She liked how that felt even through her thin tank top.

What she didn’t like was the brief pain that came when her wings extended from her back.

“I know,” Vig soothed when she gritted her teeth a little. “It still hurts. It will for another day or two. But don’t worry. It won’t last.”

Kera chose to believe him and focused on the feeling of air moving through and around her wings.

She tried to move her wings by lifting her shoulders but Vig shook his head. “No. You don’t need to do that. Your wings move separately from your shoulders.”

“Then how do I get them to, uh . . . flutter?”

“How do you walk?” he asked, his voice low and calm, his body warm.

Yeah, this was way better than getting this lesson from one of the Crows.

“I don’t know,” she replied. “I just . . . walk.”

“That’s what you need to do with your wings. They’re part of you now. So flying, getting your wings to move, is as simple as getting off a chair and walking.”

“And how do I make that happen?”

“Think about what you want. This is new to your muscles, like walking for the first time after an accident. You need to think about what you want your body to do and then your muscles will translate that into action. The more you use your muscles to control your wings, the easier it will become. Eventually, all you’ll need to do is think that you want to go . . . and you’ll go.”

“Will it really be that easy?”

“Eventually, yes. You just need to be patient with yourself.”

“I don’t do patient. I can’t sit here and think for ten hours hoping my wings start to move when I really need them to move and function properly now.”

“Okay.”

“What are you smiling at?”

“Well . . . your wings are moving.”

Surprised, Kera glanced back and saw that her wings were moving. “Sure that’s not just the air up here?”

“If it was, your wings would be high over your head. You are controlling them.”

Kera dug her fingers into Vig’s flesh. “That’s great. But don’t let me go.”

“I won’t,” he said on a chuckle. “I promise. Just enjoy. Close your eyes and try to understand what your muscles are doing.”

Again, Kera ended up using her meditation skills.

Of all the many things she’d learned while in the Corps, it fascinated Kera that the one thing she’d been using most the last few days was flippin’ meditation.

She went through all her usual steps to ease into the meditative state and upon doing so . . . she could feel it.

She could feel the muscles moving her wings. The feathers closest to her back brushing against her spine. The wind . . . God, the wind moving througheach individual feather.

Kera pulled her wings back into her body then thought about her wings extending. At first, nothing happened. She tried harder and still nothing.

She quickly realized, though, that she was trying too hard. She needed to relax. She needed to breathe. So she did, loosening her finger-tight grip on Vig’s biceps and resting her forearms over his shoulders.

That’s when she felt her wings extend from her back easily and with much less pain, and she heard Vig whisper, “Beautiful.”

She didn’t know if he was talking about the way she seemed to be picking all this up relatively quickly or simply how she looked with her wings extended from her back. She didn’t know. She didn’t care. She just knew she liked it.

Kera then brought her wings back a bit and let them . . . beat? Yeah. She let them beat against the wind while Vig held her. And it all felt so natural. So much a part of her already.

“Kera,” Vig said, his voice so very soft. “Open your eyes.”

Kera did, slowly. She smiled at Vig.

“Look at yourself,” he gently ordered.

She did that as well . . . and realized that Vig was no longer holding her. She still had her arms around his shoulders, but she was the only thing holding herself up.

The realization nearly sent her plummeting back to earth, her wings abruptly retracting back into her body.

Laughing, Vig caught her around the waist. “It’s okay.”

“It’s not okay! You let me go!”

“Because you didn’t need me anymore.” He kissed her. Nothing intense, just a peck. But again, she liked it. “Now, start again. You already did it once, you can do it again. I know you can.”

So Kera did.

Vig watched Kera unleash her wings again and begin the process of getting them to move on their own. This time it took her even less time. When he knew her wings could keep her aloft, he loosened his grip. She hovered there, by herself.

It was beautiful.

“How do you feel?”

“I . . .” She briefly closed her eyes until she admitted, “Fucking amazing.”

Vig grinned. “Told you. I’m going to pull away now.”

Her eyes snapped open. “You are?”

“Trust me. You’ve got this.”

“I’ve got this.” She nodded. “I’ve got this.”

Vig’s wings pulled him back, away from Kera, his arms slowly moving away from her completely.

At first, she started to drop a bit. But she closed her eyes, relaxed her body—and probably her mind—and her wings took over, carrying her higher.

Vig let Kera hover there for a few minutes. Let her get used to just that movement. But he had faith in her and her commitment to making things happen now.