The ballroom was huge and probably once entertained all the mortal lords of the continent. A few runelight sconces in the shape of seahorses were positioned around the spherical chamber, but most of the light came from the star-shaped cutout above.
She thought at first that was why the hall was called Stargazer . . . until she peered down into the glass and realized the sea life was glowing, illuminated by magick or some other phenomenon, thousands of tiny sea creatures flowing by like a river of sparks beneath her feet.
No, like a river of stars. Glowing, wriggling stars.
The bell-shaped form of a jellyfish danced past, its vibrant purple tentacles pressing into the glass, sliding and wiggling as they tried in vain to wrap around her ankles and carry her under. Giving up, the hungry creature moved on to a school of fish, and she followed it through the hall, passing couples pressed into alcoves until she was alone in the tunnel.
The incline of the path was so subtle that she hardly noticed they were entirely undersea—just like the room they dined in earlier—until the runelights disappeared and the walls became a winding maze of glass tunnels.
This part of the ocean was deeper, darker. And something about the darkness, the soft glow of the alien sea life floating past, calmed her.
“That particular type of jellyfish is called the white-death,” a familiar voice drawled behind her. “One brush of its tentacles could kill one hundred mortal men.”
She turned to face Stolas, her back pressed into the pale wall of the alcove, stomach tightened against the rush of heat she’d come to expect at his presence. “Are there a lot of those on the coast of Shadoria?”
“No, they prefer the warmer waters of the mortal coasts.” He studied the jellyfish a few heartbeats longer before sliding that intense focus to her, her heart ratcheting into an erratic beat. “But I met many souls that ran afoul of the white-death’s lethal sting. Once an entire crew of shipwrecked sailors, in fact.” One corner of his mouth twitched. “I liked the sailors. They possessed a wonderfully crass sense of humor.”
Oh. After a few weeks of freedom, it was easy to forget what he had been before. The souls he’d spent countless years tormenting. “It almost sounds like you admire the jellyfish.”
“Perhaps I have a soft spot for murderous creatures.”
Something in his voice, or perhaps in the way he stared at her, made it suddenly very hard to breathe, and she felt just like those women he smiled at—one smile and she would melt. “Did you get tired of flirting with the females in the ballroom?”
“Was that what I was doing?” A flash of dark emotion glinted in his eyes, there and gone. “It was better than sensing their fear whenever I passed.”
The delicate light of a passing fish glinted along the dark blue feathers of his wings, held loose behind him. They flared a little as he took a step toward her.
On instinct, she tried to put space between them—only to remember there was nowhere to go. The cool glass pressed into her bare back as she flattened against it, Stolas closing the distance until he was nearly touching her.
Nearly, but not quite. As if an invisible barrier held him back.
All around them the sea life gathered, as if drawn by the powerful magick they felt oozing from Haven and Stolas.
“Are you afraid of me too, Beastie?” His breath caressed her lips.
The smell of him—irises and blood mandarin and musk—filled her senses and made her dizzy. Her heart pounded wildly against her sternum.
“No.”
“But you are afraid of something whenever I’m near. If not me, then what?”
His question caught her off guard because—because he was right. Her heart was racing, her chest trembling with every inhalation, the muscles of her thighs and core gathering power, ready to flee. It happened every time he drew too near.
Every time they were alone, even briefly, and he looked at her the way he did now.
Stolas didn’t scare her, but this thing between them, the way her body reacted to his nearness, his scent, his magick—
She crossed her arms, not ready to deal with this tonight. “I’m not afraid, just tired.”
The lie came so easily. But she couldn’t do this. Not right now. Not with so much at stake and her nightmares still so close to the surface, ready to rip through her confident façade and ravage everything she cared about.