Soaring Through Time and Spice
I had grown to love the open-air concept of nearly every building in the city, especially the House of Wind. The warmth from the spell coupled with the fresh air and cold dusting of snow outside had become comfortable. My safe haven from the elements, and so much more. I walked to the edge of the balcony and stepped up on the edge with both feet, feeling the air swirl around me when I heard his footsteps behind me from inside. He must have wanted me to know he was there – he usually moves so silently.
"Are you ready to go Feyre da–" his voice trailed off as I tipped forward off the ledge, hurtling down through the cool breeze, now turned to violent rushing wind as I fell down through the thin air, snowflakes and pine trees in the distance – growing closer as I picked up speed in my freefall.
And the bond went taut
"Fucking psycho," I practically spit the words at her once she was wrapped tightly in my arms, my wings groaning with the effort of leveling us off into a glide. Her heat distracted me and I had to bank left quickly to avoid impaling us on a snow-covered branch. She had been doing this more and more lately, now that she was comfortable with flying – and with me.
"What?" She grinned at me. "Worried you won't be able to catch me one day, and you'll have to clean my splatter off the pretty white snow?" Her eyes had that flicker in them again – enchanting me. I tightened my grip as a response and slowed us most of the way down before dropping her in the snow a few feet off the ground. She grunted as she tumbled through the snow, laughing too hard to bother brushing the fresh flakes from her hair.
"I guess I deserved that."
"Yes, you did." I told her.
And the bond went taut
"I waited until you were on the balcony at least, don't I get any credit for that?" Rhys just looked at me. The practiced look on my face was bold and flirty and sure of myself, but I always turned molten inside when he held my eyes like that. I couldn't remember a single time he had been the one to look away first – it must be a point of pride for him. I broke his gaze to look at the city beneath us. He knew the Rainbow was a tough place for me, my relationship with painting and the artist inside me not quite smoothed out yet, so he had dropped us closer to the spice market. Very thoughtful boy, my High Lord of the Night Court. Not my anything, the voice in my head hurled at me, and certainly not a boy of any description.
"The usual?" he said as he cocked his head, "Or should we cut it a little closer today?"
"Let's give them something to talk about at the taverns tonight." I smiled at him, the sneering voice in my head back under control. He winnowed behind me, just a few feet from where he had been standing, but it still caught me by surprise and I straightened.
"Ah ah Feyre, don't you know by now that I'm not here to hurt you?" he breathed it into my ear so softly I wasn't even sure he had said it out loud at all. The hair on my neck stood up and my back arched against him slightly.
"You know you could just walk up to me like a normal person though, right?"
"I'm no person, darling." His hands locked on my hips like vice grips, and we were flying. I watched the shadow of his impressive wingspan float along the snow as we picked up speed. I hoped it had happened fast enough that he didn't hear me whimper at his grip.
And the bond went taut
It was a familiar route to us now, almost like the lazy Sunday drives I had read about in the mortal books from centuries ago. Only we were flying, and there was nothing leisurely about it. We approached slowly, still high above the city. I knew she liked to take in the whole picture before we got up close. I wondered if she'd ever paint it – the view from up here that I knew her brain was taking snapshots of everytime we did this. Each different market square glittered with its own colors and sounds, all nestled neatly on either side of the river, glistening like liquid sapphire tonight. I did a few extra high slow circles for her, but really they were for me. It was hard to admit how much I savored this private time with her. My throat tightened as I thought about it so I cleared it and asked her –
"Ready?"
"It's about time, we've been circling up here fo–" Pretty little girl always being sassy to mess up the moment. I didn't realize my shields were down until I heard her slide a message under them – I'm not little, and not even technically a girl anymore – Your Highness. We dove straight down.
And the bond went taut
He let go of me as we dove, which had grown to be my favorite part. Not pushing me away, just loosening his grip on me so that I was plummeting towards the city of starlight again, with his arms and wings still cocooned around me, but not touching. The sensation was unlike anything I had ever felt. His heat still radiating between us, the feeling of safety still there with his strong arms braced around me in a tight, muscled cage. He left me like that for longer than usual – long enough that my heart was pounding when I felt his forearms tense against my stomach again and level us off into that familiar glide, less than a hundred feet from the edge of the market. I could already smell the paprika and thyme in the wind as we cleared the edge of the market at light speed, hurtling through the square. He hooked his feet around my ankles and tucked them in tight, and I could practically feel his eyes narrow behind me into that tight, focused flight mode. I cursed the Cauldron that I didn't have room to turn my neck enough to see him like that. The merchants gasped and jumped back from their stalls as he deftly weaved in and out of them, flying over the counters but under the awnings of every stall he could find. The wind from his wings ripped through the market behind us, leaving the beautiful woven curtains and blood-orange tapestries of the storefronts billowing behind us.
And the bond went taut
It took most of my energy to keep focused on the path I was taking through the market, mostly making it up as I went alone. Not because the flight was difficult, I could fly this route in my sleep, but because of her. I had to have her tight against me, to make sure no limbs clipped any of the market stall rails, and I had her long, tight ponytail wrapped around my neck to make sure it didn't snag on anything. I knew she could feel my heartbeat through her back, betraying my stone cold, calm and collected persona. I could have sworn she pushed back against me when I hooked her ankles. Every curve of her body burned against me, all the way up my legs – muscles taught from the effort. Her chest rose and fell quickly above my arms, where I had them wrapped to keep her in place. I thought I might start to g–
And the bond went taut
I loved that I could have that effect on him. Just from being close. I tried to stay focused on how pretty the view was in front of my eyes – merchants decked out in jewels and finery from the square we were navigating through. Gorgeous rubies, not to be used as Amren's paperweights, glinted from necks and wrists as we swirled past them. The sapphires and diamonds seated in the earrings of the women dancing in the square struck me like starlight, like the river's current had lifted and washed straight over everybody here. The emeralds, however, had lost their shine to my eye. Two men carrying a trunk overflowing with gold and silver crossed our path so quickly that I shut my eyes and braced for the impact that was sure to follow. But I was floating above the chest, snapping my eyes open just in time to see Rhys's gleaming eyes passing beneath the chest. He had lifted me, just enough to clear the top of the trunk, and flown himself beneath it. The moment felt endless, and I thought I might have been content to remain there, floating above him, sunlight glinting off the treasure between us, for as long as eternity allowed.
And the bond went taut
I caught her again, my arms wrapped tighter around her waist this time as we veered through the last few merchants at the edge of the square. I beat my wings hard and angled us back up towards the sky until we were high above the hustle and bustle of the city again. Our flight stalled and I savored the moment, as I always do, when the crisp winter air went still and we were floating – and alone. I held her tight and listened to her heartbeat as we started falling, gently twirling with the wind, before she ran her fingertips along my wing. I silenced my shallow breath as I leveled us off again and came in slowly to land on a snowy cliffside overlooking the quiet swirling serpent of the river. It was quiet for a long time while our breathing settled back into a normal rhythm. I looked over her shoulder at our city. I let my eyes linger on the soft, opalescent glow hanging in the air. I looked across at the glistening black marble slabs supporting the dwellings built into the mountainside. I removed the space between us, sliding my hands down her shoulder blades before they found their home on her waist, and I felt her lean back against me. She cocked her head against my shoulder so I would have room to breathe down her neck.
"Should we go again?" I asked with a sneer.
"Not if you try that treasure chest trick again."
"Are you saying it wasn't exciting?" I was grateful her gaze was still fixed on the view instead of on the smile I was failing to hide.
"Shut up. I bet you even made those poor merchants walk in our path just so you could pull that maneuver." She spun around and caught a glimpse of me admiring her as I felt her softly brush against the shields in my head.
"I don't know what you're talking about." She blinked. And then I kissed her.
And the bond went taut