Read Online Wicked Wind (Solsti Prophecy #1) by Sharon Kay - Free Book Online Page A

and into the great room. They all turned to look at her. “Am I interrupting something?”
    “No,” was the only word Gunnar could manage as he drank her in. All sunshine and sweet peaches, her presence assaulted his senses in a sultry overload. Damp hair, radiant skin, and those tight jeans again. Blood rushed to his groin. She looked sexy as hell and didn’t seem intimidated to be in the presence of three Lash demons. Maybe a bit wary, but he didn’t sense any fear. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing remained to be seen. She presented herself without hubris, just a calm confidence.
    She raised her eyebrows, taking in his lingering stare. A smile tugged at the corner of her lush mouth. Gunnar cleared his throat, noticing Rhys and Kai exchanging eye rolls. He shot a glare over his shoulder at them, then nodded at Nicole. “Let’s go check on Rilan.”
    He led her to the stairway in the foyer and up to the second floor of the house. They went into the first door, which opened to a large study crammed with books and other odd objects. There were two overstuffed armchairs and a couch arranged near some small tables, all piled with more books. Rilan sat at a huge desk, his back to them, hunched over an ancient tome. “Good timing, Gunnar,” he grunted without turning around. “I’ve just finished.”
    Despite his years, the Elder didn’t look a day over forty. He was short for a Lash demon, only about five and a half feet tall, with brown eyes and thick wavy brown hair that he never seemed to comb. He closed his book, rolled his shoulders, and drew a breath. He paused, then turned to face them. “You brought a friend.” His eyes locked onto Nicole, his expression unreadable.
    “This is Nicole. I thought you could answer some questions for her.” A tinge of unease warred with his protective instincts as Rilan scrutinized the willowy woman before him. He honestly didn’t know how the Elder would respond to her. Would he find her to be truly dangerous and a threat to their world, even if she didn’t realize it herself? Or would he be able to identify her species at all? “Nicole was raised as a human, but she isn’t one.”
    “No, she’s not.” Rilan stared intently at her. “You must have many questions.” He reached for her hand and she hesitantly took it. Rilan could pick up clues about some people and objects with a simple touch, and Gunnar hoped it would work with Nicole.
    “Until last night I thought I was just a regular human who happened to have a weird talent.”
    “My dear girl. Let’s sit down and talk about it, shall we?” The Elder muttered something under his breath, and the books cluttering the chairs and couch piled themselves in an orderly fashion on the floor. Releasing her hand, he gestured to the newly straightened seating area. “Please, tell me everything.”
    If Rilan asked her to explain, then either his touch hadn’t shed any light on Nicole’s species, or the Elder knew exactly what she was and wanted to see if she lied to them. Gunnar fervently hoped it wasn’t the latter, because she was already under his skin. He listened as Nicole told Rilan the same things she had revealed to him last night, and used her talent to ruffle the Elder’s hair, just as she had with him and the others. Rilan went completely motionless at the release of her power.
    A stillness enveloped the room. An old mantle clock, which never told the correct time, ticked in the silence. The Elder closed his eyes, turned his hands palm up, and quietly recited something in a dialect of Demonish so ancient that Gunnar didn’t recognize it. The air in the room swirled along the ceiling, as if a wind was trying to take hold. It wasn’t Nicole’s doing, though. She looked at him, uncertainty in her emerald eyes. Gunnar managed a tight smile which was probably not reassuring at all, and said quietly, “Just wait.”
    The Elder’s eyes suddenly flew open, and instead of their usual chocolate brown,