ARAH“Arah, it’s me.” Jeric’s voice called from behind the door, a little shaky.She pulled the door open fast and saw him backing away from Barky, who was snarling with his teeth bared. Jeric’s grip tightened around the paper bags in his hands. The dog stood low, growling deep in his throat, angry eyes fixed on Jeric.“Barky, stop!” she commanded. “It’s Jeric. You used to like him.”Barky didn’t listen. He kept creeping forward, step by step, muscles tense. It wasn’t until she stepped between them that the dog seemed to snap out of it. His eyes shifted to her, and something in her—maybe the look on her face—made him hesitate. He snorted, then turned and slunk back to his doghouse like nothing had happened.She turned to Jeric, who looked just as stunned as she felt.“I’m so sorry. Are you okay? Did he hurt you?” she asked quickly, then paused, a realization creeping in.Gildeon had told her Barky could sense Ghulik—t
ARAHShe woke in the middle of the night to find Gildeon gone from the bed. Pushing the sheets aside, she stood and spotted him through the window, pacing in the backyard. At first, she thought he was checking the security spells around the house—but no, he just looked lost in thought.Grabbing her robe, she stepped outside and quietly approached him. He didn’t even notice her until he nearly walked right into her.“Arah?” he said, startled.She tucked her hair behind her ear. “Couldn’t sleep?”“I did, for about an hour.”She resisted the urge to reach for his arm and instead hugged herself. “Is something else bothering you? What is it?”Gildeon raked a hand through his hair and sighed, his gaze drifting into the distance. He was silent for a long moment before he spoke again.“It’s the Light Faes, Arah.”She blinked. “What?”He turned to her, a dreadful look clouding his serpent eyes. It was the
ARAHShe’d forgotten how impossible it was to keep secrets on this island, and how Tonio seemed to have friends in every corner. A hospital staff member had told him about seeing her and Gildeon with a college student patient. It all escalated from there. Tonio had talked to Cora, and Cora unintentionally slipped up.Now Tonio looked like a raging bull, springing up from the couch, ready to charge out of her studio to confront Gildeon.“Sit down, you oaf!” Cora rolled her eyes and yanked him back down. “As if you could actually land a punch.”“Hey, I did knock a tooth out of your ex-husband,” Tonio countered.Cora planted a hand on her hip. “Romel’s half your size. There’s a difference.”Tonio let out a sharp sigh and dropped his gaze to the floor. “That son of a bitch Gildeon needs to learn a lesson too,” he muttered, grinding his knuckles into his other palm. “A real man should never cheat on his woman.”“It’s fine,
GILDEONLight Faes.His mouth parted slightly, eyes blinking in surprise. He’d only ever heard a few things about them. Ghulik had said they rarely crossed into the earthly plane, rarely involved themselves in the affairs of other beings.His jaw clenched. “You’re the ones who tried to harm my child,” he muttered, summoning fire to his hand. “Saved me the trouble of tracking you down.”A bitter wind whipped through the room, slamming into his hand with such force that it went numb. The cold snuffed out his flame in an instant.He stared, stunned. No other creature had ever done that before.“Your fire holds no power against us.”But he was already releasing another flame, ignoring the remark.“If you persist,” the Fae warned, “you will only kill this human.”Gildeon gritted his teeth, every muscle in his body tightening. It wasn’t about concern for Professor Leviste’s safety—he hadn’t meant to put her at
GILDEONThe department head made him sit through the scattered video clips that students had taken during yesterday’s incident. Most focused on the sudden bite to the female professor’s shoulder, and the fire that had exploded out of nowhere in the hallway.The problem was—he and Arah were clearly in them.“Care to explain why you were here, Mr. Ayadi?” Professor Leviste asked, her white hair catching the daylight pouring through the tall windows behind her. She had the stern face of a strict grandmother—but the voice of one who always had sweets in her pocket.“You weren’t due to report back until next week,” she added. “You even brought your wife.”He regretted ever putting that fake wedding photo of him and Arah on display on his desk. Back then, he’d thought mimicking human behavior would help them not stand out.Now the irony was biting him in the ass.Gildeon had to be careful about what excuse to give. And as R
ARAHJust when she thought she was ready to forgive Gildeon, he gave her another reason to burn.“It’s not enough that you slept with another woman—a crazy witch, no less.” She slammed her hands on the stone table. “Got her pregnant. And now you want her to live here?”She paused, catching her breath. Her chest stormed with rage, tight enough to burst. Wind slapped against them, tearing leaves from the tree, fluttering down like the last shreds of her patience.It was too much to take in.Ever since discovering she was a sylph, she’d been quietly training herself to keep her emotions in check. The last thing she wanted was to stir up chaos every time the wind responded to her mood.But this situation was pushing her to the edge. The fact that her outburst had triggered only a mild reaction felt like a small miracle already.Gildeon’s mouth parted slightly, his gaze flicking up to the tree above them with a mix of surp