Dust (Of Dust and Darkness) - By Devon Ashley Page 0,77
tilt a little more south.
He licks his lips and slightly chuckles, setting off the butterflies in my abdomen again. But they have an absolute fit when his body twists and exposes his backside to me. “What’s wrong?” I ask, completely flustered. We were about to have a moment! “What are you doing?”
“Uh…the dress, Rosalie.” He shifts a little as he awkwardly tries to point toward the cloth in my hand. “You need to put the dress on.”
My forehead creases with confusion, but when I look down, it all makes sense. “Oh-my-Mother-Nature!” I scream. I bend forward at the waist, my arms immediately crossing over my chest. My heart thumps so hard I feel it pulsating against the limb covering it. Who knew growing two inches would cause my chest to expand that much! My thinning bikini top has stretched and is covering the important parts, but it left very little to the imagination. I groan, wondering exactly how much Jack got to see before I even got around to opening my eyes. Sure, he was transfixed on my eyes then, but what about before? Mother Nature, I hope he was respectful. I’m sure he was, but I know he saw something, because how else would he know to turn and tell me to change? Here comes another groan…
The knot is hard to untie now that the material around me is stretched tight. I finally quit fighting it from behind and twist the knot to my front. It’s still hard to get, but I’m making headway.
After another grunt from me, Jack sarcastically asks, “Need some help?”
“Hush up and stay put.”
He chuckles and the tails of my bikini top finally untangle. I drop the worn-out top and quickly throw the dress over my head. The thin cotton is stretchy and fits me well, with thin sleeveless straps and a pleated skirt that falls loosely mid-thigh. The light tan color is nothing to be desired, but it blends really well against my skin.
“Uh…Jack?” I suddenly realize something very important.
“Yeah?”
“Turn around.” He obeys, his eyebrows lifting with interest as he examines me head to toe. I quickly thrust my forearms in the space between us and bounce them up and down. “Look. I’m still red. I can’t be red!” My poor enlarged heart can’t take any more panic attacks today, not after everything else my body has gone through.
“It’s okay,” he soothes. “I’m going to take care of that and your wings with dust too. Just one problem at a time.”
“Okay.” My head bobs nervously, then my hands begin to twitch too. Before my whole body can sporadically break out in embarrassing dance moves, I cross my arms tight, shut my eyes and take a few deep breaths. “Okay. Hit me.”
He wordlessly obliges. I barely hear his movements. A minute later, I feel a tingle spread all over the top of my skin. A minute after that, I feel a twinge at the base of my wings. It almost feels like the veins and crossveins in my wings are actually knitting back together, and the cartilage is molding and realigning at each break. A warmth radiates from the base of my spine and travels out to the tips of my four wings, and I suddenly feel this wondrous glow inside me build and spread to every single cell inside my body. I sigh with content, feeling healthier than I have in a long time. My insides sing, practically tingling with delight. I wiggle my fingers, and I swear I can almost feel the magic exuding from my fingertips, buzzing with life, static flaring as they brush together.
The symptoms fade, including the inner warmth, but I still feel pretty good as I expose my eyes to the sight before me. My skin is now a creamy peach like Jack’s, and I can see the tips of my wings out the corner of my eyes – and their yellow luminescence!
“Oh, Jack! You healed them? How?”
“No, Rosalie,” he says quickly, shaking his head and cutting the air with his hands multiple times. “I’m not a healer. Wings are incredibly delicate, and I wasn’t able to catch anything to practice on, so I’m not going to try. It’s just an illusion, so don’t try to actually use them. I just don’t want anyone we may run across to see damaged wings and wonder.”
“Oh.” To say I’m disappointed is an understatement, but better to see them in all their glory than the mangled up mess they really are, right?