SkyFall (Taken on the Wing Book 2) (31 page)

“
Cloud,
”
Soar unties her drawstring and eases her
trousers down to expose her trembling hands.

“
Soar.
”

“
One day,
”
he
pushes her fingers aside with his lips and inhales the warmth of her belly.
Under his breath, the small hairs stiffen and rise to meet his kiss.
“
There will be children and I will not
fail to raise them as gryphons and as dragonkin. I
’
m proud you chose me, Cloud.
”

Beyond their half open stone door is the
rasp of booted feet on the dusty stone road out front. Leather and a hint of
Flay
’
s perfume seep in before the
sounds stop.

“
Master Soar? Lady Tempest?
”

Soar groans. Another hour with Cloud
would be nice but it
’
s time for the promised chat
with Fury and trip north to face the Grand Council. Lady Flay
’
s voice sets Soar on edge. It
’
s sweet and kind and he can
’
t decide why she annoys him so much other
than she talks to him like he
’
s some sort of drivel who will
never understand his role as the mate of a dragonkin. He may not, for now, but
love and loyalty to Cloud will make sure he figures it out and he doesn
’
t need the green skinned Lady Flay to
help him with that.

“
Come,
”
Soar helps Cloud to her feet. Before she
can turn to the door he seizes her by the back of the neck. He only has to work
his fingers a bit for her to relax and settle into the safety of his wings.
Cloud
’
s lips part under his thumb
and he tastes her as they succumb to the memory of their honey kiss a few days
before.

“
Lady
Tempest?
”

Impatient bitch.

Flay is alone, pointy red breasts ready
to give Soar another unpleasant trip through her portal since he assumes he
’
ll have to ride with her. She
’
s done everything possible to be annoying
and he can
’
t see her passing on another
chance. As far as he can tell, mainly from the occasional ragged electrical
discharge and the constant smell of ozone, portalling is the only way in or
out.

“
Join us on the bridge,
”
Flay says. If doing what she says gets
them away sooner then Soar has no real reason to complain.

Cloud presses her brows together as she
watches Flay walk ahead. With a hand on her adornment, Cloud nudges Soar and
nods toward Flay to ask her question.

“
I
am gryphon, Cloud,
”
he explains.
“
You
r brother, Conflagration, is
not.
”

“
Lady
Tempest,
”
Flay says.
“
Had
you chosen a dragonkin to be yours you would not have to wear
his
gold.
”

“
Have
to?
”
Soar asks but Flay keeps
walking as if she hadn
’
t repeated what he just said.
Flay makes it sound like Cloud has to wear some smelly old sleeping mat.

Con and Fury wait on the bridge and Cloud
nestles in under Soar
’
s wing as she pulls her own in
to fit. Other than the five of them, nobody else has come to see them off in
fact both sides of the city are completely deserted.

“
Tempest,
”
Fury greets his daughter but barely gives
Soar a glance. Soar doesn
’
t care. The less he has to
talk to Fury the better.
“
I will portal you from Skyfall
myself.
”

“
Sire,
”
Con
says.
“
You are not completely well.
”

“
Well enough to carry my daughter,
Conflagration, and I trust no other.
”

 Something bothers Soar about Con
’
s agreement that Fury is well enough to
carry her. It
’
s nothing he can explain other
than the words came too easily from both.

Cloud steps from Soar
’
s side. Her dragonkin tail is long, thin,
brushes the ground, and covered in the same soft scales as her stomach. Sexy as
fuck. She approaches Fury then drops to her knees, offering her raised wrists
in submission as the healer did the day before.

“
Sire,
my Lord Fury,
”
Cloud says. Her submission is
genuine.

“
Rise,
Tempest,
”
Fury brushes his fingertips
over her wrists. Soar can
’
t help but shudder as he
touches her with his sharp nails.
“
You were in Calgary with
Cooper, were you not?
”

“
Yes,
”
Cloud gets to her feet.

“
Cooper has stolen something rare from the
Council, a bracelet with a brilliant green stone, do you recall seeing such a
thing?
”

“
No.
”

“
Your male had you expelled and sent you
there.
”

“
The master of my Sire
’
s guard is not required to tell me the
details of an assignment,
”
Cloud raises her chin
and speaks with such conviction that Soar
’
s
heart swells to feel her so proud of him.
“
Had he not done everything in
his power to ensure our success and the safety of my eyrie he would not deserve
to be the master of Sire Lev
’
s guard. I would gladly have
him sacrifice my pride a thousand times for those who love me.
”

Then she backs up a step, placing herself
between Soar and Fury. Soar doesn
’
t speak to stop her possessive
display as he did the day before.

“
What did you learn about Cooper?
”
Fury asks.

“
I spent most of my time with Lawrence and the guard. Cooper is an exile,
”
Cloud says.
“
He invited me to stay longer but then he
caught Soar spying and we fled.
”

“
And that
’
s
all?
”

Cloud
’
s terse nod is marked by a swell of pink
around her ears. She left out the bullshit kiss which is fine with him. Damn,
maybe she
’
s outright lying. She hadn
’
t been evasive the morning they left Calgary but Soar had been ignoring his own needs so much he would have missed any sign of
her not telling the truth. The nervousness doesn
’
t fade and she fidgets, fisting the sides
of her trousers as Fury considers.

“
There is no need for you to go before the
Council,
”
Fury decides with a nod to
Con.
“
Go ahead and inform them.
”

Con steps from the bridge and catches the
air. He rises quickly, following one side of the gash through the city then
turns at the far end to race along the other. He
’
s barely straightened from the turn when
thunder rends the air behind them and Cloud clutches at Soar. His toes pivot
beneath him as she turns them both toward Con
’
s portal. Soar saw a few portals the day
before but this is the first she
’
s witnessed and the thunder so
soon after the tornado could bother her.

A hole the size of a house appears in the
air high above the chasm below and only feet from the stone mountain wall
marking the far end of the city.

“
We, we,
”
Cloud pants as she
crushes into Soar.

“
Yes,
”
Soar whispers. They
’
ll be next through the lightening hole in
the sky.

“
Oh.
”

Con races for the portal and tucks his
wings in at the last moment. The portal stretches vertically and closes with a bang
as its bottom connects with the ground. A cloud of dust and rock erupts from
the chasm as the portal
’
s power discharges into the
earth. The bridge shakes as the explosion of thunder rolls over them then
softens as it reaches the other end of the chamber. When the echo returns it
isn
’
t strong enough to shake the
bridge although Cloud still trembles.

“
I
can
’
t do that.
”

“
Not
yet,
”
Fury is almost kind but there
’
s a coldness about him. Soar won
’
t have ease until he gets Cloud away from
her sire. He pushes the thought aside. It
’
s
no way to think of her kin.
“
Perhaps you could introduce me
to the kind gryphons who welcomed you to their home?
”

“
Yes,
”
she agrees then Flay has Soar
’
s arm and shoves him from the bridge.

“
Fly,
gryphon,
”
Flay orders and Cloud squeals
as Fury wraps her in his arms and takes wing.

Flay dawdles, allowing Fury and Cloud to
get ahead, then takes the turn at the far end of the city. This time Soar feels
the dragonkin charge their portals. The small feathers at the base of his wings
stand on end and his skin burns first as Fury
’
s portal cracks open then Flay
’
s just above it. As they speed up and
pass over the bridge, Flay grabs him from behind. Soar can
’
t help but struggle in her grip and she
squeezes him too hard in response.

Ahead, Cloud
’
s wide eyes meet his from over Fury
’
s shoulder. Then it
’
s over. Fury
’
s portal snaps shut, silencing
Cloud
’
s frightened cry.

The last thing Soar sees as they enter
Flay
’
s portal are Cloud
’
s gryphon flight feathers where they lay
abandoned outside Fury
’
s home.

“
Damn it,
”
Soar sputters as he
crashes into a tree.

The night blackened sky looms heavy above
and he has to be close to home. The warm salt air of the Pacific Ocean washes
over his skin and mixes with familiar scents of cedar and Douglas Fir.

“
Flay?
”

Where the hell did she go?

Soar rights himself as his eyes adjust to
the moonlight. Flay glides overhead. Her wings glow in the dim light, at least
from below. From above she
’
d be invisible.

“
Where are they?
”

“
Must be nearby,
”
Flay answers.