Chapter 28

Ursula stepped out of the elevator and onto the roof, shielding her eyes from the bright sunlight. On the sleek black roof, Bael crouched next to the bulk of an enormous black bat. As she approached, her heels clacking over the marble, Bael turned to look at her.

She wore thick woolen leggings, a leather jacket with a fur collar, and black riding boots that almost reached her knees. To complete the getup, she wore a large leather-covered helmet. She’d asked Cera if the helmet was strictly necessary, but the oneiroi had insisted.

Bael’s lips curled in a smile. “Nice helmet.”

She frowned. I knew the helmet was a bad idea. “Cera said it would protect my head.”

Snorting, the bat shifted. It was monstrous, at least twice the size of Sotz.

She pointed. “Am I riding that?”

Bael patted the bat’s back. “Vesperella? No, she’s my baby girl.” He put his fingers to his lips and whistled. A flapping of wings beat the air, and a moment later, Sotz landed next to her.

“I think you’ll find it’s easier to learn on a bat you’re already familiar with.”

She nodded at Sotz. “We’ve been getting to know each other.”

“Can you steer?” he asked.

“Not really.” Not at all.

Bael nodded. “You’ll need to learn how to do it yourself if you want to have any hope of surviving the race.”

“So how does it work? There was a harness that I held onto before.” Ursula tried to remember how she’d seen Cera steer, but her vision had been blocked by Cera’s back.

“You need to learn to ride bareback.” Bael climbed onto Vesperella, demonstrating as he spoke. “You can hold onto the loose skin just behind the ears. Then just direct the bat’s head the way you want it to fly.” He tugged Vesperella’s head to the right.

Ursula took a deep breath, glancing at Sotz. He narrowed his eyes. As she moved in closer, a low rumble rose in his chest and he bared his teeth.

“Easy, Sotz,” said Bael. “Just step over his shoulders. You’ll need to crouch a little bit.”

“His shoulders?”

“Where the bat’s wings connect to his chest,” said Bael. “You’ll want to sit right up against them. When he’s flying, grip onto his chest with your calves.” His gaze slid down to her legs. “You’ll need to use your thigh muscles to hold on.”

Ursula stepped over Sotz’s neck and eased herself down. The moment her bum touched his back, he clambered forward toward the edge of the roof.

“Slow down,” she shouted, tightening her thighs around his body. She gripped the loose skin behind his ears.

An instant later they were streaking down the roof and into the air. She glanced down at the crater, hundreds of feet below, and her breath caught. When Sotz curved wildly to the right, she lost her grip on his skin. Her heart thrummed wildly.

Panic blazed through her body, and she reached again for a grip, but Sotz twisted away from her. The motion sent her sliding to the side and she grabbed blindly, her fingers wrapping around the soft skin of one of his ears.

Sotz let out an ear-piercing shriek, bucking and jerking his body. She tried to hold on, but he threw her into the air.

Her heart stopped, and everything seemed to slow down. For a brief moment, her momentum keep her on an upward trajectory, and the whole valley of the crater spread out before her. She could see the houses of the oneiroi, Asta’s purple spire, even the faint shimmer of magic along the rim of the crater, magic that—unfortunately for her—created gravity. She hurtled toward the ground, terror screaming through her mind. A scream tore from her throat.

As the wind ripped through her hair, something jerked the back of her jacket, halting her descent. In the next moment, Bael was pulling her on to Vesperella.

“Hang on to me!” he shouted over the wind.

Instinctually, she wrapped her arms around his neck, her face pressing into his chest. The bat was too large for her to get a grip on with her legs. Instead, she wrapped them around Bael’s waist. He leaned in, steering the bat through the air. His heart pounded hard through his shirt.

She clung to him as he guided Vesperella out of a deep dive. The g-forces pressed her against his warm body, and she breathed in the scent of sandalwood by the sea. His sweet breath warmed the side of her face.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “The first time you fall from a bat is always the scariest.”

The first time?

She could feel his muscles shifting as he expertly controlled the bat. With the wind rushing over their bodies, Bael directed Vesperella back to the rooftop in a great lazy arc.

“When you fly again,” he said, “don’t grip too tightly. It will spook him. You must be gentle with the bat. As I’m steering her now, even a slight twitch of my fingers is enough to make her respond the way I want.”

Ursula swallowed hard. Talk about distracting.

Bael guided Vesperella into a soft landing on the roof, and Ursula unclenched her legs from Bael’s waist. She stepped off, fighting dizziness.

He smirked. “Given the grip you had on me, I know you’re strong enough to hang on.”

“Thank you for not letting me die.”

“I had a feeling you might need some assistance on your first flight. I almost smashed into those rocks over there on my race to get you.” He pointed to a particularly sharp looking crag. “But, the main thing is to never grab a bat by its ears. They’re very sensitive. I’ll call Sotz and you can try again. ”

Before Ursula could protest, Bael was whistling for the bat. This time, Sotz landed next to Bael, his beady eyes trained on her. Ursula was relieved to see that his ear appeared undamaged.

Bael reached down and scratched Sotz’s head. “It’s okay, little guy. She’s just a little clumsy.”

“Well, there’s no need to rub it in.”

“Let’s try it again,” said Bael.

This time when she sat on Sotz’s shoulders, she didn’t lower her full weight. Instead she crouched down and whispered into the bat’s ear.

“I’m sorry, Sotz. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

She nuzzled her head against his. Sotz’s fur was soft as velvet, and while he didn’t purr like a cat, he didn’t growl either.

“You’re a good bat. A good bat,” she repeated. She scratched behind his ears as she had seen Bael do with Vesperella. Then she gingerly lowered her full weight.

This time when Sotz launched, she already had a firm but gentle grip on the skin behind his ears. They hurtled toward the ground, and her stomach dropped. Gently, she pulled back on Sotz’s neck and he leveled off. They flew above the crater’s floor, barely one hundred feet above the ground, racing over the little stone houses and narrow alleys of the Shadow Kingdom.

“Good boy,” she whispered in his ear.

The sound of beating wings made her turn her head. Bael flew twenty feet away, the lunar wind ruffling his dark hair.

“That’s better,” he shouted over the wind.

“Thanks.”

“Lean forward, and allow your weight to shift with each beat of his wings.”

Ursula leaned forward until her chest was inches from Sotz’s neck. The position felt a bit more unstable. But when she began to shift her weight with each beat of Sotz’s wings, she saw that Bael was right. The ride smoothed out into a smooth glide.

“That’s it,” said Bael. He and Vesperella swooped under her and Sotz. With two great beats of Vesperella’s wings, he took the lead. “Follow me!”

Ursula marveled at his change in demeanor. He seemed so comfortable on the bat, like he actually enjoyed life. It was hard to believe this was the same man who’d slit Massu’s throat just hours ago.

Bael led her and Sotz in a great curving turn back toward the rooftop. When they were a hundred feet away, Bael and Vesperella dove for the roof at a terrifying speed. At the last instant, Vesperella spread her wings, landing gracefully on the marble.

Now he’s just showing off. She leaned forward to whisper in Sotz’s ear. “We got this, big guy.” She tried to bring the bat in slowly, but as the roof rose to meet them, she instinctively leaned back. Sotz tensed as he tried to decide whether to land or to pull back up into the air. He chose landing, but they hit the roof with a jerk that knocked her straight from his back. She slammed against the marble, rolling a few times before coming to rest on her back.

When she opened her eyes, Bael stood over her, a look of concern on his face. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.” Still lying flat on her back, Ursula brushed the dust from her jacket.

“Good, because you must be in one piece for this evening. We have been invited to dinner at Asta with the lords and their wives.”