"If it backfired, then why would Morgana have been so keen to get her hands on the grimoire now?"
"Perhaps she was tying up loose ends, or thought Lord Rathbourne had written something more? Perhaps he knew something he didn't write down? Who will ever know? That's just one more dead end for us to overcome."
Almost petulantly, Ianthe stabbed the A minor. It rang through the room, clear as a bell. "Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps. I'm tired of chasing my tail. I need to find her. What does she want, damn it?"
"Drake's heart on a platter?" It was said nonchalantly, but he knew it was a mistake as soon as she stiffened.
"Don't say that." Those soft words tore him apart. "Please don't say that."
A hard lump formed in his throat. Lucien stroked her hip, pressing a kiss to her exposed nape, gentle touches designed to soothe. He couldn't believe he was about to say this. "He's safe, love. The Prime's the strongest sorcerer in all of England, and he's protected by a handful of Sicarii. After all, he tore that demon's physical form to shreds last year, before he sent it back to me. Nobody else has ever managed such a thing. Morgana would want to get up early in the morning to pull the wool over his eyes."
"But what if she does somehow manage it?"
There was something about the way she said it that tore his heart to pieces. Not for the Prime. For her. Lucien grimaced. Things were becoming entirely unpredictable between them. He couldn't explain this softening toward her, but at the same time, he no longer wished vengeance upon her. The very thought made him feel somewhat ill. "She won't," he promised. "You have my word that I will do everything within my power to stop that from happening."
This time, he couldn't stop her from turning to the side on his lap. Violet eyes searched his face. "You would protect him?"
"Not for his sake." It was a confession that shook the both of them, judging by the look in her eyes.
Something changed in the air between them. Ianthe looked away, as though she couldn't bear to see it.
"Oh," she said softly, and plucked at a key. "Oh."
Lucien cleared his throat. "What are you doing down here?"
Ianthe's head fell forward. She struck the C key. "I think you know why I'm here." It was the faintest whisper, as though she barely dared admit it. She tugged something from the pocket of her robe and placed it on the top of the piano.
A small packeted sheath.
Hell. Lucien pressed another kiss to her silk-clad shoulder. She wouldn't have dared before, but this was an affirmation of her desires. Ianthe was slowly spreading her wings, learning to take what she wanted.
Turning her, he set her on the keys with a discordant jar of noise.
Their eyes met. A sad smile touched her mouth. "Mrs. Hastings won't know what to think about all of this noise."
"I daresay."
One hand inside each of her knees, he pushed them open, the robe slithering over her skin and revealing a hint of her plain cotton nightgown beneath, as he dragged his chair closer. Ianthe hesitated, then reached up and brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. A faint blush stirred her cheeks.
"Perhaps we can help each other to sleep?"
"I don't think what you have planned has anything to do with sleep."
"True." Lucien pressed a kiss to the inside of her wrist and looked up. "But it's not what I want that matters. Not here. Not tonight."
Ianthe's breath caught. There was sadness there in her eyes. He realized it had been lingering there for some time now. It arrested him, but then she blinked and the expression was gone, dust in the wind.
"Why did you come down?"
"I... I couldn't sleep, but I could hear the music. There was something so hungry about it. A longing. It drew me down here."
Had she come searching specifically for him? Ianthe's hand cupped his face, sliding down his cheek until her thumb caught his lip.
Lucien turned his face into her palm, biting at the fleshy mound at the base of her thumb. A shiver ran through the both of them. Lightning flashed in the distance. "And what did you long for, Ianthe?"
"You."
How well he knew that feeling. "This is growing dangerous."
