Page 238 of A Dance of Water

Deep in thought, her eyes fell shut.

Her resolve threatened to break, tiny cracks splintering outward with every passing moment.

But how could she say it—how could she ask this of the male who would lord it over her forever?

No matter how hard she tried, she could not find a way out of this. This fate had been set in stone, like the etchings of stardust that decorated the stone pillars in the Temples.

Luella opened her eyes.

"Okay," she said softly.

The males shared a look before staring back down at her. It was Tharen who broke the heavy silence:

"Okay?" the mage repeated. "Are you finally realizing that you have no choice?"

Yes, but she wouldn’t say it.

"No." Luella shook her head. "I am realizing that I made my choice when our bargain was struck. It was just not the one I… wished for."

The smug look on the mage’s features made her rethink everything. But she still could not ignore the flicker of some other emotion that was in his eyes. The flashes of gentlenesshe had shown her, rare and utterlyhim, as if he was unpracticed in showing kindness and care at all…

"We will have until dawn uninterrupted, and then the Temple Mothers will return," said Vale. "The others are waiting, as well. Your demon didn’t want to stray far—and I will not leave."

The King didn’t reveal if he wouldn’t leave because he didn’t want to, or if he couldn’t. And Luella did not ask.

"We get all night with you, Princess." Tharen knocked her thighs further apart, and the inner muscles strained at the stretch. "I don’t plan to waste a moment of this."

With how vulnerable it made her, she regretted sitting on the altar. The mage placed his hand on her cheek, tilting her head forcibly. He licked his lips as he eyed her mouth. And he leaned down and?—

No.

"W-wait!" Luella placed her palms on his chest and turned her head away. "Not like this."

It felt too… intimate. This was a transaction, a fulfillment of their bargain. Nothing more.

He tugged her face away from where she tried to hide against her shoulder. "You don’t want to kiss me?"

"No," she whispered, feeling heat bloom on her cheeks. "We can do this without kissing, right?"

Tharen made a noncommittal sound. "As I recall, you didn’t seem to have a problem with it before. What changed? Scared you’ll grow attached?"

"I—" She gave a small shake of her head.

"Too bad," the mage murmured, running his rough fingertips over her cheeks. "What if I said I was growing attached to you?" His voice was heavy and gruff with desire; her body trembled with nervous anticipation.

She had to swallow a few times to get her voice working again. The heavy air weighed down against her skin, and the well of power inside her swirled, but she did not feel out of control. This was the most in control she had felt since her glamor was ripped away and her magic had first awoken.

"I would call you a liar," Luella breathed.

Tharen hovered before her, Vale just behind him. She took a deep breath to calm herself, eyes drifting upward to stare at the soft strips of light. A sense of peace and light power filled her. Shifting in the shadows high above, sparkles of playful stardust danced. She stared right at it, and this time, it did not hide from her.

The stardust swirled around and around, curious, as it drifted to her.

Tharen and Vale both turned, following her stare.

Stardust, warm and playful in her hand.

This place was connected to where she went when she fell into her deep sleep. She was sure of it.

---