Page 163 of A Dance of Water

She heard soft murmurs in the background and retreating footsteps.

The threads grew taut as they left. All but one.

"Make no mistake, Princess Luella, this is only temporary. Until you truly break. The Rite of Vincire is not just a ceremony, but survival." Vale’s voice cut through her subdued malady, and she grew rigid in Az’s arms. "You’re lying about something, refusing to let us in."

In the quiet of the room, held by her demon protector and locked away in darkness, she felt safe enough to reveal: "If I let you in… you’ll see. You will see him."

As she said it, she understood—it was more than fear that kept her quiet. She was protecting them, in a way. In herownway.

Silence.

Then, Vale’s voice, low and raw. "Caliban."

She flinched at the mere name, hearing Enora’s screams and Caliban’s ominous, parting words.

"You have his eyes."

"What?" she breathed.

"That is what you said to me… that I have his eyes," Vale revealed. "You know."

"I know." And she did. She had fit the pieces together in her mind like that of a puzzle; and finally, it had all come into focus. "He is your brother?"

Az’s palm spanned out over her stomach as he held her a bit tighter.

The King was quiet.

Az fit his chin over her head. "Half-brother," the demon supplied.

Of course, he knew. It stung. But the naive, hopeful part of her reconciled with the fact that his lies must have a reason. Or else she would go mad from doubtful wondering.

"Not any longer. He is no brother of mine," said Vale. His tone was hard, and the threads sang from just the sound of his voice.

Luella shifted, cheek rubbing against the soft pillow under her head, hips brushing against Az behind her. "What happened to him?"

The bed dipped at her feet as Vale sat. "He begged for help from the wrong god."

She knew that was all the answer she would be afforded for now.

There was a soft silence between the three of them.

With the revelation lingering in the room like smoke, she drifted off to sleep—filled with dreams of rippling water, Caliban’s cruel words, and his lover’s pleas. Only, it was not Caliban’s face she saw, but Vale, holding Luella under the water with glinting green eyes.

55

THE TRUTH OF WISHES

LUELLA

Soft and slow, Luella stirred, feeling the cool sheets under her body, the warmth of the demon at her side wrapping around her like ivy.

It was quiet—so still and soft. She wanted to linger in this peace. Memories warred inside her.

Caliban and Enora, sweet and kind. Something to envy as they lavished upon each other kisses, feeding pastries with sugar-coated fingers, and pressing glasses filled with wine against each other’s lips, letting the cool liquid cascade into their mouths. They had been glorious. Until that glory had turned into shadowed rage.

Luella didn’t know what the truth was

She was missing something vital. Just out of reach, niggling at her subconscious, taunting her. She didn’t understand how or why, but knew that Caliban and the Tenebrae were the same. Vale’s half-brother was the darkness she had been prophesied to defeat—and they had known all along.

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