Page 36 of Heir of the Autumn Queen

I open my eyes slowly to find Shadow flying ahead of us, her massive wings spread wide as she glides on the wind, tossing her head and whinnying happily. The sight of her in the sky makes my heart leap with joy, and I can’t help but smile.“Wow,” I say.“She's beautiful.”

“She is,” Finn agrees, but when I sneak a look at him, his eyes aren’t on Shadow. They’re studying me, scanning my face, as if he’s counting each sun-kissed freckle that occupies my nose and cheeks. I roll my eyes as he winks at me with a huge grin.

We fly for several minutes as I become acclimated to the feeling of the wind on my face and the several hundred feet of open space below us. A thought occurs to me, and I ask Finn.“Don’t you get tired?” I can’t imagine carrying me is easy.

He gives me a reproachful look before answering.“I’ve been flying since before I could even walk, so it’s second nature at this point. And considering how strong and muscular I am, carrying you is barely a workout.”

“Howdidyour ego become so inflated?” I ask, rolling my eyes.“Is it all the females who have crawled so desperately into your bed and worshiped your godlike form?”

Finn laughs heartily, throwing his head back as the sun kisses his handsome face.“Good to know you think my body is godlike.” My cheeks heat as a flush crawls up my neck, making him smile broader.“But no… I don’t exactly have time for all those, as you say, desperate females.”

“Oh?” I say, inexplicably relieved that he doesn’t have a partner back in the Northlands.

He shrugs.“My work keeps me busy.”

“Are you a virgin too, then?” The words slip out before I can stop them, and my cheeks turn an even brighter shade of red.

Finn chokes on a laugh, but sees my expression and quickly sobers up.“No, I’m not a virgin. You don’t live to be my age without that happening.”

I study him, my brows furrowing. I know that most non-mortals have longer life spans, and I remember how he talked about the Training Ring as if it was a very long time ago, which surprised me since he only looks to be in his second decade of life.“And how old are you, exactly?”

We continue flying, his wings gliding gracefully through the air as he carries us closer to our destination.“Two hundred and eleven.”

I gape at him, completely stunned by his confession; Sybil is the oldest person in Staghorn, and she’s ninety.“You barely look older than me,” I tell him, still reeling from the information that the male holding me is over two centuries old. Although, what he told me about his time at the Training Ring makes more sense now.

“Most aengels roam this earth for a thousand years, give or take a century.” His casual tone sends me into further shock.

If most aengels live to be a thousand years old, it would make sense that he looks to be in his twenties, but I’m still in disbelief.“I imagine it would be rather difficult for you to be a virgin then, after two centuries.” I force a laugh, even though the idea of Finn being with someone makes me feel inexplicably jealous.

Finn gives me a crooked smile.“When I was your age, all I wanted to do was go to the tavern and drink and whore around. And back then, females weren’t exactly clambering to join me in bed.”

I laugh again, more genuinely this time as I try to picture him as a gangly adolescent, probably with all the same confidence but none of the game.

“How old are you?” he asks me, banking slightly so we’re flying in a fractionally different direction.

“I just celebrated my twentieth birthday,” I tell him, feeling like a child in comparison.

“How was your Kindling?” His question catches me off guard.

“I’m mortal. Didn’t have one.” He furrows his brows and looks down at me, but doesn’t say anything.“What?”

He considers his words for a moment before answering.“You don’t smell mortal.”

“Excuse me?” My brows shoot up.

He shrugs.“You smell different from most mortal women. More… timeless.”

“Timeless?”

“Yes.”

“What does timeless smell like?”

He shrugs again.“I don’t know. But I would bet good money that you’re not one hundred percent mortal, if at all.”

I consider his words and think of my birth mother. She was a witch, but my godparents never mentioned if she had any immortal blood.“What else do I smell like?”

He considers my question before leaning in and speaking into my ear, his low voice making me shiver.“Like the sun. Warm and citrusy. And sweet, like honey.”

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