Feather Dark

Chapter 14

Keira

That night, I fluttered around my room, stupidly excited. The wardrobe beside my bed had always been filled with clothing, but I'd only ever worn a few basic pieces in silent protest: leggings, tanks, sweaters. If I was going to be a bird in their gilded cage, I wasn't going to gild myself.

But with the prospect of a social event, I dug through the outfits, comparing shorts with jeans, dresses with skirts. I finally chose a voluminous yellow skirt (Leigh's favourite colour) and paired it with a white lace top with long sleeves, remembering how Leigh had once said that lace was a turn on. Golden sandals on my feet, and a golden clip in my hair. I looked in the mirror and smiled for what felt like the first time in an age, then added gloss to my lips and a touch of mascara to my lashes.

The cut of the lace top dipped low between my breasts, and I frowned at the bareness of my décolletage. Should I...? I reached beneath my pillow and drew out my most treasured possession: Leigh's necklace. Every night I curled it around my fingers before I fell asleep, imagining that I was holding Leigh's hand in mine. Even after he'd exploded into my prison and started acting like a douche, I still held it like a talisman, as if it had the power to give me back what I'd lost with him.

My theory was that Sevic only let me keep the necklace because then she'd have something to hold over me if I disobeyed her; the feather slicing couldn't be overused or it would lose all meaning. But whatever the reason, I was grateful to her. If Leigh saw me wearing his gift, he'd have to understand what I was trying to say.

With eager fingers, I fastened the delicate clasp, and smiled at the sight of the pedant hanging over my heart where it belonged. With a burst of anticipation, I twirled out the door, performing a single pirouette for luck.

The rainforest room was different at night. Above me, the stars twinkled through the glass dome, and along the path artificial lanterns flickered like real flames, throwing dancing light among the trees. I could see the bungalow through the foliage, hear music playing and smell hot food, and I hurried forward. For at least tonight, there would be joy, albeit temporary joy, and I reached for it with both hands.

As I turned the corner, I clasped for my necklace with trembling fingers, needing the cool metal swirl to rub and calm myself with. Nothing.

"What?" I ground to a halt, patting my chest, shaking out my skirt. No! After a thorough body search, I came up short. It must have fallen on the path.

Bending forward, I carefully retraced my steps. With a pulse pounding in my ears, I searched each stone, each wooden step, each clot of earth. It has to be here. It just has to be.

"Looking for this?"

The voice I loved best in the world called to me from beside the koi pond. Leigh stood there, magnificent in a midnight blue shirt over black jeans, his wings bronze in the eventide light. My necklace dangled carelessly between his fingers, and I gratefully sighed.

"You found it. Thank you."

He lifted the chain as if he'd never seen it before, as if he wasn't the one who spent hours searching for the perfect gift for my birthday and fastened it around my neck with love. "What a piece of junk."

"It's not junk." Tears sprang to my eyes, his uncaring tone catching me off guard.

"It must be, or you wouldn't have dropped it."

"I didn't mean to drop it. I don't think I fastened the clasp properly."

"Anything you don't take care with isn't something you feel all that strongly about."