King of the Unsightly (Tempting Trickery #1)

Crossing Boundaries

I longed for Kaschel to set me down, but I already knew his answer, and if I was honest with myself, no way would I outrun the creature. Admitting one’s flaws and shortcomings made it okay to stay in his arms, right ?

So I pretended to wiggle my way out. But thank fuck he had a death grip on me. If he had dropped me right now, I’d probably throw away all my pride and latch onto him.

“Don’t let go,” Kaschel said, firmly.

Don’t worry, I didn’t plan to, was what I wanted to tell Kaschel but instead, I mumbled a short, shaky, whatever .

I whipped my head up and inspected his face, pinched into a scowl as his dark brows bunched together, his square jaw clenched tightly.

Was he going to run or not? I thought the creature was gaining on us. Did we really have time for him to stand here looking constipated?

I waited for Kaschel to explain further, but eerie silence enveloped us, and my heart thumped so aggressively I bet Kaschel heard each individual beat.

My eyes were parallel to Kaschel’s full lips, anticipating an explanation. When he didn’t utter another word, I studied the faint scar running down his bottom lip. It was scarcely raised with a light pink hue as it trailed down his neck and disappeared underneath his shirt.

I wondered if Kaschel got it from a battle or from the creature currently chasing after us.

“Wait. Why exact—” Levisus looked at the sky and launched himself upward, cutting my words short.

White wings expanded and contracted behind him, and I gaped in awe.

The silky feathers retained an iridescent glow. Levisus looked like a celestial being ascending back to heaven, but the deadly talons at the top revealed their true nature.

He vanished from my line of sight, flying effortlessly into the night.

I eyed Kaschel, half expecting him to elaborate on what the fuck just happened, but as a man who valued keeping his secrets, he ignored my wild stare.

Kaschel looked above us, disregarding my what-the-hell expression. “I wouldn’t open your mouth for a while,” he said, propelling us off the ground, making sure I had no time to refuse.

His dark wings expanded and carried us with so much momentum. I squeezed myself harder against his chest and tossed my arms around his neck.

Kaschel’s wings were the polar opposite of Levisus’s—covered in obsidian black feathers with a plum tint to them—and if the moonlight hit them just right, they radiated like a violet flame soaring through the darkened sky. They made Kaschel’s presence more menacing than it already was.

I clutched my hands tightly together as the wind whipped around us.

We moved so fast I could barely peek my head up and look over Kaschel’s shoulder. The sky passed by in a blur of midnight blue and gray like watching a movie stuck in fast-forward mode. I couldn’t decipher a single thing—only streaks of twilight.

Now was not a good time for me to realize I had acrophobia.

I pressed my face against Kaschel’s rugged chest again, and his steady heartbeat slowly throbbed against my ear. It calmed me as my heartbeat settled back down with his. Then, he turned us upside down and nosedived.

A high-pitched scream escaped my lips, and I clenched my eyes shut. I swore my soul left my body when the wind violently thrashed against us.

Everything stood motionless now, like death took away all the pain and panic cementing itself in my bones.

My eyes fluttered open.

Both Kaschel and Levisus’s wings contracted and disappeared into their backs.

Confusion devoured my mind but now was not the time to question it.

Kaschel dropped us in the middle of a forest with dense weeds the color of a pale green. The trees surrounding us had white bark and black protruding lines running down them with yellow-tinted moss covering the bottom and thinning out at the top.

A low fog cast around us as the air grew thick with condensation.

The crooked branches contorted in different directions when either of us flinched or moved a muscle.

So the forest was alive. Disgusting .

Gren managed to keep up with them as he landed by our side.

“You can let go of me now,” Kaschel said in a flat tone; his face riddled with aggravation.

I peered down, horrified to realize how I entangled my body with his. I looked like some leech or a snake suffocating its victim.

I dropped to my feet and smoothed my hair out, but I knew it probably resembled a rat’s nest the more I tried.

I coughed. “I think I prefer your shadows.”

Kaschel’s eyes flashed an animated glint, but it vanished so quickly I thought I imagined it.

Kaschel fixed his sights on Levisus as his tone shifted, now low and gravelly. “You better hope we didn’t make my presence known to the others.”

Levisus walked right past us as he spoke. “Would you have preferred we strolled our happy asses over here? You know as well as I do that if we ran on foot ... it would have dragged us both back to our court.”

Kaschel tipped his head back, and grumbled, “Fuck.”

No one else spoke as we came upon a burned tree split in two.

Perplexed, I squinted at Levisus, but I had been here long enough to know there was some trick or enchantment to it. So I watched him crouch down in front of the charred tree as he chanted under his breath. He stood up, stepped forward, and vanished.

“Your turn.” Kaschel ushered me forward, and my body collided with the portal.

My movements slowed down like I was thrust underwater, but my breathing stayed short and controlled as the world surged around me in tidal waves until everything reverted back to normal and the shifting stopped.

A gray-colored cottage with an enormous tree in the center of it materialized in front of us. It stretched out for miles in the sky, like a skyscraper with a reddish-brown bark weathered by the elements, chipped and discolored. It matched the oddly shaped door curling outward with a ram’s horn as a door handle.

Gren shook out his feathers and glanced around the area. “I’ll keep watch.”

I looked back at Gren with some urgency in my voice. “I’d rather you stay inside with us.”

I waited for him to say okay, but that answer never came.

“I’m not comfortable when someone I know isn’t keeping a look out.”

Levisus laughed as if half-entertained by Gren’s remark. “I will sense if something or someone tries to break in, so don’t worry a cute little feather on your head.”

Without hesitation, Gren said, “I don’t trust your intuition.”

Levisus shrugged and walked inside.

I crouched down to Gren. “Just come inside.”

Gren shook his beak. “I will be fine.”

He patted my back with his wing, and it was the most ridiculously wholesome thing that’s ever happened to me since—ever.

Damn, when did my life get so sad?

I sighed and ran my hands through my hair but nodded my head.

My sight fell back on Kaschel, who looked bored to tears by our conversation but stayed close behind me.

So it appeared Kaschel wasn’t going to let me leave his side. Great .

I stood up and stepped through the doorway.

The decor was as sleazy as Levisus’s personality. It had two matching white leather couches with a fox’s fur draped on the top of one and a coffee table with a marbled, topless mermaid as the centerpiece shimmering from the black-bricked fireplace.

A wooden bar was positioned in the corner of the room and a golden light illuminated it, only making the rest of the place dark in comparison.

Levisus yawned and strolled over to the bar and poured himself a stiff drink. “Want one?” He looked at me with a lopsided grin.

Kaschel didn’t pay any mind to Levisus as he stalked over to the couch and sat down. He leaned back and draped his arms over the top and rested one leg over the other.

Kaschel tilted his chin up; his eyes sharper than daggers as his voice lowered. “How long do we have until your barriers fail?”

Levisus took a sip of his drink. “Maybe ten or twelve hours.”

Kaschel glowered at Levisus as if contemplating his next move before he spoke. “Is that enough time for you to make a tracking spell for the second key?”

“And a separation spell,” I added.

Levisus raised an eyebrow, seemingly insulted by Kaschel’s question. “Your faith in me has dwindled to nothing. I assure you, my lord. I can manage both.”

“It has been a couple of centuries. Who knows if you have lost your touch or not?” Kaschel asked with indifference.

“Testy. Then I will be in my lab.” Levisus bowed sarcastically with his drink in his hand. His gaze wandered over to me. “I know what you’re thinking. You’re surprised I’m more than just a pretty face.” He bent over the bar and swirled his drink. “We could have some fun before I have to work tirelessly for that big, brooding oaf.”

I attempted to keep my mouth shut, but the words flowed effortlessly off my tongue. “Dude, read the room.”

Levisus mused, “I have, and you look like you need to relieve some stress, and I’ll happily oblige.”

Kaschel uncrossed his legs and leaned forward with a murderous air to him. “Do I have to remind you of your brother? My patience with you is growing thinner by the second.”

Levisus didn’t seem to care, and he clicked his tongue in defiance.

Did Levisus not care that we were in danger? We only had a certain amount of time before that thing broke through whatever barriers surrounded us. Now was not the time to act casual.

Levisus exaggerated his pout. “Such a mood killer. Next time then.” He blew me a kiss and disappeared into the hallway.

Kaschel didn’t budge a muscle as he carelessly said, “Sit.”

My legs had a mind of their own and moved toward the opposite couch and awkwardly sat me down.

The crackling fireplace gave me a strange sense of déjà vu. The familiar light flickered against Kaschel’s face and cast a coppery glow through the room.

His alabaster hair was in disarray, freed, and rested right below the deep V of his black shirt.

His head tilted back against the couch with his eyes shut.