CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE #2
We moved together in rhythm, in fury, in grace. A slow burn building into wildfire. Every kiss, every touch, every sigh was a promise unspoken. His curse wrapped around my magic, sparks igniting along our skin, illuminating the shadows.
“Lucien…” I gasped, nails digging into his shoulders as I broke apart beneath him.
He followed me moments later, his head buried in the crook of my neck, a whispered “Mia” escaping his lips like a prayer. And then there was only the sound of our breathing, tangled bodies, and the fragile quiet between heartbeats.
We lay there until our breathing eased, my head resting on his chest now, my fingers making lazy circles over his muscular chest.
“We still have to break your curse,” I said softly, my thoughts turning back to the curse now that my brain was not awash with our lovemaking.
”We will,” Lucien assured.
”What did Serena say to you in the ballroom?”
He was silent for a long moment, his hand coming up to mine, catching my fingers before gently stroking them with his thumb. “She said if I didn’t make you leave the castle, she would kill you.”
I lifted my head, resting it on my arm so that I could look at him, my brows furrowing. “She’s been trying to kill me since I got here. She hasn’t succeeded yet.”
Lucien gave me a look, one that held all the concern I saw in his eyes. “I’m growing weaker, Mia. She knows that… She knows that soon I won’t be able to help you when you call for me. ”
He was right. Here in the void, Lucien appeared completely whole. He didn't have to use energy here like he did when I summoned him.
”What are we going to do?”
He stared up into the darkness as if lost in thought for a moment before taking a deep breath. “I have a plan, but I don’t think you’re going to like it.”
I narrowed my gaze on him and he shot me an apologetic look. “What is this plan?”
”You have to leave the castle.”
I sat up, glaring at him now. “No! I’m not leaving you.”
He sat up to now, taking my hands in his. “Please just hear me out.”
I hesitated, then after a moment I sighed. “Fine.”
”We are going to leave the void and I’ll take us to the study where Serena can hear us.
We will argue about what happened in the ballroom.
A heated argument where I will tell you that I don’t want you here and that I want you to leave.
Then, I will summon Serena a little later and tell her you are leaving. ”
I nodded slowly, not liking this plan at all. “And then what?”
”You will leave…”
I opened my mouth to argue, but he pressed a finger to my lips. “Ah ah, let me finish.”
”I know things about the curse that I can’t explain. Things your grandmother didn’t tell me, but it’s like she left it in my mind. Things like the fact that you can summon me to you anywhere you are.”
He waited, allowing that to sink in. “So I can summon you to my cottage?” I asked, slowly.
He nodded. “This way, you will be out of the castle, safe from Serena. Then you will summon me to you and I will transport you back here to my body to break the curse.”
”But we don’t know where your body is, Lucien.”
He smiled, wincing guiltily as he tilted his head slightly like he knew a secret that I didn’t. “I know where it is.”
I glared at him. “Lucien! Why didn’t you tell me? I could have broken the curse by now… We could just do it now.”
He shook his head, his gaze falling to our hands before he brought my fingers to his lips and pressed a soft kiss there. “I couldn’t tell you because your grandmother made it seem important not to. I wasn’t sure if you were in love with me and she said it had to be your choice.”
I swatted his hand away from mine and stood, hastily pulling my nightgown over my head. “Well, you know now. I love you so let’s go to your body now.”
He reached for my hand, stopping my movements. “We can’t. She will see us. She will know where we are in the castle and what we are trying to do…” He swallowed, hi s voice much softer when he spoke again. “I can’t watch her hurt you if I don’t have the energy to save you.”
I stared back at him, my heart aching at the pain in his voice.
He was right, of course he was. If we left the void and started toward wherever his body was, Serena would unleash whatever control she had over the castle to make sure we didn’t succeed.
I never thought of myself as weak, but the truth was, without Lucien’s help, Serena may have already killed me long before now.
Despite my grandmother’s brilliance in making the curse, Serena still held power in the castle.
”So,” I said quietly, my nerves cracking my voice. “What do we do?”
”We’ll stick to my plan,” he said. “We’ll have a huge argument, you’ll leave, summon me to you, then I’ll bring you straight to my body. Hopefully we can break the curse quickly before she knows.”
I sank back to my knees in front of him, my hand cupping his cheek. “But, I don’t know how to break the curse.” I glanced down at the locket around my neck, thinking back to the vision of Lucien’s memory with my grandmother.
Lucien pressed his fingers under my chin, forcing my gaze back to him. “Yes you do. A piece of your soul resides in that locket, Mia. Your grandmother showed you what to do in the memory. You have to give it to me freely. True love.”
”True love,” I repeated, my hand falling to the locket.