Leaning forward, he held out a hand. “Come to me.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “What now?”
“I’ll act as your conduit. You will draw power from the throne. Magic flows into the onyx from the crystals that form this cave. But if you’re subjected to it directly, the power might flood you.”
She wasn’t entirely sure she understood where he wanted her, but her cheeks were warming already. “So...you want me to sit on your lap.”
He loosed a sigh, as though he were losing patience. “Yes. It’s the only way you can learn.”
“Okay.” Her pulse began to race. Something about the thought of being so close to Bael’s powerful body sent a strange thrill through her. She tugged up the hem of her skirt, climbing the three steps to Bael’s throne.
Turning her face to hide the embarrassing blush in her cheeks, she sat in his lap. He slid a powerful hand around her waist.
Despite the icy magic whirling around him, his muscled body began to warm her.
“I’m going to allow the magic to flow through you, okay?” His breath warmed the side of her face.
She had the strongest impulse to reach back and touch his face, but she resisted. He had said she meant nothing to him, that he felt bound to help her out of some misguided sense of duty. It was humiliating that she even had to rely on him for help. Still, she supposed she had to take help where she could get it.
She straightened. “I’m ready.”
Icy magic wrapped around her ribs, kissing the bare skin at her throat—a dizzying, electrical charge of power. As her back began to arch, her legs fell to either side of his. His arm tightened around her waist. Then, from all around her, the shadow magic flowed into her chest, freezing her from the inside out.
A painful, hollow dread bloomed in her chest, a ravenous hunger. The world around her seemed to fragment and collapse, and darkness clouded her vision. She could no longer tell where she was—couldn’t feel Bael’s body beneath hers, couldn’t tell up from down.
From the depths of the void, an image burst into her view: Bael, pressing a dagger to her chest. In shockingly swift movement, he shoved it under her ribs, stopping her heart.
There, she saw herself lying in the dirt, her skin gray, her jaw slackened, lips blue. Red hair spread limply on the bloodstained ground. Dull green eyes, full of mute horror. And in their lifeless reflection—flames. A burning room. The fire that would eat her alive.
As quickly as it had arrived, the image was snuffed out again, and she stood at the edge of an abyss. She just needed to take one more step, to plunge into an isolation so complete it would gnaw the flesh from her bones. An uncontrollable urge pulled her into the void. I don’t exist. I never did. I never will.
“Ursula!” A deep voice boomed through the void.
She could feel something again—a warm hand on her body. She shivered uncontrollably, her teeth chattering.
“Ursula!” Bael’s voice called to her. He pulled her closer to his warm body. She’d changed position, her legs now sideways on his lap. The magic had seeped from the air, but she still shivered. The chill spread through her chest.
Bael’s arms enveloped her. “I’m not sure what happened. I was modulating the power. It shouldn’t have overwhelmed you like that.”
She glanced up into his eyes, that icy gray...
Once more, her vision went dark, and she found herself standing on a dark cliff. There was something she needed to get to—a woman with red hair like hers, and fierce brown eyes. An old man, his hands spotted with age. A wall of darkness slammed against her.
You don’t want to remember those things.
She felt a sharp tug from the center of her chest, drawing her to the edge. And when she glanced into the void, its vibrations sang her name. A dark lullaby...this was her mother, her father, her home.
“Ursula!” Bael’s voice called her back.
Freezing cold, a violent convulsion overtook her body. Aching sadness pierced her chest.
Bael pulled her in closer, his powerful arms surrounding her. “Ursula. Stay with me. Remember who you are.”
Her arms were around his neck, as if she was clinging to him for dear life.
“Use your own memories to warm your body. Think of your life. Use your memories to fill the void.”
Hollow agony filled her ribs. “I don’t have any memories.”
“Right. Maybe that’s the problem.”
He slid his hand up her chest, pressing it onto her heart. At the touch of his hand between her breasts, her skin began to warm. A dark heat whispered up her spine, curling her back. She swallowed hard. “What are you doing with your hand?”
“I’m drawing the magic out of you.” His perfect lips were mere inches from hers.
She could feel a hot blush rising to her cheeks, her body responding to his touch, whether she wanted it to or not. She was sure he could see her pupils dilating, the sheen of sweat rising on her skin.
How easy would it be to just lean in? She knew how he felt—that he didn’t care for her at all. But right now, with her body curled into his, with the warmth shooting through her core, she could hardly think straight.
“Tell me what you saw?”
Her pulse raced, and she tried to clear her head. “I saw myself dead. On the dirt of the Lacus Mortis, I think. A burning room. A woman with red hair and an old man. It was like a part of me wanted to remember, but another part of me forbade it. But mostly. I saw the void. And I wanted to jump in.”
She was warm now, and sweat beaded on her face. She licked her upper lip, tasting the salt.
Bael’s keen gaze seemed to take in the movement, his fingers tightening on her waist nearly imperceptibly. She didn’t need him to keep drawing the magic out. So why am I not telling him to stop?
His eyes lowered to where his hand pressed between her breasts, and he sucked in a deep breath. “I don’t know why or how you pulled that much power at once, or why you’re so drawn to the void. We need to find a way for your body to handle shadow magic without becoming overwhelmed. I’ve always done that by remembering my life. My early life. We’ll have to find another way for you.”
What were Bael’s memories, the ones he rolled over in his mind when the void beckoned? Suddenly, she had a burning desire to know everything about him. She glanced at the black cord around his neck, and she tugged it from his shirt. A thin silver ring—the female twin of the one in her pocket, hung from the end of the cord.
Bael’s hands flew to her fingers, tightening around them.
Oops.
She heard his sharp intake of breath, then he pushed the ring back under his collar.
Swallowing hard, she rose. What the hell am I doing? “Sorry. I really don’t know why I did that.”
“It’s fine.”
He released her fingers, and she dropped her hand. “I saw one more thing.”
“What?”
“You. Shoving a blade into my heart at the arena.”
A muscle tensed in his jaw, and his expression darkened. “I think that’s enough for today. Get some rest.”
Shadows gathered around him, and her skin grew positively frigid once more.
Chapter 35
Ursula stood by the window. In the distance, the sunlight glinted off of Asta’s spire. Despite the pearly rays of sunlight, dark thoughts clouded her mind.
Sitting on the onyx throne, she'd completely lost control, flooded by shadow magic. She'd seen horrifying glimpses of her past, little fragments that lacerated her with horror. And perhaps, she’d seen a glimpse of her future.
Unable to warm herself, she pulled a blanket around her shoulders. Something about her disjointed memories filled her with a deep chill.
Bael had said she'd probably blocked her own memories to forget the horrible things she’d done. And the closer she got to remembering her past, the more she feared he was right. Whenever she thought of the burning room—the red-haired woman, the words kill the king—guilt pressed on her ribs like
a hundred rocks.
Somewhere, deep under the fog of her forgotten memories, lurked a wild animal.
And if she didn’t want to succumb to Bael’s blade, maybe it was time for her to unleash the beast. After all, if she couldn't even kill a moth, how could she drive a weapon into Bael?
The odds against her were hard enough without hesitation. If she faltered, she’d be dead. Jaw slackened, red hair stamped into the dirt. The void had been trying to tell her something.
Throwing her cloak around her shoulders, she ran out the door into the sunlight. She hurried over the bridge into the atrium, where the lion’s mosaic seemed to leer at her from the floor. She pulled the lever in the wall. After a moment, the lift clanked down in the middle of the room. She stepped inside the iron lift, trying to clear her mind. The elevator creaked upward past the manor’s empty floors.
On the roof, the lunar wind nipped at her through the wool of her cloak, and she stepped out onto the marble. Shielding the sun from her eyes, she whistled for Sotz. It took only a few moments for his shadow to pass overhead, and he glided to a landing on the roof’s edge.
Carefully, she climbed onto his back, gripping his fur. She squeezed her thighs, sending him soaring over the roof’s edge. The wind whipped over her skin, pure and clean. As she leaned into Sotz, she asked, “Want to hunt?”
Immediately, Sotz swooped toward Asta, beating his wings harder. As they soared for the writhing cloud of moths, the sound of beating wings filled the air. A deep humming that vibrated her very core.
When they reached the cloud, the moths parted, fluttering around them, just out of reach. In the cocoon of moths, the sunlight dimmed, like they were walking in a deep forest.
Just as Sotz arced around the spire, an enormous moth shot in front of them—gray wings with faint purple spots. Sotz dove for it, and Ursula gripped tighter. Time to unleash the beast.
As Sotz neared, the moth folded its wings and dove. Sotz pursued, his wings pumping. Like a meteorite, they hurtled for the lunar floor, wind racing over her skin. Her pulse raced, a dark thrill rippling through her.
The moth burst out of the cloud, fleeing for his life. Ursula pressed herself tight against Sotz’s back. The moth twisted and spun, but inch by inch, they gained on it. The ground neared, and Ursula started to direct Sotz out of the dive, but the moth was only a few feet from his nose. With a final burst of speed, he hammered his wings, snatching it from the air. Only a few hundred feet above the ground, she tugged Sotz’s fur to pull him up again before they smashed into the lunar floor.
Sotz chewed happily on the moth as they carved a slow circle around the base of the spire. Now, she could feel the night magic emanating from the tower. It washed over her skin in waves, but it didn’t seem to chill her as it had before. Her heart raced with the thrill of the hunt, her body energized.
After she caught her breath, they climbed back into the cloud. Sotz beat his wings, taking her higher and higher, above Asta’s spire. He raced upward, until they nearly reached the edge of the magical dome.
The moths thinned, and the crater spread out before them—a great caldera, full of Nyxobas’s brethren. And beyond, more craters, ancient lava fields. A great expanse of barren land.
Ursula shivered. Suddenly Sotz tensed. A flicker of movement above caught her eye. Her gaze landed on the great white bat. The Gray Ghost’s steed.
“Can you follow it?” Ursula asked.
Sotz beat his wings, rising higher behind the albino bat. The creature flew with powerful beats of its wings and they raced to keep up with it. It moved swift as the night wind, its downy fur stark against the dark sky. They winged upward, skimming the edge of the dome.
But when the bat reached the shimmer of shadow magic, it simply passing into the shadow beyond.
Ursula swallowed hard. How can it fly in a vacuum, with no air?
Ursula directed Sotz right up to the edge, until the magic shimmered only inches from the tips of his outstretched wings.
She peered into the darkness beyond. The bat was gone.
Chapter 36
Ursula arrived a few minutes late for their second magic training session, and she hurried across the stone floor. This time, she’d worn a soft velvet cape to keep her warm. As before, Bael sat in his onyx throne, cloaked in shadows. Bael gazed down at her, his pale eyes piercing the shadows. “You’re late. Take off the cloak.”
“Why?”
“I need to see how your body uses the magic.”
She swallowed hard, untying the cape and letting it fall to the floor. She wore another of Cera’s creations—a purple silk gown, with slits cut all the way up to her thighs.
She cocked her head. “Would you like me completely naked, or is this good enough?”
A low growl rose from his throat, and for just a moment, his eyes darkened before returning to gray. “That will be fine. We’ll start with you standing there. I’m going to let the shadow magic wash over you once again. See if you can root your body to the ground. Use the basalt at your feet as an anchor. Feel it beneath your toes, and let the night magic inch slowly up your legs, up to your hips, and don’t let it fill your chest until you’re in control.”
She nodded. She wasn’t entirely sure she knew what he was talking about, but she’d give it a shot.
“Close your eyes,” he said.
She did as instructed, and in the next moment, she felt a wave of powerful night magic wash over her, spilling through her body like ink. An image rose like the flames—the old man, his wrinkled hands handing her an athame. Bael, pressing a knife into her heart.
The wall of blackness slammed into her, knocking the life from her chest. Darkness threatened to consume her from the inside out.
“Ursula!” Bael called to her.
Shivering, she opened her eyes. Bael had pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her. His warmth enveloped her, and she could feel his heart beating hard against her body. Once again, he pressed his hand between her breasts, drawing out some of the magic.
“That didn’t go well,” she said through chattering teeth.
He shook his head. “You let it happen too quickly. The magic completely overtook you, like it was drawn to you. Whatever you are, Ursula, the darkness wants you.”
“Aren’t I the lucky girl?”
“I’m going to try it one more time, allowing through only the smallest amount of magic. I’m going to see if I can help your body control it.”
As his body warmed hers, her pulse began to speed up.
“I could see your muscles tensing when you stood there, like you were scared of it. Maybe if you don’t resist so much, you’ll have greater control. Are you ready?” His breath warmed the shell of her ear.
She nodded, straightening.
Bael allowed the tiniest wisps of magic to curl from him. With his arm wrapped around her back, his fingers rested on the hollows of her hip. Her back arched.
A soft, electrical buzz kissed her ankles, moving up her leg. A delicious vibration—cold, but thrilling at the same time.
“Where do you feel it?” he asked.
Without realizing what she was doing, her legs parted slightly. Her bare skin peaked out of the slit in her dress. “It’s moving up my legs.”
“Good.” Bael’s hand hovered just over her leg, not touching her, but guiding the magic. Under her dress, the magic caressed her bare skin.
“Let the magic move slowly,” he said. “Take control of it.”
As his hand moved in the air above her legs, silky shadows worked higher up her thigh, and she felt her knees falling away just a little more.
She turned to him, her eyes on his perfect lips. Gods, she wanted to press her mouth against his.
His thrilling magic had moved all the way up her inner thigh, and her breath came fast. If he keeps going, I will lose my mind. If he doesn’t keep going, I will also lose my mind. She was supposed to be focused on the magic, but all she could think of was that hand hovering just over her t
highs. How she wanted him to touch her skin, to slide those powerful fingers under her silky underwear. Her breath hitched.
“Do you have control?” he asked.
“Not even close,” she breathed, her chest flushing. What the hell is wrong with me?
His gaze met hers, and he leaned in, his mouth just inches from hers.
In the next instant, his muscles tensed. “I’m sorry,” he said.
Ursula’s jaw dropped. She couldn’t quite remember how to put a sentence together. “It’s fine.” Her cheeks burned. What just happened? She wasn’t entirely clear why he’d apologized.
A look of confusion—one she’d never seen on Bael’s face before—had overtaken his features. “This isn’t working. Maybe me acting as a conduit is interfering with your ability to feel the magic. Maybe you should try it on your own. If I see you losing control again, I’ll stop it.”
She nodded. “Of course. I think I’m ready. That all...totally made sense,” she blustered.
She jumped off the throne, mortified that her flushed chest gave her away. Stupid pale skin.
Bael rose, walking down the steps. “The second I see you losing control, I’ll pull you off.”
She nodded, still lost in a daze, then sat in the throne.
As soon as she sat, cold magic thrummed over her legs. As Bael had instructed, she concentrated on moving it slowly up her body, inching it up her legs. Inky shadows flickered over her skin, seeping into her pores, climbing from her calves upward. Magic thrummed up her thighs, her hips, filling her body with raw power. As it raced into her chest, filling her ribs, a wave of blackness slammed into her. For just a moment, she stood in a burning room, and an ancient hand passed her a knife. I need to think of a happier time. The walls of her apartment in New York came to her—a field of blue and gold wildflowers under an azure sky. Home.
Her eyes snapped open again. Bael had been reaching for her, but the look in her eyes seemed to stop him.
She looked out on the world through new eyes, her senses sharpened. As she gazed around the cavern, she could see shadows flickering in the crystals, could smell the warm earthy scent of the mushrooms. And the sound of Bael’s beating heart filled her ears.
Nocturnal Magic (Demons of Fire and Night Book 2) Page 20