Kingdom of Shadows and Wings (Dragons of Tirene, #1)

by Nina Frost

“If you don’t mind me asking, milady, since it’s none of my business…” Royce lifts his shoulders. “How long have you and Sterling been together?” My face burns, but I force a laugh. “Me and Thorne? Together?” I wave my hands in front of myself. “No, you have us all wrong.”

“He’s my flight instructor. To be honest, he despises me.” Royce’s bushy gray eyebrows inch up. “Your definition of despise must be different than mine. That man watches you the way a mutt watches a roast chicken…like he wants to devour you.”

“That’s…no. You’re mistaken.” Though part of me wishes he weren’t. “We annoy each other, Royce. Thorne’s bossy and loves yanking my chain.” Poor Royce struggles not to smile. “Whatever yanking your chain is…do you like him doing that?”

“So that book you mentioned in your letter. From Peaches? Do you have it with you by chance?” “Oh, yes, hold on.” Royce hops up, disappears behind the bar, and returns holding a book with deep blue binding. “Strangest thing. The book was sent from Flighthaven. It was addressed to Peaches, care of Royce, and had the tavern name. I figured I should let you know right away, since Leesa…you know. Any word on her whereabouts?”

“Not yet, but I’m hoping this might help.” Though I’m dying to thumb through the pages in search of clues, I tuck the book into my cloak pocket. Not a moment later, Thorne reappears at my side, pulling me off the plank seat. “Time to go. Good to meet you, Royce. Don’t worry, Axton and I will make certain your food pantry stays open, the constables and merchants don’t threaten you any longer, and everyone has enough to eat.”

“Whatever you’re reading, can you do it later? We don’t have time for that now.” When we reach the shed, Zephyr greets us with a spirited neigh. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we’re going to need to make time for this.” I wave the map under his nose. “Just a slight detour. Won’t take long at all.” “No. Absolutely not.”

“If I don’t take you, you’re going to sneak out again, aren’t you?” “Yup.”

“Yes, sir.” He leans forward, his hot breath feathering against my cheek. “Watch how you say that, Duchess, or one day you’re going to get more than you bargained for.” His low growl boils my blood. “Now tell me where to go.”

I scramble off the alicorn’s back first. “Wait here. It should only take a few minutes.” Thorne loops the reins around a branch. “Nice try, Duchess. No way in the three hells am I letting you totter off into the dark forest at night without an escort.” I roll my eyes. “I don’t totter. And, gee, I didn’t know you cared.” “Don’t let it go to your head. I can’t very well leave Flighthaven with a fledgling and come back empty-handed.” “Whatever you say.”

Thorne stops beside me and scowls. “That’s it? We took a detour so you could pick some flowers?” Muttering, I shake my head. “This can’t be all. I must be missing something.”

Crawling closer, I shove the foliage aside and hover the light above the stone. The grooves I felt are words. It’s a grave marker. “Why did you want to show me this?” I murmur. And then I actually read the engravings, and the earth sways beneath me. A low buzzing fills my ears. “What…how can…what…” Every sentence dies in my throat. Because the name on the grave marker? It’s mine. Lark Axton Beloved daughter and sister Born the same year as me. Dead four years later.

Thorne squats beside me, rubbing his big hand in a circle on my back. “What is it? You okay?” Shaking my head no, I point a quivering finger at the marker. When he reads, he goes utterly still. For some reason, the proof of his reaction allows my lungs to resume functioning. “How can that be? That’s the same year I was born.” Thorne rocks back on his heels. “What do you think it means?” He turns toward me, his eyes fixated on my face. “I don’t…I don’t know.” My voice wobbles. Tremors overtake my body. With a curse, Thorne pulls me to my feet and wraps his arms around me. I bury my face in his cloak, inhaling his familiar scent and letting his warm embrace soothe me back from the edge of a nervous breakdown.

Finally, he clears his throat. “Do you want to talk about it? I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation.” “No.” Not when my brain is reeling like someone whacked me on the skull with the broad side of a sword. I pause. “Wait. Like what?” His hesitation strikes me as odd. Thorne isn’t usually the type to choose his words carefully. “Perhaps…did you consider that you might be adopted?”

“Who was that man you spoke to outside the tavern? Is he the reason you were suddenly in such a rush to leave?” Behind me, his body stiffens even more. “You accomplished your goal, and it was time to get you back. Unless you’d like Torno and Bigley to find out you snuck out.”

“Who was that man?” “Just someone I used to know. Now, if you’re finished interrogating me, I suggest you take advantage of this time and pay attention to how I fly Zephyr.”

Zephyr veers to the left, derailing my train of thought. A timely interruption, because what in the gods am I doing? One kiss and act of kindness, and suddenly I’m imagining Thorne opening up to me like we’re in a serious relationship. Even with my inexperience, I know better. Okay. Fine. He can keep his secrets. That won’t stop me from running scenarios through my head.

Now I’m the one who’s tense. Thorne must notice because he throws me a bone. “Tell me about the food pantry. How long have you been helping with it? I bet your mother must be proud.” I laugh. “About two years. And, um, I have no idea if she’d be proud or not because I never told her. Actually, I’m pretty sure she’d be horrified.” “Why?” “Because then she’d know I snuck out. I told you, she’s overprotective.” “I remember, but surely she’s not so overprotective that she’d begrudge you leaving to do something so worthwhile.” I scoff. “You don’t know my mother.”

“What does that mean? You had to leave the castle sometimes. Meetups with friends, traveling, shopping…” “The only location I was allowed to visit with any regularity was the castle grounds, and even then I was rarely alone. My mother was always at my side or had Leesa stuck there. If possible, I think Mother would have glued us together. I’m sure she would have lost her mind if she knew Leesa helped me escape at night more than once.”

“I was wrong about you before, Axton.”

“When you first arrived, I had you pegged as just another brainwashed, pampered noble whose parents doted on her and who cared more about her social status and pretty gowns than the well-being of others. I jumped to conclusions based on limited information, and that’s on me.”

“I’ve watched you work to catch up at Flighthaven. Put in extra hours without complaint. I’ve seen you jump in to defend others, even when they don’t deserve it, and refuse to let hazing hold you back. Honestly, it doesn’t surprise me that you were defying your mother to help the less fortunate in your village…especially the defying part, as I’m personally acquainted with your knack for that. Royce is right. The village is lucky to have you.”

Thorne snakes an arm around my waist and pulls me closer to his chest. “You all right?” Not really. I’m confused and pissed at the weird reactions I keep experiencing for no reason. Since I can’t tell him that, I attempt to laugh it off. “Yup. Guess I’m just responding to feeling the freest I’ve felt in my life.” His grip tightens. “It’s sad…no, a crime…that your mother cooped you up like she did. I understand wanting to protect a child, but keeping them imprisoned, even if the prison is a spectacular castle? That’s wrong.”

“You’re saying you wanted her to treat you like⁠—” “A living, breathing doll? No. Of course not. But after my father died and I was hurt in the accident, my mother lost it. She’s always been afraid I’m going to die or disappear. I’m certain she’s shocked I’ve survived Flighthaven this long. She’s… No, I don’t want to revisit my past. It’s over, and I plan to never feel trapped like that again.” He eases closer. I risk covering his hand with mine and love it a little too much when he doesn’t pull away.