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But he’s already a small dot in the distance, dark wings flapping. Damn, he moves fast. I sigh and lean on my forearm, then shake my head.
What in the absolute hell have I gotten myself into? Flying men with tails and angels and sparks of life? I mean, I know I was up for some adventure, but next time, I might have to be a little more specific, huh, God?
I glance toward the heavens, close the window, and groan when I look down the steep staircase. Eleven flights of stairs, here we come.
Chapter Five
REMUS
My consort is perfect. It couldn’t be going better if I had planned it all myself. But I did, so naturally, of course it is. And they call my twin the tactician. Ha! That fool couldn’t have caught himself a consort in a thousand years. I did it in an afternoon.
The perfect consort. It’s a little difficult to focus on where I’m flying as I remember the feel of her lush curves in my arms with every little touch I stole. She did not pull away. Of course, she didn’t. I am the perfect male specimen, after all.
I feel a tug at the back of my head and clench my teeth.
Well, almost perfect.
If only there weren’t one Romulus-shaped flaw attached to my skull and annoyingly integrated into my brain, true perfection would be mine.
But just because it’s the only problem I’ve had in life that has yet to find a permanent solution doesn’t mean one can’t be found.
He locked me in a dungeon for two hundred years. It only seems fair that I’ve found a way to send him nighty-night for. . . well, as long as I can find a way to manage. And, after meeting the fair Lo-Ren, I’ve suddenly become even more mightily motivated.
As I near the city, I use runes to cloak myself. Unlike my dramatic entrance in the human town square earlier, I’m back to skulking about their world.
Unfortunately, they have some of the best toys and food. My stars, the food. Especially this city where I drop down now. Ah, Paris. Even under Napolean, in the midst of the blockades, the city of light never truly lost its shine.
I drop down to a familiar spot in the 5th arrondissement, where I have a large black trench coat and hood stashed. It’s painful and scrunches my wings, but ce la vie. I curl up my tail to hide it and try not to grin at passersby as I take to the streets. They seem to find me disconcerting if I let my full grin stretch. I’ve tried to be careful with Lo-Ren thus far, too, but my perfect little consort has been taking everything in stride.
I sigh happily as I allow the runes to fade when I’m amidst the crowded, busy streets. I hate to leave her at the castle alone for long, so I pop in quickly to La Tour d’Argent to pick up the food I ordered earlier. They always say to plan for success, so I ordered ahead. It turns out some of these new toys the humans have thought up during my long confinement—phones especially—have their uses.
Once I have the food, I’m in the air again and on my way back to my prize.
I’m eager to see her.
And to see how she did with my little test.
Yes, I am confident in my obvious perfection, apart from the little issue of my parasite, and she did volunteer as all Earth females ought to when presented with the opportunity to be consort to a god. Yet I have been acquainted with these foolish mortals enough to know that when they meet a Horseman of the Apocalypse, as they have so adoringly named us, they also have a tendency to flee. Or wet their pants in fright. It really varies on the day.
So, I thought I’d give my sweet pudding cup a little test. To hear Abaddon tell it, his Hannah-wife fled him the second he let her out of his sight. Not that she got very far.
My motivation has made my flight short, and soon, I’m opening the runes back to the castle and walking through the door to the dining room. The table my brothers and I made sits long and proud in the center of the room, already set for a dinner I don’t expect to be having any time soon.
I’ve been through enough skirmishes to expect when setting the test how it will go.
Needless to say, I am not surprised to see that my Lo-Ren is not seated obediently waiting for me. But perhaps I am a twinge disappointed, which does surprise me.
However, in the next moment, I’m grinning. Because there’s nothing I love more than a chase. Perhaps it was unkind not to warn her that there’s one rule of monsters: if you run, we chase. Then again, I intentionally showed her the moving mural upstairs.
I figured I might as well paint us first as angels rather than give away my true nature right off the bat.
But if chase I must. . . My grin stretches. I rub my hands together and feel my tail rise excitedly in the air behind me as I drop the large bag of food on the table.
Just then, the furthest door leading to the bathing room opens, and Lo-Ren steps out. “Oh!” Her features brighten. “You’re back already!”
I freeze and blink, trying to dampen my grin. She. . . didn’t run? Didn’t even try to escape? Even after seeing Romulus? My heart thumps a little oddly in my chest as she walks toward me, looking completely calm.
“What’d you get? Please tell me it’s not sushi.” She makes a face. “I would have told you if you’d given me half a second before taking off like that. I’ve tried to get into the whole raw fish thing but just can’t make myself like it.”
