Page 71 of Dark Shadow of Guilt

When Dom returned them to the shore, Madeline slid down his leg.

The puzzled, winged assassin snarled, one side of his mouth sliding into a frown. It was an expression she’d seen often, probably the one that had earned him thegrumpytitle from his brethren.

Maddy remained silent, allowing Dom to think for a few moments. She patted her arms. They were tender. Removing her gloves and jacket, she looked at them. They were sunburned. She glanced at the sky. No sun. A thin layer of clouds. Even when there had been sun, she’d been wearing a coat.

That wasn’t her only problem. She hesitated to interrupt Dom while he considered the dilemma of the gateway. But scratching at the irritation, she finally said, “My back hurts. Take a look.”

“Huh?”

“My back.” She turned around, lifting her cropped tee, exposing her skin to the air.

After Dom stared at her sunburned flesh, he rubbed a hand down her spine.

She jerked away from his touch. “Stop. That hurts. Do I have a rash?” Madeline twisted to glance over her shoulder at Dom.

“No.” His green eye caught the sun which shone once more as the clouds retreated. His lips were a cruel, thin slash.

“You’re making me nervous. What’s wrong?”

“Is your mouth still sore?” He spun her toward him, his hands squeezing her arms where she was bright pink.

“Ouch.”

Dom relaxed his grip. “Let me see.” He motioned for her to open wide.

She did. First, a little. Then more.

“Fuck.” He turned from Madeline and began to pace, his boots kicking up sand.

Stomping toward her again, with thumb and index finger, he lifted her upper lip. He released it.

“Fuck what?” Maddy swallowed. Had she caught some horrible disease in Angor?

“You’ve got tiny fangs.”

Stunned, she stared at the Immortal. Once Dom’s words sank in, she shook her head. “Impossible.” She stuck a digit in her mouth to explore, snagging it on a sharp tooth. Popping the finger out, she sucked on it. Blood. “And my back?” Maddy wanted to know because head-in-sand was not her style.

“Wing nubs. Well, slightly larger than nubs. Growing.”

Madeline’s breath hitched. Then she embraced Dom, her cheek to his chest, mumbling against him, “Astronomy, Physics, Chemistry...”

Life wasn’t fair. Maddy knew that.Hell. Her childhood proved it. But really. Kidnapped. Tortured. Made a Sycophant. And now trapped in Angor, a goddam alien dimension. Somehow, all those occurrences were a tad beyond the life-isn’t-fair concept. Then fangs and wing nubs? She couldn’t even think about those.

Unwanted and useless tears flowed, soaking Dom’s shirt. She held on, seeking comfort despite the weirdness of the situation. She noticed his arms hung loosely at his sides. But give the man a prize. He hadn’t pushed her away.

Right now, she needed the comforting, supporting Dom. Instead, she got the grim warrior.

Sniffling in tears, she drew back, wiping her cheeks with a palm. The boo-hoo-hoos never solved a problem. And this one ranked as a biggie. “I don’t get it. What’s going on?”

Dom scrubbed a fist across his jaw. “No idea.”

“Have you heard of this happening before? A human getting wings and fangs?”

“No.”

The skin above Dom’s nose wrinkled, suggesting there was more. Madeline wasn’t certain she could handle more. Though she loved flying with Dom and suspected she was falling in love with the assassin, she did not want wings of her own. She wanted to go home, featherless and fangless. She wanted her life back, her dull, predictable, orderly human life. “I’m getting wings like yours.”

“Not exactly.” He distanced himself, pacing again.

---