by Olivia Ash
Sophia was overwhelmed with how stunning everything looked from up above. Her belly did a little flip when the pegasus dove. But it wasn’t just the flying that made her body quiver, it was Edric’s hands around her, holding her in place, keeping her safe. She moved her hand to cover his at her belly, and felt his warm skin beneath hers. She felt impossibly safe in his arms, grateful for his secure touch. Her body stirred again, as if she’d found a piece of herself in him.
But from the riddle, she assumed there would only be one piece of her soul missing, one piece to find. She couldn’t choose both Ezekiel and Edric. Could she?
Chapter Eighteen
Andreas
On the day of his date with Sophia, Andreas waited for her from the shadows of the surrounding trees in the garden. His gaze stayed firmly on the fountain where they were supposed to meet. His mind raced at the woman who had so quickly captured his thoughts. He was a hopeless romantic at heart, though he hid it well. His wraith brothers would razz him to no end if they knew.
They could be relentless. The one time he mentioned courting a woman, a wraith daughter of one of the blacksmiths, his brothers had pestered him about it every day for months. Snide comments turned into rude ones, until eventually Andreas stopped courting the girl and he had to endure her father’s wrath for having rejected the girl. After that, he stopped telling his brothers about women he courted, and then he stopped courting altogether. The whole idea seemed to be more trouble than it was worth.
He was raised a warrior and assumed he would never marry, especially after seeing so many of his brothers in arms die in battle, their widows grieving for years as was the wraith way. Having a wife and family seemed more like a weakness than a benefit, and really he never saw the point.
But Sophia awoke something inside him that made the idea less foreign.
When she arrived, he waited in the shadows, wanting to see what she would do. She sat on the edge of the fountain and looked a little disappointed that he wasn’t there yet, and to his surprise, that thought made him happy. To think a woman like her—so beautiful, so fascinating—could miss him, would want to spend time in his company.
He shook his head to make the thought disappear so that he didn’t get his hopes up at actually winning the bet and this woman. He went to step out of the shadows but her eyes met his the second he moved. It was as if she could feel him somehow, like she’d known he was there waiting and watching from the shadows. He felt an odd sense of familiarity about her that he couldn’t place.
“Sorry, I’m late,” he said.
She studied him like she knew he wasn’t at all late but wasn’t about to embarrass him. “I’m sure I can overlook that.”
He smiled and tipped his head. As he sat beside her, Andreas took her all in. From the top of her beautiful blond head to the tips of her brown leather shoes. She was extraordinary. In his mind, he created poetry about the depths of her blue eyes, deep enough he could swim in them; the way her dress, a simple shift, molded to her beautiful form, and made him want to settle his hand at her hips; the way her smile, when bestowed on him, made every muscle in his body clench. But he didn’t say these things. His heart just stirred them around.
Sophia glanced up at the sky. “It’s a beautiful day.”
His gaze never left her face. “It is indeed.”
She pressed her lips together, and he thought she was fighting a blush in her cheeks. At least he hoped she was.
“I love the gardens in the city,” she said.
“There are many special places in Nighthelm,” he said.
“I’ve seen most of them. I love the busy market streets and the quiet lanes near the large estates.”
“I’ll take you somewhere you’ve never been.” He stood and offered his arm.
She took it. “Where?”
“The wraith district.”
He watched her face, expecting to see fear there. He needed to know now if what he was would be a deal breaker for her, as it was for so many before. The last non-wraith woman he dated had run away screaming after he’d shown her his wraith form. That had been over two years ago. He never dared show anyone again. He didn’t want to experience that kind of heartbreak another time. But there was only excitement blooming in Sophia’s cheeks and eyes. Yet again, she boggled him. Who was this woman with no fear?
Together they strolled through the streets, the road darkening despite the broad daylight and no clouds overhead. The looming shadow of his kind seeped around them. This was the Shade, where only the bravest of men—and women evident by the woman at his side—dared venture.
Sophia appeared unfazed by the obscuring light. In fact, she still looked excited to explore his part of the city. His guard, which he always kept up, came down a little as this fierce, petite woman surveyed the buildings and people around them with curiosity and glee. Her face actually lit up the moment they became completely entrenched in the district, despite its narrow streets and cramped living quarters. The Shade was exactly the opposite of the spacious, wealthy district she was accustomed to. But she didn’t seem to mind one bit. She almost seemed more at ease here among the darkness and the danger.
She gestured to one of the oldest buildings—a gothic place of worship with black stone and red frosted glass. A lot of the wraiths worshipped Britus, the God of War, and Sona, the Goddess of the Underworld. Andreas didn’t have time for gods. They asked too much of their worshippers. His mother was a devout woman, but all she did was pray.
“Is that a church? I’ve never seen a building like it. It’s beautiful.” She reached out to the touch the smooth black stone.
“It is over a hundred years old. Many of my kind go there to worship.”
“But not you?”
He shook his head. “No, not me.”
Some of his brothers in arms saw Sophia with him and raised their eyebrows with judgment that he would court a non-wraith, and even bring her here. But he gave them stern glares to back off, which they adhered. As with much of the wraith culture, entire arguments were had without a word. Just with a look or a gesture. They had body language down to a science. And his look said, stay far, far away from his woman.
My woman. Was that how he was already feeling about her? Had he already staked a claim?
He led her to a small, wraith-only garden area surrounded by a six-foot stone wall. It was a safe space for them to train and shift without the scrutiny of outsiders. Unlike the gardens in other parts of the city, where there were cobblestone paths meandering around little manicured plots of pretty flowers and a charming bubbling fountain, this garden was wild and untamed. Flowers grew with abandon, mixed with the climbing weeds and moss that carpeted the walls. There weren’t any cute pathways or a pretty siren spouting water.
“Thank you for trusting me enough to bring me here. I’m honored that you would share this with me.” She gaped around, obviously realizing how special this place was to him, to his people.
“I’ve never shared this with anyone before.” He brushed his fingers along her jaw, tempted to kiss her right there and then. Her head lifted, her lips parting in anticipation. But he resisted. There was something he wanted her to see before she invested any more of her time in him. And he in her.
He dropped his hand and took a step away from her. “I want to shift. I want to show you what I truly am, and what it means to be wraith.”
He worried over this part, but he might as well get it over with. Save them both some time and energy. He was sure she’d be terrified of him, and that he’d be able to let her go without becoming too emotionally invested… though the thought alone tore through him like a blunt dagger.
Preparing himself, he took in a deep breath, letting the cold shadow inside consume him. The shift was neither pleasant nor painful. It just was. As he loomed over her more and more, his form growing in size and shape, he waited for her to recoil in disgust. Then that would be that.
Chapter Nineteen
Sophia
En
chanted, Sophia couldn’t stop gaping at Andreas as he floated in front of her, his cloven feet hovering just inches from the ground. His wraith form was stunning—a creature of power and fear, of death and strength, of wisp and shadow. He was beautiful in a terrifying way, like rolling, black, storm clouds after a drought.
She reached for him, running her fingers along the feathery shadows of his arm. The tips of her fingers tingled from the icy chill of his wraith form. Fast as a blink, he was right in front of her face. It was like looking death in the glowing red eyes, and yet, she knew it was Andreas looking back at her. He had no reason to hurt her. While she’d seen he and his brothers fight in the forest, and knew this terrible power that wraiths held, she also knew in her heart Andreas would never harm her. At least, not as long as he believed her to be Sophia Oxford.
Lost to his deadly beauty, Sophia leaned into his swirling black form, focused on the inner, red glow that came from his mouth and kissed him. Under her lips, he transformed back into his human self. He lifted his hands and cradled her head, as he accepted her kiss and deepened it. She was just as entranced to him in human form as she had been in his wraith. Her body responded to him on many levels. Her contest had just become infinitely more difficult. Choosing a winner was starting to feel like an impossible feat.
How could she ever choose between three incredible but vastly different men?
They spent the better part of the day touring the district, holding Andreas’s hand while he pointed out where the shifter soldiers trained, and the small stone house he lived in with two of his wraith brothers, Mica and Ozul. She couldn’t stop herself from popping into the house, wanting to see how Andreas lived, where he slept and dreamed. Mica and Ozul, she assumed, sat at a small table drinking and playing some kind of game with black and white stones and grunted to her in greeting as she did a quick look around. Amused, Andreas put an arm around her and quickly escorted her out again. Another grunt from Mica and Ozul followed them out.
Next, he took her to a small, cramped vending stall down the street that smelled of boiled cabbage. Outside the stall, as if guarding over it, a little, black goat bleated at everyone who passed by. The moment that they approached, the goat ran at Sophia and butted his little head into her leg.
“He likes you,” the portly woman, dressed in colorful scarves, behind the stall said with a chuckle.
Sophia petted the goat’s head, and it bleated at her. “I’m not so sure about that.”
Andreas leaned on the cart. “Masilda, this is my,” he smiled at her and her belly clenched again, “friend, Sophia.”
“Blessings on you.” Masilda dipped her head.
Sophia returned the little bow. “You as well.”
“You must be here for my sarma,” Masilda said as she shoveled whatever had been cooking onto a thick slice of bread. She handed it to Andreas. “This boy always come to my cart for sarma. Every day. Sometimes twice.”
Sophia smiled, taken with the wraith woman, as Andreas handed her a small dumpling made out of cabbage. The smell made Sophia’s stomach grumble. She’d forgotten she hadn’t eaten since breakfast, which had been the usual, lumpy bowl of porridge with some pine nuts and dried berries.
Under Masilda’s watchful eye, Sophia plopped the whole thing into her mouth and chewed. The tastes exploded in her mouth and her eyes enlarged. It was spicy and rich and delicious.
Masilda chuckled. “I think she likes it, Andreas. You may make a wraith woman out of her, but only with more sarma.” She laughed hard, her whole body shaking.
“It was very good, thank you,” Sophia said.
“Make sure you eat more. You too skinny.” Masilda pursed her lips and frowned.
When they moved on from the cart to see more of the Shade, Andreas took her hand again, and her heart swelled. She loved that he was so open with her, that he trusted her with where he lived, where he trained, the people who mattered to him, and with the most inner part of himself—his wraith.
The rest of the day went by too quickly, and then they were back at the fountain. Sophia wished Andreas a good night.
“I wish you would allow me to walk you home. It’s not always safe on the streets for a beautiful woman.”
She liked that he called her beautiful, and that he wanted to protect her, but she didn’t need it. “I’ll be fine. I like to stroll alone at night. It helps me sleep.” This wasn’t necessarily a lie, even if it wasn’t quite the truth.
The sun had already set and the sky darkened. It wouldn’t be long before Grindel started to suspect she was up to something. Although she suspected that he knew about her secret trips to the city. She left the garden and headed toward the wall, needing to get through the secret tunnel and change her clothes. She knew Haris would find her the moment she stepped out into the woods eager to go for another run. He would likely try and convince her to play with him in the stream on the way back to the cabin, as he did almost every night.
Just as she rounded a corner, she found Winston leaning against the wall, as if he’d been waiting for her this whole time. He looked a little threatening in the dark, skulking about, and she swished she had her sword with her. The damned thing wouldn’t have fit in her dress though. She did have her dagger though, strapped to her thigh. Her fingers twitched with the need to reach for it under her skirt.
“Winston,” she said, her voice even, not wanting to give him any satisfaction of startling her.
He pushed off the wall. “Did I scare you?” His eyes sparked at the question, and Sophia realized that he’d wanted her to be afraid.
If she’d been another girl, she might’ve said yes, and he would’ve apologized and told her that she shouldn’t be afraid and that he’d never hurt her. But she wasn’t another girl. She wouldn’t even give him that kind of enjoyment as Sophia Oxford.
“No,” she said, knowing it would throw him off.
“I’ve seen you’ve allowed Zeke Wickham, Edric Axton, and now with Andreas Hylt to court you.” His lips twisted into a sneer.
She leveled her gaze, a hand propped on her hip. “Yes, what of it?”
He met her gaze. “They are not good men.”
“How so?” she asked, lifting an eyebrow.
“They are all men of low character. I’ve seen them all court women until they’ve grown tired of the chase, if you know what I mean,” he said.
She did know what he meant, and she didn’t like the insinuation.
“They will flirt with you, string you along you and then break your heart.”
Just from spending a day with each man, Sophia knew what he was told her was horse shit. Out of the three of them, Edric had a bit of a reputation with the ladies, but she’d never heard a cruel word said about him around the city. Every person spoke highly of him, including the young women he’d courted in the past. He was a gentleman through and through.
Winston took a step closer to her. “If I were to court you, I would treat you properly. Like the goddess you are.”
From another man, she may have felt a slight tingle of pleasure at his words. No one had ever called her a goddess before. But his words weren’t authentic. They dripped with condescension and deceit.
“Just give me one chance to show you how a real man treats a lady.” He smiled.
She was tempted to tell him to go hump a grimm, but his father was very influential. If she pissed him off enough, it might prompt him to complain to his father, and then to her “uncle,” Lord Oxford. It would quickly become evident that she wasn’t who she claimed to be. She could likely be arrested for her treachery, and then once they discovered who she truly was—what she truly was—she’d be executed.
She had to pick her battles here, and she resisted the urge to tear into him with a barbed tongue. Grindel would be proud of her for keeping her bold opinions to herself. For once.
“Thank you for your concern, Winston.” She moved away from him, just a little. Standing so close to him made her skin itch, like she’d been attacked by the
stinging hairs of a climbing wood nettle. “I’m flattered by your offer.” She wasn’t. It actually made her want to puke. “I need some time to consider it.”
“I hope you won’t take too much time.” He smiled again, but it didn’t make her feel relaxed. It caused the little hairs on the back of her neck stand on end as a warning. Predator in vicinity.
She gave him a little bow, and then slunk away from him, none too soon. Her skin crawled. There was something about him that raised a lot of warnings in her mind. He wasn’t someone she could trust. Yet, he was also someone she shouldn’t underestimate either.
As quick as she could, Sophia made it to the wall, found her bag with her clothes, and then changed. She had maybe another hour before she would be missed. She needed to be more conscious of her time if she was going to succeed in her mission. If Grindel ever found out, she’d never fully heal her soul, and she would not be able to see her three suitors again. That was something she was not willing to risk.
Chapter Twenty
Sophia
A week of affection and stolen kisses from charming men sped by, and before Sophia knew it, she was on her second day off from her dates with her three candidates; three, incredible men she couldn’t stop thinking about. It interfered with her training. Enough so that she was practicing her swordplay by herself in a secluded glen not far from the walls instead of hidden in the training field within the woods. The cabin felt too far away from the city, and her body ached to be closer to Nighthelm, to the man who carried a piece of her soul inside him. If only she could just figure out which man it was.
She lunged with her sword. Then passed back with her front foot, swiveled, and lunged again. As she did this routine several more times to the right, then to the left, she wondered what Edric or Andreas would say if she asked either of them to spar with her. Would they find her mad? Most likely. And she knew Ezekiel could teach her a thing or two about her magic, and controlling it. But he too, would certainly be suspicious of her if she asked, especially when she wasn’t supposed to possess any magic whatsoever.
