Page 49 of When the Universe Sings

I swallowed the last of my drink, heat tingling through my limbs, aware of the eyes on me as I took his hand and he guided me onto the floor. It was thebesmagnatand I was suddenly glad we’d practiced as much as we had when we slipped into the dancing crowd. My hand was tight on the fabric of his cloak and I stumbled a few times as we started.

“Relax,” Asher breathed. “Let me lead.”

CHAPTER

THIRTY-FOUR

Silks and gemstonesswirled around us, glittering in the dying sunlight streaming from the windows. How had we already spent most of the day here wandering the estate?

Asher’s hand was light on my waist, leading me through the steps of the dance. I needed to look anywhere but at him and those silver eyes that seemed to see straight down into my bones. Yet I wanted to look. I wanted to know if I could see the same in him. If I could somehow understand the dichotomy of this male: his kindness and his cruelty, his passion and his penance.

The next part of the plan was simple and yet so difficult I couldn’t even imagine how we would pull it off. But as he turned me out, circling me with his hand dragging across my hip, I looked up to catch sight of Listra watching me. I ran my gaze down his slender frame and up again before biting the corner of my lip. By the time Asher pulled me into his arms again, Listra was already on the move.

“A drink, I think,” I murmured, signaling Asher.

His throat bobbed with a swallow, hand tightening on mine for only a moment before his chin dipped and he melted into the crowd. Only a heartbeat later Listra was there, sliding between two couples with a grin already curling across his mouth.

“Unwise for your master to leave you unattended,” he purred, voice more musical than it had been when he’d been addressing his guests.

I raised a brow. “And why is that?”

Listra stepped closer, hand sliding around my waist, thumb stroking the chains holding the fabric together. “Because someone might come and steal you away.”

Twisting my mouth into a semblance of a grin, I lowered my voice to a whisper. “Then you must be quick before he returns.”

He chuckled, pulling me close into the hold Asher and I had practiced for themelunceur,grip curling into my hair while I wrapped mine around his neck. But instead of his other arm loosely hanging at his side, he tugged me closer with it, fingers splayed wide across my spine to feel the curve of my backside.

“I have enjoyed seeing your treasures,” I said as the dance began.

Listra hummed, lavender gaze sliding from my face down to the swell of my breasts. “I have many pretty things, but none as captivating as you.”

“I would imagine that line gets you between many thighs,” I breathed, tilting my face up to his.

One of his eyebrows lifted and his grin turned darker. “Oh, many, my darling. Though I do love a challenge.”

Rolling my lips together, I perused his face, down to his chest, and even lower before moving back up again. We were closer now than before and as we turned, I caught sight of Asher at the edge of the crowd, taking a deep pull from a crystal glass.

“Your master should slow down. This vintage oflagneiais quite potent.”

I turned beneath his arm, waiting to reply until he drew me back in. “Potent?”

“You have never had it before?” he asked, toying with the chains on my side.

Each brush of his hand against my skin sent shivers across my back, though it was barely an echo of what I’d felt in Asher’s arms. Similar to Lucien’s scent—like the slight pang of hunger without the frenzy of starvation. I shook my head at his question.

“Lagneiais an ancient drink of my people, harvested fromlangiablossoms that grow within the crystals deep in the sea. The effects are different for many species. For instance, Venyans, Akahzyrians, and the Nusjili are immune to its properties, while others react only when someone they desire touches them, skin to skin. Most, however, like my kind, are quite susceptible to its effects.”

I blinked. “And…what are those effects?”

His lids grew heavy, mouth shifting into something more supple and seductive. Listra drew me closer until the length of his body pressed against mine and something unmistakable pushed against my stomach. “Lust, my darling. A humming in your veins, a racing of the blood, and the simple urge tosuckandfuckeverything in sight.”

My heart picked up speed. I’d felt the heat, the racing of my blood, but I could not feel the overwhelming sense he did. Perhaps my people were immune, or else there were boundaries on it. Listra devoured me with his gaze, head dropping lower with each passing moment until his lips brushed the skin of my throat, right below my ear.

Nothing. No sudden need, no desire slipping between my thighs. But I held still, staring up at the fire bleeding through the sky with the last of the dying day. My mind slipped back to that quiet place where nothing hurt and everything was safe. His tongue was hot as it traced the shell of my ear and nausea roiled in my stomach.

“What a delectable party,” a familiar voice purred and a wide hand curled around my elbow. “Is there room for one more?”

Lucien stood at my side, obscuring most of the waiting crowd with his wide shoulders. The silk of his shirt was beautiful, parted to expose the gleaming expanse of his chest. And though he wore a grin, the corners of his eyes were tight as they flicked between us.