I closed my eyes and called on my glamour magic to alter our appearances. It wasn’t magic I used often, so I was eager to see the result.
I looked at my reflection in the lake’s still water.
The red tone in my auburn hair had turned black. The golden glimmer my tan skin casts off was muted to a pale, fleshy color. My amber eyes were lime green like my mother’s.
My chest tightened at the sight.
I examined my arms, and to my delight, raw gemstones covered me up to my biceps. I grinned. If only Folliade could see this, he’d be pissed at how many gems I had.
“Uh… Titus?” Delilah said, uneasy.
I spun around, and the sight of her made my world stand still.
Swirls of raw gems covered her from hands to neck, across her back and stomach. Larger stones formed across her forehead like a permanent tiara.
She was slightly taller, her limbs and fingers longer. Her eyes were bigger, tilted up at the outer corners. Her ears were delicate and pointed.
Her cheekbones were sharper. Her lips and lashes were fuller. And when I noticed her hips wider, her hourglass shape exaggerated by a fuller bust…
I nearly went to my knees. She was so spectacularly Fae. The most beautiful female I had ever seen. A goddess in flesh and gems.
She examined her skin with bewildered curiosity.
“It’s okay,” I said quickly. “I have them too. See?” I rolled up my sleeve and showed her my forearm.
“Oh.” She frowned. “Why do I have so many?” Her question felt like a swift kick to my nuts.
Admittedly, I was annoyed that she had more gems than me.
Earth Fae weren’t born with immediate power like Fire Fae. Their power accumulated over time, marked by the gems that appeared on their skin. The more gems, the more power.
Most Earth Fae capped out around the elbows or biceps. I had never seen gems cover an entire body. The tiara suited her, like she had been meant for royalty.
The sting of jealousy was almost neutralized by shock… and by how devastatingly beautiful she looked.
Almost.
I couldn’t tell her the truth. I couldn’t tell her I suspected she had otherworldly power that could surpass my own. If I did, she wouldn’t be a tool—she’d be a threat.
And I already had enough threats to deal with.
So, true to my nature, I gave her a plausible excuse.
“It’s probably due to the amount of magic I used to heal you earlier,” I said. “The excess is appearing on your skin.”
She nodded, not even questioning it. Good.
“Let’s go,” I said. “We’re burning daylight. It’s a two-mile hike to the border and another four after that to the mines. I’d like to be home before dark.”
She agreed, and we grabbed our packs and headed north.
She was a little clumsy in her new form, stumbling over roots. I walked behind her so I could catch her if she slipped. I didn’t feel like healing her for a third time today.
Walking behind her was a sick kind of torture. I caught myself staring at her ass more than once.
I loved looking at her like this… but I preferred her powerless mortal body.
Because as sexy as her Fae form was, it was unnerving to imagine how formidable she’d be if she trulywereFae.
