Free Midnight's Jewel (Siren Publishing Classic) by J. Annas Walker Page A

place.
    “I’ve been here before, just never awake,” she whispered in awe. She pulled the black silk top sheet around her and got up. Brandon did the same with the bottom sheet and joined her at the railing. His cool hand touched her shoulder. Warmth trailed along the surface, similar but not as intense as the heat she had felt on his balcony. It was comforting and added to the tranquility of the place.
    “Is this the moon? How the hell did we end up on the moon? Where is my apartment?” There was a thread of tension in his voice. He placed an arm around her waist. He looked from side to side, scanning the area as if for danger.
    “Would you believe me if I said I don’t know? I always thought this place was a dream. I think it’s Diana’s palace.” She whispered her confession. The peacefulness of the landscape and the quiet from the palace compelled her to use hushed tones. She did not want to break the silence.
    In the distance, a high-pitched whinny caught her attention. It took a moment for her locate after the source. She pointed skyward in the direction of the noise.
    “Look! There, on the horizon!” She forgot about the sacred silence in her excitement.
    “I don’t see anything,” Brandon replied. Sabrina noticed he was looking down at the ground and giggled.
    “No, not down there. In the sky. See where the blue-white glow is cresting the mountains? That black shadow. It’s flying right at us!”
    “Is that a horse? With wings?” Brandon sounded baffled. His mouth was agape. Looking up at him, she could see his fangs. They were tinted pink from licking his fingers. A shudder ran down her spine, and her pussy gave a quiver with the memory.
    She gave another giggle. “No, it’s a Pegasus.”
    Sabrina could understand his confusion. How often could anyone say they had stood on the moon and watched a Pegasus soar through the air?
    The majestic creature flew closer until it swooped past and landed in the courtyard below. The shiny black stud tossed his head, making his mane flutter down his neck. He walked toward the stables as he tucked his black, feathered wings to his side. As far as the Pegasus was concerned, this was any other ordinary day.
    There was a shuffling in the room behind them. They both turned to see an ancient woman sweeping the floor. She was busy with her work and had not noticed them. Her clothes reminded Sabrina of peasants in paintings from the Dark Ages. She donned dull, drab earth tones from head to foot. An off-white wimple covered her head and neck. It flowed down over her shoulders and was topped with a rust-red head covering. Her dark-brown dress was straight sackcloth tied at the waist with a heavy matching cord. Only her wrinkled face and calloused hands were exposed. She looked up and squinted at them. She took a few steps closer and leaned toward them, as if her eyesight were failing with age. The broom fell to the floor as she took another step or two. The gauzy curtains must have made it difficult to see them clearly. She dropped the dust pan with a gasp. The old woman inhaled deep and let out a piercing scream. Breath after breath the old woman screamed a wordless cry. It reverberated in the stone room, amplifying the shrill tone.
    Sabrina panicked. She clutched Brandon’s wrists, shut her eyes, and thought of his bedroom. Her pendant hummed against her skin. A wave of energy from deep within expanded from somewhere just above her navel. There was a dizzy spinning, but she dared not peek. Her feet felt as though nothing were under them for a moment. Suddenly, the cold stone floor was replaced with soft, warm carpet. Her world was still, at last. She opened her eyes to find they were back in Brandon’s room.
    Brandon was still holding her tight around the waist. He blinked a few times before relaxing his grip. He looked back to where the bed should have been. The only thing there was an empty patch of carpet.
    “Damn, I really liked that bed,” he complained about