Divine and Devour, page 16
It wasn’t a declaration of love, but it felt deeper. When she was alive, she required a physical act and words to understand and demonstrate emotions. As a soul, Cimmeria was liberated from the barriers of perception, and she felt Valen in a way that was stronger than any verbal communication. The combination felt like a vow, a brand on her heart, and she cherished the gift.
She pressed her mouth to his, and all the feelings she had were said in that one touch. His hand coasted to her hip, and he pressed her snugly to his form. Valen swept his lips over hers, and she surrendered to his magnificent kiss. When he groaned over her mouth, her toes curled at the sensation.
Cimmeria ran her teeth over the plump bottom portion of his mouth. The suppleness ached for a bite. Valen gathered her hair in his fist and shaped the kiss into a demanding desire.
His magic flared and swamped her soul, so she felt every nuance of his motions. It was as close to being alive as she could remember. What he did next caused her entire being to burst into an electrical frenzy. He sucked her tongue into his mouth and scraped his teeth along the length of it. The moan that crawled up her throat and vibrated between their mouths was wicked and pervasive. The kiss was a promise of what lay beyond the horizon of desire. Pressed into her hip was the stiff declaration of what would happen if they went too far.
Cimmeria disconnected from the kiss. The slide of his tongue as it pulled from her mouth caused her stomach to dip and tingle. Their separation evoked madness in her soul. She wanted a limitless experience with Valen, but to pour that much magic into their connection would ruin them both. She rubbed her face into Valen’s neck to keep the temptation from flooding. They had to discuss their plan of action with the witch council. Anything to distract her from boiling over with yearning for the heart song. The last piece was always hovering, niggling at them both, and Cimmeria didn’t know if they could hold out much longer.
“We are a united front,” She opened the conversation but did not glance up. Cimmeria didn’t trust herself not to latch onto his lips.
Valen hiked her leg over his hip and pressed his erection to the intimate seam of her form. “I want to join beyond the front. In between is more to my liking.”
“Valen,” She jerked her hips in response but tried to keep her mind from wandering. “We have to plan our visit with the witch council.”
The thrust of his hips was languorous and sumptuous. A promise of the pleasure to come. “We can talk after we find out what the fuss is about between a soul and a divination witch becoming lovers.”
She was not amused. “We know what the fuss is, and it isn’t a good thing.”
Valen rolled on his back and grumbled, “Might be worth it at this point.”
“Valen! Be reasonable,” She griped.
He adjusted his trousers and pressed a hand to the peak of his erection. “I’m listening. Albeit with half my attention, but I’ll behave.”
“Thank you,” She scooted into a sitting position.
Valen rolled onto his side and propped up his head. He watched her with such yearning that it buried into her soul and gnawed at the bare bones of her love. He sat up and clasped her hands. “Patience is not my forte, but for you, I’ll wait. At least, I’ll try to form a semblance of restraint. The heart song grows more insistent by the day. You mean everything to me, and I would not intentionally tarnish the gift we share.”
“I know. That is why we must ask the council to find a way for us to complete the heart song ritual without negative consequences.”
“Agreed,” He kissed the back of her hands and set them on his chest. “I should probably rest. My parents will need me to run errands later.”
“I’ll remain with them until I’m forced to my constellation. You can sleep without concern for their safety.”
Valen lay down and opened his arms. She nestled into his warmth, and he held her until he fell asleep. Cimmeria drifted out of their room and guarded his parents. Her world expanded with Valen, and it brought dimensions to her eternity that shattered the mournful horizon. She didn’t feel endless but permanent. The difference settled on her soul. With Valen, she became more than a spirit with a Khaos-crafted story. She transformed into a masterpiece of love.
Chapter 13
“This is a terrible idea,” Cimmeria muttered for the sixth time. Valen had counted. “Let’s return to your parents’ house.”
He yawned and stretched out his legs. Any time before noon was vile to him unless coffee was involved. Since his mother preferred tea, there hadn’t been liquid motivation before they departed the house.
Valen’s remark, like his lethargic mood, was a blasé affair. “It’ll be fine.”
“You keep saying that, but I have a gut feeling this is going to end in tragedy.”
The irony that he was arguing in favor of the council and Cimmeria was looking for retreat was not lost on him. “You don’t have a gut, remember?”
“Perhaps we should pretend we were not here. We can relocate to the countryside. They will not find out what we are doing if we live like savages.”
He targeted her lips as his imagination flared at her suggestion. “Savages, you say? I’m having second thoughts. Escaping to the woods sounds like a great plan.”
Her mood brightened at his capitulation. “Really?”
“I’m envisioning all the things I can do with you in the wild,” He looked down at his lap to emphasize his meaning.
“Valen!” She shouted, but she didn’t look offended and slapped a hand over his mouth. “What if the council hears you?”
He wasn’t deterred and mumbled along her fingers, “It’s not wrong if you’re in love.”
“Are you in love with me?” It was meant as a tease, but the statement was a lure to the truth, and they both knew it.
He eased to the wall and scrutinized her from his languid position. “I do love you.” In afterthought, he posed, “Naked or otherwise.”
She buzzed her lips and crossed her arms. “At least you’re honest.” In a sweeter voice, she murmured, “I love you, too. Quirks and otherwise.”
The chamber door opened, and one of the members, Flora Hearth, gestured for them to enter. She was dressed in emerald robes to match her aura and hair. Those descended from the first fourteen witch couples, like Cimmeria and Asteron, had hair to match their auras. Valen rose and strolled into the chamber, holding the door for Cimmeria. Flora slanted her brows at his actions, and he realized she didn’t have psychic sight for spirits.
He indicated Cimmeria with his hand. “My heart song.”
Flora’s eyes widened, but it was all the surprise she displayed.
As Valen entered the chamber, his aura clashed against the layered orchestral tones of the council’s auras. He gripped his head as the sounds assaulted his senses. Cimmeria was in no less discomfort. The council wiggled in their seats, an indicator their auras were processing the multiple witch personalities in the room. When the sounds settled, Valen clasped his hands before him and bowed at his waist. When he rose from his respectful greeting, Valen waited for the council to acknowledge his case.
The seven council members watched from their small dais in a semi-circle of plush thrones. Hesiod Meridian had an electric blue aura, Ego Numinous was indigo, Flora Hearth was green, Magma Bane had a red aura, Star Supernal had a yellow aura, and Flint Polaris was the witch with the orange aura. Artaria Veritas represented the signature white aura and sat in the middle. Her white hair was distinctive to Lyra, the primal witch. Lyra was different from the first witches as she manifested from the yolk of the world egg and was magic made flesh.
To Artaria’s right were Hesiod, Ego, and Flora. To her left were Magma, Star, and Flint. The pink, magenta, and violet aura representations were missing. Valen remembered all nine at his graduation. Wherever the other three witches had gone, they were not present at this meeting.
He scanned the members while Cimmeria crafted her own estimations. He could guess by Hesiod and Ego’s expressions they were interested in their ancestral line. They stared right at Cimmeria.
Hesiod whispered to Artaria as his aura flared brighter than the other council members. Cimmeria’s blue aura eclipsed the red for a moment, and she recognized her descendant. Ego stared at her with interest. His indigo aura pulsed as if in tune with his heartbeats. Cimmeria gave him a nod of acknowledgment.
Flora, Star, and Magma were oblivious to Cimmeria and gave Valen their attention. They didn’t have sight of the spirit realm. Even descended from powerful witches, they had limitations. Flint was shocked at Cimmeria’s presence and leaned forward in his seat, squinting at her spirit form. If anyone recognized a first witch in their presence, it would be the members of the witch council.
“Welcome, Valen. We haven’t had the pleasure of your audience since your graduation,” Artaria Veritas announced to the entire council. “Greetings to the First Witch, Cimmeria. We’re all surprised to have her here in our presence.”
Magma, Star, and Flora searched the room for Cimmeria. Artaria indicated the space beside Valen. Their astonishment was evident, and a murmur of speculation flitted among the members.
“Greetings, High Witch and esteemed council members,” Valen replied with respectful deference in his tone.
Artaria held her hand out to signal he should proceed. “You must have a unique reason for approaching us with one of the first witches at your side.”
“I have sought the witch council to request a favor.”
Flora swished her emerald robes aside and inquired, “What favor do you seek?”
Valen indicated Cimmeria next to him and said, “My heart song is in the form of a soul. I would like to entreat the council for answers on how we can perform the final act of the heart song without rupturing the etheric field between our worlds.”
As one, the witches straightened on their thrones.
Valen spared Cimmeria a glance and elaborated before any insinuation could occur, “When I was recently graduated, I attempted to contract a water witch for my tarot deck. I fumbled the incantation, and Cimmeria answered the summons. During our encounter, the heart song was triggered.”
“That is not an impossible occurrence. Summoning mistakes are common, but it is unlikely a first witch will answer the call.” Ego conceded, but his gaze was shrewd.
Valen angled so the affection he cast was in Cimmeria’s line of sight. “Even souls have free will. She chose to answer, and I’m grateful she did.”
Artaria was contemplative, but she motioned to Cimmeria. “The dual auras are proof of your heart song. Normally, I’d ask if this was a breach of our laws, but I can see Khaos has his own plans. Tell us, why did you not seek the help of the council as soon as the heart song was bound?”
Valen felt his face heat with embarrassment, but he laid all his follies bare for Cimmeria. “I believed I could discover a way to forge the heart song ritual with Cimmeria and not have strangers interfere.”
“Other heart songs have come to us when they have been separated by death,” Ego mentioned. “They haven’t been divination witches, though. This is the first time a heart song has been made when one was alive and the other dead. It’s unique, indeed.”
Magma took up the conversation. “We didn’t expect Khaos to bond the living and the dead. No protocol has been made for this situation.”
“In the case of the other heart songs, they already bonded in life. They could not continue their relationship when one passed on to death. The witches who lived could not view or touch the soul of their lost heart song. They required a witch to be an intermediary between the physical plane and the spirit realm. The presence of the heart song remained, but death separated them in all other ways,” Flora finished.
Star said, “We do not have experience with witches and souls forming a heart song. We know that when a living witch and a soul join in sexual unification, they cause a magical disturbance. A heart song is supposed to create ultimate harmony. Maybe the rules don’t apply in this scenario.”
“Have there been any occurrences to imply you cannot complete the ritual?” Artaria asked them.
Valen went first. “I’ve experienced oddities. Candles have flown across the room and hit me. Unusual bad luck. My divination table lit up without my intention of activating it. They usually occurred when I denied interaction with Cimmeria, or I gave in to the lure of the heart song. We had a minor fluctuation with the etheric field when we intimately touched. We haven’t pushed our connection or magic.”
“The spirit realm has been in a state of unrest. My magic has failed a few times,” Cimmeria admitted. “I find it harder to leave the physical plane. My worldly desires have returned, and my soul has been cast in and out of existence. It’s like my spirit form is unsure of which plane it belongs to.”
“Your magic acts up when you deny the heart song and when you encourage it?” Hesiod murmured and stroked his chin in contemplation.
Valen cracked his knuckles as he recalled the details of the last thirty years. “At first, I denied the heart song altogether. Nothing terrible happened other than an intense yearning. A few days ago, my luck started to turn sour. I can’t say if denying or accepting is worse, but both have effects.”
“Interesting,” was all Hesiod said.
Artaria unfurled her hand in a gesture of acceptance. “Thank you for coming to us with your situation. We will discuss amongst ourselves and try to find an answer. We may have records that can assist, or we may end up with no clear answer. Until that time, we ask that you exercise caution. The magic of a first witch, a heart song, and a divination witch is a powerful recipe.”
“We’ll be careful,” Cimmeria noted. “Not like we haven’t been tip-toeing around this thing for decades or anything.” The last part was muttered to herself, but Valen heard it loud and clear.
He slipped his fingers through hers and squeezed. “We are being compelled by the heart song as each day passes. We urge you to find an answer as swiftly as possible.”
“We’ll do our best,” Artaria reassured. “Until we meet again, First Witch and Valen.”
Before they were dismissed, Valen remembered they had one nasty witch on their trail. “Is there a way we can have protection from the Taxidermist? We may be on his shit list.”
Artaria rolled her eyes and groaned as she rubbed her temples. “What has he done?”
Valen shuffled his feet. “To be honest, we provoked him.”
“Why?” Artaria pleaded with her hands out. “Why do witches get involved with him?”
Valen thought it prudent not to answer.
Artaria composed herself and said, “We’ll send someone to watch your house. To be honest, it might not help. He’s an expert in thwarting our agents and the imperial law enforcement.”
“Thank you, High Witch.”
Artaria smoothed down her robes. “Be careful.”
With a bow, Valen tucked her hand into the crook of his arm and led them from the witch council chamber. When the door was shut, they marked a few paces from the other witches. Valen commented, “That went better than I imagined.”
Cimmeria groaned, “Ugh. We’re right where we started. They have no idea how to complete the heart song ritual, either. I thought for sure all our problems would have been solved with the witch council. Turns out it didn’t matter if we sought them out or not.”
Valen didn’t have another comment. What more could he say? The witch council was a bust, the bone witch hadn’t been able to bridge their worlds, his mother couldn’t get a clear answer from Khaos, and all the while, the Taxidermist was lurking in the shadows. They had enough problems trying to figure out how to finish the heart song ritual. Add in the rest of the cocktail, and Valen was ready to say, “Screw it.” He’d weather the storm after he claimed Cimmeria in all ways.
Cimmeria checked over her shoulder, and her voice was ominous as she said, “Unless Khaos dispenses a miracle to us.”
Valen slipped his arms around her shoulder and guided Cimmeria down the hall. “Let’s take a minute to ourselves at home before we return to my parents’ house.”
Her lips curved into a grateful smile. “I’d like that.”
They wandered out of the west wing and charted their course through the main foyer. Once they were at the castle courtyard, Valen hired a carriage home. Cimmeria sat opposite him in silence. He was grateful she accompanied him, although she could have traveled through the etheric field to arrive at his house. The comfort of her presence set him at ease. After meeting with the witch council, he wanted a quiet moment to reorganize his thoughts. The path to uniting with his heart song wasn’t easy, but he had hope. The witch council had five millennia of Libra history recorded in their archives. There might be an answer. He’d exhausted other options on his own. It was time to rely on others to help bridge the physical gap between himself and Cimmeria.
When the carriage halted before his door, Valen descended to the street and paid the driver. Cimmeria floated after him, and they relaxed into the chairs by the hearth. Valen bent to light the logs on fire when an enthusiastic knock jolted him upright.
“Are you expecting a client?” Cimmeria asked with a slant of her blue brows.
He was as confused as she was and strayed across the room to open the door. On the other side was a strange witch. His trifecta of auras clashed with each other, and Valen half wondered if he had two heart songs. The twining colors were like snapping serpents. The sky blue, magenta, and white of his auras sparked, and it caused Valen to become dizzy.
The witch was above average height at most. His skin was a flawless copper color, and his dark brown hair curled atop his head in loose spirals. His eyes were a vibrant clover green. Intelligence, almost to the point of insanity, radiated from his intense stare. His features were odd as if he was unsure which expression to settle on. His mouth wavered between a smile and a twist of irony. His brows were slightly raised as if he had hundreds of inspiring ideas, and they were eager to burst forth.
