Page 71 of Crown of Wings and Whispers

Doesn’t matter. They obviously didn’t see you.

She shook her head.A dragon should never come unbidden unless her marka is in danger.

That day, instead of heading deeper into the Arctic Circle, we stayed close to the lake and toyed with altitude. Apparently, my fear of heights disappeared while strapped firmly against the body of a capable dragon. I couldn’t understand it. Looking out the window on an airplane freaked me out—I could easily imagine the aircraft falling like a rock, in a never-ending wind shear. But now…I guess I had wings to catch myself.

Had I never seen Superman movies that showed a glimpse of the edge of space, I might have panicked for an entirely new reason. But Superman was with me, complete with a set of wings of his own. Just as backup, of course.

I was a little surprised when a furious Griffon caught up with us. “Kivi! You will go no farther! Not an inch, do you hear me?”

She stopped, hovered, and turned to face him. “You fear.”

“I do! She cannot survive beyond the atmosphere!”

“You are mistaken.”

He was even more horrified. “You would risk her life to prove it?”

For a long time, they glowered at each other. Two sets of wings. Flapping. Hovering. Daring.

I felt the moment Kivi relaxed her muscles, conceding his point as she ducked her head and began our descent. Griffon dropped much faster, probably too angry for a leisurely spiral between the stars and the lake. He disappeared into the clouds, wordlessly trusting us to follow.

He understands nothing.

I asked carefully.What is it he should understand?

We are meant to soar through stars.

I bit back a laugh. I was out of my mind, and I assumed my snaggletoothed dragon was a little crazy herself to think we could fly out there, in the darkness. Maybe she was able to do it in spirit form, but Griffon was right. Simple physics would mean the death of me.

I stared at the gold contraption of my saddle/cage attached to the neck of my old-souled, talking dragon. A dragon that just had a face off at the edge of Earth’s atmosphere with my be-winged, four-hundred-year-old soulmate, and wondered how physics might begin to explain any of it.

* * *

“Lennon?”

It was barely a whisper that woke me from a dreamless sleep. The physical effort to stay seated on a dragon all week had taken its toll, and my body was far too weary for dreaming. But I mustered the strength to face Griffon. He was turned away from me, his chronically mussed hair smashed against his pillow. A low rumble told me he was deep asleep, probably as worn out as I was, despite his indestructibility.

Maybe I’d imagined it.

Lennon?

This time, when the voice whispered in my mind, I knew it was intentional. Not Kivi. I could think of only one possibility.Flann?

Lennon!

The voice was so faint I could barely hear it, even in the pure silence of a winter’s night, with only an occasional hiss from dying coals.

Safe?Then another word came through.Worried.

Happy,I sent back, guessing he couldn’t hear me any better.Safe.

Tell me!

I hoped he could hear laughter in my voice.You wouldn’t believe me…

25

Vitamin D Or Bust

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