Into Darkness

51

I’ll just bet you can, thought Magnus, and enjoyed a fleeting image of himself bashing Beckett’s perfect head into the large rock several feet behind him.

The group sensed his anger, and began to look nervous, which was wise; things tended to bleed when Magnus got angry. Though he was Alpha and they should have respected him simply for being more Gifted than the rest of the tribe—with the exception of Honor and now Lumina—it was his temper that really kept everyone in check. If only he could keep himself in check.

The heavy bag could only take so many beatings before Magnus needed other outlets.

But he didn’t need a fight now. What he needed was to burn the image of a gloriously naked Lumina from his mind.

His heart had stopped when he’d seen her standing there wreathed in vapor, her pale skin gleaming in the sunlight, pieces of her ruined clothing drifting like frozen confetti all around her. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the only one; Beckett, Dash, and Oz had all gone bug-eyed, too. But only Beckett had lit up like a sunrise, bathing them all in a burst of evanescence that felt dirty for all its shiny brightness.

He was really starting to hate that kid.

Magnus had never before been touched by jealousy’s cold green fingers, but he wasn’t going to lie to himself about it; irrational as it was, jealousy was the correct term for the emotion eating a hole in his guts and burning like acid through his veins. Along with a host of other emotions, he felt protective of Lumina, and he couldn’t stand that look in Beckett’s eyes. That possessive, greedy look.

The one he was sure was identical to his own.

She’s better off with the pretty boy than with a busted-up bastard like you, whispered a little voice of reason inside his head.

With an ache inside his chest that felt carnivorous, Magnus watched the two dragons soar for another moment, wishing with all that was left of his mangled heart that he was even half the man he used to be. Half might have been enough to offer, enough to have allowed him some self-respect. But he wasn’t that man, even by half. He was a ghost. An angry poltergeist, haunting the ruins of his former life.

He wasn’t worthy. Not of her.

Without another word to the group, Magnus turned and walked away.

Honor led, and Lumina followed. For an hour they flew together, far above steaming fields and a sprinkling of deserted, crumbling villages, past the spidery, pale veins of empty roads, the horizon bleeding into a purple curve where earth met sky ahead. The wind was a roar when they changed directions, but when they rode along with it, letting it carry them aloft like untethered kites, there was the most beautiful stillness, and for the first time she could remember, Lu felt peace.

As she flew, her mind kept returning to the memory of Magnus running toward her, tearing his jacket and shirt off, his expression a mix of cold fury and hot intensity, his chest, arms, and stomach completely bare.

He was muscular, well-formed, but far too lean for a man his size. Every muscle was visible beneath his skin, every vein in his arms was outlined in stark relief. She wanted to cook him a meal, and sit and watch him eat it. She wanted to feed him from her fingers, and watch that dark heat always smoldering in his eyes flare into a blaze.

She wanted to run her hands over every scar on his body, pressing soft kisses to each one with her lips.

It was bad, whatever had hurt him. From waist to face his right side was a mess, and she knew the hooded jacket he wore over his shirt was due to shame from his appearance. But he hadn’t even hesitated to bare himself so he could cover her. He hadn’t thought of himself.

Suddenly needing to see him again, Lu said to Honor, I’m getting tired. Let’s go back.

Honor peered at her with slitted eyes, a wingspan away. If she suspected that was only partly true, she didn’t let on. Instead, she banked and Lu followed, and soon they were headed toward a grove of trees close to the entrance to the caves.

They landed near a rocky outcropping with such a total lack of grace both of them were laughing when they Shifted back to human form. Honor touched down first, gouging a deep, ragged furrow in the earth behind her, and Lu came in too fast and executed the most awkward belly flop, accompanied by a face plant directly into the dirt. In the trees nearby, a flock of swallows rose in a sudden tangle of quicksilver into the sky.

“I wish I had a camera so you could see the look on your face.” Honor had Shifted back to woman and was walking toward a small pile of clothing atop a rock. She dressed quickly, still chuckling, and gestured to what she hadn’t donned. “These are for you; I thought you might be needing something to wear, and we’re the same size, so . . .”

Lu was cold, and feeling self-conscious at her nudity, even though it was only her and Honor in the clearing, so she pulled on the clothing Honor had brought as fast as she could. “Thanks. By the way, do your clothes have some kind of heat protectant or something?”

“No. Why?”

Lu shrugged, cinching the belted white jacket around her waist. It matched the white trousers, an exact replica of Honor’s outfit.