Page 16 of Music of the Night
“Yes,” I wanted to beg, to plead.Just kiss me. Give me a moment after that darkness. Purge my soul from it.
He sucked in one slow breath, his eye clouding with need? Regret? He opened his mouth and then crushed his lips against mine.
13
Aria
The kiss was more than anything I’d ever experienced. Every fiber in my body tingled as I leaned into him. His tongue swept into my mouth, momentum building as he lengthened the kiss. My knees went weak, and I sagged against him. Throaty moans escaped my lips and my heart thumped wildly as he deepened the kiss. As though our lives, our very souls, depended on it. And it seemed only natural, the apex of pleasure after the emotional toll of singing, of the poignant and deep memories that had been unburied. The kiss was like a healing balm, smoothing over the wounds, healing the cracks in our souls that led us to each other.
My hands went around his neck, drawing him closer as I arched my body into his. My nipples hardened and heat pooled between my thighs. Eyes closed, I gave into the enticing taste and scent of him, delighting in the myriad of sensations. The hardness of his chest, the warmth of his body against mine, his insistent tongue in my mouth and his hand, coming around my lower back to press me closer to him as though he would take me, body and soul, right then and there. My breath hitched when he broke the kiss. For a moment all I heard was our low pants, synced together. When at last the height of that moment faded, I opened my eyes to find him studying me, an indescribable look on his face.
“Aria.” He whispered, as though he questioned whether I were real at all, relaxing in his arms.
I held onto his shirt, unwilling to let go, to leave that moment when everything had changed. I could see clearly now, my hopes and dreams twisted into one and joining with Uriah’s. “Will you tell me?” I breathed. “I want to know it all, I want to know everything.”
He brushed a curl from my forehead and his eye changed, going from soulful to sad, as though the torture of his past would swallow him whole again. “I cannot tell you all, for some secrets are not mine to share.” Then he took my hand and pressed it against his bare chest, until I could feel the quickened pace of his heartbeat like a drum beneath my palm. “But I would have you know that I will not keep you here against your will. Now you know the destructive beauty of the music, and what it demands. Magic is not without its costs. If you wish to leave, to sing no longer, I will not hold it against you. The price of this magic is high, often too high for others to pay.”
There. His honest words pierced something deep in my heart, as though a knife pressed through my tender skin and wounded me. I gasped, tears gathering in my eyes although I struggled to blink them away. He thought I would leave now that I understood the secrets of the tower. He assumed I’d run and although it was a hard truth to swallow; I wondered how he managed it, day in and day out, without losing himself to the pain. But I would show him how strong I was, I would not cow, would not leave in the face of difficulty.
I was also reminded of how little I knew this man aside from his dark allure that pulled me in, the way he held me, oh goddess, the way he kissed me. Just for tonight I’d let myself go, I’d lose myself in him and tomorrow, when I was back at the castle in my own bed, I’d think clearly. For with the high emotions surging through me and the lingering effects of both the magic of the music and his powerful kisses, I had a hard time thinking straight.
His arm around my waist loosened, and he glanced away. “Come, the storm builds and you cannot return tonight. The underground passageways will be flooded as the lake rises. I will guide you home before dawn.”
“What passageways?” I asked, wishing he hadn’t let go.
“Ah, you did not know.” He pointed towards the door. “The trap door leads to an underground tunnel which links to High Tower. It hasn’t been used in decades, but originally this was a tower to defend against dark creatures. Knights would travel to and from the castle underground, to keep the enemy from knowing their true numbers and to ward off the attack. It was the safest method of travel.”
A numbness washed over me. A secret tunnel. I thought of the odd happenings in the castle, the man who’d been attacked and killed, the dark shadows I saw lurking from time to time when I fled back to my room. “Who else knows about the tunnels?”
“Count Zorik, likely the servants, anyone who knows the layout of the castle.” Uriah shrugged. “Why?”
“No reason,” I blurted out too quickly, wondering if Madame Blu knew. “But why didn’t you mention them before? I’ve been riding here instead of traveling through the tunnels.”
“Ah, your horse.” Uriah strode toward the tower doors. Before he opened them, he tossed more words over his shoulder. “It isn’t safe in the tunnels. They are old, full of water and who knows what lives in the deep. It would be easy to lose your way without the proper guidance.”
Then he walked outside, leaving me toying with a burst of feelings. He cared enough to protect me, to keep me with him, but what would we do while we waited out the storm? Since we stopped singing, his attitude toward me had cooled rather remarkably. Was it the kiss? I touched my fingers to my lips, as though the mere touch would wipe it away. My stomach flip-flopped, and an ache throbbed between my legs. Oh. I was in trouble. I wanted, craved, needed him in a way I’d never desired a man before.
It wasn’t long before Uriah returned with Beauty behind him. He tied her up near the entryway and shut the heavy doors. “I’ll send her home in the morning,” he said, turning in my direction. He bowed and extended his hand. “Shall we move to more comfortable quarters, Lady Aria?”
I took his offered arm, a flustered smile on my face, my heart hammering in my throat as he escorted me toward the staircase. I glanced back at Beauty for strength, but she had her head down, nosing her new surroundings.
“I’ve dwelt here for years,” Uriah explained as we climbed the spiral staircase.
We moved slowly, but with my hand tucked under his arm, I did not mind. Besides, I still had trouble catching my breath at his proximity.
“This place used to be normal, I assume. Although an odd aura surrounded it. One night, something drastic affected this place. Since then I’ve been here, in the tower, with my music. Here I’ll stay…” He trailed off, then took a deep breath. “It is a burden I would ask no one else to carry.”
Here. Alone. For how long? Four or five years? Four years ago I’d been seventeen. Happy, full of life and prospects. That was before misfortune befell Father. I wished I had seen it earlier. I was focused on music; I wanted lavish dresses, sparkling jewels, new books, fine horses, all those wants, and my father gave until it broke him. He should have told me no, made me wait. I saw that now.
“What happened before?” I asked, to shake away the unhappy memories.
“Before.” He grunted. He waved a hand as though it were nothing more than a mere shadow of the past. “I was the son of a blacksmith with dreams of becoming a musician.” He gave a bitter laugh. “Grand illusions. I became a knight in the queen’s army and was sent here. It’s ironic, the very thing I was running from became my reason for living.”
We paused in front of a small alcove just off the staircase. It continued upward, but Uriah pulled me in front of an arched door. I squeezed his arm to keep him from moving, hoping he’d finish his thought before we entered. “What were you running from?”
He eyed me. “Music. I was a terrible blacksmith’s son. I shrank my duties, ran away and joined a troupe. I learned to sing, to play, to earn my keep. My father beat me and the children made fun of me, because a man should fight or work with his hands, not play and sing. Becoming a knight was supposed to change everything, I’d leave the past behind and yet…”
Trailing off, he bent his broad shoulders. Shoulders of a blacksmith, a knight, a man who could tempt others with his music, with the rhythm that burst from his throat and his hands.
