The feather landed softly in Xandros’s lap.

For a suspended moment, neither of them moved.

Rosaline’s gaze fixed helplessly on the pale strand resting against the dark fabric of his trousers, her breath catching somewhere in her throat. It should have been nothing...just a feather, just another reminder of the impossible transformation she had endured...but the instant it touched him, something inside her stirred.

It was subtle at first.

A pull.

A sharp, strange awareness blooming low in her chest.

Her entire body reacted before her mind could make sense of it. Her shoulders tensed, her fingers curled into the edge of the table, and behind her, the wings trembled as though they had minds of their own.

And then one of them moved.

Its edge drifted forward and brushed the bare skin of Xandros’s forearm.

The contact lasted only a second.

But it was enough.

Rosaline saw his reaction immediately.

His jaw locked.

A muscle in his throat shifted.

His fingers tightened around the arm of his chair before he consciously forced them to loosen again.

That was what truly undid her.

Not the touch.

Not the silence.

But the fact that he had felt it too.

Embarrassed beyond measure, Rosaline yanked her wings back so abruptly that the movement sent two silver spoons crashing from the breakfast tray.

The sound echoed far too loudly in the room.

Then came silence.

Not ordinary silence.

The thick, suffocating kind that settled between two people who were suddenly far too aware of each other.

Rosaline cleared her throat and reached for her tea in an effort to appear unaffected.

Her fingers missed the handle.

She tried again.

Managed it.

Then promptly lifted the cup upside down.

A single drop of tea rolled onto her hand.

Across from her, Xandros watched with shameless amusement.

"You seem distressed," he observed, his voice smooth and entirely too calm.

Rosaline set the cup down with exaggerated dignity.

"I am not distressed."

His eyebrow rose.

"Of course not."

That somehow made it worse.

Breakfast continued in awkward silence after that.

Rosaline focused aggressively on her food, determined not to look at him. She tore into a piece of bread with unnecessary intensity, fixed her attention on a bowl of fruit, and avoided every possible thought involving his bare chest...which was unfortunately impossible, considering it was directly across from her.

Xandros, infuriatingly, seemed entirely unbothered.

He ate the strawberry with maddening composure, as though her wing had not affected him at all.

As though she had not nearly launched herself out of her chair.

As though his pulse had not betrayed him too.

And because that irritated her, Rosaline slowly began to relax.

Without realizing it, her shoulders lowered.

Her breathing steadied.

Her humiliation softened into something manageable.

Then suddenly....

Warmth spread across her back.

She froze.

The sensation deepened.

A golden heat unfurled between her shoulder blades, not painful this time, but alive.

Rosaline gasped.

Her wings began to move.

Not outward.

Inward.

The feathers folded into themselves, dissolving into tiny ribbons of silver light. The glow wrapped around her like mist, curling once around her shoulders before vanishing completely.

Rosaline’s hands flew behind her.

Nothing.

No feathers.

No weight.

No wings.

She blinked.

Touched her back again.

Still nothing.

Her chair scraped violently across the floor as she shot to her feet.

"They’re gone!"

Her voice burst out bright and disbelieving.

"They’re gone!"

She laughed.

A full, startled laugh.

And before she could stop herself...before thought could intervene...she threw herself toward Xandros.

He had barely risen when she collided with him.

Her arms wrapped around his neck.

Her body pressed fully against his.

"I’m normal again!" she exclaimed, breathless with relief. "They’re gone!"

Xandros caught her automatically.

His hands landed firmly at her waist, steadying her.

And that was when Rosaline realized what she had done.

Her joy faltered.

Slowly, she looked down.

Her face was inches from his.

Her body was draped against his.

His hands remained on her waist.

And his eyes...

His eyes had darkened.

The laughter faded from her lips.

The air changed instantly.

Her pulse quickened.

Every point of contact between them became impossible to ignore.

His thumb shifted lightly against her waist.

A tiny movement.

It felt catastrophic.

"Rosaline," he said quietly.

Her name had never sounded like that before.

Not from him.

It was lower.

Rougher.

A warning disguised as tenderness.

She should have stepped back.

She didn’t.

Instead, her gaze drifted downward.

To his mouth.

That was enough.

Xandros lifted one hand to her face.

His fingers touched her jaw.

Tilted her chin upward.... caressing it.

"You should stop looking at me like that," he murmured.

Her voice came out softer than intended.

"Like what?"

"Like you want something."

She swallowed.

"And what if I do?"

Oh no.....that wasn’t suppose to come out at all.

The words surprised even her.

For one heartbeat, Xandros simply looked at her.

Then something in him shifted.

His hand slid into her damp hair grabbing the back of her head tenderly.

For one second.....his breath mixed with hers as he lowered his head slowly and then his lips landed on hers softly.

The kiss was slow at first and then Xandros increased the intensity when he used his tongue to part her lips.

It screamed on word.

Hunger.

Controlled only by the effort it took not to lose control entirely.

Rosaline made a startled sound against his mouth that quickly dissolved into surrender.

His lips moved over hers with restrained urgency, each second deeper than the last. Her fingers tightened against his shoulders as instinct overtook thought.

She opened up to him completely.

That only made him pull her closer.

Her body responded before she understood what it was doing.

The room disappeared.

The morning disappeared.

There was only warmth.

Only breath.

Only him.

Then...

A knock.

They broke apart so quickly it felt almost violent.

Rosaline stumbled back, chest rising and falling too quickly.

Xandros turned away first, dragging a hand through his hair.

Another knock sounded.

"My lady?" Lily’s voice floated through the door.

Rosaline immediately rushed toward it.

"I’ll get it." She told him while running towards it.

She opened the door just enough to slip through.

Lily stood there smiling.

Far too brightly.

The maid’s eyes scanned Rosaline’s face in one practiced sweep.

Her flushed cheeks.

Her swollen lips.

Her dazed expression.

Then Lily looked past her.

Straight at Xandros.

SHIRTLESS!!

And visibly angry....at her?... Probably.

Her smile became dangerous when she turned back to her lady.

"My lady," she said sweetly.

Rosaline narrowed her eyes.

"Yes?"

"Are you alright?"

"I’m perfectly fine."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Lily leaned in conspiratorially.

"Then why," she whispered, "do your lips look recently argued with?"

Rosaline nearly choked.

"Lily!"

"What?" Lily grinned shamelessly. "I’m only observing."

"Stop observing."

"Oh, I don’t think I will."

Rosaline grabbed her wrist.

"We are leaving."

"Excellent," Lily said cheerfully as she allowed herself to be dragged away. "Because I have many questions."

The moment they disappeared around the corridor, the scene shifted.

*******

Beyond the empire.

Beyond the valleys.

High in the mountains where snow clung eternally to black stone cliffs and the wind screamed like a living thing.

An ancient temple stood carved directly into the mountain itself.

Inside its shadowed halls, a woman sat cross-legged before a round object suspended in the air.

It looked like a mirror.

But its surface moved like water.

Silver.

Shimmering.

Alive.

Within it...

Rosaline’s face appeared.

The woman gasped.

Her thin fingers trembled with excitement.

"She’s awake."

Her lips split into a delighted smile.

"At last."

She turned sharply toward a frail servant girl lingering nearby.

"Go," she commanded. "Call the prince."

The girl fled instantly.

The woman turned back to the sphere, her shoulders trembling with barely contained anticipation.

"So many years," she whispered. "And now you awaken."

Footsteps echoed through the chamber.

Heavy.

Measured.

The prince entered.

He was breathtaking.

And deeply unsettling.

His black hair fell all the way to his waist, smooth as silk. His ears were longer than a human’s...elegant and unnatural...and his face held the kind of beauty that felt too perfect to trust.

His eyes gleamed gold.

Cold gold.

The woman bowed so low her forehead nearly touched the floor.

"My prince."

He approached the silver sphere.

Looked into it.

Saw Rosaline.

And smiled.

"You did well."

The woman practically glowed beneath the praise.

"The bloodline answered," she said eagerly. "The awakening has begun."

The prince clasped his hands behind his back and looked into the glowing image.

"Soon," he said softly, "the world will kneel."

Then....

the sphere flickered.

The woman frowned.

Its surface distorted.

The image wavered.

And then...

darkness.

The light went out completely.

The chamber plunged into shadow.

The woman screamed.

"No!"

She rushed toward it, striking the silver surface with both hands.

Nothing.

"It cannot be off!"

Her breathing became frantic.

"No, no, no..."

The prince’s calm expression hardened.

"What happened?"

"I don’t know!"

"You were watching."

"I was!"

"Then explain."

The woman fell to her knees.

"It vanished."

The prince stared at the dead sphere.

And for the first time...

his perfect composure cracked.

And that was never supposed to happen since she was awakened.

***************

Don’t forget to check out the characters.... thank you.