Page 3

Businesses were starting to open for the day, doors propped wide and inviting the soft morning breeze to spread the scent of brewing coffee and fresh-baked pastries. My eye caught on one building in particular. Not a bakery or a boutique. The facade was black and limned with gold. There were no windows, only a large black sign with gold lettering attached to the brick wall.

The Bird Cage.

It was a typical nightclub for drinking and dancing, but its unique feature that really drew the crowds was the giant bird cages around the main floor and their masked, feathered dancers. The first time I dared to venture in and watch, I was mesmerized. The second time, I applied for a job.

I knew it was crazy, but dancing was a singular source of bliss for me. A more constructive way to release my impotent frustration when all I felt capable of was screaming. I could lose myself in the music and movement. Forget about being a freak for a little bit and instead feel something closer to human. When I was dancing, I wasn’t the arbiter of karmic punishment.

I was just a girl.

I came up to the crosswalk that would take me to the campus quad, where the library was, when my phone pinged with a text. My brow furrowed. I never got text messages. There was no one to text me. Driven by curiosity, I glanced at the light to make sure the crosswalk was safe before digging into my oversized purse.

I’d just closed my hand around my phone when there was a panicked shout. I looked up right in time to see the cyclist bearing down on me.

2

CORDELIA

Not half a breath later, I was tugged into a hard surface while the cyclist zipped by behind me without a second thought. My heart rattled in my chest like a penny in a tin can, adrenaline surging through my veins.

“Asshole!” a rich, male voice shouted over my head. The word rumbled through the solid chest that I was pressed against, and then the world came rushing back in. That buzzing feeling under my skin wasn’t adrenaline.

I shoved away with a strangled squeak before the worst could happen. Thank god I wore long sleeves today despite the late July heat. When I lifted my face to see my rescuer, the breath stalled in my lungs. I blinked, and then, for good measure, blinked again.

Honey-gold eyes, wide with surprise, had me wanting to lean back in like a moth drawn to a flame. I didn’t know guys could actually be this gorgeous. I had a pretty good basis for comparison with movies and the internet, but this guy was…

Wow.

His toffee-colored hair was cropped short on the sides, the top longer and carelessly tussled. A layer of stubble covered his sculpted jaw like he forgot to shave this morning, and his citrus and cedarwood cologne made my mouth water. Were we onto his body yet? Because that was also next-level hot. Tall, stacked, and⁠—

Oh god, I’m staring. Did I hit my head?

The magic swelled, sparking over my skin in an alarming way. Usually, it felt like cold dread, leaving scars of frost around my heart once the damage was done. But this sensation… This was new and warm and gentle. It stretched through my soul like a cat waking up from a nap, and I got the unnerving sense that it was suddenly paying attention.

It urged me forward.

I took another step back instead, and it bristled.

The man’s eyes swept over me, and I shivered under his attention. “Are you okay?”

I really wasn’t, but I couldn’t say that. I had to tell him something, though, because I was being a total weirdo.

Calm in the storm. Calm in the storm.

“Yes!” The word scraped along my bone-dry throat, so I swallowed and tried again, forcing a stupid grin on my face. “Yeah, totally fine. I was distracted, obviously, so I didn’t see him, and then you grabbed me, and it kind of freaked me out because you’re so— I mean, I can’t be—” I was doing that awkward rambling thing I did when I got flustered and desperately needed to quit before I fell any further behind. “Thank you,” I finished lamely.

The man’s brows furrowed in confused amusement, his head tilted, reminding me of a curious bird. “Of course,” he replied in stride. He moved to step closer but stopped when I sucked in a sharp breath and pulled my arms tight to my chest. To my surprise, he leaned back and raised his hands just enough to signal his understanding. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

I nodded a little too enthusiastically, probably looking like a demented bobblehead. “Yes, never better! Are you?” The question was shoved out by nerves, and I winced. Deva taught me a lot of things, but social skills were clearly not among them. I was never going to survive here if I couldn’t figure out how to at least act like a normal person.

He just flashed a grin that had my heart tripping over itself in his direction. “I hardly think a little thing like you could do much damage.”

A nervous laugh bubbled up my throat. How I wished his teasing observation was accurate.

“I’m Bellamy,” he continued. He didn’t offer me his hand to shake, but instead stretched his arm out to the side. I was momentarily distracted by the way his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and revealed matching black bands tattooed around his wrists like shackles. Then I realized he was inviting me to continue and signaling his intention to join me. I groaned to myself.

Just don’t touch him.

But he’s so pretty.