Hello!
If you don't usually read author notes, then you might want to at least skim through this one.

Many readers have told me that the cover was what drew them to read this book. So, if the cover was the reason you chose to click on this book, then what about it caught your eye?

If it wasn't the cover, then I'd love to know what led you to read this!

Also, I'm thinking of changing the title to plain "Winged." It was already an idea I had, and then some of you guys mentioned it, so I thought it must not be that bad. Any thoughts?

Now, I have been asked by a reader if I could remind you guys what Hailey and Chase looked like, so here it is:

-Hailey: She has long brown hair and sparkling green eyes. Her feathers are snow white except for the shimmering emerald strands in them.

-Chase: He has messy dark-brown hair and his eyes are a lighter brown. His feathers are various shades of brown, with the feathers on the top and tip of the wing being the darkest shade -that is, the color of his hair.

Both teenagers have a wingspan that's roughly a bit longer than the length of their arms if they stretch them out to the side.

Oh! And definitely check out the fan art of @thecrazyvals on the side! Let's just take sometime to gape at how awesome it is...

The next update will be in about 2 weeks (from today, November 30). That means I can't update sooner, sorry!

It also means the story isn't over. For some reason, a few people thought I had decided to leave the story unfinished...

And before we go, happy birthday @Bubbley30! :)

And so sorry for that really long A/N... I'll just blame it on the character description.. Seriously though, I promise the next one'll be shorter.

(To the people who were confused what an author note was: all this above ^ is an author note:)

Chapter 8

When we got back to Mortimer's house, Chase was waiting for us impatiently.

"Well, how did it go? Did you fly? I was so bored here, you wouldn't believe it. What are you waiting for? Tell me everything!"

"It was amazing!" I beamed. "Flying is the most amazing thing ever."

"It is, isn't it?" Chase smiled widely back at me. "So did you have any trouble at all?"

"Not really. I mean it was a bit difficult, but it felt natural. Although I will admit I freaked out a bit when Mortimer pushed me over the edge of the cliff."

These words had barely left my mouth when it suddenly dawned on me why Chase had been so disappointed he wasn't going to be the one to teach me how to fly. My suspicions were confirmed when Chase laughed and said, "Man, I wish I had been there!"

"You!" I glared at him. He must have realized the conclusion I had come to, as he gave me a big, innocent smile.

"Yes?"

"You wanted to teach me to fly just so you could push me off the cliff!" Chase started laughing again and I huffed. "You're such a meanie!"

"Aw, come on, Hailey, you know it was just a joke!"

I tried to glare at him, but the smile that played on my lips told him I wasn't truly mad.

Mortimer, who had watched this exchange with an amused look, said, "Well, Chase, you'll be happy to know Hailey is a very good flyer. If the weather stays calm, you'll be able to go to Aeolus soon."

Chase thought for a moment, then turned to me. "You think you'd be able to fly to the Tower of Two Worlds tomorrow?"

I nodded. "I can do it."

Mortimer didn't look too pleased but said nothing.

"Alright." Chase said. "Then we're leaving tomorrow."

Mortimer turned to the kitchen. "I'm going to make dinner. You two behave."

Chase sat down on the couch and looked at me. "We should use this time to answer any questions you might have, and I have a few things to tell you as well."

I sat down on a chair and looked at him expectantly.

"Alright. Tomorrow, we're going to fly over the sea to the the Tower of Two Worlds. It shouldn't be too hard, and I'll be here to help you anyway."

"What about your wing, though?" I interrupted.

"Don't worry about it. It's practically fully healed. So, as I was saying, we're going to the tower. We get in, we talk to the guardian -you can't just let anyone into Aeolus- and we go through the portal. Now the kingdom of Aeolus is pretty big, but we're not going just anywhere. People are waiting for us at the castle."

"The castle?" I did remember Mortimer talking about women helping me to groom my wings when I got to a castle. Thinking about grooming, I started threading my fingers carefully through my feathers.

"Half-Winged new comers are brought to the castle, so they can learn a little bit about the Winged, and maybe even their parents."

I smiled at that. I wanted more than anything in the world to find my mom, and if I could meet her at last in Aeolus, I would be the happiest person on Earth.

I continued combing my wings, marveling at how soft my feathers were, and asked Chase, "Can I ask you questions, now?"

He chuckled. "Fire away, Hailey."

I thought for a moment, then said, "So what's up with your sword? I mean, one moment it's in your hand, and the next it's nowhere in sight."

Chase smiled and his sword materialized in his hands. "Like that?"

"Stop showing off and explain to me how you did it!"

Chase picked up the weapon and oriented it so that the sharp silver blade reflected the light from the lamp.

"This sword is one of a kind. I mean, all swords are unique, but this one is even more special. I don't need to carry it around. When I need it, I will it to come, and it just appears in its sheath." He paused and continued, "Well, I guess the sheath appears too, but you get the idea."

"Wow, that's so cool!" I said, my eyes wide. "Do all Winged have magic swords?"

Chase shook his head. "This sword has been passed down my family for generations. It was my great grandfather's. Anyway, most Winged aren't sword fighters."

"How do they fight then?" I asked, puzzled.

"Most of us are archers. It makes sense, when you think about it."

I did think about it, but I still did not see any logic reason why the Winged would use bows over swords. Then again, I knew nothing about fighting, especially with weapons like these.

Chase looked at my confused expression and laughed. "Sorry, it actually must not make any sense to you."

"So, care to explain?"

"Well, winged people fly, so it's only logical that they'd fight in the air. However, keeping your balance in the air while waving a big sword around isn't very easy. Also, if you're going to exchange blows with someone, you'll probably want to be protected by an armor. Of course, now we have lighter armor, but before the armor was pretty heavy."

"And the extra weight would make it harder to fly." I finished.

"Yep. Also, there's the matter of protecting your wings. Not wearing armor will mean you'll most likely get hurt, but wearing armor on your wings might keep you from flying or damage your feathers. So, to get back to the point, if Winged are archers, they can land somewhere and shoot arrows at the enemies, and since they're farther away they can wear lighter armor." Chase finished explaining, like it was the simplest and most obvious thing.

"That does make sense," I agreed, impressed by how much he seemed to know about fighting techniques.

Another question sprang in my mind, and I asked before I could forget, "Hey, Chase? Yesterday, you said something about the morsydrus being above us and dropping down, or something?"

"Yeah, see that's the thing about them. It isn't enough that they're giant snakes, or that they have super long deadly fangs, or even that they spit acid that can dissolve your skin, no they also have to be able to fly around like they're some kind of freak birds." He said, sounding cross.

I shuddered at the thought of how much danger we had been in last night. How long had that snake been flying above us, out of sight, waiting for a chance to strike?

Chase realized he had scared me, and said, "Hey, don't worry, it's not that bad! You know, I've fought worse."

This had exactly the counter effect that Chase had intended. Worse? Yeah, because that thing wasn't bad enough. Thanks, very reassuring, Chase.

Mortimer peeked out of the kitchen. "Dinner's ready!"

All thoughts of freakish monsters momentarily disappeared at the thought of food. I had been flying all day, and I was hungry! So hungry, I could eat a... a morsydrus! Ew, yeah no, cross that, that's gross.

I stood up fast, drawing my wings back behind me in one fast movement. I was about to follow Chase into the kitchen before he could eat everything, when I stopped, horrified. There, where I had been sitting, rested a small pile of white and green feathers.

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See you guys in a few weeks, and thanks for reading my book!!