She had never seen him portal before. He had promised she would someday, but she had never really believed him.
Now, she wasn’t sure what to believe anymore.
He didn’t dismount, and she took a deep breath, approaching Varax with slow steps, giving herself time to try and tamp down the tidal wave of emotions rising within her. Seeing him brought far too much relief that she wanted to blame on the new bond between them. Deep down, in a place she would not admit to, she knew this was the same feeling she had experienced each time he’d come back to her in the years before.
“We need to go quickly,” he said quietly, extending a hand. “Before they realize I’m here.”
She had wondered that—if the principals could sense a presence like his.
Begrudgingly, she took his hand, but as their palms brushed, his touch sent a spark of something electric up her arm. He must have felt it too, because his fingers twitched against hers. She forced herself to meet his eyes, aglow with amber-gold. He didn’t even bother to hide the embers around her anymore.
That’s new. You don’t usually shock me when we touch.
His eyes widened slightly before he corrected himself and his expression flattened again. Probably because she’d just willingly used the pathway. But he didn’t address her words, merely muttering, “Hold on.”
She did as he said, wrapping her arms around his torso. For just a moment, before she went back to hating him, before she accused him of deceiving and betraying her, she let herself lean into his solid frame. Once, flying had been one of the few times he allowed her so close, and she had relished every second of it. Now, every time she felt him breathe against her, it was bittersweet.
Varax shook her head, obviously agitated as Morgen reached out a hand, the other still resting on the saddle. Nya watched the air around his fingertips begin to warp and glisten, turning the same shade of silver as ether before it spread wide.
Now, Varax.His voice sounded slightly strained, and she tightened her arms in anticipation as the dragon spread her wings and took off.
It was over in the blink of an eye, but in that breath of a second, she swore she saw a thousand blinking stars strung with silver.
She opened her mouth to ask about it as they slammed onto a slab of rock that jutted off the mountain, but she stopped shortas Morgen’s entire body shuddered and then went completely limp behind her.
“Morgen?”
She tried again.
Morgen?
Her pulse skyrocketed. A sharp pain started at the center of her chest and spread, racing down her body with frightening speed. It felt like she was being ripped apart from the inside, and she almost expected to see blood when she pressed her hand to skin. Something wasverywrong, but she couldn’t make sense of it.
“I told him not to do it!” a familiar voice called over the wind around them. “The bastard can be really stupid sometimes,especiallywhen it comes to you.”
Nya took a short, pained breath. Carus was waiting just below, his hands on his hips, as if he’d been expecting them.
“Let go of him,” Carus said, scowling. “He deserves to hit the ground in a heap and wake up with a sore head, but I’m a good friend.”
She didn’t move or let go of Morgen’s arm, which she had grabbed without realizing. Carus glared at her, and despite the pain and panic, she narrowed her eyes.
Carus groaned, throwing his hands up in the air. “Oh, relax, sweetheart, I’ll catch him.” He shook his head, adding more quietly, “Fates, there’s two of you now.”
The pain peaked, and Nya forced herself to let go of Morgen, her heart in her throat. Despite the fact that Morgen was a few inches taller than him, Carus caught his limp body without much struggle, and when Nya practically fell off Varax’s back too, Morgen opened his eyes, muttering, “The fuck are you looking at me like that for, Carus?”
Suddenly and all at once, the unexplainable pain disappeared.
Carus snorted obnoxiously. “Oh, good morning to you too.”
“And why are you hugging me?”
With a long-suffering sigh, Carus rolled his eyes. “First of all, you’re welcome. I really wanted to drop you. Second of all, you are an idiot. And if you’re wondering exactly how you fell into my arms—ask your wife.”
It took Morgen a moment to make sense of those last words, and Nya understood why. Their marriage didn’t feel real, and for Carus to reference it so casually was a harsh slap of reality.
Morgen blinked a few times, evidently still regaining a grasp on his surroundings. When he saw her standing over him, scowling, hegrinned.
Gods, he was really smilingat her, broadly and unrestrained.
