Page 114 of Phoenix Rise

Now you’re even sexier than you were before,she added.

I might never shift far enough to fly,I hedged, but the knot inside me had loosened.These things might just be a unique accessory.

They are beautiful. A lovely shade of gold.

I glanced up at them. Twitched muscles in my shoulders that I’d not previously possessed, and the wings spread over me like a mantle. And she was right. They were gold.

Very sexy,she purred. Then she stilled.

What?

Cara said Dragons and Bellatis are resistant to my power. Maybe our ability to be together isn’t just about us being mates.

I hadn’t thought of that. I reached out, pulled her into me, then focused and folded my wings around us both.

She slipped her arms up beneath them and held me close.Fate is looking after us,she said.

Strewth.I guessed she was.

34

Talakai

I inhaled sharply, smelling not sweet citrus, but the damp stench of mildew on stone.

I ignored it. The only thing that mattered was my talons digging into my thigh. The pain lanced through me, and it finally took me over the edge.

As my body quivered and erupted, I leaned against a wall deep in the shadows and pushed my forehead against my arm. At some point, unbidden, my wings had emerged and tented against the cloak.

I pushed off the wall and regrew my scales, forcing my wings back where they belonged. This connection to Matt was fast becoming an issue. So far, it hadn’t happened at a time when it could get me killed, but the truth was—that could change.

And what had I sensed at the end? My wings emerging had been linked to something odd happening with Matt...

Movement from farther down the alley—Haki appeared from the shadows wearing a silly grin. My nostrils flared, and I shot him a look.

“Kala was inspired by your sex-crazed mental soulbond,” he said.

I rubbed a hand over my face. “Perfect.”

“Hey, at least I’m not driving.”

“Good thing too.”

He fell into step with me as we pulled up our hoods and emerged from the alley behind the Flying Tooth Inn.

We were taller and broader than the average resident, and the two of us together drew attention as we bypassed the main entrance and pushed through the bar door. It was dimly lit inside, but a figure raised his hand from a table along the back wall. With his cloak, Jacques blended well with the locals.

“So why is it called the Flying Tooth Inn?” Haki asked as we took our seats.

The Satyr gestured to a large jar by the till. “There are four others beneath the counter.”

I squinted at the jar and concluded that it was, indeed, filled with teeth. The gruff bar clientèle were mostly dressed in rough homespun cloaks and sat in small groups. Their expressions, rapid, tense movements, and whispered conversations showed their anxiety.

“They are talking about what happened to Gartaka and the others,” Jacques stated. “It has everyone nervous. They have no way of knowing that Galeran is long gone.”

I pulled out the maps. “Yeah, well, he’ll be back.”

Jacques inhaled sharply. “He’s never done that before. He hits a realm, and moves on.”

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