Page 12 of A Realm of Fire and Ash

A taloned hand grips my chin, bringing me close enough to see the malicious glee in the male's glittering eyes. A bare whisper of a smile touches his full, bowed lips, as though savoring the taste of my misery. "That he does, pet."

What I thought was pale skin isn't. It's more translucent, almost blue, with a luminescent sheen, so at odds with the flames licking at his body. His touch eases, though the fierceness of it remains. Runes dance and swirl across his cheeks, forehead, and chest. He's a peculiar creature, one that I haven't seen before.

Fae, I think, but his order? No clue.

Dark blue hair falls into his eyes, and he peers at me through a fringe of black lashes. He gives me a devilish grin, as if he knows something that I don't. He toys with my desperation, a cruel game for his own amusement.

"Where are you keeping him?" I glare.

If he died, then my feather revived him.So where the fuck is he?

"Oh, he isn't here, little gull." He rakes a talon across my bottom lip, and I recoil back.

"Stop calling me bird names," I growl. "And tell me where they're keeping him."

He throws his head back and laughs, a deep guttural chuckle that sends chills down my spine. Releasing me, he steps back, rising to his full height. As a female fae, I'm average height at six foot six inches. But this male? He's almost got an entire foot on me.

"It's time you and I deal, little grouse. I tell you where Wilder is, and I get something in return." He licks his lips, desire for something more than knowledge and power burning in his eyes.

"What do you want?" I narrow my tear-stained eyes. With him this close to me, the smoke seems to have dissipated some.

His gaze trails over me, from the top of my head to the tips of my toes before he grins and moves back to capture my stare. "Your loyalty. You will help me in whatever way I require, for as long as I require it."

"What? No. I owe nothing to no one."

"Very well." He turns, his giant wings caressing me as he turns away.

"Wait!" I shout. "Aren't we negotiating?"

He pauses his retreat, and a tail I hadn't noticed before flicks with intrigue. The male spins around, and I get a full view of his very naked body. Most of it, anyway. All the good parts hidden by the smoke.

Lean muscle cords ripple beneath pale blue skin and his wings stretch out, black and iridescent like a raven's feathers. When his gaze catches mine again, it has changed from devious to something more animalistic.

"Negotiate?" He watches me take him in and smiles, a slow, lazy smirk that spells trouble. "As soon as you stop ogling me, we may begin."

My cheeks burn, but I don't look away. Not this time. Looking directly into his eyes, I say, "Whatelsedo you want in return for telling me where they’re keeping Wilder?"

He assesses me again, his attention on my form like a caress. "Oh," he purrs, moving in quickly. "You have something I most desire indeed."

"What?"

His tail strikes out fast but slows its ascent as soon as it meets my skin, a careful, sensual brush. It sweeps up my hip before dipping down to my center.

I rear back, scuffing my palms on the rough stone beneath me. "Get that thing away from me."

It wraps its way around my bicep, yanking me closer. "Tell me, little sparrow, how old are you?"

I grunt as I try to escape his hold, but I don't answer him. Because honestly, I don't know. For a long time, I restarted counting with each rebirth. I'm way over a couple thousand years.

He eyes me, curiosity brewing in his gaze. "Interesting," he murmurs, his voice low. He leans closer and I feel the coolness of his skin in the tiny distance between us. How is he so cold down here? His nostrils flare, and he inhales. "How?"

"How what?"

"No one has bedded you?"

I recoil. "What?"

"You're intact. How?"

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