The grass is lush and small flowers dot the lands. It’s like I’ve fallen into a perfect fairy tale.
A faerie tale …
Aside from that little pesky Blood Moon business, that is.
Once more, I push at the sensation within me. Hiding somewhere within me is magic. I can feel it. It courses through me, but I can’t grip it. I can’t seem to catch it.
Right now, Ryder’s urging me to release my wings. The right one is mended but unhealed. If I don’t coax them back out for Ryder to heal, I might damage it for good, never to fly again. Just when I was starting to get my feet off the ground, the ability could be ripped away as quickly as it came.
I keep my eyes closed, my fingernails biting into my palm as I force the magic within me to surface. It hurts. It feels like fire is burning within me, threatening to combust.
A painful cry leaves my lips but still I push past it.
“Alright that’s enough.” Ryder’s palm skims up the inside of my arm. “Shit, Kara, you’re sweating. That’s enough. Let’s take another break.”
Still I push.
More and more energy swirls frantically within me, demanding to be released into this world.
And yet, nothing happens.
“You know there is another way.” Mesa’s soft voice breaks through my thoughts.
My eyes open, staring at the beautiful fae woman from beneath my messy blonde hair.
“How?”
Her gaze flashes with excitement and her finger points up to the heavens. Ryder and I follow the direction of her slender finger, looking up into the pale blue sky shadowed by heavy gray clouds. An ominous feeling begins to sink into me.
***
The white shirt Ryder gave me this morning whips around my stomach. My new boots teeter on the slick metal rooftop of the Iron Bar. Strands of blonde hair push across my face as I stare down the five-story drop to the ground far below.
I’ve never been afraid of heights. I can understand why the fear lives in some people. It just isn’t there within me. As the toes of my boots peek over the edge of the flat metal rooftop I start to lower myself, squatting to get a better feel for how far down the ground really is. My elbows rest comfortably on my knees as I consider the distance.
“This is a shitty idea.”
I tilt my head back to find Ryder several feet away from the edge, his arms crossed securely over his chest.
“Afraid?” I taunt him and Mesa gives me a small smile.
“No, I’m not afraid. I just know a shitty idea when I see one.”
Mesa takes a seat at my side, her long legs crossing at the ankle as they hang carelessly over the side of the building. The sunlight strikes across the smooth metal, warming my skin as I wait for some words of encouragement from my supposed friends.
“It’s like coaxing a turtle from its shell. It won’t just come out. You have to tempt it,” Mesa says as she swings her legs back and forth, bumping her shoes against the side of the building in a rhythmic way.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Ryder’s voice holds an odd mixture of laughter and anger. “That’s not at all what this is like. This is like taking that turtle and tossing it down a fire escape and then hoping the shell doesn’t crack open on impact once it hits the bottom.”
Mesa shakes her head at Ryder’s ridiculousness while I continue to stare out at the distance from me to the grassy expanse below. Five stories down is the ground, and a few yards farther are the sharp points of the wrought iron gate.
Could I clear the gate?
My wing’s damaged. If they came out at all, I’d just have to use them to glide mostly.
“She needs to coax them out. Adrenaline will help with that.” Mesa shifts at my side until I look at her. Her eyes hold excitement in them that seems to push into me. My nerves begin to twirl through me, filling my chest with tension while I consider what the wind would feel like against my skin.
Slowly, I stand. My hair whips around my face as I turn to look back at Ryder. His brows are lowered, shadowing his pale eyes that are filled with worry.
