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Damien
He let the kiss linger on.
The tension he’d felt in Anna began to melt away. He could feel her body relaxing as they stood together on the balcony, lips locked together. Part of him longed to do more, to let his hands roam her body, to make a claim to the rest of her then and there.
But he refrained. Despite his desires, Damien knew that doing so would not only be more than she was comfortable with but would ruin whatever it was that was happening between them right then. He had no desire to do that, so instead he let it carry on, simply enjoying her taste and the squeeze of her arms around his neck.
Her mouth parted for him, and as their tongues slid softly against each other, one of Anna’s hands dug her fingers into the hair at the back of his head, clutching him tight. He fought back a shiver of delight at the tiny sensation.
The interest and attraction he felt toward this woman was surprising. Anna wasn’t the only one caught off guard by it, though Damien had never let her catch on to that. She needed his steady calm, he could tell, and so he’d kept his thoughts to himself.
Finding someone like her was the last thing he’d expected or planned to happen after his fateful plunge through the portal. Now here he was, with an unexpected opportunity for—for what? Truthfully, neither of them knew what might develop between them, and Damien wasn’t sure what to make of it.
He just knew he liked it.
At last, he pulled back, the two of them coming up for air, all tiny smiles and heated cheeks. Her hands dropped down from his neck and along his arms. Snagging her fingers in his own before she could completely pull back, he held on tight, giving her hands a squeeze. Anna smiled broadly and squeezed back, leaning in to rest her head on his chest.
“That was nice,” she said quietly. “That was really nice.”
“I agree. Maybe we could do it again?”
Anna laughed softly. “I would be okay with that.”
So, they did, this time holding each other’s hands the entire time. When they broke apart a second time, they shared a moment of silence, just watching the other’s face, little half-smiles tugging at the corners of their lips. So much went unspoken just then, and yet was said all at the same time.
“Thank you for bringing me up here,” he said. “I feel much better under the open sky. I don’t mind being underground, but the tight spaces are a bit claustrophobic and—”
He was interrupted by a shrill voice from behind. “What the hell are you doing up here?”
Damien spun, instinctively putting Anna behind him in a protective measure.
“Who is that with you?” Master Loiner snapped. “Is that one of the students?”
He groaned. Why her? Of all people, who did it have to be this bitch?
Anna stepped around him. “Good evening, Master Loiner.”
“Initiate Sturgis! I should have known someone as insolent as you would think they could get away with...with...”
“With what?” Anna said.
“With breaking the Coven’s rules! Being with one of them,” the Master spat.
Damien didn’t know what to do. His dragon was screaming at him to deliver a thunderous blow of electrical energy straight into the uppity woman’s face and send her catapulting back down the stairs. It howled its desire and even opened the passageways in his mind to call upon his powers.
But Damien was the one in control, and he shut everything down immediately. The woman was a xenophobic bitch, but she was also technically senior to Anna, and a Master he’d been told to obey. This put him in a sticky situation. After all, Damien wasn’t the only one who would suffer if he acted against her.
If she so much as touches Anna, I’ll blast that smug look off her face. Permanently.
That was something he would not tolerate, but verbal harassment and punishment for breaking the rules? What was he supposed to do about that? They’d both known the risks they were taking by being together. He wanted to stick up for her, to say something, but...but how? How could he do that and not endanger the sanctuary his kind had found at Winterspell?
His indecision left him silent as Loiner continued to lay into Anna.
“You betray your own kind, Sturgis. Fraternizing with them, they who brought their war to our land. We don’t need them, don’t want them. You should know better.”
“I’m right here, you know. I can hear you talking about me,” Damien said dryly, unable to remain completely quiet.
Loiner looked him up and down, and then just turned her attention back to Anna. “Just wait until the Coven hears about this. I’m going to make sure you never pass your Apprenticeship test. Ever.”
Anna gasped, and began to cry.
Damien shook with fury. They had just been talking about how important that test was to her. That she was willing to consider breaking things off with him completely to focus on it. Now, because of him, she was going to fail it?
“This isn’t her fault,” he rumbled, trying to interject.
“You keep your mouth shut, or you and your entire pathetic race will find themselves evicted from Winterspell faster than you can snap your fingers.”
Damien clenched his jaw tightly, aware he was treading on thin ice. If he said or did too much, others would suffer for his actions. He had to do what was best for his kind. Even if it meant not giving Loiner exactly what she deserved. He slumped backward, feeling defeated in a way he’d never experienced before.
He felt Anna look to him, but he couldn’t stand to see the disappointment in her eyes. The disappointment in him, for backing down.
But what would she have him do instead?
“Let’s go. Right now!” Loiner snapped. “You get back to your quarters. If you’re seen out again, I’ll have your head.”
The sky rumbled ominously above. Loiner glanced at it, and at the expression on Damien’s face, and wisely thought better of provoking him some more. Verbal insults he could take. Threats of violence were another matter entirely.
Anna slipped past him, head down, shoulders slumped forward. She didn’t even look back at him before disappearing down the stairs with Master Loiner behind her.
Damien smacked a fist into one palm helplessly.
Above him, lightning shot across the sky and thunder rolled onward a few seconds later as Damien unleashed his fury. The light show went on for nearly ten full minutes before he recovered his composure, dismissing the clouds that had formed in response to his rage.
“What else was I supposed to do?” he moaned softly, sliding to the ground, burying his face in his hands.
What else could I have done?
