Raising Beast Cubs to Find a Husband

Chapter 229: The Sky-Dancer and the Grounded Shadow

There is an old beast-kin proverb that says you can measure the true strength of a Warlord not by how tightly he holds his weapons, but by how easily he opens his hands to let something go.

Standing on the edge of the sprawling coastal cliffs behind the manor, Lucien was currently failing that test entirely.

The afternoon wind was strong and crisp, whipping off the ocean and creating massive, invisible pillars of upward drafts. It was the perfect weather for an avian beast-kin.

Juni stood barefoot in the golden sea-grass, about ten yards away from the cliff’s edge. She was wearing a flexible, light tunic and leggings that Primrose had tailored specifically for aerodynamic movement. Her eyes were closed, her face tilted up toward the sun, and her magnificent snow-white and silver-tipped wings were fully extended, catching the salt-heavy breeze.

She looked radiant. She looked entirely at peace.

Lucien, on the other hand, looked like he was preparing for a siege.

The Lord of Shadows was standing a few feet behind her, his posture rigid, his violet eyes frantically scanning the empty blue sky for imaginary threats.

"The wind velocity is exceptionally high today," Lucien announced, his low voice tight with suppressed anxiety. "Cassian cleared you for flight, not for navigating gale-force updrafts. Perhaps a low-altitude hover would be more tactically sound for your first excursion."

Juni opened her golden eyes and looked over her shoulder, offering him a bright, entirely fearless smile.

"Lucien, I am a Duck-kin," she laughed softly, her wings twitching with pent-up energy. "The wind is my element. It’s not going to hurt me. It feels like coming home."

Lucien’s jaw tightened. He knew she was right. He knew he was being irrational. But the last time he had seen her use her wings, she had been fighting a mercenary army to protect her son. The thought of her leaving the solid safety of the earth—leaving the ground where he could protect her—was setting off every single alarm bell in his assassin instincts.

"I have mapped out the optimal landing zones," Lucien continued stubbornly, pointing a gloved finger toward a flat patch of grass. "If you experience muscle fatigue, you must descend immediately. I can summon a shadow-net to catch you if—"

"Mama fly!"

Pip’s loud, joyful shriek interrupted the tactical briefing.

Sitting on a large picnic blanket a safe distance away was the Warlord cub squad. Primrose had brought out a tray of sliced apples and cheese, and the cubs were fully prepared for the show. Vali was bouncing on his knees, Silas was watching with wide, reverent eyes, and Pip was clapping his chubby hands together, absolutely thrilled.

Juni blew a kiss to her son. Then, she turned her attention entirely to the sky.

She didn’t need a running start. She crouched slightly, her powerful leg muscles coiling. Wind magic—pure, concentrated, and glowing faintly with a pale blue light—began to swirl around her bare feet, flattening the golden grass in a wide circle.

With a fierce, joyous shout, Juni pushed off the ground.

WHOOSH!

The sheer force of her takeoff sent a shockwave of wind blasting backward. Lucien’s dark hair whipped wildly around his face, and he had to plant his boots firmly in the dirt to keep from being pushed back.

Juni shot into the sky like a silver arrow.

Lucien’s breath completely left his lungs. He stared up, absolutely mesmerized.

She wasn’t just flying; she was dancing. The heavy, exhausted widow who had been trapped in the smuggler’s cave was completely gone. Up there, surrounded by the endless blue, Juni was an absolute force of nature.

She caught a massive thermal updraft, her silver-tipped wings snapping out to their full wingspan as she glided effortlessly higher and higher. She spun, executing a flawless, joyful barrel roll through the clouds, her golden hair trailing behind her like a comet.

"Woah!" Vali howled from the picnic blanket, his golden eyes wide. "She is so fast! She is faster than Dad’s axes!"

"Her aerodynamic drag coefficient is practically zero," Jasper whispered in awe, furiously scribbling in his notebook.

Lucien didn’t hear them. He couldn’t hear anything over the sound of his own heart hammering against his ribs. He tracked her every movement, his violet eyes locked onto her distant silhouette. He felt a profound, overwhelming ache in his chest—a mixture of absolute awe and the terrifying realization that he was entirely, hopelessly in love with a woman who belonged to the sky.

High above, Juni reached the apex of her climb. The ocean stretched out endlessly below her. The Warlord manor looked like a tiny toy castle. She felt the magic humming perfectly in her bones. She was strong. She was free.

She looked down and saw the tiny, dark speck standing exactly where she had left him. Lucien hadn’t moved an inch. He was her anchor.

With a wicked, playful grin, Juni folded her wings tight against her back.

She dropped like a stone.

It was a classic avian hunting dive, designed to build maximum velocity. She plummeted straight down toward the earth, the wind screaming past her ears.

Down on the ground, Lucien’s heart physically stopped.

"Juni!" Lucien roared, his voice tearing out of his throat in pure, unfiltered panic.

His assassin instincts completely overrode his logic. He didn’t care about physics or Cassian’s medical clearance. She was falling.

Lucien dropped into a crouch, the shadows around his boots erupting into a violent, swirling vortex. He was preparing to shadow-step directly into the sky to catch her out of thin air.

Just fifty feet above the grass, Juni threw her wings open.

CRACK!

The sound of her wings catching the wind was like a whip cracking. Her descent halted instantly, the sheer force of her wind magic kicking up a massive cloud of dust and grass. She banked sharply, pulling out of the dive with breathtaking grace, and glided smoothly back toward the cliff’s edge.

She touched down lightly on the grass, her bare feet making almost no sound, exactly two feet in front of Lucien.

"How was that for a landing zone?" Juni laughed, her cheeks flushed, her golden eyes sparkling with pure adrenaline.

Lucien didn’t say a word.

He moved so fast she didn’t even have time to blink. The Lord of Shadows surged forward, his large, gloved hands grabbing her by the waist and pulling her flush against his chest.

Juni gasped, her hands flying up to rest against his broad shoulders as the breath was completely knocked out of her.

Lucien buried his face in her golden hair, holding her so tightly she could feel the violent, racing thud of his heart against her ribs. He was shaking. The deadliest man in the continent, the Warlord who had never feared death, was physically trembling.

"Lucien?" Juni whispered, the adrenaline fading instantly into deep concern. She tentatively wrapped her arms around his neck. "Hey. I’m okay. I’m perfectly safe."

"Do not ever," Lucien breathed, his voice a low, rough, terrified growl against her ear, "do a free-fall dive like that again. I almost stopped my own heart trying to catch you."

Juni’s eyes widened. She realized she had miscalculated. She was used to Sora and the Eagle-kins, who showed off with dangerous dives all the time. But Lucien wasn’t a bird. He was a creature of the earth and shadows. To him, falling only meant one thing.

"I’m sorry," Juni murmured, a massive wave of guilt and overwhelming affection washing over her. She pulled back just enough to look at his face. His violet eyes were dark, frantic, and filled with a desperate need to know she was safe.

She reached up, her small, warm hands gently cupping his face, her thumbs brushing against his sharp cheekbones.

"I am sorry, shadow-cat," Juni promised softly, holding his gaze entirely. "I didn’t mean to scare you. I know how to fly. But more importantly... I know how to land. And I am always going to land right here. With you."

Lucien stared down at her. The absolute, unwavering certainty in her golden eyes completely unmade him.

He let out a long, shuddering sigh, his eyes fluttering shut for a fraction of a second as he finally let himself believe it. He turned his head, pressing a soft, lingering kiss to the palm of her hand.

"I will hold you to that, silver-wing," Lucien whispered, his hands sliding from her waist to gently rest against her back, right between her wings.

"YAY MAMA!" Pip cheered from the picnic blanket, completely oblivious to the heavy, romantic tension, happily waving a slice of apple in the air.

Juni laughed softly, resting her forehead against Lucien’s chest. The wind continued to howl around them, pulling at her feathers and his dark clothes, but neither of them moved an inch.

The Panther Warlord had finally found a piece of the sky to call his own, and he was never letting her go.