Angel pulled a fortune cookie from the center of the table. “Let’s see… Will Salem find what he’s looking for?” When she pulled out the paper, she smiled. “It says…” She frowned. “‘A closed eye gathers no elbows.’”
Salem scrubbed a hand over his mouth. “That makes no sense.”
She crumpled it up and threw it away, then narrowed her eyes at Salem. “Forget the cookie. My sense tells me you’ll get your thing, whatever it is. Then everything will be all right.”
My stomach sank. I could only hope her intuition was as accurate as her lovers predictions.
As soon as dinner was over, I’d try my what if spell and see what hell Salem would unleash on the world if he got what he wanted.
I’d find out if the Winter Witch had been telling the truth.
17
Aenor
I sipped my wine, surveying the room. With my magic back, my senses felt heightened, and the wind howling outside sounded like a sort of forlorn music. The lantern swung over the table, the light startlingly bright. As I ate, the flavors exploded in my mouth. In the sea, my magic felt more comfortable. On land, I felt like I was drowning in light, in noise.
I drained my glass of wine, muting the flood of sensations a bit. When I finished, I felt a little lightheaded.
Angel smiled at me. “Definitely lovers. I can show you to your room, and you give me your clothes. I’ll dry them by the fire while he”—she waggled her eyebrows—“you know, grinds your corn.”
Salem’s eyes gleamed as he looked at me. “Aenor, my love, the next time you want me to grind your corn, you don’t need to go through all the trouble of creating a storm.”
I smiled back at him, dripping with sweetness. “Of course, darling. You had me at I’m skilled in the arts of cruelty. What girl could resist such charm?”
Then I dropped the smile and did my best to convey “I will slaughter you in your sleep” with my eyes. Though with my stomach full of delicious Chinese food, it was hard to get a real effective wrath-face going.
Angel rose from her seat. “Well, I’ll get you two lovebirds to your room.”
She led us to a set of winding stairs that curved upward within the tree. The air smelled heavily of wood and soil. At the top of the stairs, she pushed through a door into a room.
It was a cozy space of dark wood, and a ceiling folded over in a curved peak like leaves pressed against each other. Vines grew from the walls, twinkling with lights and lanterns hung among them.
“Take off your clothes.” Angel held out a hand. “I’ll dry them by the fire.”
I clutched at my soaking shirt. “I’ll stay wet tonight, thanks.”
Salem arched an eyebrow. My cheeks flared, and I immediately regretted the choice of phrasing.
“Suit yourselves.” She crossed out of the room.
Salem pulled off his jacket, his eyes burning as he looked at me. “I guess this is your lucky night, because you may join me in the bed.”
“Oh, there will be no corn grinding, Salem. I’m your damn captive. I’m sure you’re used to getting whatever you want because of how you look, but it’s not happening with me.”
The corner of Salem’s sensual mouth quirked. “How I look? Please elaborate.”
I glared at him. He knew, of course, that his beauty was a destructive force that left a trail of dropped panties in his wake. He was smoldering, masculine perfection. And most women would be thinking about him claiming them up against a wall.
I was not.
Nor was I going to flatter his ego. So instead, I gestured at him and said. “You know, your whole face. Whatever is going on there. How you look.”
“I see.” A low chuckle.
“It’s too fancy for me, frankly, your whole facial region,” I added. “I like a simpler face.”
What the hells was I babbling about?
He started to unbutton his shirt, and I took in the sight of his chiseled abs, his body thickly corded with muscle. Not a scar on him, despite the physique of a well-trained soldier. My gaze swept down a little lower, where an eight-pointed star beamed on his abs. It seemed to shimmer with starlight. What did that symbol mean?
When I looked at his face again, I caught the smug smile.
“I was just looking at the tattoo,” I said.
He laid his shirt on the bed, smoothly folded. He seemed like a tidy sort of person. Everything in the right place…
He turned back to me, and his wings appeared behind him, the dark feathers tinged with golden lantern light. A warm pulse of his magic tingled over my skin. It was like he was trying to take my breath away with just his presence.
His fiery gaze rooted me in place. “You are a very strange woman. You have sparked my curiosity for reasons I don’t entirely understand. I think I’d like to explore you more.” The timbre of his voice dripped with an erotic promise.
If he really wanted to seduce me, all he had to do was use his mind-control power. He’d be claiming me up against the wall in no time.
Why did I keep returning to that image?
His magic skimmed my body, making my wet skin tingle with heat, every inch of me growing more sensitive. The warm lights sculpted his cheekbones, his muscled body.
“I feel you react to me.” His voice was slow, smooth. “Underneath all the rage and the righteousness, a part of you wants me, I think. I’m not sure why that interests me, but it does.”
“That’s your ego confusing you, my friend.” I swallowed hard, my breath coming faster. I wasn’t going to look at him shirtless. “I’ll take the floor. I’ll sleep outside if I have to.”
“I can hear your heart beating faster every time I move closer.” Then a slow shrug. “But if you want to deprive yourself, who am I to argue?”
His wings disappeared, and he crossed back to the bed. I stared at his powerful back, thickly corded like a warrior’s.
I needed to turn the lights out on his physique.
I dimmed the lanterns until the flames flickered down, and the lights in the branches dimmed until complete darkness fell around us. I whispered a sleep spell, one buried in my memory from when my mother used to put me to sleep. A magical lullaby. I felt the room itself relax around me.
I waited for what seemed like ages. At last, the tension in the room began to dissipate, and the room seemed completely still. Salem’s breathing slowed.
Carefully, I rose from the floor. In complete silence, I crossed to the door. I inched it open, one millimeter at a time. The hallway was dark now, so I let in no light. My gaze flicked back to Salem. I could hardly see in the dark, but I didn’t see any signs of movement.
Carefully, I crept out into the stairwell. This was, maybe, my only chance to get away from him for a few moments. I had two things on the agenda. One, I wanted to get a message to the Merrow. I had a way to send messages through the seawater, though it wasn’t discreet. I had to do it when Salem wasn’t around.
And two, I needed to see for myself what the future held.
When I’d tiptoed down to the bottom of the stairs, I was disappointed to find that Angel was still awake.
She had laid out a set of tarot cards on the table by the candlelight.