Page 21 of Seduced By Darkness
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The small outcroppingof stone by the lake juts a little higher than everything else.
We’re so far away from the rites that it seems like a dream. Lights glow through the forest below, and music comes in drifts of the wind. On the lake, the stars dance across those dark waters and I look up to see them shining brilliantly in the sky.
“It’s beautiful,” I whisper.
I can’t help thinking that I’m safe up here, so far away from Etan that he’ll never find me.
“Truly,” my handsome stranger breathes, and there’s a reverence to his voice that makes me seek him out. His eyes are on my face but he remains seated on a boulder, giving me enough space to feel comfortable.
“I don’t know why you’re doing this,” I blurt.
He smiles, leaning back on his hands. “Doing what?”
“You could have danced with dozens of others—”
“I only wanted to dance with you.”
“Butwhy?”
This time, he’s the one who looks away. “Do you believe in fate, Vi?”
A shiver runs down my spine. “I believe in the gods. I believe in… in magic. I believe we are driven by our own choices. But fate? I think fate is what you make of it.”
There’s something ancient in his eyes as he stares back at me. “I believe in fate. I believe I was meant to meet you this one night. It feels like the world has been holding its breath forever, and the second I saw you, it finally exhaled. You and I—this night—was meant to be.”
“I think you’ve been drinking too much of the elderberry wine.”
He laughs. “You don’t believe in fate and I do. Let us agree upon this then—if fate is what you make of it, then what are we to make of this? Thischanceencounter.”
It’s a heady feeling. If fate is what we make of it, then whatdoI wish for? He’s a stranger. I don’t even know what I’m doing with him. Or why. But I can’t deny there’s something intriguing about him.
“What do you want to make of it?” I ask.
Dark lashes flutter over his eyes. “I would like to kiss you. Just once. To see if fate has been telling me the truth.”
“And what truth would that be?”
“That this kiss was written in the stars.”
I step closer, between his thighs. “Do you know what I think?”
“What?” He tilts his face back to look up at me. It’s barely an inch in difference, but it makes me feel powerful.
“I think you would have made an excellent courtier.”
His teeth flash white in the night. “Maybe I am one.”
“Maybe.” I press my finger against his lips. “No. Don’t tell me. It would ruin this.”
It’s easier if I don’t know who he is, because then I don’t have to pretend. I don’t have to think of politics or alliances. It doesn’t become a bad idea, a regret. It simply stays as it is….
A harmless, slightly-flirtatious encounter with a dark stranger on a moonlit night.
“Ruin this?” Reaching up slowly, he tries for my mask again. “I want to see you.”
I don’t know why but the simple act of removing my mask feels like he’s stripping me to the skin.
