Demonic

8 | HATCHING

GEORGIO'S VOICE WAS soft as he tapped his fingers on the table, "Cybele?" I snapped my book shut, gazing up into his blue eyes. His eyes resembled the shade of my own, and sometimes I thought our twin irises were how we understood one another so well.

"Yes?" I brushed my blonde hair off my shoulder, setting the book back onto the stack of others in front of me. The library was my favorite place in the entire fortress, the place I spent more time in than anywhere else. I was expected to know all I could being Parisa's daughter, well educated and knowledgable about a diverse collection of topics. Luckily I liked to learn, and spending my afternoons curled up with a book hardly ever bored me.

"Parisa wants you." Georgio sat in the chair beside me, drumming his fingers against the table. "It still amazes me to this day that she still has no idea where to find you."

"What did she request of me?" I asked. Georgio didn't answer as he gazed at the stack of books on the desk in front of me, running his fingers along their worn spines. They were mainly about Sylph history, narratives on The Origin of the Sylph Species and The Second War of the Winged along with a few outliers related to forest ecosystems or the laws of interplanetary trade. As an heir, I had to know as much as I could.

"She simply demanded your presence. You know I don't have clearance for such information." Georgio's words made me take a breath, and I nodded slowly, sliding my chair back. I didn't want to leave my books, but Parisa was waiting for me much to my disappointment. "Thank you, Georgio." I stood and patted his shoulder, earning one of his smiles.

"I will see you on the combat field this afternoon." He added as he stood to his feet. "Might I also ask how your Prince is this morning?"

I snorted, rolling my eyes. "Cheeky, aren't you? He isn't my Prince and I don't know what you're implying. How's Bella?"

"Whisper please." Georgio said, "you know that we have to be a secret. And she's divine as always. I also won't believe that a woman as smart as you hasn't caught on yet. Don't play dumb with me, Cybele. I know you too well."

"Prince Xavier is doing well. I enjoy his company."

"I'm sure that's not all you've been enjoying." He said, making me glare at him as he chuckled.

"Always charming as usual, Georgio. I'll see you later, you bastard, and you better not bring this up in training or I'll shoot you with an arrow."

I went towards the door to the library as Georgio exited out the opposite archway, the two of us smirking at one another before I stuck out my tongue at him. He blew out air as he flipped me off before proceeding into the hall.

Shaking my head, I couldn't help but smile to myself. That man always liked to get under my skin in the best ways, and his hinting at Xavier made my cheeks burn. The kiss on the rooftop had been followed by a handful more. 

Now that Parisa wanted me I wondered if maybe she'd discovered what I'd been desperately trying to hide, the kisses that had been exchanged and the offer to take me to see the universe that would no doubt give her a heart attack.

My worries grew the closer I came to her office, and my wings tickled the back of my legs with each step. I felt their cool touch on my shoulder blades, strong and covered in white feathers that seemed to be made of iron. 

When I walked, I felt like I carried a shield on my back, a sense of protection and confidence rising in me. When I was alone, I could love them this way, but the eyes in the ballroom peeled back the security of my feathers layer by layer like an onion.

The sensation of my tickling wings made an old memory play inside my head. Parisa had told me that my father had wings like my own, but she never knew what he was. All I knew was that my parents had died a long time ago, and that Parisa had adopted me since she was a close friend of my family.