Central by Raine Thomas Read Free Book Online Page A

half-smile, but a full, show-your-teeth smile. And the impact it had on his already handsome features was devastating to her senses.
    “You are magnificent,” he said with more feeling than she had ever heard from him.
    Her heart did a little trip and she thought, Uh-oh.
    Not dropping her smile because she didn’t want to concern him, she flew backwards a foot. “I can’t believe this!” she breathed, throwing her arms back and doing a little circle right where she floated. When she again caught his gaze, his smile was gone. Now he looked curious. “What?”
    “How did you do that?”
    “Do what?”
    “Fly backwards,” he responded, moving closer to her.
    “Oh.” Blinking, she did it again. It hadn’t taken any real skill, so his reaction confused her. “I don’t know. I just did it.”
    Now he flew around her, giving her wings a closer examination. “I see,” he said, obviously impressed. “The different segments of your wings work independently. Like a damselfly. I have never seen anything like it among Estilorians. That will assist you in having exceptional flight control.”
    “Huh.” She wasn’t sure what to think about that. Being an oddity wasn’t something that she generally relished. But then, she and her sisters were already oddities. What was one more thing?
    She couldn’t contain another laugh as the euphoria of flying once again flowed through her. Turning, she said, “Come on!”
    They darted among the surf for a while longer as she explored every nuance of the new experience. He called out to her a few times with instructions, and she listened with rapt attention, absorbing it like a sponge. Eventually, though, he pointed up. They had to get back to the others. Trying not to feel disappointed, she flew with him back up to the top of the cliff. With barely a thought, she landed lightly about three feet from Ini-herit.
    The Corgloresti stared at her expectantly.
    She grinned and gave him a light punch in the arm. “Thanks for throwing me off the cliff.”
    He nodded and waved her in the direction of her sisters, who had been sitting on the ground and now got to their feet.
    “That was awesome, Liv!” Skye declared, hurrying forward and giving her a hug. “I wish I had that much control.”
    Amber smiled at her. “Glad you’re not a big splat on the rocks.”
    That made Olivia snort with laughter. “Yeah, well, I think it’s your turn now, big sis.”
    That statement made Amber’s face fall into its usual serious lines. Her eyes moved to Ini-herit, who had cocked his head and was giving her a challenging look.
    “Don’t think throwing me off that cliff is going to work,” she said with a flippant wave in their instructor’s direction. “I already tried it with Gabriel.” Here, she exchanged a conspiratorial smile with Olivia, as they had both “cheated” and tried to figure it out on their own.
    Ini-herit shook his head. “No, what you did was jump, knowing that Gabriel would catch you if you did not succeed. That is not a demonstration of faith in your own abilities.”
    Amber frowned. “I guess you’re right.” Then she shrugged. “Well, okay. I guess it worked for Olivia. I’m game.”
    She walked toward the cliff with Ini-herit. The others trailed behind, edging closer to watch. Rather than waiting for Ini-herit to grab her and toss her bodily off the cliff, however, she broke into a run a few yards from the edge and then simply leaped off. Olivia joined the others at the cliff’s edge, watching Amber disappear along the cliff face.
    “Come on, Am,” Gabriel said under his breath. “You can do it.”
    When Olivia glanced at him, she saw his eyes had flashed to the Gloresti dark blue as his protective instincts kicked in. She imagined it had to be difficult for him to resist jumping after her, and wondered if James had reacted similarly when she was thrown the edge.
    After a long, tense moment, during which time Amber’s wings failed to appear, Ini-herit