I was halfway through my last piece of crispy meat, the fat on it so succulent that it melted in my mouth, when the prince returned to the table.
“Time to go. You’ll have to finish eating when we get there.”
Dusting my hands off, I stood without complaint. Considering I’d eaten twice as much as I usually did, I gave him a sweet smile.
“As you wish, my prince.”
His scowl deepened, which made a petulant thrill run down my spine.
“Safe travels,” Milis called as we ventured toward the front door. “Ock, be mindful out there. A right gale’s coming in. Best to take care.”
The prince inclined his head, then ducked outside as his giant wings dipped to avoid hitting the doorframe.
Frigid wind pelted my face when I joined him, and the raging clouds made me pause and wonder if I should have hurried after all. Wincing against the icy onslaught, I brought the cloak’s hood up as a large gust of wind shot through the trees. The soft fur rubbed on my cheeks, and despite my anger at the prince for burning my things, I had to admit that it was warmer than my previous cloak.
“Fly high,” the prince said to his guards. “It’s the only way we’ll get through this.”
The four of them gave swift nods before shooting into the sky, their huge wings flapping as they fought against the air currents of the incoming storm.
“Is it safe to fly in this kind of weather?” My throat bobbed when the prince stepped closer. I instinctively took a step back, causing him to smirk.
“Scared? You should be. Most fae can’t fly in these conditions. And those that try often don’t make it to their destinations.”
“But you can?”
“If I have to, and since you didn’t heed my call to leave at sunrise, you’ll have to as well.”
My stomach churned as the ominous-looking navy clouds grew in the sky. Fat snowflakes swirled through the air, coating the trees and layering the ground in several new inches.
“Is it truly possible to fly above it?”
Instead of replying, he swept me up in his arms, and with a huge thrust from his legs and a flap of his wings, we were airborne.
Like yesterday, the ground disappeared quickly beneath us as he held me tightly and climbed into the sky. Given how quickly he did it . . .
Mother, he’s powerful.
Turbulence from the atmosphere jostled him, though, making us dip and roll. A crack of thunder shook the air, and then a flash of lightning shot through the sky.
“Fuck,” the prince muttered under his breath.
I clung tightly to him as his wings flapped harder, but the air currents didn’t abate. We’d climb and climb only for a huge gust of wind to shoot us down.
Above us, the prince’s guards also struggled to gain altitude.
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell Prince Norivun I was sorry that I’d stalled our departure when a huge burst of magic abruptly shot out of him.
Suddenly, we were careening upward, moving faster and faster as his guards were propelled up with us too. It was as though a force pushed us from below, fighting with the Mother to free us from her stormy embrace.
The air grew thinner the higher up we went, and my ears popped at the sheer speed in which we ascended through the storm.
Lightheadedness from the thin air fogged my thoughts, but then the angry clouds parted, and we were above them.
The prince immediately halted his vertical ascent and turned us perpendicular to the clouds, flying over the cascading cottony sea of navy and indigo clouds beneath us as the pale green sky stretched in a dome above. Up here, the sun shone brightly.
“Blessed Mother!” I panted, still clinging to the prince. Below us, Nish, Sandus, Ryder, and Haxil were all free of the storm too.
Haxil gave me a thumb’s up as the four leveled out into normal flight.
Still panting, I tried to gulp in air, but it felt as though I’d pass out.
The prince’s arms tightened around me more. “Hold on.”
I’d only just gripped him tighter around the neck when another swell of magic pulsed around us, and then we were catapulting forward, going so fast that his four guards turned into a blur before they disappeared behind us.
“Show off!” one of them yelled, their faint call already distant and barely discernable to the blasting wind in my ears.
The magic cloaking us grew, and a shimmer appeared around us. Then the wind abruptly died, and the thin air grew richer.
I breathed deeply as dense air filled my lungs. My dizziness abated.
“How—” I glanced down in confusion, but the clouds were still beneath us, and we still flew high in the atmosphere. “How am I breathing easier?”
“Magic.”
“From where?”
He smirked.
My jaw dropped. “Another affinity you’ve been hiding?”
He glanced down at me, that arrogant curve to his lips that I was becoming all too familiar with on full display. “I don’t hide anything. It’s not my fault if you’re unaware of my talents.”
“So you have an air elemental affinity too? Is that how you got us above the storm?”
“Perhaps.”
“And that’s how we’re breathing easier up here too? I’m assuming most fae can’t fly at this altitude?”
“Also correct.”
I glowered at him. “You know, for a simple farm girl from Mervalee, I seem to be making a lot of the correct deductions.”
“You are. Perhaps you’re not simple-minded after all.”
I scoffed. “But how am I breathing normally this high up?”
“I’ve created a bubble around us filled with dense air, and I have a concentrated stream of air at our backs, propelling us faster than my wings can carry us.”
For a moment, I just stared at him. His wings flapped occasionally, but for the most part he seemed to be gliding, letting his wings ride the currents in his magical bubble—currents that he’d probably constructed. No wonder he was so much faster than his guards.
“So let me get this straight, my prince. You have your death”—I could barely get the word out—“affinity, an illusion affinity, and you have an air affinity?”
“Among other things.”
I gaped. “You have more?”
He gave a barely perceptible shrug. “I was bred to be powerful.”
I frowned, but even though I was curious to learn more, I didn’t want him to think that I actually cared. Because I didn’t. It was just normal, is all, to be curious how a fairy could have so much magic.
I loosened my arms slightly from around his neck as the clouds drifted beneath us. Glancing over his shoulder, I searched for his guards, but they were long gone.
“You seem to be in the habit of leaving your guards behind.”
He shrugged. “I don’t need them at the moment, and they can be dreadfully slow.”
Despite trying to contain it, a snort escaped me when he smiled wickedly. “In all seriousness, why don’t you just create bubbles around them and use your magic to propel them at the same speed as us?”
“They don’t need the extra help, other than the denser air. Their affinities give them incredible strength, speed, and endurance. That’s why they were only an hour behind us yesterday.”