Page 252 of A Dance of Water

"Wrap her in this…"

Something heavy and smelling of spiced honey and cloves wrapped around her front, brushing her chin.

"Careful.Careful, Tharen. Are you sure you can take her right now?"

"I don’t want to let her go. She’s—" The chest under her cheek rumbled with a low noise of frustration. "I have her."

"Don’t jostle her. She’s in agony right now," Graves rasped from somewhere nearby. "Every touch will hurt her. Her body is trying to acclimate to the…" His voice faded, but she felt his nearness.

How do you know what this feels like?she wanted to ask the raven shifter. But her tongue wouldn’t work.

"…asleep?"

The pain was fading. Was that a good thing? A part of her screamed that it wasn’t—that it was very, very bad.

She burrowed into the chest under her cheek. Crisp winter wrapped her up. She wanted to fall into it, let the snowstorm of Tharen’s scent numb her.

"Forgive me," she heard Az mumble.

Hands notched under her thighs, thethingswrapped around her legs tugged until they gave way.

Fading pain turned to stark agony as the hands on her thighs and hips grew firmer, carefully avoiding her back as she was lifted. She choked out a whimper, not able to manage more than soft sounds of protest as she was moved.

Stop… Please.

"Angel, I’m sorry. Please forgive us… have to move you," Az soothed from somewhere at her side.

Had she spoken aloud? She inhaled a pained breath in response.

Dimly, Luella realized that the one carrying her was Tharen, his hands on her thighs, her face against his chest. Every footstep jolted her, sending sparks of hurt up her spine and through her limbs.

She couldn’t hold on any longer.

Blessed, numbing darkness took her.

Awareness came and went.

She slipped into blessed unconsciousness, only to be tugged back by the soft murmur of worried voices or the feel of hands against her skin, igniting fire that licked across her pain-ravaged body.

She whimpered and fell back into nothingness…

Only to be ripped away from the darkness of her dreams by the steady sound of hooves against stone. The lulling motion of the horse dragged her back under before she could fully blink open her weary eyes.

When Luella awoke sometime later, she realized something was different.

The pain in her body was not as utterly consuming—or perhaps she had grown used to it.

Her eyes were closed, and her fingers gave a minute twitch where they were tucked against her chest, confined by a spiced honey fabric, echoed by stronger notes of winter. Graves… Tharen.

What had happened?

Her tired mind worked to unravel the pain-tinged memories flickering in her subconscious.

The Temples of Aedis… The altar.

Her breath hitched. She had… given Tharen her pleasure.

She recalled the feel of his hand between her thighs, the way she had felt weightless, flying, as he worked her into release.

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