Caged by Lena Mae Hill

Author:Lena Mae Hill [Hill, Lena Mae]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Speak Now
Published: 2019-02-04T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Astrid

An hour later, I hated Evan so much I was contemplating pushing him out the window. He’d started by shifting into a bird and trying to show me how to fly, though he could only do it for a minute before he had to sit down. I had tried and promptly fallen to the floor. He’d shifted back into human form, lifted me up to the top of my vanity, and told me to try again.

Again, I had crashed in a heap to the floor. He picked me up and put me back on the vanity. “Try again,” he said. “And flap your wings this time.”

I crashed to the floor, flapping my wings all the way.

He picked me up and set me back. “Again.”

I fell.

He picked me up.

I fell.

He picked me up.

I refused to jump.

He crossed his arms and cocked an eyebrow. “You’re going to live here for the next sixteen years?”

I opened my beak and screeched at him.

He laughed. Then, he pushed me off.

I flopped to the floor. Feathers flew up from my bruised body.

He picked me up.

I pecked him.

He grabbed me around the neck with one hand and the feet with the other, holding me up to his face. “I’ve wrung enough chickens’ necks in my life,” he said. “I don’t think you want to do that.”

I beat my wings furiously, wanting to peck his eyes out.

A slow smirk tugged at his lips. “Keep flapping like that, and you’ll be flying in no time.”

He threw me. I hurtled across the room, flapping until I hit the wall. Then I crashed to the floor again.

Evan bent, his hands on his knees. “Ready to give up already?”

I dragged my body up, though I was sure one of my wings was broken. I shifted into human form, breathing hard as I lay curled on the wooden floorboards. “Go away.”

“Did you think this would be easy?”

“Yes,” I said, cradling my arm. I was too tired and battered to pretend. I’d been watching birds all my life. They made it look more than easy. They flew effortlessly, without even flapping.

“It’s been an hour,” Evan said. “You spent sixteen years with your feet on the ground.”

“I’d rather be a turtle,” I said.

“Then be one,” he said. “No one is stopping you. I’m not going to make you fly. It’s up to you, Astrid. Do you want to fly or not?”

“Not,” I moaned.

“Suit yourself,” Evan said, straightening. “Come visit me when you change your mind.”

With that, he turned into a bird and flapped hard until he lifted off. I took great satisfaction in his misjudgment of my window. He clipped a wing on one side of it, losing a few feathers in the process. I lay on the floor catching my breath until I heard hoofbeats racing off down the mountain. Then I dragged myself up, shifted into a bird, and tried again.

The next morning, when I sat in my window combing my hair, my mind returned to Evan. I could still smell him, could feel his mouth on my skin and his fingers relieving my unbearable longing.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.