Adrian drew his sword, staring back at the redhead in confusion. “Why are you here?” he demanded. “I thought I made myself very clear—”

“Oh, Adrian,” Carnadine interrupted in a sing-song voice, circling him with her hand resting against the red mace on her hip. “I know you traveled alone to get here. There’s not a castle servant in sight. If I were to take you hostage or kill you and your friends, no one in Elderian would come for you. Nobody actually knows where you’ve run off to, do they?” She grinned as her words caused the blood to drain from his face. “You were all bluster that day at my fortress, and we fell for it. Well, that is no longer the case.”

“How do you know I don’t have guards stationed out of sight right now, ready to swoop in if you so much as—”

She cut him off with a cackle. “That would be something, wouldn’t it? But there aren’t any. There’s no one coming and nothing to save that magic user now.”

“Leave Jacques alone.”

“You can’t protect him anymore. I will have my execution and this time I’m not dragging it out. His blood spills tonight and you will step aside and watch it happen.”

“We’ll see about that.” He raised his sword challengingly.

She watched him in amusement. “You really play the part of a king. I’m surprised your friends haven’t sold you out yet.” He glanced to the side at that. “Oh? They don’t know, do they?” His expression seemed to convince her further. “You couldn’t possibly trust them with a secret like that. That is interesting.” She finally took the crimson mace up into her hand. “I almost want to watch them tear you apart when they find out.”

She swung the weapon down and Adrian darted out of the way as it cracked the brittle rock underfoot. Dodging her next swings, he barely deflected the last blow and was knocked slightly off balance. Carnadine pressed forward with the mace and Adrian caught it by the handle with his blade; blue eyes going wide as the spikes on the end of the red ball stopped mere inches from his face.

Her brown eyes glistened with energy. “I’ve prepared my whole life for this moment. Your royal training is no match for me.” She thrust the blade back, kicking him in the stomach as she did.

He was thrown back, falling to the ground as the sword flew out of his hand. He went to grab it with his left hand, when she placed her foot firmly on the wrist quicker than he could react. Pinning his arm down, she harshly threw down her mace.

Crying out as the spiked ball tore into the flesh of his forearm with a horrible crack, Carnadine’s men simply watched from behind as she lifted the now bloodied spiked ball, pressing her shoe into the fresh wound as she leaned over him.

He whimpered in response, his vision going red and his head spinning uncontrollably as he gripped a hand over the foot, attempting to pull it off but failing miserably.

“Do you see what you’re up against now, Your Majesty?” she asked, her lips curled into a sneer. “I’ll make you pay for delaying Jacques’s inevitable demise, and rest assured, your death will not be swift.”

There was a flash of green light.

The pressure on his marred arm was released as Carnadine was blasted off him. He blinked upwards, the pain less excruciating as he registered Jacques now standing over him, an emerald glow surrounding his body.

The leader faced the redhead with a fierce expression. “Take care of him, Zuri,” he said gently, his voice having that strange hum to it again.

The inventor was suddenly by Adrian’s side, helping him sit up. That’s when he really got a good look at his arm. He nearly fainted at the sight of it. The flesh was torn and bloodied, the bone broken and poking out, glistening white and crimson. Before he could gaze at it any longer, Zuri quickly tore a piece of fabric from the sash around Adrian’s waist, cinching it painfully around his arm. He gritted his teeth at the sudden pressure.

Carnadine was picking herself up from the ground, groaning slightly. “So, you’re using your magic now?” She wiped a cut from her lip, grinning. “Fully embracing your inhumanity, are we, Jacky?”

The mass of soldiers began closing in. Zuri held Adrian under the arm around his waist, getting him to stand up. 

“How did you find me?” Jacques demanded.

“You created a not so conspicuous force field this morning, drawing quite a bit of attention to yourself. You’re growing careless.”

Adrian was barely clinging to consciousness now, feeling guilty for the deadweight he was giving Zuri. Andre was beside Jacques now; the batte axe readied in his hand.

“Oh, you want me to draw attention?” Jacques growled challengingly. “I’ll draw attention.” He made eye contact with Andre and nodded. 

“I don’t know what you’re planning,” Carnadine said, lifting the wet, stained mace, “but my ancestors have been hunting people like you for centuries. You think your magic is going to deter me now?”

To Adrian’s surprise, Andre was falling back. He took the blond around the middle and easily lifted him over his shoulder as Zuri followed behind him.

“You don’t know what I’m capable of,” Jacques said darkly, glancing back at his team for a moment. “I suggest you stay away.” He thrusted his hand into the sky before Carnadine could respond. 

The air sizzled with energy and a second later, there was a deafening crack of thunder as a green lightning bolt struck the ground. Adrian could feel when it hit, the piercing sound along with the surge of energy filling his body with terror. 

He glanced up to see the group of soldiers all on the ground, many of them wounded, some unmoving. Carnadine had been shoved out of the way, her heaving form appearing wracked but otherwise uninjured.

There was no time to put up camp. Andre grabbed the two donkeys, one by each rein, after quickly attaching Tulipe’s lead rope to one of them. 

“Please,” Adrian begged in a weak voice, “my bag is in my tent. It has the journals.”

Zuri rushed into one of the tents, snatching up the item and running after their teammates.

They were all full-on sprinting now, Adrian bouncing lightly on Andre’s back, his head pounding, arm throbbing beyond belief, his vision slightly blurred.

There was a flash of light and Jacques appeared next to them, his eyes still pupilless and glowing. Without wasting time, he was surrounding them with the green forcefield, his hand resting on Andre’s shoulder. 

There was another flash and Adrian felt like his skin was being pulled off as all of them including the donkeys jolted forward possibly hundreds of feet in only a few seconds. His stomach lurched and he faintly heard Zuri saying, “Jacques, you have superspeed too? Since when?” before he passed out.

 

🗲🗲🗲

 

Adrian’s blue eyes slid open, and his head was immediately seized by a piercing headache. He was lying on his back on the ground. He barely registered the blanket underneath him. A terrible throbbing in his arm forced a groan out of his mouth. 

“He’s awake!” Zuri cried and the inventor was by Adrian’s side, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Hey, stay down. You really shouldn’t get up right now.”

His eyes were closed again as his muscles relaxed back into the blanket. “Z-Zuri...it...my arm...h-hurts.” There was sweat running down his face.

“I know, Buddy. The bone in your arm was broken and we had to reset it, but hey, at least you weren’t awake when we did that or when I was cleaning it. That would be a whole other level of pain.”

He registered another person now by his side. “How is he?” came Jacques’s worried voice.

“He’ll be fine thanks to you,” Zuri said, taking a rag and wiping the sweat from Adrian’s face. “But remember, your powers don’t magically fix injuries, as ironic as that sounds. It just speeds the healing process, so we need to make sure it’s kept clean while you’re using your healing magic.”

Blue eyes blinked back open. “Healing magic?” He glanced at his bound and splinted forearm; his sleeve torn away to make room for the bandages. A faint green glow emanated around the whole thing.

“Hey, you don’t need to talk,” Zuri said. “You’re probably going to pass out again soon anyway.”

“The magic will hold as long as I keep putting power into it every couple hours,” Jacques said, eyeing the wrapped injury. “It’ll take a lot of energy out of him, so he’ll be pretty faint for a while.”

“How are we going to get supplies?” they asked worriedly.

“I’m not sure. Carnadine is on us again, which means we can’t stay on the main road anymore. We’ll need to restock in a few days.”

Their voices began to sound distant as Adrian’s eyes lulled into the back of his head. 

“This is really bad, Jacques. We lost more than half our things.”

“Andre’s cooking supplies were luckily still on one of the donkeys along with our food, water, and some extra blankets and mats, so at least we have that.” 

“We’ve had worse,” came Andre’s voice from somewhere a bit further away.

“But Ian is in such bad shape, and we need to keep moving.”

“I’ll watch over him,” Jacques insisted. “You get some sleep. You’ve been up for hours already.”

The responding, “Okay,” was so muffled, Adrian wondered if he just imagined it as his world became dark again.

 

 

When he awoke again, it was still dark outside. Someone was lying next to him.

The throbbing had gone down in his arm, though the pain was still there. He slowly sat up; his breathing labored with the effort. He’d been tucked under several blankets. 

He looked around at the desert landscape, their donkeys tied up with some of their supplies on their backs. Andre and Zuri were asleep under blankets around a quickly made, unlit fire pit.

Adrian was now looking at the sleeping companion beside him.

It was Jacques. He was still in his daytime clothes, and he had neither pillow nor blanket as he snored peacefully on his side facing the blond, sharing the mat that Adrian was laying on. Blue eyes observed the peaceful face curiously. Jacques looked so defenseless and serene like this. It was distracting. 

As soon as he saw him shiver, he was taking one of his extra blankets and throwing it over the sleeping form. Jacques tucked into the warmth, his face softening further.

That’s when Adrian registered the immense pressure in his bladder. He got shakily to his feet, slowly making his way to a spot to relieve himself. By the time he got back, his head was splitting again, and he knew he needed to lay down if he didn’t want to topple over.

He slipped back into the bag, attempting to be as quiet as possible when he accidentally bumped his splinted arm and winced, holding it painfully.

Brown eyes blinked open. “Ian?” Jacques sat up quickly looking him over. “Hey, you should be laying down.” He was pushing him down by the shoulder onto his back, but Adrian opted to lay on his side instead so he could face him.

“Jacques, what happened? Where are we?”

“Shh.” He was taking the blanket Adrian had given him, attempting to throw it back over him, but Adrian grabbed his wrist to stop him.

“Keep it. You were shivering.”

Jacques searched his eyes. “You need it more than I do, plus this is all we have.”

Even in Adrian’s frail state, he kept a firm hold on the wrist. “I’m fine. Please, keep it.”

Jacques watched him, then sighed, wrapping the blanket around himself again. “If it makes you relax, then fine. Are you in a lot of pain? Your bandage is going to need changing soon.”

“It’s better than before,” he answered honestly, “but I’ll admit I’ve never been in this much pain in my life. Not that that’s saying much.” He breathed out a small laugh.

Jacques reached out, placing a hand to his forehead. “Well, you don’t have a fever anymore. That’s good.” He took his hand away and Adrian reached out and firmly grabbed it while holding his splinted arm close to his chest. The brown eyes lit up in surprise.

“Jacques,” his expression was solemn, “I’m so sorry. Carnadine... she’s after you again. Whatever influence I had over her before is gone. I couldn’t do anything to stop her—”

“It’s okay, Ian,” he said gently, squeezing the hand then letting it go. “I’ve been dealing with her most of my life. This isn’t something new.”

“But this, my protection; it was all I had to offer you and your group. It’s the only reason you decided to take me to Mermortiva, and I couldn’t keep my end of the bargain.”

Jacques considered him. “Why? What happened?”

There was a pause. “I may have omitted something important about myself when last I spoke with her, and she figured it out. I wasn’t lying about what I told her, it’s just, well… basically, you have no more immunity.”

He could tell Jacques was dying to dig for further explanation by the expression he was making, but instead he sighed. “We’re going to Mermortiva regardless of what you originally promised us.” Adrian blinked. “You’re a part of our team now, and who knows, maybe we can learn more about the Alchemists and my powers out there. It’s not like we really had other plans than just making ends meet from one town to the next anyway.”

Adrian searched his face. “But I’m such a burden to you—”

“But you’re not.” There was silence as blue eyes explored brown. “You really aren’t, so don’t have me catch you saying that again. You understand?”

 “Okay.” 

“Besides,” he said in a more humorous tone, “do you know how upset Zuri would be if you left the group?” Adrian laughed softly at that. “I’d never hear the end of it if I kicked you out.”

“You’re probably right.”

“Of course, I am,” he snapped. “Now, you should really get some rest if you want that arm to ever heal.” He glanced over at the still glowing splint. “Let me add some more magic to it.” He reached out, hand hovering above Adrian’s wound. There was a flash of light across his brown eyes and the glow brightened around the arm. “It’ll take some time to fully heal, you know.”

“I’ll do whatever I can to help until it does,” he insisted, and Jacques let out a short exhale.

“I told you, don’t worry about that. I just need you to focus on getting better.”

He nodded, then stared down at eerie looking bandages. “You’ve been using your magic a lot. How come? I thought you didn’t want to?”

“You’re right, I practically never used my powers before, not since I left my parents.” He looked away. “It was always... too painful to use them. Reminded me of everything they expected and wanted from me, but it’s different now.”

“It is?”

“Yes. For one, I have that recharging crystal and now I can use more than ten times of what I could before. Charging takes no time at all, and I feel so... alive.” A green glint sparkled in his eyes. 

“And why else?”

Jacques kept his gaze downward. “I guess, my magic just means something different now. It feels different and it’s something that you and I discovered so it’s, you know,” he breathed out, “it’s ours and no longer theirs.”

Adrian’s heart did a little flutter as he realized the significance of that statement. “Not ours, Jacques. Yours. I may be able to read the journals, but the magic is and always has been yours. I’m glad if the reason you were able to realize that was me, but all of this was you.” There was a soft sentiment behind Jacques’s eyes. “I mean, I had nothing to do with that lightning strike you made. I’m glad you didn’t show me it earlier, otherwise I think you would have fried everything including all of us.”

He grinned. “Yeah, probably. I was a little caught up in the moment after charging with the crystal for the first time.”

“Yeah, just a little.” Jacques snorted, and there was a moment of silence. “So, what now?”

“What do you mean?”

“Are we still going to Rastrist?”

“No. Carandine will be expecting us there. Our next stop will have to be Hauteland. We’ll scrape by ‘til then.”

“How long until my arm heals?”

He shrugged. “A couple days.”

Blue eyes widened. “That’s it? I thought I broke the bone.”

“You did.”

He searched his face, blinking, then breathed out a laugh in disbelief. “That’s amazing. Feels almost like cheating.”

He grinned. “Almost.”

Adrian’s eyes were extremely heavy then. “I feel so tired though...”

“Then sleep you fucking idiot.”

He rolled onto his back, chuckling. “Yeah... good idea.” His eyes closed and only moments later he was embracing the darkness again.

When he awoke again, Andre was shaking his shoulder gently, getting him to sit up.

“Eat up,” he said, stuffing a bowl full of mixed bulgar into his hands. “You need extra energy.” 

Adrian blinked the grogginess out of his eyes, then inhaled the lovely scent of his favorite dish. “Thanks, Andre.”

“How are you feeling?”

He looked down at the still glowing arm, the bandages freshly changed, and the splint still in place. He tried to move it and was surprised by how less painful it was. “It feels much better. That magic works wonders.”

“Yeah, you really souped-up our leader with that energy crystal.” He had a small smile on his face. “Never seen him so confident before. He rarely used his magic, if at all, you know.” 

Adrian glanced over at the firepit where a softly snoring Jacques was tucked under blankets in Andre’s previous sleeping spot. Zuri was also sleeping. They were both probably exhausted after taking care of Adrian all night. 

The blond shoveled rice into his mouth. “That’s what he told me too,” he said between bites. “Guess that’s the perk of having an ancient Elden translator.” He was borderline inhaling the food.

“It’s not just that.” Andre now sat beside him. “I think having someone excited about his powers and pushing him to learn new stuff also really helped. You’re a really good friend, you know that?”

He blinked, then rubbed the back of his neck. “Thanks. You’re a really good brother to him.”

Andre smiled, patting him on the back and Adrian spat some food out at the force of it. “Oop! Sorry, Buddy.”

Adrian swallowed the rest then laughed. “Not to worry.”

He finished up and Andre took the bowl and set it on the ground. “Do you think you can stand?”

“Yeah.”

Adrian made to stand, his legs shaking slightly underneath him as he did. He was still in his day clothes save for his boots. The moment his weight was put on his legs, he felt lightheaded. Andre was standing now, catching Adrian’s arm when he teetered sideways.

“I feel so... drained,” he admitted, holding onto the larger man. 

“That would be Jacques’s magic.”

“He did say the sped-up healing would take a toll on me.”

He was set down in front of the firepit against a rock. “You take it easy while we do the rest, okay?”

As much as Adrian wanted to argue with that statement, he simply said, “Okay,” and watched as Andre began waking the others. 

After the whole group was up and moving about, Andre started on everyone’s breakfast, explaining to Adrian that he would need to eat again with the others when it was ready, since the magic was using so much of his energy.

The blond was not happy to watch them all scurry around, putting sleeping mats away, feeding the donkeys, etcetera. Thankfully, he got a hold of his bag, and was reading one-handed through one of the journals as Jacques went over their plans.

“We’ll survive without tents for now,” he said, rolling up one of the blankets Adrian had slept with last night, “but the water is going to start going down especially now that we can’t stop in Rastrist.”

“You think we’ll make it to Hauteland before it runs out?” Zuri asked, grabbing a bag of vegetables, and bringing it over to Andre’s makeshift cooking station.

“Lemme check again.” He walked over to the barrels after tying the rolled-up blanket onto one of the donkeys. He peered inside one, frowning. “We’re not looking too good. I’d say we have about a day or two left of reserves. We used a lot to clean Ian’s wounds and two of the other barrels were left at the other campsite.” He sighed, and Adrian looked up from the ancient Elden words.

He considered the issue for a moment, then asked, “Zuri, what about your aquifers?”

The inventor looked over at him and their eyes widened. “Oh, yeah! Lemme check my map and see if we’re near any.” They rummaged through their pockets, pulling out the piece of paper.

“That won’t work,” Jacques said. “I thought the aquifers were all near the main road.”

They scanned the map. “Looks like the closest one is between here and Rastrist, but you’re right, Jacques, it is really close to the main road.”

“Isn’t it our closest source of water at this point, though,” Adrian said, closing the journal. “I don’t think we have much of a choice.”

Jacques glared at him. “You’re so supposed to be resting, Sweetheart, not taking over as leader.”

“He’s right though, Jacques,” Andre said over the sizzling pan he was swirling over the flame. “I don’t think it’s wise to wait until Hauteland for water, especially since we need to keep Ian’s wound clean and cook future meals.”

Jacques ran a hand over his face. “Fine, but we’re still going to travel through the Rastrist Dunes to get there. I’m not taking any chances with Carnadine.”

No one argued with that.

 

🗲🗲🗲

 

The shining sun overhead glared down on them as the group walked through the dunes with their donkeys.

Adrian slowly trudged alongside Andre who steadied him by the arm. The blond’s pale cheeks were flushing from the heat. He didn’t want the others to know how much his arm ached or the fact that his head was spinning so fast, he could barely put one foot in front of the other in the shifting sand. The sweltering oven they walked through wasn’t helping things.

“You alright, Ian,” came Andre’s voice next to him.

He panted between words. “Yeah, just tired.” As he said it, black curtains began closing over his vision and he willed himself to keep walking, focusing on the green glow of his arm as an anchor point.

“Just a little more, Ian,” Jacques said from up ahead. “We’ll take a break in a few hours after we’ve put enough distance between ourselves and Carnadine and then I’ll be ready again to jump us ahead with my magic.”

“Okay.” The curtains closed and he found himself blinking his eyes open a moment later, now completely supported by Andre who held him around the waist. Had he passed out for a moment?

Jacques was shoving a leather pouch into his hands. “Fuck, Sweetheart. Why didn’t you ask for water?”

He found the brown eyes. “S-sorry...” 

“Don’t be sorry.” The pouch was uncapped for him, and Adrian weakly pressed it to his lips, gulping water desperately. “I swear, you pass out more than the three of us combined.”

He found his bearings and was able to stand mostly on his own again, handing the pouch back. He kept his eyes on the ground, his chest heaving slightly. His foot bumped against something hard, and he narrowed his eyes down at whatever it was.

“What the...” he mumbled, crouching down and placing a hand on something that felt smooth under a layer of dirt. 

“Hey, we can’t rest here—” Jacques began, then saw what the blond was examining. “What’s that?” He was next to him now as Adrian wiped the dust away to reveal black glass.

Using his sash, Adrian brushed it off further, revealing a carved circle with a painted lightning bolt down the middle. His eyes widened. “Zuri,” he called, “it’s the Alchemist tech insignia!”

The inventor rushed over, bending down to examine the shape. “Shit, you’re right! Hey, wait... I know what this is. Ian, can I see Volume II?”

He blinked, then reached into the bag over his shoulder, pulling out the journal and handing it over.

They took it, flipping through the pages until they stopped over the flying ship drawing. “I was right! This looks just like the front of the ship.”

“Are you sure?” He took it from them, and he temporarily forgot how much his body was suffering as excitement coursed through his veins. It was indeed part of an ancient ship. “There must be more to it, under the sand. If we can get it out, maybe we could use it for travel. That would take ages though…”

Jacques placed a hand on his shoulder. “That’s where I come in. I should have enough charge for this.” He motioned for Zuri and him to stand back. 

Giving him space, they both watched as Jacques lifted both hands out, his eyes now glowing green. There was a rumble and Andre’s hand was over Adrian’s arm again, pulling him back as sand and dust began to swirl around them.

A massive dark shape began to rise from the depths, surrounded by a green glow. Adrian’s jaw dropped as he watched the massive ship slowly be unveiled, the sleek black glass glistening underneath the two centuries of caked dirt. He covered his eyes from the dust storm, then blinked in awe after it had settled. The uncovered ship sat gently atop the sand.

It was beautiful. 

Two tall, sailless masts that had previously been tucked away somewhere inside the ship, extended upwards with a tumultuous sound and Adrian spotted a ladder leading up to the crow’s nest. There were four grated chambers along the sides of the outside of the ship, each filled with a massive, glowing green crystal. The black glass with gold painted trimming had such a shine to it, it appeared as though it were see-through, even though it was very much opaque. He couldn’t see the deck or anything else, but the gorgeous thing left him staring, his mouth still agape.

Zuri let out a manic cry. “This is fucking amazing!” they shouted, running forward, and grasping the dirtied ship in an awkward hug. 

The massive vessel provided some shade for them, and Adrian stood gratefully in it, looking down at the journal he still held, and scanning over the text. 

“Jacques,” he said as the smaller man came to join him in the shade, “The masts must have been activated by the presence of your magic. You should be able to power up the ship from the helm and release the sails.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Will it work? You sure it isn’t too old?”

He shook his head. “The black glass is near indestructible; the crystals are as well. They should have survived the burial and passage of time. I’m not entirely sure though. We should try it out.”

“Yeah, okay. How do we get inside?”

He looked over the page. “There’s a ladder up on the right side.” He took a step forward and stumbled slightly, Jacques catching him by the shoulders.

“You stay put while we investigate,” he said, looking into his face sternly.

Adrian frowned. “No, Jacques, please...” He gripped the smaller man’s forearm with his right hand, the journal tucked under his bad arm against his chest. “I want to see the deck and everything else. Please, take me with you.” His pleas were accompanied by a truly pathetic expression. 

Jacques searched his face then sighed, rolling his eyes. “I swear, if you pass out again, I’m taking you back here to rest where you won’t be allowed to move.”

He nodded. “I understand.”

Jacques sighed again, shifting so he was now holding Adrian around his waist, supporting him as they walked. 

Zuri was bounding up to them. “Found the ladder already! It’s just ahead, come on!”

Jacques grunted. “Yeah, okay, give us a fucking second.”

When they were finally at the bottom of the golden rungs, Jacques released Adrian then watched disapprovingly from below, his hands on his hips as Adrian climbed up only using one arm.

When he reached the top, he caught sight of the gorgeous, sleek black deck. A door that led below deck was right below the helm which could be reached at the top of a small flight of stairs. He clung to the sides of the ship, gazing around at everything with a big smile on his face. Jacques’s arm was soon around him again.

“To the helm, right?” he asked gruffly.

“Yeah, you should be able to control the ship from there.”

They went up the steps and Adrian was walked away from him to place his hand on the steering device. The helm was painted with the same unknown golden lacquer, and in the center was a large flat, green hexagon.

He let out a small laugh. “It’s beautiful,” he whispered, touching it reverently.

“Thought I was supposed to be doing that?” Jacques commented, standing with his arms folded. 

Adrian turned back to him, stepping aside while supporting himself on the raised platform behind the helm. “By all means.” 

Soon, Zuri was up the steps, standing over Jacques’s shoulder to watch and Andre had just ascended the ladder while looking around.

“Place your hand on the green shape,” Adrian said excitedly, “and channel your magic into it.”

Jacques obediently did as he was told. “You’re sure this will work?”

“Not really, but according to the book, it should.”

“This isn’t going to drain my power, is it?”

He shook his head. “The crystals should react to your magic instead of tapping into your reserves, so you shouldn’t have to use too much to power up the whole thing.” 

He breathed out. “Well, okay. Would be nice to not travel on foot for once.” He closed his eyes, concentrating as his three teammates watched him with bated breath.

There was a moment of silence and then his eyes opened, full of a green glow.

The boat began to stir. 

Adrian looked up to see sheets of glittering green appearing out of the tops of the masts, spreading out into glistening emerald sails. His legs wobbled slightly as he felt the boat begin to lift from the ground and something beneath the ship seemed to be grinding together with a loud tremor. An electric hum now filled the air with sound. 

His heart racing now, Adrian looked up at Jacques with a wide grin, and was met with glowing eyes and a flashing green smile.

They were flying.