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Not a drop of blood had been spilled by his hand; he’d merely given the order to make it happen.
Was his thirst for power so vast that he truly wanted only the strongest to survive? And if he was so relentless in his pursuit of domination, how did I fit into his plans?
Interrupting my thoughts, Zuriel asked, “Shall we practice flying now?”
I sucked in a serrated breath and nodded, rising to my feet and squaring my shoulders. “I learned how to call upon my wings while still in the Night Realm.”
My cousin rose to his feet, towering over me as he studied me. “Show me.”
Calling on that well of magic in my chest, I allowed my wings to spring forth from my back, their white, fluffy feathers arcing toward the ceiling above us and catching the light of a thousand lanterns. Flapping furiously, I lifted myself into the air and hovered, waiting for my next set of instructions. Zuriel circled me, then pulled his wings into existence, joining me in floating above the ground. His wings matched mine, though his were larger in proportion to his frame.
“Let’s play a game. Follow my lead,” he instructed, pulling something from his pocket and racing toward the ceiling. I gave chase, glancing occasionally at the padded ground beneath us.
“Don’t focus on the ground, but what is in front of you,” he called, and I jerked my gaze toward him, wondering how he knew my eyes were wandering.
Sharpening my attention, I wielded it like a knife as we dipped and dove between the lanterns, occasionally bumpinginto one before righting myself and giving chase to my cousin. He forced me to forget the world beyond these walls with his complicated flying maneuvers, and for that momentary reprieve, I was grateful.
Because I had a sickening feeling settling in my belly that this choice of light and dark would not be an easy one.
17
With bruised and bloody knuckles, but by no means any less rage, I swiped sweat from my brow, welcoming the salty sting across the cuts on my hand. I ached for Izidora, my thirst to be near her insatiable, and I pulled on that thread that tied our fates together, needing her light to banish the black blood in my heart.
Darkness called to her just as it did to me, a haunting song that promised relief from the demons that lurked in our minds. We were more alike than she realized, and once I painted the full picture for her, she would understand why we were mated.
My thoughts consumed me as I returned to the tunnels, and I automatically veered left toward the underground training ring where Izidora would be with Zuriel. Lounging against the rough-hewn wall, I watched the tail end of their session, rubbing my knuckles as I went round and round in my head, calculating my next moves.
Izidora’s lilting laugh broke through the haze of my thoughts, and I lifted my head to find her soaring to the tall ceiling and retrieving a stone perched on one of the firelights that dripped from above. Zuriel snatched the stone as shelanded, then traced a new path and placed it on another lamp. Izidora copied his movements to fetch the stone, almost as if flying an obstacle course, and she mastered the game in minutes, executing a backward roll in the air on her last retrieval.
Zuriel's seraphic and deep voice filled the space. “I think that’s enough for today. We’ll pick up there tomorrow. Good work, Izidora.”
She beamed at him, thanking him profusely, then bounced in my direction, happier than I had ever seen her. My chest tightened as her excitement slipped away with each step closer to me; I sucked the life out of her, like a vampire from the lands of monsters and fantasy. I was torn between self-loathing and apathy, knowing I should not care what her emotions were so long as she served my needs, while at the same time wanting to be better than the monster I was so she might share her light with me.
I held my hands out to her in greeting, trying and failing to bring a smile to my lips, the bitter taste from my meeting with my father still lingering in my mouth. “What did my sprite learn in class today?” The tease was absent in my tone, but my heart leaped as she slipped both her hands willingly into mine. That slight acceptance loosened my tense jaw, and the tightness in my chest that stole my breath vanished as her smile returned.
“Well, you saw me flying just now, but we spent most of the time talking about Angels in general. Since I knew nothing about them before now, I had a lot of questions.” She ducked her head sheepishly as if she were embarrassed to be curious.
“What if I told you there is a section in our library filled with books on Angels?” I dropped one of her hands, using the end of my free finger to tilt her chin up. I drank in those jewel-like blue eyes and the flash of excitement in them.
Her pink lips parted over her white teeth as her eyes sparkled. “Will you teach me to read it?”
“Absolutely, sprite. You’re learning so quickly, I’m sure you’ll be able to read on your own in no time.” Her cheeks flushed under my praise, and if my nostrils were correct, I’d bet those words would send her spiraling into an orgasm while I moved inside her. “Let’s go home.”
“A long soak in the tub does sound incredible right about now.”
“What about a bottle of wine?”
“That is also necessary,” she laughed. The sound was sweeter than any wine I could bring her, and I wanted to make her laugh again and again. Her spirit cut through the last of my somber thoughts, and I found myself smirking as I scooped her into my arms, intent on carrying her to the horses. I nodded to Zuriel, who watched us with his typical unreadable expression, then I walked with Izidora to the staircase that would lead us home.
“I’m too tired to use magic to heal my soreness,” she sighed into my chest, the sound tinged with fatigue.
“I’ll run you a bath with extra salts, then give you a massage when you’re finished,” I promised, my body heating at the idea of running my palms all over her oiled skin.
“Hmm, I’ll think about it,” she teased, and I decided not to push further, knowing that she was as likely to dig her heels in than surrender to me, and training with Zuriel had lifted her earlier dark mood.
It was only when we returned to the stables that I finally released her to the ground. She yawned, stretching her arms overhead, then took the reins from the stablehand. Watching her mount a horse should not have been as erotic as it was, but my blood thrummed as she nimbly reached the stirrup and pulled herself up and over the saddle before settling in. She rubbed Twilight’s neck, cooing softly to the mare. To me, a horsewas a horse, but Izidora held an obvious affection toward the animals.
On our ride home, I waged an internal war, my father’s request to manipulate her and my desire to make her happy fighting for the top position on my priority list, and Roc towered over us before I knew it. As promised, I ran a bath for her, filling the tub that overlooked the late afternoon sun sinking over the mountains beyond. Healing salts, scented oils, and bubbles mixed with the hot spring water, and I sprinkled rose petals from the bouquet I had given her last night, the final romantic touch that my mate deserved. Once I was certain the bath was perfect, I returned to the bedroom, finding Izidora’s face hidden behind a book on the history of Angels.
