Page 52 of All the Chaos of Constellations
She swallowed a sigh when his thumb brushed across her knuckles as they started their descent. With each step, cool air assaulted her and long shadows stole across her vision. The stone door creaked shut, diminishing every fragment of light. She tightened her grip on his hand. “Don’t you control fire, my lord? I would assume you would be capable of producing light with a mere flick of your wrist.”
His answering laughter was low and rumbling.
“I don’t know, my lady.” His whisper floated past her cheek, and he released his hold on her hand. “There’s something exciting about losing a sense we’ve become reliant upon. When one of them is taken away, the others are acutely heightened.”
Novalise ignored the way her blood roared, rushing to every sensitive part of her. It didn’t matter if they were in the dark, and he was possibly only mere inches from her. If she wanted to lure him to her, then she would have to convince him that perhaps she had a change of heart. Perhaps she did have an interest in Prince Drake and was considering marrying him instead. In order to make it believable, however, she would have to shield her mind and her heart from the bond tying her to Asher. She clamped down on the pitch of anxiety, and when she sucked in a breath, it was shallow.
She reached out, hoping to find a railing to help guide her down the rest of the stairs. But only slightly damp, rough stone grazed her outstretched palm. Squinting into the darkness, she strained to see Asher, but she couldn’t tell if he was even standing next to her anymore. She took what she thought was one more step, but the wooden staircase ended abruptly and she pitched forward.
A yelp escaped her as she flung her hands out in front of her, bracing herself for when she hit the ground. But a pair of strong arms captured her instead and kept her from falling.
Asher hauled her against him, and his free hand cupped the back of her neck, dragging her closer. The tip of his nose brushed against hers, his mouth so close she could feel the warmth of his breath upon her lips.
“Are you alright?” he murmured, his free hand lightly coasting up and down her waist.
“Never better.” Her knees buckled.
Her magic spiraled in a blaze of stars, desperate for him. She wanted to tear off his shirt and run her palms over the chiseled planes of his bronze body. She wanted to lay him back and straddle him, then ride him until his fingers left bruises on her hips. Heat pooled between her legs and goosebumps shivered across her skin.
Asher hissed on an inhale and a thousand lights flickered to life within the cavernous walls of the wine cellar. He released her at once.
Inwardly, Novalise cursed herself for being so foolish. She wouldhaveto at least make an effort not to want him every second of every day if she actually planned on winning his heart.
Novalise blinked, shielding her eyes. Eventually, her vision adjusted, and though it wasn’t quite as bright as she originally imagined, she could see dozens of candles and the chandelier overhead ignited by frostfire flames. Some burned silver, others pitch black, but all cast the cellar in a cool, moonlit glow. She stared, walking in a slow circle and gazing around the magnificent space.
The walls were made of stone, each one housing hundreds of bottles of wine. A thin, grimy layer of dust covered many of them, the wax seals still intact. There were shelves of bottles stacked neatly on top of each other and yellowing placards listing the flavor profiles and regions of each wine. Most were local to Aeramere, but a number of the wines were from places she’d never heard of before.
“This is wonderful.” Her whisper floated between them, and she sensed Asher the moment he came to stand behind her.
“Does House Celestine not have a wine cellar?” His voice was low and mild. Not teasing or dripping with ridicule. Simply curious.
“Oh, I’m sure we do.” She looked over her shoulder at him, the corner of her mouth lifting slightly. “But I’ve never seen it.”
Asher studied her, his gaze slowly trekking over her as though he was committing her to memory. Either that, or he was merely trying to figure out the best way to get rid of her. She squirmed under the scrutiny, forcing herself to find something else of interest. Something other than him. Something like…frostfire.
She skirted around him, fully aware of the way he tracked the sway of her hips. Jutting out from the wall of wine was a smooth ledge of ebony, likely to host tastings and to consider which wines pair well with what, but all she cared about was the half-melted candle burning cold with a sparkling silver fire.
Novalise reached out to touch it, her finger hovering at the edge of the flame.
“No!”
Asher moved so quickly she didn’t have time to react. One minute she was about to run her fingers through the icy sparks and in the next, he’d snared her by the waist and clutched her to him so her back was pressed firmly against his chest. “That’s frostfire, Novalise.”
“Iknow, Asher.” She untangled herself from his grasp, swatting at his hand when he tried to reach for her again. “It can’t hurt me.”
“Yes, it can. Unless I make it warm, the flames are severely cold and—what?” His brows knit together in concern as he watched her.
“Look.” Cautiously, she extended her fingers once more.
“Novalise, no. It’s not safe, you’ll—” But his words died as he watched her fingertips play with the fire, as the icy cool flames licked her skin. Staring, eyes wide, his mouth opened once, then closed just as quickly. He blinked. Stunned by her, by what he witnessed.
“How did…” Asher stepped closer, pulling her hand back from the flame to analyze it. His fingers traced the faint lines inside her palm, and he ran his thumb along each of her fingers, drawing tiny circles on the back of her hand. “How did you do that?”
He was intent. Serious. He had no idea.
Novalise gave him her best smile, then planted a hand over her heart, feigning shock. “Are you saying I know something the notoriously clever Lord Firebane hasn’t yet figured out?”
His mouth pressed into a line, and he ducked his head.
