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He was quiet; the whistling wind filled in the silence. “You’re my wife and my mate. I care about you. I always will. So no, that isn’t theonlyreason.” His eyes fell to her, and he gazed for far too long. It was intimate, almost as if he was afraid to admit what he said and wanted assurance that he hadn’t made a mistake.

She couldn’t take his penetrating gaze any longer and blurted out, “I think I can fly, like you said. I thought my magic would save me if I jumped.”

“Don’t use my crazy methods on yourself, alright.” He shook his head. “You can’t remember who you are. You’re not ready. We have to take this one step at a time.”

“But I do remember. I remembered something.” Mistakenly, she peered down and the distance to the ground made her feel woozy. She was used to riding a dragon which felt secure and much like straddling a giant horse. This did not feel like that. “Will you take me back down?”

His huge wings disappeared and before they even began falling, he stood on solid ground with her still in his arms. The jump happened in an instant and left her nauseous.

“What did you recall?” he asked.

He set her down and she wobbled, pressing a hand over her queasy belly.

“Are you alright?” He gripped her arm.

“A little dizzy.” She took in a deep breath and the world stopped wavering. “I’m alright.”

Hesitantly, he let go of her and pushed his hands into his pockets.

“The day on the cliffs of Amonlee. I remembered it like I was there now. It’s how I knew you had wings.”

“So that’s why you pushed me.” The corner of his mouth curved up. “And here I was thinking you thought you finally had your chance to take me out and took it.”

“It wasn’t my intention. I just wanted a little payback for all the torture you’ve inflicted on me.”

“It scared you, didn’t it? My impending death.”

She hated to admit it but relented, “Yes.”

“I saw the safety net you created for me, and heard you scream my name. It did make me sort of miss you screaming my name in other ways.”

“I thought I didn’t do it for you anymore?” she countered.

“I think we both know that was a lie. I’m ready to take a roll in the sack if you are.”

She flushed and lightly smacked his arms. “Are we so sure we can’t kill each other?”

“Plotting my downfall still, I see.”

“I should be after that sexual comment, but that’s not why I ask.”

“No?” His brows lifted. “Dare I say you care for me?”

“Don’t push it,” she said, and he laughed.

“Neither of us has dealt a lethal blow aside from the first time. It could be that the All Mother intervened the once. I don’t know how these things work. There’s only one way to test the theory, and I’d rather not.” He still stood shirtless, hair windblown and disheveled. He looked good like that. “Anyway, don’t jump off any more cliffs until we’ve worked on your ability. We should work on it last. It will be the hardest and take the longest.”

Layala wondered why if Thane had been able to fly once to save her, why she couldn’t do it to save herself. “I saw on my card,” Layala started, and his brow quirked, “the cards you gave me. I can produce light with the power of the moon?”

“Yes. I’ve seen you produce a shield; it’s the same type of power. We’ll do that tonight.”

She clapped her hands together and bounced on her toes. “Great.”

His dark brows pulled closer. “You hate my training.”

“It’s not so bad. I want to learn. I want to remember.”

“This is very—unlike you.”