Page 35 of Wings of Sacrifice
“Did Cato rune you or something?” I whispered to the book, tugging on the old pages.
Zap!
I yelped, jerking back and attempting to shake out the burn in my fingers. Cato’s book had just electrocuted me! Rune perked up.
“I’m—” I broke off when I noticed her illuminated eyes.
“Go away!” I snapped at Ronen, throwing a hand up to shield them. I was practically naked, with no blanket to cover me, and fighting with a magical, secretive book.
Yet Rune’s eyes were still illuminated, and she was dodging my hand.
“It was nothing. I’m fine. Leave!”
But both Rune and Ronen were being stubborn asses.
“We had a deal, Rune.”
She obviously didn’t care about the deal when it came to protecting me, but I couldn’t explain the book to Ronen and reveal Cato’s secrets or my plans. It was just a painful zap. I was obviously fine. But that zap, on top of their curiosity, made it clear it’d take more for him to leave.
“Ronen, I swear if you don’t go, I’ll walk to Aspen’s room this second.”
It had the desired effect. The glow of Rune’s eyes dimmed.It also came with some stomach-turning guilt, which only pissed me off. I asked him to leave. He should’ve listened.
I slumped back in bed, glaring at Rune. “That’s strike one. The book wasn’t going to kill me.” At least I didn’t think it was. Angry red lines now branded my fingers.
“Evil thing,” I grumbled and hesitantly poked it. Zap free, I pulled it back onto my lap and read some more about Somnivado, noting all of Cato’s script in the margins. Then I continued to his example dream-walks, and my mouth almost dropped. I hadn’t expected to get a firsthand account of Cato’s own experiences. The first two examples were as expected. He wanted the secret to how a renowned angelic writer organized his scrolls and how another prepared his notes. Boring. But the last example was about a female named Ariella. He wanted to know her favorite book. I wanted to know who she was, but it didn’t say. At the end of the chapter, he wrote in a Somnivado exercise.
Hold a question in your mind and let your subconscious flow to the dream realm. Note: Somnivado will only work on the living.
I already knewI’d fail the exercise. All my thoughts and questions these days were about my mom. So when I found myself in Ronen’s room with a purple halo around my vision, shock was an understatement. Or maybe it was the fact that he was naked and a dream-version of myself was pinned to his bed with his shadows.
Chapter
Eleven
Lucille
“You think that was smart, Hellion? Taunting me with the pet while wearing that?” Ronen growled.
“Wasn’t it?” my dream-self purred, pushing out her chest, the lace of her camisole pressing against our minimal cleavage.
I had to commend her for the sass and confidence. I could only imagine the expression on Ronen’s face as he stood over me at the foot of his massive bed, naked. His tone alone hinted at an aggressive, searing gaze. Real me would’ve been fumbling. Or just speechless, as I was now. But also aroused, and wide-eyed over his muscular ass.
I prayed to the Weaver, or whoever would listen, that he wouldn’t turn around. I’d read another thing about Somnivado. If the dreamer saw the dream-walker, one of two things could happen. They could either wake up or become aware their dream was being invaded.
I really didn’t want that second option, but I couldn’t seem to pull myself away from the scene. Was I a glutton for punishment?
Possibly.
Or Ronen’s ass was just that distracting, and the only part of his body besides his head, hands, and feet that didn’t have tattoos. Itjumped out at me, masculine and muscled. But then he shifted, and I smiled into my hand.
His ass wasn’t tattooless.
He had one on his lower left cheek. A tiny black heart.
The innocent mark on this big, bad male warmed me. Before, if someone held me at knifepoint and asked if the General of Hell had a cute heart tattooed on his ass, I’d think they were insane. But nope. There it was, and I’d never forget it.
“The pet mentioned something to me the other day.”
