Page 92 of Tower of Tempest
From above, guards started swooping down, their wings pumping with a fury. Panic flashed across Poppy’s face.
“Just pull at that string and shape it into what you want,” I said, keeping my voice calm and steady.
“I don’t think I can,” Poppy said, eyes darting up toward the guards. “Spirit Sky doesn’t know me, doesn’t trust me to wield his magic—” She couldn’t even get the words out, her breathing so erratic.
Wind roared above us, slowing the guards and their descent, but they’d be upon us soon.
“We have to move!” Driscoll yelled.
“You can do this,” Leoni pleaded with her.
Poppy took a deep breath, then opened her closed fists and pushed them down.
And we dropped, the cushion around us gone, no longer keeping us safe.
“I’m sorry,” Poppy yelled, staring at her hands in shock. It hadn’t been fair to expect this of her. She’d only just started using her magic a month ago.
“We’re gonna die,” Driscoll screamed at the top of his lungs. “I’m sorry I said you were annoying!” he shouted to Leoni.
“You didn’t!” she shouted back.
“Oh, right. That was behind your back.”
“Driscoll, use your magic!” I yelled. “A vine.”
“It’s a beanstalk!” he shouted. “Honestly, no respect for earth magic and its intricacies.” He twisted his hand up with a force.
A rumble split the air as a beanstalk shot up between us, all of us grasping for it. Driscoll managed to grab onto it, Leoni right above him, and me below them both. Poppy. Where was Poppy?
She continued to fall, her hair flying up in a wild tangle around her.
“No,” I said, reaching for her. No, no, no, no.
It struck me in that moment. I couldn’t lose her. It was simple, really. A life without Poppy wasn’t a life I was interested in living. That was all it took to make me let go.
“Prince Lochlan,” Leoni screamed while Driscoll commanded the beanstalk to shrink.
I dove through the sky, twisting my body so that I could catch her. At least if we were falling to our deaths, we’d be falling together. Spirits below. This was the type of thing Gabby would do, reckless and without thinking. I could hear her voice in my head.
Finally. You’re taking something seriously.
By luck or sheer willpower, my body tumbled into Poppy’s, and I grasped her tight in my arms.
“What are you doing?” she screamed, twisting in my arms, her wings flapping to no avail.
“Saving you?” I said.
“I’m not worth saving.”
Her words broke something in me. She couldn’t truly believe that. But now wasn’t the time to convince her otherwise.
The beanstalk continued to shrink next to us, the ground coming ever closer. The guards were far above us still, not able to fly nearly as fast as we were falling. But it didn’t matter. We’d be dead before they reached us.
If only I had my shadow. If only I could access my magic. I squeezed Poppy tighter, and she curled into me, even as the wind raged around us.
Then, it all stopped, and we hung in the sky once again. My stomach slowly sank back to where it belonged in my body, my heart thumping hard with adrenaline. I looked down to see Driscoll and Leoni below us, standing on the ground, Driscoll commanding the beanstalk to grab us. It wrapped around our waists and gently lowered us until our feet touched the ground. We both stumbled out of the beanstalk’s hold and onto the stone street, mostly empty as dusk fell over the city.
The guards yelled out far above, swooping downward, flying as fast as their wings allowed against the rough winds.
