Chapter 51
Thalassis’s hand settled lightly at my waist, his movements fluid as water as he spun me round and round. But even with my attention fixed on him, I couldn't escape the persistent weight of Rìan's gaze from across the room.
Thalassis chuckled softly, mistaking my distraction for nerves. “Relax,” he murmured, guiding me through another turn.
“When does the Ambrosia take effect?” I asked, trying—and failing—to sound casual.
He merely smiled.
At first, I noticed only the bioluminescence.
The algae floating through the room and coating the walls seemed to glow brighter, every hue richer and impossibly vivid.
I glanced up at the jellyfish floating near the ceiling, mesmerized as one radiant pulse bled effortlessly into the next, the boundaries between them disappearing into a gentle swirl.
The colors were so beautiful they were nearly tangible. I could taste them on my tongue.
Then the music found me.
I could feel it—every note brushing against my skin, every beat of the drums reverberating through my ribcage like a second heartbeat. It surrounded me, moved through me, as corporeal as the dancers caught in its current.
Thalassis spun me away, another pair of hands catching me around the waist.
A male with tattoos covering his scalp and one side of his face smiled as he drew me to him. I stared, entranced, as the intricate patterns seemed to come alive, rising ever so slightly from his skin before settling again like seaweed drifting on water.
He laughed at my obvious fascination before whisking me onward.
A female caught me next, and I found myself transfixed by the cascade of silvery hair spilling down her back like a waterfall.
She drew close, her curves pressing against mine, and I melted into the softness of her body.
I couldn't help myself. My hands wandered down her bare shoulders and along the smooth length of her arms, drawn by the irresistible silk of her ebony skin.
I twirled into the waiting arms of another dancer, and then another still, until faces blurred together in a kaleidoscope of smiles, beaded hair, bright eyes, and outstretched hands.
I drifted from partner to partner without pause, impossibly light, the music carrying me through the room wherever it wished.
Every turn peeled another layer of tension from my body, every laugh dissolved another knot of worry, until the turmoil that had clung to me moments earlier seemed to melt into the rhythm, swept away on the tide of flutes and drums.
The next turn carried me straight back into Thalassis's arms as the music changed again. The lively tune dissolved into something slower, deeper, a haunting, hypnotic melody that shifted the mood throughout the room.
At the edges of my vision, bodies drifted into the shadows, mouths finding mouths, limbs intertwining, fingers threading through hair as low moans underscored the music.
Not long ago, I'd stood frozen in the pleasure house, overwhelmed by the unabashed intimacy surrounding me. Now…
Now I understood.
The overwhelming pull toward closeness. Toward touch. Toward connection so complete that the rest of the world simply ceased to exist. I wanted to lose myself inside it, slip beneath its surface. Surrender to the collective, to the warmth and breath and pulse of those around me.
As if he knew how I was feeling, Thalassis's arms tightened around me. There was a heat in his gaze now that I couldn't deny, his eyes heavy-lidded, his smile loose and inviting, the Ambrosia leaving him awash in quiet euphoria.
Thalassis was breathtaking. How had I never noticed before?
His skin was a deep, lustrous brown, smooth as velvet, every smile like a bright crescent moon in the dimness. The backs of his fingers skimmed lightly down my arm. A shiver chased his touch and his smile widened.
He drew me even closer, our bodies moving together with the slow, languid rhythm of the dance. He bent his head, his voice brushing softly against my ear.
"You're not like any Eidra I've ever seen."
"No?"
"Not in the slightest." He smelled of salt and musk.
"Aedric was right about you. You're as warm-blooded as any human, yet there's a world of power beneath your skin.
It's a tantalizing combination. I can see why he's so determined to keep you.
An Eidra with a heart... that's not something any of us were prepared for. "
"I recall the Full Circle tried for my execution."
"Not I." The words rolled from him in a low, intimate rumble. "But you know your history, yes?"
"Yes." The lie was a small one. I knew enough, but not nearly enough. Thalassis seemed to hear the uncertainty beneath my answer, because I felt his smile broaden against my cheek.
"The Eidrae of old possessed limitless magic and precious little conscience with which to temper it." He guided me through another slow turn. "A disastrous combination. Something had to be done."
The words landed like a stone in my chest. For a heartbeat, I couldn't find the rhythm of the dance. However rationally he framed it, he was still justifying the extermination of my people.
Thalassis moved back just enough to look at me properly. The ease in his expression faded. "I’ve offended you."
"Yes," I admitted softly. "A little."
Regret slid across his features.
"Then allow me to correct myself. I was explaining the Full Circle's reasoning, not defending it." His thumb stroked absently across the small of my back while his heavy gaze traced the lines of my face. "What is that expression you're wearing?"
"I struggle to understand why you've invited us here at all, knowing what I am. Knowing the destructive power that lies in my veins."
"Fascination, perhaps." His smile deepened. "You are uncharted waters."
"Is that it? I'm a curiosity?"
A deep laugh escaped him. "I'll admit there was an ulterior motive."
"Oh?"
He leaned in, catching his lower lip between his teeth. "It's a touch prideful."
My smile answered his before I could stop it. "Tell me."
He held my eyes for a long moment before answering. "I know the Eidrae were drawn to power. I found myself wondering whether you might be drawn to mine."
My lips parted in surprise. Even through the pillowy haze of the Ambrosia, his meaning was unmistakable. He knew exactly what the Eidrae were. He knew I was already bonded to Aedric. And still, he was offering himself as another possibility.
"Don't look at me like that, Elowen." He gave my waist a gentle squeeze. "I mean no offense. Your presence here has simply invited me to dream a little."
I felt it the moment he released it—his magic whispering across my skin.
Beneath that whisper lay an ocean. Not merely water, but the sea in all its contradictions—the endless pull of the tides, the crushing weight of unfathomable depths, the promise of calm seas and violent storms alike.
It was gentle enough to cradle and powerful enough to drown.
I turned toward him, unable to hide my wonder. For the briefest moment, something cold and calculating passed over his features, as though he'd cast his magic like a hook into still water and knew better than to rush the catch.
"Perhaps one day," he murmured, his voice barely carrying above the music, "I could show you what the Tides have to offer."
Something shifted. Thalassis's gaze lifted over my shoulder, the easy charm slipping just enough to reveal a flash of unease.
I didn't need to turn.
The bond cinched unbearably tight, robbing me of breath as his presence unfurled at my back like a gathering storm, dark and inescapable. Under any other circumstances, I would’ve hated the feeling, would’ve despised the tether that refused to let either of us forget the other.
But with the Ambrosia singing through my veins, everything was different. He felt impossibly solid, the one fixed point in a world that had begun to drift, until the tether became an anchor cast into a turbulent sea, grounding me. The urge to lean into it was overwhelming.
Then, for the briefest instant, I thought I felt something.
Rage. Fierce enough to draw blood. Beneath it, a frustration so profound it bordered on desperation. And beneath even that…
Something else.
It was gone before I could make sense of it.
I blinked. The Ambrosia was playing tricks on my mind.
"Am I interrupting?"
His voice rolled over me from behind, thunder wrapped in silk, as steady and unwavering as ever. Yet this time I caught something I'd never heard before—a roughness beneath the silk that made me question if I hadn't been imagining things after all.
It was such a tiny imperfection. And yet somehow, it was utterly devastating.
Too bad it belonged to him.
I turned, fully intending to greet him with my customary scowl.
Instead, I found myself looking up. And up. My head kept tipping back until I finally found his face.
Was it the Ambrosia making everything feel so absurdly exaggerated, or had he always been this imposing? He was a mountain, eclipsing the room behind him.
He wasn't looking at me.
He was locked on Thalassis. His eyes pulsed faintly, fixed on the High Lord with such terrible intensity that, for one fleeting moment, I wondered if he was considering simply reaching into his mind and crushing it where he stood.
I cleared my throat.
The sound was enough. His attention shifted to me, and the moment those inhuman silver eyes settled on mine, something inside me hummed to life.
Godsdamned Ambrosia.
I planted my hands on my hips, silently cursing the slight sway in my stance. Looking up at him felt almost like standing beneath an ancient tree, its canopy stretching so impossibly high overhead that it threatened my balance.
"Yes," I said, lifting my chin another fraction to glare properly at him. "Actually, you are interrupting."
His jaw locked, his clenched teeth a cage for whatever savage impulse threatened to break free.
"Too. Fucking. Bad." The words sent a pulse of heat straight to my core.