Page 35 of Hair, She Bears
“Don’t cry.” Malik drew her into his lap. “We will beat him.”
“How?” She stared up at him through tear-filled eyes. “He’s too powerful.”
“We have an ally.” Malik brushed a kiss across her forehead.
“Carlyle won’t be much help,” Zenna replied.
“I’m not talking about Carlyle.”
“Who else is willing to stand up to your father?”
“My mother.”
Zenna’s jaw dropped. “She’s dead. Mother admitted he killed her.”
“Apparently, he didn’t do a very good job.” A grin flashed over Malik’s face. “Carlyle rescued her and hid her in a cave high up on the northern cliffs.”
“Why didn’t he tell you?”
“Because, like my father, Carlyle believed I was loyal to the family. When he heard I was responsible for the courier attacks, he broke me free of the cage and told me her location. I escaped through the window at the base of the building and flew straight to her. She knew me immediately.” Malik smiled, his face glowed. “She was exactly as I remembered… with a few grey hairs.”
Zenna chewed her lip. “Why didn’t she break your father’s spell?”
“My father stripped her powers.” Malik sighed, the heavy sound filled with heartache.
“But the parchment, how did she know to give it to you?”
“She can talk to animals, a peculiar gift of hers she attributes to a talisman she wears around her neck. I told her of you. She wrote the ingredients down, tied the note to my leg, and told me to return to you. However, the powder will only transform me into a human until sunrise. After that, I transform back into my feathered form. The only way for the spell to be permanently reversed is to defeat my father, and for that, we need to gather an army.”
Zenna extricated herself from his embrace and stood. She paced to the window.
“I can’t fight with you.”
“Why not?” Malik frowned.
“If I don’t produce a full batch of Votras Alute by tomorrow morning, Mother will torture and murder my parents in front of me.”
“I will help you complete the batch.” Malik climbed unsteadily to his feet. “Our plan has not changed, Zenna. I will find your parents. You will be free.”
Zenna nodded as her gaze slid over his body, starting at his chest and moving down over his abdomen. Her tongue glued itself to the roof of her mouth as all manner of erotic thoughts tumbled through her mind.
“What are you thinking about?” Malik asked, his voice tinged with amusement.
“You’re naked.” Heat colored her face, extending below her shirt.
Malik glanced down and grinned. “So, I am.”
“Do you plan to rectify that?”
“Nope.” He stretched his arms in an exaggerated pose.
“It’s distracting.”
“I can think of something more distracting.” He crossed the room and enveloped her in his embrace, gently wrapping her in his arms. She sucked in a quick breath, and Malik froze, his eyes searching hers. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You won’t,” she replied, sliding her hands up his arms.
He bent his head and touched his mouth to her lips. Lightning shot through her veins. She moaned and pressed herself into him, her body thrumming and craving his touch.
