Page 15 of Queen of the Night
Vera
“Looks like two of you are riding together,” I call over my shoulder, cackling to myself as I slip a foot in the high stirrup of the one I’ve claimed.
Rupi lands on the pommel of the saddle above me, confident in my abilities as she fluffs her feathers cockily. We’ll show Ikar that I can handle this big guy on my own this time.
“That would be us,” Ikar says from behind me, so near my ear that a delightful shiver runs down my spine. I don’t have time to react before he quite simply tosses me astride and smoothly climbs up to seat himself behind me, his muscular legs snug around mine, and pulls me back against his chest as if he has permission to do so. Apparently he does, because I’m more content than ever to stay right where I am.
The flyer sidesteps with our weight, and I don’t think I’ll ever enjoy the sound of its joints, but I’m proud of myself when I don’t panic. I quickly glance around to see Darvy and Rhosse astride their own, appearing to get acquainted with the creatures and hardly paying us any mind.
“I can handle a sharp flyer on my own, you know,” I tell Ikar in an attempt to redeem myself.
“Never said you couldn’t.”
He leaves me sputtering with questions and feelings I’m having difficulty sorting through as he turns his attention to giving last orders to Darvy and Rhosse before we take off. Rhosse appears completely at ease, but that makes sense, given his hunter magic. He takes off smoothly and circles in the air as he waits for the rest of us. Darvy, on the other hand, can’t seem to get his beast to even walk in a straight line.
Ikar shouts further instructions amidst attempts at smothering his laughter as Darvy grows more frustrated when the flyer he commands begins turning in slow circles rather than running for takeoff. But my attention turns to Rupi who is still perched on the pommel. I’m certain she can’t fly as fast as a sharp flyer and I’ll lose her if she doesn’t ride in my coat. I reach a finger out for her, intending to drop her in my pocket, but she flutters over my hand and onto Ikar’s upper thigh to my right.
I turn the smallest bit and open a pocket wide, right in front of her, careful not to touch him more than I already am with his strong legs so tight around me, and motion her to hop in. She refuses with an obstinate ruffle of her feathers.
“You’re going to blow away during takeoff if you don’t obey,” I warn with a whisper.
She turns one tiny dark eye my way and blinks as if I’m ridiculous.
I huff. “Fine.”
Ikar is shouting something at Darvy, and while he’s distracted, I muster the courage to scoop her up myself, my fingers brushing across his trousers as I’d wanted to avoid. He stops shouting mid-sentence, and Ifeelthe way I’ve caught his awareness at the contact.
“Did you need something?” he asks, perfectly still behind me.
I almost die at the question.Of course I need something. I need him to be a criminal instead of the blazing officer he is so I can run away with him.I’m grateful I’m seated ahead so he can’t see the deep blush tingling in my cheeks. I make a show of plopping my misbehaving bird into my large pocket to show that I wasn’ttryingto do that.
“Just grabbing Rupi is all,” I mumble, trying to ignore the sudden, warm tension between us.
I sense his eyes on me for another moment, then he seems to accept my answer and returns to shouting instructions to Darvy. I glance at Rupi in my pocket with narrowed eyes. She appears smug as she snuggles comfortably into the shadowy depths. I purse my lips at her before I button it shut.
Darvy whoops and draws my attention as he finally gains a shaky sort of control over his flyer and takes off, dipping and weaving, but flying all the same.
“And that’s why you’re not riding with Darvy.” He chuckles again as Darvy’s flyer continues to dip and weave. I refrain from asking why Rhosse wasn’t an option, but he answers for me anyway. “Neither of them has ridden one before, so I figured your chances were better with me.”
Does that mean this decision was completely practical then? That knocks a little of the wind out of my sails. He acts as if he’s always known how to fly one of these even though I know for a fact the first time was only several days ago. But I don’t argue. I’m choosing to look at the silver lining, and that is having Ikar’s warm chest at my back and his strong arms around my waist as he holds the reins and guides our sharp flyer into a smooth ascent.
The wind tugs at strands of my hair that I braided so tightlyI feared it would cause a headache this morning, but pieces still come free. Ikar seems unbothered, so I try to ignore it. I watch below us as Moneyre grows smaller and smaller.Things are looking up.I unexpectedly get to ride with Ikar, we’re leaving the high king’s lair behind, and best of all? I never had to meet the wicked ruler. With that thought I relax against Ikar as if it’s the most natural thing in the world. How can it feel so right to be close to him when he’s a person I should never feel safe with? A high officer for the high king? He’s too good of a person to be that.
Back at Mama Tina’s when I decided to work for him, I was still highly suspicious that he was anything other than a criminal. Now, after dining at the castle where he looked more comfortable than ever, I can for sure say I know he’s not a criminal. But I still wish he was, because then at least he wouldn’t be some sort of high-ranking official. The thought has me wondering if I could convince him to retire… eventually. The problem is, whatever role he carries as an officer seems to be engrained in him in a way that can’t be left behind by simply retiring. He hasn’t shared much about his role, or what exactly he does, but I’m not overly familiar with the way an army works and probably wouldn’t understand if I asked anyway.
The air grows colder the higher we fly, until my nose and cheeks are red and I shiver even with my coat. But my attention is pulled from the uncomfortable chill when I take a moment to reallyseeour kingdom from this height. As we fly over its expanse and toward the Lucent Mountains, I find myself sickened by the shadows covering the land. Rather than rolling hills, patches of farmland, and vibrant green forests, darkness engulfs and spreads like disease. Clouds of gloam hover like swarms of hornets over what could have once been prime grazing land, sparkling lucent river, and lush trees.
“I didn’t realize it was this bad,” I say loud enough that Ikar can hear me over the wind roaring in our ears.
“It’s multiplied considerably, especially recently. We do everything we can to push it back, but people are suffering. Our success on this mission could change that.”
I nod, but I still don’t even know the entire plan. It’s never been shared with me, whether on purpose, it’s just on a need-to-know basis, or it’s simply been overlooked. These capable men trust Jethonan, and I trust them… enough. All I know is they search for a magical flower of some sort, but there are many. How a simple magical flower is supposed to remedy an enemy this destructive is beyond me. My job is to provide lucent magic, not ask questions that could encourage them to ask questions of their own, something I need to avoid at all costs—especially after that pesky conversation that I’d locked in the recesses of my mind… where Ikar handed me a list of all but one of the Black Tulips and asked if I knew anyone on it… was brought up by Darvy over dinner last night. I get the feeling Ikar is simply biding his time until he asks me about that again.
I attempt to calm my rising concern, reminding myself that we’ll be so busy fighting for our lives in the Lucent Mountains that there won’t be time to fall further for him, or for him to bring the topic of Black Tulips up again before I can disappear. That thought is both comforting and terrifying, but at least if I die on this journey, I die with my secrets safely intact.
Chapter 11
Vera
