In two hours, the fire that’s been kindling between us will be snuffed out. For her, at least.
“You don’t want to?” she asks, doing up the buttons she just pulled loose. I swallow hard.
“I do.” I pull her closer, into a tight hug, and Aliz kisses my head, squeezing my shoulders.I just don’t want it to be the last.I know it would be stupid for me to say that. But the price of my freedom is not only leaving Callisto. It’s also losing Aliz.
“We can go back to our room,” she says. “I don’t want you to think I’m an exhibitionist.”
“You’re worrying about thatnow?” I laugh, tugging her shirt out from her trousers, just to allow me to press my hand directly against her skin. “Do I have to remind you of the first time I saw you?”
“No,” she says, cupping my chin, forcing me to meet her gaze. “But I bet you couldn’t stop thinking about it,” she says. “I remember how fast your heart was beating.”
“Yeah, because I was scared,” I say, running my hand higher, until I find the clasp of her bra. I tug on it, but don’t undoit.
“And now?” she whispers, lips close to mine.
“Terrified,” I say, digging my nails into her back.
“Liar,” she says, and she slips her hand between my legs, her fingers already familiar with every inch of me. I grit my teeth, biting my lip to keep myself from moaning, all while Aliz presses me against the bookcase. “What’s wrong?” she asks innocently, two fingers slipping inside me, soon joined by a third. I pull her hair, trying to wipe the smugness off her face, but she knows she’s in full control.
She kisses my neck, and I feel it deeply, viscerally. My blood burns, craving to be tasted by her. And I’m not sure if she could read my mind, but Aliz is able to distract me by slipping a fourth finger inside, fucking me harder than she ever has before. Being, as I asked her, a little less gentle. I bite her neck to keep myself from crying out,and it’s the sound of her moan that drives me over the edge, the world momentarily disappearing as pleasure sears throughme.
I hold her tight, breathing heavily, and Aliz kisses my cheek. “I wish I could return the favour,” I whisper, still pressing myself against her. “I wish I could get down on my knees for you,” I say against her ear, and I feel her shiver, her breath hitching. She lets out a nervous laugh and shakes her head.
“I’d love that, but I’d lose control.”
I’m filled with momentary bitterness as I think of another girl touching her in a way I can’t, feeling Aliz’s fangs piercing their skin in a way that I’ll never be able to feel. “Maybe I could tie you up,” I say. She sighs, and when our eyes meet, there’s a slight red tinge to her irises. “And blindfold you,” I add.
“When did you become so kinky?” she asks, and despite the fact she’s just gotten me off, Aliz slips a hand back beneath my skirt. A few seconds later, she pulls out, making a face. “We’ve got company,” she says. I remember hearing those exact same words from her lips when I first encountered her, right here, on the fifth floor of the library.
Aliz wraps my scarf around my neck, making sure that the mark isn’t visible, before we walk out from behind the book aisles, trying to act normal. Julia stares right back at us, holding a couple of books. Her nose twitches, and I remember her saying that she could smell Aliz on me. I don’t want to even think of what she picks up now.
“Studying?” I ask awkwardly. Julia looks at Aliz for a moment, her expression not exactly a picture of joy.
“Yeah,” she says, “We’ve got an exam tomorrow, Astra.”
“Ah, you’re right,” Aliz says. “Can’t wait.”
I don’t know if I should apologise, but that would just make things more awkward. “I think she doesn’t like me,” Aliz whispers, once we’re heading back down the staircase. “Which is a first.”
“I wouldn’t like you, either, if it wasn’t for this pesky mark,” I tease, and Aliz glares atme.
“Maybe she likesyou,” she says.
“Don’t be silly,” I say.
“What? You’re cute. Your blood smells nice. But it’s weird. I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere. And not in class.”
“What do you mean?”
“She’s familiar. I just can’t put my finger on why.”
I think of what Julia said about Aliz’s dad visiting her in her dreams. Julia was only converted four years ago but possesses abilities other vampires do not. So maybe she was sired by an Astra. Aliz lets go of my hand when we reach the ground floor of the library, and only as we leave it, the place where I first saw her, do I realise that she’ll quite possibly never touch me like that again.
The nook isin front of us, rose and candle filling the ancient rock with a red glow.
“Well, this is it,” Elia says as she picks up the rose. She clasps the stem tight in her hand, piercing her skin with its thorns. She then holds her bleeding hand over the candle, allowing the flame to lick her wound. She must have done this a thousand times, because she barely even winces.
Aliz copies her, clasping her hand around the stem, and hisses as the thorns dig into her. And something truly bizarre happens this time, because as the rose drinks her blood, it grows new leaves, and the flower’s petals part a little wider. Fast, before her wound heals, she holds it over the candle, allowing her blood to mingle with the flame. “Ouch,” she says.
