Kestrel’s vision was still blurry when a hand wrapped around hers.
She brought her shocked gaze up to meet Leighton’s bright blue eyes. He was so much taller than her, she had to crane her neck back just to meet his eyes, but she was drawn to them like the tide was drawn to the coast.
“I’m sorry I made you feel like a mistake. You were not. You were…a reprieve. You gave me a chance to experience something I never thought I’d get to experience.”
She felt herself leaning closer, a moth drawn to a flame. “And what’s that?”
“Fancying a girl as beautiful as a sunset,” he said, but then his smirk faded and an intensity swept through him that made her dizzy. His other hand came up to the side of her neck, a thumb brushing her chin. “That and following my heart to give said girl my first kiss.”
A first kiss for him as well? Kestrel wasn’t sure she believed her ears. Except he was looking down at her the way she felt like she was looking at him. With so much longing. So much desire. She was inclined to believe him. To believe that kissmeant as much to him as it did her. To believe that they both wanted another.
Slowly, Kestrel lifted herself onto her toes.
Their lips drew nearer, his breath hot on her mouth.
She could almost taste him already.
“Kestrel!”
It was as if that single shout was a great war hammer, cleaving the space between them. The two of them jumped backward, although Kestrel was fairly certain if anyone had been watching, they had already seen enough to guess what was about to happen.
“Kestrel! Come quick!”
She spun around to find Micah waving his arms and jumping up and down off in the distance, a plume of dust billowing around him. She glanced back to Leighton, questioning.
“Go,” he said with a soft smile. “I need to check-in with my second-in-command and update them on our plan anyway.”
As much as she would’ve rather stayed locked in Leighton’s embrace, she also didn’t want to stand between him and his duties.
It took everything in her to leave him, and with the fox weaving in and out of her feet, she ran to meet Micah.
“What is it? Is something wrong?” she asked, trying to minimize the irritation in her tone.
“Not wrong,” he said, angling his body to the wooden contraption behind him. This one looked more like a boat instead of a cart, with a long, canoe-like board under either side that made it look perfect for gliding across the sands. Micah held out his arms dramatically. “Have you ever steered a sand-glider before?”
“No?” she said, the irritation already waning, replaced with excitement instead. “I can’t say that I even knew what?—”
Grabbing her hand, Micah jerked her up onto the deck. The sand-glider swayed a bit with each of their bounding strides, but the depressions of sand it was nestled into kept it sturdy enough that they were able to reach the helm.
Micah slapped her hands atop the great, wooden wheel, and Kestrel’s jaw fell slack.
“Are you—are you sure you want me to steer?”
He gave her back a hearty slap. “Are you kidding me? You haven’t lived until you’ve tried it!”
Kestrel bit her lip, feeling hesitant but also not wanting to discourage him. After all, wasn’t this what she wanted? A chance to live? To be an adventurer?
Her fingers gripped the wheel tighter, a smile already emerging on her lips as she gazed across the desert ahead of them.
“What do I do?” she asked.
Micah hooted and jumped in celebration. The sand-glider wobbled, and they both cast each other worried glances, but once it righted itself again, they were both laughing.
“It’s easy, little bird,” he said. “And I’ll be right here the whole time to guide you.”
Kestrel suddenly felt like she had never been more ready for anything in her entire life. “Well then, I believe my adventuring starts here.”
Chapter 11
