Chapter 24 Arya

I watched as Ashlyn sauntered past us out of the gym, feeling incredibly awkward standing next to Niko after that little display.

Sheepishly, I turned to look up at him. His facial features had hardened as he stared fixedly down at the floor.

"Niko, I—" I started to say, but the general stole my opportunity to offer any sort of comfort.

"Come, my boy," he bellowed with a hearty pat on Niko's shoulder. "We have much to do. Good day, Miss Walker."

The general headed for the exit, and Niko obediently followed, his footsteps heavy with anger.

I hung behind long enough to make sure they were far enough away before exiting the gym in search of Ashlyn. I found her leaning against a tree on the lawn, no doubt hiding out to wait for Niko and the general to pass out of sight.

"So, what was that little scene all about?" I asked as I approached her .

She jumped at the sound of my voice but quickly recovered, crossing her arms and adopting a confident stance. "Just taking your advice."

I arched a skeptical brow at her, matching her stance with a little more jut to my hip.

She scoffed. "Don't look at me like that. You're the one who said I should get a rebound guy."

"I thought you weren't ready for a rebound," I countered.

"Yeah? Well, now I am." Her cool exterior buckled slightly under the weight of my judgmental gaze, her eyes falling to the grass as she kicked at it.

"Ash, this isn't really what I meant. You did that for Niko's benefit, not yours. Do you even like Jackson?"

She shrugged and flashed me a challenging grin. "Only one way to find out."

All I could do was shake my head. I couldn't really condemn what she'd done. I'd done practically the same thing with Kendall a few weeks ago to get over Tobias. And even though the circumstances were different, I could understand how our hormones and emotions could lead us to do questionable things. So I just swallowed my opinions and sighed.

"Good luck on your date. I have one more training to get to. I'll see you later."

Her brows puckered slightly, like a child who'd been chastised by a parent, but she just nodded. "Yeah. Okay. Later." Then she ducked her head and made her way across the lawn.

I didn't like leaving things like that, but I really wanted to get this last lesson over with so I could return to my own love life. God knew I had my hands full with that.

I turned and headed for the Avian Training Room .

"Go ahead and put your bag in your locker, dear," Maya said from next to the fire when I entered, a warm smile on her face. "We're going to try something fun tonight."

I raised a skeptical brow but shuffled over to the wall of lockers anyway. I pressed my finger to the pad, and my door popped open with its usual digital greeting. I stuffed my bag inside, then turned back to Ms. Heather.

"So, what are we doing today?" I asked.

"I thought it was time you tried to shift."

I sighed. The thought of failing at another type of shifter form terrified me. I didn't feel ready. I'd only known I was a harpy for just over a week, and I didn't have the best track record with shifting in general.

"It's okay," Ms. Heather said. "No one expects anything from you."

Well, that's just not true . Everyone expected something from me. Caesar, Hadrian, the shifter military. It was hard to shake the weight of those expectations, even in Ms. Heather's sweet presence.

But I nodded. I hadn't given up against a challenge yet, and I wasn't about to start now.

"So, how do I do this?" I asked, kicking off my shoes and peeling off my over-shirt so my smart suit could do its job more effectively.

"Try to relax your shoulders. I always feel so tensed up when my wings are furled. And just like manipulating light, you'll want to fuel the change with an emotion." She gave me a wink and a knowing smile.

I took a deep breath and shook out my shoulders. Finding emotion wasn't going to be a problem. There was my awkwardness with Ashlyn, the slow-burn grief over Kendall's betrayal, the anxiety over the pressure from the military, and let's not forget the fact that the most powerful and dangerous vampire alive wanted me captured—and he was also my father.

But none of those things would help me relax. If joy was what harpies used to access their power over light, then I suspected it played a role in shifting as well. I was tired of dwelling on the negatives in my life, so I decided to focus on the latest positive.

Tobias.

Closing my eyes, I rolled my shoulders and breathed in. As I exhaled, I imagined letting all the stress release from my back. I thought of Tobias. His smoldering eyes, the feel of his lips, the way just being around him made me ache.

I got so lost in the emotions that I almost didn't notice the tingly feeling tickling beneath the bones of my shoulder blades. I latched on to that sensation, willing it to grow and stretch.

At last, there was a pop, coming in time with a small explosion of joyous sensation in my belly, and a soft rustling from behind me. At the same time, I felt my toes fuse and lengthen, the bones sliding into place with ease. Hard talons uncurled out, gripping the smooth floor.

"Beautiful," Ms. Heather murmured.

I opened my eyes to look and was astonished at the soft, pearlescent white feathers framing my peripheral vision. I turned my head to get a better glimpse, and my wings spread to their full range. My talons clicked against the floor as I turned around, and I looked down to see gray feet with deadly black claws glinting in the firelight.

I stared down at them, dumbfounded. My stomach did cartwheels as realization dawned, bringing with it a thrill that sizzled through me. I actually did it! I shifted into a harpy. And it was easy!

"That was excellent, Arya," Ms. Heather said, resting her hand on my shoulder. "Would you like to test those wings?"

"A–as in f–fly?" I stuttered.

She smiled.

I floundered for a moment. Could I really fly with these wings? Would I crash?

"It's okay, dear. How about I take a moment to show you something else about your new form first."

I nodded, releasing a forgotten breath. "That would be good."

She nodded. "I want you to stretch out your fingers, making sure to point them away from yourself or anyone else."

I did as instructed, nervous anticipation coursing through my veins.

"Now flick like you're flinging off some water, and imagine your fingers are getting longer."

I did, and razor-sharp talons extended from my fingernails. I turned my wide-eyed gaze on her.

"Unlike your feet talons, your finger talons come out at will. You can do one at a time or all at once. Like this." Ms. Heather lifted her pointer finger, and a talon sliced upward. She relaxed her finger, and it retracted just as quickly. Then she flung her hand as she'd instructed me, and all her talons flew out. She wiggled her fingers, and I could imagine how deadly those glinting blades would be in a fight.

A pang of regret hit me as I remembered my helplessness during the fight in the alley. If I'd only known.. .

I shook off the thought. I couldn't change what happened. I could only work on not being helpless going forward. And I was making some progress in that area—now I actually had a weapon at my disposal.

"That was so easy," I said, looking at Ms. Heather with awe.

Being a harpy was so different from being a mermaid. It felt natural, freeing. While being a mermaid made me feel more myself than I'd ever remembered before, it was just so much harder to access than my harpy form.

"And flying will be easy, too. Here." Ms. Heather stepped back, shaking her head as her wings released and unfurled in their full glory. The angelic sight still caught me by surprise.

She smiled as she crouched, then leapt into the air, her wings sweeping downward. With a few quick beats, she was aloft, taking full advantage of the height of the room. She rolled onto her stomach and tucked her wings in, darting through one of the rings that hung from the ceiling, then under the second and spreading her wings to buoy upwards before diving through the third.

It was elegant, effortless. I doubted I could even come close, but I was beyond eager to try.

I waited for Ms. Heather to land, my heart drumming a frantic beat.

"Alright, your turn," she invited, folding her wings but not retracting them. "I'll be right here if you need me."

I nodded, then took a step back from her to give myself launching space. I crouched like I'd seen her and took a deep breath. Here goes nothing.

I leapt and pressed down with my wings, but the timing was off, and I ended up flopping down on my hands and knees. I quickly scrambled back to my feet and brushed myself off .

"That was an excellent first try. Why don't you extend your wings first this time, so you don't have to coordinate as much for your lift-off."

I gave a brief hum of agreement, then crouched again, this time lifting my wings as instructed. When I jumped, the timing was perfect. I felt a pocket of air catch under my wings, and I beat them frantically to continue to lift.

My chest tightened as my wings began to tire. But a rogue breeze ruffled my hair, and a moment later, I caught the draft from the vents in the walls. I spread my wings to glide, marveling at the ingenuity the Dome was built with. I'd been in this room so many times and had never once wondered what the giant vents were for.

A smile spread across my face as air flowed through my feathers and hair. I'm flying! This must be how Tobias felt, and I had the sudden urge to go for a flight with him.

"Excellent job, Arya! You're a natural." Ms. Heather crouched again and was soon in the air, gliding beside me. "Would you like to attempt a few tricks?"

I laughed and shook my head. "I'll consider it an accomplishment if I can land without falling on my face."

She chuckled. "You've done exceptionally well. Why don't you take a few laps while I show you how to land?"

"That would be great."

I circled around the upper reaches of the transformation room as Ms. Heather tucked her wings in and fell away. At the last minute, she spread her wings wide, and her feet readied in front of her, talons and bent knees absorbing the impact of her landing.

Standing again, she retracted her wings, leaving behind the simple, unassuming nurse I knew so well. "Feel free to stay aloft as long as you'd like," she called to me .

As much as I was enjoying myself, there was one place I wanted to be more.

I tucked my wings like Ms. Heather had done and flared them again as I neared the floor. My landing wasn't nearly as graceful, but I managed to stay on my legs, my wings helping to compensate for my stumbling talons.

I beamed at her once I'd found my balance. "I did it!"

"Very good!" She clapped. "Now, it's time for your final lesson of the day."

I cocked my head at her.

She winked. "Putting the harpy away."