Lux
Awareness came firstâslowly, the way it did after waking from a long, much needed sleep. When seconds stretched long between blinks, sometimes turning to minutes when you drifted back to slumber, but finally, the world snaps into place, perhaps still hazy at the edges as you try to figure out when and where you are.
Except for Lux, it was a lot hazy. Everything appeared as if she was viewing it through water, and no matter how she tried, she couldn't make her eyes move in the direction she wanted. For the moment, they were pinned on her reflection in a mirror, a foreign smile curling her lips as she brushed her hair and hummed tunelessly.
She focused on what she could see of the room behind her in the mirror. White-washed stone walls. A dark wooden canopy bed with wine colored velvet curtains obscuring all but a glimpse of the bed's richly appointed interior. Furs and satin pillows piled high.
Lux gasped as her body turned to peer at the bed, as if drawn there by Lux's focus, but the simmering heat which washed through her was not drawn from her own thoughts, but from another's. They were memories of nights spent tangled between those sheets with lovers, and as the memories grew in number, Lux found one of her own threaded throughout.
Oh gods, she whimpered, putting her hands on her head... or trying to. Seeing that memory of her and Declan shifted everything into focus. Her body belonged to another, and in this strange place inside, Lux had no corporeal form. Only a weak consciousness.
If she could cryâNo, she pushed away the thought. No tears, even if it was possible. This woman had stolen enough from her. Morgause didn't deserve her tears. She deserved her wrath, and Lux had no doubt she would face it. Not just because of her own sheer determination to reclaim her body, but because Declan and her Circle would not rest until they freed her.
Especially Declan.
Oh, how she ached for him. The bond they had shared before paled compared to the one that had developed after giving over the last bit of themselves to one another. It was as if their denial of their physical bodies had created holes in the tether between their souls, and for one blissful moment before it was all ripped away, Lux had felt it become complete. Two hearts with one rhythm as they held each other. A single soul in two bodies.
Lux felt him still. Faintly. And from the despair souring the connection, she feared he could not feel her at all. That was the only explanation for how deep his pain went. Perhaps he even believed she was already lost, and if that was true, her only hope was his thirst for vengeance; however, they had all seen firsthand what that kind of bitterness did to a person. He might save her and lose himself.
The bedroom door opened. Morgause set down the hairbrush and rose to greet the newcomer. So far, beyond the flood of scandalous images she received when Morgause looked at the bed, Lux hadn't picked up on much regarding the woman's thoughts or feelings, but now, frissons of anticipation rolled through her, strong enough for Lux to experience.
"Is it truly you, my Queen?" The man dropped to his knees, his sandy brown hair shielding his face from the woman's eager eyes.
"Lamorak," Morgause replied breathlessly, her tone Lux's but the accent all her own. She touched the bowing man's shoulder. He stood, at last looking her in the face, his blue eyes bouncing from feature to feature as if searching for the woman he remembered. Only when he looked into Morgause's eyes did he smile.
"I see you."
Like hell you do. Since waking from the darkness, Lux had yet to feel panic, but knowing this stranger could peer into what had once been her eyes and see nothing of her in them made her want nothing more than to crawl back into oblivion.
"How are you here?" Morgause demanded, her hands tracing the contours of his face, settling on his lips for the longest time before she cupped his stubbled jaw. "Centuries have passed since I died, and you are mortal."
Lamorak turned and pressed his mouth against her palm. Lux shuddered because she felt nothing, but she was also deeply grateful for that. "Not long after youâyou died, I was injured in an unfair fight against four others and left for dead. Morgan found me just before I died, and I still do not understand the dark magic she used, but I am mortal no longer."
His irises flashed red, and while Lux recoiled at the obvious demonic signature, Morgause drew closer, trembling with excitement. Fragments of thoughts made their way to Lux.
Human lover... wonderful... demon... even better.
"Sorry, but no," Lux protested as Morgause pushed the man onto her bed and began to untie the sash of her robe. Really, this woman took over her body to get magic, and instead of immediately focusing on her craft, she has sex. She didn't have a physical form any longer, so she could not kick and scream, but her magic had never been tangible. She turned inward, drawing on the knot of power she carried inside and willed it to stop the former queen.
"My love, are you okay?" Lamorak asked, leaning forward and putting a hand on Morgause's where it had stilled.
"IâI seem to be having difficulty with this knot."
"Let me help." His concern morphed to wicked promise, and he pulled on the sash until it fell away. The robe gaped down the front, revealing teasing glimmers of womanly swells and curves. "Nothing will compare to your former beauty, my Queen, but this form is delightful."
"I am not disappointed at all," Morgause purred, shaking herself free and put her hands on his head, guiding him to her abdomen, where he swiped his tongue across her stomach.
"Stop!" Lux reached for the magic again, dismayed to find it pulling away from her. With everything she had, she wrestled it back, and Lamorak flew across the room, hitting the stone wall with a bone cracking splat.
"Lamorak," Morgause cried out, staring at her hands.
The demon stood and grasped his broken arm. With a grunt, he twisted the limb until it popped back into place, healing almost immediately.
"Morgan warned me you might take a moment to adjust to this new power, and while I have no problems with pain, I will wait to come to you until you are more in control. It's far more enjoyable if pain is intentional."
"Lamorak, no," she begged, but her lover kissed her temple and departed. Dropping back into the seat before the vanity, she leaned forward until her nose nearly touched the mirror. What she saw there caused her to gasp in horror and throw her hands over her mouth.
Lux's feelings were quite the opposite. Instead of horror, she found hope, and this time, when she wanted her mouth to move, it did.
"I hope y'all didn't think I was gone."