A kiss. Calix was going in for a kiss. Something that he'd never done and never felt like doing with anyone before.Until now.His heart was racing. His cheeks were flushed. He continued to lean closer, nervous as all hell, while Kat's hand trailed down his cheek. This was it, he told himself. This was really happening. . . .Then she pressed her thumb right below his eye and beamed. "Look! A lash."She withdrew her hand and pulled back, leaving him speechless. His brain took a long while to recover, but even after the slow process he couldn't quite tell what had just happened. Had she really said lash? Had he misheard? Was this a human slang he was yet to discover?As though to answer his thoughts, Kat held up the barely visible strand of hair. "When someone, like, sheds a lash, we get it and blow it like this." She puffed out some air through her puckered lips. "It makes wishes come true. Or so they say."Calix let that sink in. And in return he wanted to sink into the mattress and n

It was acid. Idris's feathers could turn into a potent acid, thick and black, filling the air with smoke and a sharp smell that seemed capable of eroding the nasal cavity.And because Kat looked back to see it in action, she got a full splatter on her left shoulder.It would have been her entire head if Calix hadn't pulled her behind a concrete antenna base just in time.They crumpled to the floor just as the pain started to kick in. She inhaled sharply, forcing herself to glance at the raw, blistered, and bleeding bit of exposed skin peeking through her singed shirt. The wind blowing on her fresh burns was as torturous as a bed of nails piercing through her flesh. The smarting sensation on her palm from her unexpected trick from earlier felt like a minor boo-boo in comparison to this splotch of peeling skin.But of course, she couldn't exactly call time-out with Idris.Speaking of the ruthless Hellborn, Idris flew over the antenna and landed gracefully a few feet in front of them. His

The sound of her full name coming from Landon's lips gave Kat serious Idris flashbacks, but it was nothing compared to Calix's reaction.With his fists clenched, he stepped forward and almost growled, "I knew it."And apparently, Calix's sudden outburst gave Landon some getting-knocked-out-by-one-punch flashbacks too. He backed against the pillows fluffed behind him, one hand on his chest. "Kat, please tell your boyfriend to stay away. I am this close to calling the cops.""He's not my . . . never mind. Calix, it's not Idris," she tol

"Shit," was all Kat could say, and in her opinion, the word summed up the entire situation perfectly.And this was even before a hand—pale, slender, ridden with all sorts of rings—poked through the gap in the door and started fumbling around. To accompany this visual, a muffled, detached sort of female voice began to echo from from the other side, crooning, "Open the door. I need to talk to you."The worst thing was, Kat felt a strong need to obey.She stepped forward, her temples pulsing as she got torn between what she wanted to do and what she was supposed to do. Her hand gravitated towards the doorknob, but Calix deflected her outstretched arm, pulled her aside, and rammed the door with his shoulder.Slam. The impact of his body hitting wood seemed to shake the entire hallway, but the hand didn't disappear. The door didn't even close one bit. The voice was still there, coaxing to be let in. To top it off, long thick hair began to slide thr

Despite growing up with no body of water in her immediate vicinity, Kat had always been a good swimmer. Edeline had taught her at a young age, back when she'd still been in a state well enough to do some activities.And Kat had absorbed all those lessons well. She'd even learned how to surf. Being around, in, or under water had never scared her before. At least not until now.The pool wasn't deep; it was seven feet deep at best. However, as the water whooshed in her ears and pushed her deeper into the pool, she found herself unable to