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“Get up,” Shelby said.
“You’re not even going to lend a helping hand—” She pushed herself from the fallen dirt, dusting her pants off, and turned.
Her brain registered that it was Shelby looking back at her. His tall lean body, that familiar face, it was allhim. Arching black feathered wings framed his body, draping all the way out at his sides to where the ends threatened to brush against the grass. There was a soft golden glow to his skin. The burning flames inside of Ace were mirrored in the cut of orange as he watched her body go still.
He has wings. Oh, gods! He has fucking wings.
She opened her mouth to respond but no words came out.
Whether it was excitement or panic or something else, she couldn’t be certain but Shelby took a step forward as if he could see the emotion flitter through her gaze. “It’s not a big deal.”
The warlock behind her snorted.
Not a big deal? NOT A BIG DEAL? Falling down and scraping your knee isn’t a big deal. Growing your hair out isn’t a big deal. Sprouting wings from your back… That’s a ginormous deal!
The words were stuck in her throat, a smile spreading across her cheeks, and a shaky hand lifted to point at them.
“This is a-mazing!” she squeaked.
“Don’t make this into something more than it is.” His shoulders shifted and a ripple moved through his wings as well.
“This is HUGE. Oh my gods,you’rehuge. Look at them.” The toe of her boots snagged on the ground in her hurry to move toward him. She kept her hand outstretched wondering how the feathers would feel to the touch as she caught herself.
Shelby angled his body to avoid Ace’s touch. “Ace.”
“Shelby.”
“Stop.”
Ace was practically vibrating through her boots. No wonder the warlocks had lowered themselves into the dirt. Shelby looked nothing short of godly.
Digging her teeth into her lip, she tried to contain herself. Another squeaked escaped. “Did you know that you could do this? Does this mean that you can fly me places and we don’t have to walk anymore? My feet are already thanking you. Do they feel weird? Are the feathers soft? Why won’t you let me touch them?” Words were spilling from her lips, their company momentarily forgotten. “This is absolutely crazy!”
Shelby snatched Ace’s hands before she could touch the wings. “Ace.”
Finally, she pulled her attention back up to his face, craning her neck to hold his steady gaze. Rehan came to a stop at their side, his chest pillaged with huge panting breaths. Hair had fallen from his ponytail and dangled at his face, his hands propped on his knees to hold his torso up.
“Well, you can—” he sucked in air, “move a lot faster,” another ragged breath, “than me.”
“It’s because—” Ace started.
“There really is no need to state the obvious,” Shelby cut in.
“—he has wings!” she finished, eyes wide and adrenaline pumping through her veins.
Planting his arms on his hips, Rehan stood and evaluated him. “You get a sword, he gets…wings.” He nodded. “And I thought we were the closest beings to angels but maybe we aren’t and he is.”
“Are we just going to stand here and ogle at his wings or are we breaking down these wards?”
“Shut up,” Shelby barked at the warlock, still holding Ace’s hands.
“It’s truly marvelous,” Rehan said in awe of the wings and reached out to touch the feathers.
“Don’t touch me.”
“Oh.” Rehan blinked and pulled his hand away.
Turning his attention back to Ace, Shelby pulled her closer. His voice dropped to a low whisper shared between just them. “Are you okay?”
