“Right now.”
“Yes.”
“Uh, hold on—” someone protested.
“Come here,” she demanded, rising to her feet.
Cormal was reminded anew that Perian had never tried anything with him, because the fog of lust that wrapped around him was so powerful it blotted out everything else. It was like the world faded away, and there was only him and the woman he wanted. Distantly, he could remember that hedidn’twant women, but it was a faraway thought, not holding up against the undeniable certainty that he wanted this woman more than he’d ever wanted anything.
Her lips were soft and sweet against his. Muffled and barely audible, some part of him pointed out that this was wrong, but it was subsumed under the tide of arousal that flooded him, the certainty that she could give him everything he wanted.
But… why was someone touching him? Part of his brain was clamoring, telling him that this wasn’t right at all, because as much as he desperately wanted to, he couldn’t touch—
Kinan.Oh.
He felt the fireball ignite in his hand as he snapped back to himself, and he had to concentrate far too much on snuffing it out. He’d sworn that he would do anything to help Kinan, and he’d meant it—he just hadn’t imagined that it might bethis.
He was hard and aching, plastered against this carnalion as she continued to kiss him. Did that make it easier to pull on his energy? He was starting to feel lightheaded, the pleasure taking on a surreal, unnatural edge. Everything was growing foggy and distant again, and he knew that wasn’t a good thing. But he suppressed the urge to pull away.
If this was what it cost to help Kinan, then he would gladly pay it.
He became aware that someone was yelling.
“Stop it! Stop it right now!”
What were they saying? If they stopped, then they wouldn’t be able to help Kinan. Wait, was that Kinan—?
“Stop it! Please!”
And as suddenly as it had started, itdidstop. Cormal staggered back, wavered, and would have fallen over, except Perian and Trill were there to support him, Molun and Arvus on either side of them.
Cormal immediately started to feel better, and he assumed that one or both of them was giving him energy. Kinan was hovering anxiously by his side. Brannal had a chaos of elements in his hands, and he was watching over them all.
Yannoma was staring at him contemplatively. She looked… glorious, her face framed in the glowing gold of her loose hair, her eyes bewitchingly bright, her cheeks pink. She couldn’t have looked healthier, and he assumed this was a carnalion well-fed.
It was at once attractive and repellent, knowing what it had cost—but it was also no longer the all-consuming pull it had been. Just like that, he was back to not being attracted to her, just seeing that she was attractive.
For several long moments, there was only the sound of his rough breathing, which finally began to settle back to a more normal rhythm.
“Were you trying to scare me?” he asked, voice coming out a bit rough.
She smiled faintly. “I was curious to see what you would do. Mage Warriors are, traditionally, the hardest to seduce.”
“I would certainly have preferred not to do that in front of all my colleagues,” Cormal muttered.
He’d just made out with someone in front of them. He’d preferred having the moral high ground, thank you very much.
“I was quite sure that you would try to burn me if you came back to yourself.”
“I meant it when I said I would do what I could to help Kinan. He doesn’t deserve any of this.”
Her eyes shifted to Kinan, and her voice was more wondering now. “Truly, I would not have thought it possible. Energy is meant to be contained or consumed. What happened exactly?”
Though it still didn’t sound like she knew more than they did, there was a chance she would have insight the rest of them lacked. They resumed their seats, Cormal insisting that he felt fine now, and they went through the story of what had happened with the wraiths, with Princess Larenia, and, finally, with Perian.
Yannoma made considering noises a few times but let them finish the whole story.
“Istillwould not have said it was possible, but—” She eyed Kinan once more. “You and your sister must love one another very much. You managed to tie yourselves together, though I can’t imaginehow, and it was just enough to keep you here, an… extension of her, if you will, despite the fact that you didn’t have a physical form of your own.”
