Island of Dragons (Unwanteds #7)(33)
The scales caught the light, and the wings shimmered as Samheed worked them up and down. The ride was a bit jerky at first, but then it smoothed out into a beautiful, fluid motion, like the way Claire Morning conducted musicians.
Alex and Lani stood side by side and watched as Samheed flew toward the jungle with the wind rippling through his hair and a huge grin on his face. A few people on the lawn paused in their activities to watch as well.
“It’s working great,” said Alex.
Lani nodded. “I wonder how he’ll land.”
“Hmm,” said Alex. “Good question. I hope he doesn’t fall from that height.”
“That would be tragic,” Lani agreed. “Maybe we should get Simber out here.” They couldn’t take their eyes off Samheed.
“Nah,” said Alex after a moment. “He’ll be fine.”
As Samheed neared the jungle, he began to lean to one side, making a wide turn. Soon he was flying toward Alex and Lani. He held his arms bent in front of him and moved his shoulders to keep the wings flapping.
“How am I supposed to land?” Samheed screeched when he drew near to Alex and Lani.
“Slow down your flapping!” Alex called out, though he had no idea if that would work.
Samheed slowed his movements and he lost altitude.
“That’s working!” shouted Lani.
In fits and starts, Samheed dropped lower in the air, sometimes gut-wrenchingly fast, other times gently, as if he was starting to get the hang of it. He leaned again to curve around, stretching the wings out and soaring slowly, and then, narrowly missing his friends, he neared the ground, folded in his wings, and crash-landed a third time.
After he rolled to a stop, he looked at Alex. “Well, they work. I’m not so sure I’m the right person to have wings, but I imagine with a little practice, the water dragons will pick up the necessary skills better than I did.”
“Not to mention,” said Lani, “they’ll likely land in the water, which is a bit softer than the ground.” She reached out and helped Samheed to his feet, then planted a kiss on his cheek. “I’m glad you’re not hurt.”
“Had enough?” asked Alex.
“Definitely,” said Samheed. “Get these things off me.”
He turned around, and Alex released the meld spell that held the wings to Samheed’s back. With a squeak and a whoosh, the wings’ suction released, and Alex and Lani each pulled one off.
“Aaron really did a good job with these, you know,” Lani said.
“Yes. He’s surprisingly good at a lot of things,” added Samheed generously. “He’s all right.”
Alex nodded. It was true, and he was genuinely proud of Aaron, even if his natural ability was annoying at times. Alex was going to miss him. As the three friends walked back to the mansion and the regular activities on the lawn resumed, he grew melancholy. The wings were ready. “I guess Aaron and I will leave in the morning, then,” he said. “We’ll stop at the Island of Dragons to attach the wings, and then I’ll deliver him to the Island of Shipwrecks.”
Samheed didn’t say anything, but Lani placed her hand on Alex’s shoulder as they walked inside the mansion together, each of them with a dragon wing tucked under one arm. “It’s probably for the best,” Lani said. “It seems like he was really happy there.”
Alex nodded. “I know,” he said, feeling almost miserable about it. He and Lani put the wings in Ms. Octavia’s classroom, and then Alex went to the kitchen to find Aaron and tell him he could finally go home.
When he walked into the bustling kitchen unnoticed, Alex observed the food designers discussing and admiring their beautiful presentations. He found his sisters and Crow by the tube delivering food and his brother wearing an apron and chef’s hat, knife poised as he listened carefully to what the head chef of Artimé was explaining.
Alex watched as Aaron painstakingly perfected a recipe, and then he gazed at his sisters, absorbed in their task of placing the beautiful food creations into the delivery tube. It was a rare moment, all four Stowe siblings in the same room. And one that wouldn’t happen again once Aaron was gone.
Alex felt a certain heaviness descend upon his shoulders and a loneliness rise to his throat, and instead of embracing the familial moment, he turned away, overwhelmed by it. With his head bowed, he stumbled past the dining room to the entryway, past Simber and up the stairs to the once secret hallway, past the doorways to the last one on the left, where he went in. He sat down at his desk and lowered his head, resting it on his folded arms.
A few moments later, he got up, sent a message to Aaron’s blackboard telling him they would leave the next day, and entered his private quarters to pack.
Warning Signs and Secret Good-byes
Early the next morning Alex found Simber in his usual spot by the front door to the mansion. Alex beckoned to the cheetah to go outside with him and take a walk. The cat followed the mage out the door, and the two strolled together along the shore.
“I had thought you could take Aaron and me to the Island of Dragons and then on to the Island of Shipwrecks,” Alex said. “I would have liked that, but Aaron has requested we bring some supplies with us—mainly some fresh soil so he and the scientists can get some plants growing outside now that the storms are gone. I want to give them quite a lot since we have plenty to spare. But I don’t think we’ll be able to fit all the sacks of soil on your back along with the five pairs of dragon wings. And the two of us, of course.”