Page 36 of Glass Wings
“The reason you left us here,” Arryn started, “was to prove to yourself that you were capable of goodness. You nurtured life much better than I could have orchestrated if I had tried the same method that you chose. I wonder if Amis chose the same path for a similar reason. Was his need to foster a community of his own genetic makeup only there because he felt a lack of control, limited to what his realm-building magic constrained him to?”
“Amis left after Tristan was mutilated by Vrae, Arryn,” Djoser said, shrugging his shoulders. “He was still a child. We all were. What constraints we felt at the time were rarely pushed against.”
“Are you ready for our flight, Reign?” Arryn half shouted across the room. Reign tilted her head, ignoring the males, and continued her conversation with Allienna for a moment before the women hugged each other.
“I am ready,” Reign said.
“We don’t know how many Vrae have escaped, Allienna,” Arryn said, moving swiftly towards her. “We don’t know how they entered the Earth realm. We don’t know anything.”
“I'll be safe,” she responded, putting her hand up to Arryn’s cheek as he sighed in relief.
“If this is hard to hear, I’m sorry for it, but if something does happen, promise me that you will choose yourself over the baby.”
Djoser watched Allienna give a thin lipped nod to Arryn, the room suddenly much more solemn as the three of them turned their backs on her.
Reign, Arryn, and Djoser walked towards the Earth's realm door, leaving Allienna alone. As they exited out into the snow, a storm began to brew, Arryn’s stress seeping into the atmosphere around them.
“Calm,” Reign’s voice echoed through the mountain peak as the storm obeyed. Arryn unleashed his wings and nodded back towards her before lifting off. Djoser followed after Reign also took to the skies.
Djoser was tormented in the air, his mind taking him through every possible outcome of what they were to do. This made their long flight seem like it spanned days, but the three descended, their target a dormant, lush green volcano. Once they landed on the slope, Arryn, Djoser, and Reign immediately pulled their wings back in, conscious of human hikers in the populated area.
The sound of the ocean dancing on the surrounding shore filled Djoser’s ears, sending a spike of distress into his chest. Here, they prepared for battle; they were here to grovel for more support, and on this beautiful island, the smiling tourists awaited to lure them all in.
Walking through the vegetation, the trio came out onto a public street with beautiful deep blue waters surrounding them from everyangle. A large sign reading “Mt. Maunganui” welcomed them as they marched right past, their savage hair and physical state from flying noticed by all passing hikers.
Arryn and Djoser, shirtless, blended in with the surfing culture of the town. Reign, whose original corset was ripped apart by her wings, stood out immensely as she continued their journey with only her long, dark hair covering her chest.
“Right on ya, free the nipple,” an older group of teenagers howled at her encouragingly.
On the main beachfront strip of the town sat a slew of coffee shops and restaurants that mostly were there to serve the tourists. They walked into a restaurant with dark blue siding called the Gin and Crab that didn’t have a single light on in the interior, lit exclusively by the many windows as sunshine poured in.
A waitress walked up, clearing her throat and pointing to a sign that read, “No shirt, no service”.
“Where’s ya’ boards?” she asked. “Wicked brave on ya’,” she added, nodding towards Reign. “I can’t sit ya’, so you’ll need to come back properly dressed.”
“I can take care of that,” a smooth voice smoldered the entire restaurant as Amis stepped away from the sit-down bar towards the back. His long black hair was pulled into a low ponytail, and his giant eyes darted between the Kinnari and the waitress. He carried three black garment bags slumped in half over his left forearm.
“One for you,” he said, handing one to Reign, before counting out loud until Djoser took a bag for himself.
“My friends here had a long journey. Might they use the washroom to comply with that dress code? Also, they’ll be needing drinks. Add three of what I’m having to my tab,” he instructed as the waitress pointed to the washrooms down a hallway.
A few minutes later, Djoser walked back out into the restaurant. A solid gray button-down dress shirt and jeans were now struggling not to pop off his muscular frame. He wasn’t comfortable here, being the connection the Kinnari had to Amis. He really didn’t understand Amis’ magic, but something about it made Djosersuspicious that it was much more powerful than he would have ever let on.
Why hide that? Why hide who you are from us?
“Very thoughtful of you to bring the clothes,” he managed to say, sitting beside Amis at the bar. The bartender put a whiskey sour down in front of him, which Djoser gulped from greedily.
“It must be so painful for you to be here, to be working towards a common goal with the very Kinnari who marked you a monster,” Amis said to him with a feline smile.
Djoser had never heard that word from the lips of his fellow Kinnari.Monsterwas a moniker he had always struggled to get out of his own head. The deaths he had caused left a large amount of guilt. He worked hard to appear heartless, to brush off the care and the anguish that came with it all.
“Ah, Amis, I missed your ever so polite but savagely creepy demeanor,” Djoser laughed. “To be the outcasts,” he raised his glass as Amis accepted the cheers, both making eye contact before indulging in their drinks.
“That is revolting,” Djoser said, grimacing. “Why is it so sweet?”
Amis laughed heartily, filling the restaurant with the booming nature of his voice as Arryn and Reign walked up. Reign wore an orange backless sundress that tied around her neck. She sat on the bar stool and made the liquid in her glass disappear in a few quick gulps.
“Reign, I am always so surprised by how manly you can be,” Amis chuckled.
