It took me a few experimental tries to fold both massive sails against my body at the same time. I crawled closer to the window’s ledge where Myrk waited patiently. Or not sopatiently, perhaps. He hissed at the other man, using his wing to casually knock him back a step when he started to approach me.:Back off, fur ball. You had your turn.:
I snapped my teeth at him, intending to warn him to be nicer. But evidently dark alfar took the action to mean something else entirely.
He lunged toward me, snagging me in his arms, and then pitched backwards out of the window.
Pulling me out with him.
“Helayna!” Gunnarr bellowed. “Goddess preserve her. Help! Alpha! Whatever your name is. They’re falling!”
I wasn’t scared. Not with Myrk’s fierce grip on me. Cold air whipped around us, catching my wings and tossing them around like fragile paper airplanes.
:Pull them in, like this.:He demonstrated, tucking his wings closer.:You don’t want to tear a membrane or break a bone. Hurts like a bitch but it’ll heal. We heal just about anything except being torn apart.:
It took me a moment, but I finally imagined the wings as another set of arms. Pulling them closer hurtled us faster toward the rocky cliffs and ocean below. He rolled me around in front of him, tucking his human-like arms up beneath my wings and around my midsection, his mouth at my ear, though he didn’t try to speak. Not with our bond.
:Lesson one. Gliding. As we get close to the ocean, the air currents change. All you have to do is stretch out your wings and catch the air rising off the water. Ready?:
:What? No?—:
His wings snapped out and he released me, the air currents lifting him away.
While I still hurtled toward the dark, icy rocks.
:Extend them,:he said calmly.:Envision spreading your arms wide if that helps.:
Water sprayed me, waves crashing on the cliffs. My heart pounded for a sickening moment, and then I got the right muscles to coordinate. Air caught the leathery flaps and sent me upward in a very undignified zigzagging scramble. Holding both wings level at the same time took concentration.
:Relax into the wind. Your wings know what to do. Don’t fight it. Feel the rolling air like it’s waves of water. There you go. You’re flying, my queen.:
I’m flying.Laughter bubbled up out of me, though it sounded strange to my ears. Deeper and rough, a lower register. Like my dark alfar Blood. With a slight tilt of my wings, I could float higher. Dip slightly to turn. Myrk shadowed me, giving me pointers. Tuck and roll in midair. Increase speed. Slow down.
Together, we circled higher. The shoreline curled like a sparkling icy ribbon below. Sandy beaches of glittering black sand. Chunks of ice against the darkness like a million stars in the sky. Thick lacy snow began to fall, dotting our black wings until we looked like exotic flying leopards.
Myrk swooped close, dipped below me, and rolled over, coasting on his back. His eyes glistened with daring invitation. I tucked my wings close and allowed my body to crash into him.:Are your wings strong enough to carry us both?:
:Are you fucking serious? I could carry you to the top of Yggdrasil and back, my queen.:
I sank my teeth into the meaty muscle of his chest, remembering too late I had razors for teeth now. But he only arched his back, a purring rumble rolling from his chest.
His essence tasted even better in the same form. Addictive, spiced with all the colors of the night around us.:Are there female dark alfar?:
:Of course.:
:How do you mate?:
He grunted.:We don’t procreate, if that’s what you mean. We crawled out of the primordial ooze at the base of Yggdrasil’s roots, but no new alfar have spawned for at least a thousand years.:
I made a low sound of disappointment, teasing him.:I was hoping you’d tell me you mate in midair like dragons.:
:You think I’m coordinated enough to fuck and fly at the same time?:
:Yes. That’s why you pulled me out of the window, isn’t it?:
He surged into me with a wicked laugh. His tail wound around my waist, his arms spanning my back while we drifted on his wings.:You know me so well, my queen. Though honestly, I just wanted to have you to myself for a moment.:
His body didn’t thrust. Only his wings rippled, making slight adjustments to catch the air, lifting us higher, rolling his lower body up against me. A gently rocking boat carrying me out to sea. So much more peaceful and serene than I ever expected in this form. Pleasure billowed through me like soft fluffy clouds. So much pleasure. Essence. I could barely keep my eyes open.
Only half aware, I heard Dörr’s voice nearby. “That was a foolish stunt.”
