Page 20 of Bound By Stardust
“Now you understand.”
Asira pinned me with her dark eyes. “But who are we to condemn the Masters? They are above us, our protectors…”
“It’s not an easy task. I was close, so close, before. But then they discovered who I am. I sense we are at the very edge of unlocking the truth, and perhaps you will be the key to their downfall and freeing Terrin.”
“Freedom has different meanings. Without the Masters, the monsters might ravish the land.”
“True, but what if there are no monsters at all, at least, not anymore?”
Asira snorted. “As though all the legends were lies?”
I had no response, for she was correct about many things. Instead, I held out my hand to her. “Come, sit with me. We don’t have to discuss this anymore.”
She wrapped her arms around herself, shrinking in as though she had no wish to be near me. “But we do. It’s the sole reason I’m here.”
Standing, I approached her, sliding my hands up her arms. She shivered at the contact but did not move away. The fragrance of her skin and hair was intoxicating, but with her, I had to move slowly and let her accept my touch.
Gently, I slide a finger under her silk robe, exposing her neck and collarbone. Asira drew a shuddering breath as her lips parted and her eyelids fluttered shut.
Ever so slowly, I dropped my head and pressed my lips against her neck. A tiny gasp left her lips, encouraging me.
Asira made me want things I never dreamed I could have, and the idea of a future with her was intoxicating. She smelled of flowers with a hint of stardust, and the herbs from the forest that never completely left her skin.
My heart thundered in my chest as I trailed kisses down her neck and along her collarbone, wanting to go fast but knowing she needed me to go slow.
When at last I pressed my lips to hers, a low sound ripped from her throat, and this time, she reciprocated with hot, thirsty kisses that left us both panting.
Sinking to my knees in front of her, I tilted my head up while she rested a shaking hand on my shoulder. “I quite like you, Asira of Terrin,” I admitted. “But I honor and respect you, so I will not share your bed unless you invite me.”
She squeezed my shoulder, pupils dilated as she whispered, “Not yet.”
Yet.
I counted that as a victory.
* * *
Later that night,once Asira had gone to sleep, I wavered in indecision at the door. I needed to bring weapons and stardust up from the tunnels, but should any of the Masters burst into the room, she’d be unprotected.
I’d seen what they did to the mothers, keeping them drugged at all times so that they would be amicable and willing. After a time, they were taken to the sanctum—an inner tower—where the Masters drank their blood and experimented on them in the hopes of producing more Masters.
All to no avail.
The Masters were growing old. In a hundred years, give or take, their line would die out, which made them desperate.
It was too early for them to take Asira, and too dangerous for me to attempt to move Iscariot’s body. However, we needed protection, so I opened the door and left.
The halls were silent as I slipped down them, attempting to carry myself like Iscariot would, shoulders high, chin lifted, barreling toward a destination with no remorse.
Occasionally, sounds drifted from behind closed doors: muted growls, higher pitched laughs, and ever so often, a whimper or cry. Those mournful sounds only stiffened my resolve.
The Masters enjoyed sadistic pleasures, especially after a celebration. They often went too far with their obsession with blood.
I did what I could by making some of the Masters disappear, leaving their masks and hair in odd places, caught on tree branches near the edge of the floating kingdom or stuffed under the tunnels where the beast dwelled.
Then, the rumors started.
Someone within the circle wished harm upon some of the Masters and was secretly killing them.
