Page 16 of Touched By Sin
“But we need to wait a while until they’re in class. They’ll find you if we leave now.”
“Oh, okay.”
“What’s Eden like?” he asks curiously, and a smile finds its way to my lips.
“It’s warm, and the sun is always shining. The colors…. So many flowers and greenery, you wouldn’t believe.” It saddens me to think I might never feel the sun warm my cheeks unless I make my escape and find my way back home. Even if flowers grew here, you wouldn’t see their varying shades of color because of the perpetual night.
“I’ve never seen the sun,” the boy admits.
“You haven’t?”
“No. It’s always night in the underworld.”
Curious about him, I inch closer, scanning my inquisitive eyes over the wings visible behind his shoulders. They’re big, which makes me think he’s not just any boy. Big wings are a sign of power and ability. He’s studying my wings too, and I suddenly feel insecure about my white feathers.
“After the fall, our wings turned as black as night to symbolize the true nature of our souls. Yours is still in its purest form.”
I don’t know about that,I think, sinking down on a desk next to him. My three tormentors are on a mission to corrupt me, and they’ve done a fine job of it in the short time I’ve been here. Why else would my eyes linger on the muscles in his arms or the sharp line of his jaw when he turns his head to scan the darkness outside the window?
“Is it true that you don’t know how to fly?”
“I don’t.”
His eyes collide with mine, and he studies me for a long moment before he says, “Unfold your wings.”
“Excuse me?” I blush harder.
“You don’t have to.”
My wings slowly unfold until I feel them stretch to their full length behind me. The boy’s eyes widen with curiosity. He rises to his feet and circles me. “Are your parents of high standing?”
“I don’t know who my parents are.”
The boy stops in front of me and frowns. “How is that possible?”
My wings slowly come down behind me, and I shrug. “No one knows their parents in Eden. We’re born of the Light.”
His eyes bug out and he makes a weird sound deep in his throat, like a cough or a choked laugh. “The Light?”
It sounds so stupid—I’m aware of that. I duck my head to hide my blush. “Can we talk about something else, please?”
Sensing my discomfort, he doesn’t push me for answers. His shoes appear in my vision, and he tips my chin up with his fingers. “Don’t hide.”
“Why are you being nice to me?”
His smile is soft, teasing. “Don’t you want me to be?”
“Things are different here. The people are… different.”
He nods as if that makes sense while I peer up at him from beneath my dark lashes.
“What’s your name?”
Just then, the door flies open.
ChapterFour
DAEMON
