Page 64 of Gift from the Wing

Corentin and I look at each other at the same time, and his cocky smirk makes my knees weak.

Holding his hand out for me to take, our fingers lace together as he strolls us to the middle of the room with a certainty that boosts my own confidence. His control is in full swing, and part of me is lapping it up and soaking it in with every stride. While the other part of me is screaming to simmer the hell down before we embarrass ourselves.

“Ready, princess?”

“Ready, your highness,”I say, then blow out a nervous breath.

“Okay, you two, see if you can move this ball. Just try to focus on lifting it or moving it at first. Nothing crazy,” Aurora says from behind us.

Just as they had done, Corentin lays his hand out, palm facing up, and he calls his element to the surface. When I feel his air caress me, I call mine out and it pushes against my skin, practically begging to mingle with his.

That reaction makes a lot more sense now.

“On my count,”Corentin orders and I nod.“Three…two…one.”

“Obey,”he says, but my“Mingle,”comes a second afterward.

Instead of mingling, his air shoves my hand from hovering above his, causing the air I sent out to blast from my palm straight in front of us. The earth ball Aurora created goes flying into the wall, shattering to pieces on impact.

“Whoops,” I say, letting my hand fall to my side.

“That’s okay, try again.” Aurora molds the broken earth back together and places it back in its spot.

“Okay, on one or after?”I ask.

“After. As soon as I say one, we’ll send our commands out,”he clarifies and I nod.“Three…two…one.”

“Obey.”

“Mingle.”

I want to dance with joy when the feeling of his element weaving itself with mine flows through my body. I feel both powerful and light as a feather. It’s the most amazing, crazy sensation with the elements I’ve ever felt.

That elation is a little premature, though, as the power continues to build and I realize I don’t have a damn clue how to pass it back to him or what to do with it. I’m supposed to be powering him, not myself.

Mentally, I imagine the element flowing back through our hands and through him, but that doesn’t work. The force of the air just continues to grow within my chest.

“Shit, what do I do with it now? It won’t go back to you.”

“Release it, princess. This was a step my mother obviously forgot to mention or didn’t think we’d get so quickly,”he says and there’s a subtle strain to his voice. My element is pulling more and more from him and he’s trying to hold it back.

Fuck.

Commanding the air out, my mind works overtime, and I can’t think properly about the best way of dispelling some of this power. All that crosses my thoughts is how I may accidentally sweep everyone up in a damn tornado if I just release it, so I follow the original instructions given to us and hit Aurora’s earth ball.

The structure shakes violently and I gasp, covering my mouth with my hands as the earth ball turns into a cannonball. It soars so fast toward the wall, I don’t have time to stop it before it crashes through the solid stone, leaving a gaping hole right through to the outside.

“Shit,” I say, whipping around to face my Patera-Nexus, “I broke your unbreakable gym. I’m sorry.”

They each stare at me with shocked eyes and slack jaws.

Draken’s snickering starts out soft, small, and when I cut my narrowed eyes to him, he loses it completely, dragging everyone with him into a fit of hysterical laughter.

“You should’ve seen your face, little wanderer. You look so surprised.” He continues to laugh as he holds his belly, and I cross my arms, staring him down.

“It’s not funny, dragon,” I complain.

“Oh, but it is.” He wipes his eyes and chuckles under his breath.

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