Chapter 6 Lexa
LEXA
I stood beneath the sky vent, pack strapped tight across my shoulders, weapons checked for the third time in as many minutes. My fingers found the knife at my belt, traced the familiar grip, released it. Found it again.
Restless energy crawled under my skin.
I was early. Patience had been impossible after Nyx's declaration an hour ago, my mind churning through scenarios and contingencies and the simple, unavoidable fact that I was about to spend days alone with him in the wilderness.
Bad idea. Strategically sound, but personally catastrophic.
I needed his wings. Needed his knowledge of the terrain, the predators, the route to Ignarath. Needed his combat skills and his ability to navigate Volcaryth's brutal landscape.
Without him, I'd be dead before I made it halfway.
With him, we were going to end up fucking.
The thought sent heat spiraling through my core. My thighs clenched. I could still feel the phantom sensation from the dreams, the stretch and burn and fullness that left me gasping awake in tangled sheets.
This was going to be a disaster.
But the alternative was staying in Scalvaris while Larissa and the others suffered somewhere. While Kira waited for news that might never come. While the Blade Council congratulated themselves on making the practical decision.
I'd take the disaster.
My hand dipped into the small pouch at my belt, fingers closing around smooth stone.
A river rock from Colorado, palm-sized and worn smooth by water.
I'd grabbed it without thinking when I packed, some stupid superstitious part of me needing the familiar weight.
A grounding point. Proof that I'd survived other difficult situations and could survive this one too.
Even if surviving meant losing the last shreds of my self-control around a gray-scaled warrior who looked at me like I was something precious.
Footsteps echoed from the tunnel behind me. My pulse kicked up before my brain caught up.
Nyx emerged from the shadows carrying his own pack. Larger than mine, designed to distribute weight across his broader frame and allow him to still fly.
Silence stretched between us, charged with everything we hadn't said, everything that had almost happened at the hidden exit before he'd agreed to come with me.
His scent reached me across the space. I breathed through my mouth, trying to minimize the impact.
It didn't work.
"We’ll head northeast," he said, his voice dropping into the clipped efficiency of mission briefing. "We'll fly through the night while the air is cooler. Rest during the day in whatever shelter we can find. It will take us three days to reach Ignarath's outer territory if we push hard."
Three days alone with him. Pressed against his body during flight. Sharing shelter. Sleeping in close quarters.
My blood heated at the thought. Fuck. No. I had to ignore it.
"What are we waiting for,” I said.
He crossed the space between us. Each step slow, giving me time to object, to back away. I held my ground.
He stopped close enough that I had to tilt my head back to maintain eye contact. His wings shifted, a subtle movement that drew my attention to the breadth of his shoulders, the powerful build designed for endurance.
His arms came around me. Careful. Giving me space to refuse even as he drew me against his chest. One arm beneath my knees, the other supporting my back.
His heartbeat thudded against my ear. Steady. Strong. The rhythm of it traveled through my body, syncing with my own pulse until I couldn't tell where his ended and mine began.
His tail coiled around my waist. The appendage was thick and muscular, the scales smooth against my leathers. It settled low on my hips, the tip resting against my lower belly.
I stopped breathing.
"Hold on," he said.
My arms went around his neck without conscious decision. My fingers found the ridges of scales at his nape, the vulnerable place where neck met shoulders. His skin was warm there, softer than the scales covering the rest of him.
He launched.
The ground fell away. My stomach dropped, then swooped upward as his wings caught air. The sky vent rushed past, stone walls blurring into darkness. Then we were through, bursting into Volcaryth's night.
The moon hung overhead, smaller than Earth's but brighter.
Its light painted the landscape in shades of silver and shadow.
Below us, the desert stretched endlessly, sand still radiating heat from the twin suns' punishing attention.
In the distance, a lava flow cut a river of fire through the darkness, the sight both beautiful and terrifying.
Nyx's wings beat steadily. The rhythm was hypnotic, each stroke powerful and controlled. Wind rushed past, cooler than the air inside Scalvaris but still carrying the planet's inherent heat.
I should focus on the tactical advantages of this vantage point. Should be scanning for threats, memorizing landmarks, planning contingencies.
But in his grip, I was drowning in sensation.
His scent surrounded me, intensified by proximity and the wind carrying it directly to my face. Every breath pulled it deeper into my lungs. My head felt light, dizzy with want.
His chest rose and fell against my side. I could feel each breath, the expansion of his ribs, the way his muscles shifted with the effort of flight. His arm beneath my knees adjusted occasionally, making sure I was secure. His tail tightened fractionally each time, a reflexive protection.
This was nothing like training flights.
This was intimate. Personal. His body cradling mine like I was something that mattered, something worth protecting.
My fingers traced the scales at his nape without permission. The texture fascinated me, smooth in one direction, slightly rough in the other. I found the edge where scales gave way to softer skin and followed it.
His wings stuttered. Just once, barely noticeable. But I felt it.
I was affecting him too.
The knowledge sent heat pooling low in my belly. The dreams had been bad enough, but this was worse. This was real. His body against mine, his strength surrounding me, the undeniable proof that whatever this thing between us was, it went both ways.
I was going to sleep with him.
The certainty settled over me even stronger than before. Maybe not tonight, maybe not tomorrow, but before this journey ended, I would know what he felt like inside me. Would learn if reality matched the dreams that had been tormenting me for weeks.
The thought should terrify me. Should make me pull away, establish boundaries, protect what was left of my emotional distance.
But I relaxed into his hold. Let my head rest against his shoulder. Felt his tail shift in response, coiling tighter, pulling me closer.
Dangerous. This was so fucking dangerous.
But I was already committed to this insanity. Might as well go all the way.
The flight continued. Minutes blurred into an hour.
Volcaryth's landscape passed beneath us, alien and hostile and strangely beautiful.
Nyx flew with the confidence of someone who knew these skies, adjusting altitude to catch thermals, banking around rock formations that rose like teeth from the desert floor.
His tail shifted again. The movement was subtle, the appendage sliding fractionally lower on my waist. The tip pressed just above the juncture of my thighs.
My breath caught.
Did he know what he was doing? Was this intentional or just an unconscious adjustment for better security?
His wings beat steadily. His breathing remained even. But I could feel tension in the arm supporting my back, a tightness that spoke of control carefully maintained.
He knew.
Desire flooded through me.
Could he tell? Drakarn senses were sharper than human. He probably knew exactly what his proximity was doing to me.
The thought should embarrass me. It sent another surge of heat through my core.
Fuck.
I was in so much trouble.
Nyx's body went rigid.
The change was instant. One moment, he was relaxed, wings beating in steady rhythm. The next, every muscle locked. His tail constricted around my waist, pulling me tighter against his chest.
"What …," I started.
"Quiet."
The word was barely a breath. His head turned, scanning the sky behind us. I twisted in his arms, trying to see what had spooked him.
Shapes moved against the stars. Large. Multiple. Wings spread wide, riding the thermals with predatory efficiency.
"Firebirds," Nyx said. His voice had dropped into something flat and dangerous. "Apex predators. Highly territorial."
The shapes grew closer. I could make out details now. Massive bodies, easily twice Nyx's size. Beaks designed for tearing. Talons that gleamed like blades. Wings that spanned wide enough to block out sections of sky. They looked like freaking pterodactyls.
There were at least six of them.
"Can you outfly them?" I asked.
"Not while carrying you."
The flock was descending, cutting off our route. Herding us like prey.
Nyx's wings shifted, changing our trajectory. He dove. The ground rushed up to meet us, rock formations that had seemed small from altitude suddenly looming huge.
My stomach lurched. I locked my arms around his neck, trusting him completely because I had no other choice.
The dive was controlled chaos. Wind screamed past. Nyx's wings were tucked tight, his body a missile aimed at a rocky outcropping below.
We were going to hit. Going to crash into stone at terminal velocity and shatter.
His wings snapped open.
The deceleration was brutal. My body strained against his hold, physics trying to tear me from his arms. His tail tightened until I couldn't breathe. Then we were down, his feet hitting rock with an impact that nearly cracked stone.
He set me down. Fast but careful, making sure I had my footing before releasing me.
"Take cover," he ordered.
Then he was moving. Positioning himself between me and the sky. His wings spread wide, a barrier of scale and membrane. His claws extended, painted black and deadly sharp.
The firebirds circled above. Their screeches cut through the night, high-pitched and furious. Territorial warnings. Promises of violence.
One dove.
Nyx met it mid-air. The collision was devastating. Claws against talons, his blade appearing in his hand like magic. He drove it into the creature's chest, twisted, yanked free. Dark blood sprayed across the rocks.
The firebird screamed and retreated.
Two more dove together in a coordinated attack. Nyx's wings beat once, hard, lifting him just high enough to avoid the first set of talons. His tail whipped out, caught the second firebird across the face. Bone crunched.
He was magnificent.
I'd seen Drakarn warriors fight in training. Had sparred with them, learned their techniques. But this was different. This was Nyx unleashed, all his skill and strength focused on a single purpose.
Protecting me.
One of the firebirds opened its beak. Fire erupted, a stream of superheated air that turned the rocks around us into an oven. Nyx dove, rolled, came up in a new position.
Holy fucking shit. Fire. Birds. The name was descriptive. Another reminder that Volcaryth was a hell planet, bent on destruction.
The fire missed him by inches. But it forced him to adjust. To move. To create an opening.
Another firebird dove through the gap.
Straight at me.
Training took over. I drew my knife, dropped into a fighting stance. The creature was huge, its wingspan blocking out everything else.
I waited. Let it commit. Let it get close enough that I could see the intelligence in its eyes, the cruel hunger.
Then I moved.
Under the talons, inside its guard. My knife found the soft tissue beneath its wing joint. I dragged the blade down, opening a gash that fountained blood. The firebird shrieked, trying to pull away.
I went with it. Held onto my embedded knife and let its movement carry me upward. My free hand found another target, the vulnerable spot where neck met body. I drove my fist into it, felt cartilage give.
The creature's beak swung toward me. Massive. Designed to crush bone.
I released my knife and dropped. Hit the ground hard, rolled. The beak snapped shut on empty air.
The firebird was wounded. Bleeding. But not done. It turned, focusing on me with single-minded intensity.
Fire built in its throat. I could see the glow, feel the heat gathering.
I dove behind a rock formation as fire washed over my previous position. The heat was intense even through stone. The smell of burnt hair filled my nostrils. My own.
The firebird landed. Stalking me now, moving around the rock with predatory patience.
I gripped my second knife. One chance. I had to make it count.
It rounded the corner. Beak open. Fire building again.
I threw.
The blade tumbled end over end and buried itself in the firebird's eye. The creature reared back, screaming. I didn't wait. I launched myself at it, grabbed my first knife still embedded in its wing, and drove it into the thing's throat.
Blood sprayed, hot and thick. Coated my hands, my face, my chest. The firebird collapsed, taking me down with it.
I rolled clear. Came up breathing hard, covered in gore.
Nyx roared.
The sound shook the rocks. Primal. Furious. Absolutely terrifying.
The remaining firebirds scattered. Their screeches faded into the distance as they fled whatever they'd heard in that roar.
Silence fell.
My legs were shaking. Adrenaline crashed through my system, making my hands tremble, my vision blurred at the edges. I'd killed it. Actually killed a monster the size of a small airplane.
Pride surged through me. Fierce and hot.
Then pain hit.
My shoulder. My side. Fire racing along nerve endings, sharp and immediate. I looked down. My leathers were shredded. Blood welled from gashes, dark and viscous.
The firebird's talons had caught me. I hadn't even felt it during the fight.
"Lexa."
Nyx's voice. When had he gotten so close?
My legs gave out.
He caught me. Arms around my waist, supporting my weight. His face filled my vision, silver eyes wide with something that looked like terror.
"Stay with me," he said. An order. A plea.
I tried to answer. My mouth wouldn't work. The world was tilting, colors bleeding into each other. Shock. I was going into shock.
His hand pressed against my side, trying to slow the bleeding. It hurt. God, it hurt.
"Kyvara, stay conscious. Look at me."
That word again. The one he wouldn't explain. It sounded important. Like it meant something.
I wanted to ask. Wanted to demand answers. Wanted to tell him I'd killed a fucking firebird, and he should be impressed.
But darkness was creeping in at the edges. Soft. Inviting. So much easier than fighting.
His face was the last thing I saw. Those silver eyes, desperate and fierce. His mouth moving, words I couldn't hear over the rushing in my ears.
I was safe. That was the last coherent thought I managed. He wouldn't let me die.
Then the darkness took me.