Lucas’ voice is low, like he doesn’t want to break the spell. “What do we do now?”
It’s such an innocent question that I smile. I kiss his hair. “I’m thinking maybe we get some food in us and then go for round two on the kitchen table. I don’t think I’m done with your tongue fucking me.”
His resulting laugh is deep, shaking me with the force. He lifts up to smile down at me. His lips brush mine as he murmurs, “I made a mess in you. It would be rude of me not to clean you up.”
I hum into his kiss, trapping the words I was going to say within me.Valen was a bad influence on you.
My heart twinges and I breathe out the pain. As gentle as I can, I push Valen from my heart and slide him into the box within me where I keep all painful things. He chose the Order. He chose his father, whom I will never forgive. I’ll let him go until he’s ready to return, even if that isn’t for another hundred years. Or never.
I stroke Lucas’ face softly and he leans into my tender touch. I whisper a promise for just the two of us. “You. Me. Together.”
His eyes well with emotions and my chest swells. His nose brushes mine. “Always.”
I bring him back to my lips. “Always.”
CHAPTER 31
I wake in darkness. It takes me a heart-pounding moment to return to my body and feel the warmth of my bed. For a moment, I wonder if my enchanted windows are malfunctioning, but no. Outside my heavily warded home is a raging storm rattling the bones of the city in an unseasonable torrent. It is one of many ramifications of a weaver civil war. Soon, there will be rolling blackouts and devastating plagues. Oh, and more unusual weather. Delightful.
Vincentius and my father better hurry the fuck up and come to an agreement. I was really looking forward to enjoying the summer.
With a sleepy groan, I roll to my other side and reach for Lucas’ warm, solid body, only to encounter the cold of unslept-in sheets. “Lucas?”
Silence responds. The inky blackness around me crawls over my skin and seeps into my pores. Memories of the black sea surge in me and bile burns the back of my throat. I swallow and flick a finger out to magically turn on my bedroom lights.
The lights flicker, bathing the room in darkness before flaring back to life. I sit up, clutching my blankets to my bare chest. The chill prickles my skin, eliciting a small shiver.
If I wasn’t deliciously sore from a thorough fucking, I’d wonder if the previous night was a vivid dream. I never expected Lucas to fuck me and leave in the middle of the night. A foreign sensation tightens my heart and I shift my shoulders to ease the discomfort.
I scowl and throw off the blankets. When I find that asshole, I’m going to verbally rip him apart, piece by piece.
Snatching up my favorite white silk robe, I fasten it hastily and make my way down to my door, throwing it open and frowning at the pitch darkness below.
“Wonderful. Now the crystals are out,” I grumble as I grip the iron railing. I descend the spiral staircase carefully, leaving my loft door open to provide some light. It was the risk I took when I chose to purchase the crystals for my shop instead of crafting them myself like I do for my loft. An unfortunate necessity, since I had so little power to give back then.
About halfway down, I roll my wrist, gathering tendrils of my own energy before casting them out. A few of the crystal lights flicker to life, providing flashes of a low light down below.
The dark outline of a man stands at the base of my stairs, watching me silently. The crystals extinguish and darkness swallows us both.
I stumble back, my eyes flaring bright green as fire erupts along my body and illuminates the space. “WHO THE FUCK?—”
But there’s no one there.
I rub my face, heating as embarrassment floods me. I really need to get control over my nightmares before my mind plays any more tricks on me. No one can come or go from my shop without me knowing. My hands drop down as realization sweeps me. That means Lucas is still here somewhere.
I call out, “LUCAS!”
Silence. My hand instinctively tightens on the railing, but I shake off my disquiet and straighten my shoulders. “Fine! If thisis a trick, don’t come crying to me when I accidentally incinerate you.”
I stomp down the rest of the way, letting my frustration drown out the unease within me. My fire dances around my body, flickering gold and black as Creation and Entropy weave together in harmony. My halo of light illuminates the books around me, my magic awakening many of them. They grumble mutinously, tightening up to try to return to their rest.
I shake my robe sleeves to my elbows as I prepare to force my shop from its natural magic state to the mortal front that has gas lamps. My hands turn to claws as I sink my nails into the fabric of magic and turn as if winding a large crank.
It doesn’t budge. I blink. “The fuck?”
I try again, throwing more power and strength into the action, but my chestachesand not from the fire that crackles around me. It’s an entirely new sensation, like forcing two opposite magnets together by will alone.
I drop the fabric to rub my chest. The books hiss and shift, malicious magic swirling as they resist my call.
