Betrothed (20 page)

‘Oh, really,’ I said, suddenly suspicious of my grinning sister.

‘Don’t worry,’ Ashleigh said. ‘I didn’t tell him about the time Joseph Campbell called you a mummy so you kicked him in the—’

I slapped my hand over her mouth and kept it there. ‘Leif, don’t believe a word she says!’

Ashleigh pulled my hand away. ‘Well that’s what you
should
have done instead of letting him get away with it!’

She was right, but why would she point that out now? I gave her a frosty glare then wiped it clean from my face as I turned to Leif. ‘We have to be back for lunch at two, but did you want to go out for a while?’

‘Oh, can I come?’ Ashleigh cried.

‘No,’ I snapped. She ignored me and turned her pleading eyes to Leif.

He smiled and ruffled her hair. I couldn’t imagine anyone else getting away with it. ‘Not today, Ash, but another time certainly,’ he said.

‘Come on then,’ I said, grabbing his arm and heading for the front door. ‘What do you want to do?’

‘I have found the perfect place to teach you to fly. It’s not far from here.’

He was going to teach me to fly! There was no way to comprehend it. ‘How are we getting there?’

He looked at me, one eyebrow raised.

‘Well, we might as well use the balcony. In fact, let’s show my parents how you travel.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yes.’ There was no other way I was going to get them to believe me.

I called both of my parents to the balcony—told them I had something to show them. When I had them there, I closed the door and leaned against it. ‘Look, I know you think me and Ash were just messing with you last night, but once you see how Leif travels you’ll know we weren’t.’ I paused and looked up to Leif’s face. He smiled reassuringly. ‘He’s teaching me today.’

‘Oh not this again, I’ve got lunch to cook!’ Mum said, reaching behind me.

I moved to block the door knob. ‘Humour me, Mum, please.’

‘Let’s just give Amy a minute, love,’ Dad said.

Mum frowned and crossed her arms but she stayed put.

Leif undid the buttons of his shirt and shrugged out of it. I smiled as I watched my mother’s eyebrows pop up before she blushed and quickly looked away. He handed the shirt to Ashleigh. ‘Would you mind keeping this for me, Ash?’ She took it from him, not minding at all. And then he scooped me into his arms and released his magnificent glittering wings.

‘See you at lunch,’ I grinned, and then we were off to the cries of my parent’s amazement.

Leif flew towards the coast, high and fast, so fast that I imagined if anyone had glanced up they would have seen nothing but a flash of dazzling light sweep across the sky. He carried me south above the national park. I looked down to watch the landscape beneath us rapidly change from suburbia to scrub to the green mystery of the rainforest. In a few short minutes he landed in a place I knew well.

‘This is Bald Hill,’ I told him as he put me down.

‘An ideal place to learn to fly, I think,’ he said as he looked out towards the horizon. We were at the edge of the Royal National Park, in the middle of a wide clearing at the top of a cliff that plunged hundreds of metres to the ocean below. The town of Stanwell Park, its crashing beach and the snaking ocean road that connected it with the coastal towns further south appeared as tiny, salt-hazed models far below us.

A few metres away at the edge of the cliff, three men stood chatting, each holding a remote control in his hand. Their planes darted through the air in front of them, whirling and looping and at times coming so close to each other I thought they might crash. Suspended in hang gliders further out were daredevils riding the breeze like enormous solitary seagulls, enjoying the weightless freedom and the amazing views below. Further along the cliff top was the place they took off from and a glance in that direction showed several more riders in various stages of takeoff and landing, together with fifty or more spectators. I loved this place and used to come often with mum and dad for driving lessons before I got my licence—still came sometimes to watch the riders at their lonely sport or paint the awesome view.

‘How can you teach me to fly with all these people around?’
I asked, recalling our purpose after a moment lost in the familiar feelings of isolation and awe this place always evoked in me.

‘There’s no need to worry about that just yet. We’ll let them enjoy themselves for a few minutes more.’ He stepped behind me, leaned down and murmured, ‘Are you ready?’

‘Yes,’ I whispered, shivering. He chuckled softly at my reaction and, gathering my hair in his hands, he brought it over one shoulder, exposing the bare skin of my back to him. I heard him sigh and did some sighing of my own when I felt his warm breath at my neck.

‘Ah . . . Marla, you smell incredible. What is that?’ he murmured, nuzzling.

I thought of Ashleigh’s vanilla bean and juicy strawberry and smiled. ‘I don’t know, just me, I think.’

He seemed to pull himself together after a little while and drew away from me to position his hands on either side of my spine. I could feel his long fingers splayed on my skin, his thumbs pressed gently between my shoulder blades. The heat from him filled the entire top half of my back and, feeling suddenly weak, I closed my eyes and leaned against him, dropping my head back to rest against his chest. He wrapped his arms around me and brought me close.

‘Marla, we’ll get nowhere like this, I thought you said you were ready,’ he scolded. But his hands were flat against my belly, and they were warm through the fabric of my dress. He caressed me slowly with his thumbs and pressed his face into my neck, finding my pulse with his lips and kissing. He was every bit as distracted as I was. I stroked his hands, so much bigger than mine, and traced my fingertips along the hard sinews before threading my fingers into his. I closed my eyes and stayed silent for a little while as I enjoyed his sighs and kisses.

‘How can you expect me to focus when you do this to me?’ I whispered.

‘Would it be easier for you if I did not touch you?’ he murmured, giving my neck one final kiss before withdrawing.

‘No, that’s okay. I’ll be good.’

He replaced his hands on my back and using all my self-control, I was able to concentrate on what he was saying rather than just what he was doing. Though what he was doing
was
very nice.

‘Your wings are here where my hands are resting and they are joined at this point.’ He ran his thumbs up and down my spine between my shoulder blades.

I sighed a long sigh.

‘Marla, concentrate, remember,’ he said.

‘I am concentrating.’

‘Releasing your wings is really no different than taking a step or bending an elbow except it requires more of a conscious decision because it’s new to you. Just beneath my thumbs here are muscles.’ He applied pressure and moved his thumbs slowly up and down again. ‘The desire to do so together with a slight inward movement of these muscles will result in the release of your wings. Are you ready to try?’

‘I guess, but what about all these people?’

‘We’ll let them be for the moment.’ He removed his hands from my back and turned me to face him. ‘Now, just consider your desire to release your wings and contract the muscles.’

‘Which ones again?’

He reached behind me and stroked my back, running his fingers up and down that same sensitive section between my shoulder blades.

‘I’m just not sure, Leif. Show me again.’

‘Oh, I see how it is.’ He smiled, then reached for me and pinched my chin. ‘Now go ahead, Marla, give it a try.’

I focused on the muscles and pulled my shoulders together sharply. Leif laughed. ‘I said a slight movement, Marla.’ He
turned me around so that my back was towards him again and placed one finger on my spine, directly in the centre of my shoulder blades. ‘Imagine my finger is a pea and you are trying to catch it without squashing it. The required movement is slight but rapid.’

I tried again but failed.

‘You must consciously wish it—the movement alone is not enough.’

I tried several more times but was unable to make it happen. I stomped my foot in frustration.

‘It’s all right,’ Leif soothed. ‘You will get there and once you discover the movement it will be easy for you thereafter.’

‘Leif, what if I’m too old? What if my wings are all shrivelled up inside of me? Maybe it’s too late.’

‘Don’t worry, your wings are fine,’ he assured me and leaned forward to kiss the top of my head. ‘Why do you think I have not yet sent the humans away? I knew it would take time. Now come, try again. This time imagine you are trying to flick my fingers away and remember to
concentrate
on releasing your wings as you make the movement.’

He placed his fingertips on either side of my spine. I closed my eyes and wished to release my wings as hard as I could and with a tiny inward movement, flicked his fingers swiftly but gently away from my back. Still nothing. It was hopeless. ‘I can’t do it,’ I moaned.

‘Oh, my love, you can.’ He gathered me against him, held me for a long moment. ‘It’s only that it’s new to you.’

‘I think I’m too old, Leif. I really do.’

‘You’re not too old. Young Fae struggle with this also. You did not learn to walk in five minutes, or swim or read.’ He dropped kisses on my hair and temples. After a while he asked, ‘Do you trust me?’

‘Yes.’

‘How well do you trust me? Do you know that I would never allow harm to come to you?’

‘Of course . . . Why?’

‘I have an idea.’

‘What idea?’

‘Just know that you are safe with me, Marla.’

I watched him, wondering what he was up to.

‘Trust me,’ he smiled. Then lifting me in his arms, he took to the air and flew out over the sea towards the horizon, rising higher and higher into the increasingly cold sky. When the cliff we’d come from was hazy and distant, the people there no bigger than ants, Leif stopped and hovered in the air, his magnificent white wings glittering with sunlight.

‘It’s freezing,’ I managed through chattering teeth. The frigid air bit through my skin, seemed to penetrate all the way to my bones. I’d never known such cold. Every inch of my skin had turned to gooseflesh and I was shaking uncontrollably. Leif gathered me into a ball in his arms and curled his big body around me, covering as much of my flesh as possible. Then he released a tremendous wave of heat into me.

‘Oh, that’s so nice,’ I cried, shocked at the heavenly sensation. Every part of me became filled with his power. He kissed me then, his lips warm and reassuring, and for a moment I forgot everything other than how amazing he was making me feel.

When the kiss ended he said, ‘I will keep you safe always, Marla—know this.’ And then he opened his arms and let me fall. I plunged through the sky, the bitter air shrieking around my ears.

‘Leif!’ I wailed, but the sound was lost to the universe, swallowed by the roaring wind, and Leif was nowhere to be seen. I thrust out at nothing, tumbled out of control as I clutched at the air. Realising my eyes were shut tight, I opened them only to
squeeze them closed again when I noticed the vast green ocean rushing up to meet me.

‘Leif, please,’ I sobbed. ‘I’ll fall into the sea!’

You are safe, Marla, I won’t let harm come to you. You are born for this.

It took me only a moment to know how I could hear him. He was speaking to my mind and just the sound of his voice in my head stilled my panic. I trusted him—he
would
keep me safe. And he was right—I
was
born for this. Not only that but I was brimming with the gift of heat and strength he’d just given me. I opened my eyes again, and even though the wind lashed my body with cold and the white caps on the churning waves beneath me were moving rapidly closer, I was able to direct all of my attention to my task. I concentrated on the muscles on either side of my spine, imagined myself flying and made the tiniest flicking motion. I felt a movement under my skin, something shifting inside. I contracted the muscles again with a little more force this time and a surge of heat pulsed along my spine accompanied by a rippling sensation. Then it felt as though someone had drawn a hot line down the centre of my back. I could feel the flesh parting there and in the same place and moment, a painless eruption. With no more effort on my part, my wings emerged, unfurling behind me and sending me off-kilter. I was spinning and tumbling through the sky, my newborn wings fluttering behind me, completely out of my control. I felt as helpless as an infant, struggling but failing to control this brand-new addition to my body. And then Leif was there and he caught me in his arms, laughing and dropping kisses all over my face.

‘You did it!’ He was grinning and tucking me into him and flying back to Bald Hill. He landed near the edge of the cliff and set me on my feet. Taking my hands in his, he stepped back,
smiling, looking over my shoulder—admiring the view. After a moment he pulled his attention from my wings and caught my eyes with his. His face wore such an expression of reverence and his eyes were dark and filled with wonder.

‘Now it’s time to send the humans away,’ he whispered.

I twisted my neck to look over my shoulder. I wanted to see what he was seeing, what had put that awe-filled expression on his face. I was utterly stunned. My wings were pale pink, twinkling and gorgeous. They were smaller than Leif’s, half the size, and reached just above my shoulders. They were as sheer as gossamer and filled with sunlight.

‘Oh, Leif, aren’t they pretty!’ I was entranced by the diaphanous, sparkly things.

‘Much more than pretty, Marla, they are the most beautiful wings I have ever seen.’ He moved close, then reached out and touched one, ran his fingers slowly from the tip, along the edge and down to where it joined to my back. I sucked in a breath, shocked that I could feel his caress. These wings were part of me, part of my body. It was not quite like skin on skin, it was more the sensation one feels through a fingernail, though not so dense. I reached my hand over my shoulder to touch one of them for myself—it felt like the smoothest silk under my fingers.