67. The Weave
C old crisp air engulfed Aeden’s face as he breathed in deeply when they surfaced from the water. He panted heavily as he heaved, he wanted to vomit, he wanted to cough up all of the water he must have ingested, but he didn’t have any time to think.
Nyra wasn’t only glowing, she was aflame. From head to toe, her whole body was coated in ethereal magic. Pressurised air pushed against Aeden, threatening to dismount him from his riding seat.
“What the . . .?” Aeden said as he desperately clung on to Nyra’s back.
There was something different about the flames.
Aeden felt a warmth from them but it was more comforting than anything, soothing almost. He couldn’t feel any heat whatsoever, nor did his skin blister like it would if he put his hand too close to a naked flame.
Within moments they were clear from the water and continuing upwards, Nyra’s wide, burning wings rising and falling as they took flight .
“We’re flying, Nyra!”
“ We are ,” she replied. She was concentrating, but there was no denying that the two of them were soaring through the sky.
Nyra let out an almighty roar as she took flight for the first time, circling around as she got used to her newfound power.
“H-How?” Aeden asked. He was lost for words, his chest still heaving from nearly drowning just a few moments ago. “How are you flying?”
He looked down at her wings, which were coated in ghost-like flames, and then he looked at his hands in disbelief. They were not burning. Sure, they felt warm, but Nyra was somehow aflame, somehow flying, and somehow the fire was not affecting him.
“ Nyra, what’s going on? ” Aeden asked, confusion gripping him like a vice.
“ As I said, there is a lot to explain, Aeden. This is my true form, a form that you have awakened .”
“You’re beautiful,” he said, still dumbfounded. Keeping one hand tightly on the saddle, he fumbled around with his free hand until he found the harness to click himself into. There was no mistaking it now; if he was to be unseated, it would mean certain death.
Beneath them the lake rippled. The mountains in the distance were dusted with snow, the tree tops of the forest looking more like broccoli than trees.
It was mesmerising, and Aeden savoured the view for a moment, relieved at the fact that he wasn’t afraid of heights.
He was alive, having nearly drowned, and not for the first time.
He would be quite happy if he never set foot in the lake again .
He took the moment to appreciate Nyra in this form. Beneath the flames he could see her body. Her bindings were missing from her wings, but it was still her underneath.
“What is this form?” Aeden asked. “W-What are you?”
“ I’m a phoenix ,” she said. “ It’s all coming back to me now, Aeden. Just know that without you, this wouldn’t be possible .” She whirled around in the air once more, letting out an almighty roar that ricocheted down the valley as she swooped down towards the lake at hurtling speed.
Joy swept through Aeden’s core as his own and Nyra’s feelings merged into one. His adrenaline spiking, he gripped hold of the front of the saddle so tightly that his knuckles went bone white.
Nyra swayed from side to side, gliding through the air with precision and grace. Taking a moment to peer over the edge, Aeden saw the reflection of him and Nyra as they glided across the surface of the water, and that was when he noticed that the flames coating around Nyra had engulfed him, too.
“You’re a phoenix?” Aeden said.
“ I can’t keep this form for too long, as our Weave isn’t strong enough to maintain it, but yes. I am a phoenix .”
“I have so many questions,” Aeden said, his mind faltering as they all came rushing to the forefront of his mind. He didn’t know where to start, he didn’t know what to think. The sensation of flying through the sky was so much more than what he had ever expected it to be.
Distant roars echoed across the lake, and Aeden looked over his shoulder.
Smoke rose from beyond the forest, billowing up into the sky .
“Shit, the academy! Nyra, we have to go back, we have to help.”
Nyra rose up into the sky once more, turning to face the direction of the academy.
Another roar rang out, this one closer, different, one that Aeden remembered. When he looked up, it was Orion, sitting atop his griffin and bearing down on them at a high velocity.
“Go!”
Nyra used her wings to pick up speed as Orion swung by dangerously close.
“I was right!” Orion bellowed. “You are the bloodline we were searching for! It will be a frightful shame to have to kill a phoenix!” He didn’t seem fazed by Nyra’s new appearance, like all of this wasn’t new to him.
Aeden didn’t respond, his focus was on the academy and keeping Orion at a distance.
“ Make sure he doesn’t make eye contact ,” he said, reaching for Nyra through the Weave once more.
He knew all too well what Domination felt like, and he didn’t want to experience that again.
He also didn’t know if Orion was powerful enough to Dominate Nyra, but given what he had seen him make Midnight do, he wasn’t taking any chances.
“What do we do? ” Aeden asked.
Yes, they could fly, but outside of that, he had no idea what to do next.
“ Leave that to me ,” Nyra said, and with a flap of her flaming wings, she soared up higher into the air.
Orion was hot on their tail as the forest they had escaped into quickly came into position underneath them, Nyra continuing to fly higher and higher.
“Hold on tight! ” Nyra said .
“ I can’t hold on any tighter ,” Aeden protested as he continued to grip the handle on the front of the saddle.
As fast as Nyra was, and as beautiful and enchanting as she was in this form, she was still smaller than the griffin that edged closer and closer as they approached the academy.
“You actually think you can outrun us?” Orion laughed. “I will kill both of you on this night, and my master will be most pleased.” He swooped in close to Nyra.
Instinctively, Aeden leaned to the side and Nyra followed without him needing to say a word. The griffin didn’t pull away either as Aeden wrapped the loose reins around his hands before gripping the saddle once more.
At the last moment, the griffin pulled away before the two of them could make contact with one another, letting out a disapproving shriek for Aeden and Nyra’s efforts.
“Are you mad, boy? You’ll kill both of us!” Orion screamed as he gathered himself.
“ That will teach him for getting too close ,” Aeden said through the Weave. “ Let’s get to the academy and help the others .”
As the academy drew closer, Aeden was taken aback by the sheer level of destruction that had unfolded. The academy grounds lay in ruins, stone had crumbled, buildings were destroyed and on fire. The ground was littered with fallen Aer-Kin, from both sides of the battle.
On the ground Aeden could see students looking up, pointing to the sky at him and Nyra. Like him, they would have seen nothing like this before.
“ How do we stop them? ” Aeden asked. “ There are so many of them . ”
“ We fight, Aeden ,” Nyra said as she circled around Aviara Academy. The main spire of the academy was crumbling but not destroyed. A section of the roof was missing, a large hole in the tiles.
Nyra swooped up into the air, dancing around into the sky. Aeden found it hard to keep his bearings until he eventually gathered himself.
Ahead of them was Orion, and they were heading straight towards him and his griffin.
“ I can’t stay in this form for much longer, Aeden. We have to fight whilst we can, we have to get the advantage .” Nyra shrieked as she approached Orion and his griffin, raising her claws towards them as the griffin did the same.
Aeden braced himself for impact, but nothing could have prepared him for the force of the two creatures colliding in mid-air.
Growls, roars, and shrieks were exchanged as hooked claws frantically slashed at each other.
It was all Aeden could manage to keep himself seated as Nyra fought against the larger griffin.
After a few minutes, the two of them separated, both of them falling away before they flapped their wings to steady themselves opposite each other.
“I must admit, I am impressed,” Orion said.
Aeden made sure he kept his eyes away from Orion’s stare. There was no way he was letting him in, not again.
“I won’t let you win,” Aeden said. “You won’t get away with what you’ve done today.”
“Stupid boy, don’t you see? There are no winners in war. ”
His griffin shrieked as it shot forwards at Nyra with alarming speed, this time headfirst, its hooked beak wide as it aimed to bite down on Nyra.
It was too fast for Nyra as it clamped down on her neck.
“Nyra!”
Both Nyra and the griffin moved in a death spin towards the tower of the academy as the griffin clasped tightly on Nyra’s neck.
Nyra flapped her wings as she sought to gain control, the griffin’s claws scratching and raking her sides.
Nyra let out a scream of pain as they continued to fall.
Sitting by wasn’t an option, and Aeden reached for his sword. He swung forwards at the griffin, but he wasn’t close enough to make contact. If he wanted to help Nyra, he needed to get closer, and that meant one thing.
Realisation dawned on him as he looked down at his harness. He was going to have to let go, he was going to have to untether himself.
He let go of the saddle, reached for his safety line, and unhooked it, Nyra’s reins still wrapped around his wrist.
“ Nyra, I’ve got you .”
He didn’t give her time to respond before he pushed up against the force of air around them and lunged forwards, bringing his sword down on the beak of the griffin.