Hefting the considerable weight of the treasure sack, she went outside to wait for Raum, snagging their cloaks off the chair back as she passed. When he followed her out a moment later, he was shirtless.
She blinked, unable to stop her gaze from roaming his bared skin.
He caught her look and scowled. “I don’t want to tear my clothes if I need my wings.”
She offered a bland smile as if his explanation was unnecessary and she hadn’t been staring. “Is it dusk?” she asked just to change the subject. “The sky seems darker.” Instead of ruby-blood red, it was more of a burgundy, like the dried blood reinscribed on the door for the ward.
“Yeah. It’ll be night in an hour or so.”
Setting down the sack of gold, she donned her cloak and then held Raum’s out to him. He put it on, leaving the hood down. Pulling her braid over one shoulder, she lifted her own hood, donned her new hand coverings, and secured the fastenings at the neck.
“Nice gloves,” he said, and she realized he’d been watching her the entire time.
For some reason, her heart skipped a beat. “I found them in the treasure pile.”
She studied him. He was still watching her. She lightly cleared her throat, indicating her readiness to leave. He didn’t move, except to run a thumb over his lower lip.
She didn’t think he was aware of the action, but her gaze fixed on it, and she suddenly found herself admiring the fullness of his mouth and the contrast of his bright eyes against his dark skin and—
“I have to shift to demon form again,” he said, shooting her a look. What sort of look, she couldn’t say. He was very hard to read.
Was he hesitating? But why? He was an immortal, ancient demon, and this form wasn’t new to him. In fact, it would be understandable if he felt more comfortable in it than his human one.
Was it because of her then? Because he…cared what she thought of him?
“I enjoyed our first flight,” she said quickly, offering an encouraging smile. “Your demon form is very impressive, and it’s relaxing to be in the sky without using my own wings.”
His face morphed into a scowl.
Inwardly, she winced. Perhaps she’d read him wrong, and he was only hesitant because he despised touching the woman who had threatened to murder his family.
Unfortunately, that was more likely.
He turned away then, and a moment later, the enormous demon bird stood before her. His great beak turned in her direction, and he fixed her with that piercing golden stare, made even more intense by his drastic increase in size.
He was intimidating. Looming and covered in silky black feathers, with claws that could sever limbs with a single swipe.
He held out one of those deadly feet to her. Hefting the sack of gold, she bent awkwardly so he was able to wrap his talons around her torso. Tucking her against his body, he hopped with the other leg, spread his four enormous wings, and took to the darkening sky.
He didn’t secure her with his second foot even once they were in flight, and she wondered why. Still, she felt safe in his hold, and she found herself enjoying the sensation of his downy feathers at her back. She wished she could feel them against her skin.
He rose so high, the landscape turned into tiny specs below. Wind rushing in her ears, she craned her neck to see his face, watching his head swivel as he kept a sharp eye on their surroundings. He was hauntingly majestic, and she longed to tell him so.
As she dangled from his talons, she felt a strange ache well in her chest.
You’re a fool, Sunshine.
She needed to banish such sentiments from her mind for good. Not only was Raum her enemy, but she was soon to be reinstated as a Principality, a leader of all the Third Sphere angels. Romantic delusions about ademon, of all things, were not in the job description.
She was so tangled in her tumultuous thoughts that she was caught by surprise when Raum banked sharply and executed a neat dive. Frowning, she peered ahead, unsure of his target destination until she noticed a fire burning in a small clearing.
As they approached with rapid speed, she could discern a figure seated beside it, holding a stick of meat over the flames. The figure had horns and folded wings, with a short, stocky build. He was alone out there on the plains of Hell, and she wondered what—
Raum’s leg shot out—the one not holding her—and he snatched the demon in his talons and swooped back into the sky.
Sunshine stifled her scream as the creature writhed and shrieked as the bird’s powerful claws dug into its flesh, shredding its leathery wings. Higher and higher Raum flew.
And then he opened his talons and dropped his prey.
