Page 88 of Soul Forge

“I’d rather gargle demon piss,” he answered bluntly. Julian snickered, and Reiner flashed a vicious grin. “You stay. Is that clear?”

The fae scowled and stormed out of the room. Yani and Clover watched her go, the pair of them having retreated to a corner of the kitchen. Yani was holding a ceramic mug, and when Lillian left, he sighed and put it back in the cupboard.

“How long will it take to reach Cenet?” Elda asked, watching the vampire set a kettle of water down on a rune carved into the kitchen counter. It glowed orange, and in seconds, the kettle was whistling, heated by the magic the rune exuded.

“Four days if we fly,” Sypher told her, accepting the cup of steaming herbal tea Yani held out.

“Nox can carry two passengers,” Julian said, sipping from the mug Clover passed him. “I’ll need to be one of them, obviously.”

“Elda will be with me,” Reiner decided, eyeing the drink Yani set down in front of her. “That leaves Gira with you and the Soul Forge free to fight.”

“Nox might struggle with Gira’s weight over a long distance,” Julian said, shooting a smile at the muscle-bound wielder. “No offence, but you’re huge.”

The shifter chuckled. “None taken. Are you still able to carry me, Sypher?”

“Are you still able to hold on if we get into a fight?” he asked, arching an eyebrow. Gira nodded, his grin broadening. “I hope you do a better job than Elda did.”

“In my defence, I had no upper body strength,” she retorted, wrapping her fingers around her warm mug and scowling at the Soul Forge. He winked.

“We’ll be stopping in Grimgarde first,” he decided, then turned his attention to the vampires. “Yani, Clover, are the two of you able to rein Lillian in while we’re gone? She has an irritating habit of doing whatever she wants.”

“We can,” Yani nodded.

“You don’t need to worry,” Clover agreed.

Sypher nodded. “Alright. We leave in one hour.”

Elda’s heart thudded when Atlas pawed at the ground and shifted around beneath her. His massive wings flexed and twitched impatiently, eager to take to the skies. Reiner sat behind her, the reins held loosely in her hands as she waited for the signal to take flight.

Sypher cast his eyes over Elda perched on the front of the Pegasus, and his red eyes narrowed on the ex-captain. “If you drop her, you die.” The princess blinked, surprised by his intensity.

“She’s safer in the saddle than she is on your back,” the valkyrie answered with just as much fervency. Julian looked between the two of them from his perch on Nox’s back, then arched an eyebrow at Elda. Behind him, Gira cast his eyes upwards and mouthed a prayer for strength.

“She’ll befine,” the vampire cut in. “Both of you need to lighten up.” Julian tapped his heels against Nox’s sides before the sullen soldiers could say anything else. The demon spread her wings wide, catching an updraft and lifting off with a joyful whinny despite the extra strain of Gira’s weight on her back.

Elda yelped when she was thrown against Reiner’s chest plate, the breath stolen from her lungs. Atlas broke into a full gallop, gaining speed before leaping into the air and soaring upwards. Sypher drew alongside them with ease, circling them a couple of times to warm up his muscles for the long flight. Nox nipped playfully at his heels when he passed.

“Show off,” Julian teased when the Soul Forge banked and rolled out of the way of Nox’s goading.

“You try flying on cold wings,” he shot back.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re just showing off for your wife.”

“If I were showing off for her, you’d be left in my dust,” he retorted, moving closer so he didn’t have to shout. His wings almost brushed the tops of their heads with each beat. “Are Nox and Atlas capable of distance flying, or will she need breaks?”

The tulpar demon threw back her head and whinnied in a challenge, beating her wings harder to pull away from him. Despite his rigid training and discipline, Atlas copied her. Elda heard Reiner sigh.

“There’s your answer,” Julian chortled, shouting back over his shoulder. Elda turned back to see Sypher arch an eyebrow. When he caught her looking, a wide grin split his cheeks.

Elda laughed when he overtook them, watching him fly a loop around them. A burst of jealousy blossomed in her chest, as it always did when she saw how much freedom his wings gave him. She swallowed it down, trying to enjoy the flight as Nox nickered and weaved around behind him, but she couldn’t shake it. The wind in her hair wasn’t the same when there was a saddle beneath her.

She’d only done it a couple of times, but she already missed flying with Sypher.

Eventually, Nox’s breathing grew laboured enough that Gira had to switch to Sypher’s back, smoothly catching his outstretched hand as he flew past. Elda felt the wind pick upwhen the Soul Forge used it to shunt the shifter upwards and onto his back. The jealousy in Elda’s gut blossomed.

“Something bothering you?” Julian asked from beside them, bringing Nox in closer. “You look mad.”

“I’m alright.” She watched Sypher bank left, and Gira automatically adjusted, the pair settling into the flight like it was something they did every day.

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