Page 61 of In the Dark

He sent her a questioning look. “Are you sure?”

When she smiled it took his breath away. Morgan paused only for a moment before calling on his power. He shook his shoulders and wings appeared, with downy feathers caressing her skin. A shake of his head and his horns sprouted and rose to touch the heavens.

His face was not so different from the one she was used to seeing. Now, black hair fell in haphazard waves around a face that looked carved from stone. Handsome and captivating. Timeless eyes took her in and waited for judgment.

There was still the searing intelligence she knew and expected, the sympathy and concern. Now it seemed both familiar and odd in a different package. A devastating package.

His horns, solid and powerful, had her heart pounding with curiosity. She reached out and touched them. Stunned, Karsia continued to stare at those ebony points absorbing light around them.

Morgan turned his head. One of the few humans to see him in his natural state and he could not puzzle out her reaction. Was she disgusted with him? Intrigued? He waited in expectation of her conclusion, this one small woman so different from any he’d ever known before.

She motioned him back to her, dazzling smile in place, taking him by the shoulders. “I know you. What’s in here—” She touched his chest. “—is what matters to me. Morgan—”

“Morpheus.”

If possible, her smile grew larger. “Morpheus. The god of dreams. I should have known. I read somewhere that you are good at mimicking the human form. Much better than any of your siblings.”

“You’ve brushed up on your Greek mythology?”

She shrugged, staring at the downy joints where wings met skin. “It doesn’t pay to be ignorant.”

“Are…are you pleased?”

“Pleased?”

“With…you know.” Morgan gestured toward the rest of him. “This.”

“You’re delicious in any form you choose. But I know what’s on the inside, and you want to know a secret?” She leaned in close to whisper in his ear. “I would love you no matter what.”

The words took him aback and he turned to stare at her. “Who said anything about love?”

She shot him a look that said he should know better. “I’ve never been one for that stars aligning and angels singing stuff. Maybe once, when I was little, but the older you get you realize falling for someone isn’t like in the movies. Or what you read in a book.” She once more touched the soft feathers on the underside of his wings, smoothing them down in a row. “You learn to appreciate time for what it is, appreciate the people who come to you. Even when they leave just as quickly. I’ll tell you one thing—I know my own feelings, and I know when they are genuine. We may not have known each other long. The real you? He’s a god to love. A man to love. And for me, there’s no one else.”

Her sentiment struck a chord inside of him, like the reverberation of a harp. Love was something he’d never known before, never experienced during his entire time on the mortal plane.

He agreed with her in that he too didn’t believe in the fairy tale where two people met and fell in love then lived happily ever after. He’d seen too much of the dark side of love, where jealousy and anger and violence reigned and the sweetness of the emotion turned to dust.

Here, with her, he accepted his feelings. The subconscious was as genuine and intimate as anything on the conscious plane of existence. It meant just as much.

Knowing their time was limited, Morgan took the opportunity to re-weave the world around them. Above he painted a night sky of stars shining with the light of a thousand diamonds. Infinite possibilities awaited there, and they were alone under the vastness.

“Is this real?” she asked, resting her cheek against his chest. He wore loose robes now, reminiscent of a Greek chiton.

“It’s real,” he told her.

Karsia tugged at a golden thread lining the pleats of his robe. “Is this what they used to wear when you were growing up?”

“Something similar. Although the gods always fancied themselves better than the rest. Their outfits were made of the finest materials and worth more than anything you could imagine.”

“I think yours is very regal.”

Morgan chuckled low in his throat. “Thank you, my sweet. I appreciate the compliment.”

She snuggled against him again, then suddenly raised her head as if struck by an idea. “Let’s stay here, Morgan. Stay here and not go back.” She stared at him imploringly. “Please. If I go back it will be nothing but darkness, forever. Is it possible to stay here? Tell me.”

“I’m sorry, my dear. We can’t stay. But we can steal some time together before you wake again. Let me love you. Here. With only the two of us.” His deep voice rumbled and caused the ground to vibrate.

“Are you trying to get me naked?”

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