Free Bound (Bound Trilogy) by Kate Sparkes

do is say yes, okay? Stop dreaming about lives you can’t have, things that aren’t even real. Focus on what you can have before it’s out of your reach.”
    “I want to want that,” I told her, and it was true. I wanted to stop fighting, to let go of the silly doubts that were holding me back from the happiness that waited for me. “Will you help me write the acceptance letter?”
    “Of course! And you can stay with me in Ardare until the wedding. Spend more time with Callum. See what happens.” She winked and wrapped her arms around me again. “It’s going to be great, you know. The two of us in the city together?”
    She went on about the stores we’d visit and the important people she knew as she let go of me and wandered into the second bedroom, and I thought of Aquila again.
    “Hey Lecia, are you staying up here?” I called. “I don’t see your things.”
    She laughed as she came back toward me. “Nope. Robert accompanied me here, and we’re staying downstairs overnight. Wouldn’t want to keep you awake.” She winked.
    Right . At least I didn’t have to worry about more than one guest sharing my space.
    She left to take a bath before lunch, leaving me alone again. Aquila appeared in the window and side-stepped cautiously over the sill to stand on the desk. He tilted his head, questioning.
    “You’d better go,” I told him. “Matthew’s been too busy to notice you, but Robert won’t be. It’s not safe for you here with a magic hunter around.” He shuffled closer and arched his neck, and I ran my fingers over the soft, dusty feathers. “I’m going to miss you. I’m glad I helped you, but you need to go back to wherever you came from, and I need to get past this curiosity about magic.”
    No magical speech poured from his beak as it would have in a story book. He didn’t thank me for my help by offering to grant wishes, and he didn’t leave a magic feather I could use to call him if ever I was in trouble. Those odd, beautiful eyes just stared at me for another moment, and then he was gone, soaring toward the forest.

Chapter Nine
    Aren
     
    I flew from that country as quickly as my wings would carry me, soaring over the mountains and relishing the feel of the magic that surrounded and restored me in my own country. It wasn’t a gift I was likely to take for granted any time soon.
    After several days’ hard travel I reached the outer wall of Luid. Pale gray stone snaked around the outside of the city from port to forest and back, protecting it from attack on all sides. Light and noise flooded through the main city gates. I had forgotten about Severn’s birthday, which when combined with the harvest festival had become the single most lavish and wanton party of the year.
    A string of three horse-drawn carts passed below me as I landed in a tree, nearly missing the branch. Even after three years of irregular practice at flying, I still had trouble with landings. The occupants of the carts didn’t notice me, but shouted and laughed amongst themselves. A woman shrieked and threw her head back, sending out a dazzling display as her dress reflected the moonlight in bright flashes. The others riding with her were no less elaborately costumed. Wealthy folk, perhaps people I would recognize, perhaps not. It was difficult to remember all of the names and faces that passed through.
    Someone tossed a wine bottle up in the air. It flashed for a moment in the moonlight, then shattered on the road. Everyone laughed as they went on. I studied the glinting glass shards as I considered my position.
    The question of whether to take Rowan back to Severn had gnawed at me every moment I spent in her home. The sensible option would have been to recover my strength and then make her go with me. She was as defenseless as she was ignorant of magic. Though her magic would protect her mind, I had other ways of making her co-operate.
    And the rewards would have been sweet. The arrival of summer would mark three years