Page 73 of Wings of Ash & Flame
Alaire bowed her head, a tumult of emotions rolling through her. She had tried to reject this bond only moments ago, but Solflara was as stubborn as she was. Relief swelled through her, warm and unyielding. She wasn’t alone anymore. Whatever came, they would stand together—until the bitter end. Forever unyielding.
“It will be my honor,even with your slobbery puppy heart,” Solflara teased.
“You can read my thoughts too?” Alaire smacked a hand over her mouth.
Humor twinkled in Solflara’s eyes.
“You know, there’s a thing called privacy.”
Solflara’s beak tilted upward. “Listening to your constant stream of consciousness isn’t ideal either.Your oscillating emotions are exhausting.”
Alaire gaped at her. “Rude,” she huffed, speaking directly down the mental bond.
“Get on.”
“On your back?”
“How else do you expect to fly your bonded creature?You already traveled on the griffin.”
“Well,Beck wasn’t on fire!”
“My fire will not burn you.”
“It won’t?” she sputtered, hesitating. For a long time, she had feared flames—reminders of everything she’d lost. They could destroy as easily as they gave life. But fire wasn’t singularly evil or good; its intentions were shaped by its wielder.
“No,it will not.Hurry up.I do not wish to remain in this clearing any longer.I require rest.”
“Okay,grumbling Gladice,” she muttered. “Let me talk to Dawson first.”
She stepped back from the phoenix and walked toward the prince.
He pushed off Beck, eyes sweeping over her, then Solflara, and back to her with scrutinizing intensity. “I wasn’t expecting all of that.”
“That’s an understatement.”
He stopped a few paces away, jaw tight. “You truly didn’t know?” His aquamarine eyes were hard, drilling into her.
“Obviously not. Did it look like I knew?”
“No,” he said solemnly.
The vampires. The Consortium. Her classmates. The target on her back had just gotten bigger—the downside of finding out you’re a long-lost princess.
“Not princess.A queen.”
Alaire staggered a step, throat constricting. A queen. Only hours ago, she’d been no one.
“You’ve always been someone,” Solflara reminded her.
Dawson reached out to steady her. “You alright?”
She closed her eyes, using her breathwork to rein in the storm of emotions. Slowly, she blinked with each exhale, unwilling to let him see her panic.
“Fine, fine.” She waved him off. “Just a little woozy from everything.”
He narrowed his eyes, his grip lingering longer than necessary. “A phoenix,” he murmured. “You bonded with a fucking phoenix.”
“I noticed.”
