Wingborn by Becca Lusher Page B

and
launched skywards again, both of them whooping with joy.
    There was
nothing greater than miryhl flight.
    Gliding with
the currents and updrafts, Cumulo carried them up the mountain to
where the Rift Riders patrolled. There they pitted their wits
against some of the more playful pairs, ducking and weaving and
shrieking, until he eventually took her out over the Cloud Sea. It
seemed to roll away forever, a fluffy whiteness that called to mind
soft pillows and gentle sleep. Yet as Cumulo dived to skim the
cloud tops, the air turned wild and the surface roiled with cold
winds stronger than anything found on the mountain slopes. Despite
the frigid air that nipped at their flesh, they relished the
challenge of flying through the turbulence, eventually letting the
winds blow them skywards once more.
    Out there they
were alone, facing west where the sea stretched uninterrupted
beyond the horizon, glowing even under a sullen sky. She could see
forever and it was breathtaking.
    Leaning
against her miryhl’s back, Mhysra hugged as much of him as she
could reach and rested her cheek against the cool silk of his
feathers. “Thank you,” she murmured, knowing that no matter what
happened, what her parents said or how the selection school turned
out, she would always have this. She would always have him.
    Cumulo’s
muscles flexed and bunched beneath her as he beat his wings,
carrying them further into forever. “You’re welcome,
chickling.”
     
    SNOW WAS FALLING by the time she left the eyries, her heart as light as her
footsteps. When she passed the offices, the clerk she’d met several
days ago stepped out.
    “Classes begin
tomorrow, Lady Mhysra,” he reminded her. “Have you a letter of
recommendation yet?”
    She touched
her coat pocket and thought of all the arguments, the closed door
of her father’s study, the tightening of her mother’s lips whenever
her youngest daughter came into view. Of Mherrin’s careful work and
her aunt’s blessing.
    Making her
decision, Mhysra pulled out the letter. “Is this is what you
require, sir?”
    The clerk
checked and split the seal, eyes moving swiftly over the neat
secretary handwriting and the bold scrawl beneath. He scrutinised
it again, before sighing with relief and handing her a uniform kit.
“I believe it is. Congratulations, student. Be back here bright and
early tomorrow.”
    She returned
his bow with a half-curtsey and turned for home. If her steps were
heavier than before, well, it was cold and she was tired. At least
the arguing was over now. It was done.
     
    “THANK THE GODS ,
you’ re back! ” Mhysra had hardly entered the rear gate when Milluqua pounced. “ Don ’ t you realise how late it is? ”
    Too tired to have taken much notice, Mhysra
glanced up at the tumbling snow as she was dragged into the house. “ It slipped my
mind. ”
    “ Fool,”
Milluqua growled, taking the backstairs and elbowing open
the servant door to Mhysra ’ s room, where a tub steamed by the fireplace. “ Get in and give me that
uniform. ”
    Mhysra was happy to comply, shedding her
clothes and moaning as the water enveloped her tense muscles. “ You ’ re a miracle from Divine Lithaen, Milli,
sent down especially just to aid me. ” Ducking down, she scrubbed at her hair and reached
for the soap.
    Milluqua held up the new breeches and
tutted. “ It ’ s scandalous the rags they give
you new recruits. Kilai went through two pairs in his first month.
I ’ ll have some more
made. Same pattern, better cloth. ”
    Yawning, Mhysra soaped her feet and scowled
at a new blister on her heel. “ What ’ s
the point in using the finest materials when half of us will drop
out before New Year? ”
    “ Three
moons? Ha! You think more of your fellow students than the rest of
the city. From what I’ ve heard, they don ’ t expect any girl to last through to
Winter Rains. ”
    Mhysra scowled and scrubbed her arms: Winter
Rains was only a month and a half away. “ I hope you took