Page 41 of Saving Destiny

I’m still gawking when her wings flap experimentally and create a powerful gust of wind. I can’t feel it against my skin, but it ruffles the men’s hair and clothes and gently nudges my body. Perhaps I imagine that last bit because my ghostly form isn’t affected by air or any element. The library’s magic prevents the swirling gale from reaching any of her precious books.

“Your kitty sweater is cute,” Garrett teases with a smirk. It might be the first time I’ve ever heard him joke, and I don’t know how to react. Zosia freezes for a heartbeat as well before replying with a playful growl that seems to delight the shifter. I don’t blame him; it’s adorable.

“It can be difficult to lift yourself into the air without a running start,” the shifter continues as if this wasn’t his first joke in days. “Some larger, predatory birds take advantage of the air currents, which isn’t an option inside the building. Others have extremely wide wingspans to give them the loft they need. My griffin uses his back legs to spring upward. The momentum from the jump propels him into the air.”

A shadow crosses Zo’s face. Although her teeth are sharper and she has ears on top of her head now, her emotions are clear in both forms. I’ve known her long enough to guess that her thoughts are starting to veer in a negative direction. Garrett’s words might have been innocent, but she’ll internalize them and begin to think she’ll never get off the ground because she lacks power in her hind legs.

I float closer, and the brothers move aside to give me space in front of her. “I know what you’re thinking,” I say softly as I pretend to kneel on the ground in front of her. The first tether had done me a favor, after all; it altered my perception of solid matter. I can’t feel the planks under my jean-clad knees, or even the denim of my jeans, for that matter, but I sense resistance. “Before you give up, allow your body a chance to compensate. Your front legs have all of the muscle. You can use those, and your wings will balance your weight automatically.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Garrett’s jaw clench. I feel his shame as clearly as I felt my best friend edging into hopelessness. He’s mad at himself for forgetting the sphinx’s handicap and reluctantly grateful for my intervention without explicitly calling him out. I’m actually surprised I don’t, but my focus is on Zo right now. I imagine she's getting tired of our bickering and hormonal attitudes.

“Also,” I continue with a smile, “you’re magic. You told me yourself that the normal laws of physics don’t apply to flying shifters. Your wings shouldn’t be able to lift your weight regardless of how you get off the ground.” Her ears twitch forward cutely and her tail thumps behind her. “And what about your tail? Is it like a monkey’s tail? Can you use it as another limb?”

The sphinx snarls at me, baring two rows of sharply pointed teeth. I haven’t seen them up close yet, and I almost stumble backward. It’s shocking to see the razor points in her otherwise human face. After my initial surprise fades, I decide that the savage look suits her. “Aww, the adorable kitty has such sharp teeth.” My pitch rises without my permission because my brain evidently thinks I’m talking to a baby animal.

She’s not a baby, though, and she can understand every word I say. She rolls her eyes and flattens her ears against her head. “My tail is definitely not like a monkey’s. It does whatever it wants. I could probably use it to sweep your legs out from under you if you were normal, but it’s not going to help me keep my balance.”

“Normal?” I snicker. “Even if I were alive, princess, I still wouldn’t be normal.”

“Thank the fates,” she whispers under her breath as she flaps her wings again and flexes her front legs to test their strength.

While she’s judging the limits of her body, questions pour from me. “Is your tongue scratchy like sandpaper? If you get a hairball, will you cough it up when you turn back into a human? Can you hunt in your beast form? Do you suddenly crave mice or bunnies? If you eat them, will the bones rip apart your human intestines? Do you want to be scratched? Can you move your ears again or do they move on their own? What happened to your human ears? Did they just get sucked into your head, or are they your cat ears but different?”

Everyone is staring at me now, but Zosia’s glare of irritation presses my lips together and stops the flood of questions. I might have bombarded her in a similar way when I first met her because I remember my fascination with her hybrid form. She hadn’t answered even one because she’d been feral and untrusting, but she didn’t say a word to anyone until several months of captivity had passed.

Zo’s ears twitch, answering one of my questions, because she doesn’t appear to have much control over their movements. “Are you done?” the sphinx drawls in a flat tone, but I sense the amusement underneath.

Although I definitely want answers to my questions, my goal was to drive any negativity about flying from her mind. I can’t detect any lingering hints of pessimism, so I mentally applaud myself. Mission accomplished. “Not even close,” I promise. “I’ll have more questions later. Right now, though, I want to see you fly. I’ve wandered around the top floor once or twice, but I can’t see inside any of the books, and most of them aren’t labeled.” I shrug my shoulders. “It would be better if someone could help me.”

Her wings extend to their full lengths again, and this angle offers an equally impressive view. The undersides of her wings are a shade or two lighter than the outward-facing feathers. She starts slowly, flapping her wings and bending her legs in tandem as she tests her movements. Her beast form boasts increased musculature, but her hind legs still won’t offer the necessary flexibility or momentum to drive her body into the air. On her third attempt, she understands the necessary adjustments to switch the propulsion to her forelegs. A couple minutes later, her paws leave the floor.

I grin from ear to ear like an idiot while thenormalguardians applaud. Avery joins in, but I don’t know if he can see her energy rise or if he’s reacting to the others. I pretend to clap, but my hands don’t touch or make any noise. Surrendering the useless play-acting, I soar into the air beside her. The delighted smile on her face matches mine.

“I did it!”

“I told you!” I tell her with a laugh. “You are a beautiful badass, and those rich brats are going to be so freaking jealous.”

A wide grin spreads across her face, hiding all traces of her usual self-consciousness. She’s so beautiful. Her joy is like sunlight on my face as she practices gliding, banking, and navigating in the vast atrium at the center of the library.

Most of her movements must be instinctual because she doesn’t hesitate as she executes the detailed adjustments her muscles and wings require to perform each maneuver. Her wings fold inward against her back to clear the balconies of each floor before she tilts sideways and flaps them twice to lift her body higher.

Her guardians bound up the stairs as they follow us, and their attention is on her instead of their feet. I’m worried one of them will trip, but their natural grace keeps them upright despite their speed and distraction. It’s strange to feel concern for someone other than Zosia, but it happens so quickly that I don’t give it much thought.

Her feathers ruffle, and I realize the library must be creating air currents for her. It’s hard to tell because I can’t feel it, and it seems like it’s only meant for her. It doesn’t affect the others on the stairs.

I feel included. I'minsidethe building instead of on the sidewalk. I’m flying alongside her, laughing with her, and it reminds me of how I felt when I first saw her. She’s special … magical … beautiful. Her feathers and fur are gilded by the light streaming through the dome, and she’s smiling as if she’s experiencing life for the first time. She’s the most magnificent, awe-inspiring sight I’ve ever beheld.

When she looks at me, I see the love in her gaze. Her eyes shine with golden-blue light that seems impossibly mysterious. I’m suddenly thankful that I’m still here. If I’d passed on, I wouldn’t have been able to see her like this.Aliveordeaddoesn’t matter because I’m with her and we love each other.

Something strange happens in the next instant. I feel movement on my head – a movement I vaguely recognize as a light breeze stirring my hair. It’s so alien, though, that I worry something is wrong with me. This worry grows when a prickle of heat enters my chest. It stabs straight through the bones and into my immobile heart.

“Kodi!” Zo sounds startled, but my brain is too jumbled to determine the other emotions ringing in her tone.

“What?” I pause in mid-air with her and examine my body. Did they tether me again? Am I dying again?

“You flickered!” she gasps. We’ve stopped at the fifth floor, and it’s prompted the men to stop as well. The brothers gape in my direction from the landing. Avery stares at me, too, but he looks more thoughtful than surprised. He’s tried to explain the way his strange sight works, but I still don’t understand the nuances.

“I flickered? How? Like when the tether was draining me?” The thought saddens me and dissolves the joy that had crept into my ghostly soul. I’d been happy, even if it only lasted a second. Did that moment of happiness mean I would fade into nothingness now? If this is true, the first person I see when I get wherever I’m going will hear a few choice insults. It’s not fair.

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