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“Here.”
A soft whisper carried by the wind, caressing my skin like gentle fingertips.
I spun quickly, eyes brightening and lips stretching wide when I saw him sitting on a branch hidden by the shadows of the leaves. I didn’t know how long he’d been there, watching, listening, but warm delight filled me to see him, to have him close.
“How do you do that?” I asked, swimming closer when he hopped off and moved to the edge of the pool.
He dropped to his stomach, his hand dipping into the water and searching for one of mine. I clasped his wandering hand and laced our fingers together under the water, watching as they melded into one shape.
“Do what?” I sensed his eyes on me despite not looking at him.
“Conceal your presence,” I explained. “Sometimes I can’t sense you.”
He hummed, grasp tightening a little. “I can lower my body temperature significantly, and I can mask my scent. I’d be surprised if youdidsense my presence.”
“A true predator,” I whispered to myself, raising our joined hands and rotating them to see the veins branching under his skin.
Eon tugged at our hands, spinning them until his smiling lips landed on my pale knuckles. “It’s how I caught you, isn’t it?”
My skin warmed again. The water began to heat around me, and I huffed, sinking lower when he let out a deep, amused laugh.
Then I perked up, remembering his words from the night before. “You said you’d show me.”
He smiled wider, pressing another lingering kiss on my knuckles.
“You said Keleth was something you created. Does that mean you can summon creatures?”
“I can,” he confirmed, still smiling at me. There was a persistent buzz under my skin every time he smiled, because I did that. I made him smile.
I made him happy.
“Can you create something now?” I couldn’t contain my excitement, my energy just about radiating off of me in waves.
He nodded,stillsmiling. “What would you like to see?”
I hummed, glancing to the side as I concentrated. Deciding to go with something simple, I said, “Butterfly.”
His smile widened further. Eon raised his free hand, watching me as he bit his palm and closed it into a fist. When the first drop dripped onto the hard surface of the rock, he murmured, “Butterfly.”
Fire came out of his palm, igniting his splattered blood, and then a black butterfly with smoking wings rose out of the flame like a phoenix rising from its ashes.
I gasped, gawking as the captivating creature fluttered around my mate. I extended my free hand out, hoping to catch it, but Eon’s other palm hurriedly seized my wrist.
“It was recently made,” he said. “It’ll burn you if you touch it.”
I nodded. When he acknowledged that I wouldn’t move, he loosened his grip on my wrist but didn’t let go, eyes glancing around in search for the creature he just made. It was fluttering by his hair.
Eon’s left hand reached for it, and the butterfly rested on his fingers without hesitating, his wings swaying unsteadily until he had a good grip on Eon’s fingers. After a while of waiting and the butterfly wiggling his wings, Eon brought him closer to me. With my left hand, I gingerly offered my fingers, squealing when the creature latched on.
“Whoa…” I whispered, studying the dark wings and the smoke that continued rising from the butterfly’s large form. It was nearly the size of mypalm. “Eon, he’s so warm and—!”
I screamed when the butterfly flapped his wings close to my face after the smoke disappeared. Shaking the creature away, I rushed closer to my mate, holding his hand tightly. I wasn’t afraid, but this butterfly was born out of blood and fire; it wouldn’t behave like the butterflies in my old home.
Eon’s warm lips pressed to the left side of my head, his hand rising to stroke my right cheek, strangely close to my ear.
“So noisy,” he murmured against my skin, lips curved up.
I huffed, basking in his affectionate touches. “He surprised me.” Then I peered up at him with wide, hopeful eyes. “Can you make another one?”
