And yet every inch of Kaden was glamoured to allure. Seduce. Entrap.
My very bones hummed with the instinct that I shouldn’t trust him — even more after he’d just shown me how dangerous he was. He was poison in a pretty bottle, and yet the part of me that was soft and foolish and liked wearing pretty dresses gravitated toward Kaden like a vampire drawn to a warm mortal body.
I took his proffered hand, and warm fingers closed around mine. He led me out into the cool star-flecked night — into the little slice of enchantment that hovered above the blood and filth.
I took one step and then another. The balcony was hewn from smooth black stone and had no railing. It simply dropped into the open air.
As we cleared the overhang, those incredible wings sprouted from his back — magicked into existence with only a thought. I sucked in a breath as they fanned out behind him, catching gently on the breeze as if they yearned for the sky.
Up close, his wings hardly looked black at all. Every shade of oil-slick color seemed to glow in the moonlight. Deep emerald. Midnight cobalt. Stunning amethyst with burgundy swirls.
“Like what you see, little huntress?” he purred, his grip tightening on my hand and making my insides warm.
I realized I’d reached out with my free hand — my fingers inches from his membranous wings. “I’ve just never seen them up close before.”
“Most fae would think I’m mad to allow a huntress so close to my wings.”
“And you’re not?” I asked, a little breathlessly.
I knew how the fae guarded their wings. To touch them without invitation — even accidentally — was beyond dangerous.
“I never said that,” Kaden murmured, drawing me toward him with a wicked smile.
His grip was gentle but strong enough that I didn’t think I could have broken it. Not that I tried. My skin tingled at his sudden proximity —at the heat emanating from his body.
My whole body tightened as Kaden drew me closer, twirling me around as though we were dancing and tugging me flush against his chest.
“W-what are you doing?” I stammered, unnerved by the arm that was now locked around my waist and the feeling of his warm breath on my neck.
Kaden’s low chuckle rumbled through me, sending a surge of heat flaring from the base of my spine all the way to my toes. “What? Canyoufly us?”
“Fly?” I choked.
But the word had barely left my lips as Kaden’s arm shifted, coming around to support my back as he scooped my legs out from under me.
His joyful laugh covered my shrieks as he hauled me into his arms and tumbled off the edge of the balcony.
My own scream chased us in a free fall just before the wind caught his wings. My stomach jolted, and I gasped as the force of the updraft whipped us back, sending my hair flying in every direction.
I couldn’t see. Couldn’t move. Couldn’t do anything but shriek at the sky.
I didn’t stop screaming until Kaden started to beat his wings — each flap a deep, unhurried whoosh. I shivered as cool air billowed under my dress, caressing my bare thighs and making me clench my legs together.
“Relax, will you?” Kaden chuckled, his arms tightening around me. “Flying with you is like carrying a pillowcase full of feral cats.”
I opened my mouth to say something nasty, but the knowledge that Kaden’s wings were all that prevented me from plummeting to my death made me clamp it shut. I shivered again, and he adjusted his grip to hug me tighter against his warm, hard chest.
It was awkward being carried like this, but after a moment, I felt my body relax and nestled deeper into his embrace. For safety reasons, of course.
Once my heart found a normal rhythm, I chanced a glimpse toward the ground. Suddenly, I couldn’t breathe for an entirely different reason.
The city stretched beneath us like a living canvas — a glittering constellation of golden light, flashing red, and neon streaks of pink and blue. This high up, the Quarter glimmered with a beauty I’d never seen before.
I felt . . . lighter. Silas couldn’t hurt me up here. Nothing could.
“It’s . . .”
“Beautiful,” Kaden finished, his low voice rumblingthrough me and adding to that sense of euphoria swelling in my chest. It was a foreign feeling, but familiar all the same — like a long-forgotten dream.
