The Gembound: The Price of Keeping Chapter 132: Volume 5: Chapter 117 – The Flight

Read chapter 132 of The Gembound: The Price of Keeping by Taliorn on NovelPedia.

Volume 5: Chapter 117 – The Flight Day 133 – On the Road By noon on the second day, the valley path narrowed enough that walking felt like pushing through stone teeth. Yara stopped at a bend where the rock rose in sheer walls on either side. The sky above was a thin strip of winter blue. The surface road was somewhere above them, beyond layered granite. “This is where we go ahead,” she said. Bruno’s party would keep marching along the upper pass, three or four hours ahead by now. That was fine. She did not need to see them. She could feel the weight of the surface army moving like a second heartbeat along the mountain, steady and loud. The ridge wind tugged at her wings, testing them, recognizing them. This time felt different. Not the first flight. First mission. She looked at Harry. At Sam. At the bears. “Time to put these to use,” she said. “Properly.” Sam grinned, all teeth. “Finally.” Harry flexed his wings once. The metallic feathers shimmered, catching shard-light in bright, sharp flashes. “If they fail now, I will complain for a month.” Graveclaw, Stonehide, and Shadowfang spread their wings in practiced unison. The membranes caught the cold air easily, armored with narrow ridges of bone and iron. They looked wrong on bears. They looked perfect on the guardians. Gayle cleared his throat. “I will not pretend I am thrilled about you all leaving me on the ground.” “You are not staying on the ground,” Yara said. He blinked. “I do not have wings.” “You have me,” Yara replied. Gayle stared at her. “That sentence terrifies me in every possible interpretation.” Sam barked a laugh. Harry sighed. “Hold on tightly and do not flail.” The bears crouched, wings half-spread, ready to lift. Deep beneath the ridge, the Bore Beasts rumbled, sensing motion, purpose, the coming dig. Yara stepped toward the cliffside. For a heartbeat, Gayle looked confused. Then the Gem stirred, the Sapphire flickered, and Yara saw the weight and balance of her body with perfect clarity — exactly how much force she could use without snapping his spine. “This will be unpleasant,” she warned. Gayle bowed his head in calm acceptance. “Everything worth doing with you tends to be,” he said. “I am ready.” Sam barked a laugh. Harry shook his head. Even Stonehide gave a low, approving rumble. They made a rough plan. The Bore Beasts would remain ground-bound, moving along the valley and then down into the drainage tunnels once they reached the carved channels. The Scars would split, some flying strapped to bear harnesses, some climbing narrow ridges and ledges with Shadow and Mist. Daryl looked at the cliff face, then at Yara's wings. "You are not putting me on a bear," he said. "I have some dignity." "You are going on, Sam," Yara said. "You like chaos. He is made of it." Sam swished his tail so the tip almost smacked Daryl's face. "Try not to fall. I will not catch you on purpose." Daryl swallowed. "I changed my mind. Dignity is overrated." Susie appeared at Harry's elbow. "I'll go with you," she said. "You look like you fly carefully." Harry blinked. "I… do?" "You have to," Susie said reasonably. "You're carrying divinity in your chest. Can't afford to be reckless." She patted his arm. "Besides, I need to experience this properly. The wind, the height, the way the world changes from above. Can't write it if I don't feel it." Harry looked to Yara, who shrugged. "She has a point." "I always do," Susie said cheerfully. Yara moved to the narrowest part of the valley, where the rock walls provided some shelter from the wind. The ground dropped into a steep slope, then into nothing. The valley opened below like a cupped hand. “Here,” she said. “We fly from here.” She closed her eyes and reached inward, to the place where the Spire’s power had burned through her. The memory of too much light, too much heat, too much everything. The moment when the Gem had gone from hungry to overfull, and her body had chosen wings as the only way not to break. Her wings unfolded. Shadow