Page 28 of Of Flame and Fury

Coup huffed. “You think I’d waste an opportunity to get comfortable on my new phoenix?”

“Yourwhat?” she spat. “You remember that Savita’s home burned down, right? There’s plenty of more important things she’ll have to get comfortable with soon.”

The words made her wince, her heart clanging in her throat.

“I am aware, Varra. But even if the band has to break up, it’ll be a while before I can find another team.” He jostled at her back, lifting his head. “It’s such a clear night.”

The wonder in his voice made her swallow her retort. The sky darkened around them and Savita’s wings lit up the muggy night. Their outline branded the air like handheld fireworks, tracing red lines around gray clouds.

Coup’s whining continued, though if Kel focused hard enough on the gale in her ears, she could block most of it out. She watched the arcing patterns of Savita’s glowing wings, waves cresting and falling, as clouds sifted around her wings like sea-foam. She tried to focus on the star-studded night and rhythmic grace of Sav’s wings. She tried to focus onanythingbut the feel of Coup, tense behind her, seeping heat into her back, an infuriating contrast to the evening air.

Every minor shift of his weight made her squirm. She hatedhow aware she was of his every move—how his warm breath sent goose bumps pricking at the back of her neck, how much his body affected hers.

Both of them leaned forward as Savita rose higher through the charcoal clouds. Kel closed her eyes and tried to ignore the feel of Coup pressing closer, muscled torso tight against her back, fingers momentarily clamping on her hips.

As they finally broke above the frail clouds, Kel opened her eyes. The night stretched before them in streaks of shadow and starlight. Savita plateaued and stretched her wings wider, glimmering with sunlit magic. Kel wondered if, from the ground, they looked like a shooting star. Maybe Cendorians would wish upon Savita. Maybe Kel could collect those wishes, like coins in a fountain, and steal them for herself.

Coup loosened his grip and leaned back in the saddle. Kel sucked in a breath as the cool air replaced his heat at her back. She relaxed her hold on Savita’s reins and splayed her gloved fingers across her phoenix’s neck feathers. She’d spent years wondering what Sav’s feathers would feel like without gloves. Sunlit silk? Thorned fire? She lowered her gaze, memorizing the pattern of Sav’s feathers, the colliding colors. Memorizingeverything.

“If you could escape up here—just keep flying… would you?” Coup asked softly, breaking her reverie.

Her eyebrows arched. “That’s a very existential departure from whining.”

Coup leaned forward again, until his warm breath hit her ear and made her shiver. “Indulge me, then I’ll shut up.”

“You promise?” Kel huffed. “Escape what, exactly?”

“Everything.”

Kel pursed her lips.

“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be,” she admitted. Even if there was somewhere she could go where her debts wouldn’t chase her, Cendor—in all its fiery, raging glory—was her home.

Curiosity pricked through her. “Where would you go?”

She felt Coup shrug. “Somewhere without sketchy public aviaries and undiagnosable diseases. Somewhere Bekn could… somewhere he’d be happy.” Coup chuckled, a strange, hoarse sound, so different to his usual ease.

Kel chewed on his words. She’d known his mother had died of AB years ago. Though that might not stop her from hating him, she understood a small piece of his past. They both had scars that refused to heal.

She felt Coup shake his head, as if catching himself. “I’m not surprised you’d stay. Misery loves company.”

Clenching Sav’s reins, her knuckles turned white. “Miseryshould’ve let Sav slash a few of your muscles,” she muttered.

Coup gave a breathless laugh. In her peripherals, she spotted him running a gloved hand along Savita’s side. “All this power, and you’re still the scariest thing in the sky.”

Good, she thought, and sent up a silent thanks to the Alchemists when Coup remained silent. She let her mind drift, as the frigid wind and high altitude built pressure in her ears. She tugged and loosened Savita’s reins as they glided in endless loops around the property’s parameters. Savita responded intuitively to Kel’s guiding, and it loosened something inside her. No matter who raced Sav in CAPR, they would always belong to each other.

Flying on Savita had always been the only kind of escape she’d craved. But that too would soon be ripped away if she didn’t find a new solution, a way to protect them both.

Despite what Dira had said, despite how much of a hypocrite it made her to admit it, there was only one place she and Savita could escape together.

Cristo Industries.

A job with Cristo would give Kel the power to ensure their future. It would give her the money to repair the aviary and the chance to earn a reputation beyond her father’s legacy. One that would make sure no one ever doubted her—or Savita—again.

Despite the night’s chill, warmth spread through Kel. The heat awakened her, for the first time since the aviary’s destruction.

“I’m going to ring the recruiter and accept Cristo’s offer,” she said, as much to Savita as to Coup. “I’ll convince him to take Dira, too.”

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