Page 189 of Ash

Ash’s eyes popped open again. Tyrez—never far away and always ready to help him sift reality from the abyss that was his mind.

Some even found the bathing pools, damn it. We won’t be getting any more privacy there for a while.Tyrez showed him the view through his eyes—the big Dragon was helping to settle the Dires in the caves, ensuring they were fed and comfortable. The canine shifters respected the Dragons, and therefore the three brothers roamed among them.

Stop trying so hard, Ash. Maybe you need to think of something else.

Ash grimaced.Like what? Pretty hard to think of anything else.

Why don’t you stretch your wings?

Alone?

I’m here. Just don’t get too adventurous.

An alpha stepped up to ask Tyrez a question, and Ash pulled away.

Tyrez managed to answer the alpha and still stay linked to Ash.You can do this. I will be with you, every step of the way.

Only if you shut up and let me concentrate,Ash complained, but he followed it up with a surge of gratitude. He was getting better at this linking stuff. How sometimes words were not expressive enough, it was the emotional pulses that carried the true meaning.

His inner coach had more to say.Don’t overthink it. Let your body do the work.

Yeah, yeah. Okay, got it.

Tyrez offered a mental snort and pulled back. But it wasn’t lost on Ash that the big Dragon had moved closer to the cave entrance.

It was both reassuring and exasperating. He turned his face into the wind and spread his wings. Mistake—he had forgotten to sink talons into the rock and almost got hauled clear off his perch.

Ash angled his wings so they provided just enough lift to work against gravity—for a moment, he was floating, now anchored by his talons.

He let go.

In an instant, he was carried well away, swept toward the next mountain. He beat his wings and took control over his trajectory, rising toward the clouds.

His heart pounded, but he did as Tyrez had coached and let his body do what it was designed to do. He looked to the left, and his wings changed their orientation, banking him in that direction. When he cast his eyes upward, they beat harder to take him there.

Tyrez remained silent, but he sensed the big Dragon just beneath the surface of their link, following his progress, ready to coach him if he faltered.

Ash glanced toward the grasslands. In a millisecond, he’d banked until he flew over them. He dropped his gaze, and his wings folded as he dove.

He sensed Tyrez’s tension ramp immediately, but Ash sent him a pulse of reassurance. He had no intention of ploughing into the dirt.

For the first time in longer than he could remember, he wanted to live.

Watch it. It takes more to pull out than you may expect.

Right. There was no automatic terrain proximity warning for Dragons. Ash spread his wings and immediately realized what Tyrez spoke of—he’d gained more momentum than he thought. The rushing wind dragged at his inexperienced flight muscles as he struggled to keep his wings open.

He slowed, but not enough. The ground loomed. He strained to cup the rushing air, but his inexperienced shoulder and chest muscles trembled with the strain.

Suddenly, he was flooded with strength. Tyrez, seizing momentary control, showing him how to bleed the air pressure off the leading edge of the wing while containing just enough to slow him down.

Thirty feet above the ground, he leveled off. Dropped another twenty while he adjusted to soar.

The pressure of his displaced air sent rainbows cascading through the grasses beneath him. Enchanted, his heart still racing, Ash experimented. Every beat of his wings sent a new pulse racing outward.

Beautiful,he said.

He sensed Tyrez struggle for the calm to appreciate the scenery. To Ash’s surprise, he realized the big shifter was now standing out among the grasses, caught halfway to Dragon.

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