Wings

Dinnertime

I can see I need to do more explaining concerning Surtan. He's considered a fire demon because he is, technically speaking, no longer a Wing since he stole another Wing's wings and used forbidden magic to make them part of him. And his original element is fire, which is where the 'fire' part of fire demon comes in. Basically he's an evil little bastard who wants to destroy a bunch of people.

- Felicity

***

When I showed up to the great hall for dinner, Hierodule was giving me a funny look. I knew my hair was mussed, but my clothes were all straightened out so he couldn't possibly have known what I had been up to unless he had been spying on me again.

"Seriously, keep your eyes to yourself," I said snidely as I passed by him at the table and came to sit down next to Sirafina, or Sif for short. She's Thom's bondmate and also kind of obnoxious.

Sif frowned at me. "What was that about?"

"Selena came to visit and Hierodule thought it would be okay to spy on me," I said shortly.

Sif instantly turned red. She had always been sensitive to that sort of information. It was kind of funny, actually. But I kept my smirk to myself and turned my attention to my food. The elves, it seemed, had a sense of humor. They had made Troll's Secret today, a sort of roasted meat cooked with a particular sauce cut up into small pieces and put over a serving of vegetables. It wasn't that Altheans couldn't cook for themselves; it was just that the elves were so much better at it and could actually get the ingredients without getting harassed.

It seemed Sif hadn't been the only one to have overheard my short talk with Hierodule. Sjanka came over to sit across from me, having decided to sit down after spending about half the meal considering the table from across the room. Her cold blue eyes looked at me with amusement. "Hierodule bothering you again?" she asked, her voice lacking most of its usual frost.

"Yeah, he does that," I replied, pausing from my meal. I hoped that she didn't want to talk to me too long. I was actually quite hungry.

"Let me guess; a new conquest," Sjanka suggested, leaning forward on the table.

"Bondmate," I replied warily. I didn't know what she was getting at. I would have to be careful.

Sjanka raised her eyebrows. For some reason, her expression was less hostile. "That's what I thought. Good to hear."

I frowned. "Do you want something?"

She smiled at me. "I didn't think you'd ever ask. I'm curious. I've never had sex with a Fire Wing before. I'm told that Fire Wings are the best at it of all the Wings."

I processed this and considered her request. This was much more like her. She was probably ready to criticize how I performed in bed, especially considering the fact that I'm not truly male in her eyes, but a competing female. Well, that most likely anyway. And now that I knew this, I was prepared to be a surprise. "I see," I said slowly, regarding her slyly. "And is Norman okay with this? I'm not one to get between a pair of bondmates."

Sjanka shrugged. "You know as well as I do that it was a strategic bonding. There's little feeling in it. He fools around, so there's little harm in my doing so as well. Besides, he told me he doesn't care. Will you be free next week?"

"When?" I inquired.

"Tuesday night. We could, of course, reschedule if Orvin decides to send you on an errand." Sjanka grinned at me wolfishly.

"That sounds agreeable. Are you going to eat?" I inquired.

Sjanka shook her head slowly. "No. I'm going out to hunt. Good-bye." And with that, she rose from her seat and walked away, her hips swaying.

Sif was regarding me with a slightly disgusted expression. I rolled my eyes. "Hey, I'd rather sleep with Sjanka than have her eat me alive. You should understand that." Thom had not been her first bondmate.

"You don't have any limits, do you?" Sif growled, stabbing at her food with her fork and ignoring what I had just said.

Now I was starting to feel a little insulted. "Actually, I do. I never do more than one at a time and never without their permission. Oh, and I need a reason to do so in the first place other than my passionate urges that you are so far above. Perhaps you don't approve of my adventures outside my bond, but I seem to recall that my bond wasn't consensual. So before you judge me, I suggest that you take a closer look at the facts."

"The fact is that you're too fond of chasing skirt," Sif hissed. "And you shouldn't be chasing skirt in the first place. It's unnatural."

I smiled at her. It was not a nice smile. "Perhaps you should've thought of that before binding me to another woman." And with that, I returned to my food knowing that I won.