Page 41 of Nightmare's Dance

“Then we go straight to the castle,” I said. “It is more complicated, but doable.”

“And how, pray tell, will she get the essence she needs to repair the arch?”

“From me, obviously,” I snapped.

“What, is she going to, like, drink your blood or something? Do you have essence for blood?” Ash crossed her arms and stared at me, looking both defensive of her cousin, and fascinated.

“What is it with you and blood?” I raised my eyebrows.

“Ash might have a slight vampire problem,” Ember said, caught between amusement and fear. “She’s got a good point, though. Also, is there any way to leave the mirror intact? They’re so expensive, I hate to leave my parents’ mirror broken.”

“We should use the cabin mirror,” I said. “It will be easier to get into. If you want to repair the mirror over the fireplace without fixing the arch, we can do that before we leave.”

“So, shadow blood or…?” Ash prodded.

I sighed, shook my head, and reminded myself that I liked Ash. “I was rather hoping Ember could figure out how to siphon my energy. I suppose if she can’t, I could open a vein for her.” I kept my expression blank, but Ash looked surprised.

“There are other, more enjoyable ways to share bodily fluids,” Robby pointed out.

Ember’s eyes widened and her cheeks turned bright pink. “Let’s try the siphoning thing, shall we?”

It took a heroic effort, but I kept the amusement I felt off my face and out of my voice. “It’ll be easier if we’re touching.” I held out my hand.

After a moment, Ember put hers in mine and sat on the edge of her bed. Unable to help myself, I brushed my thumb across the back of her hand. She had a firm grip, and she tightened it reflexively when I caressed her.

“Okay,” I said before I could get distracted. “You remember the feel of the essence you manipulated before?”

“Yeah. I can even feel it around you.”

“Try to draw that into you.” I chose my words carefully, trying not to leave any innuendos open for our overly horny audience to pick at.

Ember shut her eyes, and I missed having that soft brown gaze fixed on me. I jerked my mind away from those thoughts, admitting quietly that it might not be just the audience members that were having inappropriate ideas.

She scrunched up her forehead adorably, and I wanted to smooth those wrinkles away from her skin. I wanted to do a lot of things to her and having her hand in mine, having her so close that I could smell the sweat from her workout earlier and how it enhanced her natural odor, was making it very difficult to do anything but think about having Ember in my arms again.

Her growl of annoyance refocused my attention on our present.

“It’s there. I can feel it. But it’s not responding to me.”

Robby snickered.

“Jester,” I snapped.

“Sorry, sorry. It’s just so easy.” He held out his hands placatingly. “Perhaps you need to try harder to share your energy with her.”

Even Ash gave him an annoyed look at his amused tone.

Ember actively ignored both of them.

“I’m not stopping her from taking it. It truly shouldn’t be difficult for her. We’re already bound.” Carefully, I attempted to push my essence into her.

“I can feel that.” Ember twisted around and glared at the other two when they laughed. “Enough out of you. We’re trying to rescue Geraint. Stop.”

“Sorry,” Ash and Robby muttered, looking a little embarrassed.

“Okay, so I can feel the essence trying to go into me.” This time, she snorted. “Sorry. But it’s not working.”

I clenched my jaw, thinking. I’d really have rather avoided any sort of intimacy unless we were actively choosing it, but she was right. This wasn’t working. “Okay.” I stood and tugged Ember to her feet. “I’m going to kiss you.”

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