Page 103 of Feathers and Scales

But then, as the flames continued to rage, something miraculous happened. From the stone already surrounding his chest outward, it transformed his body into the man she remembered. The flames turned back the clock. The malice that had contorted Fotios’s face receded. The harsh angles softened, and the familiar laugh lines, etched by years of shared wisdom and affection, reappeared around his mouth. His once-black Archfiend eyes, now wide with wonder and dawning realization, faded to their original dusky blue.

Izzy’s breath hitched. She could read the pleading cant of his gaze, just like in the olden times.“I was wrong,”his eyes seemed to say.“I didn’t mean to lose myself. Forgive me.”

Hot tears streaked down her cheeks, a torrent of grief and forgiveness she hadn’t allowed herself to feel for millennia. She could only nod, a silent affirmation of understanding and sorrow.

A gentle, knowing smile touched his lips, no longer cruel but soft and utterly familiar.“You found it,”his gaze whispered.

Izzy’s eyes narrowed through her tears, her voice hoarse. “Found what?”

“Heaven,”his lips mouthed, silent as the encroaching stone, his head tilting upward as if gazing at something beyond mortal sight.

And with that single, profound word, his face froze. His eyes, wide and peaceful, a warm smile gracing his lips, were completely encased in ebony. Her familiar, beloved mentor, now a statue.

Static energy shocked her wings—ten new feathers. The weight of the unexpected gift, combined with the crushing loss of the man she had loved, was too much. She dropped to her knees, collapsing under the unbearable, beautiful burden.

Light flashed as Daxton shifted in her blurring gaze and strode toward her. Blood streaked down his jaw and from a wound on his shoulder. He dropped to his knees in front of her, grabbed her face, and pressed her forehead against his. His grip tightened, yet his hands trembled.

Yes, Fotios, this is my Heaven.

Epilogue

Manchester, England

Three Months Later

Izzy sat in the underground library at her cottage. She glanced at Simon before looking down at the book on her desk. Simon’s recounting of his story for Daxton captivated her more than the words she needed to read.

“Like a pack of wolves sensing danger, they all turned at the sound of the fighter jet.” Simon loaded a box onto the rear of one of the golf carts in the hallway. “Just seconds later, they shifted and ripped it apart to get to the pilot.”

Luckily, no one was hurt, and they’d rehabilitated the pilot from Fotios’s Influence.

“I mean…” Simon continued. “I still don’t get how an Archfiend has that much power over someone that they’d be willing to drop a missile on civilian land.”

“They still surprise me,” Daxton said.

Izzy swallowed the burning sensation at the back of her throat. Fotios’s parting from this world was still a wound in her chest. But her delusions had stopped now that she had accepted the truth.

Daxton lifted three boxes and loaded them onto the other cart. She watched, shaking her head. He moved with alacrity to pack herbooks, as if at any second, she might change her mind about moving to Dyamur Territory.

Simon huffed while sliding into the full golf cart. “I don’t know about you, but with all this packing, I’m ready for tea.”

“I would like some,” Izzy yelled out to the hall.

“No thanks.” Daxton waved him away.

Simon drove off on quiet wheels. Before Daxton caught her watching him, she gazed down.

“You look stunning.” His voice filled the room.

Izzy peered over the rim of her glasses.

He stood at the entrance, his hand over his chest. Heat rose to her cheeks.

“Stop distracting me.” She pushed the glasses up her nose.

He rested his arm against the pile of boxes stacked chest-high near the door and with a heavy voice said, “Do you think you’ll find more information?”

She rubbed her temples, trying to push down the worry that climbed up her throat. “I don’t know.”