"No way!"
Who held a meeting on top of a snow-capped mountain!?
'Apparently, Theodore Blackwell did!'
He raised a brow in return, cocking his head to a side. "No? Are you planning to climb a mountain by yourself then? Your body doesn't seem as if it would like that."
Eva gritted her teeth, his words infuriating her more from within. Stepping forward and forgetting all the rules she had made for herself, she jabbed her finger in his chest and looked up, her eyes blazing with fire.
"If I seem a little weak, doesn't mean that I can't push you off that very mountain." her anger only increased when she saw the corners of his lips lift into a seductive but cocky smirk.
"We'll see about that." his breath caressed her ear as he slid his hand to her back and then down the curve of her waist, painfully slow.
Without any warning, his wings burst out from his back and they soared up into the sky like a firecracker. Eva let out a shrill scream, holding onto his body with all her mortal strength. Her nails dug into his broad back, careful to not touch his ebony black wings or even graze them. The buildings disappeared from sight, and some part of her wondered if it was necessary to fly so high before plunging down.
Was he doing this on purpose to rattle her up?
"Do you want me to drop you?" he asked, pausing high above in the sky and Eva saw his wings flapping patiently from her position.
"I dare you to."
"..."
"Sure."
Eva's brows narrowed in confusion but it took only a second for her eyes to widen. His grip on her body began to loosen up and she would have almost fallen if her hands weren't around his neck in that fraction of a second. Her heart thudded hard in her chest as she took deep breaths to calm herself.
'Was he finally out of his mind?'
"I thought you didn't need my help," he spoke, and if she wasn't holding on to him for life, Eva was sure she would've smacked him in the head for almost giving her a heart attack.
'Fuck you...'
Theo chuckled, his midnight voice making her body tingle as she realized that she might have spoken that out loud.
"Do you trust me?"
"Absolutely not!" she gritted out and felt him smirking against her cheek.
"I'm going to let you go now. Trust me and loosen your grip. Fall."
Was this some type of an experiment of his? Was he testing her to see if she trusted him enough or not? Eva loosened her grip a little as a small voice in the back of her mind told her to trust him and listen to his words.
"There are better ways to kill me you know." she reminded him and felt his finger trace her spine making her arch further against his body.
"Darling, you should know by now. I'm aware of all the ways to kill a person but I have other things I would love to do to you. Killing you was never on my list in the first place." His voice was like smoke, a shadowy caress. And that voice… it stoked that same odd feeling of warmth and familiarity.
"I'm not a bird."
"I never said you were one Birdie." Eva tried not to scoff, listening to her heart beating loudly in her ears.
"You seem scared."
"Should I be laughing in joy instead?" was her reply, dripping with sarcasm and if she was going to be honest, a drop of anxiety too.
Her pulse skittered as the urge to act recklessly entered her mind once again. What else could be a better way to depart from this world anyway? Some part of her trusted that he would catch her and she despised that part more than anything else right now.
Her grip on his shoulders loosened and she pushed him back slightly. His face came into her view and she felt it was a bewitching sight to see before taking her last few breaths. Moonlight kissed the apple of his cheekbone as he tilted his head once more and watched her fall back into the endless darkness of the starry sky.
Eva closed her eyes, hearing the wind rushing in her ears like thunder. Her body felt feather-light for the first time in her life, and she breathed out, feeling freer than ever. Just as she was about to open her eyes, she felt a warm touch over her body and the beating of wings got clearer in her ears. Her body neared a warm source and she felt herself being lifted and rushed upwards into the sky. Her hands clung to the familiar shirt she was holding onto a few minutes ago as she smelled the faint scent of sin, ash, and smoke once again.
She should've known... he would never let her go so easily.
"I like that you trusted me enough to fall back like that." his words caressed her whole body from top to bottom as she fluttered open her eyes to look at him.
It took her a moment to get rid of the haze, but soon his face cleared in her vision. He was now flying towards a nearby snow peak which seemed to be the tallest mountain in the whole city. The buildings and houses came into view again as her breath got caught in her throat at the beautiful sight. The golden lights seemed like fireflies on the ground, and the water glittered brighter than anything.
"Why is the sea sparkling?" she asked, her eyes still fixated on the mesmerizing sight.
"How about I tell you that when I take you to see it from up close?" he offered and looked at her for a sign of agreement. Eva merely nodded her head, flustered that he had asked for her consent first.
Distancing herself from him was proving a harder task than she had contemplated it to...