I guess I’m about to find out.
I stand up, my shirt gripped firmly in place at my chest, and wait for him to show me which path I’m destined to tread. He moves smoothly down the aisle, and I’m once again taken aback by how gracefully gryphons move in spite of their gargantuan size. I fall into step behind him and shield my eyes as we step out of the dimly lit chapel into the bright crystalline building.
He walks over to a door across the corridor and pushes it open. I follow him out onto a balcony, and I’m forced to jump back in surprise when enormous white wings spring from his back. Another shocked squawk escapes my mouth when my own wings shove their way out uninvited. It’s like they saw what he was working with and said hold my beer. I teeter from the unexpected arrival of my onyx feathered appendages, and Treno reaches out to steady me. He has a goofy grin on his face as he does, and my brow furrows with annoyance.
Just what the fuck does he find so amusing?
I tie my mangled shirt halter style around my neck and waist and grunt in satisfaction when it stays put, covering everything I want. Treno gives a quick flap of his beautiful snow-white wings as he watches me, and not to be outdone, my wings give a flap of their own. I glare at them over my shoulder and send a stern mental cut it out. We’re not three years old, and this is not the copycat game.
Treno chuckles quietly and then announces, “Follow me, flower.”
With that, he leaps off the open crystal balcony, and his stunning wings work to propel him up. I look around at all the structures around me. They look like odd naturally formed high-rises. They aren’t tidy and right-angled like the cityscapes back in my world, but more organic and wild in their structure. It almost looks as though the Avowed chose skyscraper-sized crystal clusters to hollow out and then fortified the gem-like shells with iron veins and borders.
The buildings gleam and shine like diamonds under special lighting at a jewelry store. It’s breathtaking and disorienting. I look down, hoping to give my retinas a slight break from the shiny onslaught, and see neat and tidy streets below. Dots of people move like little ants beneath me, and other dots fly to and from other balconies like the one I’m standing on.
I take a deep breath and then leap off my perch. Immediately, cool crisp air fills my feathers, and I swear I can feel the wind embrace me and whisper welcome back as it whips past. I release a sigh and relax as a sense of rightness and belonging lifts me up like the current I seamlessly begin to ride. I move higher and higher away from what I now realize is an island that the Avowed call home, into the open sky. Each flap of my wings wipes away the fear and tension that has been settling into my muscles since I flew off the balcony of the cliff castle.
My life and world may be in shambles, but in this moment, flying through the bright blue cloudless sky, this is where I belong. The white-winged Treno hovers on a strong current like he doesn’t have a care in the world. I watch him for a moment and wonder what his deal is. Why was he out there in the Amaranthine Mountains? Why is he here now with me? It would make more sense to me if he dropped me off wherever it is they’ve decided I’ll live and then went on with his life as the second in command of the Avowed. Or if he treated me like the prisoner I clearly am. But instead, here we are like a pair of lazy seagulls just riding the wind for who knows what reason.
Did he do this for me? Or am I just along for the ride with him?
I’m tempted to close my eyes and let myself fully relax like the dimple-chinned Altern of the Avowed currently is, but as right as the sky feels, the world is still all kinds of wrong. I take in my surroundings, and with surprise, realize that the water surrounding the island of Kestrel City isn’t that of a lake like my first glimpse suggested. The island is actually positioned in the middle of a colossal and very fast-moving river. The water looks calm and peaceful all around the city, but from this height, I can see that it becomes frothy and dangerous as the rapids meet rocky outcrops further down. Beyond that, the river leaps off a cliff and dives down to places that I can’t see. Lush forest lines both banks of the river, and I spot guards both in the air and on the ground far out into the distance.
This place is fortified to the teeth, and I wonder how Zeph and his Hidden rebels hope to combat such a show of force. Cloud-tipped mountains just peek over the horizon, but I can’t make out their color. I also can’t remember if there were other mountain ranges on the map Nadi gave me. I release a resigned huff. Until I can find another map, there’s no way for me to know where I am in relation to where I need to be.
I look back down at the shining city below me and know that somewhere down there is a detailed drawing of this world, and I just need to find it. I look over at Treno, like I’m worried he can somehow hear my thoughts. He’s still riding the current, pockets of air filling his wings, but his eyes are no longer closed. No, instead, those mismatched irises are watching me intently. He moves closer to me, and I tense slightly.
“Let’s find somewhere quiet to land. I’d like to get to know you, maybe meet your gryphon if you’re up to it...introduce you to mine?” he offers. “I’m sure you have a lot of questions.”
I’m so used to Sutton and others referring to their gryphon as if they are one in the same, so it’s strange to me to hear Treno talk about his like it’s a beloved pet he wants to introduce me to. I run my gaze over his windswept long white hair and feel a strange warmth with just a hint of alarm. I have more in common with him than I ever did with any of the Hidden. Well, aside from Ouphe tainted Ami, that is.
The fact that he’s even offering to answer any questions at all is surprising. Begrudgingly I realize I could learn a lot here if I’m allowed.
“That sounds weird and all,” I say with a cheeky smile I can’t help, “but I’ll pass on the gryphon playdate, thanks though.”
I once again remind myself to rein in the snark and not piss off team Lazza, but even if I wanted to see if our gryphons got along, Pigeon is still in a world of hurt right now. I’m not sure how long it will take for her to be up for a meet and greet, assuming that’s a thing here. Judging by the way Treno’s brow furrows at my refusal, I’d guess gryphon introductions are a thing here. I’m reminded of a bumper sticker I saw once that read “If my dog doesn’t like you, I probably won’t either.” Is it like that with the gryphons here?
“Why?” Treno finally asks, and I smile as I visualize a female telling a male it’s not you, it’s my gryphon.
“Why what?” I query as I pull my thoughts away from all the things a girl could blame on her gryphon. “Ma’am, you cannot move into a Tim Hortons!”
“But my Pigeon wants me to!”
I shake away the thought and focus on what Treno is saying.
“Why don’t you want our gryphons to meet?” he repeats as he starts to circle me.
Why do I suddenly feel like I’m being hunted? And why do I suddenly like the idea of that?
“Pidge, is that you?” I ask, but nothing happens.
“It’s not you, it’s me,” I tell him, biting back the chuckle that bubbles up my throat. “Even if I wanted to introduce you to my girl”—which I don’t—“she’s not available right now.”
He looks even more confused now. His dark eyebrows dip down, and his blue and purple gaze moves to my ebony wings behind me and then back to my face. He opens his mouth to say something else, but I cut him off.