Page 13 of Feathers of Ash and Hope

“Well, he doesn’t look very welcoming,” Calix comments, and I follow his gaze to the dark-haired skyrider. He wears a constant scowl, his golden eyes burning into the poor candidate in front of me like he has offended him. I swallow.

I grew up around gifted and well-trained men, but that one—despite his scowl—has to be the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen.

My eyes wander over him. He has dark hair, golden skin, and a hint of stubble on his cheeks. Long, dark lashes frame his piercing gaze. My mouth runs dry.

“Not one I would want to run into in the dark,” Calix muses, and I nod even though I disagree. I wouldn’t mind in the least.

When the dark-haired skyrider turns his head to look at the other one, I see the hint of a scar on the right side of his neck. This intrigues me because scars are rare.

Healing doesn’t leave any scars unless the wound is severe, and many healers are capable of erasing even those. So wearing a scar that obvious is unusual.

Maybe I’m just intrigued because I have so many scars of my own.

Yeah, that’s it.I laugh softly at myself, shaking my head.

“What?” Calix asks.

“Nothing,” I say, while my eyes are still on the skyrider. His markings cover the backside of his right hand to the fingertips, and I can’t help but wonder just how far it stretches across hisbody. While the blond skyrider is a little on the bulky side, this one is well-honed perfection.

Get a grip. Ogling handsome men should be the least of your worries right now.

My gaze flies to Calix to see if he caught me staring, but he seems to be in thought, looking up at the birds circling above us.

My eyes wander back to the handsome face with the golden eyes. I see the muscles in his jaw working and wonder what or who pissed him off. Maybe he’s simply a moody bastard, that would compensate for his looks.

It’s my turn to step up, and I can’t help but regret my decision to pose as a boy. I train my eyes on the one with the scroll. He fights a smile.

Is he the reason the other one looks so pissed off?

He looks at me expectantly, his pen poised.

Right, he waits for me to give him a name.

My eyes flit to his dark-haired companion, and I find his eyes trained on me now. That only increases the flutters in my stomach. I force my eyes back to the one with the scroll.

Originally, I planned to give Ben's name. Posing as him seemed logical, but now that I think of it, it’s a bad idea. That would catch Dar’s attention for sure.

I have to come up with something else. Now.

“Summer,”I blurt out my middle name. The one with the scroll lifts one eyebrow over gray eyes, clearly waiting for me to finish.

“Gray…Grayson Summer.”

That doesn't sound too bad.

I hold my breath. Have I been too obvious?

“Too nervous to remember your name?” the guy whose eyes inspired my new name asks, chuckling. I shrug.

“Nope, just intimidated,” I lie. Telling him that I was busy drooling over his friend seems a bit too honest, even for me.

“Have you two looked in a mirror lately?” I continue. “You guys are huge!” Gray Eyes is laughing now.

But the guard with the golden eyes is not even smiling. The way he watches me makes me feel exposed. Like he sees the missing pieces in my puzzle.

He can’t know I made that name up, right?

Gray Eyes writes down my new name. My eyes follow the short tunnel in front of me and go on to the other candidates milling around in the inner courtyard.

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