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She craned her neck to look at him, eyes shining with the type of love I wanted for myself one day. Drazen bumped his arm into mine, signaling his arrival.
“I think I’m ready to face the world again,” Izidora told Ruslan, sending a smirk across his lips and darkening his eyes.
“Are you?” he replied. “Because I haven’t even seen you practice flying up and down from the palace roof yet.”
Izidora chewed her lip, then pushed out of his hold and fetched the half-empty red cocktail, draining it in a few gulps. Her glittering white wings burst from her back as she tossed the glass away, and with a devious smile, she shot into the sky.
The look of panic that crossed Ruslan’s face was priceless.
His leathery black wings burst forth and he shot into the sky after her, staying within range of his mate as she flew hundreds of feet into the air.
“Bet she makes it,” Drazen said, our attention following them.
“Of course she’ll make it, Drazen. Come up with something more interesting.”
“Fine. I’ll wager she makes it to the top, then tries to fly down but gets scared and Ruslan has to carry her the rest of the way.”
“I’ll wager that Ruslan tries to help her when she falters but she yells at him and then makes it to the ground on her own.”
Drazen held out his hand, and we shook on our deal. The two winged Félvér disappeared over the ledge that served as the roof of the palace built into the mountain. Silence stretched between us, though with Drazen the silence was never uneasy. His laid back attitude was a comfort more often than not, balancing out my excitable personality. A finger caressed my waist as we stood there, and I subtly leaned into the comforting touch.
Two dots appeared high above us, and I held my breath as Izidora and Ruslan began their descent to the ground.
“She looks scared,” Drazen teased, his Dragon senses giving him an advantage over my Fae ones.
“She’ll be fine,” I replied, though I couldn’t lie to myself and say the drop from the roof to the ground didn’t make me wildly uncomfortable. It was a long way down, even with wings to safeguard me and a lifetime of flying practice.
They dropped lower, finally coming into focus for me. Izidora’s brow was furrowed in concentration, and her white wings reflected the midday sun, making her truly look like an Angel from the nursery tales my mother told me as a child, descending from the heavens. Ruslan’s hands hovered in front of him as he watched over her, allowing her the space she needed to succeed but offering support should she require it.
About halfway down, Izidora’s wings faltered, and she dropped severely. I gasped, bringing my hands to my mouth as all I could do was watch as she fell. Ruslan snapped his wings shut and dove to catch her, but moments before he reached her, those white wings spread wide again and caught a draft. Her furious descent halted, and a fierce, determined look reappeared on her face.
“Thank the Goddess,” I breathed, watching as Izidora whipped her head toward her mate and they exchanged words.
“I guess you win,” Drazen teased, bumping me again with his shoulder. “The usual reward?”
I snickered as the two made their final drop to the ground. “You know it.”
Izidora beamed with pride as her feet touched land, and she collapsed onto her ass, breathless and giddy. Drazen and I jogged toward them, and Drazen released a whooping cheer.
“Guess you both can be finished with training today,” Ruslan smirked, snaking his arms around Izidora’s waist and lifting her into the air as he captured her mouth.
“As if I need your permission,” I scoffed, trying to worm my way between them so I could steal my best friend, not caring they were mid-kiss.
Ruslan growled at me, but I didn’t relinquish my position, especially as Izidora laughed. Drazen snorted behind us, and I raised a brow at Ruslan, waiting for admonishment. He only sighed, looked between me and his mate, and said, “Go have fun.”
I snatched Izidora’s hand, giggles bubbling over for both of us as I tugged her toward the hidden passage that led to the lift. Ruslan and Drazen’s heavy footsteps followed, echoing off the rock until Ruslan pushed past us to open the door. The four of us piled into the pillar in the mountain, and with the slowness he knew Izidora preferred, Ruslan lifted us to the top of the palace, directly onto the floor that held the giant suite that had become like a home.
“Ruslan, we really should build a wing for our friends to sleep in,” Izidora said as she stepped into the foyer that barred entry into the suite unless you were magically granted access to come and go.
“But they’d never get any sleep,” he grinned down at her, opening the door for us to enter the large living space. If Izidora’s face wasn’t already so red, the blush that covered her cheeks would have been more evident.
I grinned to myself as the four of us entered the enormous bathroom. Being around my friends made me forget that my blood family was in the Night Realm, serving a mad king, and I was in the Iron Realm, enjoying the luxuries offered to me.
If only Endre could see what I did in Kazimir, then he would be here, with us.
11
For the first time since I’d awoken, I was blissfully, utterly alone. Not that I didn’t appreciate Ruslan, Liliana, Drazen, and Zuriel’s constant support. No, it was that I felt like I was suffocating from all their care, their attention, and pretending to be strong and keep moving forward, when sometimes all I wanted to do was scream into the mountains until my throat bled and my voice abandoned me, unable to bear the anguish that still clung to me.
