The center of my chest hollowed, like the bud of hope there had been torn out, roots and all. Rowan, Lake, and now Briar might’ve been open to the idea of accepting Lord Onyx, but my knights held too much distrust and anger toward him to see him as anything other than a threat.
“Oh, love.” Briar came over and took me in his arms. He was the perfect height for me to tuck my head under his chin and burrow my face into the crease of his neck. “Don’t fret. I’m sure everything will sort itself out.”
His tone wasn’t convincing. Neither were the expressions of the knights I loved. Especially my captain’s. When I’d told Maddox what Lupin said about me having seven fated mates, he said that I could love a thousand men and his feelings for me would never change. That I’d never lose him.
So why did I get the feeling he was slipping away? Both him and Callum.
“All right. Hand him over, Specs.” Rowan hopped up from his perch and came over, circling his fingers around my wrist. He led me toward the window.
“What are we doing?” I asked, still on the verge of a snot fest. I’d rather stub my pinky toe on one of those metal bedframes than upset any of them.
He tossed me a smirk, showing a peek of my favorite tooth. “I said I’d take you flying, remember?”
Excitement and fear swirled together. With the eventful day, I’d forgotten what he’d said that morning about wanting to take me out once the sun went down. The fear came from knowingexactly how high up in the air that window was. The thought of jumping out of it made the bottom of my stomach drop out.
“Wait.” Maddox stepped in front of us. “I don’t think it wise to—”
“Out of the way, Captain Glutton,” Rowan cut in. “He’s mine right now. You can have him back later. Hopefully after you’ve gotten the stick out of your ass.”
Maddox looked at me. Thoughts weighed heavily on him. I could see it in his eyes. The blue irises had lost their luster. But instead of fighting Rowan on the matter, he caressed my jaw before stepping aside and letting us pass.
Rowan retook hold of my wrist and guided me toward the window and the night stretching beyond it. He pushed it open and turned to me with a smile brighter than the light of a full moon. “Hold on tight, little treasure. It’s time to fly.”
Chapter Nine
Shadows and Soft Peppery Kisses
The night air tickled my cheeks as Rowan scaled the side of the castle. I made the mistake of looking down and got dizzy. The ground was so far away. One wrong step and we’d tumble off the ledge, splatting on the grass like bugs on a windshield.
“Watch your footing,” I said, arms around his neck as I clung to his back. “Don’t slip.”
“Keep squeezing me so tight with those thighs and I may not have a choice.” Humor rang in his voice. “Then again, as I said before, death by your thighs wouldn’t be the worst way to go.”
“But falling to our deaths would. So eyes forward.”
He released a raspy laugh. “Yes, Your Highness.”
“I’m not your prince or your king.” I pushed my face into the back of his hair, breathing in his peppery scent. “I’m your treasure.”
“Aye. You are.” Rowan’s voice softened. “And gods help the one who tries to take what’s mine. With a few exceptions.”
I smiled.
A smile that turned into a screech as he leapt from one window ledge to another. He climbed higher up the castle wall, and I pinched my eyes closed, silently praying to the coffee gods to spare us. I had helped spread the good word across the land, after all.
Cresting the top, Rowan swung upward and caught the edge of the roof before pulling us up and over. Although still high up in the air, I felt safer having solid ground beneath us. Not exactly flat though. The roof sloped at various angles.
“Now the real fun begins.” He peeked back at me, excitement dancing in his eyes.
Shadows stretched toward us, seeping up from the crevices between stones where the moonlight couldn’t reach, and circled his feet. It reminded me of black smoke. He took off into a slow jog before gaining speed and leaping from one spot to another. Each leap had us airborne longer than a normal jump. The shadows made him move as though he weighed nothing, helping lift him through the air.
As he ran across the roof, I kept hold of his neck and tipped my head to the sky. Stars twinkled in the dark web, far too many to ever count, and the moon appeared larger than life, casting a silvery glow over the surrounding land. I noted several areas of the sky that had a dusty consistency, like far-off galaxies.
Each glide in the air and quick dash forward made me think we really were flying.
The roof stretched for what seemed like forever. I’d known the castle was a decent size but hadn’t realized how big until we were on top of it with a bird’s-eye view of everything around it. Distant lights could be seen, coming from what must’ve been the village.
“Are you scared?” Rowan asked, taking a firmer grip on my legs before jumping across a small space between wider sections of the rooftop.
