SkyFall (Taken on the Wing Book 2) (9 page)

“
I accept death,
”
she says with as much bravery as she can.
“
I will not further my shame by breaking
my word.
”

“
Let her go,
”
Cooper orders and the
knife disappears. Lawrence holds her up with one elbow and kneads her
shoulders. He
’
s good with his hands and the
comfort of his touch pushes through the fear she suffered only minutes before.
Now she understands it was a test, with grave consequences if she failed, but a
test nonetheless.

“
Good
girl, Cherry,
”
Lawrence
says. There
’
s no threat in his voice and Cloud is
confused they both trust her. She hadn
’
t
been sure how they felt when they arrived but now there is no doubt.

As soon as her legs feel solid she moves
to the small desk and leans on it.

“
Did you commit a crime?
”
Lawrence
asks. Cooper seems lost in his own
thoughts and though he listens he
’
s distant again like the night
before.

“
I didn
’
t,
”
Cloud says.
“
I refused a royal who felt he could touch
me in any way he wanted.
”

“
And he took revenge?
”

Cloud shrugs since she
’
s said too much.

“
Perhaps you weren
’
t the only one he assaulted,
”
Lawrence
speculates and Cloud
’
s sharpened breath betrays her surprise
at his choice of words. She
’
d convinced herself it was
simply over-zealous flirting but the aggression with which Falcon treated her
could easily be described as assault.

“
We
’
ve all made decisions even knowing the
personal cost would be high,
”
Cooper sighs as he turns
to the door.
“
Knowing what it cost you,
would you do it again?
”

“
Yes,
”
she admits.

“
Then you learned something about yourself
that most gryphons never get a chance to see. Lawrence, show Cherry where she
can train without rearranging her suite.
”

The door eases shut behind him as the
hydraulic arm takes its weight.

“
They say you can tell one sparring
chamber from another by the taste of its dirt,
”
Cloud
says and Lawrence laughs.

“
You
’
ll find no dirt in our gym. What you will
find are several big gryphons who won
’
t
coddle you like your friends did.
”

Cloud has been in Calgary for a week and
Cooper still isn
’
t sure about her. She
’
s done nothing to encourage his initial
thought that she
’
s a spy and other than being
an innocent hick, or cherry from the eyrie, the only offensive thing she
’
s done is work her ass off by
volunteering to help with every little task she can find.

Lawrence
, however, is quite taken with the young
gold dragonkin. Not in a romantic way at all; Lawrence has been happily mated
for decades. Happily means that, for now, both he and his female prefer to
spend a large amount of time apart since their young became adults.

Cooper remains troubled by the fact Cloud
is from Welch Peak. The eyrie was very sympathetic to dragonkin, as were Vancouver Island and a few others. One gold dragonkin in particular, Lord Fury, Master of
the Council
’
s Will, could be Cloud
’
s sire and he must remain unaware of her
existence. If Fury learns she survived it will only be a matter of time before
he takes her before the Council. Cloud would be forced to wear Cooper
’
s grand-sire
’
s gold dragon necklace. She would be
tortured with pain until she loses her will completely to the old gryphon.
Aledaar's order to surrender all dragonkin can
’
t be fought. Even Fury succumbed to the
pain of refusal and turned his own son in.

With Cooper
’
s grandsire Aledaar prone to dropping in
accompanied by his dragonkin guard and all the pressure he
’
s currently under from the Council, it
could be only days before they arrive. Then again it could be months. Either
way, he
’
s running out of time.

For her own good, Cloud has to go.

Cooper is certain Cloud has never taken
dragonkin form. The real threat of death from Lawrence would have caused any
other dragonkin to shift into a much more dangerous form but not Cloud. Even a
week of rough sparring with Lawrence and the guard failed to make her do any
more than noticeably warm and occasionally let loose with a fierce growl that
would leave an inexperienced fighter dripping shit down his tail.

His own Lady Eve fondly remembered the
many times her own sire attempted to kill her and force her to take dragon form
for the first time. In the end she shifted, severely wounding her very proud
sire before she reigned her dragon side in.

Forcing a first shift on an oblivious
dragonkin would be cruel and dangerous and frankly, not his job. He has mixed
feelings about doing it for his own children.

Today, Cloud arrives at the gym first and
is well into her workout with Lawrence when Cooper shows up with his laptop and
phone. He plans to mix work with socializing then give Cloud the night off from
the bar and spend the evening with her in his suite.

Lawrence
understands why she needs to be
somewhere safer. As much as Cooper
’
s oldest friend likes having
her around, Lawrence is one of a select few who appreciates the powerful nature
of the green relic two floors up. He also knows the danger Cloud faces from the
Council and the risk Calgary takes in harbouring her.

“
Cherry,
”
Lawrence
breathes. Even after a round of
exercises and nearly an hour sparring he won't get any closer to panting.
“
I don
’
t suppose you
’
re tired of hauling cases of beer up to
the bar, are you?
”

“
What do you mean?
”
she asks. Cooper listens, eyes on the
computer screen and coffee to his lips. Both Lawrence and Cloud are winged and
dressed in traditional trousers. Cloud also wears a light tunic. The rest of
his guard huddle around the room. Working nights in the bar downstairs makes
the rough males perpetual latecomers. The late nights don
’
t affect Cloud and even Lawrence
’
s easy temper shows signs of wear from
keeping up with Cloud
’
s early mornings.

“
Friends aren
’
t always what they seem, little gryphon,
”
he whispers and Cloud grunts a reply as
she slips under his wing, landing an elbow in his kidney.
“
Sometimes it
’
s in their best interest for you to do
some damage to someone you care about.
”

“
A good gryphon will always keep another
from getting out of line,
”
she paraphrases. The
actual quote she would have learned in childhood is several paragraphs long.

“
Put it into practice,
”
Lawrence
barks and Cloud takes a step back to
assess Lawrence
’
s change in stance from
defense to challenge.
“
Enough dicking around. You
want a shot at the guard you
’
re going to fight me for it.
”

“
How?
”

Cooper
’
s eyes narrow as the gold flashes in
Cloud
’
s eyes. The remainder of the
guard takes notice as well. Although they can
’
t see the change in her eyes their
attention turns to the centre of the chamber where Cloud and Lawrence square
off. The female is fearless. Even face to face with a gryphon nearly twice her
size, she
’
s ready to go before she
’
s even heard the rules.

“
Better
me, Cherry. That
’
s all. I want to feel a bone
break. If it
’
s mine, you
’
re in. If it
’
s yours, you
’
re back to humping empties until I say
you get another chance.
”

She doesn
’
t answer as she brings her hands up. Only
a tiny tremor and a dry swallow suggest a healthy caution. Lawrence
’
s tail twitches, hinting at his coming
attack but Cloud keeps hers still. It might be against her nature to harm
another without cause.

She
’
s headed for a rude awakening,
Cooper decides as he moves to
the edge of his seat. He
’
s as caught up in anticipation
as the rest of the room. As much as he avoids senseless violence, the gryphon
in him is easily drawn to the prospect of an honest fight. Maybe that
’
s why he owns a testosterone fueled
gryphon bar.

“
Yes,
Master,
”
she replies with a formal
acknowledgement of Lawrence
’
s status as head of the guard.
A good gryphon never refuses her master
’
s
order, trusting he knows her limits better than she does.

Lawrence
roars and charges, hands shifting to
claws and immediately puts Cloud on the defensive. He
’
s never shifted beyond wings and tail
with her. She has little choice but to dodge and Cooper anticipates she
’
ll turn in one direction or another,
moving at the last possible moment without giving Lawrence time to follow but
her move takes everyone by surprise.

Before Lawrence finishes his first step
Cloud
’
s heart stops, something bound
to confuse those who don
’
t know she
’
s dragonkin. In order to prevent
escalating the situation and for stealth she
’
s gone silent, her circulatory system
moves blood by the forces in her veins and arteries alone. As a result, her
muscles flood with a constant supply of oxygen that boosts her strength and
stamina.

She pounces straight at him.

Lawrence
’
s knees are bent, feet placed far apart
for leverage so she takes advantage of the gap and dives between, striking his
thighs hard with the big bones of her wings before folding them and landing on
the floor. The move almost gets her clear.

As she scrambles out of reach, Lawrence makes an ungraceful pivot. He doesn
’
t bother grabbing for her.
Instead he slams his booted foot down and just misses shattering her ankle.
Cloud kicks to prevent being pinned from behind but Lawrence isn
’
t going to bother with any traditional
sparring tactic. That had never been part of the lesson plan he shared with
Cooper the night before and the wild grin on his face shows he enjoyed her
surprise move.