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“Stupid bird.” I uttered softly.
For a second, it soared high above the trees. But its path changed quickly as it dove back down. Its wings stretched wide, gliding across the air current. If I took my eyes from it now, who knew what it would do. But I hoped,hopedit would continue flying on. That it was out for another reason. But it’s the gust of wind that picks up along the grass I see next. Rushing towards me, the large black bird at its center. A swirl of dead leaves, debris, and flower petals in its wake. I knew then what was about to happen.
Nona’s warnings rang in my ears.
I should run. My legs should be moving.
Instead, a cruel laugh echoes around me, bouncing off the trees, the ground, and the stone as it rings in my ears. A laugh malicious enough to send a shiver down your spine. I could not stop my instincts to shield my face, not as the debris rushed at me, swirling around the garden. As the wind slows, the leaves and dust settle to the ground. Apprehension and trepidation had a firm grip on my nerves. I certainly was not sure I wanted to look, but his laugh echoed again. I dropped my arm anyway and looked up- my senses adjusting to the change in the air, to the magic that lingered on my tongue. A man was standing there, one who certainly was not there before. One with pointed ears and a cruel smile on his lips.
“Hello, Serra.” he drawls.
The viciousness and malice in his voice set every part of me on edge. This is not where I wanted to be. This was not someone who you wanted to be in the presence of. I need to run. Oh, do I need to run. Everything, every voice, every sense, they were all screaming at me to run.
But I can’t.
I’m rooted here amongst the flowers of this garden as if I were a plant myself. One fleeting thought, a feeling that this was not the first time I have met him. This isn’t the only thing that screamed at me.
How does he know my name?
ChapterTwo
SERRA
This being, this man, had come out of nowhere. Appearing in a whirl of smoke, wind, and shadow. The darkness around him shimmering as he stood before me. The hairs along my arms and neck prickled as unease coursed through my veins. The grass and trees around me had gone quiet, as if they too could sense something was wrong.
What had I done?
At first glance I noticed that he was tall. Far taller than any of the gentlemen back in the village, with long silver blond hair, so pale it appeared white. He’d left it loose, allowing it to blow softly in the breeze. Several strands had blown across his face, drawing my attention to his eyes.
His eyes.
They were calculating.
Watching my every movement, I was sure he could see my breaths coming in short gasps as my heart pounded violently in my chest. The smell of fear rolling off me in waves. But something was different about them. Remarkably, each iris was a different color.
Curious.
One was of the lightest blue, so pale it was like ice. The other was a shade of green so brilliant it made my stomach flutter. His face was slim with high cheekbones, his strong jaw line was well defined and his nose so straight, it would make a god jealous. If they weren’t already. His lips were full, and his ears arched in a tapered point. Fae.
He was definitely Fae.
No mistakes.
He wore a velvet doublet of the darkest blue that you could mistake for black at first glance. The gold embroidery that ran along the front was so finely done that it would have taken an experienced seamstress weeks to do if not months. It ran from the hem to his collar in a set of vines and leaves.
A set of brilliant gold buttons accentuated the filigree design. His fitted trousers were the color of coal made of soft suede, which he had tucked into the top of dark knee-high boots. Polished to such a shine I could see my reflection in them. He was very well dressed for a man of his station. The thick black cloak around his shoulders moved with the breeze that surrounded him in his wake, before settling back down amongst the leaves, petals, and smoke- remnants of his arrival.
But it was his scent, the smell of citrus, smoke and evergreen that assaulted my nose. A smell I found comforting, familiar.
A smell my mind knew from once upon a time.
My brows furrowed in confusion before my mind finally caught on. My throat constricts, acutely aware of who he was. Still, like the fool I am, thoughtless, stubborn and mental I stammer hoarsely. “Who are you? Why have you come?”
His smile widens at my questions, the cruelness of his sneer making me cower. The sharp canines on display. I was sure he could sense my fear and foolishness. As if it drifted on the wind, his keen Fae sense of smell detecting it.
“You know who I am.”
His voice was like honey, thick and sensual- caressing every fiber in my body. Causing a thrill to run through me, up and down my spine. Making my toes curl in my worn brown leather boots. A shiver forces itself through me. Nauseated at myself for my response to him and his presence.
