Page 36 of Music of the Night
“She came from the city, like you, a product of tragedy. Zorik was good at finding lost souls, those with no family to come here, because no one would miss them. He sent his guards to the city to find them, usually claiming he was some distant relative. And so the theater was always full of singers and dancers and musicians. Some, when they discovered Zorik’s sorcery, offered him their souls and became immune to his destructive tendencies. Lucia was not one of them, but she saw more into both of us than anyone else did.
“She became my student, the one I hoped would help me break the curse over High Tower, for she was strong enough to withstand the magic I gave her and she could sing. I did not know that she’d fallen in love with Zorik, and he with her. Now, looking back, I think her love for him might have broken the spell if circumstances had been different. He discovered she was taking lessons from me and assumed I planned to use her against him to break the spell and take High Tower as my own. At the same time, she discovered his dark magic. He used magic to change his appearance, hide his golden eye and shift into a wolf form. He killed, at times, when he lost his temper, or needed to perform blood magic to strengthen his hold over High Tower Castle. In a fit of anger and betrayal, he killed her. When I found her body, clawed and ripped, I confronted him and we fought. That’s when I discovered it would be very hard indeed to kill him, and he tried to tear out my eye, leaving me with these scratches.”
He gestured to the mask.
“You tried to save her,” I breathed, for the note made sense, those hastily scribbled words, because her lover was a monster. It had almost happened to me. And then, because I could not help it, I asked, “Did you love her?”
He studied me until I dropped my gaze, and then his finger caressed my chin. “In a way, I suppose. I cared about her safety, but nothing compares to the way I feel about you.”
I took a shuddering breath, amazed at how easily he could stay my concerns with his words and one heated look. Holding his gaze, I pressed on, leaving Lucia in the past. “You called me, didn’t you? With your song? I heard it the night I went to the tower. It was as if a magical being spoke to me, whispered for me to come. I ran out in the night, brazen and bold because of you.”
“Did you?” He leaned closer, his hand moving to my hips, fingers threading through the covers. “I saw you dancing one night in the theater. You caught my eye because your heart wasn’t in it, and you looked as if you wished to be anywhere else.”
I gave a laugh, a choking sort of laugh, holding back the sob that threatened to spill out. “I wanted to sing, not dance.”
He moved closer, his hands sliding up my arms, his voice dropping to a lower timbre. “I was disappointed when you appeared on my doorstep, because I didn’t want it to be you.”
My heart skipped a beat, and I opened my mouth to protest.
He shook his dark head. “I wanted it to be someone else.” With each word he moved closer, his fingers stroking my neck, his thumb brushing over my lips. “Someone disposable, someone I would not care for. I didn’t want to take you as my student and destroy you, but you were different, stronger. I had hoped you might survive, and I certainly did not intend to fall in love with you. I am the Sorcerer of Music. I was supposed to bewitch you, not the other way around.”
He kissed me, and the kiss was unlike any other. It was raw, warm, both sweet like chocolate and bitter like lemon. When he pulled back his eyes had darkened further, something liquid and dangerous which sent spikes of heat coursing through my veins. As though the sunlight turned my blood to molten lava, reminding me exactly what I wanted.
“What made you return?” I asked. “To sing with me? Your tower was quiet for so long, I was worried. And Zorik had me closely guarded.”
“I was afraid of that,” he murmured. “I found the trapdoor locked when I tried to go to you, and then I stopped playing, because I needed the monsters to return. Like I told you, my song kept them away. They are attracted to dark magic, blood magic, and I hoped they’d destroy Zorik for me. I had not counted on them destroying the castle as well. I had to come for you, for you made an unbreakable promise, standing in the center of the tower. Either way, we were doomed. He was going to kill you, and tell the staff you’d gone away because he’d arranged a marriage for you. Don’t think you are the first he told that lie. If you were doomed, I figured at least we could sing together one last time, perhaps even break the curse and come to this, together at last.”
“And this is it? All that you hoped for?”
“More than I hoped for.”
I lifted an eyebrow, pulling him closer. “You saved the people of High Tower and broke the curse. That makes you a hero.”
He gave me that endearing crooked smile again. “I don’t feel like one.”
“I imagine heroes never do,” I quipped.
“Are you sorry the theater is gone and you won’t get the chance to sing in front of hundreds again?”
“I thought it was what I wanted, but the past few months have made me realize that although I love to sing and create and I appreciate the magic within, I want a life with you more than fame and glory. What I truly want is love and friendship and…”
He closed my mouth with a kiss.
“I don’t deserve you,” he whispered. “After all I’ve done, my past still haunts me, and knowing I’ve been given a second chance to re-live my life leaves me eternally grateful. If you’ll have me, if you’ll stay with me, marry me, I will treasure you from this point on, for you are my heart now. You taught me to sing from love, and not only did it break the curse… It made me reborn.”
The passion in his words, the rawness of his voice, and his touch sent rivers of pleasure and desire coursing through me. Squeezing my hands around his lean, hard arms, I sat up, tilting my head to catch his eye. “I love you,” I whispered. “I have for a long time. When I met you, and you taught me to sing, the part of me that was dead and grieving came alive. What happened in High Tower changed us both. That darkness is behind us now, and we can look forward to a future, together.” I touched his cheek, desperate for him to believe my words.
He kissed my open palm, my wrists. “Say it again?”
In one move I straddled him, pressing myself against the length of his hardness, twining my fingers through his dark hair. This time I looked down at him. “I love you.”
With a groan, he buried his head in my chest, holding me tight against him. My nipples burned and the junction between my thighs ached to be filled with him. Spreading my legs further, I rocked against him until he lifted his head to mine and captured me again. “I love you, Aria, my angel.”
“Show me.” I reached for his shirt, my fingers sliding under the cloth to press against his smooth skin.
“I will spend a lifetime showing you,” he promised, raising his arms to discard his shirt. His trousers followed shortly and then, standing over the bed, he undressed me, a worshipful look in his eyes.
Closing my eyes I gave myself over to him, spreading my legs, arching my back as he thrust inside, our joint groans and gasps as we moved, the rhythm of our lovemaking both familiar and yet new. Tears slipped down my cheeks as we moved to that climax together, frissons of hope and joy, a blend of relief and beauty. He kissed me again and again, my neck, my shoulders, my breasts, my lips and I held on to him as if heaven and earth could not tear us asunder.
