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“Wait!” I shouted.
He looked over his shoulder. Even from this distance, I could see his irritation.
“Warm up first. Move the injured wing. Slowly.”
He obeyed, raising and lowering it several times. The connection between us pulsed faintly with every movement.
“No pain?” I asked.
“None.”
Cairn stepped forward. “Keep the first flight short.”
“I know how to fly.”
“I thought I could still fly too, and I almost killed Georgie and myself. Don’t make the same mistake.”
Sten ignored him.
He crouched, then launched himself into the air.
My heart seemed to stop.
Both wings opened fully. They caught the wind and lifted him higher, carrying him across the field.
This time, he didn’t drop.
He beat his wings once, twice, gaining height before banking towards the hills. Sunlight moved over the thin membranes, turning their edges almost translucent.
The connection inside me stretched but didn’t weaken. I felt the moment before he turned, a shift in the pull between us. He circled back towards the lodge, faster now.
I had never seen anyone look so free.
Sten laughed.
The sound carried across the field, deep and joyful. I hadn’t heard him laugh before. I wanted to hear it again.
He flew past us and rose into the air once more. Cairn joined him, his larger wings cutting through the sky. They circled each other, turning and diving like birds at play.
Or warriors showing off.
Probably both.
Georgie moved closer to me. “They need this.”
“I know.”
“I’ve never seen Cairn fly with another gharrgoil. He’s missed his brothers so much.”
“Brothers? I thought they were friends.”
“They are. But as close as brothers. Maybe even closer. I just wish we knew where Hallr is. We’ve spent weeks searching every record I could unearth, but nothing. Absolutely nothing.”
Sten dived towards us. For one alarming moment, it looked as though he was going to hit the ground. Then his wings opened and he landed several paces away.
Mud sprayed around his feet.
He was breathing hard, but his wing appeared stable. He was grinning widely.
