Nahomie
I squinted into the dark.Out of defiance, I stuck out my chin and squared my shoulders. My knees wobbled, but I’d be accursed before I let a few shadows shake my resolve. The sunlight from the distant outdoors was muted in this foyer, making it hard to see, even with heightened angelic sight. An uncanny thing. I’d never been inside a home where it was difficult to see, even in the heart of twinight. What was this mysterious place?
I couldn’t see the full form of the creature who’d spoken, but I had the sound sense he was a Hallowed.
My manor.
Was this giant hidden in the shadows the Everthorn King?
His eyes were intelligent. Sharp. Piercing.
Striking.
Something in my core stirred.
A nervous tremor flitted across my shoulders.
I floated backward, putting space between myself and the growing shadows in the foyer. It was another moment before I noticed the smallest of souls fidgeting about like fledgling ghosts unable to stand still. They looked like Saundeiah, but small, baby versions of her. Admittedly, they were exceptionally cute. Icaught myself bending over to reach out to one. I stopped myself before I went too far.
“You don’t seem like a Madame who was raised without manners.”
I snapped back to attention, nostrils flaring at the unspoken insinuation.
I lifted my chin higher, crossing my arms.
“Thank you.” I cleared my throat. “Whoever you are.” I cast a quick glance at the mosaic-tiled doors. I was so close to getting out of here. Looking back into the shadows, I lifted my chin. “If you’ll excuse me?—”
“I won’t.”
I flinched, jerking back. My jaw grew slack before I found my tongue again.
“I’m... sorry. Pardon?”
The figure in the shadows didn’t move. The scent of cedarwood blended with cinnamon and hints of smoke wafted under my nostrils. Instinctively, I licked my lips, relishing the delicious aroma. I leaned forward, wanting to near the source. I’d taken three steps forward, still floating in the air, before jerking to a stop. Clearing my head, I regained control of myself. As my vision cleared, I found the shadows growing sinister, and the number of souls increasing.
“Youarea lethally bewitching creature.”
“Andyouare in my way.” I floated forward, pressing into the shadows, working to get past the obstruction. “Move.”
A flash of amusement in the dark.
“No.”
“Insufferable piece of...”
I snapped my wings open and shot for the doors, my grumbling fading to quiet. The figure snarled, annoyed at my blatant disobedience. As if I cared. I was grown. Some unknown tyrant wasn’t about to have more sway in my life than my ownPapi. I lunged for the door handles. Then a large, calloused hand latched onto my ankle and yanked me back. I slammed into a muscled chest, trapped by an iron grip.
“I didn’t appreciate that little stunt of yours.”
I grit my teeth.
“You won’t appreciate my next one either if you don’t take your paws off me.”
The figure chuckled, amused at my bravado. I summoned ethèr into my blood, heating my body from within to burn through the grip of the figure holding me. He wrapped a set of wings over his arms around my frame. Stars.
Angel.
He wasdefinitelyan angel.
