Page 5

5

HARMONY

M y cheeks warm under Adellum's intense gaze, my body reacting to his touch even after he drops his hands. The way he looks at me sometimes makes me feel like I'm the only person in his world—like I'm something worth memorizing, worth preserving on canvas. It's terrifying.

"You should finish your painting," I murmur, though my body betrays me, leaning infinitesimally toward him.

"It can wait." Adellum sets his brush down decisively. "The light's gone anyway." As if he doesn't have magic.

We fall into comfortable silence, the kind that once surprised me with him. For someone whose fame stems from his artistic voice, Adellum seems most at peace in quiet. He reclines on the blanket, one arm folded beneath his head, wings neatly tucked against his back—a habit I've noticed he maintains around humans who might be intimidated by their full span.

I never have been. I'm always mesmerized by them. I'm honestly mesmerized by all things Adellum, and that's the problem. I never should have let a xaphan get to me in a way he has.

I settle beside him, close enough that I can feel the warmth radiating from his body but not quite touching. Above us, the night unfurls like black velvet scattered with diamonds, each star a pinprick of perfect light. The moon hangs low and heavy, casting silver across the landscape.

"Name a constellation," Adellum challenges softly.

"You know I'm terrible at this game." I laugh, scanning the glittering expanse. "That one looks like... a spoon?"

"Ah yes, 'The Divine Spoon.' Very famous among celestial scholars." His voice drips with mock solemnity.

I elbow him gently. "Stop. Not all of us had fancy xaphan tutors teaching us the sky maps."

"I'll show you." Adellum shifts closer, his arm sliding beneath my shoulders as he points upward. "See there? That's the Hunter's Arrow. And just beside it?—"

"The Weeping Sister," I finish, surprising myself. "I do remember that one. My mother used to say she cried because she lost something precious."

Adellum's gaze shifts from the stars to my face. "What do you think she lost?"

"I don't know," I whisper. "Maybe her way home."

"Maybe a chance at having the things she wants most," he answers.

Something changes in the air between us—thickens, warms. Adellum's fingers find mine in the darkness, intertwining with gentle pressure. His breathing changes subtly, and I know he's going to kiss me before he moves.

For a man who could have anyone, he can't seem to keep his hands off of me. And for a human that should know better, I never stop him.

He leans in, his lips finding mine with practiced familiarity. It's careful at first—reverent almost—as if he's memorizing the taste of me all over again despite months of stolen nights like this.

Each time we're together, he does this—begins with such tender restraint that it makes my heart ache. Like he's giving me every opportunity to change my mind, to safeguard myself from him.

"You smell like dreelk leaves and sunlight," he murmurs against my mouth. "Like green things growing."

A laugh bubbles up from somewhere deep inside me. "Is that a compliment or are you saying I need a bath?"

"Definitely a compliment." His smile curves against my lips. "You smell like life itself."

A shiver runs through me at his words, at the worship in his voice. My hands clutch at his coat involuntarily, fingers digging into the fine fabric.

Something in Adellum shifts, breaks. With a sound like hunger, his control fractures. His wings, usually kept carefully contained, suddenly unfurl to their full impressive span, arching high above us both. The sight of them—massive and powerful, catching moonlight along each feather—steals my breath.

He presses me down into the soft grass, his weight a delicious pressure. "Are you going to tell me we shouldn't be doing this?" he whispers, even as his mouth traces the line of my throat. "That we should stop."

"I don't want you to stop." I arch against him, feeling reckless and wild. "I never want you to stop."

His hands tremble slightly as they find the ties of my dress, unraveling them with reverent patience. "I want to see you," he breathes. "All of you. In the moonlight."

I'm nodding before his words are even out..

There's something sacred in how he peels my dress away, like it's a ritual he's been granted the privilege to perform. The cool night air kisses my skin as it's revealed inch by inch, chills rising in its wake. But I don't feel exposed or vulnerable—not with how he's looking at me.

"You're so beautiful it hurts," Adellum says, his voice rough with emotion. His fingertips trace my collarbone, feather-light. "Like someone gathered all the good things in this world and shaped them into you."

Adellum is the only one that's ever looked at me like this—like I'm precious, powerful, a thing to be kept rather than conquered. His hands map me with artist's precision, finding places I never knew could bring such pleasure.

"Your wings," I whisper, reaching up to touch where they join his back. "I love when you show them to me, when you don't hide."

His silver eyes, almost luminous in the darkness, search mine. "Only you," he confesses. "Only you get to see me like this."

My heart twists at his words, and I'm suddenly desperate to get even closer to him.

My fingers work at the intricate laces of Adellum's pants, my movements growing clumsy with desire. The moonlight catches on the planes of his face as he watches me, his silver eyes gleaming with hunger and something deeper, something that makes my heart squeeze.

"Let me," he murmurs, catching my hands, pressing them to his bare chest where I can feel his heart thundering against my palms. "You're shaking, little bird."

"I always shake for you," I confess, the admission slipping out before I can trap it behind my teeth. "Every time feels like the first time."

A smile curves his beautiful mouth. "And the last," he adds, like a prayer, his voice rough. "Like we might never get another chance."

I stroke my hands down his chest, feeling the lean muscle jump beneath his bronze skin. "Then we should make the most of this one."

With a swift, graceful movement, Adellum tears his tunic over his head, discarding it somewhere in the grass. The sight of him steals my breath—all that power contained in his tall, lean frame, the defined muscles of his abdomen flexing as he moves. His wings, those magnificent gray wings, spread wide behind him like a storm cloud, feathers rustling in the night breeze.

"Come here," I whisper, reaching for him.

Adellum lowers himself over me, the weight of him pressing me into the soft grass. His hands cup my face with devastating gentleness, thumbs stroking my cheekbones as if I'm something infinitely precious. Then he's kissing me again, deep and slow, his tongue sliding against mine in a rhythm that makes heat pool low in my belly.

"Want you," he growls against my mouth. "Need you."

My body arches instinctively toward his, seeking more contact, more friction. "Then take me."

His hands slide down to my hips, positioning me beneath him. I feel him, hard and ready against my entrance, and my body floods with liquid heat. When he pushes inside, slow and deliberate, I can't hold back the moan that escapes me. The stretch and fullness of him is exquisite, familiar yet somehow still astonishing.

"Harmony," he breathes my name like it's sacred. "Look at me."

I open my eyes to find him watching me with such intensity that it almost hurts. The moonlight silvers his white-blond hair, turns his wings to something otherworldly and beautiful. His jaw is tight with restraint, the muscles in his neck corded as he holds himself still within me.

"I need to see your eyes when I move inside you," he says, his voice ragged. "Need to watch what I do to you."

He begins to move then, rolling his hips in a rhythm that's achingly perfect. Each thrust sends sparks of pleasure through my body, building and building like a gathering storm. I wrap my legs around his waist, changing the angle, drawing him deeper.

"That's it," he encourages, his breath hot against my neck. "Take what you need from me."

His wings create a canopy above us, shutting out the world until there's nothing but Adellum, nothing but this moment, this connection. One of his hands slides between us, finding the sensitive bundle of nerves where our bodies join, circling with expert precision.

"Adellum," I gasp, my nails digging into the muscled planes of his back. "Don't stop. Please don't stop."

"Couldn't stop if I wanted to," he confesses, his rhythm growing more urgent, more demanding. "You feel too good. Always so perfect for me."

The coil of pleasure tightens within me, winding tighter and tighter with each thrust. Adellum knows my body so well, knows exactly how to move, where to touch to drive me to the very edge of madness. His own breathing grows ragged, his movements more forceful.

"Come for me," he commands, his voice dark with need. "Let me feel you, little bird."

His words combined with the relentless rhythm of his body against mine sends me spiraling over the edge. Wave after wave of pleasure crashes through me, making me cry out his name. My body tightens around him, pulling him deeper.

"That's it," he groans, his wings trembling with the effort of his restraint. "That's it, Harmony. So beautiful when you come undone for me."

A few more powerful thrusts and he follows me over the edge, his body shuddering above mine, within mine. His wings snap fully open in his release, the sound cutting through the night air. His forehead presses to mine, our breath mingling as we both struggle to return to ourselves.

For a moment, the only sounds are our ragged breathing and the distant songs of night insects. His weight presses me into the earth in the most delicious way, anchoring me when I feel like I might float away.

After a moment, he shifts us, tucking me against him and holding me close. His magic slides against my skin, keeping me warm enough in the cool night air. His magnificent wings are still partially extended, creating a shelter from the world.

"That was..." I struggle to find words adequate enough.

"Mmm," Adellum agrees, his lips brushing my temple. "It always is, with you."

His fingers trace idle patterns on my hip, circling the slight dip where bone meets flesh. The touch isn't demanding anymore, just lazy and content, like a man savoring a particularly fine vintage of wine long after the glass is empty.

"Do you ever wonder," I whisper, tucking myself closer against his chest, "what would happen if someone found out about us?"

Adellum's hand stills momentarily before resuming its gentle exploration. "Is that what you think about after I've thoroughly taken you? The potential social scandal?"

I snort softly against his skin. "Not usually, no."

"Good." His lips find my forehead. "Because I'd rather you think about when I can take you again."

The levity in his voice makes me smile, even as a part of me aches with the reality we both know but rarely speak aloud. A xaphan artist of his stature and a human gardener. I might be fine, but Adellum's reputation would suffer. His manager, Sior, would be furious.

"What are you thinking about now, little bird?" Adellum's voice cuts through my spiraling thoughts. "I can practically hear your thoughts trying to escape."

I trace the defined line of his collarbone, focusing on the way his dusky bronze skin looks almost gilded in the moonlight. "Just that I like this. Being with you. Like this."

"Naked under the stars?" His smile is audible.

"Safe," I correct softly. "I feel safe with you."

Something changes in the quality of his silence, a sudden stillness that feels weighted with emotion. When he speaks again, his voice has dropped to a reverent hush.

" Melivashanti cor elumae, navae solirae. "

The words slide over me like warm honey, unfamiliar yet somehow intimate. I don't know any other languages, yet the words sound like a caress when Adellum speaks it.

"What does that mean?" I ask, propping myself up on an elbow to see his face.

His silver eyes hold mine, luminous in the darkness, his sharp-cut features softened by something that looks dangerously close to tenderness. "It's an old xaphan saying. Something like... 'My heart opens when yours beats beside it.'"

My own heart stutters at the translation. "That's beautiful."

"It's more than that." His fingers brush a curl from my face. "It's what xaphan say when..." He pauses, seeming to search for words. "When they've found someone who feels like home."

Home. The word reverberates through me. I've never had one, not really. The human commune where I grew up was shelter and survival, but never home. Lord Arkan's estate is where I work, where I sleep, but it belongs to him. Even my little gardener's cottage on the grounds is merely a privilege extended by my employer, not truly mine.

But here, lying in Adellum's arms beneath an endless spray of stars, I feel it—that elusive sense of belonging I've chased all my life.

"Say it again," I whisper, the request vulnerable in the night air between us.

Adellum's eyes darken. He props himself up, his body partially covering mine as he speaks the phrase again, this time directly against my lips. " Melivashanti cor elumae, navae solirae. "

The words vibrate from his mouth to mine, and though I don't understand them linguistically, I feel their meaning deep in my bones. It's a declaration, a promise, and it wavers on the edges of something deeper than I've allowed myself to hope for.

His wing curls around me, massive gray feathers forming a cocoon that blocks out everything but Adellum. The world narrows to just us—his heartbeat against mine, the scent of him surrounding me, the safety of his presence.

"I never thought..." I begin, then falter, suddenly shy despite our intimacy. Adellum gives me beautiful words when we are together, but I always have to leave. We always have to return to our lives after this and I have to remember that secret words whispered in the night mean nothing.

Even if my heart clings to them like they mean everything.

"Tell me," he encourages, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

"I never thought I'd find a place that felt like it couldn't be taken away from me." The confession feels raw, exposing a wound I usually keep bandaged.

Adellum's eyes flare with something fierce. "No one will take this from you, Harmony. No one will take you from me."

The conviction in his voice soothes the restless part of me that's always waiting for the other shoe to drop. For the first time, I let myself believe that maybe—just maybe—I've found something permanent. Something mine.

I nestle against Adellum's chest, his steady heartbeat a lullaby beneath my ear. His wing remains draped protectively over us, and his fingers resume their gentle stroking of my hip. The rhythm of his touch, combined with the profound sense of safety, begins to pull me toward sleep.

"Rest, little bird," he murmurs, pressing his lips to the crown of my head.

I surrender to exhaustion, my eyes growing heavy. As consciousness slips away, I feel—for the first time in my life—that I've found a place in the world that won't be taken from me.

I don't yet know how wrong I am.