“It’s a Christmas tree,” he said in apparent awe.
“Did we do it right?”
“It’s perfect.”
The Faedin all stood around the tree, watching him. Julius, Caliphy, Bannon, Abram. The warriors and villagers. Little children that now flitted toward him excitedly, their tiny wings taking them into the air with each buoyant step they took.
Two girls reached for his hands, dragging him forward. “Do you like it, Cal? We spent days making it for you.”
“I… don’t know what to say.” He turned to the crowd now smiling at him. “Thank you all.”
Julius and Caliphy came forward. The chieftain laid a hand on his shoulder. “Welcome back.”
Cal bowed his head as much to show respect as to hide the emotion he couldn’t keep from his face. Swallowing became difficult. His vision blurred.
“Cal!” Stassi suddenly shouted. “In celebration of Leeah’s journey to the Wonder, why don’t you play your instrument for us?”
He scrubbed his face, grateful for the distraction. “My harmonica?” He patted down his pockets. “I don’t have it.”
She handed it to him. “Here. You left it in the nest.”
“Oh, okay, I suppose I can play something.” He took it from her, took a deep breath and began to play, filling the night with music. A lively tune this time.
The Faedin stood around, listening, but seemed unsure what to do. And then feet twitched of their own accord and hips began to wiggle.
“Dance!” Cal encouraged with a wave of his hand.
The male warriors nodded enthusiastically and jumped in the air, hopping around in their tribal warrior dance. It wasn’t exactly what Cal had in mind.
“Abram! Come here!”
When the redheaded warrior ran over, Cal shoved the harmonica into his hands. “Play this. I want to dance with my girl.”
Abram’s smile grew from ear to ear. He put the harmonica to his lips and the strident sounds that followed grated at Cal’s ears. Still, he grabbed Stassi’s hand, led her up the stairs to the pavilion and brought her in close to his chest. He began to sway.
Stassi gasped. “Males and females do not dance in this way!”
“I do.”
A hand dipped to the small of her back, pressing her tighter to him. A Faedin drum started up, a low sensual beat, drowning out Abram’s butchery. Somewhere nearby, the added sounds of a wind instrument, but he wasn’t sure what it could be. A homemade flute, perhaps.
To everyone’s surprise, Julius and Caliphy joined in. Before long, the pavilion filled with Faedin couples dancing together.
Smiling. Laughing. Dancing.
Cal hardly recognized the people before him. Perhaps the Elder had been at work behind the scenes, promoting the so-called compassion he said they needed.
“I think we will have many Faedin children conceived this night,” Stassi said, her face flushed from dancing and traces of the new makeup.
Cal took Stassi’s hands and leaned back, encouraging her to do the same so they could spin in a circle. Around and around. Time slowed. The rest of the world blurred around him and all he could see was her. The mouth open in unrestrained laughter. The amber eyes that had intrigued him from the very beginning. The long hair flowing out behind her like a trail of silver ribbon.
He never wanted this moment to end. Never wanted to let her go.
But Abram had his own ideas.
With the unflappable timing of a lion at a watering hole, the new warrior tapped his shoulder, interrupting them to sweep Stassi into his arms for an awkward dance. Stassi groaned and looked to Cal for help, but he only laughed and shook his head at her.
Cal wandered away. As he gazed upon the gaiety in front of him, he couldn’t help but think about the difference between a human and Faedin funeral — one such a solemn affair and the other a spirited send-off. He decided that he much preferred this one.
A soft hand on his arm turned him around.
Caliphy stood next to him looking especially beautiful tonight with her hair swept up on top of her head and gray ringlets framing her face. “I must thank you, Cal.”
“For what?”
“The dance. I think it will be part of our custom now for a very long time.”
Cal smiled and watched Abram surrender Stassi. The pair headed to the corner where Bannon and Gilad stood watching the unusual spectacle.
He could hear Bannon’s ribbing from here. “Look, it’s Stassi, our own special warrior. So special that we’ll have to carry her to raids because her fledging wings won’t keep up!”
Gilad laughed sardonically, enjoying the torment in Stassi’s eyes.
“Why have you not mated with her?” Caliphy suddenly asked. “Is there a problem?”
“No. No problem,” he replied distractedly, watching Stassi lift her chin in defiance. She stood proud and regal before the warriors in her beige silk wrap and bare feet, her hair hanging loose down her back.
His body stirred at the sight of her.
“She is very fond of you,” Caliphy said. “Are you fond of her?”
Very much, Caliphy. The Faedin, their cause, were a part of him now and he a part of them. He thought back to the violent anger he felt when he thought Stassi had mated with another.
But can I leave my family for long periods of time? Give up all my dreams? College? A career? Live here in these woods with Stassi? Can I give it all up for her?
He stared at her again and his heart began to thud in his chest.
Yes, he decided. I can.
All of those things were just that. Dreams. Stassi was reality.
I love her.
He left Caliphy without a word and stalked forward, anxious now to be with Stassi. Anxious to finish what they had started earlier.
Someone stopped to say something to him, but he barely heard and kept walking.
A hushed stir rippled through the Faedin, and Stassi turned with a curious look.
He caught her gaze and pinned her to the spot.
The drums stopped. The village went silent. The sea of Faedin parted before him as he strode ahead. Had they not, he might have plowed them over.
Stassi stood waiting for him, her eyes widening in shock, a tear streaming down her face. The warriors started to hoot and holler in that strange way of theirs, and the women clapped their hands excitedly.
Cal kept walking.
Ready to claim what was his.
When he finally reached Stassi, he swept her up into his arms and carried her down the steps of the pavilion and out of the village.
The cheers were deafening.
Stassi didn’t say a word as he moved through the woods, she just snuggled into his chest. Cal’s body throbbed with need.
At the entrance to the grotto, he went inside the cave and set Stassi gently down on the ground. Without taking his eyes from her, he kicked off his boots. Next went his pants.
Her eyes roamed over his body brazenly while her hands went to the tie at the back of her dress.
He stopped her. “No. Let me.”
He closed the distance between them and slid his hands behind her back to untie the wrap. It came away easily and fell from her body to pool in a silken pile at her feet. Cal swallowed at the sight of her, wild and untamed, bathed in moonlight. He had seen her appendages before, but not like this. Not with this much desire coursing through his veins.
Cal picked her up once again and carried her down the stone stairs into the warm water. The heat of the pool only intensified the raging inferno inside him. “I’ve never wanted anything as much as I want you right now,” he growled and pressed her up against the edge of the pool.
“Yes,” she murmured, her voice thick and throaty.
He dug his hands into her hair and captured her mouth. His lips moved over hers, strong and fierce, sending the world as he knew it on end.
Stassi’s moans sounded loud in the silence of the pool, exciting him even more. Animalistic urges overcame them both. St
assi jumped up, wrapped her legs around his waist, and sank her fangs deep into his neck.
Sensations he did not know existed surged through his body. He threw his head back and a guttural howl erupted from his throat. He had no idea where it came from, nor did he care.
He cupped her bottom in his hands and she squirmed against him, demanding fulfillment.
He claimed her then, his hips rocking against her in feral satisfaction.
Long talons ripped a fiery path down his back, sending them both over the edge.
Over and over again.
When the maelstrom had run its course, he clung to her and she to him, exhausted, but not yet sated.
He lifted her out of the water and deposited her gently on the stone. “That was the Faedin way,” he told her breathlessly as he crawled out next to her. “Now, let’s try mine.”
He rolled her over, placing her under him, and kissed her again with a tenderness that brought tears to her eyes. Their bodies and minds merged as one, and a lifetime of pain and suffering collapsed beneath the weight of their joining. He needed this. Needed her. And it scared the hell out of him just how much.
For so long, he’d had no one in this world and here was this beautiful girl lying beneath him, willing to share her life and love with him.
He showered her face with feather-light kisses, committing every line and curve to memory. His head dipped lower to trail his lips along her neck, savoring the sweet taste of her skin.
He made love to her gently this time, in a way more natural to him. In a way he hoped would convey to her just how much he loved her.
It seemed to work.
This time it was she who howled.
CHAPTER 19
An Admission
Cal woke as the first rays of dawn turned the morning skies pink. His body instantly responded to the feel of Stassi lying alongside him.
“Are you awake?” he asked softly, afraid that if he spoke too loudly, she would wink out of existence and all this would have been nothing but a beautiful dream.
“Yes,” she whispered back. “Just thinking how terrified I am.”
That wasn’t what he expected to hear. “Of what?”
“This. Us. Of how happy I am.”
“Me, too,” he said and kissed the top of her head.
“For the first time, I am glad to be alive and not in the Wonder.”
The enormity of that statement wasn’t lost on him. Everything she had been taught, everything she believed in had centered on the Faedin’s end game.
Living to die.
“You are making me soft, Cal.”
“Soft is good.”
“Soft hurts,” she countered. “Caring. Mourning. What does it get you?”
His shoulders lifted. “I don’t know. It kind of binds us together, doesn’t it? How can you grow if you don’t know the love or the pain of others? Otherwise, you’re just hard, right? Just going through the motions.”
“The Faedin could be softer,” she conceded.
“They could love more.”
She lifted her head to look into his eyes. “I love you, Cal.”
Her words warmed him. It had been a very long time since anyone had said those words to him. He did have vivid recalls of his mother telling him she loved him when he was a small child, but he hadn’t heard them spoken aloud in many years. From anyone.
Yet, he had to wonder if her definition was the same as his. “What is love to you?”
They lay in silence for several minutes before she said, “It’s flies in my stomach whenever I look at you. It’s sweaty palms and a heart that jumps around in my chest making it hard to breathe. It’s unbelievable joy in your presence and sorrow when you’re gone. You are the first thing I think of when I wake in the morning and before I close my eyes at night. Tell me. Is that love, Cal?”
“Yes,” he confirmed hoarsely.
At Cal’s admission, Stassi cuddled deeper into the crook of his arm. She wanted nothing more than to stay here forever, basking in the aftermath of their mating. It felt so right, being here with him. And yet, she meant it when she said she was terrified. The depth of her feelings overwhelmed her. She had spent her whole life with the Faedin and never cared this deeply for anyone. It felt like she had been wearing blinders and Cal had ripped them off, opening her eyes to another world of feelings and colors and sensations.
“Oh!” A sharp pain suddenly lanced through her lower back, popping her eyes open in shock. It was followed by another violent spasm that roiled her stomach. She stood in a rush, ran to the edge of the forest and vomited.
Cal was by her side in an instant. “Stassi! Are you all right?”
She shook her head as another stream projected from her mouth. “Please, leave me,” she cried when she could get a breath.
“I’m not leaving you like—”
Bolts of white-hot agony stabbed through her and she screamed and fell to the ground. “Cal!” Her entire body felt like it was being ripped apart. She writhed in anguish, her limbs jerking uncontrollably. “The… pain… Cal!”
“What can I do?” he asked in a panic.
“I… need… help.”
He shoved his hands beneath her body to lift her just as an enormous pressure exploded in her back, throwing Cal backwards through the air.
In that instant, the pain abruptly disappeared as though it had never been.
A feeling of unimaginable ecstasy slowly seeped into the marrow of her bones, tingling every nerve and drawing a gasp from her. She straightened in surprise and a pair of glorious white wings snapped open behind her, lifting her off the ground.
Cal stood with a look of wonder on his face. “Stassi,” he breathed. “You have your wings!”
Tears pouring down her face, she spiraled into the air, her arms lifted in rapture. The wind sliced over her body as she ascended upward, higher and higher, reaching for the heavens. She never dreamed that her wings would feel this miraculous! This powerful! Her spirit sang with new purpose and she began to cry anew.
With a heart full to bursting, she closed her eyes and fell back, floating gently down to earth.
“Why are you crying?” Cal asked her as she neared. “They’re beautiful.”
“I know. I can feel their beauty, Cal. You opened me up to feel.” She hovered close to him and ran a hand down his cheek. “Allow me to thank you.”
She picked him up into her arms and wrapped him tight in the cocoon of her new wings.
More howling ensued soon thereafter.
Despite the early morning hour, the village buzzed with activity. Shop doors were opened wide for business, children played along the trails, and warriors sparred with wooden swords.
“Here they come!” one of the Faedin shouted out. “They’re back!”
The ever-inquisitive Abram shot into the air to have his own look. “Stassi has her wings!” he confirmed loudly to those gathered around. “Just in case anyone did not hear the loud cries.”
Laughter rang out. While Cal felt a flush creep over his face, Stassi walked proudly with her chin up and wings fully extended.
Cal caught sight of Gilad leaning insolently against a tree, his familiar scowl in place. Cal couldn’t blame him. He just hoped the warrior would now accept that Stassi truly was his mate.
He suddenly stopped. “Wait!”
Stassi looked back over her shoulder. “What is it?”
“I just realized,” he whispered. “I… I didn’t get my wings.”
Stassi frowned as though she, too, hadn’t realized. “I am sorry, Cal. Perhaps your humanity prevents you from developing them. Our union is not something that has ever been done.”
Cal didn’t know whether to feel relief or disappointment. “Whatever,” he mumbled with a wave of his hand.
“Are you hungry?” she asked.
“Famished.”
“I’ll go get us something.”
He watched her walk away and then studied those in the village. Any regret he ha
d over his wings was diminished by what he saw. Everywhere he looked, the Faedin were doing human things. Helping each other with tasks. Giving encouragement with a pat on the back. Smiling more.
“Cal!”
He turned to see the Elder, standing by his tent, signaling to him. Cal hurried over. “Nice to see you again, Elder.”
“You as well, child. I see that you have given Stassi her wings.”
For the second time, Cal felt heat on his cheeks.
“Do not be embarrassed, Cal. Our Maker wishes for us to love.”
Cal nodded toward the tent. “Do you have a moment, Elder? Can we talk?”
“Of course. Come right in.”
Cal ducked through the opening and folded himself down to the floor. He waited for the spiritual guide to sit before asking what had been on his mind. “Last time we talked, Elder, you said that evil stirs. What did you mean by that?”
“Sulfur fills the air, Cal.”
“Sulfur?”
“The scent of the underworld and all those personally touched by the serpent. His reach has extended beyond the chains of his prison.”
Cal’s throat tightened in disgust as he remembered the smell he detected from both Zakiel and Rebeka. “What can we do?”
“There is not much that can be done. The time of the Faedin is over.”
“What?” he asked in alarm. “That’s what Zakiel said.”
“I am afraid it is true.”
Cal scrambled to his knees. “No! We can stop the serpent! We’ll fight!”
The Elder nodded sadly. “The Faedin will fight and they will lose.”
Lose? “Have you had some sort of vision of this?” Cal knew he was grasping at straws here, but had to know why the Elder sounded so sure.
“Yes.”
Cal shook his head, quickly dismissing the veracity of spiritual omens. “I can’t believe that, Elder. Trust me, the Faedin are too strong to be defeated by a bunch of Fallen.” He reached out and squeezed the man’s hand. “Don’t give up.”
The Elder smiled.
“If you’ll excuse me, I have to find Stassi.”
“Do what you must, son of Adam.”
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