Right. We’d better not go through that again. I straightened, pulling on my rumpled aketon. “Show me the shiny.”
“Not until after the lesson,” he said with a sardonic smile. “First things first: You’ll need to shift.”
I glanced around the clear area outside the cave. “Is there enough room?”
Tyrrik nodded. “Female Drae aren’t as big as males.”
“Why not?”
“Because they play different roles. They have different strengths and weaknesses.”
“Like what?”
“The females are the calming balance to the male’s volatile nature,” Tyrrik said.
Lame. “But I’m stronger and faster, and I have claws, wings, and fangs, right?”
His eyes softened. “Yes, just not to the same degree as a male. Except speed, that is.”
“Then what cool powers do I get?”
The Drae cleared his throat. “Enough questions, Ryn.” He lowered his voice and stepped closer. “Shift.”
Apprehension filled me, and my heart fluttered against my chest. What if I couldn’t do it? I opened my mouth to ask, but the question evaporated as Tyrrik ran his finger over my right shoulder blade.
“Shift,” he said in a deep voice.
Something primal took over, led by the unrelenting power in the baritone of his Drae voice. Dark energy caressed me, and I cried, “Tyrrik.”
Except the cry came out as a roar. A shimmering blue light exploded around me. Brilliant-blue scales erupted up my arms and neck, down my legs, and over my face. My fingernails became black hooked talons. My face lengthened, a thick bi-curved plate growing over the front of my chest. The blue energy pulsed from within, and I swelled in size, snorting in alarm as Tyrrik shrunk on the ground beneath me. Gigantic wings burst from my shoulder blades, the blue leathery skin stretching between the hollow bones still strong enough to keep this form in the air. Pain pinched at my lower back as I curved over to rest on all fours. The pressure there continued until a horned tail curled around to rest by my side. Razor-sharp fangs slid down over my powerful jaws, and I arched my Drae spine. I felt invincible and couldn’t help the deep satisfaction in my chest rumbling out in a deep purr.
The shimmering energy surrounding me settled and faded. The thoughts of my normal mind, my Phaetyn mind, settled into a corner, and the foreign, instinctual thoughts of the creature I’d become filled my head.
I was Drae. My race was as old as time.
Tyrrik approached with care, hands turned up in a gesture I recognized as deferential. I surveyed him down the length of my snout and decided to let the man touch me, but the decision was calculated. He was a Drae and far more powerful than me. The closer he came, the more I could feel his prowess and strength. Yes, this wasn’t one to anger. If anything, he’d be an excellent mate to provide strong young. My human mind broke out of its tiny corner. Whoa. Mate? Where did that come from? Me and my Drae form needed to get some things settled.
He rested his hand on my foreclaw. You are perfect, Khosana.
You just called me princess. That’s what Khosana meant? He’d been calling me princess this entire time? Do I speak Drae now?
In this form, yes.
My chest puffed out. I was Drae, and my form was perfect. My scales were unflawed lapis lazuli, my fangs were daggers; my tail was a battering ram. But I would not let his pretty words cheat me from the gold. A small part of my mind said I was being weird, the Phaetyn side again; I’d never really cared about wealth. But I really needed a golden trinket. We had a deal, Lord Tyrrik. Teach me to fly, then give me my treasure.
Though the urge to stretch my wings swelled from deep within, I worried. What if I did it wrong?
“We can only practice in this clearing,” he said, pursing his lips in a frown of apology.
I sniffed in disdain.
Tyrrik rounded behind me, and I tensed, instinctively knowing that was my weakest point of defense.
“Shh, Ryn,” he said soothingly. “You know I would never hurt you. I’m just going to show you what it feels like first.”
He took my right wing, and I followed his lead, stretching it out. I arched with pleasure as the breeze danced over my wing, the air causing it to lift.
“You were made to fly, and it will come to you naturally, in the same way you do not consciously inhale after exhaling,” the Drae said. He held onto the end of my wing, slowly lifting and pulling it down. “Can you feel how the air catches underneath when I do this?”
I can, I answered.
“Now pull them down together, both at the same time. Your wings will reflexively lift after a down stroke.”
He stepped around me, eying the drop off the edge of the clearing, then glanced out at the semi-circle of trees about ninety feet back from the edge. “There is not as much room here as I would like, but you’ll get the idea. When it’s safe, I promise, we’ll go for a real flight.”
I’m ready. I strode to the edge of the drop, my steps resounding with my body weight; I was about half the size of Tyrrik’s Drae form by my estimations. I stretched my neck over to survey the drop. It was about one hundred and fifty feet down.
Tyrrik continued muttering advice beside me. “Tuck your legs into your body. Flatten to speed up, and raise your head and tail to slow.”
I rolled my eyes and dropped over the side. His startled yell echoed behind me.
Stretching my wings wide, joy filled me as the current caught and held me, the air billowing beneath my wings. My fall was gently slowed until I was floating. I banked to the right around the semi-circle clearing then pulled my wings tight and stretched them wide, pushing down against the currents. I lifted and lifted until I was in line with the tree tops. The temptation to continue upward and soar into the unknown was nearly overwhelming. I wanted to see how fast I could fly, if I was faster than the other Drae I’d seen streaking through the sky, and if I could go on endlessly—it sure felt like it.
I circled around the clearing another three times, taking the opportunity to flatten myself for speed and arch my neck and tail upward to slow down. I reveled in the knowledge that I was a fearsome beast, powerful and strong, and in flight, I was graceful, even elegant. Flying was a dance, and I was a master.
I did one last lap then decided I was done. The sunlight was irksome, and I really did want my nap. Extending my legs, I landed at the top of the clearing, tucking my wings in as my feet made contact.
Tyrrik’s eyes shone as he practically ran toward me. His smile, a rare thing to behold, was as wide as I’d ever seen it.
I furrowed my brow, concentrating on my body. The air shimmered with blue energy as I shrunk back into my human form, or rather my Phaetyn form. The air cleared, and I glanced down to make sure my clothes were in place before extending my open palm to Tyrrik.
He placed the golden pill box in my hand without a word.
“You know,” I mused. “I thought this Drae business would be harder.”