Dorian opened his mouth but then closed it as he thoroughly considered the words. “Excellent question,” he decided. “Sis, what makes us think that?”
And Nyssa smiled between them. “Eaglefyre,” she replied.
Dorian snapped and pointed smugly at Bala. “Eaglefyre.”
CHAPTER THREE
DRAVEN FOUND AYDRA on the cliffs, just as Lex said.
Rain pounded around her as she stood at the very edge of one. She was soaking in the rain's chill, and when she faced him, the landscape at her back dulled in comparison.
“You’re crazy,” he called to her.
Her smile lit up her entire face. “Would you love me if I wasn’t?” she called back.
He made his way to her, slow and steady, taking in her figure as he did and feeling his chest hurt as it did every time he looked at her. He pulled her into his chest upon reaching her, grasping at the soft flesh of her wide hips, loving how she molded into him perfectly. He wanted to kiss her there, take her on that cliffside and let her dangle him over the edge as she rode atop him.
And then he wanted to listen to every detail of her life that he didn’t know. She kept so much of her life inside… he wanted to know her as well as she knew him.
The Orel screeched overhead just as he leaned down to kiss her, and Aydra grabbed his shirt.
Draven froze.
“Hold tight,” she said fast.
Was she—
“What?”
He was grateful for the grip he’d taken on her waist because she launched them over the cliff, and Draven cursed Aydra to the Edge and back.
No matter how much he knew the Orel would catch him, he still nearly vomited when they neared the ground, but the beast swooped beneath them just in time. Aydra’s laugh filled the air as he held her close. She shifted in front of him so her back was touching his chest, and he sank against her in surrender as the Orel steadied into a glide.
He didn’t keep track of how long they soared. She sighed back into him, relaxing in his embrace, and he kissed her neck as a comforting silence stretched between them. And for one fleeting moment, he considered telling her to have the Orel fly on into the sun breaking through the rain clouds… Take them across the sea where they could be free to be with each other without judgment or the threat of what might await them at Magnice.
But the rain waned, and the Orel dropped them back onto the cliff. He watched as Aydra connected with the beast a final time—golden sunlight glinting off both of them, stark with the grey-blue storm clouds behind to the north where he could see Magnice on the hill in the far distance. The cerulean ocean down below. The sun rays hit her cheeks as though they were made only for her.
The Orel took off, and Draven joined Aydra at the edge of the cliff, taking in the painted sky as he had never seen it before. Golden light rays cascaded over the cerulean sea, rippling and begging to break through the storm clouds. A beautiful, caged star desperate for its freedom.
Just like the woman he stood beside.
“It’s beautiful,” he said before looking at her, and his heart swelled at the sight of her staring at him.
She was the sun he’d been told stories of. How it should heal and comfort children of the Sun’s trees. Warmth wrapping one’s flesh as a blanket of surrender. Its light was a curtain over one’s worries and nightmares. The mere sight of it was supposed to bring Sun children peace.
He had never felt that peace until he began to love her.
She was his peace.
She was his eclipse—allowing him to bathe in sunlight while letting him be himself in the dark.
Her hand reached for his, fingers slipping so easily into his and entwining together.
“Perfect,” he heard her whisper.
The ocean washed up around them later as Aydra lay on her back, Draven hovering over her. She held her breath, and Draven savored the look in her eyes then. The waning sun on her freckled cheeks, grey eyes darkened, her lips parted slightly as she tried to deny herself of that release. He kissed her neck as he slowed his teasing—delicately swirling her wetness over her clit, and her back arched off the ground with a restricted moan. She reached for his hair and pulled, making chills rise over his skin every time she touched it.
But just as she peaked, she sat up and kissed him hard. Distracting him. And before he could stop her, they were both sitting up, and she was straddling over him.
