Page 276 of A Dance of Water

She swallowed, taking a hesitant step forward. "Bastian?"

Graves pointed a finger at her. "Wait there." He gripped the back of Bastian’s hair and tugged his head up, revealing his flashing, red eyes and pointed fangs. "You’re an idiot for letting it get to this point."

"I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—" Bastian stared at Luella. "Pet, forgive me. I…" He seemed to want to say more, but could not muster the words. Pain flickered in his eyes as he warred with his base instincts.

Graves shoved him away, and the vampire smoothed down his hair, brushing a shaking hand over the silk of his shirt.

"Sort yourself out, before you grow too weak to control your bloodlust," Graves warned.

Bastian staggered away, but not before staring back at Luella. His mask was askew, hair sticking up. She wanted to go to him, smooth down the stray silken locks. But she froze, scared. His eyes flashed deep red, and the curtain almost ripped under his hands as he parted it to leave.

The bloody, dripping bergamot thread between them cried out as Bastian left her.

Luella’s lips parted. "Will he be okay?"

Graves walked to her, gently taking her elbow to steady her and helping her away from the rumpled cushions. "He will be." He stopped just before they left the privacy of the alcove, brushing her white hair away from her neck as he swept his gloved fingertips over her skin. "Did he bite you?"

"No," she whispered. Bastian had been stopped just in time, but what would he have done if Graves hadn’t shown up? She shuddered.

Graves dipped his chin, then tugged his hood back over his head, and led her from the alcove.

Blood dripped steadily from the wounds on her back, and she staggered, her head light.

The sound of the revelers was too much after the quiet of the alcove.

"Dance with me," Graves said. He stopped on the outskirts of the crowd—a space that was fitting for them both. Not truly in, but on the outside. Watching.

"Okay." She swallowed a sigh as she took his hand, eyes flicking out to the shifters around, who stared.

As Graves started to lead her in a soft sway, mindful of her slowly healing body. She found herself staring at the black wings at his back.

"Why black?" she couldn’t help but ask.

Under the shadows of his hood, Graves’s lips tipped into a smile. "Why not? You don’t like the look of them?" His words were strangely vulnerable.

"No… They’re pretty." And they were. Too pretty. Too real. Her eyes narrowed as she stared.

Under her scrutiny, they seemed to flutter proudly. Such a small movement, she wondered if it were imagined. The throne room was filled with a soft breeze from the swirls of dancing bodies. It was all in her head.

Graves leaned close to her, the fabric of his hood brushing her cheek. "I think your wings are breathtaking, sweetheart."

At his praise, her wings trembled softly behind her. A couple danced too close to their small bubble, sending delicate wafts of air their way. The dark feathers fixed to Graves’s back fluttered in the breeze, an answer to her own.

And so, like that, they danced among the outskirts of the crowd, half encased in blue shadows, while the dark clouds moved swiftly overhead, leaving faint flashes of moonlight that filtered down through the skylight above.

The raven shifter’s hands were sure on her body, expertly avoiding her back. Their steps were slow, mismatched to the heavy tune of the music that thrummed throughout the throne room.

As she danced in Graves’s arms, she realized he wasn’t wearing his amulet.

85

SECRETS AND MASKS

GRAVES

Luella was staring at Graves.

She looked like she had drifted out of another realm, some star-speckled space.

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