A Strange Hymn
Page 21

Des’s eyes move to mine. It’s rare for him to wear his thoughts on his face, but right now he doesn’t bother keeping me out, and I get an acute glimpse of all that pain bottled up inside him. “I watched her die.”
My throat closes up.
I can’t begin to imagine. It’s one thing to witness your monster of a stepfather bleed out on your kitchen floor, another to watch someone you love die.
I circle around to the front of Des, and his arms come around my waist. He lifts the hem of my shirt to press a kiss against the soft skin of my stomach, his thumbs rubbing back and forth over my skin.
I run my hands through his hair, loosening the locks from the leather band holding them back.
This tragedy might’ve happened years and years ago, but right now it looks like it’s all playing out in my mate’s memory as though the events were fresh.
“What happened?” I ask softly.
I almost don’t ask at all. God knows there are so many memories that I hate sharing.
He looks up at me, his white hair loose. “My father happened.”
Chapter 13
My father happened.
If that’s not foreboding, I don’t know what is.
Des stands, his wings expanding behind him. He clears his throat. “Enough of this.” He takes my hand. “There’s one more place I want to take you before we return to Somnia.”
I’m still burning to ask Des about his parents, but it’s clear from his body language that he’s done sharing secrets for the night. Perhaps for many nights.
Reluctantly I take to the sky alongside him. I have no idea where he’s taking me, but when Arestys falls away beneath us, I realize that’ll be the extent of our visit. There will be no tour of the island’s remaining highlights, no further exploration of its topography, no more discussion about Des’s life here.
It’s that last one that I want to know about most. I keep gleaning pieces of Des’s past from various sources, but it has raised more questions than it has answered.
What I know: Des was born into the Night Kingdom’s royal harem but raised on Arestys. He moved to Barbos and joined a “brotherhood,” and at some point he became medaled soldier and a king. He watched his mother die, and he blames his father.
Oh, and during all this time he was building a career for himself on earth as the Bargainer.
What I don’t know: pretty much everything else.
The wind ruffles his hair and clothes as we fly. Out here in the middle of the night sky, he looks completely at ease. I can’t tell if it’s a carefully crafted mask, or if he really did leave his agony back on Arestys. I can, however, finally see that the enigmatic Bargainer has demons of his own.
This flight is quite a bit longer than the others, and by the time we descend, my body is exhausted.
The floating island we come upon seems to be made up of glowing pools and moonlit meadows. Scattered here and there are elaborate villas and a few temples, each some distance away from one another.
Off in the distance is a shimmering city, its white walls lit up with lights. Des heads straight for it.
As we close in on it, the scattered homes begin to cluster closer and closer together, gradually changing from rural to urban. The city itself sits on the edge of the island, the white buildings built along its cliffside.
Winding through the island is a glowing river, its waters a luminescent aquamarine color. When it reaches the edge of the island, it spills over the side, the waterfall turning to mist hundreds of feet below.
We circle past the city center and follow the river upstream, doubling back towards the interior of the island.
We soar over hills, the river a glowing ribbon far below us. Soon the hills become mountains, their sides covered in dense, flowering foliage.
We only begin to descend when we come to a particularly large mountain peak. Here a palatial white stone home sits, adorned with all the Moroccan accoutrements that Des’s palace has.
Des and I circle around it, landing in its front courtyard. The only sounds around us are the soft calls of cicadas and the hiss of rushing water.
I spin around, taking in the impressive building and the mountain beyond it.
“Welcome to Lephys,” Des says, “the City of Lovers.”
He takes my hand, leading me through the home with its cathedral ceilings and tiled floors, the only light coming from the dozens of brightly colored lanterns that hang from the ceiling above us.
The edges of arched doorways are inlaid with more painted tiles, the colors emerald, indigo, and persimmon. Thick, painted columns hold the sweeping ceilings up, making the place feel even vaster than it already is.
Much as I want to drink in this place, we don’t linger inside for long. The two of us exit out the back of the home.
Out here a huge gazebo rests, its gauzy curtains blowing in the night air. Beyond the gazebo, the river we followed here glows a pale blue green.
The luminescent river cascades into the shallow pool in front of us. On the opposite end of it, the water pours off, slipping farther down the mountain.
Des releases my hand, reaching behind him to pull the back of his shirt over his head. His magic parts the material as it passes around his wing joints, reforming once more once it’s above them.
He shucks the shirt off, cutting across the gazebo and towards the water. He lifts a foot, tugging off one of those huge boots of his, and then the other.
Des looks over his shoulder. “Need any help, cherub?” he asks.
Before I can respond, I feel my own clothes loosen, magically peeling away from my body like the skin of a banana.
I let out a little yelp as they slip from my flesh, falling into a pile of rags at my feet, leaving me exquisitely bare.
Des strides over to me, the last of his clothes sliding off of him. Am I ever going to get over the sight of him in all his glory, or the way he looks at me?
He pauses when he gets to me. Then, taking my face in his hands, he kisses me deeply.
“I’ve imagined taking you here for years,” he admits when he breaks away.
“You have?” I ask.
He takes my hand, walking backwards through the gazebo and towards the river. “Many times.”
I take in the scenery with new eyes. It’s dizzying to think he imagined taking me here when I could not have imagined a place like this even existed.
His voice drops low. “Over our time apart, I’ve gotten very imaginative when it comes to you.”
Jesus. Just him saying that sends a bolt of heat through me. The way he’s looking at me doesn’t help either. He stares at me like I’m his starlight, and he’s the darkness preparing to devour me.
“Perhaps,” he backs up the water’s edge, his first foot dipping into the water, “if you play your cards right tonight, I’ll even share a few of my more creative ideas—for a price, of course.”
I’m pretty sure whatever price he asks for, I’ll be more than willing to pay.
First my toes dip into the water, then the tips of my wings. Inch by inch my naked body submerges itself into the water.
There’s something about this place, with the heavy scent of jasmine and moist earth in the air, and the intoxicating sensation of Des’s full attention on me, that has my breath hitching and my eyelids lowering. My breasts feel heavy and my core aches. Perhaps it’s this island—the City of Lovers—or perhaps it’s just the strange magic between us, but he has me fully under his thrall.
I want him to drown me in the madness of this. Us.