Page 11 of Touched By Sin
I release a laugh. “You’re so cliche!”
He side-eyes me with a smirk. “Why’s that?”
“Well, think about it. Three bad boys abduct me in the woods late at night, and their fathers turn out to be these powerful men everyone fears.” I roll my eyes. “It’s cliche.”
Daemon’s low chuckle up ahead makes the hairs on my neck rise. “Your innocence is refreshing,” he says, his breath dancing in the wind.
Why is there a nip in the air here when it’s warm in Eden?
Ronan speaks up behind me, “Daemon’s father is one of the most powerful fallen angels here. It’s why Daemon’s wings are so big.”
“I know how wingspan works,” I snark, earning me another shove from Alaric.
“Shut that pretty mouth of yours, or I’ll put it to good use.”
The scary part is that my heart picks up speed at his threat. These boys make me feel alive in a way I didn’t know was possible. This exhilarating fear is the feeling I craved when I snuck out through the gates.
“You saidoneof the most powerful angels. Who else?”
Daemon plays with a fireball in his hand as we keep walking. It’s Ronan who speaks. “Daemon’s cousin Dmitriy. Their dads are both equally powerful.”
“Right,” I drawl, “just when I thought it couldn’t get any more cliche, we climb to new heights.”
The boys gather around me as we reach a break in the trees. “Why don’t you fly in Eden?” Alaric asks me, slowly unfolding his wings behind him.
I turn in a circle, watching their impressive wings block out the forest. “I-I don’t know. I’ve never flown.”
“You’ll soon learn,” Daemon promises, stepping up to me and sliding his arm around my waist. We shoot up into the sky, and I gasp with surprise. The treetops spread out beneath me like a green blanket in the darkness.
I circle my arms around Daemon’s neck and wrap my thighs around his waist, hanging on for dear life like a spider monkey with my nose buried in his neck. If I look down, I’ll scream. His chest vibrates with chuckles, and his powerful wings slice through the air with every shift as we soar through the sky.
“You can look down. I won’t let you fall.”
I shake my head, clinging on tighter. I’m never looking down. If I do, I’ll panic and lose my grip, despite his promise not to let me fall. The wind in my wings tickles, awakening something primal inside me, and the ache to spread them and have them carry me is overwhelming as they flutter open experimentally behind me.
“Have you never had the urge to fly?” Daemon asks. I like him like this: kind and curious. My response is a quick shake of my head against his neck. We don’t fly in Eden. What would have stopped me from flying over the wall if we did?
“How is she coping?” Ronan asks to my left, his voice laced with amusement.
“Better you than me if she pukes,” Alaric teases.
Daemon’s neck smells amazing, masculine and wild. If I could bottle his smell and give it a name, I would call it Bad Decisions. That’s what these fallen angels are—your mother’s worst nightmare. They’re the thief in the night that climbs in through your bedroom window to steal your innocence. What’s worse? You give it up freely.
I don’t know how long we fly before my feet finally touch solid ground. We’re not alone anymore, there are other young angels everywhere, dark and tall like my captors. In front of us is a tall stone building that reminds me of the castles from the fairytales back home. Four high towers and awnings. Stained glass windows and sharp-toothed gargoyles.
Eden is relatively small, while everything here is big. I’ve never seen so many students in my life before. Girls and boys watch me curiously. I shrug Daemon off and brush my hands down my dress, grateful to be covered. Everyone is naked back home, so being aware of my body and its nakedness beneath the thin layer of this dress is a strange sensation.
“Remember,” Daemon says, clasping the back of my neck, “you’re ours.”
A beautiful girl with long, raven hair saunters up to us, her hips swaying and her long hair moving in an imaginary breeze. Her eyes sweep down my body and her red-painted lips curl in disgust. “Who’s she?”
“Little angel, meet Dariana. She’s the resident bitch, so stay out of her way.”
The girl, Dariana, sneers at Ronan.
“Dari, the little angel is our new toy, so be nice to her. We found her walking the woods by herself last night.” Daemon sounds proud, his fangs gleaming in the moonlight when he flashes her a smile.
“She’s sobright.” Her nose scrunches up as she looks at me. “She shimmers.”
