Desired by Morgan Rice Read Free Book Online Page A

go, he might fly away forever.
    Beneath them, the landscape was ever-changing. Pretty quickly the city fel away and the landscape shifted to dense woods and rol ing hil s. Closer to the city, there were occasional houses, farms. But the further they got, the more the land opened. They passed field after field, rol ing meadows, an occasional farm, sheep grazing. Smoke rose from chimneys, and she guessed that people were cooking. Clotheslines spread out over lawns, and sheets hung from them. It was an idyl ic scene, and the July temperature had dropped just enough so that the cooler air, especial y up this high, was refreshing.
    After hours of flying, they rounded a bend, and the new view took Caitlin’s breath away: there, on the horizon, sat a shimmering sea, vibrant blue, its waves smashing into an endless, pristine shoreline. As they got closer, the elevation rose, and rol ing hil s went right up to the shoreline.
    Nestled in the rol ing hil s, amidst the tal grass, she saw a single building set against the horizon.
    It was a glorious, medieval castle, designed of an antique limestone, covered in ornate sculptures and gargoyles. It was nestled high on a hil , overlooking the sea, and surrounded by fields of wildflowers as far as the eye could see. It was breathtakingly beautiful, and Caitlin felt as if she were in a postcard.
    Caitlin’s heart beat with excitement, as she wondered, as she hoped to dream, that this could be Caleb’s place.
    Somehow, she felt that it was.
    “Yes,” he cal ed out, over the wind, reading her mind, as always. “This is it.”
    Caitlin’s heart pounded with delight. She was so excited, and felt so strong, she was ready to fly by herself.
    She suddenly jumped off of Caleb’s back, and went flying through the air. For a moment, she was terrified, wondering if her wings would sprout. A moment later, they did, supporting her in the air.
    As the air ran through them, she loved the feeling. It felt great to have them again, to be independent. She rose and dove, swooping up, close to Caleb, who smiled back. They dove down together, then up, swerving in and out of each other’s flight paths, the tips of their wings sometimes touching.
    As one, they dove down, closer to the castle. It looked ancient; it felt worn in, but not in a bad way. For Caitlin, it already felt like home.
    As she took it al in, looked at the landscape, the rol ing hil s, the distant ocean, for the first time in as long as she could remember, she felt a sense of peace. She felt, final y, like she was home. She saw her life together with Caleb here, living together, even starting a family together again, if that was possible. She would be happy to live out her days here with him—and final y, at long last, she didn’t see anything that stood in their way.
    *
    Caitlin and Caleb landed together in front of his castle, and he took her hand and led her to the front door. The oak door was covered in a thick layer of dust and sea salt, and clearly hadn’t been opened in years. He tried the knob. It was locked.
    “It’s been hundreds of years,” he said. “I’m pleasantly surprised to find that it’s stil here, that it hasn’t been vandalized—that it’s even stil locked. There used to be a key…”

    He reached up, way above the door frame, and felt the crevice behind the stone arch. He ran his fingers up and down it, and final y stopped, extracting a long, silver skeleton key.
    He slipped into the lock, and it fit perfectly. He turned it with a click.
    He turned and smiled at her, stepping aside. “You do the honors,” he said.
    Caitlin pushed the heavy, medieval door, and it opened slowly, creaking, encrusted salt fal ing off in clumps as it did.
    They walked in together. The entry room was dim, and covered in cobwebs. The air was stil and dank, and it felt like it hadn’t been entered in centuries. She looked up at the high, arched stone wal s, the stone floors. There were layers of dust on everything, including