“I’m not laughing.”
“Not out loud.”
“You’re just cute when you’re agitated.” She was back to being a hissing, spitting kitten that amused the hell out of Knox and his demon.
“Let’s just do this.”
“All right, ascend.” Knox felt another swell of pride as she made a perfect ascent and balanced effortlessly midair; she’d massively improved since the very first lesson. He kept her there for a good minute or so before allowing her to drop. “Very good. Ready to try flying?”
“More than.”
“Good. Let’s get started.”
Harper gave a silent gasp of sheer awe as he snapped out his large wings. “Yours are so much cooler than mine.” There were not only made of magma energy, the feathers were ablaze.
He lifted her hand to admire the rings; they looked good there, looked right. “Has anyone commented on these yet?”
“Pretty much every person who walked into the studio. They were all shocked. The demons from our lair seemed happy about it. Anyone ask about yours?”
“I’ve been in my office most of the day, so I’ve barely seen anyone. They’ll no doubt be as surprised as the yacht’s cabin crew.”
Harper couldn’t help but smile at the memory of the steward dropping the drinks in utter shock. “Probably.” He kissed her and then pulled her to the edge of the ravine. Harper peered down, noticing the dry bed at the bottom. “That’s a hell of a drop.”
“It is, but it’s also a good place to practice flying. In the sky, you have to contend with the wind and you’ll be distracted by the view. Down there, the wind can’t throw you around and there’s nothing at all pretty to look at. The only thing to see is a drop that reminds you just how careful you have to be. Sometimes fear is the best motivator. You have to be positive that —”
“I can hover just fine,” she clipped.
Knox’s mouth curved. “I agree.”
Good. “Now what?”
“Now you show us that we’re both right.” And he shoved her right over the edge.
Harper screamed and her stomach did some kind of dive as she hurtled at top speed toward the ground. The wind whipped up her hair and stole her breath, cutting off her scream. She flapped her wings like crazy, but it didn’t seem to help. She was falling and falling.
Remembering what he taught her, she threw her weight backwards, making her body vertical. Harper then dug her heels down as she beat her wings harder and harder. And she somefuckinghow came to a smooth stop a couple of inches above the bed of the ravine.
And there was her mate, leaning against the rock wall, looking impressed. She guessed he’d pyroported there – she didn’t care. All she cared about doing was beating the ever-loving shit out of him.
Letting her feet touch the ground, she bore down on him. “You insane motherfucker! I could have died on impact!” Before she could smack the bastard, flames roared around him, pyroporting him away.
“But you didn’t,” he said from behind her, a smile in his voice.
She whirled on him. “Sheer luck saved me!”
“Technique and muscle memory saved you,” Knox corrected. “You came to a perfect stop. Well done, baby.” She’d done better than he’d expected.
“You frightened the shit out of me!”
“I did, but are you scared of falling anymore?”
Her mouth opened, but no words came out… because no, she wasn’t. “That was sneaky,” she said, narrowing her eyes.
“But effective.”
Harper couldn’t deny that, and his smirk said he knew it. “Don’t be smug.”
“Don’t sulk,” he said.
“You’re supposed to be teaching me how to fly, remember?”
He moved to her and cupped her neck. “I would have caught you if necessary; you know that.” She was never at any risk.
“That’s not the point.”
He held out his hand, and she reluctantly placed hers in his. “I’m going to hold onto you until you’re comfortable in the air. Even though you’ve mastered ascending, flying is somewhat different. You associate being balanced with standing upright and having your feet on the ground. You’re not used to moving horizontally or relying on wings to move your body. Try not to kick your legs.”
“Why would I kick my legs?”
“Because you’ve always relied on your legs to get you where you want to go – even swimming, you use your legs. It’s instinctive to move them, but it will affect your balance.” He squeezed her hand. “Ready?”
She took a preparatory breath. “Yeah.”
“Ascend.” Together, they gracefully moved upwards until they were a quarter of the way up the ravine. “Good. Now tip forward, but beat your wings at the same time. Forget your legs, they’re not going to move you. Only your wings will.” She wobbled a little at first, but soon enough she was in position. “That’s it.”
Following his every instruction, Harper focused on moving only her wings as they flew hand-in-hand in loose circles, going higher and higher. She was enjoying herself… until she quickly glanced down and swore. She hadn’t realized they were that high.
“You’ll be fine.”
“Okay, but don’t let go.”
“Tuck your legs up to your stomach.”