Page 31 of Dark Fae's Destiny

“Do you think him getting his heart could restore him to his Ascendant state?” A strange eagerness fills me as I glance at Quinn. “If we could get the heart and use it of our own free will, we might have a chance at doing something true with it, rather than its Music twisting dark in Staphylogenes’ ruined hands. Maybe we could restore him to his godlike benevolence and he’d leave us alone. For good.”

“Perhaps.” Quinn darkens then, as he mulls it over. “But Staphylogenes had a dark streak in his nature even when he was whole, Ariana. You heard the Wanderer Cereus; he tortured his daughter with the Music, even when he was still technically Ascendant, only in his Fallen human form. That is far from benevolence; far from a compassionate thing to do, like one would expect of an Ascendant. I fear even should we restore his heart, some part of him changed when he Fell upon this plane. And that part of him is the part we should beware… even if we could return him to his more angelic state by giving him his heart.”

“You’re right.” Hope flags inside me as I sigh. “But Iris gave us this knowledge for a reason. She thinks it can help us. I say, we figure out how to use the Music to open this Nexus Realm and go get the heart. Because even if we can’t give it back to Staphylogenes, who might still punish us after he gets it, there’s a reason he wants it and Iris thinks we should have it.”

“Power.” Quinn’s onyx eyes blaze in the low light of the collection hall. “He wants more power, to make things exactly the way he wants them. Which is what he tried to do with his daughter… and failed.”

“She was too strong in her dual Ascendant bloodlines for his diminished control over the Music to touch. What is his agenda now, if he knows he can’t change her?” I ask, curious.

“Who knows?” Quinn gives a bitter snort as he swirls his wine. “Make a thousand evil golden-eyed bastards like himself to take over the world for him so he can torture us all? Who knows what a creature like that wants in the depths of its blackest, missing heart? Truly, I don’t think it matters. All that matters is we get the heart and use it to stop him, like Iris meant for us to do. He can twist in his truncated agenda’s misery for eternity. And I will laugh, all the way to my grave.”

Quinn’s statement is vicious, but not wrong, as we sit silently for a moment. As we both ponder what to do, I feel us reach the same conclusion.

“We need to raise the Music between us.” Quinn looks at me. “We need to see if we can sustain our Music long enough now to do something useful, with intent.”

“Like ask it where Staphylogenes’ heart’s tomb can be found,” I say, getting it, “and help us find the entrance to that half-barrier between worlds.”

“Eventually, we’ll need the Music to crash that barrier; but for right now, I’ll just take some information on where to start.” Quinn is sober as he regards me. “We need to know where we should go in the tunnels that are in our Realm… before we get to the place where we can cross over into the Nexus Realm.”

As I nod now, knowing Quinn’s right, he lifts an eyebrow at me.

Sex simmers in his dark eyes—with lust.

“What?” I ask, liking that look even though thinking about sexy time interrupts me from our conversation.

A lot.

“We need to raise the Music, Ariana,” Quinn says with heat now as he takes my mostly finished wine glass away and sets it aside. “We need to see if we can sustain the Music long enough to form an intention with it—a true Ascendant’s Sigil. One we meant to make, rather than one that is just spontaneously chosen for us in a dire time. And to do that?—”

“We need to get naked.” I grin, loving what Quinn’s thinking about, knowing I’m all in.

“Foreplay first. Naked later.” Quinn grins with rapacious delight now as he moves close. His hands trail over me, sensual, and I shiver, loving it. “But before even that,” Quinn says as he regards me, ever the planner, even when he’s about to get it on, “we need to focus our intention. We need to tell the Music what we need from it. And hope it will finally respond to our chosen needs. Rather than our spontaneous ones.”

“Perhaps we should just think, open sesame.” I chuckle, though Quinn’s idea rings true inside me.

“I was thinking something more like, show us the path to the tomb.” Quinn smiles at me, nuzzling his nose over mine.

“Sounds good.” I agree, taking a deep breath. “So what? Do we just hold that as a mantra inside our minds the entire time we’re making love?”

“If we can, yes.” Quinn is serious now, even as his hands glide over my shoulders, seductive. “If we can focus enough, then raise the Music while we make love, there’s a possibility it’ll finally focus for us. You heard Iris; we don’t have a chance at learning how to create complex phrases with the Music and the Ascendant’s Sigils like she can do. But maybe we can get something that’s just simple enough, to sustain long enough, to do something of our choosing. Like show us the crossing-over point. Or something comparable.”

“I’m in,” I say. “Time to get it on.”

“Don’t be so abrupt.” Quinn chuckles now, leaning in and kissing my neck. “We have time, Ariana. Let’s not rush.”

“We do need a little time together,” I say as Quinn kisses his way down my neck, loving the soft touch of his lips upon me—along with feather-light grazes of his bite. “Things have been so insane lately, with all the Dark Fae and everyone else coming to us. I could use a little break.”

“Things with the Vampire Council have been quiet.” Quinn takes me in his arms now, whispering his lips and the tips of his fangs over my neck as I shudder with delight. “They’re regrouping, and King Bellari has likewise been relatively silent. If they know what’s going on here, they haven’t gotten their ducks in a row yet to do something about it. That means we have time to rest and be intimate. And I’d very much like to.”

“Me, too.” Quinn’s strong hands knead my waist. I’m dressed in a simple white camisole with high-waisted linen pants that have a ruffled waist and a belt. His deft hands slip down and untie the belt now as he kisses my neck, freeing the silk cami from its tuck.

His fingertips find my skin and slither up; in a moment, he’s got my camisole shed, only a lacy beige bra on underneath. His cool-hot touch eases over my skin. I lean forward so he can undo the clasp.

His hands glide in, easing the bra off as they gently cup my breasts.

Quinn’s hands are scalding, yet chill, all at once; it’s breathtaking as he rubs his palms over me now, cupping my breasts and supporting their weight. He rubs his thumbs over my nipples and I sigh even as everything inside me grips. He chuckles by my ear as he kneads me, gentle.

Yet hard as iron, as his strong hands hold me.

---