Page 69 of Galen

“I’ll go slow.” He took us higher into the air. His arms remained secured around my waist as I watched the ground stretch farther and farther below us. As nervous as I was, I trusted him. He wouldn’t let me fall.

Once we were higher in the air, he bent his body slightly forward to fly straight. The view was incredible. Even though the sun had set, I could see the ocean below us, and when I looked around me, stars twinkled in the infinite night sky.

“You can let go if you want,” he whispered in my ear. “Hold out your arms and feel the air against your skin.”

I gripped his forearms tighter. “No, thanks. I’m good.”

He laughed again before dipping low, then shooting higher. My stomach flipped like I was on a roller coaster. I saw his wings from my peripherals, the feathers gleaming in the night as they glided on the breeze. He nuzzled the back of my neck, and I smiled, feeling warmth spread through my veins.

“Have you had enough?” he asked.

“No. Not yet.” Slowly, I lifted one hand off him and held my arm out to my side, wiggling my fingers as air pushed against them. I then let go with the other, battling a wave of nerves. I nearly grabbed onto him again, but I took a deep breath and spread both arms out. Putting my trust in him.

“See?” he whispered in my ear. “I’ve got you.”

Why did that make my heart beat like crazy?

Galen soared through the air for a while longer before taking us to the top of a cliff. Once my feet were back on solid ground, he released me and tucked in his wings. I sat down, listening as the sea crashed against the rocks below.

“It’s so beautiful,” I said, staring up at the moon and all the stars around it. The night held a chill, and I burrowed more into my sweatshirt.

“Come here.” Galen sat beside me and pulled me against him. The warmth of his body instantly chased away my chill bumps. I snuggled in closer.

“Can I ask a question?”

“What would you do if I said no?”

I smiled over at him. “Probably ask it anyway.”

The edge of his mouth curved up.

“Are you the only one who’s sworn off relationships?” I asked, thinking of the other warriors.

“In a way.” His hand caressed my arm as he stared at the stars. “The rest of them vary. Daman hates humans and only dates supernatural beings. Bellamy doesn’t do relationships because he loves the variety of sleeping around. Castor and Raiden will occasionally meet a human they care for, but they tend to stay away from mortals as much as they can.”

“Why?”

“Because humans grow old.” Galen’s forehead creased as he frowned. His hold on me tightened a bit too. “Vampires never age. Neither do most other non-humans. The ones who do age do so at a very slow rate. It’s too painful to fall for your kind.”

“Yeah, that would suck. You’d think there would be some type of magic or something to either make a human immortal or to at least stop the aging process.”

“There is.”

I snapped my head toward him. “Really? Then what’s the big deal?”

“Because it’s a binding magic,” Galen answered. “Two life forces are bound as one.”

I failed to see the problem. “So?”

“So. If one dies, so will the other.” He looked down at me, gaze hard. “The human won’t age or get sick, but they can still be killed. A knife to the heart. Drowning. Tripping over their own two feet and cracking their head open.” His eyes softened as he said the last part. “For me and the others, that’s a risk we can’t take. We’re all that stands between mankind and the dark forces that wish to destroy it. By binding our life force with someone else, we weaken ourselves in the process.”

“Oh.”

“You asked about the mating ritual once before. That’s what it is. The joining of souls.”

“I see.” That explained why none of them had ever taken mates before.

“There used to be eight of us.”