His cheekbones glinted like cut diamonds.
Suddenly, I liked my men mean.
“Um, th-thanks?” I stuttered.
“Of course, sweetheart,” Orion whispered with wide eyes as Scorpius smiled like I’d made him proud. Together they were exquisite. Divine.
The bursts of pain down my back ratcheted up to another level as I admired the nude men and my fuzzy black mittens.
“I picked out the color,” Malum grumbled mid-push-up.
“No one cares.” I tried to flip him off, but the mitten made it look like I was waving.
I put my hand down with defeat and purposefully avoided making eye contact, or ab contact, with anyone. I announced to the room with determination, “I’m going to stay close and practice in the woods so the bond sickness doesn’t act up, but I want to do this alone—anyone who interrupts will get punched in the throat. I’ll be back when I’ve learned to fly.”
Vegar drawled from his bunk bed, “So—never?”
I glared at the demon. “That was hurtful and unnecessary.”
“Oh darn.” He rolled over in his bed.
I stalked out into the light snowfall. Muttering about stupid men, I stomped around the side of the barracks to a space where the towering pines would conceal me.
The morning was overwhelmingly bright.
I tipped my head back and gaped. They sky had changed overnight from gray to a glittering lavender.
It was stunning.
Green pine needles coated in ice sparkled like emeralds in the overcast sky. Lilac colors refracted through the snowy forest.
I basked in the colors.
Then I frowned.
It was too stunning. Was this what the realm had always looked like? Was my vision that bad? Why had it changed overnight?
My skull ached as I thought about.
I shook my head and concentrated on the task at hand—I was going to prove Vegar wrong. The change in my vision was a problem for another day.
There were wings on my back.
I was an angel.
It was time to fly.
That was what was important.
With newfound determination, and cute fluffy mittens on my hands, I took off my coat and thermal shirt. Folding them neatly in a pile, I ignored the goose bumps that exploded across my exposed skin as I flexed my thighs.
For once, the cold was barely noticeable.
The day felt mild.
I bent down.
Crystals clattered and air whooshed as I splayed my wings.
Cartilage and bones snapped deliciously as I shook the unused appendages and gritted my teeth.
Ignoring their heavy weight, I bent my head low and remembered Knox’s instructions. I flexed my back muscles. My boots sank into the warm dirt, and steam heated my ankles as my upper body shivered.
Everything faded away as I concentrated on the will coursing through me.
I was going to fly.
My wings spread wide, and I flexed my back muscles as I pushed upward with everything I had.
Nothing happened, but I didn’t let it deter me.
I was going to be smart about this.
My wings disappeared as I pulled them back inside me, and I rolled my neck, stretching and trying to loosen up. I wasn’t going to exhaust myself needlessly.
After I mentally and physically recovered, I withdrew my heavy wings and tried again.
I had this.
Hours later, I collapsed onto my knees with exhaustion and heaved. The cartilage in my wings felt frozen stiff, and it hurt to retract them.
I’d leave them out, just for a few more moments.
My heart pounded erratically, and my breath was loud and uneven as I choked on the snow-drenched air.
Of course, since I was cursed with misfortune, a few minutes into practicing, the blizzard conditions had returned.
A storm had raged continually since.
Now the snow slammed against me in a punishing blur, and my teeth chattered uncontrollably. Visibility was nonexistent.
The world was a vortex of white and gray.
I was bone tired.
I’d never felt so cold.
Crystal wings clattered together as their heavy weight tipped me forward, and I sprawled face first into the pile of snow that had accumulated on the frozen ground where I’d been standing.
The morning light through the clouds was long gone, and the forest was frozen with extreme cold. The blizzard had kicked up a notch.
It was a whiteout.
Sun god, I hated the realm’s temperamental weather.
I turned my neck awkwardly to the side and looked up at the towering pines. They’d frozen completely solid in the storm and were covered in white. Disturbingly sharp icicles hung menacingly off their branches.
Were the trees dead?
Was I dead?
My curls were uncomfortably stiff, plastered against my neck and back. They’d frozen solid with sweat.