“Ready?” I shout against the wind. She nods against my chest. I scoop her up and she threads her arms around my neck, as I ordered her to. She’s a snug bundle, wrapped up in the thick fur robes I conjured for her. There’s no way she can fall—I would never drop her—but I want her to cling to me all the same.
Her breath catches as I step to the edge. Instead of running to launch, I give a lazy leap and let my wings billow out as gravity pulls us down. We drift a moment before I catch the fine current that streams between the two lesser towers of my castle. I built the extra turret for this exact purpose—to channel the wind underneath this platform and make it easy for me to soar. My father would have scoffed and accused me of laziness, but it’s an easier and more enjoyable start to a flight.
From the way Renee giggles in my arms, she thinks it’s fun, too.
I let the current carry us toward Mount Vracor. A short while ago, smoke would have shrouded its peak, but the air is clearer lately. The snow settled the ash.
I flap my wings, gaining height. I would fly up to the summit, but the air is thinner there, and any lingering smoke might harm my pet’s lungs. Besides, it would take too long. This outing should be short. The heavy, low-hanging clouds on the horizon portend more snow. As much as my pet loves snow and the way it reminds her of her Hoo-manholiday, she chills easily.
Renee is very still in my arms. “Breathe, sweetheart,” I command and nuzzle her hair.
She exhales in a rush.
Once we’re as high as I want to be, I stretch out my wings. We soar past the volcano, looping towards the castle and back again in a lazy spiral. “Is this what you wanted?”
“Yes.” Her voice is faint in the whistling wind. “It’s beautiful.”
I chuckle. “There aren’t many who would agree with you.” Pyreda, land of smoke and lava, birthplace of life, ruled by demons.
“You don’t think it’s beautiful?” She sounds indignant.
I’m silent for a while, thinking. Beneath us, our combined shadow glides over the barren and wasted land. Soon the ground will freeze enough for the snow to settle. But in the lake of fire, the lava will still burn.
“It is beautiful, in its own way. Fiery red on top with orange markings. A touch of green. Unpredictable and fiery, especially at night.” I clutch Renee tighter. She wrinkles her nose and I add, “Wet in its most secret places—”
My pet frees an arm to thump my shoulder. “I meant Pyreda, not me.”
I snarl and she hastily wraps her arm back around my neck. I make a mental note to punish her later for disobeying my mandate. “It is said the king and the land are one and the same,” I tell her.
“That may be, but I’m not the king.”
“You are soul-bonded to me, are you not? Close your eyes. You might be able to feel it.”
Her whole face scrunches as she concentrates.
“Can you sense the fires at the heart of the kingdom? The borders?”
“No.” She opens her eyes. “Can you?”
“Yes. If I really want to.” If I still my mind, I can sense the slow, ancient heartbeat. “My powers weaken if I fly beyond the borders.”
“Really?”
I nod. It is one of the reasons why my father never tried to conquer other kingdoms. Even if he’d built a powerful army, he would have had to rely on and trust others—lieutenants—to rule them. Which he would never have done. He never trusted anyone.
Our flight path is taking us over the lake of lava. Even though there’s no chance of my dropping Renee, I grip her tighter. Aside from the day she first arrived, I haven’t carried anyone this way since I became king and continued my father’s tradition of terrorizing the village leaders. Back then, I snatched up a few of the most insistent ones and flew them low over the lava lake or the summit of the volcano. Unlike my sire, I didn’t throw any of them in—I merely frightened them, then dropped them a day or two’s travel from their villages, so they might return with the terrible tale of theHis Evilness, the Demon King.
Come to think of it, lately there has been an influx of new missives for me to ignore—far more than usual. A new round of terror might be in order.
My Omega’s soft voice interrupts my thoughts. “What are you thinking about? You’re so quiet.”
“When I was of age, my father took me on long flights to show me every part of Pyreda, since it would one day be my kingdom. Once, he left me at the border without food or water, to see if I could find my way home.”
Renee’s gasp is audible.
“It took me three days. I got a cramp in my wing, and crashed to the ground. Unable to fly, I had no choice but to walk. My mother was livid. But a few moon-cycles later, my father did it again.”
“Why?”
