Page 29 of Wings of Cruelty and Flame

“What? Am I sitting wrong?”

“No, I’m just helping myself to my wife while she can’t run from me.”

I elbowed him, then grasped frantically for Makrukh’s spike in front of me in the next second, terrified to fall off.

“You’re fine,” Varidian reassured me. “You’re secure.”

“You won’t let me fall?” I asked, my voice too small.

Makrukh rumbled beneath us, making my stomach lurch into my throat.

“Mak would like to inform you he won’t let you fall, either,” Varidian said, smiling against my neck. “He’s very grumpy about it, actually.”

I sucked up all my courage and took one hand off his spike, patting his scaly back. “I appreciate it, big guy.”

Makrukh seemed to grow to twice his size, his back straightening under us. I glued both hands to his spike at the shift of movement, swallowing a shriek and only resuming breathing when Varidian fastened his arm around my waist.

“He’s infatuated with you now. Wyverns love to be complimented on their size.”

“That’s not a wyvern thing,” I said with a breathless laugh. “That’s a male thing.”

He pinched me through my leathers. “Let’s go, Mak. Ready, dearling?”

“Yes,” I lied. My heart kicked into a sprint, throwing itself against my ribs. Oh shit, I was going to fly again. My hands shook violently where I gripped Makrukh’s spike. My stomach flipped then crashed when he took a few determined strides and then leapt into the air.

Oh, fuck, oh, fuck.

“This is my second-favourite view,” Varidian said against my ear, annoyingly serene despite my blind panic. “The Diamond from above. Usually, it means I’m coming home.”

It was still surreal to live in a riad that had a name, to be royalty, married to a prince, to ride the third-most powerful wyvern in all of Ithanys.

“It’s beautiful,” I breathed, daring to glance at the mountain palace from the corner of my eye even if I wasn’t brave enough to look straight down. The gold brick and silver details glittered from up here. I tried to locate the room where I’d slept last night, and the small kitchen window, but couldn’t quite orientate myself. The spread of the gardens, the trees, the lawn… it really was breathtaking.

“The ocean is your favourite view,” I said, remembering what he showed me yesterday.

“No, I changed my mind. My favourite view is watching you come for me.”

My whole body stiffened, my breath catching. “Varidian!”

He laughed, and the sound warmed me from the inside out as we flew over the Red Star, watching the souk in full flow, vendors yelling about their wares; soaring over what had to be a trade centre where wagons sagging under crates and boxes battled for space on the roads around a huge square building with a domed roof; and a tower that had to function as a madrasa judging by the scholars lined up outside, waiting for their education to begin.

From above, I saw glimpses of the crimson vipers of Marrakchi everywhere, along with the sun, star, and moon motifs of the Ithanysian kingdom. It was even more beautiful in the daylight than it had been in fading light, sunlight shining on coloured tile, sandstone, and marble. And like Mak said, the square he showed me last night glittered like treasure. By the time we reached the wall and the watchtowers, I was smiling, my fear dullened by wonder.

The riders on the wall let us pass, recognising Makrukh or Varidian or both, and they didn’t bat an eyelid at the sight of me, either. Possibly because word had spread that Varidian had married—either through official channels or through Rawiya’s fearsome friend group. I had a feeling the latter could spread information much faster than the former. Any group of women over forty should never be underestimated.

“We’re meeting the rest of my legion on the other side of the mountains,” Varidian told me, sitting as easily and confidently behind me as he’d lounged in the kitchen chair this morning.

“Do they know to expect me?”

“I sent word ahead bragging that I was bringing my wife,” he said, lips brushing my ear as Mak beat his wings, carrying us over a small, rugged mountain. Golden light warmed his scales,pleasant on my skin as the sun continued its slow path. “They might be under the impression that you’re meek and delicate. Please educate them, however you see fit.”

I laughed loudly, the wind carrying my voice. “What are they like? Your legion?”

I knew from my fictional adventures that a legion could be anywhere from five to thirty people, and that the smaller their number the more dangerous and powerful the members were. Some of my favourite romances had been between legion members from rival families, forbidden to fall in love with each other. They always found a way to live happily in the end.

“Loud and annoying,” Varidian replied jovially. “They’ve always got an opinion, they’re constantly complaining, and they’re forever hungry. But they’re the best bunch of people I know.”

He spoke about them like most people talked of family. My smile grew. I hadn’t fallen to my death yet; I was beginning to believe I’d be fine. And I was curious to meet Varidian’s legion. Would they have more secret bits of information about my husband, like Rawiya telling me he refused to eat vegetables like a youngling?

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