The laughter, the music, the perfume of wine and roasted meats all blurred together into static.
At first, I thought it was just the aftershock of that dance but the longer I stayed, the heavier the air got. My temples throbbed, my chest clenched and my vision flickered in and out like a dying lantern.
My Xana was tearing me apart from the inside.
"Excuse me."
I muttered to whoever was talking to me. I didn't even wait for their response. My body was moving on its own, stumbling down the corridors like a drunk. Each step made the world spin. The torches lining the walls bled into streaks of orange. I pressed my palm against the cool stone just to keep myself upright.
I just needed to get to the elevator.
My knees buckled. My breath hitched. The floor rushed up at me and didn't fall. That's when I felt someone stopping my fall.
I blinked hard, forcing my vision to sharpen. Long fingers gripped my arm. I saw the veil, the eyes and the scent of perfume clinging to her skin.
Nefira.
She lowered me to the ground. She propped me against a pillar, my back pressed to cold stone, and crouched in front of me.
"Do not collapse here. You will never get back up. You will be be in critical condition if you let go now."
A weak laugh tore from my throat.
"Didn't think I'd get sick this fast. Guess I'm cursed to embarrass myself in front of pretty women."
Her glare cut through me. For the first time since I met her, Nefira looked nothing like the poised dancer or the seductive princess. She looked... terrified.
"This is not sickness. It's your Xana. You can't control it. It is consuming you. If you die here, the House of Argemenes will declare war on the House of Rameses."
War. The word rang in my skull. I wanted to laugh again, but my lungs were failing. She pressed her hands on my shoulders, leaning closer, her breath quick against my cheek.
"Forgive me for what I'm about to do."
I tried to shake my head, but I was too weak.
"What are you—"
Her lips crashed into mine.
My eyes flew open. For a split second, my brain went blank. Nefira was kissing me. My first kiss was stolen under the moonlight by a woman who looked like she had been sculpted by gods.
Hell yeah!
If I had even an ounce of strength, I would have grabbed her by the waist and pulled her closer, kissed her until my lungs gave out but I couldn't. My body was heavy. My head spun. All I could do was sit there as she pressed harder for ten seconds, maybe more. The world narrowed to just the heat of her mouth.
When she finally pulled back, I was dazed. The taste of her lingered like spices and honey.
"What the hell? Am I… being sexually assaulted right now?"
But she didn't laugh. She didn't tease. Her eyes were desperate.
The second kiss was deeper and fiercer. Her mouth opened against mine, and I felt a pull like something invisible was being sucked straight out of my chest. Energy bled from me, pouring into her. My veins lit up with pain. My muscles were screaming as though I were being drained dry.
She was feeding on my Xana.
My eyes widened. I couldn't breathe. Her grip tightened on my wrists. Her nails dug into my skin as though she would never let go. My chest constricted. She wasn't just kissing me. She was consuming me. I tried to pull away but her strength was too strong. My vision dimmed. My lungs burned. My heart stuttered.
My Flux activated.
Dark crystal vines burst from my skin, coiling around her wrists. The thorns dug into her flesh. Her muffled gasp vibrated against my lips as the vines wrenched her back with unnatural force.
She hit the ground with a thud. Her wrists were bleeding as her golden Xana scattered.
I slumped forward, coughing and dragging ragged breaths into my lungs. My chest ached. My lips still burned. Above me, floating lazily in the air, the Thorned Crown hovered. Nefira's wide eyes locked on mine.
I staggered to my feet and managed to stand up.
"I… almost killed you."
The vines snapped back into my body, vanishing with the crown. My Flux had retreated but the memory of its hunger lingered.
I can't stay...
I turned and bolted down the hallway, ignoring the sharp pain in my ribs and her voice calling after me. My legs carried me to the elevator and I slammed my palm against the button for the fortieth floor. As the doors slid shut, I sagged against the wall, pressing my forehead to the cold steel.
"I almost killed her."
And the worst part? I wasn't sure if I regretted the kiss or the danger it sparked.
°°°°°
Nefira lowered her eyes to her wrists. There was a thin, ugly web of black crawling outward from the punctures where his crystal thorns had bit into her flesh. It looked like poison, spreading fast to her arms. For a heartbeat, she froze.
Quickly, she summoned Luminous. Light bloomed between her palms, searing away the corrosion with a crackling hiss. The blackness retreated slowly, the sickly shade fading back into her natural skin tone. She clenched her fists as the light burned through her veins. Only when the last trace of black disappeared did she allow herself to exhale.
"What… was that?"
Her hands still shook. She stared at them. His Xana still lingered in her blood like a phantom, whispering through her body, demanding attention. It was… intoxicating. That was the only word for it.
She hated and loved it.
That was why she had kissed him. She hadn't been thinking... no, she had been thinking, but not rationally. Something about the weight of his Xana pulled at her and drew her closer. She had told herself it was to save his life so their Houses wouldn't fall into war.
But deep inside, she knew the truth.
She wanted that rush of heat and darkness that burned in his chest and spilled out of his lips into hers. She had been immersed in it.
Nefira pressed the back of her head against the pillar and shut her eyes. The hallway was silent except for her own ragged exhales. She thanked the Goddesses that no one had seen what had happened. If even one guest, guard, or servant had stumbled across them, the scene would have been catastrophic.
It would be seen as an heir of Argemenes assaulting a daughter of Rameses. That's what they would call it. That's how they would twist it. The wrist wounds, the blood, the mark of his Flux, they would all say he attacked her and that he tried to violate her.
And what would she say in her defense?
That she was the one who kissed him? That she was the one who crossed the line, who held him down, who almost drained the life out of him because she couldn't control her hunger for his Xana?
Her lips still burned from the memory of his. She raised trembling fingers to her mouth, brushing lightly against the swollen skin. The heat, the taste, the raw urgency of it... all of it was real.
She lost her first kiss and it was so addictive that she lost control of herself.
Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. She had been raised her entire life to carry herself with grace, to honor her House, to serve her people ams to remain radiant. And yet, her first kiss had been stolen by a man she barely knew. Worse, she had given it to him willingly.
Her body shook with a silent sob. She tilted her face upward, staring through the open archway of the corridor where the sky stretched, the full moon casting its glow across the world.
"Goddess, why? Why did you allow this?"
Her words echoed softly against the stone, carried up toward the night. She pressed her palms together.
"I have been faithful. I have obeyed. I have kept myself pure, as you commanded. And now this? Was this fate? Was this your design? Or was this… my failure?"
She pressed her forehead to her hands, ashamed of the tears slipping down her cheeks.
"I don't understand. Why did his Flux react to me like that? Why did my elements answer him? Why does his Xana call to me like... like it belongs with mine?"
She shook her head hard as strands of dark hair fell loose from her veil. She couldn't stop thinking about the way his Xana had wrapped around hers during the dance. She couldn't stop remembering the way his crown had hovered over him. It terrified and enthralled her all at the same time.
She leaned her head back against the pillar and closed her eyes with a heavy sigh escaping her lips. The last of the light flickered in her palms and faded. Her wrists were clean now but her heart was not. Her House could never know and she would make sure of it.
"Just who are you? I don't even know your name..."