Through the Fire (Daughter of Fire, #1)(37)

“This is how I see the world all the time,” he said. “Focus on me; that will ease your mind into the adjustments to your vision.”

I turned my gaze to Aiden, before snapping my eyes closed. In the brief second I’d seen him, wisps of light—varying shades of blue—spiraled around his already otherworldly face. A vibrant, royal blue that almost matched his eyes was the most dominant in the colorful swirls.

“Open your eyes slowly,” he said in a soft, patient tone. “Concentrate on my face, and not on my aura.”

Following his instructions, I opened my eyes and looked beyond the bright blue lights that seemed to pulsate around him. Focusing on his eyes, I was finally able to see the world without nausea overtaking me.

With my newly intensified sight, I could easily see there was nothing at all human about him, despite the fa?ade he’d shown since finding me in the alley. His beauty was infinitely more enhanced in the new world, his skin almost opalescent.

From his back, two huge wings extended out to either side in a color that was completely unlike anything I’d ever seen: translucent like glass but at the same time, an incredibly vivid blue. The shape of the unusual extremities was reminiscent of a butterfly, stretching away from his body in four uneven segments.

The top two sections were wide and broad, extending upward away from his body and ending at a peak that roughly lined up with the tips of his ears. The bottom portions were slender and appeared more delicate, beginning at a spot a little above his thin waist and tapering outward to end a little lower than his hips. Along each of the edges of his wings, the bright blue darkened to black before ending in tattered borders.

I raised my hand because part of me wanted to reach out and touch the unusual sight, but I wasn’t sure if he would be offended. Forcing my fingers into a fist, I pulled my arm back to my side.

“That’s . . . different,” I said quietly as I moved from side to side to assess his wings.

He laughed as he showed off by flexing his wings so that they opened and closed slowly. It was quite an exquisite display.

“Can I . . .?” I trailed off, embarrassed for even thinking the question, but dying to know what fairy wings were really like. Would they be cold and hard as glass, or soft and warm like velvet? “Can I touch them?”

He raised his scarred eyebrow at me. “That is quite an intimate request to make.”

I blushed with embarrassment. “Sorry.”

“Never mind. You should hardly be expected to know better. It is just not a question I get asked very often. Touching wings is almost as intimate as kissing. Not something you do with complete strangers.”

I grimaced regretting even asking the question. He didn’t appear overly concerned though, brushing it off with a shrug.

“Come away with me,” he said as he stood and offered me his hand. “I will show you a side of New York the likes of which I guarantee you have never before seen.”





CHAPTER THIRTEEN


WALKING DOWN the Manhattan streets with Aiden was the most surreal thing that had ever happened to me, even with the less than normal life I’d had so far. Outside of the deli, the world seemed almost normal. The aura that surrounded Aiden was absent from all of the humans that I passed, so I only saw it when I looked at Aiden or at my own body.

It would have been just a usual day on the road for me, if not for the six-foot-two-inch man with vivid-blue, almost translucent wings, by my side. Never mind the fact that, for once, I actually had a destination in mind, even if I didn’t yet know where it was.

Occasionally, I turned my head to watch him walk and gawked at his wings in awe of their beauty.

“You do know in most circles it is considered quite rude to stare,” he said as he caught me glancing at him sideways again.

“Sorry, it’s just that I’ve never seen anything like them. They’re beautiful.”

“It is also considered quite rude to describe the wings of a male fae as ‘beautiful.’”

I swallowed heavily, hoping I hadn’t insulted him too much with my compliment. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I’m not really used to . . .” I waved my hand in the direction of his wings. “You’re the first person I’ve met who, well, isn’t a person.”

“Don’t concern yourself, Lynnie.” He smiled at me. “You haven’t offended me. Not really anyway, but you might want to try some different words, like ‘striking’ or ‘magnificent’ when I take you to the court. Just to be sure that you make a decent first impression.”

“Court?” I asked, worried that I was inadvertently headed toward a terrible situation. The word conjured up images of lawyers, judges, and lots of shouting, all based on TV shows I’d seen in the past.

“It is my home; my sanctuary of sorts. You could call it a village, but we treat each other more like family.”

“Like a tribe?”

“In a manner of speaking, yes.”

“What is the rest of your family like? Should I be worried about meeting them?”

He shook his head. “No, we have an open door policy for all others who may be homeless or abandoned. We have never had a gorgon before though.”

I laughed at his latest guess. “Not even close, although you are on the right continent at least.”