didn’t know if I could do that to him.
And I didn’t know how I could do any of this without him.
I stared at the night sky, wishing for some sign, for something that would tell me what to do, what was right—
A pinprick of light appeared, and I blinked, thinking my eyes were messing with me. But the glow remained, growing brighter and more intense as it raced across the sky. Twisting at the waist, I ignored the pain as I watched the white streak of light disappear beyond the trees, farther than my eyes could track.
Was that...a falling star?
Heart thumping, I turned back around. Had I just seen an actual falling star? A hoarse laugh scratched my throat. Was that the sign I’d been asking for?
If so, what in the Hell did that even mean?
I could interpret that to mean yes, I should summon Grim and possibly rip Zayne away from peace and happiness. Or it could mean that Zayne was okay, just like he’d told me, and that he was watching over me. Or it could mean absolutely nothing at all. I shook my head. No, it had to mean something. I dragged in a deep breath...and every muscle in my body tensed.
I smelled... I smelled snow and winter, fresh and minty.
I smelled wintermint.
My pulse kicked up as I reached down, gripping the edge of the bench. My head turned in the direction Zayne had come from the last time I’d been here, but the path was empty, as far as I could see.
Was I experiencing wishful smelling?
Easing my grip on the bench, I’d started to stand, when I felt it. A strange, shivery warmth that danced along the nape of my neck and between my shoulders. A breeze glided from behind me, lifting strands of my hair, and I was surrounded in wintermint.
The warmth spread from my neck down my back, and I sensed I was no longer alone. Someone or something was here, and I knew... I knew Heaven smelled like what you desired most.
My lips parted as I slowly stood, bones and muscles protesting, and turned around, closing my eyes because I was too afraid to look, to discover nothing but darkness existed there, and maybe, just maybe, I was losing a little of my mind. Trembling, I opened my eyes, and I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t speak or think beyond what I saw.
Zayne.
It was him, his blond hair loose and falling against cheeks and brushing broad, bare shoulders. It was his full lips I’d kissed and loved, and his broad chest that rose and fell rapidly...but those were not his eyes that stared back at me.
These eyes were a shade of blue so vibrant and so clear, they made Warden eyes seem pale and lifeless in comparison. They were the color of the sky at twilight.
And it wasn’t his skin.
Where his skin had looked like it had been kissed by the sun, it now carried a faint luminous golden glow. Not like a spirit, because he was blood and bone, but he was...he was shining, and my heart was pounding fast.
“Trin,” he said, and the tremors turned to full-body shakes at the sound of his voice—his voice. It was him, the way he said my name, it was him, and he was alive and breathing and I didn’t care how. I didn’t care why. He was alive, and—
Zayne’s shoulders moved, straightening, and something white and golden swept into the air and spread out on either side of him, nearly ten feet wide.
My mouth dropped open.
Wings.
They were wings.
Not Warden wings.
Even with my eyes, I could tell these were feathered. They were white and thick with streaks of gold laced throughout, and those gold veins glowed with Heavenly fire, with grace.
They were angelic wings.
Zayne was an angel.
* * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout.
Acknowledgments
I want to thank Natashya Wilson and the amazing team at Inkyard Press for being as excited as me to dive back into the world of demons and gargoyles and angels. Thank you to my agent Kevan Lyon, who helped make this series possible, to my publicist Kristin Dwyer for going above and beyond the call of duty and to Stephanie Brown for making sure I’m actually getting writing done. Thank you to Jen Fisher, who read the original version of this and didn’t kill me. Thank you to Malissa Coy, Hannah McBride, Val, Jessica, Krista, Katie, Happy, Sarah, Jessica Bird (who just really loves my puppy),