Tempted

him to reach me, just as Stark had told me the night before. “That’s none of your business,” I said.
    “You are correct. All of those sons of man who swarm around you, eager to bask in your presence, are completely beneath my concern.”
    I didn’t bother to call him on his twisting of what I’d said. I was too busy trying to stay calm and will myself to wake up.
    “You chase me away from you, yet you find me in your dreams. What does that say about you, A-ya?”
    “That is not my name! Not in this lifetime!”
    “‘Not in this lifetime’ you say. That means you have accepted the truth. You know your soul is the reincarnation of the maiden fashioned by the Ani Yunwiya to love me. Perhaps that is why you keep coming to me in your dreams, because even though your waking mind resists, your soul, your spirit, your very essence yearns to be with me.”
    He used the ancient word for the Cherokee people—my grand-ma’s people and mine. I knew the legend. A beautiful, winged immortal had come to live with the Cherokee, but instead of being a benevolent earthbound god, he was cruel. He abused the women and used the men. Finally, the Wise Women of the tribes, known as Ghigua Women, came together and created a maiden from the earth. They gave A-ya life, as well as special gifts. Her purpose was to use Kalona’s lust to lure him underground so that he could be trapped within the earth. Their plan worked. Kalona couldn’t resist A-ya and he was trapped within the earth—or at least he had been until Neferet had freed him.
    And now that I’d shared a memory with A-ya, I knew only too well the truth of that legend.
    Truth,
my mind reminded me.
Use the strength of the truth to fight him.
    “Yes,” I admitted. “I know I am the reincarnation of A-ya.” I drew a deep, centering breath, turned around, and faced Kalona. “But I am
today’s
reincarnation of her, which means I make my own choices, and I will not choose to be with you.”
    “And yet you continue to come to me in your dreams.”
    I wanted to deny that I’d come to him—to say something smart and High Priestess–like, but all I could do was stare at him. He was so beautiful! As usual, he was underdressed. I guess the better description would be
un
dressed. He had on jeans, and that was it. His skin was bronze and perfect. It covered his muscles with a smoothness that made me want to touch him. Kalona’s amber eyes were luminous. They met my gaze with a warmth and kindness that made mybreath catch. He appeared about eighteen, but when he smiled he seemed even younger, more boyish, more accessible. Everything about him screamed
super hot guy I should be going crazy over!
    But that was a lie. Kalona was actually super-scary and super-dangerous, and I could never forget that—no matter what he
appeared
to be—no matter what the memories planted deep within my soul yearned for him to be.
    “Ah, so you finally deign to look at me.”
    “Well, you wouldn’t go away and leave me alone, so I figured I’d be polite,” I said with forced nonchalance.
    Kalona threw back his head and laughed. The sound was infectious and warm and very seductive. It made me ache to move closer to him and join him in the freedom of his laughter. I wanted it so much that I’d almost taken a step toward him when his wings chose that moment to stir. They quivered and then spread partially open so that the sunlight glistened against their black depths, illuminating the indigo and purple that usually hid within their darkness.
    The sight of them was like running into an invisible wall. I remembered again what he was—a dangerous fallen immortal who would like to steal my free will and, eventually, my soul.
    “I don’t see why you’re laughing,” I said quickly. “I’m telling you the truth. I’m looking at you because I’m polite, even though I really wish you’d fly away and let me dream in peace.”
    “Oh, my A-ya.” His expression sobered. “I can never leave you in peace. You and I are bound. We will be each other’s salvation, or each other’s doom.” He took a step closer to me and I mirrored his movement by taking a step backward. “Which shall it be? Salvation or doom?”
    “I can only speak for myself.” I made my voice stay calm, and was even able to add a touch of sarcasm to it, though I could feel the cool stone of the balcony balustrade pressing like the walls of a prison cell against my back. “But both sound pretty bad. Salvation? Jeesh,