Page 72 of Wings of Cruelty and Flame

I held my hand out to him, a sourness in my stomach until he closed the distance between us and put his hand in mine, squeezing tight.

“Don’t push me away,” I whispered. “I know how much you hurt right now. I’ve lost people, too. But don’t push me away, Varidian.”

If anything, his eyes grew sadder. He leaned forward to kiss my forehead, his touch lingering. “I’ll try not to.”

With darkness and grief in his eyes, I couldn’t ask for more than that.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

AMEIRAH

I’d completely forgotten about Sabira, the woman who managed Varidian’s household, who he’d told me on our wedding day was a force of nature. I was promptly reminded of her existence when she stormed across the lawn at the back of the Diamond and whacked my head with a rolled-up newspaper. I hissed, leaning away and giving her a dirty look.

Sabira, it turned out, was a formidable woman in both height and personality. A beautiful shade of orange draped her body, her matching head scarf contrasting against her lovely deep skin. Dark eyebrows slashed her oval face above fierce amber eyes that had me instantly backing up a step. She carried the confidence and danger of a woman Shula’s size

“I haven’t had to saddle a wyvern since Varidian was a youngling,” she groused. “Stubborn, mindful beasts, wyverns. A lot like princes.”

I tried not to laugh, fearing laughter would get me another whack from the newspaper.

“Look at this drivel,” she spat, actually handing me the newspaper. “Whoever the bastards who sacked Wyfell are, they’ve bought the editors of the Red Sun. Or the printing presses, I suppose.”

I made a face as I read the headline emblazoned on the front page. TERROR LIVES AMONG US, it said, and just below it: THE SECRET DANGER OF NEWCOMERS AND NEIGHBOURS ALIKE.

I skimmed the rest of the article, surprised to find accusations that gentry and clergy alike knew who the lightning had struck and were hiding them from us. Great, so they didn’t want us to trustanyone.

“This is our newspaper,” I said with a slow-creeping dread. “The Red Sun is printed here,writtenhere.” I locked eyes with Sabira, my stomach tangling at more than just the ferocity in her gaze.

“Those damned flyers were only the beginning,” she huffed, arms crossing over her chest. I noticed a scratch through the arm of her tunic and tried not to wince. Raheema’s work, no doubt. I’d have to have words with my wyvern. “You know they landed propaganda in Tourlestyn and Morysen, too? Even the hatching city of Daurith if rumours are to be believed.”

My eyes widened. Those dark clergy were certainly determined to spread their hatred. That covered almost all of Ithanys.

“Of course you wouldn’t know,” Sabira commented, looking down her nose at me. “Typical princess, sitting on her ass while kingdoms suffer.”

Outrage sparked in my blood. “Excuse me, I was healing from two fractured ribs.”

Sabira scoffed, already walking past me. “Complain to me when your ribs are on the outside of your body.”

I shook my head in disbelief and anger as she strode off, leaving me standing on the lawn, staring after her. I didn’t like the thought of that slow creep of hysteria from Wyfell reaching the Red Star. I didn’t like how it had found us in just a week.

Wings beat the air, snapping me out of my reverie, and I jumped, tipping my head back—and exhaling a rough breath of relief when Raheema, my sky-blue wyvern, landed close enough to blow the hair back from my face.

Her low, impatient noise was easy enough to understand.Come on, what are you waiting for?

“My husband,” I said dryly, approaching her slowly, still a little cautious despite the time we’d spent together this week. She wasn’t grumpy and growling like Mak; she was fast and bright-eyed and full of boundless excitement. Mak called her a puppy, and the comparison was accurate.

Her reply assured me we didn’t need Varidian and could havesomuch more fun without the grumpy grandfather.

“I’ll tell Mak you said that,” I teased, stroking along her warm neck, eyeing the seating contraption Sabira had rigged up for me to safely ride. As if I hadn’t been riding Mak without one. But I wanted to learn properly, and this was the first step, so I tried not to scowl too much at the reinforced leather seat. “Where did you go anyway? You better not be terrorising those sheep again.”

There was farmland on the outskirts of the city, where Raheema had learned a tasty snack could be found in the form of sheep. But the Red Star needed that meat for the people to eat, and our wyverns were fed a shocking amount of foodwithoutsneaking off for extra meals.

I put the dangerous propaganda out of my mind when a familiar shadow blotted out the sun, Mak and Varidian landing effortlessly in front of us.

I cupped my hands in front of my mouth and yelled, “Show off.”

I saw Varidian laugh even if the sound didn’t reach me on the ground. I waited for him to jump down to help me mount, or at least give me instruction, but he just crossed his arms over his chest and looked at me expertly.

“Any helpful advice?”

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