Earth Borne (40 page)

As she contemplated this, the topography changed dramatically. They approached a land mass. Essa and her captor turned left, then a hard right, and straight up into the air. They burst through a cloud. Suddenly, her tail struck the ground. Her hands shot out along smooth rock.

Where am I? A nest?
Rising onto her arms, she observed her surroundings. They were on a cliff, no more than eight feet across. Behind her, sheer walls chipped away into sharp rocks and blended into the ocean. At once, she grasped she would not survive the dive. There were too many rocks. The water level was too low.

She was trapped yet again.

She much preferred the net.

The whisper of a wing folding and a footstep drew her attention.

Essa lifted her gaze as she pushed herself into a seated position.
Follow the plan. If he truly is the one, Apollo will show me a sign.
“I’m afraid I won’t make much of a meal. If you release me, I can find you something better. There are many delicacies on the bottom of the—” Her breath caught in her throat.

Shining back at her was not the monster of her nightmares.

In truth, she had never seen anything so beautiful.

He was tall, this winged creature, and large, almost twice her size. The morning sun shone behind him, radiating through his dark chestnut hair, highlighting the strands of gold and red. It hung past his shoulders, but was tied back at the nape of his neck. A few stray pieces fell into his eyes.

His eyes… A brown so dark they were almost black. Copper flecks gave them surprising warmth. Thick dark lashes made them sultry. She found herself trapped in his gaze.

Intense. Piercing.

Hungry.

She gulped back her fear.
You’ve survived worse.
“ I do not wish to eat you,
Sirena
.” His voice, rich and deep, captured her in his spell. His accent was exotic. She had never heard anyone speak the way he did, though he spoke in
Olympian
—the
lingua franca
, or common language, used by the gods of Olympus and their descendants.

“You don’t?”

“No.” His robust chuckle rippled just below the surface of her skin. “I’m afraid I already ate two of your kind yesterday. Young and tender they were.”

Relief rose in her at his jest. Whatever the rumors were, at least that one wasn’t true.

She sat up straighter, her tail flicking in the breeze as she examined her enemy. His keen eyes and the fine aquiline point of his nose revealed a hint of his ancestry. His face was angular and his sensuous lips were tightly drawn as he studied her in turn.

What must I look like to him?
She grimaced and combed her fingers through her wind-swept hair. Finding a tangle, she clawed at it in vain, as she continued her perusal from beneath her lashes.

Two snow-white wings tucked in close on either side of his body and his golden skin shimmered in the sunlight. His chest bare, he wore a pair of pale leather breeches and sandals on his feet. A long sword hung at his side.

He was powerfully built, his arms thrice the thickness of hers. His shoulders were broad, his muscles chiseled, making her own body feel insignificant, and oddly, feminine. She shook her head at such an irrational thought.
Enemy. He’ll strangle you with those enormous hands and never think twice.
That was what her aunt would say.

Her gaze drifted back up to his face, where a hint of amusement now lay in his eyes. She started to smile back at him, but his sword glinted and caught her eye. The flash of the dawn’s rays was proof. She was the bait, and he
was
the mark she’d been dangled in front of.

Right. Enemy. Time to play the damsel.
“Why have you brought me here?”

He frowned and crossed his arms. “You might begin by showing your appreciation,
Sirena
, considering I saved you from—”

Essa bit her cheek against a smile and forced a scowl on her lips. “I had no need of rescuing, or,” she swept her arm across her surroundings, “abduction.”

***

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