Page 32 of Dark Shadow of Guilt

She sighed. “...Has wings. You have wings.” She waved her hand through the air. “Right now, my mate has to carry me like a baby in his arms whenever we come to Vast or Angor. It’s humiliating.” She glanced at the OneCreator to see if she had his attention. He could be a bit distracted at times. So far, she had him in the palm of her hand.

“And this concerns me how?” he asked, shifting his position, slouching into his throne, one leg thrown over the arm.

Roark widened his stance, typical warrior position. Bored. Or possibly prepping to avoid bolts of lightning from his royal-Immortal-pain-in-the-ass boss.

“Now that I’m one of you guys...”

“You are not an Immortal.” The OneCreator shook his head, his expression saying “tsk, tsk, tsk.”

“Kinda-sorta.” Indigo flipped her hand from side to side. Should she be insulted not being lumped in with the big folks?Nah. She was comfortable being an Aeternal witch with a lifespan the OC had set to match Roark’s. Her business card said it all. She was the reader of the river, the incomparable finder of lost objects, witch extraordinaire, sister of Alarik, blah, blah, blah. She was an entrepreneur, proud of her accomplishments.

“Are not,” he quipped.

“Am so.”

“I can change access to my dimensions.” He drew his regal brows into a frown.

“Now you’re just being mean. Did you get up on the wrong side of the bed, Oney? Cause you seem a bit grumpy. I can come back another time if it would be better.” She hoped he didn’t take her up on the offer because she had finally puffed up the courage to ask the big guy for a favor. Something Roark said was always a bad idea. A favor meant you owed the OC, and indebtedness to an all-powerful being was dicey.

Both her mate and the OneCreator exchanged glances and shouted, “No.”

“Good. I was thinking I might be in line for some snazzy wings. Something colorful. A little magenta. A few blue feathers. A touch of lilac.”

The OneCreator stared at her, a slight spark in his eyes.

“I see you’re interested in the idea.” No harm in being positive.

“I’m not.”

“Does that mean I’ll get my very own fabulous wings?” Again, looking on the bright side, namely ignoring his words, might change his mind.

“It does not.”

“After all I do for you?”

“Can you give me a list? Because I cannot think of a single thing you have done for me.” The OneCreator’s eyes narrowed as if he were stumped.

“Sure. I figured out your damn puzzle when Roark broke that teeny-tiny rule of yours. I woke him up even though you’d planned to let him sleep for a millennium as punishment. As an aside, I know you didn’t really want him to nap that long. And I’m a breath of fresh air in your musty ol’ court.”

The OneCreator growled.

Hmm. He didn’t seem pleased. Time to backtrack. “Okay, the last thing may have been a tad snippy. Anyway, I deserve wings.”

“You don’t.”

The OneCreator waggled his pointer finger at a placard above his throne. According to Roark, it read, “I giveth. I taketh away.” Who knew? It was written in some dusty language nobody else understood. Her mate said the next line should read, “So don’t fuck with me.” Indigo, however, was undeterred even when he called attention to the memory aide.

“If not wings, I should be able to conjure Oskar while I’m in OneWorld,” she persevered.

“Who’s Oskar?” There went the big guy’s brows again. For an all-knowing, all-seeing dictator, he sure was dense at times. She was wise enough not to verbalize the observation.

“He’s my best bud,” she whispered, a hand cupping her mouth, hoping Roark didn’t hear. Jealousy was a bitch. Of course, with his super-duper Immortal senses, he probably had. “He’s a gryphon with an upgrade. Eagle, lion, and an added bit of neon dragon scales. Nifty, huh?”

“And how will he help you fly?”

“I’ll have a saddle and reins.”

“Ohngel?” Was the OneCreator consulting Roark? Going to the hubby as if the wifey needed permission? What was she? A throw-back character onHappy Days? Indigo shot her mate a squint-eyed glare.

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