Page 114 of A Dance of Water

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."

"Whatdid 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?

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