Chapter 2
Chapter Two
In her sleep, Ember didn’t see the same star streak across the sky again. She didn’t see it glimmering as it sped toward her house and flitted in through her open window, or she would’ve known that it wasn’t a star at all—for what star was small enough to fit in her hand?
She didn’t see the silver light falling across her walls, floor, and bed. And she didn’t hear the mischievous, tinkling giggle that echoed through her room.
The light moved closer to the human, hovering above her and casting its glow upon her. “What have we here?”
The human was quite pleasing to look upon.
The black roots of her hair faded into long silver strands that shimmered beneath Starling’s light, and her skin was pale and smooth.
Black, fanned lashes rested over her sharp cheekbones, and thick, dark brows arched above her closed eyes.
Her features were bold yet delicate. She could’ve seduced even an incubus with a sultry curl of her full lips.
Starling’s gaze roamed past the human’s face to her body, clad in a short white nightgown. The almost sheer material clung to every voluptuous curve, accentuating her generous breasts, soft belly, and flaring hips while leaving her long, thick, shapely legs bare.
The sprite grinned. “Ah, you are perfect for him.”
Because it was far more than this woman’s beauty calling to Starling. Magic dwelled within this mortal, powerful and brilliant, slumbering in her chest. Untapped but present. And that was all Starling needed.
She giggled again. “Finally. There will be an end to his moping.”
Whisking under the bed, the sprite darted about, trailing stardust upon the floor in her wake. Once the summoning circle was complete, she flitted back up and hovered over the human’s face.
“Oh, yes. You are perfect…but you have much work to do.” Starling leaned close and whispered in the human’s ear. “Summon him, witchling.”
As Starling spoke the words of the incantation, the woman repeated them in her sleep, her voice resonating through the room with an arcane thrum.
The summoning circle blazed with blue-white light, casting deep shadows on the ceiling overhead.