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“You arrived with the young miss,” the orc grunted. “You were told to go.”
“You're right,” Theo said. “Playing dumb was a mistake.”
“Yes.” The orc sent him a vicious grin. “It was.”
Theo’s heels touched midair and he froze, realizing he’d reached the edge of the veranda. “It was, and I apologize—both for sneaking onto the grounds and for attempting to dissemble. Though, I truly am an apprentice to an attorney, and he is most uncaring.” He held his hands out at his sides. “But surely you can understand a brother’s care for his sister?”
The first orc pointed a fist at him. “You questioning the countess’s hospitality?”
“No! Not at all.” Theo couldn’t retreat farther without falling off the veranda and landing flat on his back in the grass. Not an appealing prospect, given the furious gleam in the footmen’s’ gazes. “You see, it’s just that my sister was ordered to attend and she was expecting me to accompany her…”
The more he talked, the more furious they appeared.
Fuck it. I am not prepared for this.
Penny appeared to be safe—now it was for Theo to abandon pride in favor of his own survival. Even if the only solution at hand was far from something a gentleman would choose.Needs must. He looked past the pair of orcs to where Lady Enid perched on the veranda’s low, decorative stone railing. “I have decided to request your assistance, madam.”
“Excellent!” she cried. “I am pleased to hear it.”
The orcs startled, and both turned to stare at the lady in shock—as if they’d forgotten her presence. While they watched, she took flight, immense wings spreading outward until the span nearly dwarfed the orcs. She shot upward, into the night sky, and then her figure swooped toward him.
He sucked in a breath and braced himself.
He wanted to close his eyes, but he refused to allow himself such cowardice.
Features filled his vision and clawed feet closed around his shoulders, and then he was in the air. The orcs rapidly diminished into green splotches upon a blur of grey stone. “Holy God!”
A chirping laugh sounded past the rush of air. “Welcome to travel by harpy, Mister Theo Essex. You’ll note it’s widely considered to be a vast improvement over horse and carriage.”
It was.
But he rather suspected that’s because it was her.
Enid
As the sundropped below the hills and the sky flooded with brilliant hues of crimson, gold and pink, Enid flew them back into the forest—the orcs wouldn’t abandon their posts, and everyone at the Ball seemed to think the forest would take care of intruders.
She intended to test that theory. And happily so.
Her hair had fallen from its artful twist, the cool spring breeze kissed her face and ruffled through her features—oh, and she had a delectable man in her clutches.
Perfection.
She laughed with pure delight, the sound more like a nightingale's song than a regular sort of revelry, and set her sights on an opening among the trees, easily catching the evening currents. Her talons had a solid grip on Theo, but his long form seemed to fight the air—and there was no point in losing her passenger before she’d finished enjoying him.
He tapped her claws. “Everything is… well, up there?”
“Everything is perfect!” She began her descent. “Brace yourself, Theo Essex. We are going to land.”
“Ah, good.” He gripped her ankles. “Capitol.”
His calloused palms created a delicious sensation against her bird-like skin, his fingers strong and grip firm—the touch rough and firm in a way polished men of society never knew. A heady heat rushed through her, and she resisted the urge to land faster, just to see whether his control would fray further.
They landed in the soft moss of a secluded grove just as night claimed the heavens. She’d released him, letting him fall a short distance to the ground, before tucking in her wings and alighting beside him.
“See,” she said with a smile. “Travel by harpy is far superior.”
“Indeed, it is.” His eyes might have been hidden by his spectacles, but the curve of his lips spoke volumes. “And I must thank you. Again. I am truly in your debt, lady, and if you ever have need of an attorney—”
