The Coveted, page 17
“Clarice made that?” Christine asked, raising a brow. “Feels a bit… goddess-cult-ish to me,” she muttered with disdain.
Abraham waved a dismissive hand. “The heretics are not the only ones who can appreciate the beauty of the cosmos. I can see the King’s power in your gown.”
Okay, so not what I was going for, but at least no one was jumping to burn me at the stake. I smiled gratefully at the two of them. “Thank you. Clarice did a fantastic job.”
Sebastian’s arm encircled my waist, and I tensed for a moment before relaxing into it. The sight of Renata clinging to Daelon and staring at him hungrily sure helped.
“They can at least do their jobs correctly, now.” Sebastian whined, snapping his fingers at the rattled servants.
The man who’d fumbled quickly brought elixir, averting his eyes. He nearly shook with fear. His aura was warm and serene at its core, and I recognized with surprise a part of my own energy within its depths—like a flooding of angelic light.
Áine, the one blessed by the Goddess, the servant’s voice sounded in my mind, soft but strong. I had to work very hard not to show my surprise at his ability to use telepathy with a stranger. We invite you to our Solstice worship tomorrow. Allow me to send a map.
I felt him pushing at the barriers of my psyche, and I allowed the vision he shared to take shape.
Got it, I replied, my heart practically beating out of my chest. Solstice worship? That was something I hadn’t done since I was a child, safe in the rolling hills of our secluded village.
My mothers always said I’d have friends where I least expected them. A familiar song rose up from the depths of my soul, and I remembered its tune carrying through the servants’ quarters, through the kitchens, and over every plot of Earth, Aradia, and beyond.
Chapter 15
“So, what really happened between the two of you?” Christine asked with a deceptive smile, gesturing lazily between Daelon and me. Her voice was slightly slurred, her catlike eyes glazed over. “Because I just don’t see it.”
Everyone in our huddle but Daelon and I were drinking elixir, waiting for Lucius to let the dancing commence.
“Nothing,” we both said at once, which of course sounded really, bloody suspicious.
Jasmine bit her lip, exchanging a glance with a now beaming Christine. “Secrets don’t stay secret for very long in the castle,” she murmured, wagging her finger.
“Insufferable gossips. The lot of you,” Serena chastised teasingly.
Taryn had disappeared, which would’ve made me uneasy if I wasn’t so distracted. Even without the elixir, I was starting to feel the effects of a room full of pleasurable, intoxicating energy. Just like at clubs and parties in the human realm, there was nothing more powerful than a group of people sharing an experience, and the energy it created could be either one of the most thrilling or the most uncomfortable in the world for me. It all depended on what frequency I focused on. But in this room of witches drinking pure ecstasy, all I could feel was their immense delectation.
My head felt floaty, my body relaxing. Sebastian’s thumb stroked the area just above my hip. Luckily my skirt was full enough to put some distance between us.
“You’ve never been to a witch’s ball before, have you?” Jasmine spoke up.
I shook my head. Or any ball, because I was not in fact from an eighteenth-century aristocracy, a debutante, or known for playing dress-up in a witch dictatorship. “I’m sure dances are the same in all realms,” I said. Hopefully my power would show me what to do. If I could paint, then I could dance, too, right?
“She’s going to lose herself,” Abraham said, his eyes alight with giddiness. “Oh, to experience the wonders of Aradia for the first time,” he mused.
“And I’ll be here to help you find yourself again,” Sebastian said in my ear. “Just in time for the after-party.”
I bit back a grimace. What had I gotten myself into? I glanced in Daelon’s direction and was met with the kind of raw intensity that made my toes curl. If he wanted to punish me before, I couldn’t even imagine the depraved things he was thinking right about now. Watching him with Renata drew from me the same sentiment. Our mutual jealousy and desire tangled and stretched into an imperceptible, undeniable force in the space between us, so raw and entrancing that I worried someone else would sense it.
It’s time to begin, Lucius’s voice rung loud in my mind. Everyone else stopped speaking, which meant he was somehow communicating with all of us at once. Everyone looks divine, as usual. Each and every one of you is here in the castle for a reason. You are the most powerful, most devoted, and most beautiful witches in the realm. Your King, blessed by the heavens, will share his blessings with you for all of eternity. As long as you continue to serve him.
Winter Solstice used to be a time that the false gods subjugated ignorant witches to do their bidding. Now we bow to no one. Our power is the only true, unconditional power. We belong only to ourselves. So, tonight, we dance in celebration of our freedom, our equality, our progress, and our unbounded magick. We shun tradition and embrace our own destiny!
The room erupted in clapping, and soon music rose, carrying a melody that was heard through every part of my body. String instruments weaved a tune of gathering intensity, setting the tempo for our feet to follow.
“Don’t be nervous. It’s impossible to get wrong,” Sebastian said, spinning me to face him. His dimpled smile was devilish now, and we began to move along with everyone else. It was as if the music painted a map in a language my body understood. I’d never seriously danced a day in my life, yet somehow my unconscious mind new exactly what to do.
The light from the chandeliers twinkled, and the air smelled of winter berries and snow. It felt like I had drunk elixir after all, and I couldn’t help but giggle as Sebastian spun me around.
“There you are,” he said, dipping me. “I was wondering when I’d see this side of you again.”
Our faces were so close that I feared he’d kiss me, but he didn’t. Soon we were moving again, somehow perfectly in sync with everyone else. As the melody rose and fell, I found myself in the arms of Abraham, who smiled in greeting. I couldn’t feel my legs, and my head was cloudy with the ballroom’s collective effervescence. I laughed again, and the part of me that wanted—that needed—to let go took over. Thoughts of my fights with Daelon and then the utter confusion with Taryn, Nathaniel’s suspicion, all the times I let my power slip, and even Lucius and his quest for the names of traitors… it all melted away.
I had the fleeting thought that we’d been put under some sort of trance, but soon I was dancing with Jasmine, her beautiful skin shimmering under the twinkling lights, and there was nothing else. There was just right now.
When Sebastian found me again, he smiled. “See? Magick.” This time when he dipped me, his eyes were hungry and his aura intense with longing. I could feel exactly what he felt—like he’d been waiting an eternity to give in. His lips found mine, and I was absorbed by the act, wrapped up in the way it matched the magick all around us. So, I kissed him back. I had no other choice. His lips were soft, and they moved against mine desperately. But all I could really think was that I wished he was Daelon.
I barely had time to catch my breath as he pulled me back up to stand, and in mere seconds I found myself face to face with Christine.
“Finally,” she whispered in my ear. “I was starting to wonder if you had any interest in sex at all,” she purred. Her energy matched Sebastian’s, and I noticed that the whole room’s energy had shifted decisively into something raw and erotic.
To my surprise, a human song began to rise. It was the Prelude from Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1 in G Minor, its rich cello melody cascading around us. As the pace sped up, I found myself suddenly in Daelon’s arms, and I nearly faltered. His touch on my waist sent electric currents along my spine, and I shivered in response.
I didn’t think I’d ever seen him so flustered. He kept his demeanor neutral even as his eyes sent an entirely different message. He spun and then caught me.
Is this your way of punishing me? His voice was loud in my mind, startling me.
He kissed me, I enunciated, glaring up at him as we moved.
You kissed him back, he hissed.
You know I don’t have a choice. Same as you.
And at least I wasn’t completing sketchy missions for the evil Witch King. I almost shut him out, refusing to fight with him here in public. Not with Nathaniel and Lucius watching us like hawks. But, consumed by the swirl of sweet and tart, golden-hued pleasure pulsating through the music, through each dancing witch, and through his touch on my waist as he dipped me, I couldn’t help but keep the channel open. I had to listen to the tenor of his voice as it held me under his spell, as if its low rumble tethered me to the earth and kept me from floating back into the cosmos.
I know, he conceded. I hate that you feel forced to let him touch you. You have no idea what watching it does to me… how much it makes me want to get you out of that dress and into my bed. How much it makes me want to show everyone who you belong to, consequences be damned.
I knew we only had a couple more seconds together, and I was hyperconscious of everywhere he touched me. It was as if his fingers scorched my waist, branding me in a way only we were aware of.
Áine… he started but never finished. Our time was up. Something desperate flashed between us, something caught between frustration and devotion and love and rage. The music crested, and I feared the rush of magick within and around me might just pull me under. I held fast to his darkened gaze until he was forced to let me go.
He passed me back to Sebastian, who eyed him territorially. It almost looked like he made a show of grabbing me away. I forced myself to tune back into the collective effervescence, trying to push thoughts of Daelon back into the periphery before I did something dangerous.
I realized we were dancing in a system of circles, quite like planets and their moons orbiting around the sun. I caught a glimpse of Daelon dancing with Renata, and soon I was watching her grab his neck and rise up on tiptoe to whisper something in his ear. He said something back with a look I knew all too well. It was a look of command and control. Of dominance.
Sebastian and I stayed together for longer this time, and I found myself looking around the room when I could. I gulped when I realized many witches were staring right back at me. The servants, too, seemed utterly captivated.
I locked eyes with the man from before, the one carrying a fresh tray of elixir. It’s the dress, he said, as if reading my thoughts. You can see the Goddess in it. But you have to be able to recognize Her… otherwise it feels like something you never knew you wanted—confusing in its unplaceable familiarity and perplexing in its sense of profound wholeness. The lost witches don’t know why they’re drawn to its magick… they just are. Be careful, Áine.
His words melted away before they could take root. I had no idea how long we’d been dancing, but my legs felt like gelatin and my face hurt from smiling. I let myself get swept up in the magick, and it was a much-needed break from the usual chaos that reigned over my mind. These were not my people, and this was not my home, but getting lost in something bigger than myself was still a breath of relief. My soul longed for community.
And that was why I couldn’t wait to follow the servant’s map to my first Solstice worship since my mothers were alive. This was the next piece of the puzzle, falling into place when I needed it the most.
I was pulled from my thoughts at the prickle of hairs rising on the back of my neck. I followed my sixth sense, turning just as Renata rose to her toes again, this time locking lips with Daelon. My Daelon. He tensed, but soon his hand was in her long brunette hair as his lips engulfed hers. When he pulled back, his eyes immediately found mine even as he held her to him, his hand still on the back of her head.
Intensity rose in my gut, and suddenly sparks rained down from the ceiling. I paled, sucking in a deep breath as the whole room looked up at the chandeliers—everyone but Daelon, whose gaze on me was unwavering. I looked away, meeting Sebastian’s eyes instead, as I fought against my power.
“Looks like sparks are truly flying with those two again,” Sebastian laughed. “Though I don’t think it’s ever been from romance.” He raised his brows, realization striking his features. “Well, you know how the Commander is, don’t you?”
This wasn’t helping. “No. I have no idea.”
He dipped me, stroking my cheek. “It’s not my thing, don’t worry. I prefer women to look like they’re enjoying themselves.”
I swallowed as he brushed his thumb against my lips, leaning down again to kiss me.
I forced a smile. “I’m sorry, but I think I need a break. I’ll be right back. Promise,” I said.
“Of course,” he said, though a bit of disappointment clouded his eyes. “Hurry back to me.”
The energy had shifted with my mood, snaking into a darker side of the erotic. As I moved through the orbits of witches, dancing and touching each other, they looked more animalistic than before. They were like the hardcore clubbers on Earth always looking for their next fix, surrendering entirely now that they’d found it.
Lucius’s fingers were steepled at his lips, watching from his throne as I made my way through the crowd. I gave him an exaggerated curtsy, which earned me a chilling laugh I couldn’t hear over the music. Nathaniel just sneered.
I finally made it to the corridor, where the energy and music faded into some much needed quiet. I walked to the tall windows that overlooked part of the gardens, and the sky was dark save the stars and a bright, nearly full moon. Their energy reached out to the magick of my dress like they were one in the same. My heart slowed.
“You can manifest. And paint.”
So much for a tranquil moment to myself. Lucius joined me at the windows, standing far too close for my liking.
“Apparently.”
“How?” he demanded. I met his piercing blue eyes, which churned and darkened with obvious jealousy. “Those are not your gifts.”
“I don’t know how,” I sighed.
His defined jaw was tense as he stared me down. “You know, I actually believe you. You are quite clueless, little witch.”
I rolled my eyes. I wished he’d never gotten his icy, pale hands on Daelon’s pet name for me.
“You’re lucky I’m in a fantastic mood, or you’d be paying for your rudeness right now,” he said. “Daelon did a poor job teaching you respect.”
I clenched my fists.
“The dress was too much. It reeks of heresy,” he said, his tone dark. “You’re being reckless, and if you continue, people will start to question your true origin. And I will be forced to intervene.”
I wondered why he hadn’t already. “It wasn’t on purpose. No one doubts that my power comes from you.”
“Except it doesn’t,” he snapped. “It comes from the treasonous and the weak. The losers of history. But no matter. You serve me now.”
“I don’t have any names for you,” I said quietly. “Everyone here actually likes you, surprisingly.” Well, I was sure a lot of it was fear and ignorance-based admiration, but still.
His laugh was cold. “You will learn to as well, in time. In fact, I don’t care about any of that anymore.”
I drew my brows together, glancing back at him. The contours of his face were moonlit, and I had the fleeting thought that his features would be quite striking if they weren’t shrouded under a thick layer of cruelty and callousness. He was staring at the gardens now too.
“That’s… concerning,” I said, barely above a whisper. Wasn’t my ability to flatter his paranoid fantasies the whole reason I wasn’t dead yet? Just a few days ago he’d appointed Daelon as my handler and gave some very clear instructions on my purpose. What could have possibly changed?
“Oh, don’t worry, dear Áine. I’ve figured it all out. Daelon was right after all. You’re much better for my plans alive than dead.”
My heart skipped a beat. This didn’t seem like it was good news at all. “How—”
We were interrupted by a man’s gruff voice and the sound of a whimper. Lucius turned from me, moving as quick as a snake on the prowl. I was compelled to follow, trailing just behind him as the aggressive voice rose. We rounded the corner on the left side of the corridor, just as a man struck a woman across her cheekbone, unclasping his hand from her throat. She stumbled back, clutching her face as she raised her other arm.
Before I could react, Lucius flicked his wrist, and the man flew hard against the wall. “Fucking barbaric,” he spat at him. “What are we? Humans?”
The man rose to his knees, his hands in a begging position now. “Please, my King. It won’t happen again. It was she who—” He fell onto his back, writhing and screaming out in pain.
“I don’t care what she did.” Lucius’s lip curled as he made small motions with his outstretched hands. “I think I’ll crush your liver next.”
I looked away, kneeling down next to the woman. “Are you okay?”
She straightened up and adjusted her gown. “I’m fine,” she said curtly. Her energy pulled back, moving around her like a shield. She cocked her head, staring me up and down as if she’d only just noticed me. She visibly relaxed. “Oh.”
“Escort Ms. Violette back to her chambers, please, Simon,” Lucius said.
The guard that let Taryn and me off the hook with our wine heist approached us, but the woman was too busy staring at my dress to notice. “Where—I want—” She stuttered.
“I’ll take you back to your chambers, ma’am,” Simon said, his voice surprisingly tender.
She closed her mouth, lowering her hand from her cheek. She silently followed him, unable to tear her eyes away until they turned the corner. “He’s going to kill him,” I heard her murmur, and I couldn’t tell whether she was pleased with that outcome or not.
I turned back to Lucius, who was still lording over the man’s writhing body. The man was screaming still, but it was silent, as if Lucius had hit a magickal mute button. I didn’t know whether to go or stay, but I was stunned by Lucius’s raw emotion even as he was knee deep in torture. It was like nothing I’d ever seen before from a man supposedly sociopathic. Under the blood curdling anger lay something else, something hidden…
