Page 469 - Fourth Wing

The bite of spring wind stings my cheeks as we fly deep into the

mountain range, and I’m thankful I dressed in flight leathers this morning,
thinking I’d have a session before lunch.

We land almost a half hour later, high above the tree line.

I shiver and rub my arms to fight off the low temperatures that come with
high altitude.

“Don’t worry. You won’t be cold for long,” Carr assures, dismounting

and pulling a small tome from his pocket. “According to what I read last
night, this particular ability has the power to overheat your system, hence

—” He gestures around us.

“Plus, there’s not much to burn up here, is there?” And no witnesses if he
decides to break my neck, either. I glance at him quickly before looking

away, undoing the buckles of my saddle, then sliding down Tairn’s foreleg.
“Don’t leave me.”

“Never. I’ll burn him alive before he takes a single step toward you.”

“Exactly.” He studies me carefully, and I avoid meeting his eyes as I
check the wrap on my knee to make sure it hasn’t slipped under my

leathers. “It’s always intriguing to me how nature finds the balance.”
“I’m not sure I know what you mean, Professor.”

“This kind of power found in one so…” He sighs. “Would you not call

yourself fragile?”
“I am who I am.” I bristle. I’ve never given this particular professor any

reason to think of me as different.

“It’s not an insult, cadet.” He shrugs, looking at the saddle. “It’s a
balance. In the course of my duties, I’ve found a correlation of sorts that

keeps a system of checks on power. Yours seems to be your body.”

A growl rumbles in Tairn’s chest as he edges Carr’s smaller dragon out of
his space.

“Your dragon doesn’t trust me,” Carr states, like it’s an academic problem
to be solved. “And considering he’s the most powerful of them in the