“You’ve finally spanned the canyon,” Fenn said, all but purring with pride and far too much satisfaction.
Of course he’d stationed himself to watch, waiting to see if she would crash or cross. Pursing her lips, Serenna folded her arms. “You almost sound disappointed that you didn’t get to scoop me out of the dirt.”
Fenn prowled into her orbit, circling with a grin that bared just enough fang to promise trouble. The faint tang of smoke clung to him, as if fire had followed him down from the sky.
“Disappointed?” His voice dipped low. “Well, who doesn’t enjoy a gallant rescue?”
Serenna rolled her eyes but didn’t move when he reached for her wing. His fingers skimmed the claw at its tip, tapping lightly. Her talons twitched in reflex, then snapped toward him with a clack, alive with impulse, as though the beastblood in her veins sought to claim him first.
Fenn’s own wing talons stirred in answer, scraping the air toward hers in a way that felt anything but innocent. He leaned in, close enough that she felt the warmth of his breath behind the tease. “And I was prepared to scorch every stone from cliff to river to reach you if you fell.”
Serenna huffed a laugh, though she couldn’t deny he’d already warped her from the jaws of the canyon often enough to call it routine.
Fenn straightened. “Stretch them out.”
Serenna obeyed, flaring her wings wide. Every muscle gnashed in protest, a sharp pull raking down her spine. Fenn slipped a palm through the slit in her leathers, stitched for her wings. Calloused fingers traced the contours at the joint, gliding over skin still flushed from exertion.
“Stronger,” he murmured.
She already felt it with wingbeats that no longer faltered, each flight no longer ending with her bleeding in the sand. But hearing it from him—feeling the pride braided into the word—loosened the insecurities she’d held tight.
“I just don’t want to be the one slowing us down in the Maw,” she admitted quietly. Her gaze slid to the canyon floor, where wraith flew like shadows, twisting around waves of heat. “I only wish we had more time.”
Fenn stepped into her line of sight, lifting her chin to tilt her face toward his. “You’re not behind. Some of our people can hardly stay upright with their wings out.”
Serenna held his gaze. He saw her as she was—sweat-slick, trembling, still burning—and called it strength. Where she tallied bruises, he counted victories. Some days she wanted to believe him, to breathe in the steadiness he offered. But that belief wasn’t coming any easier, not when the cost of failure would be shared by all.
Serenna leaned back a fraction, shifting the weight of his touch without breaking the moment. “I don’t need coddling,” she mumbled, tucking her wings back in.
Fenn’s grin only sharpened. “Are you certain? My offer still stands.” He nodded toward the dunes in the distance. “I could warp you to a summit again and let you glide down. Very dignified.”
Biting back a smile, Serenna shook her head. “I’m done gliding. You’ve already ferried me to the ground too many times.”
Fenn shrugged, all false innocence. “Half my squadron flew like that the first few times. Fluttered down like leaflings—with more grace thanyourfirst attempt, if memory serves.”
Serenna snapped a wing out, aiming to clip the back of his head. With a bark of laughter, he warped away before the blow landed, the movement infuriatingly quicker than hers.
Bristling, she spun to face him, but her wings lagged behind, the heavy membranes tilting her sideways as she struggled to fold them. Fenn reappeared in a blur, catching her as she stumbled before snatching the base of her neck beneath her braid.
Serenna shoved at him, flames flaring under her skin, spitting from her fists. But Fenn’s mouth crashed against hers in a rush of heat. Instead of burning him, the fire blazing through her veins consumed the last of her defiance, leaving no room for resistance.
Fangs scraped and caught her lower lip, first a tease, then a bite of pressure that dragged out a gasp. Hunger seared up Serenna’s spine, her beastblood roaring at the claim. Breath and pulse tangling, the world shrank to the press of him, the bond humming where they touched.
Serenna gripped his armor and hauled him closer. Her wing talons twitched, reflexive and wanting as they lunged forward, hooking into his with a possessive click. Fenn’s own locked instantly with hers, the jolt of contact shuddering across her shoulders.
“I heard Kaedryn’s druids say that talon locking in public isindecent,” he murmured against her lips, voice rough with delight. “Something about base instincts, beastblood, and scandalous mating flights.”
Breathless and undone, Serenna smothered a laugh against his mouth.
Seizing the opening like an invitation, Fenn growled into her throat, his tongue sliding past her lips. He tangled a claw in her braid, anchoring her waist with the other, as if his body alone could cage the blaze igniting in her veins.
Pulse pounding reckless and fast, Serenna’s knees wavered. Kaedryn’s warning flickered through her mind—that druid blood burned hot, untamed, unpredictable, the beastblood as dangerous as dragons themselves until time tempered it.
“You’ll have to pry our wings apart,” she gasped.
“Not a chance.” Fenn chuckled, lips grazing her jaw. “Your talons made the knot. Your talons undo it.”
She should’ve pulled away, remembered the drills waiting below, the meetings stacked tight, the hours carved thin with training. But caught in the heat of his embrace, the want in her ribs no longer whispered, but prowled. Serenna hovered at the edge of restraint, sinking into his touch.
