Chapter 1

He’s asleep,his body full of loose-limbed elegance, while an uncharacteristically innocent expression graces his familiar face. He looks fragile enough to break. I let the tips of my talons press against my thigh, just enough to feel a prick of pain, and then I draw my hand back.

Any little thing could’ve broken him down there, my Jace.

Icould’ve even been the one to do it, oh so easily.

We’re safe aboard one of S’ahveki’s many ships. I don’t bother to memorize the names of most, they change so frequently, but this one I remember—the Medway Queen, one of our captain’s favorites. The walls are a sickly green color in my cabin, nothing like the vibrant shades of the forest where we were forced to survive after the crash. It’s been long enough that I should no longer feel this aching tightness in my chest when I watch him. I shouldn’t be awake now at all, much less staring at this man whose smooth, defenseless hands have the power to rend my edvah, my essence—my soul, as humans would call it, into a thousand bleeding pieces.

Jace Cesari holds my fate in those nimble hands, yet he’s still so agonizingly vulnerable. I should be able to sleep now that we’re secure, away from the threats of an uncharted planet, but I can’t. He may claim he has his memories back, but our ordeal left its mark, and so I watch him when the ship’s clock tells me it’s night, and I plot ways to protect him, this brittle human vessel that houses my beloved one.

If I learned one thing on Sannaveh-8B, it’s exactly how strongly he holds me in his grip. He came back to me—he made himself mine all over again—yet I can’t stop this compulsion. I can’t take my eyes off him. If I look away, if I slip just a little, my fear promises me that I’ll lose him. My Jace, my life mate, my fate.

He shifts, rolling to his side, and the sleeping pants he wears catch on the bedding, revealing more of his warm-hued body. My mouth waters as I imagine tasting him there, licking across his sensitive human skin until he curses my name, raspy and rough, even as he demands more. I want him to demand all of me. I want to know that he’s mine now no matter what tries to separate us, even if it’s his own mind. What I want is impossible, and if something doesn’t change, I fear this relentless drive will lead to madness.

I lift my wings up and back so they’ll drag as little as possible against the ship’s floor, and I join him, fitting my body beside his on the bed. I slip my arms around him and urge him closer, my movements careful and light. Even in his sleep, his return embrace is powerful and sure. In reality, he’s no breakable civilian who craves protection. He doesn’t need it—and he certainly doesn’t want it.

I close my eyes and push my face into his hair and breathe him in. I can’t let go, even though I know I have to. I lived in pleasant ignorance before. I loved Jace, but I didn’t know how terribly I needed him until I faced his loss. Now that the shadows have burned away and I see clearly, I can’t seem to find a way to go back, no matter how badly I wish I could.