Page 88 of Wings of Snow

Sven gave another laugh, and I couldn’t help but wonder if his mind was stable. “It’s an instinctual reaction anytime my wards tell me strangers are in my midst. And the Fire Wolf and I go way back. The experiment joke is from...” The sorcerer shook his head. “Never mind, but sorry about that.” Sven chuckled again, then dipped his head. A bald spot appeared on the crown of his scalp. The male also had deep wrinkles around his eyes and a slight bend of his spine. Sven was incredibly old. But powerful nonetheless.

Fire still rolled in the hunter’s eyes. “Are we good then? Can we carry on now without any of you trying to kill us?”

I glared at him. “We’ve only just met, yet you act like we should trust you.”

“A mistake I won’t make again,” the hunter snapped.

Haxil put his hands on his hips. “I have to ask, since nobody else has pointed this out. How did you two survive dragon fire? Nobody survives dragon fire.”

The hunter glanced skyward and took a deep breath. “None of your business.”

“Will there be any more jokes we can expect?” Ilara crossed her arms, and her magnificent white wings glittered in the sunlight.

“No,” the hunter bit out, then gave the sorcerer a pointed look.

“No, no,” Sven agreed hastily. “No more jokes. Promise.”

Nish snorted. “As if that means anything,” he said under his breath.

Sven sighed. “I apologize, but you do have my word. I won’t do anything like that again.” His attention drifted to Ilara, curiosity alighting his eyes.

A growl rumbled in my chest when the old sorcerer continued to look at my mate with fascination. “Something you’d care to share? Or do you always stare at mated females like this?” I snarled.

Sven shook himself. “Oh, excuse me, you’ll have to pardon my reaction. I just...” He stepped closer to Ilara, and she bristled, but he held up his hands in a non-threatening manner. “I haven’t seen an angel in centuries.” His watery old eyes grew even more alive with interest. “Do you herald from Emunda?”

Ilara’s brow furrowed, and she and I both said simultaneously. “Emunda?”

“Yes.” Sven nodded eagerly. “The land of lost angels.”

“We’re Solis fae from the fae lands.” I again wondered if this strange sorcerer had gone senile. “My mate doesn’t herald from any realm by the name of Emunda, nor is she a lost angel. She’sfae.”

Sven cocked his head. “How curious.” His interest turned to me. “So you wield power from the underworld in your dragon form, and your mate wields power from the divine realm in her angel body.” He gave the hunter a delighted grin. “How intriguing, opposite yet equally strong powers. Today is getting more interesting by the second.”

The Fire Wolf arched an eyebrow, his expression turning exasperated as my brow furrowed even more.

Divine realm? Angel form?Ilara and I shared another baffled glance as the sorcerer’s words sank in. Sven was implying that Ilara’s affinity was the equal of mine, and that she wasn’t channeling bird wings butangelwings.

My brow furrowed more as I contemplated her first affinity. Ilara’s strongest affinity, the ability to create life, was the opposite of my strongest affinity—my ability to inflict death. And now, her new winged affinity, according to Sven, was from a divine realm, the exact place my dragon affinity heralded from, but in the opposite direction.

“Sven, we’re getting off track.” The Fire Wolf pinched the bridge of his nose and muttered something under his breath. “We’re here to learn what you know of warlock dark magic, specifically a spell that could plague and spread throughout an entire continent and kill all of its crops. Should we get to it?” The Fire Wolf gestured toward Sven’s cabin.

“Oh, zippity do, such a fascinating day, indeed. Very well.” Sven nodded in agreement, but he still studied me and Ilara. “Most curious, most curious indeed. If we have more time, I would give my left nut to learn more about your strange powers, but until then—” He shrugged and turned on his heel, moving surprisingly agilely for a male his age, especially a male who’d just rather eloquently agreed to give us a testicle.

Ilara continued to gape as the old sorcerer shuffled back to his cabin while I glowered.

“Angel?” Haxil cocked his head and studied Ilara’s wings again.

“Yeah, angel,” the Fire Wolf called over his shoulder as he followed his friend to the door. “The only beings who have purple eyes like that and feathery wings that white are angels.” He raised his eyebrows. “Did you not know?”

All of us shook our heads.

I had limited understanding of angels, similar to my knowledge of demons, not because I was disinterested, but because neither divine being was something we ever saw on the Solis continent. Demons that came to our realm seemed to favor the Nolus continent, probably due to the warmer climate, and I’d never heard of angels in the fae lands, at least, not in recent history.

“I’ve never seen an angel,” I finally conceded.

“Most haven’t,” the Fire Wolf replied at the door’s threshold. “You Solis fae are truly enigmas, but let’s get on with this. By the time we get back to your realm, with how much time we’re wasting, a full week will have passed. You do know about the time difference between our universes, right?”

My nostrils flared. “We’re not entirely ignorant.”

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