Free HeartsAflameCollectionV by Melissa F. Hart

only flew higher.
    “ It is done,” Lukas said, with aching regret in his
voice, and Tara heard something in it that made goose bumps rise up on her
arms.
    “ What? What is done?” she demanded, and he met her
stare with grief.
    “ I'm... I'm so sorry, Tara. Please take heart, it is
for the best. I will see you again at the Aerie.”
    With nothing more than that, Lukas threw himself
into the air, and was gone, leaving everyone to stare at Tara.
    “ Fen,” she whispered. “Oh no,
Fen!”
    She took off running, but Mads caught her by the elbow again.
    “ Who or what is Fen?” he growled. “What are you
hiding from me?”
    She stared up at him, seeing the rage and the
jealousy there, and suddenly, her own anger came up to meet it quickly and with
the power of a tidal wave.
    “ My son,” she shouted. “My son, my child, the one I carried from city to city! Lukas, that angel you
were going to kill, helped me birth him, and helped me survive, and now I have
to go to him! Let me go, Mads !”
    With every word that she spoke, his hands tightened
on her, and his face grew paler and paler.
    “ A child?” he said thickly. “A
son?”
    “ My son,” she cried. “Mine and yours, and now let me
go!”
    Whether he let her go from pain or from shock, she
didn't know and didn't care. She ran as hard as she could, and she was only
vaguely aware of the three following her, all human now.
    She dashed up the stairs to her apartment, and to
her shock and terror, she found Mrs. Erikson's door hanging open. The woman was
in a dead sleep in her bedroom, but there was no sign of Fen. The only thing
left was a long white feather that she knew came from no bird, and she
shivered, thinking of her child in the arms of one of the burned and scarred
angels.
    Numbly, she woke up Mrs. Erikson and told her that
she was taking Fen back, and then she went to the little apartment, a place
that had felt so safe just a few hours ago. She let Mads and his friends in, because she couldn't think to do otherwise, and for a very
long moment, she sat still as a statue in the kitchen chair.
    She was prepared for Mads to shout, to be angry. She didn't even know what the penalty was for taking a
child from its father among his people. She wondered dully if he would abandon
her, or if he would leave in disgust. When he spoke, she was ready to hear
anything except what he actually said.
    “ Tara, I'm so sorry,” Mads murmured.
    He dropped to his knees by her side, and he took
her frigid hands in his. He was so warm, he always had been, and she wanted
nothing more than to collapse into him. There had been too much time, though,
and too much blood, and all she knew was that she didn't know him at all.
    “ He's... he's a beautiful boy,” she found herself
saying woodenly. “He came out perfectly, Mads . So strong, and so... so loud. He has eyes just like
yours...”
    Mads made a pained sound deep in his throat, and then
the decision was taken away from her. He swept her up in his arms, and it was
such a relief that she simply fell into him. It was what she had been yearning
for the past year, and now that he was so close, she couldn't resist his scent,
his touch, and his strength.
    “ We'll get him back, Tara, I promise.” Mads whispered the words into her hair, and Tara could only
nod tightly. She heard the truth in his voice, the honesty, but then she had
thought she could tell when he was lying before.
    After a long moment, she drew back, and blinked at
the two other men who were watching them closely.
    Mads followed her gaze and nodded. “ Tara, let me introduce you to my brothers. The
idiot with the smile on his face is Kalle , and the
quiet one who always glares is Nils. Nils, Kalle ,
this is Tara.”
    “ The famous Tara,” Kalle murmured, and she was struck all over again by how much he looked like Mads .
    “ I need to pack,” she said. “If we're going to find
the Aerie, I'll need to have more than my flannel pajamas on me, like I did
last