She was hundreds of feet in the air, on the back of a monster, a world of enemies beneath her. And Aelia had never felt safer.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
The Jaws of Rach-Mah rose around them, and Keeran flew lower now that they were out of Demuto, soaring through the green valleys between the enormous mountains.
They hadn’t stopped since they’d left Llmera, and Aelia didn’t know how he was still functioning. Not only had he flown straight through the night, but he’d also kept some kind of heat haze around her when she’d started to shiver. It glimmered across her skin, as beautiful as it was warm. She knew very little about magic, but her momentary experiences had left her more exhausted than she’d thought possible. She dreaded to think the kind of strain it was taking for him to maintain the magic around her. She couldn’t tell him to stop, that she’d be ok without it, because the pair bond had stayed fractured and silent since they’d left Llmera, no matter how hard she tried to reach out to him.
Initially, she didn’t think she’d be able to sleep whilst being jostled by the movement of his flight, the hard scales of his back rubbing against her uncomfortably, but she was out cold as soon as the adrenaline had left her system. She found herself opening her eyes to a new day, her fatigue having let her sleep through a whole day and night.
Other than being beyond ravenous, she felt infinitely better for the rest, and looked out at the jagged guardians of the southern border with open-mouthed awe. Snow already capped their rocky peaks, but the dense foliage that carpeted their sides flowed down into the valleys between them to form a forest that rivalled hers in beauty. Even from such a height, she could see the ancient magnitude of the trees. She longed to disappear amongst them, to let them hide her from the horrors of the world her own forest had shielded Callodosis from for so long.
They’d beenamongst the mountains for the best part of the day, and the sun was starting to slip from view before Keeran finally angled them down towards a clearing on the side of one of the mountains. Trees ringed half of it, giving way to the grass that flowed uninterrupted until the rock gave way to a sheer cliff’s edge. He aimed right for it, the air from his wings rippling through the long grass as he landed.
He twisted the moment his talons touched down, and magic shimmered around her. Aelia shrieked as Keeran disappeared from under her, and she fell through the empty space he’d filled. Two thick bands caught her, and she opened her eyes to find Keeran holding her close, his arms wrapped tightly under her.
“Don’tdothat,” she yelled, slapping his chest.
Keeran laughed, and the vibration of it had her insides turning molten despite herself. She released a shaky breath and tried to wriggle free. He set her down but didn’t let her go.
“Some warning would have been nice,” she grumbled, but she didn’t try to pull away.
“It’s a little hard to talk to you in that form.” His voice was liquid warmth, pouring over her skin and leaving goosebumps in its wake. How had she never noticed before?
She swallowed heavily, remembering just how blind she’d been, how cruel.
“Keeran, I…” She didn’t even know what to say. She was sorry for so much. For everything she’d said, for pushing him away, for getting him arrested. “I’ve been so stupid.”
He cupped a hand to her cheek, the rich brown of his eyes looking knowingly into hers.
“Me too.” His thumb stroked her cheek, and she leant her head into his palm. “There’s so much I should have told you.”
“I know why you couldn’t.” She’d have run for the hills if he’d told her what he was, what she was becoming to him. “I just wish I’d handled everything better.”
“You’ve had to handle too much, all at once.” She heard the truth in his words, knew how close she’d come to breaking. How much of that had he felt in the cells, when he’d found his way into her mind? “I’m just sorry I added to it.”
Aelia shook her head. There was no point denying that he had, but it hadn’t been in his control. Neither of them had had any say in the pair bond.
“You were in my head.” Aelia peered up at him, a thousand questions forming on her tongue all at once. It was so hard to pick one. “Is that normal for the pair bonds?”
“Yes, but only once it’s been accepted, that’s why it’s so intermittent.”
“Is it why…” Aelia struggled to find the words. “The light, the magic… is that the pair bond too?”
Keeran tensed against her, and she pulled back slightly to better see his face.
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “That’s nothing to do with the pair bond.”
Aelia gulped, confusion slipping into panic at the consequences of that.
“I can’t control it,” she whispered, brows pinching together. “I thought you’d be able to show me how. I killed all those artemians in the warehouse. I could have killed you.”
Keeran placed his other hand on her face, brushing the loose strands of hair back in place.
“We will figure it out. There is always a solution.” He dipped his head so it was level with hers. “Always.”
“What is it, if it’s not coming from the pair bond?” she asked, struggling to control the dread rising inside of her.
Keeran sighed through his nose, his brows pinching together as he struggled to find the words.
