Shadowburn (2)

Chapter 29

Thorn stalked out of the house, unable to stand being inside for one more second. Not when he knew everything was going to change again--even though she'd said it wouldn't. He strode down the steps, toward the carefully tended gardens. He needed to get away, needed to be flying, needed to feel the air between his feathers.

But he'd barely had the thought, barely begun the shift, when he heard footsteps behind him and turned.

Caelei stood there, an armful of flowers sending bright spots of color over her dark purple dress. He raked a hand through his hair. "You don't want to be around me right now, little nymph," he growled, eyeing her from the corner of one eye.

She looked up, blinking as if she'd just noticed his presence. "I was here first, elf."

He stared at her for a moment, everything inside him screaming that he needed to get away. "So you were," he said, trying to keep his voice soft, to keep the fury and pain out of it.

Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Are you okay?"

He bared out a harsh laugh. "No."

Caelei frowned. "Want to talk about it?"

Thorn just shook his head. "It's not something you need to worry about." He looked at the sky, at the expanse beckoning him, calling him.

"All the same, you look like you need to talk to someone. And I'm available if you feel so inclined," she said, her voice soft.

Thorn looked back at her, curiosity flashing through him. "Why?"

She glanced away. "Because I know what it's like to be alone."

He stared at her for a long moment as the silence built and the birds sang and the breeze rustled through her dark hair and the petals in her arms.

Then he said, "Walk with me?"

She nodded, then moved toward him. Thorn fell into step beside her as they walked into the forest. "You like pansies?" He asked, nodding at the flowers in her arms.

She smiled. "I do. They always seem to be smiling. It's nice to think that despite all the darkness in the world, something is able to remain light and friendly."

Thorn looked at her for a long minute, studying her. Then he pointed at the flowers and said, "Pansy. Pansies. Flower. Flowers."

She stared at him like he'd grown a second head, and Thorn grinned, then pointed again and repeated the words in Eerean.

Understanding flashed in her eyes, and Thorn tapped her forehead. "Nymph. Girl. Woman. You," he said in Faerndesl, then repeated them in Eerean again.

She blushed faintly, and Thorn smiled, tracing his finger across her cheek. "Soft, beautiful, red," her blush intensified, making him grin, "desire, touch, breath, caress." His voice dipped lower as he said each word again in Eerean.

The crimson in her cheeks deepened even more, and Thorn stopped walking, tracing his finger lightly over her face. "Eyebrow," he said in Faerndesl, then repeated the word in the language she wanted to learn as he stroked his finger over one eyebrow. Then he lowered his finger, tracing the hollow of her eye softly as she very obviously fought a shiver. "Eyes," he said, softly, twice again. And he repeated the process over and over again, his finger tracing each of her features; her pert nose, sharp chin, delicate ears, high cheekbones, forehead, the line of her jaw. And then he brushed a thumb over her lips softly, his voice dropping even lower as he said, "Mouth. Lips. Kiss," in Eerean.

Her breathing turned ragged, eyes wide as she waited for the translation.

Thorn dipped his finger into her lips, sliding his thumb partially into her mouth as he leaned closer and whispered the words in Faerndesl, slowly, one at a time against her skin.