“I can tell them you were caught up with other things,” he says. “I’m happy to do it.”
“Thanks, George!” Liz looks positively delighted, and I know I made the right call.
It’s a little harder convincing Hyperion that we’ll be right behind them, but within a handful of minutes, everyone’s leaving. . .and we’re staying. Just as I’m about to release the portal, Liz drops a hand on my shoulder. Are you sure this is alright?
She almost never communicates with me this way. She must be nervous.
Coral’s with Hyperion, and Jade insisted on riding with Asteria. She doesn’t mention that even Sammy came. She doesn’t have to—I noticed.
I know she’s worried about her siblings being there without her. Sammy especially is quite small. But they have their bonded to keep them safe. I can’t imagine what they might encounter that Hyperion and Thunar can’t handle without me.
“Thunar’s the one I’m worried about,” she mutters.
I can’t help my snort. We won’t be here long. I don’t tell her that she needs a moment to do something fun too. It’s a human sentiment that I’ve learned is relatively true. The blessed might be better off if we adopted some of their ideas.
“Okay.” She sighs and lifts her hand. “Close the portal.”
I do.
Once it’s closed, people stand and stare for a moment, clearly wondering why I haven’t also left. The humans milling around us are giving us a lot of space, but it’s still not quite enough. There’s no way Liz will get her magical walk along the little shops she likes if everyone watches me shift from flame blessed to human. I launch into the air, pumping my great wings until we’re well away from the square, and I keep going south until we reach an area where there’s nothing but open land.
Then I shift.
“What are we going to do from here?” Liz grumbles. “It’s going to take forever for us to get anywhere near the Christmas market.”
I smooth down the sleeves of my wool coat. It looks just like one I saw a human wearing ten minutes ago, so I should blend in just fine. “You can fly us there.”
She blinks. “Yes, that will help us blend right in. Good call. I bet a lot of humans flew their way to the market with their bright white wings.” She sighs. “Which means it probably doesn’t matter how I get there.” And she’s back to being glum.
“You’ll be just a regular human, carrying another human to a shopping center at Christmastime.”
“Axel, humans don’t have wings.”
“Not until recently, they didn’t, but you do, and you’re human.”
“Just forget it.” She kicks a rock. “Let’s just go to Finland.”
I reach for her hand. I’m not sure why, but it feels like the right thing to do. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” When she turns back toward me, her eyes are wide.
“I know you want to do something small and fun, something normal. Everything about being bonded to me makes that hard for you.”
She laughs. “I was never going to be normal.”
“Because you’re too spectacular. You’re a warrior.”
She laughs harder, and then she shakes her head. “No, because my mom is. . .” She sighs. “Climb on. We can talk as I fly.”
“We’re still going?”
She points. “See those people over there? They’re just going to come try and follow us if we don’t get out of here quick. We can always open a portal straight from the Stuttgart Christmas market if it’s miserable.”
I can’t help my smile. “Yes, we can at least try.”
It’s very strange to climb up on her back, however. “I don’t think this will work.”
She grabs my hands and yanks them down over her shoulders. “Hold on.” Then she jogs a step or two and jumps up into the air. “Saint Nick’s stockings, you’re heavy.” But her wings keep on beating, and we’re going up, up, up.
