Page 66 of Darkness Births the Stars #1
Many others followed the king. Tanez and Zamani embraced me with joyful shrieks, Namtaz touched my hand with a warm smile, and M’tar and Sha’am gave me respectful nods. Soon, the faces became an endless flood, and I simply nodded and smiled at everyone.
Belekoroz was missing, his dark presence fading with a final, lingering whisper: “Well done, little queen.”
I didn’t mind. When the two of us celebrated my triumph, it would be far away from curious eyes.
The feast was quickly moved indoors, the night air too cold for comfort.
I grinned as I watched Tanez dance with M’tar, her skirts twirling and a magnificent golden flower crown adorning her dark locks.
It hinted at the amount of groveling the Smith must have done to earn her forgiveness.
But then she had decided their latest conflict in her favor: I had heard her Dryads were fierce in protecting their woods.
Zamani sat by the fire, her elegant fingers combing through Evanna’s lustrous dark red hair.
Her handmaiden entertained Sha’am and his warriors with a song of longing and passion.
With an imperious flick of her fingers that sent sparks into the air, Zamani beckoned her fellow Aurea of Fire and his second-in-command, Dhustan, closer.
Then, with a challenging look at them both, she captured Evanna’s lips in a deep kiss.
It seemed my friend did not plan on sleeping alone tonight.
The feast soon turned wild, everyone drunk on our victories and the feeling of invincibility.
Ashur tumbled a giggling Nyx onto his lap, the bluish skin of her full breasts gleaming like pearls as he tugged down her dress.
Enlial shared a tankard with their spouse, Ranon, the Farseer carefree for once as they smiled adoringly at the tall, dark-haired Anima.
Even Aramaz didn’t seem to mind the raucous atmosphere, roaring with laughter as we dodged a dancing pair of Djein, who were trying in vain to coax a group of Dwarves away from the delicious food spread before them.
The king was in high spirits, joking and laughing, his blue eyes gleaming as we made our way through the hall.
I should have felt the same. I had proven I could control the Flame and completed the task the Allfather had given me.
Yet a strange restlessness tormented me.
Seizing the first opportunity when I knew I wouldn’t be missed—Aramaz sitting down at a table with dignitaries, a tankard of mead in hand—I slipped out of the hall.
In my haste, I forgot my furs, and the icy night air bit into my skin as I shifted after a brief flight in spirit form. My feet made no sound as I landed atop the cold, dark stone of Belekoroz’s tower .
He had known I would come. Sprawled on his decadent nest of cushions and blankets, he wore only a silky black robe loosely tied with a sash, revealing a tantalizing amount of pale skin.
“How is the night, my lord?” I greeted him with a coy smile, my heart fluttering like a bird taking flight, not drawing closer yet.
“Brighter now.” He sat up, his dark gaze not on the glittering expanse of stars above us, but on me. Long fingers curled in the air, shadowy tendrils awakening around me, caressing my legs. “Come here.”
My gaze flitted away as a sudden nervousness rose inside me. “That is not a good idea. Someone might notice if we…”
A darker fire than any I had ignited in the sky tonight sparked in his eyes. “Come here, Baradaz.”
When I did not heed the hoarse command immediately, the shadows around my ankle solidified without warning.
A firm tug and I fell, his sharp teeth gleaming in an amused smile at my surprised outcry.
Belekoroz caught me and lay me down on the bed, those dark eyes above me as he caged me in with one arm on each side of my head, his hair a raven curtain keeping out the world.
As his lips brushed against my jaw, my eyes fluttered closed.
“We need to be careful,” I said. Even I could hear the indecision in my voice. He chuckled, the sound vibrating through me as he trailed kisses down my neck. His touch was a fiery brand on my cold skin. Had he used magic to stay this warm?
“I’m always very careful. The most careful man in all of Aron-Lyr, some would say,” he answered, pulling down my dress.
Only a thin layer of silk shielded my breasts from the freezing winter air. I was shivering for very different reasons, though, as he teased one nipple through the fabric with his thumb, a soft gasp slipping past my lips .
“You have no idea how you looked tonight, do you?” A reverent expression washed over his face as he palmed my breast. “How you glowed with power and beauty.”
Indeed, my skin had retained some of the power I had commanded, shimmering with an ethereal glow underneath the light of my newly made lyaureny . The Aurea of Darkness seemed determined to taste every inch as he bared me completely.
“Goddess of Starlight. A beacon in the dark. How could I not long to worship you?” he murmured. A hoarse, intimate whisper, like a secret he could not help sharing. Yet his words thrilled me more than any other praise I had received tonight. His robe fell away. “My queen.”
Hunger burned in his eyes as he covered my body with his. The same hunger I had noticed whenever we encountered the power of the Abyss—a hunger that should have alarmed me. Instead, I answered it in kind, claiming his lips in a deep kiss, letting the fire consume me.