muttered into my mind.

We flew in silence for a while, and our magic seemed to open and blossom like a flower. I felt a charge between us like never before, and I knew this was doing her good. I just wished she would open up about what was bothering her.

I knew I couldn’t reciprocate and that was what was stopping me from really pushing. But maybe if I opened up about something else, she would feel the trust between us and let me in?

“I’m still worried about things with Nyx,”I admitted.

“Is he worse?”she came back immediately, showing her concern for her friend.

“No, he seems slightly better in some ways. We had a couple of good conversations while you’ve been recovering. He is holding things together for the most part. But if you are right about how he could be suffering inside, I’m worried for all of our sakes. We need him. The kingdoms need him. So we need him to heal from losing Kol somehow, and we are coming up short on that front. I just feel like I’m failing him.”

Silence was the only reply I got.

I wondered if I’d pushed the point too far. After all, I knew that feeling of failing Nyx was something we shared. Had I reminded her of how we were both coming up short?

She shifted, seeming uneasy, and I prepared to apologize. Then, I felt the bond between us flare as she drew strength from it to her core.

“I need to tell you something,”she said hesitantly.

I didn’t reply. This was it. I didn’t want to throw her off by saying the wrong thing.

“There is a place where we are likely to find the information we need. But going there is not straightforward. It requires complete trust in each other and will reveal a centuries-old secret.”

I tensed. Did she know the secret I kept from her? There was no way she could.

I felt her inhale deeply, readying herself to disclose her meaning, and I would have held my breath if I was not flying.

---