Chapter 1

Aiden

The ravens saw her before Aiden did. For illusions of his imagination, they were remarkably observant.

Hot, said Horatio. He was the blunt one.

she usually wears black, added Magnus. His comment was a bit unexpected.

Even Aiden hated the birds' voice in his head, he agreed with Horatio. The woman was stunning, and it was a wonder the whole party didn't come to a halt for her. she paused at the doorway, scanning the crowded room. She had to meet someone, he decided. Or maybe she was looking for the bar. Aiden had already started his third drink and wasn't sure that was going to be enough tonight. This was the fifth party he'd had to go to, and he was tired of smiling.

The woman took a few steps, still searching.

Her hair is like winter sunlight, said Magnus, almost sounding lovesick. Still, it wasn't a bad comparison. Not quite gold, not quite silver. She wore it in an old-fashioned way that still managed to be stylish, pulled back and folded into itself at the back of her head. It revealed an elegant neck, which Aiden rather liked.

"Aiden!"

Chris' slapped him back to reality, causing him to stumble into the table and spill a part of his drink. With one last look at the blonde, he put on a smile and turned his focus back to the game.

"Yeah, yeah." Aiden set his money on the line and glanced back at the doorway. The bland was gone.

By the bar, said Horatio

Sure enough, there she was. Aided touched Chris's arm and nodded toward her. "Do you know who she is?"

Chris looked at her, a small frown appearing on his face. "Never seen her. One of my prettier party crashers."

"She's military, whoever she is," said Hans, standing on the other side of Aiden.

Aiden did a double-take. "Her? No. No way."

"Takes one to know one. It's in the way she stands." Hans gave her one more look and returned to the game. "She's one of us too," he added. "EA or RUSA."

"How do you know that?"

"The dress. Next bet."

Aiden obligingly set down more one and processed Hans' words. He had a point. The woman’s dress was a deep plum crepe de chine, with no sleeves and a high neckline.

The dress’s slim-fit hugged her body and hit just above the knee. To Aiden’s eyes, it was suggestive but elegant—and completely boring by local standards.

Too refined to be from around here, Magnus agreed. At least he appreciated Aiden's fashion analysis. A woman among women. Can’t you see the stars and flowers?

Stars and flowers. Those were words Aiden hadn’t heard in a long time—ones he wasn’t sure he was ready to hear. A nudge from Hans put the rumination on hold. “Your turn to roll.”

Aiden did. He tried to spot the woman again, but she had disappeared.

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