Page 61 of A Dance of Water

She reached for his hands and held them.

Gods, her hands were so cold. Like ice.

"I need you by my side, Az. I cannot do this alone."

"Always. Forgive me for not being there yesterday. I needed…" He didn’t know what he needed.

Her chin dipped. Was she trying to hide her tears from him? He lifted her face to his. Just as he thought.

Her blue eyes were watery pools, dripping with crystalline tears, spilling over her lashline and falling down her pale cheeks. Slowly, to give her time to pull away—to give her achoice—he moved his face down to hers. His breath rustled her sleep-rumpled hair.

She neither moved away from him nor blinked. And neither did he.

They were both too enthralled by each other to dare miss a moment of this stolen piece of softness.

Az licked her tears away, his tongue poking out and gentlyswiping the wetness from her skin. She shuddered against him. Her tears were salty on his tongue. Precious.

He licked away every last one, and when another threatened to spill, he brushed his thumb over her lids, forcing them to finally fall closed. He pressed soft kisses against her closed lids.

As Az pulled away, her befuddled eyes peered up at him.

"No more tears," he whispered. Dazedly, she nodded her acquiescence. He took her small, cold hand and pressed it over the skin of his chest, holding it there. "I will always keep you safe, in blood I vowed. Even if that means lying, even if that means you hate me. You’re safe. You can hate me as long as you want. I will bear it if it means you live. If it means I can see you smile"—he traced the shape of her lips with the tip of his finger—"and smell your sweet scent…" Az breathed in deeply, relishing in the whiffs of strawberries and rich cream.

The call between them was a living thing. He wanted to give in, to stop running like the others had been.

On the heels of his admission, he saw fresh tears well up, and he softly admonished her.

She sniffled, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "I will forgive you, Az. Give me time, but my forgiveness, it will be yours."

A breath he had no idea he had been holding left him. Weightless, he could only smile, feeling his cheeks turn soft and nothing like the fearsome demon he should appear as.

"On one condition," she amended. His lungs seized. "Never, ever hurt yourself again." Her head fell against his chest as she gripped his shirt. "You are too valuable. Please. Promise me you won’t do it again."

Az pressed a soft kiss to her crown. Her hair tickled his chin, and he breathed her in. "I promise."

Her shoulders shook with a quiet sob.

He lifted her from where she was curled into his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her, cherishing her. "No more tears, Lu. We’ve cried enough for each other."

She gave a wet laugh, and he preened at the sound. It was a start.

As the demon held his Vincire, he could only hope she could find it in her soft heart to forgive him one more time.

Luella was too wrapped up in him that she never noticed how he saidlyingin the present tense, for Az wasstilllying to her, for her own good, of course, but another lie, all the same. He just hoped that when it came time to go to the Temples of Aedis, she would be grateful they had all agreed to lie to her, once more.

19

WHEN I AM INSIDE YOU… YOU WILL KNOW

LUELLA

Luella entered her second night of the Winter Solstice with clammy palms and a demon stuck to her side.

"I won’t leave you, Lu," Az vowed.

She looked over at the demon, his nearness soothing her, even as sin beckoned from every corner of the wintry room.

The revelers were more free this night compared to last. As if that had been a mere trial and the real thing was just beginning.

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