another wisp darted forward. I swung Amaya and it hesitated. Obviously they were waiting for more of their kind before they attacked.
My eyebrows raised.
I couldn’t help grinning.
I switched Amaya to my left hand and did so. Ethereal fingers enclosed around mine, a touch that was both electric and heated. My heart began to race, though it was a combination of fear
It was hard to imagine
I obeyed. Blocked out the awareness of the Ania and Amaya’s distant rumblings of unhappiness, and remembered the last time we’d done this. Remembered the feel of warm skin under my fingertips, the strong drumming of his heart.
Warm air teased my mouth. My lips parted and I drew it in, filling my throat with his taste and my lungs with the scent of him, until all I could feel and all I could sense was the energy of his presence. In me, around me.
Energy swirled through me, around me. His and mine, burning bright, within and without, making me tremble. Ache. He was right. This
I drew a deep breath and his energy became a river that flooded every part of me, until the music of his being played through my body and mine through his. It was a dance, a caress, a tease. Heat and movement and desire, and I slipped into the firestorm we’d created so very easily.
Power of a different kind spun around me. Ania. Fear surged and it was all I could do to ignore the dark and uneasy particles twisting around my flesh. Then the music of Azriel’s being surged anew, and awareness slipped away again, until there was nothing but him and me and the pleasure of the moment.
And god, it was
Then it was gone, ripped away as I crashed back to earth – literally. I hit hard enough to knock the air from my lungs and, for too many seconds, breathing became impossible. I couldn’t even groan. The energy that was Azriel re-formed beside me, on his back. Though I felt the shudder of surprise that ran through him, he nevertheless scrambled to his feet, Valdis ablaze in his hand.
He scanned the area, then bent, grabbed my arm, and hauled me upright.
Deep underground, if the stale air was anything to go by. I swung Amaya around. Her purple light parted the night, revealing the rock that surrounded us. Like the previous times the Raziq had kidnapped me, they’d dropped us into a cavern that didn’t seem to have either an entry or an exit point. Our tomb – for that’s what they always felt like – was about ten feet wide, and about the same height. At least we could stand, which was a definite improvement over previous occasions.
I glanced up at the ceiling. Once again, there was a faint, multicolored shimmer that reminded me of oil on water. I swore softly.
But not near enough, I gathered from the edge in his voice.
Which explained why my father didn’t catch my thoughts when he’d confronted me earlier. It should have been a relief, but it only ratcheted up the tension. After all, if they couldn’t read my thoughts, they might be tempted to do something about it.
He half smiled.
He glanced at me, eyebrow raised.
His words warmed me more than I could ever say. He was finally admitting to emotions, even if it was desire rather than love. But once upon a time he would have denied even that, even if his behavior suggested otherwise.
I scanned our surroundings again, knowing the Raziq were drawing closer but still unable to spot them. After a few seconds, an oddly dark surge of electricity ran across my skin. It made the little hairs at the back of my neck stand on end and my soul shiver away in fear.
They’d come within sensory distance. Whether that meant they were also within range of the swords I had