I’ve not been able to alone. Every time I try, I freeze in fear. Is it… bad to depend on you like this?she had asked.
And Az had gathered her in his arms and whispered,Never. You can always depend on me.
Which led them to where they were now, curled in a bath, the water pleasantly cool, a welcome reprieve from the thick heat of the Fallen Isles.
She was utterly nude, pressed against his side, small feet nudging his calves with every splash. The entire surface was covered in thick bubbles—the only reason she had agreed to disrobe entirely, Az knew.
She had blushed so beautifully when she had asked him to close his eyes as she had taken off her clothes. Not allowing him to look, even as her small fingers had wrapped around his, tugging him to the bathing area in the corner of the room—a small, private space, with more gauzy curtains acting as a privacy barrier. But the curtains offered little in the way of seclusion. Az saw shadows flashing through them as the trees swayed, and the low voices of the others filtered through, too soft for Luella’s ears to pick up. But not him.
Az kept his underclothes on, but his chest was bare, and she kept running her fingers over the side of his ribs, water trickling down her forearms, running in rivulets down their sides. He ached for her—but he would never let her know it. He desired her heart as much as her flesh, and he never wanted her to feel like he coveted her for what she could offer with her body. Not when her heart was so precious.
Az was her safe space, and he would continue to be. No matter the cost.
"Do you think that the celebration this evening will be like the ones in Serpentis?" Luella’s soft voice washed over him.
"I don’t know, Lu." Az wrapped his arm around her shoulders, tugging her closer to his side.
Her knees were tucked up to her chest, and that, combined with the bubbles, kept her entirely hidden from him. He didn’t need imagination anymore to know how enticing and soft her flesh was. The intimate spaces she had allowed him to see, to pleasure.
"I’m scared they will be… I don’t want revelry any longer. I want peace," she whispered, cheek lying on his chest. "I want this. Softness. Forever. Do you think that’s possible?"
He wanted to give her everything she ever desired. She deserved so much. "Anything is possible, my angel. I swear it to you, I will do everything in my power to make sure you have whatever you want. If you wish to stay here, I will tell the Queen you are unwell."
Her knees brushed his side, and he felt his cock twitch at the brush, so close to where he ached for her. He subtly shifted until his lower half was directed away from her, ignoring how her cute brows furrowed as he pulled away.
"What if—what if I wish to leave this place?"
He swallowed, hearing the others beyond the curtains go deadly quiet as they listened in. "What do you mean?"
"What if we run away like we did before. We can go where no one may find us," she said, soft as a secret.
Az felt her emotions through their bond, a tangle of fear, anxiety, and longing. That was why he knew she did not truly mean it.
"Would you really, Lu?" He kept his voice low, a quiet grumble he knew soothed her. "Because I think somewhereinside you, you wouldn’t want to leave…" What went unsaid waswhomhe thought she didn’t wish to leave.
The four males listening in on every word said, every splash of water, and every hitched breath.
She grew silent, until:
"You’re right. I think if I disappeared, a part of me would always wonder."
Her wings fluttered behind her, and he watched with rapturous, wide eyes. The small twitches cascading throughout the feathers made her arms tremble, and he wanted to touch them himself, make her shiver from his fingers.
Az was tasked with bringing her to pleasure, but how could he force this? How could he begin this? She was so naive, so gentle, and trusting.
"When we were locked away, Lu, we felt—Ifelt what you did." His words hung in the air, warm from the constant breeze that drifted through the curtains. Even the bathwater had grown warm from their bodies.
"Oh, y-you did?" Luella replied, but he had the feeling she had already known.
Az hummed. "Was it good, Lu?" he prodded, not wanting her to know he knew that Bastian had been the one to instigate it all.
She rubbed her cheek against his chest like a feline. Silence lingered, and waves of hesitant determination flowed down their bond. "It was. Very g-good. But Az?" Luella turned until she sat up on her knees, water splashing around them and bubbles clinging to her breasts. "Bastian came to me in dreams, he spoke in my mind and… I cannot say it." Her lashes fanned her cheeks as she looked away.
Az caught her chin, holding her face delicately. "It’s okay. You can tell me, angel."
"Heledme through it," she said, voice wavering under the intensity of his stare, and he hated that she felt like this might anger him.
He kept his expression soft. "I’m glad he was there for you, Lu."
