As something deep inside her flared.
Ariana’s eyes opened, but her breath was high now as Quinn stared her down. Suddenly, she understood why she felt both attracted to and afraid of him – because his magic had a darkly sexual nature. It was as terrifying as it was arousing, as a deep siren-call rose inside Ariana. As his shadows shifted through the chandelier lights, she saw red-copper blaze in his irises; and Ariana found herself breathless as she stared at him.
As his dark power rose, she felt how he tried to pull it back, to let her process with a clear mind. But she saw him struggle with putting his power away; as it touched her again, Ariana felt her own new magic unfurl inside her, singing in a vast moonlit tide to be with him. It poured out of her in a flowing ecstasy not unlike when he’d touched her at the Pitti Palace.
Devouring her and making her see a high summer moon inside her mind.
As Ariana’s power flowed out, it curled around Quinn’s where his magic touched her wrist. Suddenly, his energy heightened; she felt as if his fingers were actually upon her inner wrist now, caressing her. It was replaced by the sensation of lips kissing her wrist; and Ariana shuddered with a dark delight as a press of fangs came, deep. She cried out, her entire body rocking, on fire with lust.
As Quinn pulled his power swiftly away.
But the damage was done. As Ariana watched Quinn with wide eyes, her breath high and her heart thundering, she felt him wrangle his magic swiftly back. But as if something connected them now, her own power blazed inside her from his magical touch – and him wrangling his magic back from her only made it flare hotter. As something shone like a dark-bright star inside her chest, pulsing in deep waves with moon-silver and searing gold energy, Ariana rocked. Staring at Quinn with her lips fallen open, she watched his dark eyes burn.
As he slowly closed his own lips – mastering himself at last.
“Forgive me.” Quindici DaPonti spoke in a husky voice, as if he’d felt everything she had when their magics had touched. “My power is wild around you. You struggle to believe you have magic, but I would challenge you to understand that your magic is far more powerful than you think, Ariana. A power yet to be discovered.”
“What do you gain from all this? If I bond to you?” Ariana spoke suddenly, needing to know what he was after.
“Power.” Quindici spoke with a dark shine in his eyes now, though he was quiet as he watched her. “By now, you understand that I am highly motivated by power, Ariana – and I deeply desire to align your opening power to mine, even though you have no clue what you can do with it yet. But it would not be an alliance that goes merely one way. You would have my control to aid you in your aims, and the strength of this entire Dark Haven behind you, in addition to me. I do not use the people close to me, Ariana; I aid them and they aid me. It is a mutually beneficial contract made with consent from both parties, or it does not happen at all.”
“If I am to believe you,” Ariana spoke at last as she recovered from their sudden magical connection, “then why not just bind me against my will right now and be done with it?”
“Because if we are to have an arrangement, I wish for you to be satisfied with it.” Quinn spoke back as he watched her, something strangely pained in his dark eyes now. “Consent is important to me. I have never Sired or Kissed anyone without creating an agreement that satisfies both parties. It has made my Dark Haven small over the years, but we are a family that supports each other. And though you would be bound to me, I would not do it if you could not believe in my goals just as much as I believe in yours.”
“And what are your goals?” Ariana asked, watching him carefully.
“Mutual benefit… for all of us.” Quinn spoke quietly as he held her gaze.
Something about the way he said it set Ariana’s heart racing suddenly. She didn’t know if he was talking about the betterment of Vampire-kind’s situation or of her own precarious position; but she suddenly felt like he was talking about something far larger as she stared into Quinn’s dark eyes. As they flared with a luminous crimson ring, Ariana’s breath caught, and she felt herself falling into them like falling into a dark sun. It was beautiful, captivating, and something about it was so massive that it called directly to her heart. As her power flared inside her suddenly, Quinn reached out across the table.
Stroking her wrist with his actual fingertips now.
“I do not know your aims and goals yet, Ariana, but I want to.” Quinn spoke quietly as his gaze searched hers. “I would like to make all your dreams come true, whatever they are. I would do that, for you.”
His answer caught Ariana’s breath suddenly as that silver-dark sensation flared inside her. As he truly stroked her wrist now, she felt Quinn’s dark magic swirl around her, though she could also feel he was trying to hold it back. But a hot-bright sensation opened up so fast and far inside Ariana that a flash of silver-gold surged from her with a curling cascade of dark rainbows as she jolted up suddenly from the table, breaking their contact.
Breathing hard, she stared down at him – trying to resist his dark draw and failing.
“I need to think this over.” She spoke abruptly, still unable to catch her breath or her racing heartbeat.
“Of course.” Quinn spoke quietly as he watched her. But as he made a motion to stand, Ariana blocked him just like she’d done at the Pitti Palace with an upraised hand; and with a deep gaze, Quinn eased back to his seat. He didn’t follow her as she turned, moving off through the sky-bar and stepping briskly down the beautiful glass stairs with the starry night all around.
Though some part of her wanted him to come after her – as her dark-bright magic rioted deep inside.
CHAPTER 8 – PARTY
Ariana returned to her rooms after her drink with Quinn, churning inside as she debated becoming bound to him. As she shucked her green cocktail dress in the walk-in closet, she found her personal items there just like Quinn had said, her black computer bag and grey Chanel purse upon her breakfast table. They seemed almost foreign to Ariana, like relics from a different life as she moved back out to the main room in her lacy silk negligee and ran her fingers over them, then checked messages on her phone. Her parents had called, but Ariana’s thumb only hovered over their message, not tapping it as that oilslick-dark sensation moved through her again. Plugging her phone in to charge, she left it on the table.
Tumbling in to bed with dark thoughts.
Despite her unrest, she slept deeply, without dreams. Waking to a sumptuous breakfast laid out upon her table, she tucked in heartily, her body strangely roaring for food this morning despite her churning heart. Beautiful calligraphy materials had been left in Ariana’s room, and settling at an easel with ink and calligraphy brushes since she had nothing better to do today, Ariana began to paint.
She did not stop as the day progressed – her world getting more and more strange with every brushstroke. Ariana watched now as the hundredth page she painted suddenly came to life again with the final stroke of her brush. Over and over today, she had painted Faeanic calligraphy sigils she had studied since childhood – and watched them come alive by her new power. Undulating slowly over the page, Ariana watched as yet another of her works glimmered with dark rainbows in the depths of the ink, occasionally flashing with a silver-moon or sun-gold energy.
As they moved, she felt a matching movement stir inside her; she’d been feeling it all day as she painted, and suddenly Ariana rose, feeling called to move with it. Slowly she began to sway, still in her silk negligee though the sun was nearly setting now. As spontaneous gestures came to her hands, Ariana watched, entranced as her dancelike movements began writing calligraphic sigils in thin air. Fascinated, she moved with it, sculpting a sigil on instinct that meantcreativity. As her hands and body danced the final stroke into place, it flared bright in the air – with none of that oilslick darkness. Ariana gasped as she watched it glow like pure moonlight in the room, then slowly fade. As it did, she realized someone was standing in her room, watching.
And as her heart leapt to her throat, she turned – seeing Curio Silverfrost standing by the door with a deep awe on his face.
