We both looked over at Talon, and a rush of emotion hit me as we caught each other’s eye. Ever since the day he brought the treaty, Talon had treated me with kindness and respect. When I told him about the war crimes against my people and our horses, he hadn’t ignored me—he had physically gone and investigated it. I only wish I had known at the time that I was meting out justice to those who had committed such atrocities against my people. It would have made the victory so much sweeter.
He moved closer to me, and the now-familiar scent of fresh mountain air and leather enveloped me. When I met his searching gaze, heat crept up my neck. Every time he came near me, my body had a physical reaction to him—from the very first time we flew together. I tried to ignore those feelings at first; I didn’t want to be attracted to my enemy. But after getting to know him, I couldn’t deny that he was a man of honor and integrity, even though he fought for the other side. This man had been there for me after I had been attacked and seemed to understand how dangerous the sorcerer was, but I still had to ask myself if he was just doing his job. I was afraid to trust him completely, but theprospect of having no one here to trust was so much worse. Before I could say anything, a sound came over the quiet valley, and Shazeera’s ears flicked back and forth nervously.
The steadythumpof wings.
I knew I was in the mountains, with eagles everywhere, but it was still hard to ignore the cold douse of fear that flooded my senses at that sound. We had been conditioned from a young age that the sound meant almost certain death.
“It’s Neo,” Talon said, his voice low and soothing, and my cheeks flushed that he had noticed I had reacted nervously.
Neo appeared over the mountain, wings spread wide to catch the current. As he came closer, the wind created by his powerful wings buffeted us, stirring our hair, and making Shazeera’s mane and tail stream behind her. She had moved closer to me; it was hard to erase all instinct of fight or flight the moment we heard an eagle approaching.
At last Neo landed beside us, tucking his wings close to his sides. I was once again struck by the sheer size of him; he was three times as tall as Shazeera, and I expected a shot of fear to take over as I looked up at him, but mostly I was filled with a sense of awe. Suddenly his golden eye was on me.
“Neo hopes he didn’t frighten you,” Commander Talon said. “He wants you both to know that he already ate a full meal and isn’t the least bit hungry.”
I glanced back at the eagle as my lips twitched in surprise. “I take it he has a sense of humor.”
“He thinks he’s hilarious, yes,” Commander Talon said, and the feathers on Neo’s neck ruffled until they were all sticking up straight.
A murder machine with a sense of humor,Shazeera said loftily,how quaint.
I snorted a laugh, and when Neo and Talon both looked at me questioningly, I gestured toward Shazeera. “She said she was glad to hear Neo isn’t hungry.”
If you’re not even going to translate me correctly, then I’m just going to go back to grazing,she said, turning her back on me with a swish of her tail.
Neo made a sound, and I looked up to find him watching me. Talon said, “Neo wants to take you on another flight—where we can’t be overheard.”
I glanced at Shazeera.What do you think?
I think you’d love to go, and there’s no one here to judge you. More importantly, he’s right about the inability to eavesdrop while you’re in the air.
Neo must have anticipated my response, because he spread his wings and lowered his body so that he was no longer vertical. I grabbed hold of Neo’s saddle leathers and pulled myself up. It was a long way to his back, but at least I did it with a minimal amount of flailing this time.
“Does Shazeera want to go?” Talon asked.
Goddess, no,Shazeera said with a distressed whinny.
“I think that’s a no,” I told him.
“I didn’t want her to feel left out if I didn’t offer,” he said with a smile playing on his lips.
I knelt and then sat back on my heels the way Talon showed me the first time. The second I was settled, Talon vaulted up behind me. His muscular thighs were on either side of mine, and as his arm slid around my middle, a low fire burned inside me. I glanced back at him, and his eyes held mine. Our faces were separated by mere inches, and only one small movement from either of us would close the distance. Butterflies erupted inside my abdomen as I imagined what it would be like to press my lips to his.
“You can hold on to the pommel there,” Talon said, his voice a little gruff as he pointed to a rolled piece of leather that provided a handhold when in flight. “Ready?”
I did as he asked and then nodded. In the next instant, Neo gave a few pumps of his powerful wings and launched himself into the air. I had a death grip on the pommel, but then I found it wasn’t necessary. Talon held me close to his chest, where I could feel his taut muscles flex.
Neo caught an air current that carried us high above almost instantly, and with his wings spread wide, we glided above the pasture. In no time at all, Shazeera looked like she was the size of a sheep from our lofty height.
But it wasn’t the earth I was looking at; it was the sky, the blue above and around us seeming to stretch on forever. The wind didn’t tear at my eyes and hair this time. With nowhere pressing to be, Neo rode the currents, making small adjustments with the feathers of his wings, but rarely having to flap them. We were gliding through the air, between craggy mountains, and as I looked down at the world below, it made me lightheaded. I knew I should be afraid to be so high up, but all I felt was this immense sense of freedom. Which was ridiculous considering whom I was flying with. This man was once my worst enemy, but now, somehow, he had become a confidant, and ally, and hopefully, a coconspirator.
“Are you all right?” Talon asked, leaning forward so I could hear him. The air around us was frigid, but he radiated warmth.
“The view just makes it a little hard to breathe. It’s all so beautiful.”
“That’s not just the view,” he said and made a gesture with his hand, catching Neo’s eye. “The mountain air is thin. I’m going to have Neo fly lower because you aren’t used to it.”
“Is that why I feel so dizzy?” I asked with a laugh that was lost on the breeze.
