Page 16 of A Dance of Water (Moon Song #2)

BLOODY TEMPTATIONS

BASTIAN

B astian stared down at Luella as she was halfway in his lap. He took the teacup from her fingers before it could spill and placed it on the small table by his side, setting his own cup down, too.

With his hands free, the vampire wrapped both arms around the small, slight heirus Princess and pulled her gently on top of his lap. Her head rested on his cool chest, and he lamented the fact that he was not warm like the demon at his side. He wanted to be warm for her.

Azgorath grumbled as Luella was taken away from him, but Bastian shot the demon a droll look and curled his hands around her slim shoulders as he settled her more comfortably atop him, arranging her limbs just so.

"Has she—" Azgorath’s voice broke off. "Has she been sleeping okay?"

Bastian stared down at Luella, where she was cradled to his chest. The skirts of her gown had rucked up from his handling of her, and he eyed her pale, milky skin with a thick tongue and dry mouth.

He wondered if that moon-touched glow could be followed up her pale thighs, over the slight swell of her chest.

Fuck. Think of different thoughts .

She was on his lap for all the sake of the gods. He couldn’t get hard with her on him—even if the thought was tempting .

"Advisor," Azgorath hissed from his side, careful not to raise his voice too loudly with the sleeping Princess in their midst.

"Yes." Bastian thought of Tharen’s wolves as they tore into meaty hunks of flesh while red blood coated their maws. There, that should do it.

Wait, no . Now, he was just thinking of blood with her on his lap.

He shifted and adjusted himself as imperceptibly as he could.

"Has she been sleeping well?" Azgorath gritted his teeth and reached up to tangle his long, thick fingers in Luella’s white tresses. He tugged her head back, his knuckles growing white from his harsh grip, but his handling of her was gentle—it always was. And her head fell back onto the demon’s shoulder, exposing the long, pale, untouched line of her throat.

Bastian thought of boring things. War meetings and talks of politics…

He relaxed slightly.

"No," he answered the demon, softly reaching up to brush a whisper of touch across the bridge of her nose and up to her temples. Her brow furrowed slightly in her sleep. He wondered what she was dreaming of.

"I’m worried about her," Azgorath revealed.

Bastian nodded. "I am, as well. She’s not herself. Not since her awakening…" He watched her eyes as they moved behind her closed lids, and he wondered what sights plagued her.

"The weather," Azgorath started. "It is because of her, isn’t it?"

"Yes. She hasn’t put the pieces together yet, but I fear what her reaction will be once she does. How she will handle it… We’re waiting for all that power to explode."

Azgorath’s hands curled tighter in her hair, and he leaned down to run his nose along her ear, breathing her in with wild intensity. "How can we stop it?"

"I do not think we can. That kind of power—it is not made for a singular being, let alone someone like her. She is too small, too weak." Bastian brushed a finger over the dark circles under her eyes, the only mark of imperfection on her skin.

"Bastian, do you think she could ever forgive me?" Azgorath did not look at Bastian, and the vampire grew curious about what was simmering inside the demon’s mind.

Instinctively, he allowed his Mind magic to trickle into Azgorath’s head, invisible little fingers prying open the door to his mind as he peeked inside.

He was hit with a barrage of possession, just as he had been before.

Forgive me, Lu.

My beautiful angel. I could not live without you.

Her skin. Her scent. Strawberries. Need it all.

And a litany of discordant images and dreams floated to him like wisps of clouds.

Luella, splayed on her back, with Azgorath looming above her, large hands skimming down her stomach and between her thighs…

Her, asleep in bed with golden blonde hair and skin that was becoming leached of all color as he leaned forward and pressed a secret, stolen kiss to her chapped but rosy lips…

Bastian gritted his teeth and pulled away from his mind, so slowly he knew the demon would never be aware.

He was entirely capable of entering a mind without alerting anyone to his presence, but he just loved to toy with the Princess and let her know that he was stealing into her head. So, he always made himself known.

Azgorath continued to stroke his fingers through her white hair, unbeknownst to the thief who had just come to steal a glance at his thoughts.

He watched the demon—Azgorath loved her, that much was clear. It did not take Mind magic to come to that conclusion.

Bastian told the truth: "I think it is much more possible for her to forgive you than me or the others."

"As I thought…" Azgorath nodded once, short and jerky.

The demon and the vampire stared down at the fae Princess, watching her twitching face and roving eyes as they saw things behind her lids that they were not privy to.

Bastian let his Mind magic seep into the air once more, curling down to where she lay, nestled on his chest. His thumb pressed against the side of her temple, and a frown was etched into his thick lips at the slight crease between her brows. He hated that she worried even in sleep .

He let his Mind magic be known. He would not hide anything from her any longer—unless it was truly for her own good. His thoughts quickly paused on the looming Winter Solstice, but he centered his focus back on her.

Darkness filled his vision, and he breathed a soft noise of confusion.

Azgorath’s concern fell against the vampire’s ears, but he was too wrapped up in her.

He could not get to her. His Mind magic was not working…

"What?" Bastian asked softly, once more allowing his magic to crack open the barrier of her mind and allow him entry.

But he saw nothing—was denied . He had never been denied before.

Except…

He suddenly remembered when he had visited her room when she was asleep, that strange limbo period before her hair had changed and her eyes had grown to be blue. He had entered her mind, then, but had seen nothing but the faint image of her, asleep even in dreams.

And this was far worse than that. This was utter nothing. Utter darkness.

He grew fearful.

Bastian wrapped his hands around her slim shoulders and shook her awake with a vengeance, barely registering the soft hit Azgorath landed on his arm from his rough treatment of her.

"Wake up, Luella. Wake up ." Bastian leaned down over her face as he waited for her eyes to open.

"What is wrong with you?" the demon hissed.

The line between Luella’s brows grew deeper, and her limbs stretched, then settled, her neck tilting to the side, white strands of hair tickling against her cheeks as she shifted between him and Azgorath.

Her eyelids finally drifted open, and the heavy sigh of relief that left his lungs made him weary.

Bastian wrapped both arms around her and bundled her closely to his chest, pressing a hand on the back of her head to tuck her face against him. "You’re okay, you’re okay," he repeated .

Luella groggily pulled away from him, blinking up at him with drowsy blue eyes. Gods, she was so pretty.

"What’s… the matter…?" she asked, fatigue making her pale skin even paler. The shadows under her eyes were dark, and her veins were stark against the pale tint of her features.

Bastian shook his head. He didn’t know what had come over him. But the sight of her, unmoving, with darkness the only thing greeting him when he reached out with his magic… He shivered. "Nothing," he said. She gave him a heavy look, so he asserted again with a soft, "Nothing."

Her mouth cracked open with a wide yawn, and he watched her pretty pink tongue. "Okay," she murmured sleepily, nestling back into him, her thigh still hooked over his leg and Azgorath’s hand still tangled in her hair.

"Wait, pet. Let’s get you into your bed. You may be tired now, but you won’t be thanking yourself when you wake up sore."

Azgorath breathed her in, giving a slight nod from where his head was buried in her nape.

Luella gave a soft sound of agreement. He figured it was the best he would get with her narcotized state.

"But I won’t sleep as well." Her little fingers gripped his shirt.

"Why?" Bastian asked.

She hummed, eyes closed. "You won’t be there."

His mouth worked as he swallowed. Fuck, how could he ignore the temptation she just served up to him on a platter of mellifluous words and strawberry-tinged air?

Azgorath looked up at Bastian, his head still held against her neck, inhaling her drowsy scent. "Don’t," the demon warned.

Bastian smiled, even though he wanted to steal her away to his room and tuck her in between his dark, silken sheets and let her creamy berry scent coat every bit of his space. The vampire gathered her up into his arms, standing as he headed for the door.

Azgorath’s angered, warning growl followed him as he left the library, and Bastian called out over his shoulder, careful of the sleeping fae in his arms, "I’m taking her to her room. To sleep ."

And the demon followed him the whole way, watching as Bastian tucked her into her sheets and pulled the canopy around her bed to ward off the dim light filtering in through the glass doors leading to her balcony, leaving her to sleep alone, with the door clicking shut softly behind them both.