Page 145 of Black Wing and Shadows
“Gracefully,”she corrected, and I could feel her smirk.
“Wing Commander Corson—” I started.
“While we are away from campus, I am simply Nikolai to you,” he shot a look at Sadie and then Landon, “you two as well.”
“Alright—Nikolai—where are you from?”
“Where. Are. We. Going?” He said with such confusion, as if I was expected to know his origins.
“So, from Ashwynd?”
“Yes, on the outskirts, but yes. Ror—Zane and I actually grew up together.”
I shot a look at Zane.“You never told me that.”
“I mean if I told you everything, it would take months and months… there’s entirely too much.”
“He almost called you Roarke.”
“That he did, and yes, he knows.”
“Clearly, you didn’t know. Over the last few years, we haven’t been as close, been busy in different branches both leading, but I will always be a Drusearon at heart.”
I think my eyes bugged out of my head. Holy shit, he was one of the few Drusearons that had been born with mixed Fae parents, leaving him without wings.
“Wow… yeah, I didn’t know, and I didn’t know that either.”
He shot me a smile and looked forward. Nikolai’s composure was always maintained with discipline. A more relaxed version hadn’t been witnessed before. Countless questions were held back about his missing wings, curiosity stifled to avoid prying. Landon had also been a Drusearon, born without wings, whose mother was a Sorcerer.
The wind tore at my braid as we leveled out into steady flight. The horizon stretched wide and pale, the world below nothing but a smear of frost-tipped trees and the winding river we were following northwest.
“Formation’s sloppy,” Remus growled, his voice carrying easily across the space between us. His broad black wings flexed once, shifting into position like it was the easiest thing in the world. “If this were a real patrol, we’d already be attacked.”
“Thank you for the encouragement,” Sadie shot back, patting Korra’s neck as the griffin shrieked loud enough to make her point. “Always inspiring.”
“Better harsh truth than a funeral,” Remus said.
“Gods, you two sound like my parents,” Landon groaned, his phoenix flaring a plume of gold fire that arced across the sky. “And before you say it—yes, I’m still single, no, I don’t need the lecture.”
Nikolai’s laugh rolled out across the air, low and sharp. “Still single because no sane female wants to spend her evenings smelling like burnt feathers.”
“Better burnt than brooding,” Landon shot back, tilting his phoenix into a cocky half-roll. “Tell me, Nikolai, do you practice looking like a storm cloud, or does it come naturally?”
“Natural talent,” Nikolai said, without missing a beat. His dragon’s wings beat once, hard, sending a gust that rocked Landon sideways.
Sadie cackled. “Oh, that’s rich. The Wing Commander is taking cheap shots.”
“Not cheap,” Nikolai said, his grin flashing. “Instructional.”
I bit my lip to hide my laugh, tightening my grip as Esme banked lazily into their draft. She rumbled along our bond,“this is what Riders do—fight, boast, compare scars. Always trying to prove who has the sharpest tongue.”
“And you’re enjoying it,”I thought.
“Immensely.”
Zane hadn’t said much, but I felt his presence steady in the bond, calm and watchful. He moved a little ahead of us, wings stretched wide, the early light sparking across their dark span.
“Silent as ever,” Nikolai called toward him, his tone edged with familiarity. “Not going to join in? Or do you think we’re beneath you, as usual?”
