Chapter Two
“This is terribly unwise.” Maira ran her hands over the dirty gray gown.
Two years ago, she stumbled upon the most entrancing human male she’d ever met. He consumed her thoughts. Day in and day out, she longed to find the blacksmith’s son and sate the desire sneaking through her dreams.
Deft, calloused hands traveled over her body, drawing mewls and gasps of pleasure past her lips. Ecstasy teetered just out of reach as he touched but did not take her body for his.
Then she would wake.
Each and every night for two years, the human tormented Maira in her dreams. She could think of nothing save for the bluest eyes she’d ever seen staring into hers. Going back hadn’t been an option – not until news of Niall’s death rang out across the lands. Niall and his family had been furious she’d left, but had agreed not to stake his claim if she allowed him to indicate he’d turned her away.
Title and name meant little to Maira if it meant a lifetime not in his grasp. She’d agreed, but had been too fearful of breaking their pact to return.
“Until this moment.” Setting the small mirror down on the dresser, Maira blew out a breath.
The sullied gown would help her blend in amongst the townsfolk, but it was not comfortable to wear clothing heavy with dirt and grime.
“You’re truly doing this?” Alessandra smirked, red lips lifted with amusement. “To see a human who seems to have made you lust for him the way we affect their kind?”
Maira scowled at her cousin. “I don’t expect you to understand.”
“How could I? I take what I want. Who I want, and dispose of them. Go get this human male, get under him, and move on. There are angels literally dying to claim your throne. You need a union.”
“Don’t remind me.”
In the past two years, her parent's peaceful ways slipped further and further away. They grew violent to protect their land – sending thousands to their deaths and even more to do their bidding in an attempt to steal other's lands to fortify their family name and protect what was theirs. The palace remained the only source of living angels in the Pure kingdom.
“I will do nothing of the sort. I’m just going to make certain he’s what I remember him to be. I will not lay with a human while my parents seek a union to save us all.”
“You’re missing out. They’re not like us, but damn do the men know how to move in bed and it’s been forever since you remembered that.” Alessandra purred as she likely remembered one of many nights with a human male before she killed them, as was custom.
You want him. As always, the thought drew his piercing gaze into Maira’s mind. She did want Xander of Yeld, but she would never give in to that pleasure and be forced to end his life.
“Cover for me?”
“If I must.”
Blowing out a breath, Maira focused on the soft white feathers of her chosen form. There was no pain as skin shifted to silken feathers, or as her mouth elongated into the elegant beak of a swan. She changed shapes as quickly as a single thought and did not hesitate to take to the sky.
She could arrive in an hour, shift, and play the role of a lost traveler looking for a shoe for her horse. She just wanted a glimpse of him one more time.
The dark sweep of the night sky touched the horizon when Maira looked behind her. Tugging on the gray shift, she stepped carefully around yet another thorny bush.
Six hours and no sign of the handsome blacksmith’s son anywhere in the small town bordering the palace. Just a myriad of drunken men, hungry dogs, and children playing in the dust.
Human’s confounded her. Their lives were so short, yet they chose to do so little. Most weren’t even aware of their surroundings. None thought to ask about the strange woman wandering through their village. Maira wasn’t even confident they knew she did not belong.
“This is folly.” Snorting, Maira turned on her heel, and her chest slammed against another person.
“I’m sorry,” she kept her gaze down to avoid any seeing how her eyes glowed.
“It’s you.” A warm voice drifted to her ears. The rich scent of soot and smoke wafted from the man.
“Xander,” The smile tugging at her lips happened of its own accord, and she did not try to stop it.
The human intrigued her,. He was handsome, his broad shoulders finely on display in a taught brown tunic. A twinkle danced in his eyes – one that might just be because he saw her.
“You sound as if you have looked for me.” The tease slipped effortlessly past her lips even as her heart fluttered in her chest. Angels did not feel such nervousness, but it remained the only explanation for the dizzying way her head spun just looking upon Xander.
He remained everything she remembered, though the years brought a hardness to the planes of his face. Eyes that were once youthful appeared sharp, his gaze akin to an eagle’s. Still, the shimmering ice blue reminded her of an angel’s gaze.
“I have often thought our encounter a heat-induced dream.” His hand slowly reached out and touched a strand of hair hanging over her shoulder. “I touched you then, and I can tough you now, so I suppose you are real.”
“Real indeed.”
“What brings you?”
“Travel.”
“Very well, I hope you are not on the run this time.” He went to step around her.
She could stop him. With a single thought, her compulsion could trap the human male and ensure he stayed and did whatever she desired.
“Wait!” The echo in her voice did what it needed to.
Xander froze mid-step. “Yes?”
“Show me around?”
He scoffed. “I don’t believe that would be appropriate after you ran off the last time we were in each other’s company.” He lifted a small straw basket. “I was off to enjoy the countryside.”
Again, Maira could force him, but she didn’t want to. She didn’t force lovers. They were willing. “May I come?”
“A beautiful woman wants to accompany a lowly blacksmith on a picnic?” He grinned.
“You’ve been promoted then.”
The smile slipped. “My father passed eight months ago.”
“I’m sorry.” Oddly, she meant the words. Something about Xander made her care for him – a concept she’d give her wings to understand this sudden attraction.
“I have grieved.” He offered her his elbow. “Shall we then? Just outside the limits is a quaint green space.”
Maira allowed her hands to slide over his elbow, enjoying the warmth of his skin against hers. Humans were always warmer.
“Tell me, if you are here on travel, why ask to accompany me?”
“The day is nearing completion. My work here is done.” I found you.
“Not here to outrun a husband this time?”
A shudder raced through her. Another angel stepped into Niall’s stronghold nearly instantly. A woman cruel as a winter’s day and thankfully married to an angel far kinder but still a deadly threat.
“No such luck.”
Xander didn’t press her for more. Maira worried the interest swirling in her gut went only one way, and Xander simply humored her.