Page 60 of The Infirmary for Dragon Burns and Midair Mishaps

She looked up at me, eyes wide, bright. She was perfect, and it took everything inside me not to scoop her into my lap. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” she said, the corner of her lip turning up. “It all works perfectly in my head. But what we really need to do is test it out.”

I got to my feet. “Let’s do that then.”

“Now?” she said, jumping up. “Did I not just say you have to take it easy?”

“One loop around the meadow isn’t going to hurt anyone.”

She grumbled, but I was already out the door, strolling over to Min.

“Vaela,” she called after me.

“Yes, Eden?”

“One loop.” She held up her finger. “Promise me.”

I crossed my finger over my heart.

She looked unconvinced and stared past me at Min. “One,” she said again. Min made some vague noise in response.

I scaled Min’s back and settled myself at the base of her neck between her shoulder blades. Then I reached over to flip the hook down. I caught it on a sturdy dragon scale, using the spring to lock it snugly in place.

Min hesitated, looking back at me.

I nodded. “Ready.”

A moment later, she shot into the sky, zipping around the meadow, making one loop and then another. The wind whipped by me, tugging at my hair. It felt good.

It felt like freedom.

I’d missed this for the time I was laid up in bed, and I couldn’t blame Min for never wanting to give it up.

I glanced down at the cottage.

Eden stood there, hands on her hips, mouth moving. I knew she was yelling at me about breaking my one-loop promise. But it felt too wonderful for just a moment of flight. I pressed up slightly and threw my arms out, howling into the wind. I wasn’t completely standing, but I felt steady with the latch. Safe and secure, like it would take quite a battering to knock me from my place. And for a wrangler, there was no better feeling.

We made another loop before Min finally touched down again.

Eden was a little red in the face as she marched over. “What did I just say?”

“It deserved a thorough test,” I argued, sliding down Min’s side. I surged toward her and caught her cheeks in my hands. “I think, as you can see, it works pretty damn great.”

She grumbled at me. “I can continue making tweaks to it.”

I shook my head. “No, it’s excellent. I mean that. Thank you.”

“It’s the least I could do,” she said. “For all the help you’ve given me.”

I smiled at her, tipping forward, lifting her face to mine. But before my lips could reach hers, she ducked out of the way.

I frowned, staring after her as she caught her lip between her teeth, a pained expression crossing her face. “Sorry,” she murmured, pressing her fingers to her temples. “It’s not you, it’s just… You’re still healing, and there are some things I have to finish up at the infirmary.”

The sound of her discomfort made me uneasy. “Of course. I didn’t mean to⁠—”

“I’ve neglected my duties these past couple of days,” she said. “Because of⁠—”

“Me,” I said, nodding. I offered a soft smile. “I understand. I didn’t mean to take up so much of your time.”

“That’s not what I meant.”