Page 60 of The Court of Thorns and Wings

We stopped flying and let our bodies drop.

The air blew past and lifted my blonde hair like some sort of blanket, making us easier to spot in the night.

Tavish yanked on our bond, opening it wide. Our emotions mixed, though our souls didn’t come close to merging like they did when we had sex and orgasmed as one. Still, I could read his emotions more easily, including his panic.

I didn’t know what to do, but I wanted to help, especially since we were close to pulling back. I tugged at my healing and water magic and pushed them toward our connection.

Tavish’s breathing became labored, and nothing happened.

Then something pulled on my magic, and a siphoning sensation slithered through me, draining my strength.

“Pull back,” Eiric muttered.

I flapped my wings, and my body and Tavish’s jerked from the sudden change of momentum. I gritted my teeth, his weight heavier than it had been seconds ago, but maybe that had to do with him using my magic. He flew in tandem with me as I glanced over my shoulder to see how close the guards were.

We were still twenty feet from the ground, and they were right on our wings. We’d only kept the same distance between us and them, and they were quickly descending.

We were at the edge of a village, out in the open. The trees were thirty feet away, and the guards would be on us by the time our feet touched the ground, despite Eiric and me angling our escape as close to the trees as we could.

My magic is responding,Tavish revealed with some relief, and some of the weight fell from my wings and shoulders… but we still weren’t hidden.

“What’s the plan?” Finnian croaked. “I’m assuming Tavish can’t access his magic anymore, and I almost don’t feel the pulse of my own. I’m blasting worthless.”

Then, the cold, tingly feeling of Tavish’s magic brushed my skin, covering me whole.

“Blighted abyss!” the deepest-voiced male guard exclaimed. “It’s like they disappeared right before our eyes. I thought he couldn’t use his magic within the veil.”

Tavish’s magic also affected me, making it appear as if I were in a dark hole. If not for his comforting arm around my waist, I’d have been hysterical. Even through my panic, I kept my wings steady, and before I understood what was happening, my feet touched the ground.

Suddenly, I could see through the shadows as if we’d been freed from the darkness, the only indication we were still covered in the comforting chill.

We need to move. They know where we landed,Tavish connected, intertwining our fingers and tugging me toward the village instead of the tree line.

Eiric’s eyes widened, and I watched as Finnian placed a finger in front of his lips, telling her to be quiet. He took her hand, and they followed on our heels.

My breath caught.Shouldn’t we go into the trees? You might not have to use your magic for as long.

Feet hit the ground where we’d been, and I glanced over my shoulder to see a guard less than ten feet from us. All four of us somehow moved quicker, adrenaline pushing us harder than before.

“Even though we can’t see them, we can still catch them,” a male guard with a high-pitched voice said behind us. “They aren’t invisible, and they’ll be heading for the trees. It’s the fastest route to leave Gleann Solas. Pay attention to anything that feels strange.”

That’s why we aren’t going toward the trees. We need to gain distance before they can home in on my Unseelie magic and use it to track us.His lips pressed into a firm line.It won’t take long for them to realize that.

Eiric’s jaw clenched as she continued to keep pace with us, but I could see from the way she held her arms close to her sides that she didn’t like not being in charge.

We passed by four stucco cottages when a female voice called out, “I sense strange magic.”

“It must be the king of the nightfiends,” the deeper-voiced man spat. “We’ll follow your lead until we can all sense it for ourselves.”

I pumped my hands at my sides to move faster. Flying would be ideal, but there was no way Finnian and Tavish could handle that.

The four of us were halfway through the village when the deeper-voiced man said, “Where are you leading us? I thought you were following the essence of his magic.”

“Iam,” the woman gritted out. “And it’s leading toward the village.”

“Impossible,” the deeper-voiced guard responded. “They wouldn’t risk staying in the open longer than they needed to. The Unseelie can’t hold on to his magic for long, not after being bound and neglected.”

Of course a male wouldn’t trust a woman’s senses. Why would they be different here than on Earth? In this moment, though, I appreciated the sexism.

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