The Hidden (Shadowed Wings #1)(19)
“You can’t say things that are untrue,” Zeph tells me, and he runs his gaze over my face.
But I want to go home, I tell myself and then try to communicate that once more. Nothing comes out. What the fuck? “You’re a dick,” I blurt to Zeph, checking to make sure that my ability to speak hasn’t somehow been taken from me.
His dour features turn downright cantankerous, and he runs a wet hand through his black curls. “So what exactly are we supposed to do with her now?” he snarls and turns to Ryn. Ryn’s eyes widen in panic. “Don’t answer that,” Zeph commands quickly, and I stare back and forth between them for a minute.
“She’s not one of Lazza’s. She’s not Avowed. She should stay here where she’ll be safe until we can sort things out,” Ryn finally offers, and I can tell that’s the last thing that Zeph wants to hear.
I look around trying to think through any other alternative to being here with these mountain-sized assholes, but until I can figure out exactly what here means in relation to where I come from, my hands are tied. That thought sends a spark of heat flashing through me, and I roll my eyes at this new side of me that could put a nympho to shame. Zeph and Ryn are whisper arguing about something that I can’t make out, and I ignore it as I pull myself out of the water and reach for the fawn-colored shirt that Ryn had on under his armored vest.
I pull it on, glad to find that it falls past my ass to mid-thigh, and fight the sudden drive I feel to bring the fabric up to my nose and inhale it. “Fuck, I need to get laid,” I observe, and I pull my now white hair over one shoulder and ring it out into the water.
The whisper arguing suddenly stops, and I look down into the water to find both Ryn and Zeph staring at me. I can’t quite decipher the look they’re both wearing, but it’s not flattering, given what I just said.
“Don’t worry, that wasn’t an invitation.” I open my mouth to tell them I wouldn’t even touch their dicks with somebody else’s vagina, but I can’t get the words out. “How long before this shit wears off?” I ask and point to my mouth.
“A couple hours,” Ryn tells me, and the corner of his mouth turns up with amusement.
“You can wipe that smile off your face. I don’t fuck freaks who rub up on girls they kidnap, all the while pretending it’s to ensure they’re telling the truth.” I put finger quotes on the end of that statement and move away from the hot spring in the direction of the trees.
“We didn’t kidnap you,” Ryn shouts after me, and I hear them getting out of the warm water behind me. I want to turn around and watch the steam and water droplets caress their nice bodies, but I punch that thought in the boob and keep walking.
“Didn’t you though? Loa was very clear about my prisoner status,” I counter, wincing as I step on a sharp twig.
“Where are you going?” Zeph demands.
“Your cliff castle is this way.” I point in the direction I came from and then flip the bird over my shoulder.
I hear a snap, and I know it’s the snap of wings, but I ignore it. The sound ricochets through the air behind me, and before I know what’s happening, I’m snatched from the ground and carried up into the air. Zeph pumps his big black wings and forces us higher into the sky as I leave a surprised yelp on the ground where I was just walking. We clear the tops of the tall trees easily, and he pulls me tightly against him. Once the surprise abandons me, I embrace pissed off. I’ve had about enough manhandling from these douchebags to last me a lifetime.
“I can fucking fly on my own, asshole,” I yell at him as I try to ignore how much I like the wind whipping past my face and how good Zeph suddenly smells to me. He has that distinct lilac-on-a-warm-breeze smell that apparently all gryphons have, but there’s a deep musky undertone to him that I suddenly want to shove my face in.
“I’d say, judging by the fact that you smashed a stall in the market to smithereens instead of flying off to escape when you jumped out of the window, your skills are debatable,” Zeph chides, his lips entirely too close to my ear.
I bristle against the amusement I hear in his tone. “Well, if Ryn hadn’t been making things difficult, I would have been able to fly away,” I argue as I fight the urge to pinch the shit out of the forearm that he has wrapped around me. I’m pretty sure he gives me a condescending “mm-hmmm,” but the wind steals it away before I can be sure. “I could have walked back,” I inform him, and the pout in my tone annoys even me.
“You’d probably get taken out by a Thais Fairy, and they’re the least of the trouble you’d find in the forest at night,” he tells me, and I reflexively bring my legs up a little higher, like I’m worried something will reach up from the forest floor and make a grab for me. We’re flying well above the treetops, quite fast at that, but my imagination starts to run wild with exactly what might be down in the trees that would have these big scary looking gryphons flying high to avoid a run in.
A rumble of a laugh vibrates from Zeph’s chest into my back, and something about it makes me lose every ounce of sense in my head. Well, this worked before, let’s see if I can go two for two, I tell myself as I bring my knee forward and then kick back with everything I have. An oomph brushes the shell of my ear, and Zeph’s strong arms loosen around me as my foot connects with his dick. Instead of being terrified as I fall from Zeph’s grasp, a self-satisfied smile sneaks across my face. An angry roar fills the night, and if I wasn’t so focused on getting my wings to pop out, I’d turn around and flip Zeph and his anger off.