Chapter 21: New Wings

The afternoon sun washed across the trading floor, its mellow radiance catching on brass fittings and copper wires as Hannah examined the airship before them. It wasn’t the largest vessel in the yard – far from it – but something in its lines spoke of grace, of journeys yet to come. The sail above swelled gently in the warm breeze, its fabric bearing the soft sheen of well-maintained cloudsilk. Each ripple in the material seemed to hold fragments of sky within its folds, as if the ship itself dreamed of the heights it would soon dance through.

Thomas stood at her side, one hand absently rubbing his chest where Amari’s salve still lingered, its mountain-herb scent mixing with the omnipresent metallic tang of Steelwatch’s air. The aroma carried memories of gentle hands and healing touch, of promises whispered in shadowed alleys and hope born in unexpected moments. His breathing came easier now than it had in the morning, and he wondered if they would ever be able to find that kind of salve again. But there was something else in his bearing – a spark of anticipation that seemed to lift him even before they left the ground.

“She’s sound,” the trader said, running weathered fingers along the ship’s gondola rail. His touch carried the reverence of one who understood that vessels like these held more than just passengers – they carried dreams. “Not the newest, mind you, but she’s got heart. The kind that knows how to dance with wind and weather.” He patted the wooden hull with something like affection, his voice softening with memory. “Carried my family for seven years before the children grew and scattered to their own skies.”

Hannah felt the weight of two power crystals in her palm – a fortune by any measure, yet somehow fitting payment for wings of their own. Each facet caught the light differently, as if reflecting all the possibilities that lay before them. She watched Thomas trail his fingers along the ship’s flank, his touch reverent as prayer, and saw in that simple gesture all the wonder of a child discovering that dreams could become real.

The transaction itself passed in a blur of signatures and handshakes, but the moment Hannah’s fingers closed around the control wheel, something settled in her soul like a bird coming to roost. The smooth wood beneath her hands carried echoes of other journeys, other dreams, other lives transformed by the simple act of leaving ground behind. This wasn’t just transportation – it was transformation. A way to new adventures, a new life, and hopefully healing for Thomas.

They spent that first hour just learning the ship’s voice – the way she hummed when powered up, how she shuddered slightly before lifting from the ground like a dancer rising on pointe. Each creak of timber, each whisper of wind through rigging, spoke of freedom earned and horizons waiting to be chased. Thomas sat beside her at the controls, Sebastian whirring contentedly in his pocket, while Hannah guided them in gentle circles above the trading yard.

“Higher,” Thomas whispered, and Hannah obliged, feeling the ship respond to her touch like a living thing. The air grew cleaner as they rose, Steelwatch’s eternal haze falling away beneath them until they floated in seas of pure light. Thomas’s next breath came deep and clear – the first truly easy breath he’d drawn since he could remember. The sound of it brought tears to Hannah’s eyes, though she blinked them away before he could notice.

“Mama,” he said, wonder threading through his voice like golden light through clouds, “my breathing – it feels different. Better than even in the mountains.” He took another experimental breath, as if testing the truth of his own words. “Do you think it’s Amari’s salve, or just being up here above it all?”

Hannah watched him closely, noting the easy rise and fall of his chest, remembering all the nights she’d spent listening to his labored breathing, counting each inhale like precious stones. “Perhaps it’s both, love. The salve and the clean air working together, like partners in a dance.”

“It’s like being a bird,” he said, joy painting his voice in shades of dawn. “Like being Kyra, but in our own way.” He spread his arms wide, mimicking wings, and in that moment, he seemed to glow with an inner light. “Where shall we make our home, Mama? We could go anywhere now.”

Hannah smiled, feeling possibility unfold before them like a map of dreams. “We could. All of Thaloria lies open to us.” She adjusted their heading slightly, watching the shadows of clouds paint the world below in shifting patterns of light and shadow. “I’ve heard tales of Graven Pointe – of rolling hills and air so clean it tastes like morning dew. They say children dance in meadows there, and laughter echoes through valleys where wildflowers bloom year-round.”

“Could we really live there?” Thomas leaned forward in the co-pilot’s seat; his eyes bright with wonder as he watched the world spread beneath them like an endless tapestry. Sebastian sat vigilant on the rail before him, copper whiskers catching sunlight like tiny threads of hope made manifest.

“We could start there,” Hannah said, studying her son’s profile and seeing in it echoes of James’s dreams and her own determination. “See if it suits us. The crystals have bought us more than just an airship – they’ve bought us choice, love. The freedom to find our perfect place.”

The wind sang through the ship’s rigging, carrying notes that reminded Hannah of Kyra’s feathers catching mountain light. Up here, between earth and clouds, anything seemed possible – even the healing of damaged wings, whether they belonged to skyrazers or small boys who had learned to dream of flight.

“I think we would like it in Graven Pointe,” Thomas said with quiet certainty, as if naming their destination made it real. His voice carried all the weight of decision, all the lightness of hope finally finding its wings.

Hannah nodded, adjusting their course until their shadow pointed true south, toward a future that stretched as endless as the horizon before them. The afternoon light embraced them, mother and son, as they sailed through skies that held no trace of the shadows they were leaving behind, only the promise of cleaner air, deeper breaths, and stories yet to be written in the endless scroll of sky.