“That makes the most sense.” Or, at least, it was an answer that didn’t stress her out.

Knox released her and took a few steps back. “Now… on to the flying lesson. Flap your wings for me, but not hard enough to ascend.”

Using her arm to wipe sweat and grit from her forehead, Harper flexed her back muscles, making the wings flap once.

“Good. That hurt?”

“No, but it will later.”

“Try it again,” he ordered. She did. “Again. Again. You’re moving your arms at the same time.”

“I know,” she grumbled. “It’s because the wings feel like another set. It’s hard to keep my arms still.”

“You need to learn, or it will massively affect your balance when you’re in the air.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

He swooped in and kissed her hard. “You’re cute when you’re agitated.” She always made him think of a hissing, spitting kitten when she was in this mood. His sphinx muttered something under her breath, but Knox didn’t hear it over the shriek of a predatory bird. “Flap your wings, but still don’t lift from the ground. I want you to practice flapping them without moving your arms.” She did extremely well… for all of twelve seconds. “You’re moving your arms again.”

She sighed. “I know.”

Her little pout made his demon chuckle. Knox grabbed her fisted hands and held them at her sides. “Now try again. You need to be able to feel how separate the wings are from your arms.” She gently beat her wings over and over, never looking away from him… as if drawing strength from him. “Good, you can stop now.”

With a sigh of relief, she stopped. Her back and shoulder muscles were aching already, but she didn’t complain.

“You did well. Now see if you can do it without me holding your hands.”

Nodding, she stuffed her hands in her pockets.

“That’s not much different from me holding your hands,” he pointed out, amused.

“Don’t care. I’m sick of flapping my arms like an idiot.” Keeping her hands in her pockets, she flapped her wings several times until… “I can differentiate them from my arms now. The difference is subtle. Like one set is much lighter than the other. Who would have thought gossamer wings could feel heavy?”

“They might not feel so heavy once you get used to them. Now tell me the truth. When you practice with Khloë, do you fly or do you soar?”

“Soar,” she admitted solemnly.

His mouth twitched. “Thought so.” He moved closer, asking, “Out of interest, is there any grace about it?”

“None whatsoever.”

He kissed her. “We’ll fix that, but not today. A mistake a lot of people make when learning to fly is that they don’t first learn to hover. If you fall, you’ll be hurt. But if you know how to put on the brakes and hover, you’ll be able to stop yourself from hitting the ground.”

She cocked her head. “Huh. I never thought of it that way.”

“Most demons don’t, because they’re not so much interested in learning the mechanics of flying; they just want to delve straight into the exciting part. Then they get hurt and wonder why. So, though it’s not going to be at all exciting, I want you to learn to hover first.”

“I’m good with that.” Falling to her death did not sound fun.

“I need you to ascend a few feet off the ground. This time you’re going to need to use a little force when you flap your wings or they’re not going to lift you.”

She closed her eyes, shutting out all other stimuli, and concentrated on that heavy weight she could feel extending from her back. She tensed the muscles there as hard as she could, and then she let them go – it was like pulling on an elastic band and then releasing it with a snap. Her wings lifted her nicely, but then she landed right back on her feet, almost slipping on the uneven ground.

“Good girl. That was a nice, neat ascent.” The descent was clumsy, but not entirely her fault. “This time, don’t pause in flapping your wings, but don’t try to lift higher. Just beat them gently but fast.”

“Okay.” She did as he instructed. “Hey, I’m doing it.” Then she lost her rhythm, and her feet touched the ground. “Well, I was.”

“The point is that you can do it. Now, do it again. I know it’s boring, but it’s important. I’m not teaching you how to fly until I know you’re not going to hit the ground like a dart.” He kept her there for at least an hour, trying different exercises, until pain strained her features. “We’ll end the lesson here. You’ve done enough.”

Yawning, she did a very feline stretch and winced. “My back is killing me.”

“I know, baby, but it will get easier. Tuck your wings back in. I know it’ll hurt, but you have to learn to push past the pain so you can control them.” Her wings folded and then sort of melted into her skin. “Good girl.” He lifted her, and she lazily curled her arms around his neck. Flames erupted around them, licking at their skin, as he pyroported them home.

In their bedroom, he put her to bed and kissed her forehead. “Rest, baby. I’ll be back soon.” She mumbled something incoherent and rolled onto her stomach.

Knox walked through the house, going straight to the living area. His four sentinels were relaxing on the sofas; waiting for him, just as they’d been instructed to do.