around in the air. “My bad!” I shout out to him before my wings sweep us quickly away, silently flapping, retreat!
Well, that was fucking embarrassing.
“Way to go, assholes,” I snap at them. They fluff up argumentatively, like they’re reminding me that I’m the one who thought it was Crux first. I really hate these things.
They start flying and flipping me around again, and I have to dodge a body out of nowhere, my body practically falling off the side of the scythe as I lean. I realize that some of the other Abdicated have taken to the sky and are doing all kinds of aerial tricks, like I’ve just started a trend and everyone wants in on the action.
Finally, my wings balance me out, with absolutely no help from me whatsoever, and I hold onto my scythe for dear life, telling them to knock it the fuck off. But like they’re answering some kind of unspoken dare, they start really flying. They’re soaring, flapping, doing fucking laps above the fountain, going as fast as they fucking can, and my stomach lurches into my throat.
With wide, panicked eyes, I slap one hand over my mouth, instantly hit with a violent, crushing wave of horrible motion sickness.
Oh my fuck, I’m gonna puke. Right on Tazreel’s buck ass naked statue.
9
Puking my guts up right in the middle of my own damn progeny party is a level of mortifying I’m not ready to face. Puking my guts up because my own wings gave me motion sickness is really just adding insult to injury.
I look over my shoulder, internally begging my wings to stop fucking with me before I projectile vomit that horrible dinner Tazreel forced me to take bites of. I cannot suffer that shit again.
“Unghh!” I yell at my wings, my hand still firmly over my mouth to hold off the hurling.
The wings swoop me around, really showing off to the crowd as they lift me higher and higher, flying over the masses, ignoring me completely.
Oh God, please stop.
I try to kick my foot and head butt the top of my wings, but that does absolutely nothing except make me start somersaulting again. I know I must look like a fucking loon, and people are laughing below, but I ignore them. I can die of embarrassment after I’m safely on the ground.
“Stop fucking flying!” I scream at my wings, but they just loop around some other Abdicated soaring near us. I don’t fucking know how to fly, let alone land, and I need these things to work with me and get me down ASAP.
“I will snap you off my back if you don’t fucking stop right now!” I tell them on a growl.
To my surprise, my outstretched, attention-whore wings actually listen to that threat. But instead of them nicely gliding me down to the ground, they just snap flat against my back, just like that. Fucking purple assholes!
I go plummeting to the ground.
“Come back out, come back out!” I scream at them, but the stubborn feathered pricks don’t listen. Wind whips at my hair and face as I go falling feet-first. The scythe slips out from between my legs, and I hold it in front of me, wishing it would go all Transformers on me again and turn into a fucking parachute, but nope.
I’m going to go splat, right next to the damn orgy.
I squeeze my eyes shut tight and embrace for impact like I’m a pilot crash-landing in the Hudson, but instead of my body splattering all over everyone’s Stupor hookahs, a pair of strong, hot arms catch me.
“Oomph!”
My eyes fly open at the masculine grunt, and I look up at the person who cradled my fall.
“Jerif,” I breathe out in relief.
“That was a terrible landing, Warrior Princess.”
I let out a somewhat hysterical laugh as my nerves leave me shaking. But I only have about a second of comfort before my stomach tilts again, and I wriggle out of his hold. “Oh fuck, I’m gonna puke.”
Jerif lets me go as I hop down onto my feet and plant my legs, bending over to brace my hands on my knees, my scythe still in my grip.
I feel a cool hand on the exposed skin of my upper back, and hear a calm voice. “Just breathe, Maverick.”
I look over at Iceman standing beside Jerif, and then see Echo and Crux right beside them. Fully clothed. At seeing the four of them standing here, I actually am able to take a deep, calming breath. “You