45.3. Celestial Desires - Part 3

"Aefener," Liana grabs my wrist, her eyes open wide. She's afraid.

The wind is playing with her hair. If she could, she would forbid me to go. But this is the one thing which is so inherent to Celestials that she can't do anything about it. Besides, I can't be stopped at this point and she knows that.

I'm already almost losing my mind, exercising the last shreds of sanity. I wanted to go flying the moment I woke up this morning but they forced me to eat breakfast first and then I had to wait for them to prepare. My wings are trembling with anticipation and the wind blowing into my feathers isn't helping to calm me down.

"I'll be okay, Li," I assure her and eye Fefnir to see how he's doing.

He's switching on four huge drones that will accompany me and it takes him forever because he double-checks everything. The deal is that the drones will fly around me in a safe distance and monitor my surroundings, especially the ground to spot any possible danger. The security scanned the immediate vicinity of AstraTech's skyscraper already, of course, but they're still afraid that something might happen to me.

"I can cast a shield now," I add because Liana won't let go of my wrist.

"You can't fly more than three hundred meters away from us," she reminds me. "Up is okay, but not away, do you understand? If you do, we'll have to punish you for disobeying a direct order concerning your safety."

"Yes, my Viceroy," I smirk because I can't imagine any kind of punishment they could do to me. Would they take away my retro videogames I don't have time to play anyway?

"Does the robe fit well?" Ayala the maid approaches me and is trying out for the tenth time that the binding won't come off even if I do pirouettes and that my hair is tied firmly.

"Much better than the previous one but not a real flying robe yet," I comment but I have to admit that compared to the full royal attire I had to fly in two days ago, this one is pretty light.

The maids took one of my current robes and adjusted it. It has one layer less, it's not as loose and I'm wearing leggings underneath. To be honest, it would be much more practical to wear modern human clothes for flying but I wouldn't put it on anymore. I'd feel ridiculous and tragically underdressed.

"Ryuu, be careful," Erik hugs me the moment Liana finally lets go. "Don't do anything crazy, okay? Just fly around a bit to stretch your wings and come back to us."

"Okay, okay," I'm nodding furiously.

"Promise me that," Erik frowns because he suspects that my head is blank. He gently grabs my chin and makes me look into his eyes. "Ryuu, promise!"

"I promise!" I repeat after him and send him reassurance through telepathy.

"The drones are ready," Fefnir announces. Finally!

It's not like he suddenly became an amateur RC fan but surveillance is part of his job now. And he had help from other Draconians, of course.

"I'll be fine, don't worry," I kiss my partner, hug him tight for one more time and then slowly step away from everyone.

I active the protective shield, wait mercilessly for the drones to take off and then stretch my wings in full. I can hear Ingri and a few others wo didn't see it first time gasping for breath, impressed by my wingspan. I feel proud about myself which is an emotion I have never felt as a human before. I'm proud of being a Celestial.

I take a deep breath and get into the air with one mighty flap of my strong wings. My mind clears of anything useless and there's only me and the sky. I have to make a conscious effort to remember Liana's instructions and stay close. It's so hard to limit myself.

I start flying around the skyscraper, gaining speed with each spin. My adrenalin spikes and with it also a huge amount of dopamine. Just like last time, I'm high. It feels good to be alive and have wings and be a Celestial and... I can't think straight anymore.

"COME BACK THIS INSTANCE, AEFENER!!!!"

I stop myself abruptly using air magic and look around, confused. Did I just hear my Viceroy right now?

"THAT'S FOUR HUNDRED METRES ALREADY!"

Oh, her voice... it's coming from the drones that are barely keeping up with me. I had no idea drones can have speakers.

I turn around and see that I'm really quite far from the AstraTech's building. But I didn't do it on purpose! How can I measure something like that? I use a gust of wind to propel myself back, almost knocking the drones off their course. Oops, sorry, Fefnir.

So... I can't go any further but I'm not forbidden to go up, right? There shouldn't be anything dangerous high in the sky, my friends are mostly concerned about people shooting at me from the ground. I fly around the skyscraper one more time to gain speed and then shoot straight up like an arrow. Can I reach the cloud that's hovering right above the skyscraper I wonder?

After a few moments of ascend, I look down and the city is starting to resemble a map. How high am I? I don't feel any vertigo, not in the slightest. I trust my wings and the air. Everything down there is so tiny. All my problems and the politics seem petty now. If only I could stay here forever. If only I didn't have to land ever again.

I continue my ascent at steady speed and altitude isn't a problem, my lungs are perfectly adjusted to thinner air. The cold is becoming a problem, though. I try casting a few fire balls around me but they get blown away immediately. We'll definitely need quality thermal clothes for flying.

I flap my wings with all might one more time, almost reaching, and suddenly I'm surrounded by white fog. I made it—I'm inside of the cloud! It's a bit disorienting but my senses tell me which way to go. I play with the white fluff, my shield repelling water inside it so that my wings won't get wet. But the chill does.

I push myself to go even higher to test how far I can go and soon I'm above the cloud. And I'm left speechless. It's unbelievably tranquil here. And then I realise another thing which shocks me even more. I... I can't feel anything that's not mine! All that emotional ambience of the city is gone entirely! It's just me and my thoughts and feelings.

Shiver goes down my spine. One reason is because the cold is getting to me, the other because it seems unnatural. I've always dreamed of switching off my telepathy but now that it has actually happened... it doesn't feel right. I realise that I miss feeling Erik, my friends and other Draconians. I'm totally hooked on them.

To distract myself and also to warm up, I start doing crazy air acrobatics and pirouettes. I play with the wind and the cloud. I test what my body is capable of. My mind is full of ideas for Celestial air games we could play in near future and I regret not borrowing Emi's ball.

I play and play but after a while... I really want to enjoy the scenery for a bit longer but I'm starting to get anxious not feeling the others. And tired. And cold. I want to share this moment, being here alone isn't fun. And did I mention it's soooo cold? I sneeze all of a sudden and try to hide my hands into the sleeves. Oh, where are the drones? I notice their absence only now. Did I lose them in the cloud?

Okay, there's no other way, I have to return. How long was I flying anyway? It felt like twenty minutes but my wings are much more exhausted than that. As the last feat, I try free fall through the clouds but I stretch my wings immediately after I see the city again. I don't want to give Erik a heart attack in case he spots me with binoculars.

I'm worried that I diverted from the skyscraper too much but then I spot its unmistakable silhouette. The ambient telepathic imprint of the city below me hits me again but this time I don't wish I could turn it off. I embrace it.

For the first time ever, I'm genuinely happy that I'm a telepath. I can't imagine my life without my extra sense that's an integral part of me just as being a Celestial and the Emperor is. This flight was a discovery in more ways than one.

The temperature rises but I'm still shivering. Did I overdo it? But I'm almost there. Home. Home is where my partner is. And my Viceroy. And my friends and subjects. I have so many people I love now. Am I not the luckiest person on Earth?

Oh, that's not good. I'm so close now that I'm catching everyone's emotions separately again, not as one ambient jumble. And it's nothing pleasant because I perceive only two: extreme fear and anger. I gulp but there's no avoiding it so I go for a landing, people below quickly clearing a spot for me.

I carefully land on my feet, flutter my wings one last time and then fold them behind my back. There're a few seconds of absolute silence and a new emotion—relief—emerges but it doesn't erase the previous two.

I want to run towards Erik and go for a hug but I freeze when I look at his expression and feel his emotional state. He's absolutely furious. Everyone is furious.

"YOU'VE BEEN MISSING FOR TWO HOURS!" he roars. "Do you have any idea how scared we were? And what's worse—the information got out because we were streaming your flight! Celestials all over the world are panicking!"

"B-but... the drones...?" I say feebly.

"You mean those you left behind after first twenty minutes of your flight?" Fefnir steps closer and his voice is thunder. He's towering over me like a scaly wall so I instinctively crouch.

My eyes search for Liana but she's already standing next to me and grabs my wrist quite painfully. Her face is unreadable but her emotional state isn't. She's in her Celestial wrath mode.

"L-Li," I let out but she drags me inside without a word. She's making sure that she's holding me over the layers of fabric so that I can't read her thoughts.

She pushes me into the elevator but doesn't let go of my hand. Erik joins us and is feeling disappointed in me which is breaking my heart. Miruel and Vermiel board with us, watching me with pursed lips and mixed emotions.

"L-Li, I...," I want to apologise for making them worry but they stay perfectly silent. It freaks me out. Was I really out for two hours to get them this pissed?

We reach the floor with our apartments so I expect that I'll be scolded in private but Liana pushes me out while staying in the elevator.

"His Majesty is not to leave his quarters until I say so," she orders Miruel and Vermiel, takes other bodyguards and the door closes behind her.

I don't understand. Where is she going? Why did she address me using my title? And did she just order me home arrest? Can she do that?

"Let's go," Erik grabs my wrist instead and pulls me through the corridor.

The guards patrolling this floor are looking at me strangely and are whispering to each other when I pass them. Nothing good I assume so I'm glad when we hide in our apartment. I wish to have some privacy with my partner but Vermiel and Miruel stay standing by the door from the inside and I know that nothing I say will convince them to leave.

"I'm sorry, Erik, I really am," I say tearily. "I had no idea I was there for so long, honestly!"

I collapse on the sofa, the fatigue got to me fully now because the adrenaline rush wore off. I realise that I totally overdid it. My wings are super exhausted, I'm still panting and I can't seem to warm myself.

"So you really can't help yourself?" Erik hisses and doesn't sit down next to me. "This isn't just a Celestial thing, right? It's your Emperor quirk exactly as the lore says. Liana was worried after your first flight that it might be the case but we hoped it wouldn't be so dramatic in real life. But, in fact, it's even worse."

"I know that I got carried away a bit, but..."

"A bit?!" Erik interrupts me, annoyed. "Ryuu, Liana left because the Celestial Council is meeting to decide what to do with you."

"D-do? What do you mean?" I shiver with both cold and dark anticipation.

"They lost their Emperor for two hours and had no idea where you are," he clutches his wrists. "You caused global panic, you dumb. Don't you get it? You're the guarantor of fragile peace between humans and Draconians and Celestials especially revere you as the embodiment of magic itself. You're the most important person on the planet right now."