Page 84 of The Fractured Prophecy

I stretched onto my tiptoes, and when that wasn’t quite enough, I floated into the air to whisper in Torvo’s ear. “Where can we go for some privacy?”

Settling back to the floor, I watched as my prince backed up a few paces, looking around to be sure no one was watching, then stripped off his shirt. A pang of appreciation shot right between my thighs at his perfect, muscled chest. Before I could say a word, his wings spread out from behind him, and he scooped me into his arms.

I squealed a little, throwing my arms around his thick neck as we rose into the air. When he reached the crow’s nest, the man inside sprang to his feet, nearly dropping the spyglass he was holding.

“Take a break,” Torvo boomed, and the man’s throat bobbed as he nodded his head so fast, I was sure he’d be dizzy.

Without another word, the man began climbing down the thin ladder to the deck. Torvo set me gently down inside the small circular area, and I leaned against the center pole as he joined me, blocking my view of the sky beyond. His form was so large, he took up all the remaining space between me and the railing that reached his waist and my chest.

I stared up into eyes that blazed with heat as he pressed against me, curling his arms around my body. I wanted to say something but couldn’t find the right words for the want awakening inside of me.

“Not as much room as I’d hoped,” he said, sliding a palm up to cup my cheek. He stroked my skin with his thumb, and I leaned into his touch.

“We don’t need much,” I breathed, wrapping my arms around his waist. Then I used more air wielding to rise to the perfect height to kiss him.

It started slow, but the intensity grew with each swipe of our tongues. He wrapped me in his arms and spun me around to sit on the edge of the railing. The height meant nothing when both of us could fly. Besides, I was perfectly secure, having wrapped my legs around his waist.

I’d grown fond of Nyah’s fighting leathers, but in the moment, they felt like nothing but a nuisance. I longed to be skin to skin with this man, to feel him inside me, stretching me. I moaned into his mouth with the delicious thought. His breath stuttered as he paused. I sucked his tongue into my mouth and bit down lightly, reveling in the way he grew harder with the motion.

“I need you, now,” I complained, throwing my head back and pressing my core against him through our clothing.

He made a sound somewhere between a rumble and a sigh, then tugged at my waistband. A cold gust of air blew against me from behind, sending shivers cascading up and down my spine. My hair whipped loose from its braid and sprayed Torvo in the face.

“It got cold all of a sudden,” I said, clinging to him. But even he was not immune to the wind that dotted gooseflesh over his bare chest.

His hands altered course to gather back my hair as he gazed down at me. Then a second whoosh of freezing air rushed over us, so hard that it knocked me from my perch on the railing and into Torvo, who caught me against him.

“What’s happening?” I called over the wind that seemed to never break. An icy spray of rain peppered my face, stinging like barbs.

“I don’t know,” Torvo said, clutching me close and cocooning us in his silver wings. “A storm perhaps.”

The feathers on his wings fluttered like chaotic insects, and he staggered against the increasing strength of the next blast.

“We need to get down,” he said, glancing over the rail to where others rushed around below, securing everything they could find.

“Come on,” I said, tugging at his hand. But he didn’t budge.

“I don’t think it’s safe to fly in these conditions,” he said, hand still clutched in mine.

“Well, we can’t stay here,” I argued. “It’s only getting worse.” And as if to punctuate my statement, my hair tugged in all directions, jerking through the air in a wild dance.

I shoved at it, then tried pulling on him again.

“We should climb down,” he decided, then lifted me in his arms. He set me down on the first rung of the tall ladder, making me feel even shorter than usual beside him.

When the wind nearly ripped me from my place, I realized he was right about flying. I could control the air currents to an extent, but I couldn’t stop all of this at once. Certainly not for both of us. So, I started the descent, holding firm as I carefully climbed downward. I gripped the rungs so tightly, my frozen fingers ached, knuckles turning blue.

I glanced to the side, out toward the sea and away from the wind. What I saw froze me in my tracks.

“Rune?” Torvo yelled from above. “What’s happening? You stopped moving.”

I had stopped. But now I started again, increasing my pace, despite the danger of the wind. I had to get down there and warn everyone. Because what we were headed for was worse than a storm. Dead ahead, the sea appeared to reach the end of the world. The water cascaded into a circular path, spilling far too fast over the rim of darkness.

There was a giant whirlpool dead ahead, and it was swallowing everything in its path.

“Fuck!” I heard Torvo yell. “Everyone, brace yourselves!”

I put one booted foot on each side of the ladder and slid down the remainder of the way. Rivven met me at the bottom, grabbing hold of my upper arms so tight I winced.