48. Thayla
Thayla
The wind rushes around me, tugging at my hair and carrying the scent of earth across the endless sky beyond the mountain ridge.
No enemy waits below. No impossible choice sits in front of me. Neither life nor power hangs in the balance.
I’m just patiently waiting.
And that feels monumentally more terrifying right now.
V stands at the edge of the ridge. His wings tucked tightly against his body. Beside him, Lestari mirrors his stance, her tail feathers swaying behind her as she watches the horizon.
Between them, their four hatchlings shift impatiently.
They’re still so small, young, and full of the kind of reckless confidence only innocent little beings possess.
The sight still steals my breath.
There was a time when I wondered if the Vedarya would survive at all. A time when I wondered how many more things this realm would take from us. But now, ninety years later…
There are hatchlings.
There’s life. There’s a future.
“Are you nervous?” I ask quietly.
Riven scoffs.
“Absolutely not.”
I raise a brow and he rolls his eyes.
“Okay, maybe a little.”
A smile tugs at my lips.
Beside him, Amick shakes his head, though the grin he’s trying to hide gives him away.
Creed stands a little straighter, his gaze fixed on the sky above us, while Kyzen’s arm brushes against mine. His warmth grounds me despite the anxious excitement racing through my veins.
Seismet lets out a low rumble that vibrates through my chest.
“What in the realm is taking them so long?”
“Don’t you dare rush this moment with your impatient ass,” I grumble.
“Impatient? We’ve been waiting an eternity.”
“We’ll wait another if need be.”
“You’re wasting your breath, Thayla,” Verlet says, although he’s practically bouncing on his hooves. “If he hasn’t learned patience by this point in his life. He never will.”
Before Seismet can say another smart-ass comment, I shush him and suck in a breath as V turns his head.
He’s not glancing at us, but at his family. At Lestari.
At the hatchlings who are about to take their first true flight.
Then he faces the open sky. For a heartbeat, everything stills.
The wind. The voices of our family murmuring behind us. Even my own thoughts. Then he leaps. Lestari follows without hesitation.
The hatchlings…
Oh gods, oh gods.
Their little talons dig into the dirt as they race to the edge. Their tiny bodies plummet after their parents, wings tucked close as they disappear beyond my sight.
I hold my breath, and the silence that follows feels endless.
I know it’s only been a second. Only a breath.
But when you’re watching something precious fall, time has a way of stretching far too—
V bursts upward first, his wings spread wide as he climbs back into the sky. Lestari follows, soaring beside him.
And then the hatchlings.
One. Two. Three. Four.
They shoot upward after their parents, their small wings beating wildly as they catch the current and ride it higher. A laugh bursts from my chest so sudden and full it almost doesn’t feel like mine.
They did it.
They’re flying.
Before anyone can say a word, before my mind can remind me to be careful or sensible or anything other than this impossible happiness…
I run.
The edge races toward me. The wind catches my hair, and my feet leave the ground. I nosedive down the side of the mountain without another thought. For a blissful, timeless moment, I free-fall.
My men, Seismet, and Verlet all fall with me.
And together, our wings snap out.
The rush of wind steals a gasp from my lungs as the air catches beneath me, lifting me higher. My hair whips around my face, and a laugh tears from my chest again.
Seismet’s and Verlet’s power cuts through the air, making it possible for us to breathe and laugh as freely as we need. Their powerful wings don’t have to flap nearly as much as ours, but they keep their pace slow so they can stay beside us.
Ahead of us, V and Lestari glide through the sky, their movements steady and practiced.
The hatchlings…
One dips too far, panics, and flaps harder to correct itself. Another twists awkwardly, completely losing direction before righting back out.
That makes them even more beautiful.
They’re not perfect. They’re learning.
It’s gorgeous.
I push forward, drawing closer to them.
One of the little creatures notices me and lets out a high chirp before dipping beneath me. I twist after it, my laughter carrying into the wind as it loops around me.
Another joins. Then the other two.
Soon, I’m surrounded by tiny wings and excited cries, weaving through the sky with creatures who were once nothing more than a hope.
My heart feels so full it almost hurts.
They grow tired of my attention after a moment and each makes their way to my men. The guys are just as pleased and enthusiastic to play with them as I am. It’s been infuriating having to have patience, but we’ve had it.
Vedarya babies are different than the two grown ones we’re used to.
They’re like raising godly babies. They don’t hatch knowing how to speak in your mind. For weeks, they just want to eat, sleep, and poop. All they care about is their parents.
I’ve been dying for their attention, and over the past month or so, they’ve been giving it to me.
Finally.
Honestly, though, I really think they’ve just learned how much they like getting attention. Not giving it.
While they’re busy playing with the guys, I tilt my body upwards and give my wings a few powerful beats. My arm stretches above my head until my fingers brush through the clouds.
A smile spreads across my face. I’ve made it a habit over the years to touch them every time I’ve gone for a flight.
They were always such a wonder to me. I was a touch disappointed the first time I attempted to sit on one, then sank right through the soft mist. Then my dad told me to place a thin, simple barrier through the middle of one. It’d hold me while I lay on its surface.
It did. A childhood dream I had came true that day.
A hoot reaches me a moment before V flaps to my side. Our wings beat at the same speed, suspending us in the air. I give him a massive, prideful smile as his happiness shines through his teal eyes.
“The children are getting tired,” he says.
“I bet so. Little fearless things dove off the side and took to the sky like it was nothing. They did so good.”
“They’re going to be the death of me with their lack of regard.”
My gaze narrows on him.
“Too soon.”
“Goodness, Thayla girl. It’s been ninety years. Let it go already.”
“Nope. Never.”
He huffs at me, then releases a deep call that echoes across the mountains. Lestari and the hatchlings turn in their spots, heading back toward where the rest of our family is jumping up and down on my mountain ridge.
“Race you back. On my mark—”
“Oh, you cheater,” I yell.
I laugh as he bursts through the air without ever finishing his sentence.
I can’t beat him on my best days, much less when he has a head start.
He’s already reaching the mountain’s edge and I’m just now catching up to my men. Well, I didn’t really catch up; they were waiting for me.
Wicked smiles cross each of their faces, and without a word, we take off. By the time our feet touch the backyard, my cheeks ache from smiling and laughing.
The Veilatara land around us moments later, their wings folding against their bodies as they nudge against one another, clearly pleased with themselves.
I barely have time to catch my breath before my attention is pulled toward all the voices.
Our family has already surrounded the baby Vedaryas.
The little creatures puff their chests out as they stumble around the ridge, soaking up every bit of affection thrown their way. After that first flight, they’re even more unsteady.
Their wobbling makes them more adorable.
Laney kneels beside one, completely captivated as it bumps its beak against her hand.
“Oh, you are precious,” she whispers.
The hatchling chirps proudly.
“Don’t encourage it, Laney girl. I already have my feathers full,” Lestari teases.
Laney looks over at her, faux offense scripted across her forehead.
“I’m not encouraging anything. They love me is all.”
The little creature immediately leans closer to her.
Everyone laughs.
V lowers his head as my mom approaches. Her smile softens as she runs her hand along his back. My dad stands beside her, watching the two of them with the same quiet fondness that always settles over him when he looks at her.
Yemi, her Valtrue, Rose, Lambrit, Mara, her Valtrue, Havar and Seraphine, Meridamus, and Derivius linger nearby, equally fascinated despite having seen the hatchlings a million times already.
Apparently, time doesn’t make them any less enchanting.
And maybe that’s the best part.
Some things are meant to stay extraordinary.
A familiar clap breaks through the chatter, and all our heads whip toward my back door.
“All right,” Annalise calls with Ellian by her side. “As much as I love watching everyone fawn over the littles, dinner is getting cold.”
A chorus of hums and laughter follows.
One by one, everyone begins making their way toward the house, still talking over one another, still stealing glances back at V and Lestari as they attempt to wrangle the hatchlings who are getting their second wind.
I stay behind for just a moment.
Watching.
The mountains. The sky. The people I love piling into my house with the kind of comfort that speaks to how much they visit.
Then Kyzen’s hand finds mine and squeezes. A quiet reminder that I don’t have to stay frozen in beautiful moments anymore.
I get to live in them.
Hours slip by with the same quiet ease they’ve carried for nearly a century. Conversation shifts from one story to the next, laughter rises and falls, empty plates are replaced with cups of tea and slices of pie, and somewhere along the way, the sun quietly gives the sky over to the stars.
Us girls step out onto the porch, letting the cool night settle around us.