I smoothed out my long black skirt, glad I’d picked it instead of the navy eyelet dress Celeste had suggested. Although both outfits were understated, the eyelet dress looked better suited for apicnic.
When Jarod trundled back down, hair slicked back with gel and suit jacket on, my lungs tightened. How I hadn’t guessed his heritage was beyond me. The man was far too handsome to be a mere mortal. He even smelled too good for ahuman.
He adjusted his pocket square—orange tonight. “Ready?”
Feeling exceedingly unsophisticated, I crimped the fabric of my skirt. Perhaps, I should’ve borrowed a dress from the foyer closet. The emerald one came to mind, but I’d felt like a sausage encased in satin. Probably looked like one,too.
“Feather?”
This is dinner, Leigh. Not a date.I shoved my insecurities away. “I just need to get mybag.”
“What for?” Jarodasked.
I arched an eyebrow. “My wallet. And so I can get hometonight.”
Jarod stood by the door his guard had opened. “Get it afterdinner.”
“My wallet won’t serve much of a purposeafterdinner.”
“Your wallet won’t serve much of a purposeduringdinner either. Unless you want to offendme.”
“But—”
“I’ll keep an eye on your bag,” Muriel said. “Don’tworry.”
I wasn’t worried about it getting stolen. “You’ll still be up when we getback?”
“You know me. I’m not much of a sleeper.” She tipped her head toward Jarod. “Better hurry before they close thekitchen.”
Close the kitchen? How late was it? Without a phone or a watch, I realized I had noclue.
Relenting, I followed Jarod out of thehouse.
As the Demon Court’s porte-cochère clanged shut behind us, Jarod said, “Don’t know what spell you put on Muriel, but she usually doesn’t like anyone. Especiallywomen.”
I eyed Luc, who walked behind us, along with a second suit-cladbodyguard.
Even though they kept their distance, I lowered my voice to say, “You do know we don’t have any magic, right? Well, at least, not when we’re Fletchings. It’s only when our wings are complete that we get our dust andfire.”
“I was teasing you about the spellpart.”
I’d imagined asmuch.
“So, fire, huh? What can you do withit?”
“Pretty much everything you can do with human fire.” I studied the seams in the pavement, thinking,That’s what they used to burn your mother’s wingsoff.
“Anddust?”
“We can cloak things with it. Make theminvisible.”
He nodded. “Howpractical.”
A heaviness settled in the pit of my stomach as I realized I might never receive these gifts. Before my negativity could tinge my mood, I changed the subject. “I’ve been meaning to ask, does Tristan know aboutus?”
“Yes and no. I told him about your kind when we were younger, when your peers began showing up to reform me, but he thought I was employing the term loosely. Besides, like most humans, he’s wired to only believe what he can see and he can’t see you. He just considers the lot of youzealots.”
“I heard he whipped someone who showed up to help you. Is ittrue?”
