Page 17 of Urn My Love

“No one touches a pegasus in this form and lives. I found the drugs the men were using to keep him sedated and his magic dampened. That’s the only reason they survived, and it’s the only reason his magic didn’t flatten us both last night.”

I eyed the pegasus, watching his hooves pound the dirt. “I think you’re wrong. He grabbed the whip from the man who hit me.”

August’s arm tightened around my waist. “Helping you is one thing, allowing you to touch him is another. Pegasus are made of wild, untamed magic. It’s the equivalent of petting a lightning bolt. All shifters are unstable at best when their animalistic sides are in control, but pegasus are nasty, vindictive beasts.”

“Don’t be rude! You know he can hear you, right?” I hissed.

August shrugged, not caring about Jazriel’s feelings in the least. “Am I telling her the truth, beast?”

The pegasus stopped snorting and bobbed his head, mane flying.

“Yeah. That’s what I thought.” August chuckled, and I soaked in the rare sound. “People fear the drakons, but it is the pegasus that should’ve struck fear in people’s hearts. Their beauty is deadly.”

I was finding it hard to take August seriously. It almost sounded as though he were nervous about being near Jazriel’s pegasus form, which seemed laughable considering his size in both human and gryphon form.

My eyes narrowed as a new thought entered my mind. “Are you sure you aren’t exaggerating just because you’re jealous he kissed me?”

August huffed. “No. Believe me, or don’t. There is a reason pegasus are extinct.”

“What? They can’t be!” I gasped, my jaw going slack. “There’s one standing in front of us.” Waving my hand in the sleek stallion’s direction, I giggled when he did a little prance.

“And he is the first I’ve seen in over two hundred years. Many species have not survived the shift into modern times, and others have been hunted to extinction—like your friend Ryls’ species.”

“It is a tragedy that Earth is losing so many of her incredible species—of both the natural and supernatural kinds.” Slipping free of August’s grip on my arm, I strode to stand in front of Jazriel.

My heart raced as I reached up to stroke the pegasus’ face. Not because I was afraid of dying, that wasn’t a big deal for a phoenix, but because I wondered if he would accept my touch.

My hand hovered an inch from his nose, giving him time to pull away if he wanted. When Jazriel didn’t move, I gently stroked my fingers on the velvet of his nose.

August hissed a curse, no doubt expecting my imminent death.

But it didn’t come.

The stallion reared back, tossing his head and snorting. Lowering my hand to my side, I watched unflinching as his dinner-plate-sized hooves stomped the ground and his wings blew my hair around my face.

Realizing I wasn’t going to cower, he quieted. With a soft neigh, he lowered his head and pressed it to my forehead.

Mate.

The single word whispered through my mind, causing happiness to erupt inside me. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I laughed when Jazriel nickered and used his chin to shove me against him in a horse hug.

“I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes,” August murmured.

Moving around Jazriel’s body, I traced my fingers down his side. I’d been around horses enough to know that black horses were like black pants. They show every speck of dirt and lint. Yet, Jazriel’s coat was sleek, shiny, and supernaturally spotless.

As my fingers moved across his flank, they found a ticklish spot and Jazriel’s wing fluttered, smacking me in the face. My yelp of surprise turned to a laugh as Jazriel’s snout prodded my ribs, finding my ticklish spot far too quickly.

“Enough, enough!” My efforts to push him away were futile.

“I’m going to gather a few more supplies, then we should get started on the return trip. Especially if the bird queen is going to stop and look at half the rocks and plants between here and the lodge.” August’s boots crunched across the ground as he moved away from us.

Bird queen? I knew he was teasing me over the meaning of my name, but it was a reminder of who I was and what I was here to do.

I placed a soft kiss on the stallion’s velvet nose. “I’m going to go help search for supplies.”

Making my way through the rough campsite, I peeked inside each of the tents. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for, but hoped I would know when I spotted it.

In the third tent, I stumbled over a stash of canteens, and the fourth tent had a stack of blankets. Finding a folded piece of soft leather, I grinned and searched the tent until I found a pocket knife.

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