Page 109 of Facade

“Evanee…”

My neck craned to look up at him.

If this was my last time seeing him, I would show him what he meant to me. My hands fisted in his black shirt as I pushed onto my tiptoes and pulled him the rest of the way.

My breath left me as I brushed my lips against his. Soft, full, delicious.

He stood stock still.

Every fiber of my being ignited as I pulled back, my breathing ragged as I began to back-peddle—fearing I’d mistaken his feelings for me.

He reached out and caressed my cheek as he'd before, then grabbed the back of my neck, pulling me to him, his lips claiming mine.

His tongue pried my lips apart, and my fingers threaded through his white, silky hair. The intoxicating scent of cedar and leather, his scent, made a moan scrape from my throat. A sound of pleasure escaped him, too, his grip tightening a second before he pulled back.

“I want to show you something,” he breathed. Unable to form words, I nodded, willing to follow him anywhere. This one last time.

As he held my hand and led me toward the mountains—that’s when I realized that my love for him blazed hotter than the sun. If tonight was my last night in this realm, I wanted one last night that was mine. I loved him enough that I couldn’t ask him to come with me. I couldn’t put him in that kind of danger. So I buried the feelings deep down to live in this one last moment with him.

Ryker led me all the way to the top of the smaller mountain, overlooking the celebrations and the bonfires. Watching our people fly in the distance, far enough away that they couldn’t see us.

“This is where I like to spend my time. It brings me peace when the darkness rears its head in me. I’ve wanted to share it with you, but I knew…” he trailed off, brows creasing.

Silence stretched.

“Ryker… tomorrow. I can’t—” Tears welled in my eyes.

“I won’t let him touch you. I won’t ever let anything happen to you,” he growled. Fire licked through my veins, but a sad coldness dampened the effect.

I wanted to tell him I was running—but couldn’t risk him trying to stop me.

Or worse, following me.

The corners of his mouth lifted as he faced me. A relaxed side of him that he rarely showed to others. It made him look younger. Happier. I forced my mouth upwards in response, fighting the guilt his smile stirred in me over leaving him.

It became difficult to breathe as he cupped my cheek, guiding me back to him. Within seconds, we were ravenous.

Heat flooded my veins as I relived every moment—as we shed each other’s clothes, taking in his impressive length, the gentleness in which he handled me, the brief moment of pain followed by insurmountable pleasure. I’d never been with a male before that night. And I wouldn’t have had it any other way. It felt so right to have Ryker as my first. Even though he didn’t tell me he loved me, I felt it in the way he made love to me, slow and gentle—as if I were both his beginning and end as he was mine. A connection snapped between us that I couldn’t explain—

My climax hit hard, and when it had, I unwittingly shifted.

Every one of my muscles locked tight.

My gaze met Ryker’s, and the moment I saw the shock and disbelief on his face, panic rushed in.

I pushed him off, stumbling away.

“Evanee—”

“I have to go!” I cried, not looking back at him as I snatched my leathers and took to the skies, my heart pounding at what I'd done. What I'd revealed.

With this new coloring, I blended into the night sky around me, managing to get away quickly, the clouds covering me until his voice grew distant.

No other Gargoyles were in the sky. Most of them seemed to be passed out drunk in the fields below. Though it was too quiet. Too still.

Something flashed in the moonlight, catching my eye below as I was about to dive down to our estate. Someone… No—two beings ran swiftly from the castle gates, down the path through the eerily quiet city, glancing back every so often. I tried to focus on their faces, but their hoods were drawn. I remember thinking I needed to get to my mother before sunrise, but something nagged at me about the hooded figures. The way they snuck out and kept looking back toward the castle. The way that eerie silence had settled over everything. Then they shifted, cloaks falling away, revealing two familiar dark-blue forms. One with black hair, the other blonde.

Aiden and his mother, Queen Ava.