Just a sneak peek because I take too long to update and I feel bad for making you wait.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ellie had never known clouds could be so annoying. They looked innocent and fluffy until you got pushed into one and it soaked your clothes and filled your shoes with just enough dampness to make your skin itch. It made the rest of your day a test of wills against the uncomfortably lukewarm water that plastered your shirt to your body and somehow managed to attract the perfect amount of cold air to flush your nose and cheeks red.
She hated it.
Well, not as much as she hated Zain right now.
"Aaaargh! Are you completely incapable of any move but shoving me into clouds?" Ellie asked him, hands on her hips and face scrunched indignantly. Zain just laughed in response.
They had been sparring all morning in a wide grassy clearing on the edge of Cyrith, a location Ellie had regretted choosing the second her friend had pushed her off the edge and into a large pool of cumulus clouds. This was the third time she had had to pull herself out.
Ellie wrung out the edge of her skirt and scowled at the small puddle that formed beside her foot. Shaking droplets from her tawny feathers, she picked up her lockstave and once again sprang forward in a battle stance. The boy grinned and drew his wooden practice sword from his belt. They drilled offensive and defensive moves for another hour before collapsing tiredly onto the grass, sweating and panting hard.
"You've—improved—a lot," Zain said between gasps.
"I gotta be well-trained—if I'm gonna be called—a Goldwing captain."
The Hawk grinned. "That's our Ellie—never knows when to give up."
She laughed. "And that's our Zain—has the stamina of a sloth."
"Hey! I'll have you know I almost beat Cor- I mean King Corion in a race just the other day." Zain's cheeks turned a faint pink for a reason that had nothing to do with exercise. Ellie knew he and Corion were having trouble thinking of each other as simply the king and his guard.
"Yeah, I remember that. He was a good ten wingbeats ahead of you. And he was carrying a stack of books, too."
"Not my fault he's so fast," Zain muttered.
The two friends watched the clouds shift around them for a while before Zain asked, "So how is Nox doing?"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This chapter might be a bit short (when it finally comes out), but I think the next ones will be extra long.
YOU ARE READING
Skyborn Sequel
Fanfiction"In a world where everyone is born with wings, stone monsters prowl the skies, hunting those who dare to fly too high." - Book description by Jessica Khoury, the original author of the Skyborn trilogy. I loved the whole Skyborn series, so I decided...
