A Queen of Gilded Horns (A River of Royal Blood #2) - Amanda Joy Page 0,70

I know,” Aketo teased.

I gave him a shove. I was not stubborn. Or at least I was not as stubborn as Baccha. “It’s better we focus on Myre, and not those hiding outside its borders.”

“Right,” he breathed. “We are planning a rebellion sure to bring the army down on our heads.”

I lay back in the grass, wings spread out beneath me, and stared up at the endless azure sky. “Must we talk of our doomed future?”

Aketo leaned over and kissed my throat. “Is there anything else you want to discuss?”

Warmth spilled over every inch of my skin as he breathed the words into my neck. “I . . . I don’t think so.”

“Good,” he whispered. I couldn’t help my sigh of disappointment as he climbed to his feet and held out a hand. “There is something I want to show you.”

* * *

We walked farther onto the grounds, passing the small pond where most of the animals gathered. Then past the copse of tall acacia trees where three towering giraffes regarded us with little interest as they reached for the leaves on the uppermost branches.

Until finally we stopped at an untilled field with sparse Plain grass up to our waists. “I should have begun teaching you this as soon as I learned you were khimaer. But we’ve had little opportunity and . . .”

And the one time Aketo had joined me to spar since we arrived in Orai, we’d ended up arguing about Isadore, and neither of us was inclined to try again until now.

“Taught me what?”

He removed his sword belt. “The true potential of your body. I’m sure you’ve noticed an increase in stamina since the binding broke.” I’d been spending my afternoons exploring that new endurance before I fell. “I am going to show you how to run.”

“What—” I began, but he took off, sprinting across the field.

He blurred, seeming to fly through the grass. I blinked just once, and when I opened my eyes, my mouth fell open. I squinted, and sure enough, he was all the way across the field, grinning.

He ran back and this time I concentrated until I could track him with my eye. “What the hell was that? I’ve never seen you move that fast.”

Even Baccha only moved with such speed in rare circumstances.

“We call it cashina, or true speed. All khimaer, and fey for that matter, are significantly quicker than humans. I noticed you harnessed a small amount of that speed sometimes when we fought, but it didn’t occur to me that you were harnessing cashina.”

“How?” I wiped my sweating palms on my thighs. This explained that endless well of energy within.

“It’s a simple matter of concentration. First clear your mind of any errant thought.”

And how exactly was I to accomplish that? When I glared at him, Aketo laughed. “You might try finding the music first.”

So I shut my eyes and listened to the wind knifing through the high grass. Beyond that, I heard the faint grunts and huffs of the animals nearby and the steady rhythm of Aketo’s breathing.

“Good,” he murmured. “Now open your eyes. Find a point to focus on. That will keep you from becoming disoriented the first few times.”

Across the grass, I spied a flowering bush with fuchsia blooms. One slightly wilted flower rose higher than the rest. “Can I try now?”

“You’ll want to keep your wings tucked as close as possible.”

I did as he instructed, my back aching as I drew in the wings.

I took one step, holding the image of the flower foremost in my mind, then another.

And then I felt it, a fierce buzzing in my limbs, and with the next step, I shot forward. My feet ghosted over the grass like I was an apparition. I felt nothing but the wind fighting against my speed.

I tore through it and in another blink, I could see the bush, just a few steps away. But I was moving too quick to stop, so instead I leaped over the bush and expanded my wings. As I’d hoped, catching the air slowed my momentum until I fell and rolled head over foot a few times.

I lay there in the dirt, heart racing. No, not racing— singing—begging for the chance to do that again.

Aketo was there when I finally climbed to my feet. “Oh Gods, how could you wait this long to teach me this?”

“That was good. Only marginally embarrassing, but for your first run, a good showing. Eventually you’ll reach my speed, but that could take weeks of