Page 54 of A Dance of Water (Moon Song #2)

" That is why I made the deal." Tharen’s tone was severe. She turned her head to the sound. "She is volatile. One mistake, and she could take all of us out. Right now, her emotions are a force of nature, and everything will bend to her will if she so much as breathes the wrong way."

"The weather is tied to her emotions. If she could do something on such a grand scale without thought, what do you think she would do if she had full control?" Vale announced from her side. His voice rumbled through her.

"She won’t have full control for some time. If ever," Tharen said.

"She’s not ready for this," Graves mumbled, Bastian echoing the sentiment .

They were talking about her like she wasn’t standing there. Thunder rumbled.

"I am ready," she said, but her voice shook.

Their eyes burned against her skin, and she shrank into Vale’s side. He spoke of her like he wanted to be rid of her, yet his body language told a different story—pulling her in, keeping her safe with greedy touches.

"You are not ready, Luella, and we cannot waste time with your desperation. You may have ended us all by taking matters into your own hands," said the King.

She wanted Az, even Bastian—she wanted safety and kind words, not judgment.

The steady fall of rain was the only noise for a time, those within the room growing quiet and contemplative.

"What if this works?" Graves said lowly.

Tharen started to laugh, but Vale cut him off with a sharp, "Quiet."

Graves continued… "The prophecy written by the Fates says, She will be one over all elements, the sun, and the stars, to defeat the malevolence. She cannot be over all if she does not train. She cannot defeat the Tenebrae if she does not try ."

"She’s not ready," Az hissed, and she whipped her head, searching for him in the darkness.

"She will never be ready if you do not give her a chance," Graves voiced. "And the time should be now before it’s too late, and we don’t have the fucking choice."

Luella never would have expected the raven shifter to stick up for her; it warmed her to him, her blue-eyed watcher.

"There’s so much I don’t know," she whispered.

"Graves is right. I have to try to understand this power.

If I am to be one over all elements, to defeat the dark, and save the stolen, as the prophecy states, how am I to do so if I have to mind every emotion and not let it get out of hand?

" The truth, deep in her bones, urged her to continue; she found herself speaking with ease now that she couldn’t see, as if a barrier kept her safe.

"I don’t know who the Tenebrae is, but I do know this is my destiny, and I cannot run from it. "

The prophecy .

All the blood pooled to her feet. Nestled within this library of secrets, she had a startling realization: when had she seen the Compendium of Fates last?

Her mind raced. She had it in the Silva Noctis, had shown it to Az in the blue caves. But somewhere in battle, it had been lost.

She tried to recall if she had felt it when she had been in the smithy, when Graves had come to her rescue after?—

She didn’t want to think about what had happened after that.

"It comes down to the simple fact that she cannot be naive any longer," Tharen said. "If this is the way, then so be it. But I don’t have any godsdamned hope, and neither should you."

The words stung, but she knew them to hold truth. This was a fool’s endeavor. But where would one be without hopes and dreams?

Movement and a presence before her. Warm hands tugged her into a warmer chest. She melted against Az, still feeling Vale’s fingertips brushing over her spine.

"Angel," the demon grumbled. "There could have been a better way, another way."

"I know," she said into his chest, feeling the fabric against her cheek.

"We cannot wait, not after what happened at the Solstice.

The innocents who perished…" Her throat closed up. Serpentis was not her kingdom, but her heart was big enough to hold care for all the kingdoms, for all those who died and didn’t deserve it.

Az ran a finger over the edge of her blindfold. "Let’s take this off."

She was shaking her head before he even finished. "It won’t come off," she said.

Az stilled, the air in the room crackled, and she felt the threads around her soul swell with curious anger.

"What do you mean, it won’t come off?" Az gritted.

Her lips parted, poised to answer his question, but Tharen beat her to it. "Exactly what she said. It’s part of our deal."

Az trembled against her with held-back violence.

"What were the words of your deal, exactly?" Vale’s voice held calm, but she heard strain on the edges—the dragon shifter was barely holding on .

"I am to train her like mages train their young by temporarily taking her sight."

"What do you get out of the deal?" Graves’s tone was deadly.

Tharen paused. "When I deem training her as not worth my time, she can have her sight back."

"That doesn’t answer the question." Az’s voice was filled with rage, and she heard a thudding noise again.

She projected her voice to Bastian, hoping he was listening… I thought you couldn’t hurt each other?

Not kill, the vampire’s laugh filled her mind, but hurt, definitely.

She shivered at the thought of Az being hurt. She quickly changed the topic. "Why won’t the blindfold come off?"

"I bound the silk to your body with your blood. Similar to the Binding mark on your chest, except that was with my Spirit magic as well. It’s what we do with all our young," Tharen divulged.

"Prima," the King demanded, "what did you get in return for helping her?"

Her trickery had not worked. Vale was focused on discovering what she had done, what she had offered the mage.

"What, I couldn’t offer my help out of the goodness of my heart?" Tharen taunted.

"There isn’t one part of you that’s good," Az spat.

"I can think of one," Tharen countered, his tone dripping with lechery.

Graves grumbled under his breath, words cutting through the air. She had to strain to hear; though, she knew the others could pick up on them easily with their enhanced senses. "That’s the only thing you thought of . "

" What did you do?" Vale seethed, tone filled with fire-like rage.

Her head was pounding from keeping up with them, from exerting her power and having it forced back inside her.

"I’m tired… Can we do this later?" The stumble in her step was not an exaggeration.

"Of course, Lu," Az mumbled.

She heard Vale scoff, smelled the intense, smoky burn of dragon fire .

The King would not be swayed so easily, and his next words punctuated his insistence: "I will not let this go, Tharen."

"I don’t fucking expect you to. You’ll find out. Soon." Luella was shocked that the Prima could speak so freely to his King. She tensed, awaiting more confrontation.

The room was still, but her demon was rigid behind her.

She hated not being able to see, hated that she was left only with her imagination.

Footsteps somewhere to her right. She imagined Vale crossing to the mage, looming before him, even though their heights were similar.

"If I find out you have crossed me, I will personally throw you in the dungeons. Azgorath’s cell has grown cold without him there.

Perhaps you would like to be the next to fill it. "

No response from Tharen.

The mage persuading her to give up her first pleasure to him—instead of the King—would be taken as crossing him, no doubt.

"Answer your King." Vale’s words were clipped, holding an undertone of violence.

How could they treat each other so terribly—so different than the five young males she had seen in the Fate’s lair in the Silva Noctis… Could power and time change someone so much?

"No," said Tharen, "I would not."

Vale replied tersely, "As I thought. I will discover what you took from her." A pause. "And Graves? I include you in this, as well."

"I would not expect less," the raven shifter replied, tone even.

Az’s fingers tightened around her as he pulled her flush against his chest. She melted into the demon, feeling a ghost-like presence combing through her thoughts.

Your deal is not as innocent as mere training, Bastian whispered into her mind.

No, it’s not, she replied softly, nervously. She bit her lip. Will you tell them?

Not yet, Bastian said. I’ll let you do that .

A cold finger traced over the silken blindfold—a gift from the vampire before her. Breaking the tension in the room, Bastian said aloud, "I see my gift was used for a different purpose than I intended. "

"What did you intend?" she asked, searching for where she imagined his face to be.

Warm lips pressed against her cheek, and she shivered, feeling the vampire’s breath on her flushed skin. In front of them all, Bastian pressed his mouth to hers, bestowing upon her a soft, sensual kiss.

Bastian pulled away, and Az growled behind her.

Her breaths were shallow, and the threads roared like the rain outside.

"You’ll see, pet. Perhaps it’ll be fun to have you sightless for a time."

The words were filled with levity. His flirty, mirthful tone eased the panic in her lungs.

Luella knew she was in trouble.

"Sleep now," Vale ordered. "We will awaken at dawn and journey to start your training."

At the prospect of being let out of doors, in the open air, she breathed a sigh of relief. It had been too long since she felt the wind on her cheeks and grass under her feet.

Curious, she couldn’t help but ask, "Why not here?"

Tharen passed by and grabbed her roughly, pulling her to him as he breathed her in. "In case you accidentally destroy the castle."