Page 111 of A Dance of Water

She heard a clatter, something falling.

"Hey, hey," Tharen urged.

Graves’s touch grounded her; she didn’t want him to pull away, didn’t want to be left to drift alone in a sea of darkness.

"What have you done, Prima?" Az seethed, and she melted at his voice—filled with anger but on her behalf.

"Calm down. We only made a little deal, that’s all," Tharen droned. He sounded uncaring, but she smelled burning embers—was it from Vale’s dragon fire or the Prima’s magic of Ignis?

She hated to be so unknowing, so unaware.

Cold hands against hers, soft and untouched by hardships—Bastian. "Pet, what happened? Tell me so I can help stop this."

She tilted her head to where she thought he was, chin trembling as she said, "I made a d-deal with… with Tharen."

"What deal?" Bastian implored. His fingers pressed against her temples, rubbing over the silk.

Suddenly, she felt him inside her. Everything narrowed down to him in her mind, drowning out the crashes and cursing in the room.

Bastian sifted through her memories like sand, pulling, plucking, and inspecting. She shivered at the intrusion. He was not gentle in his urgency. Finally, he pulled away, but his hands stayed, falling to cup her cheeks, turning her head slightly to the left.

"Luella, I-I—" She had never heard Bastian stutter before. "I cannot believe he would do this…"

She swallowed. "I asked for this." Her voice was quiet, but the noise in the room ceased.

"That’s fucking right, she did." Heavy footsteps as Tharen walked toward her. He grabbed her hand and tugged her away from the cocoon of Bastian and Graves. She stumbled, fearful of tripping.

Low growls filled the room, and one of the threads shyly wrapped around her soul a little tighter, as if to assure her, just as large, warm hands took hold of her elbow, patting along to ensure she was okay.

"Lu, angel. Why?" Az said.

She wished she could see her demon’s face. Her free hand hesitantly reached out, searching for him. He grabbed her with strength, hands squeezing as he lifted her arm and pressed a soft, wet kiss to the back of her hand, flipping it and doing the same to her palm.

"What you said earlier," she whispered in reply. He stilled, mouth against her palm, breaths tickling her skin. "I have to know how to use my magic." She licked her lips, feeling more than one set of eyes on her as she spoke. It felt like a private moment, but she knew it was not.

"And you thought the best way was to make a godsdamned deal withTharen?" Vale spat. She realized until that point, he had been relatively silent besides his initial accusation.

Smoke burned her nostrils. "He’s a mage. He has elemental magic, and so do I. I thought if anyone would know how to train me, it would be him—" Her words cut off in a yelp as footsteps thundered toward her.

Rings cut into her palm as Vale gripped her hand and yanked her away from Az and Tharen.

Vale shook her. "You are a fool." His words were coated in vitriol.

Luella was suddenly glad she could not see; she didn’t think she would be able to stand the anger and disgust that would be on his face.

Something thudded.

A sharp crack echoed throughout the library, followed by theheavy slam of a book against the floor and the unmistakable clatter of tables being overturned.

Vale’s hands were ripped away from her.

And she was drifting in a space of nothingness—everywhere and nowhere, and she remembered…

A place of only darkness, the faintest smattering of stars against a backdrop of inky night. The whiz of a falling star, warm and playful as it lingered against her fingertips.

What place do you think of?Bastian’s awed voice filled her mind and swept her away from thoughts of somewhere else, somewhere other.

A place that is everywhere,she replied,and nowhere.

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