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“Totally.”

I step to the edge, or at least try, but Bastien jerks me back.

“Mistress, one thing… I’ve beenarousedfor every flight—notflight, more levitation—and that seems like an awkward way to fly if you have to…” Embarrassment steals the rest of his sentence.

“I’ve thought this through and I think we’ve got this, but I can’t promise you won’t be amazingly erect for the entire flight.”

Both his feathered hands cover his mouth and his shimmering eyes betray his surprise. Finally, he mutters, “Your confidence is truly inspiring.”

“And also possibly profoundly stupid. I really hope we don’t get smooshed.”

“Me too, but I’ve spent quite a bit of time in Pennie’s pool, so if you need something to land on, definitely use me.”

I jerk back. “Absolutely not. This ismystupidity, not yours.Iwill break your fall.”

Bastien’s cheeks lift as he grins. “It really doesn’t matter anymore, Mistress. Our lives are bound now. We won’t survive without each other, so we might as well fall together.”

I caress his beautiful face. “Have I mentioned how lucky I am to have you as my forever wingman for all sorts of silly and dangerous adventures?”

He leans into me and I hug him. I listen to our giddy song for a long moment before easing into him and gaining control of his suddenly fluttering feathers.

“We’ve got this, Bastien.”

Then I shove us off the roof and we drop in a shockingly fast, gravity-bullying manner. I don’t even let out a squeak, it’s so fast. But just before we hit the hay, Bastien’s feathers save the day, behaving like the best hovercraft ever.

“See, it’s going really well,” I say, kissing his neck, my breaths ragged now.

“Really well,right.”

“Hey, we can’t actually hit the ground, so that’s totally educationalandhelpful. You are awesome.”

“You’re crazy,” he whispers, nibbling on my ear.

“Definitely, and here we go.”

Our song is now living on the polka side as we begin to rise, with Bastien below me and me resting on him. His rapidly quivering feathers cause my hair to dance like I’m standing in front of a fan. I almost lose my tiara a few times, but Bastien manages to keep it in place.

We definitely won’t be able to evade a modern-day missile, probably not even an arrow shot by a skilled archer. I’m just hoping no one notices us or if they do, they’re too curious to shoot us down. In truth, we are like a very slow-moving outdoor elevator, but after three floors, I’m beginning to think we might actually pull this off.

After another three floors, I avoid looking at the world beyond Bastien’s feathers. His eyes remain wide, and to distract him, I kiss him deeply, my tongue tangling with his. At the same time, I grind my pelvis against him until he’s hard as a rock and grinding back against me. I really hope no one is watching this semi-porn flight, but as long as we continue to rise, I will keep Bastien’s thoughts focused and his feathers compliant.

About halfway to the top, an unruly gust hits us and we almost crash into the wall. Almost, but not quite. After a few more minutes, we reach the lower roof and then rise above that, heading toward the queen’s highest tower.

I hadn’t really considered what we would do if the queen was standing on her balcony when we arrived. I mean, would she panic or hit us with a fly swatter or something? Fortunately, no one is on the balcony when we reach it…we actually reach it! Our landing is a little bumpy as our profound relief causes us to abruptly drop to the surface with a floofy thud.

“You were amazing.” I cuddle into Bastien and finally exhale.

“And you’re still crazy,” he says, pulling me against him, soothing himself with my touch.

I feel his concern about what comes next and I know I should summon some of my own. But my certainty remains, for good or bad. If there’s no chance, like Remy believes, then I need to start searching for answers in other places. If the queen won’t help, then maybe some sorcerer somewhere knows how to get Nico back. “Do you want to stay here?”

Bastien pulls back and glares at me. “Together.”

“Okay. Are you ready?”

A nod and a kiss later, we both stand and move toward the doors and our unscheduled appointment with the queen.

Chapter51