Darkling by Em Petrova

forefinger into his eyes. Why would she
take an object like that? While unusual, it surely couldn’t be worth much. Hurt
and betrayal stung the back of his nose. If she’d needed help, he would have
given it gladly.
    You took a chance, man, and it didn’t pay off. She wasn’t
who you thought she was. No, he couldn’t tame that stray cat to stick
around and become his pet, and Vega was no different. Except she’d taken more
than food, shelter and a precious gift from one of his dearest friends.
    She’d taken his damn heart.
    His phone vibrated in his pocket, drawing him from his
unhappy musings. The ringtone indicated work was calling, probably because not
only had he taken the previous week off work, he’d used up his lunch break, and
his next appointment was seated in his office waiting for him.
    Without bothering to close up the chest, he spun from the
closet and strode out of the apartment, hesitating but locking the door behind
him. Vega wasn’t likely to return.
    On the street, the sun baked the top of his head. He longed
for the cool recesses of the park where he liked to spend his break. Today he
needed that calm more than ever.
    As he passed the Laundromat and the little stand where he
sometimes bought pastries on a Saturday morning, he stared blindly at the
people passing him. People with families and spouses to love.
    You were stupid to think there was some deeper spark
between you and Vega.
    Their connection last night had been much deeper than
anything he’d experienced in his longer relationships.
    As he passed an alley, he automatically glanced into it.
    Before his brain registered what he was seeing, he jerked to
a stop. Staring. Gaping at the woman who had come to his bed last night and
stolen his heart.
    Also the woman who’d stolen his property and fled without a
word.
    Slowly and deliberately, he paced toward her. The layers of
black clothing obscured her form from his view, but his hands twitched to glide
over her curves. Though her hood had been drawn up and shadowed her dark eyes,
he knew she was crying. Tears slicked the lower half of her face and ran into
the seam of her lips.
    Two steps away from her, he drew up. Anger and hurt warred for
supremacy. He rarely lost his patience, but at this moment he wanted to yell,
to demand to know what the hell she was doing, why she’d taken the fossil and
fled. Why she’d given her body and ensnared him.
    Harsh tremors racked her form. She plunged a hand into her
clothes as if holding tight to something. The fossil?
    “Vega, what’s going on? What are you doing out here?”
    “I… Niles, I don’t know how to tell you.” Her raspy tone cut
through the haze of anger, leaving only the deep ache.
    “Start at the beginning. I think you owe me that much after
what we shared last night.”
    Her perfectly square front teeth sank into her plush lower
lip. He bit off a growl. Damn, if she stepped into his arms right now, his
heart would accept her without another question. His mind needed more though.
    She shifted, her bare toes curling into the hot pavement as
if to run.
    The hell you’re going to run away from me.
    In a flash, he snagged her around the waist and brought her
flush against him.
    A clatter at their feet sounded as something bounced out of
the folds of her clothing. Her chest jerked with her gasp, and together they
stared down at the fossil Mischa had given him. Clenching his jaw against the
words that threatened to spew out, he simply gazed at her.
    “Vega, tell me what’s going on. Now.”
    Something broke behind the dark recesses of her eyes. They
filled with fresh tears, but beneath the watery surface, fierce determination
burned.
    She scooped up the disc and clutched it tight to her chest.
Then she grasped the back of his neck and drew his ear to her mouth.
    “I am Pollux of the constellation Gemini. This is a
starscale.” She pressed it hard into his ribs. “An enchanted scale from a
dragon which will grant the newborn