Page 55 of Lucifer's Mirror

I turn my attention to Zayne.

“Don’t fall off,” he says.

I huff. “I’ll do my best. In fact, it’s my number one priority.”

“Okay then. I guess I’ll see you in the morning.”

“I guess. You take care as well. Don’t do anything stupid.”

“Hah. How likely is that?”

Thanouq makes a low rumbling noise. And somehow I know he’s asking if I’m ready for take-off.

Hell no.“As I’ll ever be,” I mutter.

He pushes to his feet, and I sway, grabbing his mane again and letting out a squeak.

Then Thanouq spreads his wings. They are huge. I swallow and consider clamping my eyes shut. But in the end, I decide, however scary this is, I want to see every moment.

The wings beat powerfully, and we are rising. I shift my grip to the leather strap and hold my breath as we go higher. I risk a quick peek down and see three faces staring up at me. I catch Khaosti’s gaze and hold it for a second.

“Remember—don’t let go!” Zayne shouts, and I break my focus. He actually looks more scared than I do.

Then we are flying.

“Fuck, fuck, fuuuck!”

Chapter 26

Just Hold on Tight and Don’t Let Go!

I’mfreakingflying.

It’s beyond amazing.

We’re climbing higher and higher. All I can hear is the beating of Thanouq’s powerful wings.

I glance down and gasp. We’re already so high. The others are dark pinpricks against the rolling green landscape. I think Zayne is waving, but it’s hard to tell. We must have reached the desired altitude at that point because we slow and hover for a moment, then shoot forward. A scream is torn from my throat—shock, not fear. Honest!

I screw my eyes tight and take a few long, slow breaths.I can do this. I’m not going to fall. Falling is not an option.

A few more slow breaths and I open my eyes. The wind from our speed is in my face; I blink, and the sheer amazingness of it all grips me, overcoming my—very rational—fear. I realize my pain has been forgotten in the excitement. My hands grip the leather strap so tightly they’ve almost lost all feeling. I force myself to loosen my grip, one finger at a time. The motion is smooth, though I can feel the bunching of Thanouq’s muscles with each wingbeat. I’m almost crouching, leaning low over his broad, furry back, and I straighten so I can look over his head. Nothing but blue sky.

I used to imagine scenarios in my head for what would happen if I somehow went back to my pre-coma life. I never imagined anything even remotely like this.

Thanouq turns his head and looks at me with those eagle’s eyes, cold and gleaming, almost metallic. But I think I catch a glint of intelligence in there, and I nod my head to let him know I’m fine. He gives a little nod back and then turns away.

The air is cooler up here. So far, it’s not too bad, but we’re heading into the sunset, and I’d prefer to be on the ground by the time darkness falls, for many reasons.

The whole flying thing keeps the pain at bay for a while. But at some point, it starts seeping back. Not too bad at first, just an ache. That, unfortunately, grows and grows until it feels like my side is on fire. My thighs ache too. I shift and wriggle, trying to ease the discomfort. Thanouq glances back and looks at me, and I know he’s asking if I’m okay to go on.

Hell no.

But I nod and force a smile, and he stares a moment longer, then almost shrugs—if griffins can shrug—and turns back.

The sky ahead is shades of crimson and violet now—quite beautiful. This world must have been an amazing place at one time, before it was decimated by war, turning a beautiful place into a dangerous wasteland.

We make a sharp turn, and I sway and grip tighter as agony shoots through me, pain sizzling along my nerves. I bite my lip and grit my teeth together. This was my idea, after all. Now I just need to suck it up and get through it. Finally, when the sun has nearly disappeared and the pain is so bad that I’m seriously considering whether it might be better to jump and get my obviously imminent death over with quickly, we start to descend.