Vacationed? Was he fucking kidding me? “I was kidnapped.”

“And you were found, and then you spent several days mating with the golden-haired wolf in various positions, some of which were extremely impressive.”

Wait…what the fuck? “You were spying on me?”

“Keeping watch, on Lilith’s orders.”

“I doubt she asked you to watch me have sex.”

“A necessary evil.” His lip curled. “My orders are to keep you safe, and I can only do that if I am watching you.”

“Why? To make sure I don’t dehydrate during a lengthy shag? Or that I don’t accidentally impale myself on a cock? How does spying on my bedroom activities count?”

“Accidents can happen anywhere.”

I studied his face, looking for a tell-tale twitch, anything that told me he was joking, but nope, his expression was somber, his tone sincere. He was deathly serious.

I gave him a wary look. “I can take care of myself.”

“Obviously not. You allowed yourself to be abducted.”

“I didn’t allow anything.” Oh God. Why was I arguing with him? “From now on you do not spy on me, do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“Then, are we in agreement?”

“No. I don’t take orders from you.”

“Argh!”

“You’re Lilith’s Blade?” Dayna stepped closer, her gaze tracking over Keon as if he was some kind of marvel. “You’re a Nightling.”

Keon hissed at her, and Dayna took a couple of measured steps back, shooting me a warning glance. She was afraid of him, and rightfully so. This creature was a cold-blooded killer who answered to no one but Lilith.

And maybe I’d be afraid too if I thought he’d hurt me, but the fact that his mission was to protect me made me bold.

“You may take orders from Lilith, but you’re in my neck of the woods now, Blade, and you’ll follow my rules, or I’ll make sure I put myself in every conceivable dangerous situation just to make your life that little more difficult.”

His nose wrinkled in a snarl.

I held his gaze, not willing to back down. I was done living my life by other people’s rules. I was done being controlled, and my fucking private life was private!

Slowly, increment by increment, his shoulders dropped. “Very well, I won’t watch you fuck.”

Dayna made a choking sound.

“My bedroom is off-limits.”

His eyes narrowed to slits.

“Yes, Cora told me. What the fuck were you doing licking my bed?”

“My job,” he snarled. “I needed your scent to better track you. Trust me, it wasn’t pleasant, and this protection detail isn’t my usual modus operandi. I’m an assassin, not a babysitter.”

Ooo, was that a dig at Lilith?

He reached into his pocket and handed me a box. “This is for you. From the queen. She instructs you to wear it as no demon should be without wings of some kind.”

Did he just say wings? I took the box and flipped it open to find a bracelet inside. It was about half an inch thick and made of a black cloth-like material that glinted blue in the sun. I touched it lightly, marveling in the silken feel of it. Not cloth, this was a feather.

“Samael’s feather,” Keon confirmed. “Lilith had it woven specially. As you are of his blood, you will be able to use its power to fly, even though you don’t have wings of your own.” He said this last part as if it were my fault. “Lilith wishes you to be independent.”

In that moment, with this powerful trinket in my hand, the suspicious nature of this act of kindness didn’t matter. All that mattered was the rush of blood in my ears and the silken sensation of the bracelet beneath my fingertips. All that mattered was what this feather could do.

With this bracelet, I could fly.

Heart in my mouth, I slipped it on. A cool sensation spread across my skin, calming and secure, coating me. Bitter lemons on my tongue followed by the sweet flavor of ripe strawberries.

“Well?” Dayna stepped around Keon warily. “Try it.”

“What do I do?”

“Leap into the air with the intention to fly,” Keon said. “The feather gives you the ability, but you need to control it. You will need to believe.”

I stepped away from them both, breathing a little too fast with excitement, and then looked up at the sky.

I wanted to be up there. I wanted the freedom of slicing through the air, dipping, and rising. I bunched my thighs and then jumped, reaching for the sky. The cool sensation burst like a bloom in my chest, and then I was rocketing up toward the clouds. Euphoria was a beehive in my head, and my throat was too tight for a scream to squeeze past.

Don’t look down, don’t look down.

“Level out!” Keon called out from beside me.

Shit. I dipped, and then I was dropping.

“Pull up!”

Instead, I looked down at the ground rushing up to meet me.

“Pull up!” Keon’s words caught on the wind and were blown away.

“I can’t.”

The beat of wings eclipsed my panic, and then arms wrapped around my waist, and I was rising.

“Shit, shit, shit.”

“Believe,” Keon said. “You can fly. The power is inside you, and the feather is a conduit. Every demon has the ability to fly, either by transporting its body through the sky or willing its atoms from place to place.”

His grip was secure, and my thundering pulse calmed.

“The feather brings your ability to the surface. Samael is able to both fly and shift. You can do this.”

“Stop being so fucking nice. It’s freaking me out.”

“It’s my job to keep you alive. Flying will allow you to escape danger and make my role easier.”

Made sense.

“Now fly.” He let go of me.

I dropped like a stone.

My heart shot back into my throat, but like hell was I going to fuck up this opportunity. This was my ticket to fully-fledged autonomy. No more relying on the guys for lifts. No more waiting.

This was my birthright.

My body jerked, halting its downward progress, and then in true superman style, I shot my fist up into the air and flew up. I drew level with Keon and then tipped to a standing position. Feet pointing at the ground, one knee slightly bent, I hovered above Deadside. It looked so small beneath the thin cover of clouds.

Keon’s massive wings slapped at the air as if the atmosphere was an affront to him. “Good.” His lips curved in a wicked smile. “Now, see if you can keep up.”

He shot off like a bullet, and my blood surged at his challenge.

“Yeah, let’s see how far you get.” I shot off after him. The chase was on.

The delicious aroma of freshly baked scones filled Aunt Lara’s kitchen, and the sound of children’s laughter drifted in from the open doorway. I sat forward in my seat, hands cupped around my mug as I relayed my little flight challenge.

“And then I actually beat him.” I paused for breath in my story, and Aunt Lara smiled at me over the rim of her mug. “You should have seen his face. He was pissed. I mean, Lilith’s Blade was beaten in a race. Ha.”

I looked to Dayna for confirmation. “It’s true,” she said. “Fee’s lucky the queen’s Blade is charged to protect her because there was definitely murder in his eyes.”

Keon’s expression came to mind, the indignant horror followed by a look that should have been potent enough to kill me.

I shook my head, grinning. “Damn, that felt good.” I touched the bracelet. “I have no idea why Lilith decided to gift me this, but I can’t see a downside…yet.”

“Maybe there is none,” Aunt Lara said. “Maybe Lilith simply wants you to have the same freedoms as the other demons.”

Yeah, I didn’t believe that for one moment, but I wasn’t about to argue it with Aunt Lara. Today was about eating cake, drinking tea, and catching up.

“You have no idea how happy it makes me to see you this happy,” Aunt Lara said.

“I’m always happy.” But even as I said the words, I knew they weren’t strictly true. “Okay, so I’ve been struggling recently with…everything. But I feel it’s all finally come together, and yes, I know there are still problems that need resolving, big issues, but the stuff in here.” I tapped my chest. “That’s all resolved, and it’s like this huge storm that was raging inside my heart has cleared. I feel stronger.”

“Love can do that to you,” Aunt Lara said. “And I feel at peace leaving you, knowing that you’ve found a new family, that you’re surrounded by people who love you.”

My scalp prickled. “Leaving me?”

She set her mug down with a soft sigh. “My ascension date is here. I’ll be leaving on the twenty-seventh.”

I turned to Dayna. “Did you know about this?”

Dayna nodded. “Lara wanted to tell you herself.”

The twenty-seventh… “But that’s next week?” The happy syrupy feeling melted away. “I’m not ready.” I sounded like a lost child, but I couldn’t help it. “I want more time. “

Aunt Lara’s smile was filled with warmth and understanding. “We’ve already had more time than we should have had, sweetheart, and I’m ready.”

I was being selfish, but I couldn’t quell the anger that erupted inside me, anger at myself for neglecting to be here. For taking it for granted that she’d be here whenever I deigned to stop in.

“I should have been here more. I should have made time.”

“Fee,” Dayna put her hand over mine. “You’ve been here as much as possible considering all the shit we’ve had to deal with.”

“I’m so proud of you,” Aunt Lara said. “And so grateful I got to see you blossom into this powerful woman.”

Urgh, my stupid tear ducts were desperate to take action. “You’re going to make me cry.”