Page 73 of Flame and Sparrow

Yet his felt very normal, and the rest of him did as well, all flesh and muscle and warmth wrapping around me. My pulse skipped a few beats every time he pressed closer. It had been a long few weeks without being close to another like this—that was the only explanation for the twinge of desire that stirred deep in my belly, and for the way my mouth had gone so very dry.

Or the only explanation I was willing to accept, anyway.

Once I seemed to have gotten the hand of shaping my material, he took a step back and watched me work for a minute, offering occasional bits of advice until I’d managed to recreate a glowing sphere similar to the one he’d created earlier.

“It should be ready for shaping,” he confirmed.

I nodded and, somewhat nervously, lifted the rod to my lips. It was heavy, and easier to hold steady while exhaling if I let him help, so I didn’t protest when his arm braced against mine once more.

“Gently now,” he instructed in a near-whisper, his mouth close enough to send warm air brushing against my ear.

It crossed my mind that my lips were pressing against the same metal that his had only minutes ago. Another spiral of something-I-refused-to-call-desire went through me. I shook it off and focused on exhaling.

The bubble I created didn’t seem as even as his had been, but he assured me it was good enough for a first attempt; he handed me the first shaping tool he’d used and offered to hold the expanded glass steady so I could focus on sculpting it.

“You have to be quick but precise,” he instructed, “the temperature and correct consistency won’t last long before you’ll have to put it back in the oven, which can make things trickier.”

I did my best to follow his examples and advice, but quickly realized that he’d made this art look far, far easier than it actually was, and my end result was nowhere near what I’d been picturing in my head.

“That’s…uninspiring,” I said as I finished. “I’d been going for a cat. It looks a bit more like a slug though, doesn’t it?”

His expression twisted in a way that I suspected was holding in laughter.

“Be honest,” I chided.

“…It’s a lovely slug, for what it’s worth.” His laughter escaped, the sound soft and hypnotizing, like a warm breeze brushing over my skin.

“Thank you for the lesson,” I said, blushing as I looked away. “But I think I prefer watching you do it.”

He finally managed to stop laughing and then went to work again, creating another figure. Though my cheeks still burned from my own embarrassing attempt, I was just as mesmerized by his movements as I’d been the last time.

When he finished this round, he presented me with another small, elegant animal—a sparrow. One with wings curled artfully around its body, its shape very similar to the one hanging around my neck—though its colors were much brighter, a swirling symphony of reds and oranges.

“It’s…beautiful.” It stung to admit that a god was capable of creating such beauty, but there was no other word for it.

“A good luck charm for whatever lies ahead,” he told me, “though it will need time to properly cool in the kiln before you can take it.”

“It would shatter if it cooled too quickly, I’d imagine.”

“Exactly.”

He showed me to the kiln. There were other golden horses here, along with the one he’d created earlier. When he caught me staring, awed once more, he plucked one from the herd and handed it to me for a closer look. It was still warm, but firm and clearly finished.

“The selakir?” I guessed.

“You’ve been learning, I see.”

“Valas told me about them.”

“Well, I suppose he occasionally says intelligent things after all.”

I was determined not to return even the slight smile that crossed his face—we had already gotten too close to one another tonight. I focused only on turning the smooth, horse-like figure over and around in my hands, studying it.

I was so focused on memorizing its elegant curves that I didn’t notice the blur of brown and white streaking toward me until it was almost too late.

I ducked while Dravyn reached out a hand and caught Moth by the scruff of his neck in mid-air, hardly flinching or taking his eyes from me as he did so.

I couldn’t help but be impressed by his reflexes.

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