Page 171 of The Spider Queen

I felt safe in his arms. It was an illusion, though. None of us were safe. Not until we freed the mage and Xan was thrust into the open for his betrayal. And even then, it was no guarantee we would succeed and stop the battle from happening.

I would not let my weak human body be the reason we failed to find the mage in time. I fell asleep, determined to rest so that we could fight.

Something jolted me awake.

One moment I was in a deep sleep, the next, I was fully cognizant. My eyes scanned the dark room. The embers of the fire allowed me to see a huge black shadow in the corner. It seemed to stretch and grow. A scream lodged in my throat.

And then Thane was somehow on top of the shadow, wrestling it to the ground.

The shadow growled and then flung Thane off. Thane hit the floor hard enough to make the treehouse tremble.

I curled my hand around something. I lifted it up. Flames reflected silver.

A knife.

Thane quickly rose from the floor and launched himself at the shadow again.

“Thane,” the shadow barked.

Thane froze mid-leap and then tucked his body into a crouch. “Show your face, you bastard.”

Candles flickered. Gray smoke swirled around the shadow and then disappeared.

I gasped at the most beautiful man I’d ever seen.

Shimmering gold skin, long blond hair, warm whiskey-colored eyes. A jaw that made my knife seem dull. Lips molded for passion and seduction. His beauty was so astonishing that I couldn’t quite process it and began to cry.

Thane didn’t take his eyes off the man as he growled. “Tone it down, Gabriel.”

“I cannot control my effect on her,” the man stated. His voice was melodious, thick and sweet like honey.

“Then why is she crying?” Thane demanded.

“Only the mortal remnants of her are weeping. She isn’t yet fully part of our world and can’t control it.” The man shrugged and then wings—wings—unfurled from his body. They were thick and large, with silver feathers.

His amber gaze found mine, and he smiled. The mortal part of me recognized the potential for my own destruction in his grin. The other part of me—the part of me that had changed and hardened—accepted that I had the power to control my reaction to him. The tears on my cheeks crystalized into tiny ice shards and fell from my skin.

“Impressive,” he muttered, his gaze raking over me.

“She’s mine,” Thane stated. “Andyouare an intruder.”

“An intruder who should never have been able to get in here,” I stated. “How did you get through the wards?”

“Wards cannot contain nor keep out fallen angels.”

“Fallen angel?” I breathed, feeling a breeze on my cheeks as his silver-feathered wings fluttered.

“Get your clothes on, Poppy,” Thane snapped.

I realized Thane was still naked. Somehow he managed to appear confident and in control, despite his nudity.

“You will avert your eyes,” Thane commanded, addressing Gabriel. “Or I will take pleasure in prying them from your head.”

Gabriel’s smile was lazy, but after mockingly bowing to me, he turned. I quickly scrambled from the bed and donned my body suit. “Okay, I’m decent.”

“The same cannot be said of you, Thane.” Gabriel’s eyes dipped, and a smirk appeared on his lips. “If you’d like to see who is better equipped—”

“You’re kidding, right?” I demanded. “Are men of any and all species obsessed with their junk?”