The Usurper's Throne

6

I stood there is silence, taking in the horrible scene. Death was such an ugly thing. I finally turned back to the fire pit. Beyond that, there looked to be a clearing roughly the size of a professional sports field. Everything else was wooded. I could see hills in the distance. Oh, yes, I was going to fly.

"Naomi, I don't think you should fly right now," Damien said, interrupting my fantasy.

"Why?" I asked, shocked. It took all my wisdom not to pretend that I didn't hear him and launch into the sky.

He set a hand on my shoulder. "You are still healing. What if you have an...episode... in the sky?"

I turned to face him, moving his hand off my shoulder. "Fine. I won't," I promised. I took a step back.

He nodded and then tilted his head as I took another step. "Wait. You won't what?"

"I won't have an episode," I said giddily. With that, I turned and stepped up on the bricks of the fire pit. I pushed down hard and pulled my wings down hard to propel myself into the sky.

"Naomi!" Damien yelled angrily. I glanced down, suddenly a bit fearful of how he was reacting. His beautiful face had been covered in rage. I brushed it off. I couldn't change that.

After a few seconds, I was above the castle and grinning like an idiot. The pounding in my chest had lifted. I could breathe. I hovered for a few seconds. I didn't feel nauseous or tired. In fact, the tension and stress in my back seemed to fall away with each stroke of my wing. I glance down at Damien, who had shifted into his golden wolf.

"I'm okay, Damien!" I called. "Give me five minutes!"

With that, I turned and began to swoop down toward the heads of the trees. Flying near trees was different than the dunes; far more of them jutted up higher, forcing me to pay attention to my height. There was a wooded mountain in the distance. It was not nearly as large as Redwood's mountains, but it was beautiful, nevertheless. I soared higher and higher until the trees blurred into a swirl of green. I blinked a few times, magnifying my vision. I could peer between trees, catching sight of a golden streak running through the forest behind me.

Let's see him try to catch up.

I dove down, gaining speed and flying as fast as I could away from the castle. The castle was perched on one of the tall hills, the spires peeking out over the tops of the trees.

I sped faster and faster until even my magnified vision lost sight of the golden wolf. Finally, I relaxed in the air.

The air was cool and smooth against my skin. My wings had been aching for this, I realized. They had been shut in for too long. I spun in the air, rejoicing at the exhilaration in my stomach.

Suddenly, golden sparks jumped to my fingers. I fell a few feet in shock before staring at the buzzing, hot energy at my fingertips. I turned my hands over, marveling at the sight. I touched my hands together and they sizzled. They weren't hot. They felt energetic, dramatic, and fierce. They felt good.

As quickly as they arrived, they sparkled out.

Strange. I turned back and realized that I was very far away. I had promised Damien five minutes and I had already been flying for far longer than that. On top of that, my stomach rumbled. I sighed and swung around, flying back.

When I landed near the fire pit, Damien was sat angrily in one of the metal chairs. He stood up, half frustrated, half relieved. "Naomi! That was half an hour," he said.

I smiled. "Sorry," I said honestly. "I didn't intend for it to last that long. I just hadn't been out for so long. It felt...so good."

He walked up to me, and the frustration faded into a soft concern. "I didn't know flying meant that much to you."