Wingborn (10 page)

“
Certainly, my lord.” Placing her slim fingers upon her
husband’
s, she rose smoothly and they left the room, neither
sparing a glance in Mhysra
’
s direction.

It was only when she was certain they
ha
d gone that she
allowed her head to drop into her hands. That had not gone
well.

Milluqua pulled her to her feet.
“Come. Off t
o bed with you. Things
might seem better in the morning.
”

Feeling battered and bruised, Mhysra
nevertheless straightened her shoulders.
“
Yes. At least I know what has to be done
now. They
’
ve made their
choice. Now I will make mine.
”
When her sister made a sound of distress, Mhysra
smiled and squeezed her hand.
“
It
’
s all
right, Milli. It will all work out. You
’
ll see.
”

It would have to.

10
^th
Blizzard

“I
T
’
S PURE SPITE,
”
Mhysra grumbled as she
vigorously combed tangles out of the horsat
’
s mane, while her puppy growled from the
doorway.
“
See, Bumble
agrees. She
’
s heard them
too.
”

Mherrin snorted and pushed Ripple
’
s wing out of the way so that he
could brush her side. The horsat stood patiently, tracking both
humans
’
movements with
her swivelling ears.

“
Didn’
t it take Kilai years to get
permission?
”
Derrain
asked, from where he was lounging in the doorway.

“
Two
very long years,” Milluqua agreed from her seat on an upturned
bucket, as she checked the braiding on Ripple’
s reins. A
lady she might be, but she
’
d also been raised in practical Wrentheria.

“
You
didn’
t have to live with his sulking,
”
Mherrin groaned.
“
How we suffered!
”

Milluqua sniffed.
“
You didn
’
t have to put up with the earl
’
s disapproval.
”

“
At
least it isn’t aimed at you,” Mhysra grumbled, attacking
Ripple’
s tail.
“
It will never be aimed at you.
”

“
Bitterness does not become you, dearest,” Derrain cooed,
ducking the brush she threw at his head. The puppy barked and
strained her lead to
reach it.
“
Here you go, bumbling pup.
”
Derrain gave her the brush and she
settled down with it between her paws, tail wagging, teeth
chomping.

“
You
can’
t give her that!
”
Mhysra snatched it away.
“
She
’
ll break it.
”

“
You
shouldn’
t have thrown it then. Bumble might get
hurt.
”

While
they bickered, Milluqua handed the bridle to her cousin. “Tell
Mhylo to take better care of his tack – this braiding is badly
frayed. Ripple’
s a good mare, but it
’
s not something you want unravelling
mid-flight.
”

“
Thanks,
Milli. I’
ll let him know, not that he
’
ll be grateful. Lazy git.
”
Kissing her cheek, Mherrin began
tacking up. When Mhysra put Ripple
’
s saddle on, he caught her eye over the
horsat
’
s back.
“
You are going to hand
that letter in, aren
’
t
you?
”

“Depends,” she
mumbled. Her cousin raised his eyebrows and she focused on the
buckles. Since he was the one who’d forged her father’s signature,
he should have been the one advising caution. After all, he would
have the most to lose if they were caught. Then again, Mherrin had
never had much sense. Whereas she probably had too much misdirected
honour. “I just wish they’d say yes. It doesn’t feel right starting
out this way.”

Her cousin gave a cheerful shrug.
“
More fool them. And
more fool you.
”
He
tweaked her nose.
“
I
can
’
t see why
you
’
d want to work with
those toffs, but since you do and it
’
s what Cumulo needs, good luck to you,
cuz.
”

“
And
you.” Ducking under Ripple’
s neck, she threw her arms around
Mherrin. He
was
her
favourite cousin and she
’
d miss him. The past four days had been horrible
and full of arguments, but Mherrin had made it bearable. He could
always cheer her up.

“
Don’
t get dismal now,
”
he murmured, and she smiled.

“Watch your
back.” She slapped him between his shoulder blades. “A lone flyer
is always vulnerable, especially on a horsat.”

He rolled his eyes as he pulled away.
“
I
’
ve flown even more than you, Wingborn. I
think I can take care of myself.
”

“Make sure you
do,” Milluqua said sternly, coming over to neaten his collar. “I’d
be displeased if anything happened to you.”

Mherrin glanced despairingly at Derrain.
“
Girls!
”

Derrain smirked but wisely said nothing, as
he untied Bumble and moved aside so that Ripple could leave her
stall unmolested.
“
Fast
winds and clear skies.
”

“
T
ry not to die of boredom at the selection
school.
”
Once outside,
Mherrin hopped into the saddle and tucked his knees beneath
Ripple
’
s wings. The
horsat shivered all over and pranced with readiness.
“
Until next time!
”
At Mherrin
’
s signal, Ripple lifted her head and galloped for
the takeoff ramp, wings unfurling. One beat, two, she hit top speed
and leapt.

For a moment they hung weightless over the
sheer drop to the Cloud Sea, hundreds of feet below, then the wind
caught beneath Ripple and she soared. Spiralling on the updraft,
leathery wings spread wide, she circled and rose with each lazy
flap. With a final wave, Mherrin gathered his reins and Ripple
powered forward, legs galloping on the air, and away they went.

Mhysra sighed, wishing she could go too. She
missed her miryhl chicks, the lively manor, the calm lake and
Cumulo
’
s ridiculous
attempts to dominate the bullwing herd. But that was her old life,
over a thousand miles away. A life where women were excluded from
the Riders and the occasional miryhl could be spared. Things were
different now. If only her parents would agree.

“Here we go,”
Milluqua muttered, and Mhysra realised she’d clenched her jaw.

“
I
f you
’
re
off to pick another fight, I
’
ll bid you good day,
”
Derrain said, slapping Bumble
’
s lead into her hand.
“
Lieutenant Stirla offered to show me the
eyries.
”

Unable to face another argument, Mhysra
smiled wearily.
“
I
’
ll
come too, if you don
’
t
mind.
”

Milluqua sighed with relief and snatched
Bumble
’
s lead.
“
Excellent idea.
I
’
ll take this one. Make
sure you
’
re back in time
for dinner.
”
Not waiting
in case Mhysra changed her mind, the older Kilpapan sister hurried
off as if a pyrefly pack was nipping at her heels.

Chuckling, Derrain hooked his arm through
hers.
“
Seems
you
’
re stuck with me
then.
”

“Seems I am.”
Mhysra wrinkled her nose. “However will I cope?”

“BEAUTIFUL, SO BEAUTIFUL. W
ho knew letting women back into the Riders would
reap such exquisite rewards?”

Eyebrows raised, Lyrai led the visitors
through the eyries towards the cooing voice. The place was mostly
deserted at this time of day, with one flurry on duty and the other
preferring to escape the cold. Everyone, that is, except for
Stirla. Since Lyrai could see Stirla
’
s miryhl, Atyrn, hunched miserably near the doors,
it was safe to assume the lieutenant was busy elsewhere.

“
Absolutely glorious. Are you sure you wouldn’
t like
to spend your life with me? I
’
d treat you as wonderfully as you deserve. I could
–
”

Lyrai led the two youngsters within sight of
the love-struck lieutenant and coughed. Since one of the visitors
happened to be bonded to the miryhl Stirla was sweet-talking, Lyrai
grinned as his friend spun around. Despite all the scrapes
they
’
d been caught in
over the years, Lyrai had never seen Stirla look guilty before.
This was very interesting.

“Er…”

“
Afternoon, Stirla
. Hope we
’
re not interrupting.
”

Mhysra folded her arms and glared, while
Derrain lounged against an unused perch, grinning.

Stirla inched away from the miryhl, making
innocent gestures with his hands.
“Um…”

The miryhl lowered his head and chuckled, so
Mhysra turned her scowl on him.

“If you want
rid of me, Cue, just say.”

Cumulo raised his head and squawked.
Feathers rose on his face and head, and he glowered at Stirla. The
lieutenant ducked under a perch and backed away.

“
Don’
t you blame him,
”
the girl snapped.
“
Look me in the eyes when I
’
m talking to you, Cumulo. And
don
’
t try that innocent
act on me.
”
The miryhl
had been making supplicating purrs, but at this his feathers
fluffed up with affront.
“
Nor that either. I
’
m wise to all your tricks. I know they
’
ve all approached you, but
you
’
ve been encouraging
them. Thirteen offers, Cue.
Thirteen!
”

Stirla slunk over to Lyrai.
“
If I
’
d known I was part of a crowd, I wouldn
’
t have bothered.
”

Lyrai patted him sympathetically on the
shoulder, just as the girl spun on her heel and jabbed a finger in
Stirla
’
s direction.
“
And you should be
ashamed of yourself – trying to cozen a miryhl away from their
bonded. Especially when you
ha
ve a perfectly good mount of your own.
”
She shoved her miryhl aside and
approached Atyrn, stroking the neglected eagle with soothing hands.
“
Such a beauty too. Men
are such idiots not to value a treasure when they have
one.
”

“
She
has
a point,
”
Lyrai murmured. Even bigger than Cumulo, Atyrn was the envy of many
Riders. So dark she was almost black, she was strong and had the
best endurance out of all the eagles in Captain Myran
’
s flight. She was also steadfast
and willing to push through any weather. There were few better
miryhls to be had than Atyrn.
“
Badly done, my friend.
”

Lady Mhysra snorted scornfully.
“
As if you weren
’
t the first to approach Cue,
”
she muttered. Stirla and Derrain
laughed, but the girl ignored them. She was wary of him, Lyrai
knew. Unlike Stirla, who was friendly and flirtatious with any and
everyone, young women made Lyrai nervous. He never knew how to
treat them. It was bad enough when he was obliged to spend time
with his sisters, and they were family. Apparently, Mhysra felt the
same way towards him. Under normal circumstances, Lyrai would be
delighted to be avoided, but when she became a student
…
He
’
d have to work on his manners.

“
Come
on, Mhysra, don’
t be grouchy,
”
Derrain cajoled.
“
As if Cumulo would leave you. He
’
s put up – I mean
you
’
ve
put up with
him for sixteen years.
”

She
smiled reluctantly. “You’
re not Mherrin.
”

“But I get
points for trying, right?” the lad appealed to the lieutenants.

She shoved his shoulder.
“
Give over, Derry. Didn
’
t you want something here?
”

As the boy turned to Stirla, asking to be
shown around the eyries, Lyrai watched the girl murmur something to
Atyrn, while the miryhl rubbed her affectionately on the shoulder
with her head. Then, despite Cumulo
’
s jealous growls, Mhysra kissed the
eagle
’
s beak. Only after
she had checked that her friend was still busy with Stirla did she
approach her bonded.

Hooking his beak over her shoulder, Cumulo
tugged her close and hustled her under his wing. When girl
protested, her miryhl growled and turned his head so they could
continue their argument in whispers.