Page 30 of Enchantment of Silver and Sea
My eyes snapped open just in time to see the silver twinkle in his eye. Then we were falling.
It was over quickly, yet also seemed like it would never end.
As soon as I felt the rebound from Kieran’s feet hitting the ground, I took stock of myself. My stomach was in my throat. I tasted blood…I must have bit my lip. My arms and legs were shaking violently, wrapped as tightly around Kieran’s neck and waist as humanly possible.
Kieran gagged and yanked my hands down to his clavicle. “This may come as a surprise, but if you choke me out while we’re falling, our chances of survival decrease drastically.”
“Sorry,” I muttered. I wondered what our chances of survival would be if I vomited on him mid-fall instead. My throat tightened as if in preparation.
“No worries,” he called over his shoulder, jogging across the grass.
Nya was already on the other side of the road, in front of the brick high-rise. She ran straight at the building, then jumped at the last second, using her momentum and magic to catapult her up ten stories.
“I don’t think I’m going to handle this jump any better than the last one,” I said, dreading every step that brought us closer.
“You handled that last one just fine.” Kieran scanned the street, checking for patrollingEnforcersbefore sprinting across. “Besides, this isn’t so bad on my end. The feeling of you trembling and gasping, legs wrapped around me—”
“You may have distracted me the first time with that,” I interrupted. “But it’s not going to work again.”
Kieran laughed, the movement bouncing both of us. “Who said I was trying to distract you?”
That irritability that I felt the night of his and Nya’s second visit creeped up again. It only intensified as Kieran pushed off the ground and we catapulted through the air, landing so hard on the roof that my teeth clacked painfully against each other.
Jumping upwards had been better than falling, but I still felt nauseated and dizzy. My discomfort made me suddenly bold.
“You know,” I said. Taking a page from his book, I tilted my head so my lips brushed against his ear. I lowered my voice to a whisper. “It’s no fun being toyed with. That is what’s happening, right? Are you teasing me, Kieran?”
His steps faltered, and his breathing hitched. When he spoke, his voice was hoarse. “Which would offend you more—if I was messing with you, or if I was serious?”
I didn’t know. And I was suddenly terrified to know the truth. “What would offend me most,” I said, creating as much distance between us as I could with him still carrying me, “would be if you dropped me because you’re screwing around. Pay attention.”
I was being a coward, and we both knew it. But as we reached the other end of the roof, he said, “Noted.”
We continued in silence.
Kieran bounded from rooftop to rooftop, somehow managing to keep Nya within view. I wondered if it was the magic or his own strength and endurance that allowed him to do this so effortlessly.
I tried to maintain an awareness of where we were in the city. But by the eighth jump, I was staring at the inside of my eyelids and wishing for it to be over.
“Doing okay?” Kieran asked after a particularly long leap.
I realized I had groaned out loud. Normally that would’ve embarrassed me, but I was too miserable to care.
“I’m fine.” It felt like the right thing to say, but I couldn’t find the strength to make my voice sound convincing.
“I guess it’s safe to say that you get motion sick.” Kieran’s chuckle was comforting somehow. “No jumping from cliffs or diving from waterfalls for you.”
“You actually do all of that?”
“Sure. Not a lot of cliffs in this area, but if you keep heading north, you’ll come across some great spots.”
I thought about all the things he must have seen and experienced Outside, all the life he had lived. And then he was picking up speed again.
I braced myself.
We must have descended to a shorter building, because we sailed forward but also fell for much longer than I had anticipated. I pressed my face against the solid expanse of his shoulder, willing the contents of my stomach to stay put.
“I would stop if I could, to give you a break.” His voice was near my ear again. “But we have to keep moving.”
