Page 4 of First Offense

“Auric,” I started, only to cry out as the guard yanked the strap off my shoulder with a handful of feathers. “Ow!” My wings were still bound and, if possible, even more tangled up than they were before.

“Apologies, Princess,” the guard said, his voice gruff. “The straps are too tight.”

No, kidding,I nearly snapped, wincing.

Auric unsheathed his dagger. “I’ll cut them off.”

“You’re not damaging Reformatory property,” the guard retorted. His fingers dug into the sensitive skin beneath my feathers again.

Auric shoved the guard away from me. “And you’re not damaging royal property.”

Great, I thought, holding back a sigh. I was property of the crownandproperty of the prison. That didn’t make things complicated at all.How about I just be property of myself?

As if to answer that unspoken suggestion, the plane pitched forward again.

My knees buckled, and I fell forward, my arms flailing for anything to stop my fall. For an interminable moment, I hung suspended against gravity.

Oh, sh—

My arms pinwheeled, my hands seeking purpose, but all I met was air as I tumbled out through the open hatch with my wings still bound.

“Aur—”

I didn’t even have a chance to finish my scream before the free fall took my breath away. I tumbled head over heels three times, then barrel-rolled, my arms waving uselessly. My wings strained against the leather straps, trying desperately to beat at the open air and stop my descent.

Think, Layla. Think!

Arms spread.

Legs spread.

Balance.

I managed to stop spinning, but the wind hummed around me in a dangerous welcome. The last of the day’s sunset gleamed orange on the dark water below as it rose up to meet me.

Guess I’m gonna drown after all.

Something slammed into me, and I spiraled again. This time, I did scream as the world rotated in a disorienting blur of color. Then fingers wrapped around my arm, and I felt the bite of a blade against the edge of my wings. One leather strap sprang open, and then with a second slice, the other strap fell away.

Strong hands gripped my arms, and we rotated until I was facing the ocean again. Those hands moved from my arms to my waist as Auric’s voice drifted to me like a ghost over the roar of the wind. “On three, open your wings.”

I balked at the idea. We were in a total free fall! If we opened our wings to stop now, the pain would be devastating. Not to mention the fading glitter of the water beneath us looked way too close. Even if we did try to put on the brakes, we were about to slam right into the water.

From such a height, we’d break on impact. And the minute our feathers became waterlogged, we’d sink to the bottom of the ocean like stones.

He must have sensed my hesitation, because Auric’s fingers tightened on my waist. “Trust me, Layla!”

Layla.No sarcastic “Princess”? He hadn’t called me by name once since showing up at my chambers to escort me out today. I had glowed like an idiot, ecstatic to see him. At least until he’d revealed our fate.

“Layla!” Auric shouted, repeating my name. It didn’t warm me the way it should. Instead, it left me feeling cold and alone.

I didn’t want to have black wings that I didn’t earn. I didn’t want to go to prison.

“... right now!”

But I didn’t want to die, either.

So I spread my feathers.