Her annoyance slid away, replaced by a swell of warm pride. Throwing her shoulders back, she took another step closer to him and announced in her carefully enunciated speech, “They will not worry because I do not live in the nest anymore.”
Vael tilted his head to one side. “What do you mean? Of course you live in the nest.”
Impatient, she bounced on the balls of her feet, hopping closer. The distance between them shrank with every rolling step. “No, I don’t! You’ve been gone, so you haven’t heard the news yet. I moved out of the nest and into my own dwelling.”
ChapterFive
She expected a lopsided grin,perhaps like the one she received when she passed her exams, or the first time they crossed paths on the street and he said,“Look at you, t?ht. You are beautiful in the sun.”
Instead, she got only a blank look, then a dawning disapproval. “Why would you do this? Are you ready to live on your own? It’s only been two years,t?ht.”
She normally loved it when he called hert?ht.It meant star, and whenever he said it, she remembered what it felt like when he pressed her cold cheek against his chest and whispered to her in the darkness of his folded wings,“You’re safe. I have you now, my fallen star.”
Now she did not like it very much at all. Did Vael not see her as capable? As a woman ready to live her life? It was one thing when her family coddled her, but she discovered it was very, very different when Vael did it.
Her excitement ebbed. “I am ready,” she insisted. Hele swallowed hard. “I am ready for all kinds of new things.”
Vael’s frown intensified. The wind ruffled the short strands of his dark hair. They tended to spike up between his largest pair of horns, and she’d wondered what it might be like to run her fingers through that funny tuft.
“What kind of things?” His tone was neutral, but the way his wings flexed seemed agitated. That was one emotion she could read well, since she felt it so often in the early days.
Taking a deep breath, Hele clapped her hands in front of her. “Well… Taevas asked me to consult with some witches studying m-weather. I’ll be paid for my time, so one new thing is having ajob.”
And didn’t that tickle her! Not only would she be learning something new, but she would have responsibility, ajob,just like everyone else she knew. Being a contained force of nature with no purpose wasn’t healthy, she’d learned, so it was a relief to have even temporary work to do.
A bit of the tightness left Vael’s expression. “That sounds wonderful,t?ht.I know how much you love learning, so R&D is the perfect place for you. Are you working with the people on loan from the Collective?”
A little bit of her ire was soothed by his easy support. Hele inched closer. If he noticed that they were only an arm’s length away from each other now, he didn’t show it. His eyes remained locked on hers.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the quick flicking of his tail and wondered what might cause it to do that.
Clasping her hands to her chest, she answered, “Yes. They’re working on ther-siphon and they want to talk to me about it. I am very excited!”
There was the smile she longed for. “Fantastic.” One hand lifted, as if he meant to reach out and touch her, before it fell back to his side. Crossing his arms over his chest, he asked, “And you’rereallyokay with living on your own?”
Hele rolled her eyes.“Yes.I like it.”
“Where is it? Near your parents?”
“No, it’s in De Tour.” She leaned closer, until her hair fell over her shoulders to ripple against her chest. This close, she could smell that spicy scent she dreamed of and even feel his delicious body heat. Sparks flew. “I have so manyneighbors!”
His smile dimmed. “Do you feel safe there?”
“Of course I feel safe.” She gave him a baffled look. “I can take care of myself.”
“You can, but I worry.” His expression turned wry. She was surprised to see his throat bob with swallow before he uncrossed his arms and slowly closed the distance between them. His palm, scaldingly warm against her cooler skin, cupped her cheek. In a rough voice, he whispered, “Feels like just yesterday you fell into my arms,t?ht.”
Hele’s breath caught. She leaned into his touch without thinking as a coil of unfamiliar heat tightened in her belly.
Gods, is this what it’s like to crave a touch?
She thought she understood the longing one felt for a mate, but when he touched her like that, when helookedat her like that, Hele felt like she was standing on the cusp of something so breathtakingly deep that it defied comprehension.
Vael’s brows pinched. His wings spread slightly as he swayed forward, head dipping to stare into her eyes. “Why do you look like that? What did I do?”
She had no idea what her expression said because she did not understand her feelings herself. Instead of attempting to explain the massive thing expanding in her chest, she simply said, “I want to Choose you.”
Those soft lips parted. The hand on her cheek flexed hard before it loosened again. In a voice like crushed gravel, he asked, “...what did you say?”
