Page 57 of Wings and Shadowthief

“We still have Seth, very much in Aveka’s circle now. You’ve seen the island and know how to get there. She took us for prey until now, attacking us when the mood struck her, forcing us to fear her even in our home. Now, she’s been given a taste of her own medicine.”

“They should have waited. We should have been there,” Chloe insisted.

“Oh? You’d leave Ruby to go play the murderer, now?” her mate challenged.

Chloe showed her teeth because she couldn’t say a thing.

“You made our first move forward. We retreated. She’s retreated four times from our stronghold. From where I’m standing, we’re still ahead in this little game.”

Levi was good at smoothing things over when Chloe’s temper exploded, Gwen noticed. Water to his mate’s fire.

Wasn’t that something Eirikr had said to her at one time?

She glanced to Hunter, who was already watching her. He tilted his head toward the entryway.

Gwen nodded. “We should get going. I need to get some sleep.”

They stopped by Ruby’s room to look at the sleeping little baby before heading down the hill, to the dorm.

The silence wasn’t always heavy or awkward between them, but now? It was downright deafening. By the time they reached the dorms, Gwen couldn’t take it anymore. “Purple’s really your color.”

Out of Seth’s extensive wardrobe in the yacht, he’d chosen a pair of black jeans, a white shirt, and a royal purple jacket. Somehow, it worked for him.

“Right? I thought so. Jack didn’t agree.”

She chuckled, letting some of the tension leave her shoulders. “So, I didn’t know you had magic. Beyond the wings, that is.”

He shrugged. “You never asked.”

Fair point.

“Jack didn’t know either, by the way. He very much stayed clear of anything to do with our power.”

“You said Jack again…” she trailed off. “You’re Hunter, then.”

He considered her question at her door. “I’m not so sure. As Hunter, I was…simpler. I feel more. The way Jack used to, I suppose. I think he and I finally came to an understanding.” He chuckled. “I can stop sounding crazy, now.”

“You still need some work on that.” Her lips felt very dry, so she wet them with her tongue. “Last November, I think I…I did something. To you, to…us.”

“We did many things. But if you’re referring to the bonding of our souls, I’m aware.”

Her jaw went slack. “You’re…aware.”

“Jack wasn’t. I’m sorry, by the way. I meant to try to explain things to you. I was turned back into the other me faster than planned.”

“Apology absolutely, a hundred percent not accepted. I felt awful. Terrible. Rejected by…”

By the one person who never should have rejected her. Her mate. Her partner in life. The man she’d chosen to stand next to for the rest of eternity.

“I’ll spend the rest of our days making up for it,” he vowed solemnly.

She narrowed her eyes. “Really?”

“Absolutely.”

“Well, you can start on your knees, then.”

It was his turn to open his mouth in astonishment. Then he pushed her door open and strode inside, kicking it closed with his booted foot.

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