Chapter 3
Chapter three
ILIANA
The stone under her feet was cold.
A sage-scented wind brushed her face, sending loose strands of hair skimming across her skin.
Above, stars shone brilliantly in the endless sky.
City lights below looked like a second constellation.
As she walked, a flash of white held her attention: a feather blowing in the cool breeze and off the roof.
Everything was achingly normal. Beautiful. Real.
Sleep deprivation. It had to be. Dreams weren’t supposed to feel this real; this cold. If she could control it, she would’ve stopped her feet. But her body kept walking to the edge of the roof.
It’s a dream. It’s just a dream.
She climbed onto the ledge. The distant honking from the street below penetrated the fog in her mind. Someone spoke behind her. Instead of turning back, she stepped off the ledge.
Muscular arms caught her, dragging her back and away from the streets below.
She barely had time to breathe. Hands turned her to face her rescuer.
Even at five feet ten, she’d need to crane her neck to look up at him. Instead, she stared at the black shirt stretched over his chest. Her body simply wouldn’t obey.
She wanted to laugh when her rescuer snapped at her. Really? The hallucination that saved her life was scolding her for it. She tried to respond, but nothing happened. Her lips were still, limbs at her side. Panic rushed through her while she fought the paralysis.
What kind of hellish nightmare was this?
His gentle grip angled her chin up, letting her see his entire face.
The sight of him stole what little air she had left.
He was the kind of beautiful that didn’t exist. Angular features and striking golden-brown eyes under a creased brow, blond hair brushing his broad shoulders.
He belonged in fantasy, not on a rooftop in Tucson.
His eyes narrowed in concern, as if he cared about whatever was wrong with her. How could he understand what was happening to her when she didn’t?
Before she could process anything else, he lifted her into his arms as if she weighed nothing. Warmth rippled across her skin. The panic remained, but underneath it was unexpected relief.
Someone else was in control when she couldn’t be. Someone who didn’t want her to jump off a roof.
Massive white wings unfurled behind him.
She didn’t have time to question it. He crouched and jumped.
A scream lodged in her throat, trapped like everything else.
They were flying.
Once his grip proved steady, even as the wind pulled at them, her terror slowly ebbed. If it were a dream, she might as well enjoy it.
Wind moved against her bare legs. The pressure of powerful arms wrapped firmly around her promised safety. Above them, the night sky was dark and endless. For the first time in weeks—maybe even years—she felt light. She felt free. Suspended above the city she called home, she could finally breathe.
The steady rush of wind, the rhythmic beat of wings, and the sound of his heartbeat in her ear lulled her senses, her eyes becoming heavy before finally closing.
Maybe she didn’t want to wake up from this dream after all.