She shook her head. She did not want to accept his comfort andrisk bursting into tears right now. “I’m going behind that screen. Youtwo…situate yourselves. You’ll know when the magic starts to happen, or so I’mtold.” She went behind a changing screen and sat on a stool. She took herpyramids out and tried her best to pretend she’d gone deaf.
As she fell into the pyramids, a warm current ran through her,and a feeling rather like sensuousness flooded her limbs, bringing backmemories of Sylph. She let herself linger there as the air warmed. She focusedthe pyramid energy toward Gunnar and Dina, but she hardly needed to bother. Theenergy was drawn to them, to their pulses, the same warmth infusing their limbsas coursed through hers.
She became a link in their triangle and had to block out alltheir talk of threesomes again. She forced herself back to memories of Sylph’ssmooth skin and breathy exhales. As the power flowed back from Gunnar and Dinainto Thana and the pyramids, it sped up before beginning the journey again,picking up speed each time.
Thana’s breath came faster, her eyelids fluttering, and the energychanged, becoming darker. It was still powerful, beautiful, intoxicating.Finally, the dark energy came out in a burst, slamming into Gunnar, where itseemed to drag something from him and carry it into Dina. When the pulse passedthrough her again, the dark energy was gone. It settled back into the pyramidsand dimmed.
Thana curled her hands around them and tried not to weep, missingSylph with an ache that was nearly too much to sit through. She wanted to runfrom this feeling or to chase it down through the earth and tear at the rockwith her bare hands.
The screen moved, and she jolted, realizing that her face waswet. She’d been sobbing and not quietly. Gunnar had at least paused long enoughto put his trousers on before he sought her out. He wrapped her in his arms,and Dina pressed into her from the other side.
She wept against them for a moment, happy to lose herself inworry, if only for a breath. Then she realized that Dina hadn’t taken the samecare to put some clothes on, and that both she and Gunnar were a bit sweatyfrom the hurried ritual, and she had to break away.
“Thanks, thank you,” she said, wiping her eyes. “Get dressed.”She hurried to the door. The palace shuddered as she went, and she hoped that using more Fiend magic hadn’t made their problem worse.
The tremors didn’t stop as she gained the sitting room, and shedidn’t know if they had time to give a Fiend to Duke Felix even if he agreed.But could they pacify Yanchasa with only three? When a lamp tumbled off atable, she knew they had to try.
Duke Felix waited in the outer sitting room. His finery wasrumpled, and he had a bruise on one cheek. The guards hadn’t been gentle withhim.
Good.
Especially since he had a haughty look on, lifting an eyebrow asif shocked that Thana could look him in the eye. She fought the urge to make anobscene gesture and looked to Earnhilt.
“He’s agreed,” she said, staring at the walls as if she couldhold them still on her own.
“We don’t have time,” Thana said. “We need to go now.”
“With only three?” Gunnar asked as he followed with Dina, both ofthem clothed.
Thana nodded. “But bring him along.” She pointed to Duke Felix.“We might be able to find a use for him.”
He didn’t do anything so common as sputter or sneer. He wentalong quietly between Ivar and Illis, and Earnhilt seemed a bit relieved as shefollowed. Thana couldn’t blame her. They might have to give him a Fiend in theend, but at this moment, no one had to have sex with him, and that was ablessing to be cherished.
The palace kept rumbling as they ventured below. To his credit,Duke Felix didn’t balk at the sight of the capstone, hadn’t balked at all, butThana questioned if he’d remain silent about everything if he didn’t carry aFiend. She supposed it was enough that he was already in disgrace and that ifhe went around badmouthing the Umbriels as part Fiend, he’d be in even worsetrouble.
And would anyone believe him when the pyradistés who’d held theproof were all dead?
That had burned her at the time, but now, when she had toscramble to fix their mistakes?
No, she couldn’t help feeling like death in secret was neverwarranted.
She really didn’t belong in the Order of Vestra. But that was afuture to be contemplated later.
In the capstone cavern, Duke Felix peered curiously when Thanafitted the manacles around the legs of Earnhilt, Gunnar, and Dina. Again, tohis credit, he pointed to the fourth pair. “And those would have been for me?”
“If we’d had time,” Earnhilt said.
He nodded sternly. “But you still think I might be needed?”
Thana had to shrug. If this didn’t work, she didn’t know howthey’d pause to give him a Fiend. As soon as the Waltz began, Earnhilt’s Aspectwould emerge along with the other two, and if Duke Felix tried making love toher then, she’d rip him to pieces.
Not that he’d even have to get close for that.
A sheen of sweat broke out on his forehead, but he still steppedup and shackled himself. “Just in case.”
Thana’s admiration went up a smidge from nonexistent. Earnhiltlooked at him with respect. Maybe that would keep some of him intact if theyhad to use him, though the spirits only knew how that would work.
“Don’t touch the capstone until I say,” Thana said to him.
He nodded. She collected the necklaces of Earnhilt and Gunnar,drew her Fiend pyramid, took the deepest breath ever, and got to work.
* * *
“No, no, no,” Sylph chanted. Pain arced up and down her spine,and her muscles quivered as if she’d run for miles while carrying a ton ofsteel on her back. Pebbles rained around her as she shuddered, nearly vibratingfrom the strain of holding the great Fiend’s prison intact.
He was moving, too. She felt his massive limbs rasping inside hisprison, could imagine his eyes fluttering and again saw the
