“Feel the air currents!” Master Bri'tar shouted over the wind. “Feel the magic within them. Let your magic rise in response.”
“I can't,” I squeaked, my stare locked on the misty crevice below.
“Release your fear, Ember!” He swooped up and around the citadel, taking me out over the forest.
That helped. At least the ground wasn't so far away. But my stomach still did flops, and my heart didn't give a shit about the difference in the fall. As far as it was concerned, the altitude was the same.
“Forget that you were born without wings,” Bri'tar said. “You don't need them. You can be a master of the sky if you will only accept the power inside you. Feel the rush of the Air and envision yourself riding it. Stretch out your arms and let the wind carry you.”
Taking a deep breath, I extended my arms and closed my eyes, blocking out the sight of my potential death and concentrating on the magic. Air came to my call, and I felt it cradle me. The pressure increased until it felt as if I were floating. Master Bri'tar spun us around, and the wild feeling in my belly moved upward, becoming elation. I whooped and opened my eyes.
Then I screamed.
We were back over the ravine, but that wasn't what scared me. It was Bri'tar. He was flying next to me. Not above me. Next to me! I was flying on my own.
“Focus!” Bri'tar shouted. “You're doing it, Ember!”
I screamed again and fell like a stone.
“Ember!” Master Bri'tar shot after me, his wings tucked in against his back. “Command the Air! You are its master!”
“I am its master!” I closed my eyes. “I am its master!”
A solid weight hit me and leveled me out. The rush of wind vanished, I felt the telltale feeling of fading, then my feet touched something solid.
I opened my eyes and met Rath's wild stare. Blinking, I looked around to see that we were standing in the courtyard, before the keep's main entrance. Wraith Lords were pouring out of those imposing doors, most of them wearing anxious expressions. Had they all been watching me fall? Doubtless, my high-pitched screaming had caught their attention.
Then Master Bri'tar landed beside us.
“Thank you for the assistance, Lord Ratharin, but it wasn't necessary,” Bri'tar said. “I had the situation under control.”
The fear in Rath's eyes turned into fury. “You were letting him fall!”
“With thousands of feet of open air below him,” Bri'tar said calmly. “I would have caught him if it became necessary.”
Rath turned to fully face Bri'tar, but kept one hand on my waist. “He's human, you idiot! You could have given him a heart attack! That wasn't teaching, it was torture, and it was fucking reckless.”
“It is the exact way that I was taught to fly.” Master Bri'tar lifted his chin. He was about to say something else when a blur passed before me and knocked into him.
There was a jumble of feathers, platinum hair, and angry fists. I gaped at the wrestling men as I realized who had plowed into my teacher.
“Oh, fuck! Xaedren!” I tried to go forward, but Rath pulled me back.
“Give him a second,” Rath said, his voice low and menacing, as was the stare he focused on Bri'tar.
I gaped at Rath as Bri'tar grunted in pain.
“All right.” Rath nodded at some of the Lords standing around us, all of them wearing the same expression as him.
A couple of Wraith Lords jumped in and pulled Xae off Bri'tar. My lover's face was drawn in ferocious lines, his eyes wild, but not in a good way. He fought the hands that held him, broke free, and launched himself back at Bri'tar. Bri'tar screeched and shot into the sky like a frightened sparrow. Xaedren tried to leap after him, but a bunch of Lords grabbed him before he left the ground. Snarling, baring his teeth, and generally looking fucking badass, my lover glared at my teacher as he flew away. Only when Bri'tar was out of sight did Xae shake off his fellow Wraith Lords and rush over to me.
“Are you all right?” Xaedren pulled me away from Rath and ran his hands over my face, then down my neck, checking me for injury.
“I'm fine.” I took his hands and held them still. Then pointedly looked at Rath.
Face tight, Xae grudgingly said, “Thank you for saving him.”
Instead of saying something shitty, as I expected, Rath just nodded.
