"What took you both so long?" Gwen asked, rushing forward as soon as she saw their descent from the sky and toward the open balcony.
Eva passed her a small yet weak smile to assure her that they were fine. Or at least she was. For now.
"We met with a few tiny difficulties," Theodore answered, dragging his tattooed hand through his inky hair and no matter how tired she felt, Eva still felt that delicious shiver run down her body length.
"Tiny? How small and few are we talking about here? Your definition of 'tiny' is a thousand." Sebastian commented nonchalantly and Eva wondered what Asher's reaction would be if he knew he was called a tiny problem.
Theo only shrugged, passing an acknowledging nod toward Davina who stared at both of them questionably. His eyes then wandered over to her, unable to stop them from fixing themselves on her body. No matter how badly he wanted to grab her hand and pull her in with him to his bedroom, he resisted knowing that she wouldn't like it.
Or would she?
Stifling a fake yawn behind her hand, Eva said, "I'll meet you for training in a few hours." Gwen nodded though her concerned eyes followed her until she walked out of sight.
Theo bit his lip, arguing with himself as to whether go after her or give her the space she needed. He released his skin after a few seconds, deciding on the latter option for today at least. She was already manipulated by half the men in her life, he didn't need to be added to that list too just because he couldn't control himself around her.
—
Knowing that the others would be occupied in discussing their future tactics, Eva freely jogged off toward the roof.
By the time she snapped the door shut behind her, she was heaving rapidly. Taking in as much air as she could in a minute, she slowly let her eyes gaze toward the breathtaking city that was now approaching twilight quickly.
She could clearly see the ocean's waves splashing back and forth, soaking the land to which it was connected. The answers she had on her mind during her childhood were now easily being answered. The silver hair made sense if she was half fae and so did the sharp eyesight that Vanessa always used to be keen about.
Diana, she corrected with a heavy sigh. Not Vanessa but that witch...
Surveying the view, she knew that no matter what, she couldn't let war graze this city even by a centimeter. Eden was pure, untouched, and it would remain that way. The people here knew nothing about the chaos that was approaching and knowing half of that was her fault made it even harder to look any of the residents in the eye.
'Your fault...'
'I wish you were never born...'
Shaking her head, she exhaled and clenched her trembling fists. She needed to train like Moros said and tame her powers so that they could benefit the upcoming battle in some way or another. And there were several people she needed to pay back too.
Maybe that would end up bringing her peace...
Remembering all the times she had lost control which had then resulted in chaos, Eva dragged out a punching bag from the small room situated at the side. She wondered how she was supposed to attack it, the previous time Kai was holding it for her.
How did they all exercise when they were alone?
She looked up at the sky which now had a faint pinkish tinge to it expecting a hook to appear out of nowhere so she could practice and not fail the people around her. She had already failed her family, who else could she fail more?
"Need any help?"
Eva flinched, whipping around as her hair came to settle on her shoulder and her eyes met the glittery obsidian ones that were now back to normal.
"What are you doing here?" she mumbled, licking her lips and peeking up to get a small glance at his face.
Theo stepped forward, his hands in his pockets which he took out with those ginormous wings tucked behind his back. Without answering her previous question, he lowered his head and grazed her arm. Eva jerked forward, blinking at him with her big doe eyes, and finally noticed that he had taken the heavy boxing equipment out of her hand.
Her breath hitched when he snaked his hand to her waist and his eyes glittered with something that made her toes curl inside her boots. The next second, they were in the air and Eva dug her nails into the black jacket he was wearing over his shirt. This time she didn't bother closing her eyes, she was getting used to this and relished the view that soaring offered.
Eden was stunning with its tall buildings, the glowing marketplace, the snow-covered mountains, and the enchanting ocean that shone with the stars shining above in their glory and grandeur.
Turning to the man who was carrying her and a weighty punching bag in his other hand, she wondered how he wasn't panting by now. What was under that shirt that made it so easy to lift anything up—
Eva bit her lip hard, scolding herself internally. Her eyes traveled to the cloud they were approaching and she observed every motion he made with his wings and hands. Lifting his hand, Theo swung the punching bag's chain over the cloud and tied it into a small knot around the cloud which surprisingly didn't disintegrate into vapors.
"How is it not..." she trailed off and her jaw almost fell when she saw him let go of the bag.
It dropped down like a heavy boulder and she waited to hear the thud that would follow. Seconds passed and she started questioning if this was reality or just a dream.
"This cloud is marked and Davina enchanted it to act like a hook that held the equipment. The chain is also charmed to extend its length when needed. Satisfied?" he asked, trying not to grin at the fascinated expression that betook her face.
Eva could only nod her head dumbly in reply. Damn...