Chapter 148: A Night‑Sky Promise
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Kent hopped onto the stern jump‑pad. The skimmer tilted, then self‑balanced. He flicked a rune canopy slid open silently. "Captain on deck, passenger are ready." he announced.
Nima slid into the forward cushion, palms on a pair of glowing spokes. "All functions are checked… captain Nima is ready to take off!"
"Engage," Kent supplied. She gave him a grateful grin and fed a thread of spiritual energy into the throttle rune.
Air shimmered. The skimmer drifted off the balcony and cleared the building edge by metres. Kent's stomach fluttered with that first free‑fall feeling—then lifted the rune handle a bit and they soared like dandelion fluff. Neon signs streaked below; pedestrians never looked up this high.
"Faster!" Nima squealed. She pushed the throttle rune. Engine arrays thrummed. In seconds they cleared twelve city blocks, bobbed over a commuter air‑tram. Auri leaned into the headwind, feathers igniting harmless spark‑trails.
