Page 39 of Vathia
Nero hops onto my outstretched hand. “Can we show them?” he begs, bobbing his body with excitement.
We have been working on connecting to each other so we can see through each other’s eyes. The only thing is that when I’m in that state, my body is left vulnerable until I let go, which leaves me disoriented for a few moments. It would be great for scouting, as long as someone was watching over me so I wouldn’t get hurt.
Laughing at Nero’s antics I nod. “Here, I’ll show you. Just, if someone else is coming, tap on my shoulder and I’ll come back.”
Melissandre claps excitedly and glances between my familiar and me while Lennox waits eagerly. “Don’t worry, we won’t let anything happen to you. You have our word,” he states seriously.
With a deep breath, I place my hands on my knees and search for the first bond, my oldest bond. When I find it, I let my consciousness drift down it, pushing past the panic-inducing dropping feeling that happens. When I open my eyes, I see what Nero does.
It’s disorienting at first. Colors explode into sight, colors I didn’t even know existed; plus my range of vision is much wider. It’s like I’m seeing the realm for the very first time. We’ve mostly stayed in my room at night while we got the hang of this, but during the day… It’s stunning.
Nero peers up at me and I nearly laugh, seeing my mouth is gaping open, before transforming into a smile.
“This is definitely strange,” I hear myself say through Nero’s ears.
Lennox leans closer to me, well to where my body sits. “Your eyes are pure black. The whites are gone and everything.”
“If he flies around the castle, would you still see what he does?” Mel asks, glancing between Nero and me like she’s not sure who she should be speaking to.
“Oh! Please tell me that I can take you for a flight? The oversized reptile always gets to take you.”
“If you don’t stop calling me that, I’ll roast your little bird brain and we can find her a new familiar. Something less annoying perhaps, like a chicken,” Vasari adds. I can feel her intrigued by what we’re doing.
“But chickens are much more annoying with all their clucking and egg-laying,” Nero states.
I can practically smell the smoke puffing from Vasari’s nostrils. “Precisely.”
He gasps in horror, so I butt in before they start going at it again. “Let’s go for a short one? I’m not comfortable staying like this for too long yet,” I tell him. Plus this would be the first time I’m leaving my body out of sight.
He ruffles his feathers, still annoyed, but he expands his wings and it feels like it’s almost my own wings that are lifting us into the air. He circles around above where we are sitting and I see everything. No matter how high he flies, I can see creatures moving about in the nearby trees, or fae moving about inside the castle through the windows as they go about their duties. I can see why Nero enjoys staying at heights. He takes me around the castle a few times before I feel this odd sensation of being tapped on the arm, even though I have no fae limbs in this form.
In a panic, I pull out of Nero’s mind faster than I should. I blink and my sight is back to normal, but nausea claws up my throat as everything spins.
“I’m so sorry, Rav. Lennox thought it might be a good idea if we tested that you could actually feel us, because it didn’t seem like you could hear anything we were saying once Nero took off.”
I roll onto my side and block out the sun that’s shining down on my face. “It’s okay. Just a note to future me, be prepared with something to puke in. I’ve never pulled away from our connection so quickly or at a distance. Usually it’s not this bad, but we should practice that sometime and see if coming back slower would help.”
Lennox nods thoughtfully. “That wouldn’t be good if we were under attack. Promise me you’ll never practice this alone.”
“The only time I’ve done it is in my room before bed.”
Mel shakes her head. “Len is right. Until you can figure out a way to be more aware of your surroundings while you’re with Nero, you need someone around you can trust to keep you safe.”
“Maybe I can make a schedule with you and the others. I need to train every ability I have, and I need to be more than just efficient at it. Is that okay? Would you be willing to help?” I ask nervously.
We may have grown close, but a part of me still can’t believe that they left everything behind to follow me here, to help me in whatever the fates have planned for me.
“Of course!” Mel grins as Lennox nods his head. “Let’s go find the others. I think Ember has been training with the Vathian warriors that have been hanging around, and if we find her we will most likely find Roz.
Watching those two is how they must feel watching my mates and I. It’s clear they have feelings for each other, but Ember hasn’t given an inch no matter how much Rozen follows her around like a puppy.
As we stagger to our feet, still sore from our torture session with Batsil, Nero comes flying in like an arrow. “Carriage incoming. I think Lady Zorn is finally back from wherever she disappeared to.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
AMETHYST HAS SUMMONED US ALL to be present at dinner tonight. Which means it’s finally time for me to bring up the danger that’s lurking under Phixmery. I’m not sure how I feel about informing everyone, but I know I need to trust those around me and that includes the Lords’ sons—my mates.
Jesper finds me in the hall as I exit my room and scoops me into his arms, his mouth finding mine like it’s the most natural thing in the world, his ocean and mint scent washing over me, calming me. When he places me back on my feet a frown pulls at his lips. “What’s wrong? Who hurt you? Tell me and I’ll take your bird on a hunt,” he states without me getting a word in edgewise.
