“Ariel,” he replied, lips at her cheek. She went perfectly still. His heart gave a hard thump, and then he said the words he’d fought not to even think these past several weeks. “I choose you. I choose you as my mate, my equal in power, sorceress to my sorcerer. I choose you until eternity scatters our energy to the winds and we are reborn once again, our power to serve our People, as God wills.” His hands tightened around her, trembling. He wasn’t sure where he found the words to claim her as his mate, but they felt right. Ariel was his destiny. He prayed she would return his words to him, soul to soul.

She took a deep breath, and slid her hands up to frame his face. This high up there was no breeze, but her wingtips fluttered with the power that held them alive and warm in such thin skies. Tiny puffs of warmth misted around their faces as they hovered above the planet, almost at the edge of space. Her eyes were wide and shocked, but then she seemed to see something in his face and her expression relaxed. “Suriel, I choose you in return. I choose you as my mate, my equal in power, sorcerer to my sorceress. I choose you until our energy fades back into the winds and our souls are reborn once again, our power ebbing and flowing, always in service to our People, as God wills.” The moment she stopped speaking, power slammed into them, tossing them across the curve of the Earth.

Ariel cried out, but Suriel caught her again, wrapping his arms around her as they plummeted down, wings tight against their bodies. The power had them in its grip and it wasn’t letting go. He tucked her face into his neck and began to pray. He didn’t understand what was happening, but if he had to die, he at least wanted to go down protecting the woman he loved. Her heart beat against his, skin to skin, and he felt her terror as they fell from crystal cold into winter chill. Just as they were about to hit the snowy ground, the power pushed through them again and their wings unfolded in unison. Air caught them and they swooped up into the skies together.

Ariel lifted her face as Suriel took control of their flight, angling into the cold breeze that flew just below the ridge line. Her long hair streamed out behind her, sifting through the feathers at her shoulders.

“My God,” she breathed, still trembling.

He swallowed, agreeing wholeheartedly with her. “Yes.”

“We’re alive.”

He nodded, letting her slip out from his grasp until only their fingers touched. The power calmed down, settling into his bones. When he looked at her wings, the silver tips glowed, bright with energy. “You are truly a sorceress now,” he told her.

She glanced at him and angled their flight back to the castle, gripping his hand firmly. “I can feel the energy in my body. It’s like a wild wind, untamed and almost brutal, and I’m holding the leash.” She frowned. “No, I am the leash and the power, simultaneously.”

He smiled. “You’ve managed to describe the indescribable.” His power felt different. Not weaker, but more controlled. He sucked in a hard breath, trying to wrap his mind around what had happened. He’d spent so much of his life trying to control this energy; he couldn’t truly accept its sudden docility. No, it’s not docile, he thought, letting Ariel lead him home. It’s still ferocious, but it’s also more a part of me than it ever was. It’s who I am, not what I can do.

She snorted. “Is this what it felt like for you, all these years?”

The smile dropped from his face. Above them, the bright moon hid behind a few dark clouds. The castle loomed large and solid, just ahead. He didn’t answer until their feet touched the windowsill. “No. The power wasn’t truly mine until you touched my soul, Ariel. Without you, the power controlled me. Now that you are mine, we are the power and the will together.” He cupped her cheeks, tilting her face up. Her nose was pink from the cold, but she didn’t look one whit less stunning. “The power is who we are, now.”

She blinked up at him, soft and beautiful and then her smile bloomed over her face, light and happy. In the next moment, the moon slid back out from behind the dark cloud and Suriel touched his lips to hers for the first time as the light sparkled down over them like glitter.

****

His lips felt like velvet. He kissed her and Ariel had to hold on with all her strength as the energy they shared danced between them. His body was warm and solid against hers. She opened to him, helpless and wanting. He deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue into her mouth. She gasped. He pushed closer, his cock shoving against her hip. He kissed her until she ran out of air and had to tear herself away, panting.

“God, Ariel. I need you,” he said, voice low and hot.

She trembled and stepped back, floating down into the library. One look across the room confirmed it was still empty. Another look and a tendril of power locked the door. She spread her arms wide as her wings slid back into her body, leaving her in jeans and a halter. “Come and get me,” she said, smiling through her arousal. Her skin pricked with energy and she felt more alive, more in control of herself than she ever had before.

He growled, stepping into the room. He closed the window, but didn’t pull the drapes shut. Moonlight vied with the firelight across the hardwood floor. Ariel moved back until her toes touched the fluffy rug in front of the hearth. Every breath she took felt weighted with heat. Suriel stared at her, muscled chest flexing as he shifted back to human. His legacy marks glowed blue and silver along his arms as he popped the button on his pants. She licked her lips as she stared at his erection. He was so much bigger than her, but his power and hers was the same. It made her want him so badly her fingers shook as she tugged at her halter.

Suriel stepped forward, hands going to the knot around her neck. “Let me,” he breathed, kissing along her jaw as he undid the tie. He held it in place until he slipped the lower knot around her back free, too, then drew the silk away, baring her to his gaze for the first time.

She sucked in a gasp as his hands circled her ribs, then cupped her breasts, thumbs flicking expertly over her nipples. She gripped his forearms, pressing his marks into his bones. “God, Suriel.”

“Not God,” he murmured, lowering his mouth to her. “Just an angel.”