“Nay.” Nazrin snatched Essa’s hand.
“What? Why?” She scowled at him, dropping her powers.
“I promised I’d train you and I will. No water manipulation unless I approve.”
Once again, he insisted on control. Had she switched one prison for another? Under her aunt’s care, she’d suffocated from the rules. Here, Nazrin squeezed the freedom from her lungs. “Why not? Clouds aren’t dangerous.”
He offered no explanation, merely shaking his head. “We’ll train soon. Trust me on this.”
Again, he asked for her trust. Had he earned it? Nazrin held more secrets than the truths he’d revealed. More secrets than I do? She grimaced.
“Are you ready? Remember, don’t close your eyes, Sirena. Not even for a second.” His voice rumbled against her, deep and penetrating. A promise of the world he offered, if she would but accept.
She nodded and he swooped, steep and fast. Essa screamed with delight while Nazrin chuckled, closed his wings, and sent them spiraling.
Just before they struck the ground, he opened his wings and they leveled out, rising once more. Then he flapped hard upward and sent them flipping in endless circles. They stopped spinning for a moment, gliding instead.
Essa squirmed in his embrace and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder, scarcely able to breathe. Even if the wind hadn’t been blowing so fiercely, the heady rush of Nazrin’s performance would have made breath impossible.
He brought them to a halt, beating his wings just enough to keep them hovering. Essa tilted her face to Nazrin’s. His eyes shone with exhilaration, the copper flecks in those dark depths gleaming, the way they always seemed to when he was flying. She experienced the same elation when she swam. He loves flying.
They floated below the clouds now, the sky wrapping around them, a brilliant blue.
Not nearly as dazzling as him. She rested her hands against his chest, his heartbeat enticing her. Though Apollo’s rays beat down, warming her skin and reminding her of his ever-watchful eye, she didn’t care.
“Not afraid anymore?” Nazrin murmured, his voice husky, a deeply wicked smirk on his firm, sensuous lips.
Essa jerked. The memory of the two hawks flashed in her mind. Surely, he didn’t consider this their courtship? They hadn’t declared intentions, had they?
“No, but I’m not a hawk either.” She narrowed her eyes, demanding his confession. Sure, he’d pleasured her and courted her as a hawk, but when would he do so as a man?
He swept a strand of her hair behind her ear, causing her to shiver at the tender contact. “Nay, that you are not.”
***
Nazrin’s hands trembled as he clutched Essa and swooped. That was too damn close. He’d almost confessed everything. She wouldn’t understand. Not yet.
“What are those?” She tensed, pointing toward the fields below.
“The firedrake’s handiwork. It scorched swirling patterns into the earth. We don’t know why.” The humans had plowed through some, but a few remained.
“I can read them.” She inhaled sharply.
“What, you can?” He jerked his chin. “What do they say?”
The muscles in her throat tightened. “Save me.”
Suppressing a shudder, he glided to land. He’d discuss this revelation with the other residents of Halcyon later.
A tall, red-haired nymph sauntered toward them. “Nazrin.” She crossed her arms and scrunched her nose as she assessed Essa. “I see you’ve brought her.” Makenna’s voice was full of hostility, her eyes an icy blue.
He slammed his talons into his palms and resisted the urge to step in front of Essa. “Hello, MaKenna,” he grunted the greeting. After he’d discovered his mate, he’d refused to bed the nymph again. She hadn’t taken kindly to his rejection.
Huffing, she spun on her heel and called, “Follow me.”
In the unforgiving light of day, the village appeared worse than when the fires raged. A desert stretched before them. The soil no longer rich and dark, but a light tawny brown. Nazrin forced his wings to remain closed, to not open and shelter Essa from the sight.
Suddenly, she gasped for air beside him, her strangled wheezing like a fish thrown out of water. He grabbed her about the waist and held her still, forcing his mind into hers.
Breathe, Essa. Shh.
Her eyes opened and closed, blinking furiously as though she attempted to view a different vision when she opened them. He cradled her face in his hands, angling her chin to focus on him. “Do you wish for me to take you back?”
She squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her lips together, shaking her head.
“We have work to do.” MaKenna’s stern tone forced them apart.
“The water people are working in the field.” She pointed at a group of Water Borne fetching water from the well and spraying the newly planted seedlings.
He frowned. That wouldn’t do. She had to rest her powers. He spotted another group, nymphs planting seedlings, and pointed in their direction. “She’ll work with them.”
***
A nymph greeted Essa and directed her to a row. She demonstrated how to dig a hole, place the seedling inside, and pack the soil around it. Then she left Essa to complete the row. Simple, but good, honest work.
The sun beat hotter against her with each minute that passed. She scooted a few inches, dug another hole, placed a seedling inside, and surrounded it with soil. Pausing, she wiped the perspiration off her brow with her sleeve.
Because it was already late in the season, they had to plant seeds which had already sprouted. Where had they come from? Perhaps from Melita.
Panting, she studied the field. A brown leaf flew past her feet. She plucked it and the leaf crumpled in her hand. “Forgive me,” she whispered as a breeze caught the pieces and carried them away. She tracked the fragments to where she’d formed the wave. A muddy field in the middle of this desert she’d created.
Sweet gods. She shook her head, shame and guilt washing through her.
Resuming her task, she planted with renewed vigor. Hours passed, blending into each other. Resting for another moment, she observed the other workers and spotted Nazrin. The men plowed the field by hand, a tedious task. His muscles strained with the effort, sweat beading and streaming down his strong, hard body, his bronzed flesh glistening. He was magnificent, like the marble statues in Apollo’s temple, but carved from living flesh. She dug her fingers into the dirt and imagined the velvet caress greeting them was Nazrin’s skin. She craved so badly to touch him, to wipe the salty droplets off his brow and savor him.
“Water?” a haughty voice inquired behind her.
Essa blinked out of her daydream, rose, and wiped the dirt from her dress. “No, thank you. She wrinkled her nose at the notion of drinking fresh water.
The nymph Nazrin called MaKenna assessed her, distaste evident in her scowl. “Stay away from Nazrin,” she sneered. “He’s mine.”
***
By the end of the workday, grime and dust covered Essa. She was parched, as devoid of moisture as the earth around her. Fish weren’t made for this, to spend hours in the hot sun and dry earth.
Why had Nazrin never mentioned MaKenna? She pressed her fingers to her lips and sighed. Did the female have some claim on him?
Glancing down, she grimaced at her unkempt state. She had to clean up. The other sea maidens would go mad if they caught sight of the dirt caked underneath her fingernails. A shame they weren’t around. She’d love to glimpse the expressions of horror on their faces.
Essa wandered north, following a dirt path to the river. As she approached, deep chiming laughter and splashing water greeted her ears. A patch of blue shone through the leaves of the trees. She lowered the branch in front of her.
Garments lay scattered about on the rough stone beach—breeches and shirts strewn in haste as their owners had vaulted for the water. Some stood waist-deep in the river, sloshing water on themselves, while others swam.
And all of them were nude. Essa’s hand flew to her mouth to muffle her gasp. She snapped back the branch. Even so, she viewed the men, her perusal drawn to one in particular. Nazrin. She ought to turn away, but she stood frozen. One little peek couldn’t hurt, could it?
He waded into the stream, his wingless back to her. As the water flowed about his knees, he bent and splashed himself. The coruscating beads trickled down his back. Each droplet meandered with infinite leisure across his bare flesh, savoring him as much as she did with her gaze.
Lust pounded in her core. She slammed her thighs shut against the thirst of her desire, but her pulse thrummed in time with her deep, breathy pants. He was perfect. Glimmering in the glow of the sunset, the rippling muscles of his back extended to smooth, firm buttocks. She wrung her hands to ease the ache of not touching him. Her appreciation drifted lower, to feast on powerful thighs and thick, sculpted calves. He wended deeper, pausing and scooping more water. With those massive hands cupping that most fortunate water, he doused his hair. She gripped the tree beside her, digging her nails into its bark. Her tongue slid along her lips, in envy of the water cascading down his flawless body.
She watched him with the hunger of one who’d never tasted food upon her lips. She watched him with the thirst of one who’d never drunk.
She watched him until a man behind her cleared his throat.
Essa jolted. Heat scorched her cheeks, which she buried in her hands, unable to meet the man’s stare. Then she bolted from the river, away from the temptation of the male she yearned to claim.