Page 54 - Fourth Wing

leathers back up over my ass and button them. “All covered.”

He turns and glances over me. “You look…different.”
“It’s the leathers.” I shrug. “Why? Is different bad?” It takes a second to

close my rucksack and haul it up and over my shoulders. Thank you, gods,

the ache in my knee is manageable with it bound like this.
“It’s just…” He shakes his head slowly, teasing his lower lip with his

teeth. “Different.”

“Why, Dain Aetos.” I grin and walk toward him, then grasp the door
handle at his side. “You’ve seen me in swimwear, tunics, and even

ballgowns. Are you telling me it’s the leather that does it for you?”

He scoffs, but there’s a slight flush to his cheeks as his hand covers mine
to open the door. “Glad to see our year apart hasn’t dulled your tongue, Vi.”

“Oh,” I toss over my shoulder as we walk into the hallway, “I can do
quite a few things with my tongue. You’d be impressed.” My smile is so

wide that it almost hurts, and just for a second, I forget that we’re in the

Riders Quadrant or that I’ve just survived the parapet.
His eyes heat. Guess he’s forgotten, too. Then again, Mira’s always made

it clear that riders aren’t an inhibited bunch behind these walls. There’s not
much reason to deny yourself when you might not live through tomorrow.

“We have to get you out of here,” he says, shaking his head like he needs

to clear it. Then he does the hand thing again, and I hear the lock slide into
place. There’s no one in the hallway, and we make it to the stairwell

quickly.

“Thanks,” I say as we start descending. “My knee feels way better now.”
“I still can’t believe your mother thought putting you into the Riders

Quadrant was a good idea.” I can practically feel the anger vibrating off him

next to me as we walk down the stairs. There’s no banister on his side, but
he doesn’t seem to mind, even though a single misstep would be the end of

him.
“Me neither. She announced her decree about which quadrant I’d choose