Flight and Fantasy (2 page)

Anna flinched and slowly looked up and to her right. Yes, she was not going insane, he was really there. His blue eyes sparkled in the candlelight of the tavern and she smiled. “Good evening, Your Highness.”

“And an enchanting evening to you, Miss Fennor. I had hoped to hear from you when you arrived.” The chastising note in his tone caused Tenyen to hike one eyebrow high in amusement.

“You two have met?”

“When I first met this lovely young woman, she was flat on her back. I noticed her legs first, actually.” His grin was bordering on evil as everyone within earshot laughed.

“And you thought enough of her legs to seek her out?” Tenyen was having a hard time not guffawing outright.

Anna sighed and pounded her head against the table repetitively.

“I did not mean to distress you, miss.”

“Oh, I think that was your intent, Your Highness.” She looked up at him while rubbing her forehead. “What brings you to the lowly grounder tavern?”

Tenyen blinked. “Where are my manners? Your Highness, would you sit?”

Grinning, he moved to sit across from Anna, bracketing her knees with his own. She tried to shift away, but he held her where she was.

“Why didn’t you come and find me when you arrived? The registrar said you were in an hour ago.”

She blushed. “You asked the registrar?”

“Of course. How else would I have known when you got here?” His gentle chide made Tenyen laugh. Her old friend was enjoying her predicament far too much.

A beer slid in front of him and the waitress took care not to brush against him. It was humorous that a woman who would come on to a rigid stick took a wide berth around royalty.

Anna found herself staring into the eyes of the prince who had come to a place beneath his standing in search of her. “Your Highness, it must not be every day that you find yourself among the wingless.”

“My people are not determined by their wings, but by their loyalty to the crown.” He inclined his head and in that moment, it struck Anna that he would one day be king.

“You are judging the inventions tomorrow?”

“I will attend, but others will judge. I am merely the deciding vote.”

Something relaxed in Annanya’s chest. She wanted her invention to be deemed worthy, not simply on its workability, but its merits.

“I had another motive to seeking you out. Would you dance with me this evening?” His demeanour was earnest, but his words confused her.

“What? Where? This was my last stop for the night. I was going to the grounder barracks to sleep after this.”

His brow furrowed. “There is a ball this evening. An invitation was sent to your father’s house, I am sure of it.”

Tears came to her eyes as the reason for Nasha’s attendance was now clear. “Nasha gets the mail. She must have known about it and just forgotten to tell me.”

His face darkened with anger. “Will you come anyway?”

“I have nothing to wear.” She shrugged. “I only brought work gear with me. I am afraid that I will not be attending your function.”

His hands clenched on the table, but a calculating look spilled into his eyes. “What if I told you it was a masked costume event? Would you be able to scrounge something up?”

Tenyen leaned over and covered her mouth with his hand. “She will be happy, too. What time will you pick her up? You know, of course, that she cannot fly there.”

“An honour guard will come for her in an hour. Is that enough time?” The prince rose to his feet and the room jumped up around him.

Tenyen jumped to his feet and saluted. “Your Highness, you are in the largest conference of inventors in the world. She will be ready in an hour.”

He grinned, kissed the back of Anna’s hand and left the tavern.

The moment he was gone, the room burst into action.

Annanya was shoved outside into one of the interim workrooms and around her, a costume of fantastic metals wove itself from chains, rivets and sheets of bronze.

Tenyen made her mask and another inventor donated silk from their tent. A corset was shaped from bronze and chain while sandals were crafted from coiled wire and laminated rubber. Fifty inventors came to her rescue, and when the honour guard appeared, she was dressed like a lady who enjoyed a little metal bondage.

Her mask was made of heavy gauge wire strands soldered together and shaped to her face as it cooled. The guard looked surprised to see her, but she merely held her hand out to him and let him escort her to an open area where he and his companion could lift off. He held her in his arms and jumped, holding gently but firmly.

She had analysed the flight patterns of her people, and the telekinetic shove from the earth was the biggest portion of their advantage over mechanics. Her suit had fought to use magnetic forces to compensate and she had succeeded with a solid shove of her legs and a surge of power through a coil of wire.

Anna finally noticed their destination. “The floating platform?”

The guards looked at her as if she was stupid. “All major celebrations are held on the platform. This one is no different.”

“Oh. I have not been invited before this.”

“That much is obvious. I hear that the wingless find the platform uncomfortable.” He didn’t say anything else, but she had gotten the impression nonetheless.
Wingless.

* * * *

Lights and colours exploded and wings of pure white and black were everywhere. A few dove grey wings were in small bunches in the crowd, but most of the winged were on the dance floor.

The royal family were arranged at one end of the platform and everyone was wearing a mask and costume. For once, she barely stood out.

A figure detached from the royal dais and approached her. Denaric. In a mask, he was her equal, even with his wings. He strode right up to her and looked down into her eyes. “If this is what the inventors can do in an hour, we need to increase their funding. They can work miracles.”

She looked down, but he didn’t give her a chance to demur. Anna was in his arms and dancing before she knew it.

His hand on the small of her back sent tremors through her, but she tried to keep her mind on matters at hand. “I have never been on the flight platform before. It is nice, Your Highness.”

He leaned back and laughed. “In masks, call me Denaric. It is far too informal a night for anything more.”

She inclined her head and smiled, but it was only two rounds on the dance floor before he leaned forward and whispered in her ear. “Say my name, Annanya. I want to hear it from your lips.”

She opened her lips and whispered it to him, “Denaric.”

The gleam of satisfaction filled his bright blue eyes behind his mask and his lips tightened below the gold edge of the eagle features. The stylized raptor suited him well.

“This event is quite large, Denaric.”

“We hold it every year on the night before the opening ceremonies.”

“There are few grounders here.” She clung to him as he swung her around another couple and she laughed nervously while she caught her footing.

“The dignitaries from Orion Rift will be here tomorrow for a tea. Each one will be flown up by a guardsmen. They have no wings.” He smiled down at her with a conspiratorial grin. “Would you like to attend?”

“I would enjoy that, but I will be at my category showing off my invention.”

“What is this mystery machine that occupies your time? Should I be jealous?” He drew them to a halt on the edge of the dance floor and kept one arm around her waist.

“You will have to wait until tomorrow like everyone else. If it doesn’t match my expectations, I won’t be showing it.”

He laughed. “Not even a sneak peek for me?”

She smiled at his persistence. “No. Not even you. If something goes wrong, I don’t want anyone beyond myself disappointed.”

“You were talking with your friend about it.”

“That is different. With inventors, it is a competition. It is good to rattle your competition. That, and he and I are in different categories.” She took the cup of punch that he handed her and sipped. There was enough alcohol under the subtle fruit to make her head spin.

“Denaric, introduce me to your lady friend.” A woman in a dark gown with a feline headdress that matched her ebony wings approached.

“Mother, this is Annanya Fennor. Annanya, this is Queen Amaraic.”

Annanya found herself face to face with the ruler of Horshell. “Your Majesty.” She curtsied deeply.

“So, you are Denaric’s flightless attraction. I have to say, you do look lovely this evening, child. Isn’t that curtsey a little painful by now?” The rich amusement in her tone made Anna look up.

“It is cramping me up a little, Your Majesty. May I stand?”

Denaric snorted and lifted her by the elbow to a standing position. “No need to curtsy. My mother is masked and most rules of etiquette do not apply tonight.”

“You have the colouring and physique of Orion Rift. How do you come to be among our citizens?” Amaraic took a cup of punch and sipped at it. A respectfully large space opened around them as the queen spoke to the wingless one.

“I was a foundling as an infant. The Fennors took me in and raised me with their own.”

“Where were your people?”

“I don’t know. No one in the area knows where I came from. My father found me in a field, almost ran me over in a harvester.” She chuckled.

“That’s horrible. You were just lying there?”

“Yup. Naked as the day I was born. No trace of anything on my body that could lead to who my people were. The Fennors had daughters, so I joined their little group. When my mechanical traits became evident, my father encouraged me and that is how I ended up fixing your son’s skimmer.”

She was babbling and couldn’t stop herself. Denaric was behind her with a hand on her ass. His wings were full enough to hide his actions from casual viewing.

“Ah, so that is how you met him. I did wonder. So, you have something in the competition tomorrow?”

“Yes, madam. I do.” The hand on her ass was slowly exploring the curve of her buttocks and she was having a hard time keeping her mind on the conversation.

The flash of silver in the background got her attention and she turned her head to see Nasha swishing her skirts at the nobles, her dove grey wings fluttering to catch the eye.

“There is my sister. I am sure she will be relieved that I made it to the event after all the fuss.” She turned to her dapper groper. “Would you care to escort me, Denaric?”

Amaraic smiled and waved them off. “Go and show each other off. Enjoy your evening, my dear.”

Annanya smiled as she resumed the dance floor. Nasha’s face was worth every unsure moment she had experienced getting ready for this evening.

“I need to be going soon. The display starts early.” She swayed against him and smiled in a happy haze of lust and a touch of alcohol.

“You wouldn’t leave me so soon?” His laugh was deep and he held her close.

“An inventor keeps odd hours. I have been up since before dawn. It is time for me to be seeking a bed.”

He leaned in and whispered, “I would have you join me in mine.”

“I don’t think I could stand the heights.” She smiled and brushed her fingers against his cheek.

“I sleep in the tent on the grounds. You are merely a walk of shame away from your own bed.” His words were persuasive.

“Are you sober enough to fly?”

He pressed his erection against her and waltzed her over to the edge of the platform. With a flare of his wings, Denaric launched them into the night sky and together, they glided to earth.

She was safe in his arms as the silent wind fluttered her hair and blew past them. The silk of her skirt fluttered wildly around her legs and she fought the urge to giggle madly as he landed and simply kept his grip on her as he carried her past the guards into the depths of the royal pavilion.

“How does this come off?” Denaric was tugging at the metal corset.

She leaned back and flicked the two levers on the left side of the garment under her arm. It popped open and left the thin damp fabric of her improvised dress clinging to her body.

She shivered as he slid the gown off her shoulders to pool around her feet, but the glow in his eyes warmed her considerably. Her nipples tightened and her inhalation lifted her breasts to him in offering.

He was not slow in answering the invitation. Her winged prince leaned down and took a nipple in his mouth, kneeling in front of her for better access. She threaded her fingers through his golden hair and when he looked up at her through those incredibly blue eyes, she bit her lip and stifled a moan.

His hands stroked her back as if delighted to find smooth skin without the distraction of wings. She shivered in his hands and held his mouth to her breasts as her thighs became slick with the evidence of her arousal.

He slid one hand between her thighs, parting them gently and slipping one finger between her folds and teasing his way inside. Annanya yelped in surprise and clutched his shoulders. His finger retreated and then re-entered in a smooth motion that made her rise up on her toes.

His teeth held a nipple firmly and she dropped back to flat feet under the threat. A second finger joined his first and he hooked them forward, searching for something. When he pressed on a spot on the front of her channel, the breath left her lungs and her knees buckled.

He stroked that spot with deliberate pressure until her eyes went wide and a high wail came from her lips.

Bright sparks flew behind her eyes and the world spun around her as her channel gripped his fingers. She came back to her senses on the bed and Denaric was quickly divesting himself of his clothing.

His wings framed his golden body in a dark halo as he approached her. She trembled with anticipation as he crept toward her with the intensity of a hunting jungle cat. She reached out and stroked his feathers, reaching around him to touch the base of his wings in a slow stroke.

He groaned and the heated rod of his erection left a trail of liquid up her thigh.

Annanya kissed Denaric before she could change her mind and arched her hips against him in invitation. He reached down and fitted himself to her as he pressed kisses to her neck.