“For some foolish reason, I trust you not to hurt me… I feel drawn to you… Is that why my magic allows you in?”
He just nods as he places his hand on my shoulder. The chill of his skin goes straight through the fabric of the shirt I’m wearing, giving me goosebumps. Still, no survival instinct kicks into place. Instead, I glance at his lips, and I wonder how it would feel to kiss them. Are those cold like his skin, too? Would he warm up if we got intimate, or would my blood heat his veins?
He tilts up my chin, forcing me to gaze back into his darkened eyes. His skin against mine feels as if it belongs, as if I belong in his hands.
“Those eyes, as tumultuous as the ocean, gray as storm clouds. You’re a child of the storm,nubes tempestatis. You yearn for adventure, don’t you, Little Tempest? You crave knowledge of this world.”
My breath hitches at hearing the nickname.
“My mother says the same thing about my eyes,” I respond, ignoring his questions.
“Then she must know she cannot cage you much longer than she has. A fabricated cage is still a cage.”
He lets go of my chin and steps away from me, and my soul already longs for him, as if he holds everything I’ve been looking for, a yearning I'm unfamiliar with.
He sits down on a moss-green velvet balloon chair. He nods his head to the table in front of him. I walk toward it and sit down, obeying him without question. His lips curl knowingly.
“Your bloodline, Little Tempest, is a cursed one. Your family is simply born with an inescapable tragedy in their blood. Yes, your family is one of the few who still have access to a piece of pure Aurum, but it’s a cursed piece. One your family line cannot erase; even if they try, it will always find its way back. I knew I smelled it the moment I saw you on that square. That ancient lingering scent around you. I also saw your thirst for more.”
“How do you mean cursed?” I gasp.
His eyes turn into slits. Then he laughs, but it’s not cruel.
“Your mother is a true sadistic creature, isn’t she? Tell me, did your little family travel through The Wailing Forest?”
I nod as I marvel at the beauty of the beast in front of me. He moves with a fluidity I have not witnessed before.
“Do you have… violent thoughts, Little Tempest? Mostly about your brother? Did they get worse as you traveled through that forest?”
He grins, his pointed teeth showing as he takes in the shock on my face.
“Did you revel in those fantasies? I know you did; you can’t help yourself. It’s part of your tragedy. Will it make you feel better if I tell you that your twin brother has the same musings as you? Know that fear is more dangerous than the magic ever will be.”
“I never told you I had a twin brother,” I say.
“No need, darling. It’s part of your family’s curse. A perverted way to punish each one of you.”
He eyes me curiously, expecting answers, a story, but I’ve never heard of any curse.Wait.Oh, the old Gods. I recallthat Mother mentioned she would break a curse that one time. Without thinking, I share my truth with him.
“My mother once mentioned a curse. She said she would break it, that my brother and I would not die. I never thought it was some sort of a family bloodline curse. I thought it was something that was imposed on me and my brother when we were younger.”
I stare at the wooden floor as I try to complete the puzzle he started with the words he provided. I try to wrap my head around it, but there are still too many missing pieces.
“Please, Emrys, please tell me more,” I plead to the Umbra before me.
“Don’t beg too often, Harlot. I might enjoy hearing you say my name like that too much,” he seductively returns.
Heat coils between my legs at the implication.
“It seems you wouldn’t mind that,” he says as he inhales deeply. “Your arousal smells delicious.”
My cheeks heat with embarrassment as I feel his stare on my body. I’ve never been with a man, let alone a creature like him. The thought of letting him be my first one only worsens my excited state.
“I’ll keep this our little secret, Harlot. No one else needs to know you are attracted to an Umbra of all creatures,” he says, clearly entertained.
Abruptly, I stand up, feeling mortified.
“I should go,” the words leave my mouth in a barely audible whisper.
