"Us?" I repeated his words, "In the sky? Like flying? How are we going to-"
"If you would shut up already," Cai cut off my babbling, "I'll show you." he raised his eyebrows at me and I averted my gaze.
"Fine, show me then."
"It's not flying," He lifted a palm to me and I hesitantly took his hand, "Think of it as walking on water." He said this, then stepped forward onto the balcony. I followed and the rain instantly soaked through my cloak and hair, It stuck to my lashes and my body experienced the feeling of the humid air sticking to me in a way that I hadn't felt since arriving in this world. I looked back to Cai and he was untouched by the water, his hair stayed perfectly dry and his dark clothing flipped in the wind as if dancing between each falling drop.
He looked back at me and frowned deeply, likely thinking how pathetic I was to be a water Mage and be so easily soaked by rain.
~Yeah I get it, I'm a loser in your book. Now, please stop giving me that look.~
He sighed then turned back to the rain. In the distance the sky began to light and I knew the sun was peaking over the horizon, this also meant our window of opportunity was fleeting.
"Come." he spoke again. He held my hand up as if to guide me up a flight of stairs then he pounced into the air.
~He's really like a cat... Although I suppose cats hate water, don't they?~
I yelped briefly when he never returned to the ground. It was as if gravity had no effect on him, because he simply didn't come back down; he continued in the air stepping gracefully as if he were walking on a cloud.
And I... I was going with him!
I covered my mouth with my free hand to stop my self from screaming or gasping too loudly and gripped tightly to Cai's knuckles with my other.
I was floating into the sky. It was unbelievable but, slowly and surely the ground under my feet distanced from me and the feeling of nothingness beneath me tingled through my feet and swirled in my stomach. For some reason, the feeling of it reminded me of when Altan kissed me on the rooftop.
But that was so far away now, that memory, the feeling of his touch.
~I never thought I was afraid of heights before... but maybe I am.~
I pinched my eyes shut and leveled my chin with the horizon, refusing to look down.
"You need to move." Cai spoke softly and I realized that as he spoke to me the rain was no longer pounding on my ears. With his touch the rain had stopped falling on me, now it simply flew around me as if I were water repellent. I didn't dwell on this for long though, because Cai looked as though he was growing impatient with me.
"I don't know how-" I mustered despite myself.
Cai seemed to groan with annoyance then moved behind me. He positioned himself slightly behind me and took my other hand that was flailing as if I planned to flap my arms like a bird. "First you must be calm." he spoke into my ear and my body did anything but calm down. "And then you simply step." his feet moved beneath him in a way that looked like it was a mixture of walking and swimming. I watched him, then attempted to mimic his movements. "Good." he spoke low, and then suddenly we were moving through the air. It was like treading water, we couldn't move as quickly as I had expected, but there was also something effortless about it.
I let my shoulders relax a bit although my knees persisted to shake as I gathered courage to look below me again and see the the grand palace of the Duke of Kiziljer. My home for a short while, but my home no longer. I was struck with a feeling of sadness, then immediately after that, thrilled with the feeling of escape and my own freedom that was now at fingers reach away.
Cai guided us through the rain and through the sky. He guided me over the palace, and past the sleeping streets of Kiziler. When he finally sat me down on solid ground again the sky was a light grey and the world around us was lit with a gloomy light as the rain preceded down around us in heavy streams.
Cai released my hands and the rain began to fall on me again. I pulled the hood of my cloak back to take in my surroundings.
"What are you doing?" Cai said then pulled the hood back over my face, "I told you to hide yourself."
"I know but, ugh-" He tightened it around my face so tightly that I could only see wet sand beneath me. "I have to at least see where I am." I positioned my head upward so I could see past the cloak. It was then that I saw where we were fully.
To my left were endless rolling sand dunes and to my right was a huge sandstone wall.
~What?~
"You took me outside the city?" I turned to Cai who was frowning at me again like I was the most helpless creature he'd ever seen.
"If I left you in that city you would be found and returned to the castle in a matter of hours." he said flatly then as if for his own sake rather than mine, he took my hand and the rain stopped pouring on me again. I thought about pulling from his grasp but decided to let it be.
~It's not like he's doing it for any romantic reason, he just wants to keep me dry~
I cleared my throat and pretended not to notice his cold hand. So different from Altan's whose body was always so warm... probably perks of being a Fire Mage. "So, you're going to leave me out in the desert then?"
"Did I say I was going to do that?" he looked out at the sand dunes as he asked this, then whistled lightly through his teeth.
I watched him but decided not to question the whistling. "Well, I told you that you didn't have to take care of me after I was out of the Palace. You just had to help me escape."
"You did tell me that." he agreed.
"Right." I took my hand back from him and almost instantly regretted it when the cold rain hit me. "So then, you don't have to help anymore."
"No, I don't" he nodded then grabbed my hand again, this time he held it tightly and I got the impression that he viewed me as an annoying helpless toddler. "But if you don't recall, we also made a bargain. I have helped you escape, now you owe me a debt."
~Oh right.~
"Okay, what do you want me to do." As I spoke a white and black appaloosa horse trotted to Cai's side and he reached to stroke its neck.
~So that's why he was whistling~
"I haven't decided yet." he smiled.
"What?!"
"So until then." he patted my head.
~Yep, I'm definitely a toddler in his eyes~
"You have to stay right beside me."