Page 66 of Daughter of the Drowned Empire
“Borrowed? By who?”
“The Afeyan Ambassador to the Star Court.”
My stomach twisted. Mercurial. Suddenly Ramia’s insistence on my reading part one left me uneasy…I needed part two. And Mercurial knew that. Had he anticipated this? Or sent Ramia to offer part one in an attempt to lure me to him to make a deal? I shivered. Did Ramia know what she was doing? I wasn’t going to be bought this easily.
“Will you please alert me the moment it’s returned?” I asked. “Or when the second copy returns from restoration?”
“Of course, your grace. It will be reserved and prepared for you immediately.”
“Thank you, Nabula.” From a distance, I caught Ramia climbing down the stairs, watching me, and turned on my heels, ready to get out of there as quickly as possible.
Blue streaks lit up the night sky as the bells called the hour. It was so late, it was practically morning. I had to be awake in mere hours. I raced back to my seraphim and spurred her to flight. And though I knew I was playing with fire, I called out to her, “Cresthaven.” I just had to check on my sisters.
Morgana had passed out on top of her covers with a cooling pillow filled with lavender and moonleaves on her forehead. It had warmed to body temperature, leaving her sweating and scowling in her sleep. I traipsed down to the kitchen’s ice room to switch her pillow out for a cold one and checked on my moon oil supply. We were almost out. I spent the next hour brewing a fresh batch, gathering herbs from the gardens and crushing moonstones until I had a new bottle for Morgana and Meera each. I laid the fresh, cooled pillow on Morgana’s forehead, smoothing her hair back with moon oil and leaving an extra dose on her temples until her expression softened.
Meera looked at peace when I found her, so I left her jar on her nightstand. Her bedroom was in complete disarray, leaving me feeling guilty for having been away so long. I folded up her clothing and cleaned up her paints, lining them up beneath her newest masterpiece—the painting of a red-haired girl who’d turned into a black seraphim, missing her mouth. Shuddering, I left for my apartment.
I stood at the red ray’s entrance to the Temple of Dawn wearing a silvery white gown, sparkling with starlight, twinkling with every breath I took. The dress swept behind my ankles into an unending train that flowed outside, streaming over the blue waterways of Bamaria and rippling through the city, past the green fields of Cresthaven, into the rolling waves of the ocean.
The moon was full, and my watery dress glittered as I stood before the temple’s threshold. The sanctuary was dark, nearly black with shadow. The eternal flame burst to life with a popping sound; the scent of smoke burned my nostrils as flames crackled and echoed around me. Golden red light filled the temple, lighting each of the seven rays. I walked forward knowing I needed to touch the fire, feel its heat. I was made of water, and fire couldn’t hurt me. But as I reached Auriel’s Chamber, stepping onto the first level and then the second, my hand inches from the flames, the train of my dress tore away. The remaining material rose up my legs.
The flames brightened, the fires licking higher, farther from my outstretched hand. Thunder cracked, and the ceiling vanished, revealing a night sky, as Rhyan fell from the flames naked. He pushed onto his hands and knees and sat back on his heels, staring at me with bright emerald eyes. No soot or ash touched his body. But his bare skin, taut over muscle, was red as smoke swirled around him.
“Did the fire hurt you?” My voice sounded distant and echoed throughout the temple. Wings fluttered above, drawing my attention to the paintings of Asherah and Auriel springing to life. Asherah wore my necklace from Ramia, the starfire diamonds glittering pure white, but I still wore it, too. Auriel poured pure red light into Asherah’s chest. The God and Goddess embraced, and their clothes fell off as a warm light grew out of Asherah’s heart and surrounded them. They were too bright to look at, but I could hear their soft gasps and moans as their bodies came together.
I turned to Rhyan. His skin was still red as the eternal flame. His emerald eyes burned as they watched me. His hands balled into fists on his lap, hands opening and closing, his expression pained.
I stepped closer. “I can cool you with my waters. You don’t have to burn.”
“You’re the fire,” he said darkly and stood, his face in anguish. He reached for my dress just as he’d reached for my robes in the Oath Ceremony. The cloth turned to water, dripping down my skin, leaving me naked. My nipples peaked, my skin flushing as desire coiled deep inside of me.
He looked me up and down. Desire hooded his eyes, as some force of power within him called out to me. An inexplicable force inside of me sang in response.
“I want to kiss you,” he said with that beautiful northern lilt to his voice. “Can I?”
“Yes.”
His aura trembled around me. “I know you.” He spoke simultaneously in High Lumerian and in Common, like he had two voices. “Ani janam ra.”
“I know you,” I repeated. I heard my voice, but my mouth hadn’t opened. The words echoed around us.
His fingers uncurled, hands rising to touch my face, turning it up, his skin heated against mine. He pulled me toward him, water into fire.
“You’re mine,” he breathed. I couldn’t catch my breath. “Mine. Since before the dawn.”
Our lips met, and we sank to the cold floor. He slid over me as desire hot as flames rippled over my body. Darkness and shadows covered us like a blanket. I opened my legs, pulling him closer to me. He settled against my hips, his length hard against me. I gasped as he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me closer, kissing my neck.
“Rhyan.” I writhed against him, already wet for him.
His calloused fingers trailed up my thigh, between our hips, and stroked between my legs, deepening my desire before he positioned himself against my entrance.
His face hovered above mine, and I reached up to touch his hair. I hit a cold, hard surface, and then another, and the darkness grew. Rhyan flattened his body against mine. We were trapped. Buried underground.
Gold light exploded.
I sat up in my bed shaking as the golden light of dawn streamed in through my window. My head ached from too little sleep; my body was exhausted and still recovering from the nahashim. The bells rang. It was time to start my first day of soturion training.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
