Page 13 of Dawn to Dusk
“Like what?”
An almost imperceptible ripple waved across my wards. “Something’s attacking the perimeter.”
I created a flame cloud and jumped up on it taking off for the south side where my magic was being invaded, following the waves disrupting the golden dome.
I landed outside of the southern ward and encompassed myself in flames. Pylo stood there with his vines whipping my wards, trying to break through my defenses.
“Esmerey.” He sneered at me. “You traitorous bitch.”
The sun beamed down on me, fueling my flames. My clothes burned away within seconds and scorched the earth below me. “What do you want?”
“You know what I want.”
I hummed my understanding. I did know. “I gave you one son. I’ll give you no more.”
Rage twisted his face into an ugly distortion that showed reality more than his typical handsome facade. “You still belong to me.”
“If I’m truly yours, you should have no issues taking me then.” I poked at an already sore spot. He despised that he couldn’t control me anymore.
With a snap of my fingers, I burned his vines right out of existence. He moved his hands to create more, but I could see him struggling. Like he was playing tug-o-war with the earth’s magic; Balthazar.
Said beast jumped out of the earth with a snarl that rattled my bones. His fur was various shades of green and brown so he could hide in a forest and rip you apart before you even sensed him there. The grass radiated a purer green in his presence, and flowers bloomed around him. Beautiful and so deadly.
Pylo continued to fail at gathering any significant magic and jumped into the earth with a frustrated huff.
“He’s going to escape through the roots.” I warned Balthazar, who immediately jumped into the soil after Pylo. Though both men disappeared from my sight, I knew the chase simply moved underground.
Various howls and growls filled the air. Beasts from every time and place imaginable lived together here for one cause. Pylo would be hard-pressed to escape them all if he came above ground. He better hope he could outrun Balthazar.
My flames went out, leaving me naked to the comfortable breeze. I jumped, startled to find a beast standing nearby watching with a curious expression.
“Your magic is beautiful.” He told me with a cute, dimpled smile. He looked young, but I knew better than to fall for that; most supernatural creatures didn’t age. I didn’t look much older than twenty myself. He had this boyish look about him; thick plump lips, full cheeks, and… rainbow eyes. They were gorgeous.
I took a few steps forward to study them better, and he pushed his shoulder-length bright pink hair back out of his face, as if to help me. He probably recently shifted to human form since he was as naked as I was. He stood tall at a solid six feet. His arms and legs were thick and strong, but his waist was narrow. His body shape intrigued me.
“Thank you.” I smiled at him awkwardly and backed away out of his personal space, trying like hell to make it look like I wasn’t treating him like a specimen.
The paranormal world had a lot of unspoken rules that needed to be abided by, but mages and beasts agreed on a few things. One thing we all agreed on was nudity etiquette. Nudity was a common occurrence in both worlds. No one was shy or ashamed. From childhood, we were taught to be respectful. So no matter how attractive and intriguing this man was, I kept my eyes away from my favorite part of a man’s anatomy. At least I kept enough self-control to accomplish that.
“You are quite a radiant woman with or without the sun’s fire.”
“To what do I owe the compliments?” Or him speaking to me in general.
“I’ve been meaning to compliment you for a while. But you are a hard lady to catch, otherwise I would have given them to you sooner.” He beamed a playful smile.
I blushed. “Thank you.”
“You are more than welcome.”
As he went to say something else, a snarl sounded behind me. I turned to find Edur shifting into his human form. “Ziam, they need your support magic out there.”
“Ah, yes.” Then the happy man shifted into a unicorn of all things. His fur matched his hair, but a shimmer rolled over his fur making him bright green.
A squawk of surprise left me. “I thought unicorns were extinct!”
The unicorn somehow managed to smirk at me before running off. My mouth gaped open as I watched him leave. Each time his hoof touched the ground, a rainbow lit under him. I’d seen all manner of creatures, but some wonders never stopped surprising me. Some creatures delivered that shock factor. A majesty that hits you differently, and I hoped that never changed. I never wanted to discover all the world had to offer. Where was the fun in that?
A cool hand lifted my jaw to shut my mouth. Edur grinned at me. “Catching flies, Sunshine.”
