Chapter 34
My wings stretch out, my shoulders raising up to damn near my ears, as I beat them hard once, then twice. My toes come off the ground a few inches before they sink back into the dirt.
How am I ever going to learn to fly? I can’t even get my feet off the ground.
“We willna ha’ time to strengthen those muscles in a week,” Lachlan’s voice carries across the grounds from the archway.
My face flushes with color once more at being caught struggling to fly.
“We might manage learning how to glide. It’s a pity Evander could nae ha’ said one month and nae one week.”
I vanish my wings away as he approaches me.
He takes sure, calculated steps, spreading his wings.
The black feathers gobble up the high noon light, casting an enormous shadow directly below him.
He springs into the air, his wings beat once, launching him sky high, where he begins flying in lazy circles above the grounds.
“Show off,” I mutter beneath my breath.
Lachlan lands with grace in front of me, kicking up a cloud of dust. He tucks his wings into his body and I marvel at how easily he can move them. My movements are shaky at best.
“We willna ha’ time to go back to Ishtar for the soft sand, either. We’ll ha’ to figure something else out.”
Time.
There’s that word again, reminding me of what we don’t have.
“That’s where I can help!” Mina chirps as she bounces through the archway and towards us.
Our heads whip around, not having heard her approach at all.
“How so?” I ask. Her chestnut hair used to curl delicately right at her chin, but now it grazes the tops of her shoulders as she waltzes our way.
My body goes boneless.
The ground slips out from beneath my feet, as I’m held aloft by invisible hands.
“Holy shit!” I squeal.
Mina and Lachlan laugh at my reaction before Mina sets me back on the ground.
“Some warning would have been nice!” I bend over, resting my hands on my knees. The leather is still cool under my touch despite the rapidly warming day.
She grimaces. Her nose scrunches up and tugs at her freckles. “Sorry.”
“That’s a good idea. How high could ye lift her? And can ye keep her from falling?”
My legs still wobble beneath me as I get accustomed to solid ground once more.
Mina shrugs. “Probably.”
“Probably? Yeah—that’s a problem. I don’t want to go splat.” I slam my fist into my palm for emphasis. Lachlan rolls his eyes.
“I think it’ll be fine.” Mina looks me up and down. “You don’t weigh any more than Harald. And I need to work more with my power to strengthen it.”
“You dropped Harald yesterday!” My words come out high and squeaky.
“I slammed him on purpose!” she argues back. Her hands settle on her hips and she gives me a flat look, daring me to argue with her logic.
“Alright, so we don’t slam our queen to the ground,” Lachlan adds, nodding and tucking me into his side.
I can’t believe they’re ganging up on me like this.
“We’re not ganging up on ye.” Lachlan’s words echo my thoughts. “But this is important. Ye dinna ken how invaluable this could be in combat.”
He’s not wrong. Flying could shave off valuable seconds of time that running could not. Meaning life or death for me, or someone I love. My gaze hovers over Mina and then Lachlan. I would do anything to save them. Even if it means nearly dying to learn how.
I give the barest dip of my head, signaling my agreement.
“Let’s try it again before the others get here. Tane is trying to track down Piominko, so we have some time.” Mina offers.
“Alright fine,” I huff, steeling my muscles for the lack of gravity. “But the moment you get tired, we stop.”
Lachlan takes a step back, giving us space, and raises his wings out.
“Mina is going to raise ye into the current. Ye should be able to feel it. As soon as ye get close to it, begin opening your wings.”
Mina’s body stiffens as she concentrates. A small divot in between her brows forms as my feet leave the ground. The food in my stomach tilts side to side, and I spread my arms out trying to balance myself in mid-air. I’m reluctantly grateful that I didn’t consume my normally large breakfast.
Higher and higher I climb.
The tops of the trees rise into my view. The wind changes up here, becomes thicker, more tangible in a way I hadn’t realized before.
“Open your wings!” Lachlan shouts. “Listen to the wind!”
I unfurl my wings from my body. The feathers catch and hold the air. My back tenses and loosens as I work to hold my wings open.
My body pitches forward as more feathers catch the current, and instinctively my arms pinwheel as if I were falling.
Mina’s invisible hands tighten their grip, giving me the steadiness I need to regain my balance.
“Lean forward,” she yells. “I’m going to let go!”
They both look so small from up here. Trees sway in the breeze below me, and I look out across the capital.
A sparkling sea beyond it. The sound of waves can’t be heard, but somehow I can still hear it whisper my name.
Mountains glitter behind me and the rainbows from far away waterfalls cast brilliant beams into the sky.
I lean forward, and feel the hands slip away.
My wings snap open even wider, the tendons stretching and pulling as they grasp the current and hold me aloft.
A breath slips from my lips as I glide and not plummet back down to the earth.
“Stay in the current!” Lachlan orders, shielding his eyes from the sun as he stares up at me.
His words barely make it to my ears over the sound of the wind. It’s like a song that weaves through my blood. The melody and notes are foreign, yet familiar.
I tighten my back to raise my wings, but I rise too far and rise above the current.
The air propelling me is gone, and I drop.
My wings catch the current when I dip and I’m launched back up, but the quick motions have my abs tensing, tilting me too far forward and down.
Out of the current completely.
I’m in a free fall. The ground rises up to meet me.
Time slows, my heart falls into my stomach, and I raise my hands in front of my face to save it from slamming into the dirt.
But invisible hands coil around me, stopping me a mere foot from colliding head-first with the ground.
“Oof!” Air is pushed out of my lungs as my body sags hard in her grip before crumpling to the ground when she drops me.
“Sorry!” she cries. “I thought you’d get your legs underneath you when I caught you!”
Dirt sticks to my cheek as I lay sprawled on my stomach.
“Ugh.” I groan, vanishing my wings away and rolling onto my back.
Lachlan and Mina peer at me from where I lay on the ground.
“That was nae a bad first try,” Lachlan says. He squats down, wiping the dirt off my cheek with tender strokes.
“Yeah, you glided for a while!” Mina replies, encouragement beaming from her smile.
A slow clap sounds from underneath the archway.
I push up onto my elbows to see Luna leaning against the wooden beam.
“Very nice. Just drop her from a tree next time,” she says. Sarcasm dripped from each word.
“Do ye ha’ any better ideas?” Lachlan drawls, squaring up for what will undoubtedly be the first of many verbal spars between them today.
“Yeah. Make sure she has her bearing before you drop her on the ground.” She looks at Mina as she says the words.
“It was an accident.” Mina pouts. She looks down at her boots as she answers.
“We can’t afford accidents. Especially with our queen.” Luna’s words turn sharp, and while I agree with the sentiment, we can’t afford to waste time that we don’t have.
“Thank you, Luna. But I agreed to this. And we’re out of time.”
“Your time will come to an even sooner end if you keep getting dropped like that,” she replies, rolling her eyes heavenward.
“Enough.” I take Lachlan’s outstretched hand and stand. “I got it.”
Dirt crunches behind us, and I turn in time to see Harald, Evander, Mathilda, Tane, and Piominko walking our way.
“Looks like we’re all here then.” I dust the dust off my leathers and bring my wings back out.
A gentle wind floats across the grounds, rustling my silver feathers and cooling the burn of the sun. It’s going to be a hot one today.
Gathered in a circle, I glance at each one of my friends. We have so little time, and I don’t even know where to start. Lachlan shifts on his feet beside me, and I glance to the side, catching his stern expression. Right. I need to be in training mode.
“If you’re not already warm, run a few laps. If you are warm, let’s stretch out and start with sparring.” My order is met with nods. Mathilda, Tane, and Evander jog while the rest of us spread and stretch.
Before long, we’re partnered up and sparring.
Evander and Luna.
Mathilda and Mina.
Tane and Piominko.
Lachlan and I.
Harald flits from group to group, inciting anger, or correcting forms. Most of it just incites anger.
Swords clash, spears whirl around, and grunts reverberate.
I take a deep breath, trying my hardest to silence the world around me to focus on my powers. My failure to fly still weighs heavily on me, like an oppressive fog it clouds my mind. But I master my breathing and do my best to clear it away.
My skin tingles. Lachlan’s planned moves spark in my mind before they happen. I move accordingly, blocking each blow. A grin spreads across his face.
“Good,” he breathes.
The glow from my skin bounces off his green eyes, making them look mystical.
I lunge at him, raising my axe up at the same time.
He swings his sword down, blocking the attack easily, and he doesn’t rebound as hard as Julius once had.
His arms flex, the muscles rippling with the movement.
It would normally be an enjoyable sight, but he fights with his wings out.
The gleaming feathers in the sun’s rays are another reminder of my shortcomings.
He takes a step towards me, our weapons still locked together. A mischievous glint sparkles in his eyes as his lips pull to one corner.
“Good, but not great,” he says. Harald stops near us, his brows knitting together as he watches.
Anger floods me and before I can stop myself I throw my head forward, headbutting the smirk off his face.
Lachlan stumbles backward, his eyes flaring with shock. But Harald clutches his stomach as he shakes with laughter. “I’ve seen many a shield-maiden do that. Watch out for your balls next!”
A laugh erupts out of Lachlan, tumbling straight from his chest.
“I take it back!” He laughs. “You’re doing great.”
His words barely permeate the fog of fury that surrounds me. I am furious—with everything. With our situation we find ourselves stuck in, the trials we’ve already gone through, with myself for not mastering flying. With the very gods who are not here when we need them.
I am angry.
Widening my stance, I prepare once again, and tune everything outside of us out. I say nothing to Lachlan and he grins fiendishly.
“Great for a lass.”
I explode.
Throwing myself and weapons at him in a chaotic mess of wrath. Lachlan stays cool and collected, batting my advances away with ease.
I see red.
All the stress, anxiety, fear, and guilt flood my senses. I don’t control my breathing, or even see his moves before they happen.
I work purely on unreliable, messy instincts.
And it fails.
Lachlan lets me wear myself out against his blade. He takes a calculated step to the side and doubles back, tripping me up.
I fall flat on my back, having tripped over my own gods damned feet like a novice.
My breathing comes out in gasps as I choke on the cloud of dust that floats up around me.
Lachlan squats beside me, resting his elbows on his knees before reaching out with a hand to tap my nose.
“Ye alright?”
I glare at him. My chest heaves as I suck in air through clenched teeth.
“Ye just needed to work it out of your system, Key. Try it again, but this time not with anger.”
I stand up, dusting myself off. Today is not my day. Lachlan stands slowly next to me, his green eyes missing nothing as he watches the multitude of emotions flit across my face.
“Maybe a break would be better,” he offers. “Go take a walk.”
I walk away. Away from my friends and the people that matter most to me. They continue training, continue trying to better themselves in the small amount of time we have left, because we’re all that stand in the way of evil.
But right now, I’m standing in my own way. And I don’t know how to get out of it.