Page 72 of Ash and Feather

I didn’t explain, or give her time to protest or overthink what we were doing. I swept forward, gathered her into my arms, and we were soaring toward the sky before she could even let out a gasp.

Chapter 19

Dravyn

Her body tensedas we rose higher. It was like lifting a statue—not particularly heavy, but awkward and stiff and nearly impossible to guide.

I pressed my mouth closer to her ear, making sure she could hear me within the roar of wind rising around us. “Relax. I’ve got you.”

She gave a barely perceptible nod, but remained entirely too stiff. I kept an arm around her, pulling her against me while I moved my hands over hers. Once our hands were securely locked together, I shifted so we were more side-by-side, my arms braced and holding her up as I stretched my wings more fully. In the same moment, I summoned flames far below to create a warm, uplifting draft to help support us. It built and built, becoming a thick cloud of energy that gave a sense of solidness beneath our feet. Between it and the strength of my hold, soon she was essentially walking through the air alongside me.

She relaxed a bit more with each step, allowing me to focus on my own balance and lift us higher with several strong beats of my wings.

“Don’t look down,” I warned.

She started to do exactly this, but caught herself and instead fixed a determined stare straight ahead. She trembled from what felt like a combination of fear and anticipation.

I waited until the shivering had stopped, until she was able to calmly glance my way for more instruction, before I said, “Now, try summoning wings as you did before. Feel the fire pooling around your shoulder blades…and just let it extend from your body the way it wants to.”

Her breath caught as she tried to take a deep breath. But she managed another nod, and then a slow exhale that brought magic with it. Little bits of fire appeared at her back, fluttering without any control or direction. They were followed soon, however, by the budding foundation of solid wings.

She closed her eyes. Took another deliberate breath. The fire dancing behind her pulled in toward her back—almost as if she’d inhaled it—and melded with the start of those wings, building them up and outwards.

I concentrated on keeping my own magic separate, neither pouring into hers nor pulling away from it; I was determined to make sure she could do this on her own.

After a few more breaths, she’d managed to wrangle all the loose embers into the wings. She looked over her shoulder, eyes widening slightly as they took in the feathered flames sweeping and curling out behind her in a relatively orderly, solid shape.

“Don’t overthink them,” I said. “Just let them work.”

She gave a nervous laugh at this, glancing my way as if to remind me she didn’t know hownotto overthink things.

Before her mind had time to race, I let go.

Her expression turned to panic, then horror.

Then instinct kicked in, followed by a flare of light and power as her wings became bolder, their outline more defined. They fanned out, catching the warm updraft I’d created, lifting her higher without much effort.

I darted higher as well, curving into the space in front of her. Her gaze caught mine. For a moment, she seemed too elated to think of her panic or fear. Too overcome by her accomplishment to think of anything other than flying.

But it was a short flight.

The initial elation wore off as soon as she took her eyes from mine. I felt her focus snapping, saw the exact moment she recognized I was no longer holding her, followed by the mistake of looking down and seeing nothing between her and the faraway ground.

In the next breath, bits of her flaming feathers started to peel away.

She plummeted for an instant before managing enough control to stop the rapid disintegration of her wings. They no longer remained solid or strong enough to carry her upward, but enough gathered together to fan out once more and slow her descent.

As she approached the final stretch of that descent, I sensed her magic truly start to flicker—then go out—and only then did I intervene, swooping down and wrapping her up in my arms once more.

We were perilously close to the ground by the time I properly caught her, making it difficult to adjust for a graceful landing, so I simply pulled her against my chest and maneuvered as best I could to cushion her fall.

Despite the bumpy landing, she was laughing as we rolled to a stop in the long grass.

I ended up on my back with her straddling my waist. My wings stretched out on either side of us, burning an impression into the ground and sending little swirls of smoke into the air.

As those wings faded away, Karys leaned forward, pressing her lips to mine. The last of her hair slipped free of its binding, falling in wavy curtains around our faces.

I took her head in my hands, pulling her deeper into the kiss.

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