Chapter Sixteen #2
I was a terrible cook—between being a noble’s son and a ranking leader on the warfront, my time had been spent doing other things than cooking. But I did make tea and toasted bread, then heated up some leftover stew from earlier.
Rather absurdly proud of myself, I brought it back upstairs as Eve woke.
Confusion showed across her face first. Then her eyes focused on me, and a slow, intimate smile spread across her face. “Hello.”
My chest nearly burst open with all the happiness and affection that billowed inside. “Here,” I said gruffly. I set the tray on the nightstand beside my bed. “Eat. You must be hungry.”
Her eyes sparkled and she sat up, letting the blanket fall around her waist. Her breasts drew my attention, succulent and full and everything a seraph could ever hope for. Her nipples pebbled, and I remembered the room was probably too cold for a human. Pity.
I bustled around the chamber, found another blanket, and wrapped both of them around her shoulders as she took a bite of toast. Her necklace dangled between her breasts.
Something in my chest shifted and locked into place as I watched and cared for her.
I rubbed my chest. I had grown so used to it throbbing and aching, this strange sensation of flickers and sparks radiating outward, as if following the path of my bloodstream, was both a relief and a mystery.
It was similar to…no, that wasn’t possible. She was a human. I banished the thought from my mind.
“Thank you,” she said shyly, licking a dab of jam from her upper lip. I wished I’d sat closer so I could lick it off myself.
“For the food?” My eyes flicked to the rapidly emptying plate. “You’re welcome.”
Her cheeks reddened. “Yes, and then, uh, earlier.” Her eyes glanced at the mussed sheets around her.
I grinned. “You’re welcome for that, too.”
“My friend back home won’t believe it when I tell her how wonderful sex can be.” She flashed a grin at me. “Or at least, sex with a seraph.”
I preened a little.
Then her face fell and she plucked at the blanket in her lap.
“What’s wrong?”
“I…I forgot. She married a few weeks ago, after I began here as a housekeeper. I received…a letter.” Her pauses sounded odd, though the emotion in her words was genuine. She glanced up and sadness reflected back at me.
“So she now knows how wonderful sex can be?” I teased.
But she didn’t smile. “I doubt it,” she sighed. “Her husband is known for his meanness. I never liked him, even as children.”
“I don’t understand. Why would she agree to marry him then? Has love blinded her to his faults?”
Eve sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose, glancing away from me. “She likely didn’t have a choice.”
I cocked my head. “Is she from a noble bloodline, then?”
Eve snorted. “No, we’re as common as a penny.
Both our families. Our church has a strict hierarchy, I suppose.
The reverend is Erlik’s voice and is considered a saint in waiting.
When we obey the reverend, we obey Erlik, our god of death and beyond, and thereby open ourselves to his love and to the love of his divine saints. ”
I snorted. “That sounds like an excellent system for an evil man to create and then abuse.”
She muttered something under her breath, low enough that even I couldn't make it out.
“That is how it would be in Aerie,” I amended. “Is it not the same here? Do you worship differently? Is the power that flows through this world only accessed through perfect obedience?”
“They told us magic doesn’t exist anymore.”
“Who is this reverend?” I demanded. “If his actions are causing you distress, I will confront him.” My wings flared behind me.
Her eyes widened and panic spread across her face. “No! Oh, lands, no, please don’t!” Her arms reached toward me, as if she could hold me in place, as if I was threatening to fly out the door right now.
I hadn’t expected Eve to agree wholeheartedly, but the vehemence surprised me.
I stared at her, wondering what was happening.
She hadn’t told me much about her life in this religious community, this, this cult.
Why had she told me so little, when they’d allowed her to leave and she was free from their grip?
Was she free?
Had she been lying to me?
I brushed the thought aside as soon as it entered my mind. This was Eve. She was all that was bright and pure in this strange, common world of humans. We had shared so much together. I trusted her.
“You must still tell me this man’s name,” I insisted. “So I know if I ever cross his path.”
Eve’s eyes flared with fear. “He’s not important. You shouldn’t ever meet him.” She paused. “His name…is Zorababel Grimshaw.”
Anger simmered inside me. “Why do you not want me to know this information?”
She blinked. “I–I don’t. I mean, it’s not a secret. Zorababel Grimshaw. Reverend of the church, just north of Lownden City. I left and came here. To you.” She smiled, and a happy light shone in her eyes.
I relented. I didn’t want to think of blustering human men when I had her still naked in my bed. My heart burned hot as a coal, but this time it spread warmth throughout my body instead of pain.
As if my ayim was reacting to her presence. As if… no, it couldn’t be.
To distract myself from too many thoughts, I surged forward and stood at the edge of my bed, pulling her into my arms.
“Eve,” I rumbled against her hair.
“Mmm?”
“Will you tell me about your necklace? Will you tell me why it’s so important?”
She stiffened in my arms, and my heart began to sink. She wouldn’t tell me. But then, oh then, she did.
“I found it a long time ago when I was having a bad day,” she said quietly. “This is silly, but keys represent freedom or deliverance. I kept it to remind me that one day I’d be free. When I found my happiness, I’d take it off and tuck it away.”
The little she told me of her background troubled me. “Eve, do you feel trapped?”
“Not when I’m in your arms,” she whispered, and her tone made it clear the topic was closed.
So I spread my wings around her, since she seemed to like it so much. It was a novelty—something I couldn’t do with another seraph. We could touch and tangle our wings, but embracing with them—I could only do that with a human. With Eve.
I hadn’t known I could be this happy.