Chapter 59

What in the fuck was going on?

I had fucking wings?

I reached around and touched one of the things growing out of my back, trying not to fall over in the process. I could feel Anaria's fingers tracing along them, feel their weight dragging me backward like I felt my fingers and toes, but this couldn't be real. Or maybe that was my brain not accepting reality.

I didn't want fucking wings.

I didn't need wings. My magic could take me anywhere, transporting me from one realm to another in the blink of an eye.

In comparison, these felt…clunky. Not at all practical, and if I had to fight…I tried to turn and lurched hard to one side before I self-corrected and lurched forward, grabbing that godsdamned bedpost so I didn't face-plant.

These fucking atrocities would get me killed.

And once Raz and Tavion and fucking Tristan saw me…I rolled my eyes. My humiliation would know no bounds and I'd never, ever live this down.

"You might need to be patient." Anaria bit her lip, eyeing me doubtfully. "This is a big change. Like a really big change. Give yourself time to relearn how to do things."

"Might?" I muttered with a bit more bitterness than I intended.

"Okay, you will have to learn patience, and I know that's not your strong suit. But gods, Zor, just look at you." Those white teeth sank further into her plush bottom lip, and godsdamn if my cock didn't jump at the sight. "I mean…they're pretty amazing."

Okay.

Okay, so maybe I was looking at this the wrong way.

"You like them?" I tried to turn and only managed to catch the tips of the feathers on the side of the bed and nearly sent myself sprawling. "You don't think they're hideous?"

"I think they are beautiful." She reached out, hesitated, then ran her fingers down the top, the arcing bony structure that was covered in some sort of black leathery skin. The barest brush of Anaria's fingers sent a jolt straight to my cock and a raspy groan slipped out before I could stop myself.

She snapped her hand back. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you." Her wide eyes scanned me worriedly, mouth pressed into a tight line. "I was trying to be careful."

"That didn't hurt." I cleared my throat. "Not exactly. But I did feel something."

"Oh." Her eyes met mine. "Oh. I see." Her worried expression turned wicked enough I glanced over at the bed, wondering if I could lay on these godsdamned things without getting all tangled up and looking like a complete fool. "Well, that's an unexpected development."

She looked delectable, her hair all mussed around her face, the too big shirt showing a hint of her curves. And her arse in those breeches…

Anaria followed my gaze to the bed. "How about we attempt the stairs before we graduate to more rigorous activities? There have been developments, and we have to make some decisions. That's why I woke you."

Something niggled at the back of my brain, something I'd dreamed…or heard while I was dreaming, and every muscle tensed, including the ones on my back, which was a big fucking mistake.

"You said we were in danger. What kind of danger?"

Anaria made quick work of explaining the disappearance of Lord and Lady Whitehall, along with their guards, and by the time she was finished, I'd made my way across the room to the door, her arm wrapped around my waist.

"How confident do you feel about the staircase?" she asked, one of my wings hitting her in the face as I tried to fit my newly modified body through the door. These things were seriously cumbersome, and I wondered if Raziel could just disappear them already.

"Not very, but what are my choices?"

We paused at the top, our eyes meeting.

"First off"—I gently untangled her arm from my waist—"you are going to walk behind me. If I fall, I'm not taking you with me. Second, if I do go down, you stay out of the way so you don't get hurt."

"Ten gilder says he goes down on the second step," Tavion called from below, his grin taking over his whole face. "And doesn't stop rolling until he hits the floor."

"You are seriously an arsehole," Raz muttered.

"I'll take that bet." Tristan tipped his head. "I say he'll make it halfway before he does a header."

"You two stop," Anaria scolded, her voice high. "No betting on Zorander. He's only in this situation because he risked his life to save others. If I see so much as a single gilder change hands between you, you're sleeping on the floor once we reach the palace."

"Spoilsport," Tavion muttered, his grin even wider as he scanned the sheer number of fucking steps stretching between us.

"Be careful, Zor," Anaria whispered. "Don't give them the satisfaction."

"Now it's a matter of principal," I called down. "I'll take both your bets, you fuckers, so you'd better kiss your money goodbye."

I countedmy money at the table while Anaria fussed over me, brushing up against my wings, apologizing every time, though I wondered if she was doing it on purpose, especially when her lips grazed my cheek before she sat down beside me.

"We're at a disadvantage." Raz left his position by the window. "We can't see outside, and none of us dare go out there. If Bexley's correct and the magic wave mutated the Whitehalls, we wouldn't know they were on the move until they were here."

"I'd get airborne and see if I could spot them, but by the time I landed, it would probably be too late for a warning."

"Will Anaria's shield hold?" I asked the mage.

"Against the blight? Yes," Bexley answered slowly, as if he'd asked himself this a thousand times already and still didn't have an answer. "But claws and teeth? I don't know. And once they break through the ward, we only have two choices."

"Fight or flee," Tavion growled, sounding like he preferred the first option.

"You said the Wynter Palace is untouched?" I glanced to Tristan. "Why don't we leave now? We have food." I nodded to the overflowing table. "Water can be found at the palace, so there's no sense in carrying the extra weight. We use our energy to get ourselves there, then decide how to get to the Hammer."

They all were looking somewhere else, Tavion suddenly very interested in the edge of the table.

"We're waiting on you, Zor," Raz finally said. "Can you access your magic? Will your power work like before, given you have wings? These are questions that must be answered before we even think about leaving."

"So we're trapped here, waiting, because of me?" I pushed away from the table and godsdamned almost tipped over backward. "Get Anaria to the palace. Tonight. She should have been gone from here hours ago when it was still light."

"We weren't going to leave you, Zor." She sounded angry with me, and I knew why.

"You aren't the only one willing to sacrifice yourself for the rest of us, Anaria. Don't think you have cornered the market on martyrdom." I didn't know why I said that. Temper, maybe.

Or maybe because I was finally realizing how much of a liability I was. I hadn't been a liability since I was eleven and killed my first enemy then puked my guts up for a solid three days afterward.

But I couldn't fight. Could hardly stand without help.

But my fucking brain still worked just fine.

"Tristan. Can you carry both Bex and Anaria?"

He nodded gravely. "I can, but I can't carry them both plus food. If we plan on eating for the next week, all of that"—he jerked his head to what was piled on the table—"has to come with us. And we'd better pray the water coming down out of the mountains isn't contaminated."

"Bexley didn't have an issue transporting all that food from his workshop in Tempeste to the palace." I gave the mage the evil eye. "Surely you can do that again?"

"Believe me, we've already discussed this, Commander." Bexley looked apologetic down to his core. "We are two realms away from the palace. My magic gets…spotty over long distances. We can't risk losing the only food we have."

"Our best option is for me to carry Anaria and fill bags with all of this." Tristan scanned the table slowly, like he was calculating every ounce. "I can carry this weight plus the princess to the palace. Add in Bexley and a stiff headwind and none of us will survive the trip."

"Then go," I told him. "You should have been in the air hours ago."

"We tried that, too." Raz gave Anaria the side-eye. "Didn't work."

I groaned in frustration. "Anaria, you have to be smart about this. Let's get this food packed up and you in the air. I think we'll all feel better once we know you're safely out of danger."

"Just like I'm not the only one who can be a martyr, Zor"—I winced at the ice in Anaria's tone—"you're not the only one allowed to protect the rest of us. None of us are leaving you behind."

"That's not what I was saying. If you'd let me explain…" I burst to my feet, teetered back and forth, arms flailing like a duck's, before I promptly tipped backward. I tried, I really fucking tried, but I couldn't stop myself from falling flat on my arse.

"Godsdamn." I wanted to rip Tavion's grin off his arrogant, gloating face. "Fuck the steps, I'll bet you twenty gilder he can't stand back up."