As much as I hated that voice, the familiarity of it was like a lightning strike through the gold of the wings, spasming through my spine.
I fell into a space even more familiar than the grief.
My mind went… silent.
It had taken forever to learn that, months and months, then years and years to perfect it, to make it effortless, easy. Now, it was like falling into my own bed.
The switch flicked, and my mind simply stopped.
I had no idea how long it was gone, when…
Sunlight flashed over my face.
My stomach flipped as my body abruptly changed orientation. The wind and my whipping hair no longer hurt my face and neck.
A voice shouted triumphantly, caught on a strong wind, but still loud enough to open my eyes. I turned my head, bewilderedto find myself skimming over the trees. My eyes found the mage with the violet eyes flying alongside me, grinning from ear to ear.
“Nicely done, Shadow,” he called out. “You’re a firster. Got the wings out on a first jump. That’s pretty rare. If you’re any good with a bow, maybe I’ll recruit you onto The Skulls next year…”
Grinning, he saluted me, giving a tip of an imaginary cap.
I watched in awe as he tilted his wings, drew them in sharply, did a barrel roll, then came out of it and grinned as his wings spread wider.
“You try,” he urged.
I laughed, and the sound got caught on the wind.
I thought about doing a roll…
…and shrieked when my wings curled and rolled me through the air like a tumbling, out of control torpedo. I struggled to pull out of it, dipped low enough to shave off some leaves and whip a branch against my leg, then forced my mind silent again and climbed.
My wings changed orientation, and I leveled out.
When I opened my eyes cautiously again, laughter pulled my gaze to the left.
He’d swooped down to my other side, and was gliding along on massive, reddish-brown, almost copper-colored wings. His primal flew alongside him, a hawk or some other small raptor with white wings, a white body and tail, and bright red eyes.
“Did I do it?” I asked him in a shout. “The roll?”
He laughed louder. “I mean, no. Sort of? Whatever you did, it looked pretty crazy. You might want to get the hang of just flying straight for a while.”
I looked down as his words sank in.
We’d just come out from over the forest.
The river looked a lot larger now as I flew over the dark blue waters.
We were maybe eighty feet over it.
I watched the sun ripple along the waves, leaving gold diamonds.
We were coming up on the temples now, along with the Faerie Bridge.
“He might be wanting us to head back,” the Irish mage shouted next. “Quicksilver. He didn’t exactly tell us to go for a joy-flight, after all. We should head back…”
“How long have we been out here?” I asked, wondering suddenly how long I’d been flying with my eyes closed, my mind a few million miles away.
“Maybe twenty minutes?” Strangemore guessed. He dipped his wings a bit closer. “You’re Leda, right? Leda La Fey?”
