Page 84 of A Dance of Water

Vale ignored the claim.

Until Bastian gently swept away a strand of her hair, and the dragon murmured a soft,Ours.

Godsdamn it all.

24

PRETTY LIAR

BASTIAN

Bastian let his magic trickle softly into Luella’s mind—gentle and unnoticed.

Flashes of images greeted him.

Strange scenes of a cottage nestled in the woods. The more he tried to bring it into focus, the more the image shimmered. He chased after the thoughts, but they ducked behind clouds of nothingness or insipid feelings, dodging with expertise—almost playfully.

You’re keeping something from me,Bastian whispered into her mind, aware of the eyes on them as he traced over the shell of her ear.

Blue eyes stared at the dips of his collarbones.

No,she said softly.

Even in her mind, she sounded hesitant.

Bastian nosed along her hairline, breathing in the intoxicating scent of cream-topped berries. She shivered under him.Liar, but I cannot fault you when you’re so pretty when you lie.

Vale’s green eyes burned with vexation; he was not used to being ignored. "You said you believe you used your magic?" he prodded.

Tendrils of her white hair wisped around her pale, soft cheeks as she turned her head from the King to Bastian.

Tell him I don’tthinkI used my magic—IknowI did. He’s too prideful to admit that I’m right.

"She says she’s certain she used her magic," Bastian relayed, leaving out her final words.

Luella huffed, crossing her arms.

"I doubt that’s all she said," Tharen said.

Vale ignored the mage. "And… How do you know that?"

I just do…Her words were soft. She brushed a pale hand over the bruising on her neck and added plaintively,Just as I know the sky is blue and water is wet, and I am not whom I thought, I know that my magic was here tonight. I feel it still.

"She simply… does," said Bastian. At the King’s droll look, he amended, "It makes sense that a harrowing situation would make her magic rise to the surface."

"She was almost drowned," Azgorath muttered.

Luella fiddled with the demon’s hand on her lap.I felt the water dancing around me, helping me save myself. I did it all alone, she tacked on as if she was only just now realizing she had saved herself—without their help.

Tharen blew out a breath. "Mages train their young in many ways, but one of the most common methods is to steal the most powerful of the senses away and put the younglings in harm’s way. Throwing them off cliffs, trapping them in a burning building… Drowning is common, too, for mages with Aqua magic." He stared at her with a strange desperation, as though he was still at the beach, seeing her shivering amid the snow.

Her lips parted—color had returned slightly, leaving them a pretty but pale pink.

"What can we do to make it happen again?" Vale demanded.

"You mean to replicate a display of magic that you didn’t even see—that could be a last-ditch effort to make us let our guards down so she can try and escape again? Yeah, you need to only try and kill her again to make that happen." Tharen harshly set a small glass down on a tray, muscles in his neck quivering as he held himself back.

Bastian let his Mind magic sneak into the Prima’s head.

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