Custom-made for its owner, the clockwork wings were heavier than the ones Jade had left behind in the cave, and the large, leather harness hung loosely on her frame. The straps, meant for someone bigger than her, slid from her shoulders. The Academy had sent another man to finish the mission.

Was it another training partner? In the end, it didn’t matter. Only surviving did.

The right strap slid down her elbow, dragging the wing down and tipping her whole body to the side. Instead of riding the thermal, she cut through it, further unbalancing her trajectory. Buckets of water still poured from the sky, making any attempt to rectify her course difficult.

Struggling, she readjusted the strap, but her wounded shoulder lacked the strength to keep the wing in position, and the miniature clockwork engine that powered the gear spluttered and whirred louder than it should have. Metal and water didn’t go hand in hand, especially the alloy used for clockwork mechanisms that were Lupine’s technology.

Jade should have known that her luck wouldn’t last long, but when she heard the unmistakable flaps of another set of mechanical wings, she swore out loud, cursing all the gods in the sky.

The other assassin didn’t waste any time. The poisoned shaft whistled by her ear as she feigned right before angling her wings left.

Arrows. That was Maarlo’s specialty; the big Celestian made it a sport to break trainees’ bones. The sadist had mangled Jade’s body more times than she could remember. Probably he had volunteered for the mission. He couldn’t kill her, but he would toy with Jade before capturing her, of that she was certain.

Jade grabbed the straps with her hands and with her bent elbows forced the wings to flatten against her body, then dove. Ahead, a narrow canyon separated the Rocky Domes, and she intended to lure Maarlo there.

The burly assassin was all power but lacked finesse. At the moment, the only weapon at her disposal was her brain, and she would use every ounce of it.

A gust of wind transported her farther than she intended, but she corrected the course by opening her left wing. The weather could be an asset, but the darkness didn’t allow her to plan her turns much in advance. It would have been useful to know which direction to go a few seconds before she actually saw the opening in the rock walls, but she was still an assassin and would adapt.

The canyon narrowed until her wings couldn’t extend to their full span any longer, and she folded them. She was freefalling, but so was Maarlo.

Looking for one of the jutting ledges that announced the existence of a cave inside the rock walls, Jade turned herself up and pointed her feet toward the first of those natural terraces she saw. The landing was disastrous. Her wings were a hindrance and almost pulled her off the ledge when the wind billowed out from the cave and they opened. She pushed forward with all her might and scratched her feet first, then her knees, and finally the palm of her hands when momentum dragged her along the uneven floor. Her joints, muscles, skin, every single part of her body was in agony.

Maarlo attempted a similar maneuver, but he missed the ledge. His curses resonated above the squalling winds and the heavy rain. Then the faint echo of a splash traveled up the canyon.

She was safe, for now.

She didn’t have long to exult, though.

Atop a purple draglet, Dragon elegantly maneuvered the narrow entrance to the canyon and made a beeline for her. Out of habit, Jade calculated her chances to escape him, but she hesitated, and then it was too late. Dragon was already at the ledge, where he commanded his ride to perch on his short legs less than a meter from her.

“Is the assassin dead?” Dragon regarded her with one intense stare, his eyes roaming over her naked body and lingering on the scratches and bruises she knew marred her skin.

“The last time I saw him, he was fighting the river.”

Anger as cold as the winters on the Outer Belt planets showed in his eyes. He blinked and, as if he had reached a conclusion, extended his arm. “Leave the wings. Someone will retrieve them later.”

Jade couldn’t help but shake her head.

“I’ll take you home,” he said, beckoning her with curled fingers.

I’ll take you home.

Only a few words, but they burned a path from Jade’s ears to her heart. For a moment, she let herself forget who they were to each other and grabbed his hand, letting the gear fall behind her.