Page 35 of Lost Feather
Except I missed. And hit his perfect golden lips instead.
For a moment, the whole room was still. And for a split second, Righteous’s lips parted, opening ever so slightly. I felt the tip of his tongue, flavored faintly of mint and cardamom, dart out and meet mine. He didn’t even flinch at the greasy film on my mouth. It almost seemed to move away from his touch, opening a space for our lips to meet.
Time had stood still for me before, but only when there was pain involved. Now it stood still for a vastly different reason.
To my mortification, I heard a small moan, and knew it had come from me. His mouth on mine was like the most delicious meal I’d ever tasted, and the softest touch, and the most beautiful, heartbreaking song, all rolled into one. Then, soundless music filled my mind. I recognized the melody: the gate had been singing it. And now it was, for one infinitely small heartbeat, flowing from me into him.
A line from a poem by Rumi floated through my mind: “We have fallen into the place where everything is music.”Did Righteous feel it too? My eyes shot to his. Golden sparks practically flew from his irises, and I knew two things for certain.
He did feel it.
And he was still going to murder me.
CHAPTER14
Mikhail
I’d been pondering the mystery of Feather’s true name, leafing through an old journal I’d written during my stint as an Apprentice thousands of years before on the structure of naming marks, when a strange noise filtered in from the corridor. A sort of whistling. High-pitched, panicky… screaming? Squealing. Like a piglet loose in the corridor outside.
“There are no pigs in Sanctuary,” I murmured, closing the book. But when I opened my door, a mud-covered one scooted past me, fast as lightning.
“Don’t mind me!” the pig screamed, zipping under a table at the far end of the workshop. “I’m just getting started early.”
“Feather? Are you squealing like a pig?” I was shocked to see her early. Then, when she blinked up at me, I felt a deeper shock.
Her mischievous eyes shone green as new grass, an impossible shade I’d never created in a Protector. Never seen in anyone, ever before. They reminded me of a meadow on Earth I’d visited thousands of years before, when ferns and tall grasses were abundant. A place I’d felt at peace. Happy, if alone. Always alone.
But I’m not now. I have her.
The thought shocked me like a blow to the head, as she blinked those impossible emerald eyes, batting her clumpy lashes. I had to stop being so fanciful. She’d wept a copious amount the day before, which explained the clearing of her eyes. Though not the color. The stunning beauty.
Something deep inside me stirred, a curiosity and something more significant, and I forced myself to speak past the growing tightness in my throat. “Why are you here early?”
I had to remember she was a Novice. Not mine, in any way, other than that I had created her… even if I didn’t remember doing so. Had I made her? Everything about her was a mystery.
“Hide me,” she whispered, completely unaware of my inner turmoil.
Little minx. She hadn’t been running to my workshop. She’d been running away. “Feather?” I growled, taking a step toward her, but stopped when I heard shouting, wings beating, and then more footsteps, quick and loud. Someone else was running toward my Hall.
I moved quickly, blocking the doorway just in time to stop an enraged Protector from entering. “Let me at her,” he demanded.
Fuckingdemanded. Who in the hell did he think he was?
I let my eyes flicker with my turquoise and black soulfire, and extended my wings. “And who might you be?” I replied, though I knew this one. He was Righteous, a senior Protector, and one of the few Gavriel had spoken of with some respect. Righteous had done more than his fair share of shifting the balance toward good for centuries. If the Well hadn’t been sealed, he would have had his own mate by now. Still, he owed me more respect than he’d just shown.
“Righteous, sir.” He stood straight, finally showing some civility. Or at least common sense. Still glaring across the room to where Feather crouched, giggling hysterically. The girl had no instinct for self-preservation.
I coughed when I realized how filthy Righteous was. I’d never seen a Protector as smut-covered as this, except for Feather.
Suddenly, it all became clear. He must have gotten on the wrong side of the dirty female. I stifled a smile. If I had to guess, she had found some way to rub her smut all over him…Wait.She’d rubbed it all over his face. Had she kissed this fellow?
The thought irritated me. More than irritated. Angered.
Had she pressed her lips to this upstart? Or had he... Had he taken liberties with her? Perhaps they had been attempting to merge. Before I knew what was happening, my fingers had bunched into fists. My teeth were bared, my wings brushing the ceiling, and bright sparks showered from my eyes. I fought for control.
What was happening to me? I was angry on her behalf, but not only that, I felt protective in a way I never had before. After only two days, I was ready to end this Protector for hurting her. Why? I felt something in me shift, an answer bubbling up that I was not ready to consider.
I quickly folded my wings and wiped the expression from my face—or tried to, though my jaw clenched when I took in the obvious smut on Righteous’s cheeks and chin. “You are dismissed, Righteous.”
