useful. He can go to hell,” Ruby snapped. “I don’t belong to anyone.”
“I’m afraid that’s not how things work here,” Devin said on a sigh. “If you are the new Mistress of the Beasts, you’re a valuable commodity. As an unbonded female, some male will claim you. We must make sure whoever it is has your best interests at heart.”
Ruby laughed without humor. “The man who tries to claim me better have balls of steel.”
A grin flashed across Devin’s face, and he slapped Nightshade on the shoulder. “You might have met your match, my friend,” he announced.
Nightshade glanced suspiciously at the nearby crowd. “I must take her to safety.”
Devin ran his gaze over Ruby, annoying her. “She’s well built. Can you fly carrying her?”
“Hey, pretty boy”—Ruby poked Nightshade’s friend in the chest—“I’m not deaf.”
His hands skimmed through the air, outlining the shape of a curvy woman. “Well built in a good way, Ruby. Take her to the Unseelie Court,” he added to Nightshade.
Nightshade glanced at her, clearly seeking her agreement. “Sounds like the safest place for you at the moment,” he said.
She huffed a frustrated breath. What she really wanted to do was return home with Nightshade and take up where they’d left off, but she wasn’t stupid enough to think she could protect herself if these Seelie huntsmen followed her home. “Where exactly is the Unseelie Court?”
“Follow me.” Twister appeared out of the bustling crowd and snapped his fingers to capture their attention. The air shimmered. His outline dissolved, then re-formed in the shape of a golden eagle, and without touching the ground the bird soared into the night sky.
Ruby’s mouth dropped open. “Strewth,” she whispered. “He just changed shape!”
“That’s what he’s named for.” Devin glanced up when the eagle swooped low with an impatient screech. “Twisting means changing shape. Better get going before you lose him.”
After seeing Twister morph into an eagle, being carried into the air by a man with wings seemed almost prosaic.
* * *
By the time Nightshade landed near Twister beside a grassy hump, Ruby was shivering with cold on the outside but tingly and hot on the inside. With all the kerfuffle before they took flight, she hadn’t considered what it would feel like being in Nightshade’s arms while he flew. The intimate ripple of his muscles against her body as he powered his wings soon wiped all worry from her mind and reminded her of the excitement of having his big body pressed over hers in bed.
Between one blink and the next, Twister had transformed back into a man. “We need to get inside. The Seelie specters have found her.”
Ruby followed his gaze to see two ghostly white shapes streaking through the air toward them. A shiver racked her already chilled body. They exuded malevolence.
“Open the damn door,” Nightshade shouted.
Twister kicked a boulder half buried in the ground, exposing a hole in the side of the mound. Nightshade jumped through, carrying Ruby, Twister close on his heels. The door thumped shut behind them. They caught their breaths in stunned silence.
“Were those ghosts?” Ruby whispered, having found the insubstantial white creatures more disturbing than anything she’d ever seen.
“Seelie hunters send out specters to track their prey,” Twister explained. “As far as I know, specters are thought forms created by the hunter’s minds. The strength of a specter depends on the strength of the hunter. Some specters can only track; others can disable prey until the hunter arrives.”
Ruby hugged herself, hoping she didn’t meet the Seelie hunters whose minds had produced those two sinister creatures.
The door opened again, and Devin stepped through. “The specters have chased you down,” he announced.
“Old news, Dev,” Twister replied. “Show Ruby andNightshade to my study. I’ll be back shortly.” He strode away down the hall.
Ruby
“I’m afraid that’s not how things work here,” Devin said on a sigh. “If you are the new Mistress of the Beasts, you’re a valuable commodity. As an unbonded female, some male will claim you. We must make sure whoever it is has your best interests at heart.”
Ruby laughed without humor. “The man who tries to claim me better have balls of steel.”
A grin flashed across Devin’s face, and he slapped Nightshade on the shoulder. “You might have met your match, my friend,” he announced.
Nightshade glanced suspiciously at the nearby crowd. “I must take her to safety.”
Devin ran his gaze over Ruby, annoying her. “She’s well built. Can you fly carrying her?”
“Hey, pretty boy”—Ruby poked Nightshade’s friend in the chest—“I’m not deaf.”
His hands skimmed through the air, outlining the shape of a curvy woman. “Well built in a good way, Ruby. Take her to the Unseelie Court,” he added to Nightshade.
Nightshade glanced at her, clearly seeking her agreement. “Sounds like the safest place for you at the moment,” he said.
She huffed a frustrated breath. What she really wanted to do was return home with Nightshade and take up where they’d left off, but she wasn’t stupid enough to think she could protect herself if these Seelie huntsmen followed her home. “Where exactly is the Unseelie Court?”
“Follow me.” Twister appeared out of the bustling crowd and snapped his fingers to capture their attention. The air shimmered. His outline dissolved, then re-formed in the shape of a golden eagle, and without touching the ground the bird soared into the night sky.
Ruby’s mouth dropped open. “Strewth,” she whispered. “He just changed shape!”
“That’s what he’s named for.” Devin glanced up when the eagle swooped low with an impatient screech. “Twisting means changing shape. Better get going before you lose him.”
After seeing Twister morph into an eagle, being carried into the air by a man with wings seemed almost prosaic.
* * *
By the time Nightshade landed near Twister beside a grassy hump, Ruby was shivering with cold on the outside but tingly and hot on the inside. With all the kerfuffle before they took flight, she hadn’t considered what it would feel like being in Nightshade’s arms while he flew. The intimate ripple of his muscles against her body as he powered his wings soon wiped all worry from her mind and reminded her of the excitement of having his big body pressed over hers in bed.
Between one blink and the next, Twister had transformed back into a man. “We need to get inside. The Seelie specters have found her.”
Ruby followed his gaze to see two ghostly white shapes streaking through the air toward them. A shiver racked her already chilled body. They exuded malevolence.
“Open the damn door,” Nightshade shouted.
Twister kicked a boulder half buried in the ground, exposing a hole in the side of the mound. Nightshade jumped through, carrying Ruby, Twister close on his heels. The door thumped shut behind them. They caught their breaths in stunned silence.
“Were those ghosts?” Ruby whispered, having found the insubstantial white creatures more disturbing than anything she’d ever seen.
“Seelie hunters send out specters to track their prey,” Twister explained. “As far as I know, specters are thought forms created by the hunter’s minds. The strength of a specter depends on the strength of the hunter. Some specters can only track; others can disable prey until the hunter arrives.”
Ruby hugged herself, hoping she didn’t meet the Seelie hunters whose minds had produced those two sinister creatures.
The door opened again, and Devin stepped through. “The specters have chased you down,” he announced.
“Old news, Dev,” Twister replied. “Show Ruby andNightshade to my study. I’ll be back shortly.” He strode away down the hall.
Ruby
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