Dark Dealings

by Kim Knox

  “Sleep well.”

  She gave him another brief nod, muttered “Mage Braith,” and got out of his chamber.

  Wash, sleep and then she had to find Heyerdar for their deal. Her stomach flipped over. It had to be done. She had agreed. And even if all she ever managed to do was put herself and Reist back to how they were...it would be enough for her right then.

  She was too tired to think, the day crashing over her. They were no further, just with a pile of more bodies for her and Sahar to examine. The thieves were in the city, planning whatever they were planning, and she—they—were no closer to stopping them. Unless Heyerdar had found something in Searlaim’s house.

  Ava stopped outside her door, searched for the automatic markers and pushed her way inside. She lifted her hand, focused, and a stream of sunlight danced between her fingers. It would use up everything Heyerdar had fed into her, but the ease of finding her little cubicle without having to stumble in the lumpy darkness was worth it.

  She lit the small candle that sat on a sconce over a small sink. Ignoring the chill, she stripped, throwing the uniform back to the nearby chair. The water was cold, but she felt better for running a soapy washcloth over her skin, removing the stink of the city and the foul odor of the house.

  Drying herself, she pulled on a nightshirt and crawled into her cot. She wanted sleep to take her, but her mind turned over on itself and her skin itched against the cold sheets. The creaks of the bed, the drip of water, the whistle of air through a gap in the shutters wrapped around her and she closed her eyes, willing herself to sleep.

  A sudden thud jerked her up out of her bed. Her fingers shot for the small blade under her pillow. There was no magic left in her, but she wrapped shadow around herself and sank into the cold darkness at her core.

  “You left.” Heyerdar yanked back the curtain surrounding her small bed. Light seared around him in a quick bolt of gold. “I did not give you permission.” His gaze narrowed on her blade. “Lose the metal.” His mouth thinned. “Now.”

  With a sigh, Ava pushed the thin blade back under her pillow. “Reist gave his permission.”

  “And you think that’s good enough?”

  “Can I sleep?” She curled back into her bed and pulled the sheet over her, ignoring the fierce light that had ripped the shadows from the air. “Long day.”

  His silence and the burn of light behind her closed eyelids spoke of his fury. “Kaia is safely on her way out of the city.”

  Kaia? She frowned. He’d named the baby. “To the compound in Aliria.” She didn’t turn. “You’re going to turn her into a guard?”

  “She’ll be protected in the compound. Has my name.”

  “You’ve taken her past away.” She thumped her pillow. “She won’t thank you for it.”

  “I didn’t say you could sleep.”

  “Fuck you, Captain.”

  “You will.” His low growl forced her to stillness. The promise in his voice, the almost-taste of his magic in her mouth, the power and heat of it driving the fast thud of her heart—it mixed with her exhaustion and made her dizzy. “We have our deal.”

  “Heyerdar...”

  “You can’t break an agreement with me, little thief. Did the mages teach you nothing?”

  Apparently not. And she didn’t know how she felt about the need she had for him. It wasn’t like the affection she had for Reist. Heyerdar itched under her skin, made her hot, made her twist with anger and need and other insane emotions that seemed to spin her beyond control. Her thief, her darkness, wanted him. Feeding would be an endless pleasure.

  Ava found her dark heart, letting its control hold her, and sat up. Light wreathed around Heyerdar, his face bleached and angry. She tilted her head. “Here and now?”

  His frown deepened. “Don’t think you can bluff me, girl.”

  Ava laughed. The captain might know dozens of ways to kill a thief, but she doubted he knew how her mind worked. Not really. “You can give me your first time with Fallon.” She lifted an eyebrow. “I don’t need to fuck you for that.”

  “But you want to.” He unlooped his sword belt and hung it over a bedpost. His eyes never left her. Molten gold licks of fire burned in their depths.

  What was she doing? He was an elemental and she only had rumors on which to rely. Shit. She wrapped what she could of her emptiness around herself, needing the steadiness, the coldness in her heated blood. She had to have some control.

  A dark smile touched his mouth. “You aren’t strong enough to fight this or me, little thief.”

  Ava wet her lips as Heyerdar’s strong fingers stroked over her thighs. His touch ran a quick shiver under her skin. The thief in her ached for him. That was something she couldn’t deny. She tipped her head back, letting the beauty of him sway her. It was only about feeding. A pleasurable meal. Using him to break Fallon from Reist. Nothing more.

  His magic pulled at her and she accepted the brief brush of his mouth over hers, its heat, the sweet, raw burn of his energy pushing into her greedy flesh. “Show me.”

  Heyerdar’s smile was sharp against her mouth. “I’m going to tell you.”

  Ava drew back to stare at him. “Tell me?”

  His thumbs teased along the sensitive inner sides of her thighs, taking up the edge of her nightgown. Darkened eyes held her. He leaned forward, forcing her back with her fingers digging into the warm blanket behind her. The grip on her legs twisted into more than a bite of pain. His lips touched hers, and his voice was a low rumble. “I broke into her room too.”

  Her heart gave a hard thump. Not even her cold center could ignore the stark fear of her next question. “You raped her?”

  His hands released her, slipping to fist the cover of her rush mattress. The leather tunic brushed against the thin material of her nightgown, teasing her nipples.

  “You think I’m an animal? Is that it?” He sneered. “Just like everyone else. Fallon wanted to flirt with danger.” His teeth grazed Ava’s bottom lip, and the golden strands of his magic wound under her skin. Hot and wanted. “She needed to know the power of old magic. To have it hold her. Live in her. Possess her.”

  Ava had to remember to breathe. She fought to focus. She was meant to be taking his power, turning and twisting it and pushing it towards Fallon. But it was almost impossible to think anything with Heyerdar pressing close, his incredible scent, the mix of the open sky and wild nature sinking into her. She wanted to open her mouth to him. Consume him. All of him.

  “And...and did you?”

  “She’s a mage.” He pressed close kisses over her jaw, and she tilted her head, her hair falling back to expose her neck. “Their hoarded magic brings beauty.” He licked a line down her throat. “I wanted to taste her, every inch of her.” His breath was hot against Ava’s damp skin as he paused, his energy burning deep into her, swirling through her thoughts. She could almost see, almost feel the moment as he moved silently through Fallon’s rooms. Tasted her sweet scent in the cold air. Heard the increasing patter of the other woman’s heart. “Fuck her every way I could.”

  Ava’s mouth dried and the slick heat of her need pulsed heavily within her. “Your first time, Heyerdar.” She swallowed as his mouth brushed over her nightgown, his tongue curling against the thin linen and wetting a line to the curve of her breast. “I only...”

  “She pretended not to know I was in the room.”

  His memory pushed into her—the pad of his feet over the deep rugs, the heat in his body, the knowledge that one of the Institute’s most beautiful woman waited for him, wanted him.

  “But she wasn’t asleep.” Heyerdar found her nipple and sucked. Hard.

  Ava cried out, her body arching into his mouth, his magic surging into her flesh. He groaned and his teeth grazed her breast, her nipple. The fierce pull of her darkness on Heyerdar’s unending magic swe
pt over her. Almost guiltily she wanted to keep it to herself, but his touch had a purpose. He wanted Fallon as much as she wanted Reist.

  Her thoughts reached out, rushing into the night, into the few hours of future and finding Fallon. Ava pushed the raw feelings, the memory of Heyerdar finding her, into the other woman, opening a connection and feeding her own hot emotion into her dreams.

  “Naked in moonlight.” He found her other breast, licking and sucking through the thin fabric.

  She ached for his mouth on her skin, tasting her, the heat, the bite of his teeth, the tantalizing lick of his tongue knowing her, but this way was...proper. She was a placeholder.

  “The first taste of her.” He teased his mouth back to the valley between Ava’s breasts, where her nightshirt dipped in a low vee. His tongue swept up over her breastbone, and a gasp broke from her. “Sunlight and earth, the lick of moonlight.”

  His mouth hovered over hers, and her breaths were quick and uncertain, her body alive with his magic. She wanted to kiss him, let the wild surge of feeding and desire riot through her body. She ached for it. For Fallon. All for Fallon.

  “She was unlike anyone else. The slightest touch almost broke her.” His teeth sank into Ava’s bottom lip. Her body snapped taut, and a dark wave rolled over her, hot and tight. She couldn’t stop the half cry that escaped. “Just. Like. That.”

  The power of her unexpected release flowed through the connection she’d created. Her arms gave out and she sank to the bed. Her heart pounded, her surprise at losing herself so easily mixing with the rough spin of her thoughts. But she knew her limits with him now. He hadn’t overwhelmed her.

  “Only a brief touch of my...skill, little thief.”

  With a low laugh, Heyerdar eased her farther onto the bed, his hands firm and sure. He followed her down, close, but only just touching, his control absolute. His mouth burned against her jaw, her cheek, before he drew back. Light still wove around him, gleaming in his eyes. His power...her mouth watered at the thought of it, of it flowing into her, sinking into her. Of him stripping her and fucking her. Had this power scared even a higher mage?

  “Then I took her. Fuck, she was sweet.” He laughed against Ava’s skin. “Mages want my magic, but sex exposes them. Scares them. They don’t have the protection of being an apprentice. That little tattoo on the back of their neck.” His lips brushed her ear and she drew in a quick breath, surprised by the excited shiver that rippled through her. “Fallon wanted to break that fear.”

  “So you showed her your skill?”

  His smile was dark. “Repeatedly and through the night.”

  “Is that...?” Her heart drummed. She had to know if that was his plan for her because her resistance to him was nil. “Do you plan to fuck me?”

  “I have so many plans for you.” His fingers drifted down over her collarbone, the damp fabric clinging to her breast, to skim her waist. He tugged the bottom of her nightshirt up and his bare fingers traced a slow, hot pattern against her hip. “Bite you, lick you, take you every way I can.”

  His finger teased down over her sex, and her hips bucked off the bed. The tip of his finger stroked over the little nub of too-sensitive flesh, and his name burst from her lips. Her reaction skittered away, feeding into the promise of Fallon’s heated dreams. Ava sucked in a clean breath, denying how much she ached to keep the joy for herself.

  “And her?” That wasn’t a tinge of envy. She needed to press more of Heyerdar, the blistering heat of his touch, into the lover he truly wanted. “What else do you want me to give to her?”

  Heyerdar stilled. “Fallon.” Her name was a soft growl and Ava willed herself to thread that into the other woman’s dreams. The want for him to say her name surprised her.

  He sank back between her legs, resting on his heels, and his gaze fixed on her as he pressed the finger that had touched her sex against his bottom lip. His eyes darkened. Slow and deliberate, he sucked his finger into his mouth.

  Embarrassed heat burned across her face. She had witnessed enough debauchery, and her thief craved it, but to see him lick her juices with obvious greed...made her feel her inexperience.

  “That’s enough. You can bind the memory.”

  Ava closed her eyes, focusing. Yes, she wanted to end her time with Heyerdar, find sleep and not dream herself. It hit that she hadn’t thought to tie a line of illusion to Reist. Her thief seemed reluctant to create the illusion. She didn’t question the motive. She couldn’t. Instead, she wrapped the remaining power around the push of memories, feelings, and the tight burn of Heyerdar murmuring Fallon’s name, and slid it deep into the woman’s mind. Ready and waiting for her in the long dark of the night.

  Ava let out a slow sigh, tiredness sitting heavy on her now that the last of Heyerdar’s energy had flowed out of her. “Done.”

  “Good.” Heyerdar eased back and swung himself down from her bed. The heavy crush of his weight still dipped the mattress. He stared down at her and Ava felt her blush deepen. Her nightgown was still a tangled mess of material around her waist and she tried to yank it down to cover herself again. He stopped her. His palm stroked her exposed belly, his fingers dipping between her legs again.

  “Heyerdar!” His name was a shocked gasp. Their time was over. Like the illicit kisses, this was not a part of their deal.

  He bent and, before she could stop him, he licked her, the flat of his tongue scaldingly hot against her sex. Hard hands kept her thighs pinned to the bed and he ignored her fingers as they tugged and fisted in his hair.

  “The magic is set, Heyerdar.” The yawning emptiness of her soul rose again, eager for him, even as she knew she shouldn’t, couldn’t have him. He was dangerous. Her plan had been to take Reist no matter the cost...but Heyerdar was addictive. She couldn’t find confidence in the brief taste of how he could play her body. He’d hardly touched her and she’d found her release. “Tomorrow.”

  He breathed against her damp flesh, his gaze fixed on her. “I told you your pussy is more mine than his.”

  “No, it...”

  His tongue curled against the sweet nub and she cried out, her hips pushing hard against his mouth. She ripped magic from him, and his soft groan only deepened the throb in her belly, the need of her thief to take him.

  “It’s mine.” His words beat through her, but he drew back. His lips glistened. “But not tonight.” Fingertips stroked over her, and the bolt of need sparked under her skin. A sharp smile lifted his mouth. “I’ll allow you to sleep.”

  A choked laugh escaped her and she tugged down her nightgown. “Nice of you.” The wild threads of his magic still buzzed under her skin, sharpening the unsatisfied ache he’d also left. She palmed out the creases, using his energy to give her strength and meet his golden gaze. “This isn’t about you and me, Heyerdar. It’s about them. I want, I need, Reist. I want him back. And you want her.”

  He licked his fingers again and she wanted to slap the satisfied smirk from his face. “You have to be prepared for whatever happens, little thief.” He lifted his sword belt from the bedpost and buckled it around his hips. “For me to take everything.”

  The previous night she had considered it. Now? Heyerdar wasn’t the simple, violent animal that evidence and rumor suggested. Having him...would she ever be able to pull away?

  Ava broke their staring and climbed back into her twisted blankets. He wasn’t Reist. Sex and the fleeting hunger of her thief was all that drew her to him. With Reist, she had respect and years of friendship and trust. Heyerdar couldn’t compete with that. She plumped her pillow, turned away from him and sank back into the deep mattress. “Goodnight, Captain.”

  “First thing.” The light faded but the richness of his scent lingered, the sense of open freedom that seemed to wrap around him as thickly as his magic. “Pleasant dreams.”

  Ava closed her eyes. She would dream of Reis
t...and not regret that Heyerdar had never once said her name.

  Chapter Eight

  Ava was almost late again. Her stomach growled as she ran up the steps to Reist’s chamber. He always fed her. She ignored the new knowledge that he fed her to keep her thief at bay. Even if he did, it was still proof that he cared for her. But then she would have to apply the same logic to Heyerdar...

  Her dreams hadn’t been filled with the Highest Mage. In his stead, the elemental had chased her through dark alleys, until he caught her...and the wildness of their coupling brought with it the inexorable rise of her thief. It drove her to take more than his threads of magic. She had only a glimpse of his horror and pain as she ripped the meat from his bones, devoured him whole. Blood, thick and hot, filled her mouth—

  And she’d jerked awake to the fact that she’d bitten through her lip.

  Ava paused before Reist’s chamber door. She straightened the messenger tunic and smoothed her fingers over the sword belt hung across her hips. She missed her blades. The small actions didn’t help her to forget how sweet Heyerdar had tasted. It was a dream. Nothing more. Distracted, she lifted the latch on the door.

  She stared. Her hand clamped to her mouth, she sank into the thick shadows of the doorway. Fallon in his room again. But it wasn’t the innocence of the night before. The woman sat astride Reist in his leather chair, her shoulders bare, her shirt tangled across her back. The leather squeaked as her body moved in a slow, easy rhythm. Morning light gleamed against her sweating skin, her piled hair falling loose and strands sticking to her face and neck.

  Reist’s dark head was bent, his heavy desk blocking where his shirtless arms rested. He suckled her breast and the sound of his murmured pleasure, of Fallon’s increasing moans, the scent and the brilliant energy of sex that clung to every stone in the chamber, the passion, the overwhelming need, almost choked Ava. But she couldn’t shut her eyes to them.