He smirked and stopped once he reached her. She looked up at him from where he stood and her heart began to beat a little faster. In all her time in the camp, she hadn’t allowed herself to really admire him, to drink in the curve of his lips, the short beard that lined his jaw. He crouched down until he was eye level with her and reached forward to tuck a strand of loose hair behind her ear.
His hand paused against her face as he said, “I could never tire of watching you, Eve.” She swallowed and her cheeks flared red. He smoothed his thumb over the blush. “So beautiful when you blush for me.”
Before she could answer—or swat his hand away—he stood again and offered his hand to her.
“I want to take you somewhere,” he said softly.
She raised a brow but slipped her hand into his. He helped her up, a gleam of excitement in his eyes. His normally guarded expression was gone—he almost looked like the boy he used to be, carefree and ready to take on the world.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
He smiled and slipped his hand into hers. “Somewhere I’ve never taken anyone.”
Zephyr was waiting outside the cabin, watching them expectantly as they approached her. They were going to fly.
Evelina stopped and tugged at his hand. “Shouldn’t we be training or something?”
He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand. “We won’t be gone long,” he promised.
She nodded and followed him to Zephyr. She grabbed the rope hanging off the saddle and hoisted herself up. It had become easier to mount her in the times they had patrolled together.
Daimon swung himself up next and seated himself behind her. The saddle pushed them close together, her back pressed firmly against his chest. But she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t leaning against him regardless.
Zephyr stretched her wings and pushed off the ground. They were above the clouds in seconds, her wings stretched out wide as she sped through the air.
Evelina leaned her head back against Daimon’s shoulder. He rested his cheek against her and wrapped his arms tightly around her waist.
As Zephyr leveled out in the sky, Evelina thought about all the years she had missed with Daimon. They could’ve been doing this since he became a Rider, had he chosen to tell her the truth. Still, he made his decision, and they would both have to live with that. She could hate him for leaving her in the dark for so long, or she could take advantage of the time she had with him. There’d been so much loss during the war, and had there not been, she might’ve chosen to stay angry with him. But she’d seen death, experienced how quickly things could change. All it took was one stray ferrum arrow—one exposed move—for a life to be taken.
No one was invincible—not even immortals.
So instead of holding onto her anger, she let it drift behind them in the wind.
They flew over the clouds blocking the forest beneath them. She couldn’t tell if they were headed west or east, but Zephyr seemed to know the way. Daimon pressed a soft kiss against the curve in her neck and she shuddered. He smiled against her skin.
“You are far too good for me, Evelina Manor,” he whispered, his voice nearly lost among the howling wind.
She turned her head and buried her face in his neck. The scent of cedar and frost enveloped her. She couldn’t help but breathe it in. He smelled like a forest on a crisp winter morning—as if fresh snow had just blanketed the ground.
Now she understood why the Riders loved to fly so much. There was a calmness in being so high up—a sense of freedom that came along with the possibilities that lay ahead. She could spend hours with him up here, far away from the war and the worries on the ground.
Zephyr tilted her nose down and started their descent, though Evelina would’ve been happy to fly the rest of the day.
Once the clouds cleared and she could see the ground, she saw they were above a lake. The sun splashed rays of light onto the water’s surface, making it sparkle and glisten with each ripple. Zephyr flew them closer, her wings churning rolling waves. She landed on the muddy shore, her talons sinking into the wet soil.
Daimon slid off first and turned around to help Evelina down. Once on the ground, she turned to admire the beauty around them. A patch of willow trees surrounded this end of the lake. They swayed with the breeze, their branches dancing to the sound of the wind. Small white butterflies hovered around the trees, floating through the cascading leaves. In the midst of so much heartache and war, Evelina had forgotten how beautiful her land could be.
“It’s beautiful,” she whispered. She turned to him, finding his eyes on her.
“Yes, it is.”
He grabbed her hand and led her toward the willows. There was a small, worn path that was etched into the grass. It disappeared behind the tree closest to them, the long branches of the willow hung like a curtain to what lay beyond it.
Daimon gently pulled back its branches, rustling it enough that several butterflies flew off. Evelina stepped through the tree and he let the curtain of leaves fall behind them. The branches were so thick that they were shaded from the sun.
“What is this place?” she asked, her voice filled with awe.
He continued to lead them down the small path, through more branches and trees. “A place I come to when my thoughts are too loud and the world is too heavy.” It was like they had been transported to another world, a place without their past and their sins. “But this isn’t what I brought you here to see,” he added.
