Cora didn't move an inch. She stayed in place, as if any sudden movement would cause the whole world to come crashing down on them, allowing Maren to be in full control of the situation.
Her heart beat in her chest, and her flesh burned hotter with every second Maren closed in on her.
Maren slipped her arms around Cora's shoulders, bringing her face in closer than before.
"Not that I'm any more experienced than you are," Maren continued, her eyelids heavy but her eyes sharp with passion, "but I've grown rather impatient with you."
Her lips brushed Cora's, the warm scent of wine lingering on her breath. Cora thought she should stop Maren. She'd only had two glasses, but she sucked them down as if they were nothing.
Cora wanted to stop, but now, like most days recently, she found herself crumbling in Maren's presence.
Cora's hands found Maren, slowly traveling up her thighs, settling on the fleshy part that met her waist. Blood rushed through her veins, so loud in her ears she thought Maren might hear it. This wasn't the first time they'd been close like this, nor even the second time.
And yet, it was different.
Before, Cora had only felt the pressure rising within her. She had melted to her desires, unable to hear the beat of her own heart or the agonizing burn at her core. Before, she was a mere bug, magnetized to Maren's light.
But now, beneath the shelter of the blanket, breathing into one another, Cora met her as another woman.
"I really," Maren began, her eyes burning in the dark like orbs of blue fire, "really want you to touch me."
Maren grasped Cora's wrist as she sat up, straightening her spine, and lifted her wrist to her mouth.
Then, she opened her mouth, lips slightly red from the wine, and dragged the tip of her tongue along Cora's wrist.
The sensation sent shivers of pleasure straight to Cora's center, earning a sound that had never before escaped her.
Her free hand moved on its own, savoring the feel of Maren through her nightgown, hesitating just below her breast.
Then, with her free hand, Maren softly grasped Cora's hand in her palm, fixing her fingers directly over Cora's. She guided Cora's hand over the soft mound of flesh and used her strength to grip.
A soft sound escaped Cora once more. Her center burned as Maren ground herself against her ever so slightly, using her tongue on her wrist, biting and lapping at the tips of her fingers, as if they were drenched in honey.
It was the wildest, most delectable sensation she'd felt, testing her sense of control.
And yet, her chest tightened with fear.
What if the guard came in unannounced? What if he saw something and informs Harriet? What if her mother learns about Cora and Maren's midnight activity?
Then Cora remembered — her mother should have arrived late in the night.
"I-Is this how it's going to be now?" Cora asked, her face beat red. "You sneak into my room and make me succumb to this sublime torture?"
"Only if you call the guard off," Maren grinned. "He gave me a rather hard time tonight. I suppose I'm just not used to being denied when I ask for something."
Cora didn't want Maren to stop. She wanted them to continue — to feel Maren's lips on hers, and allow herself to slip away into passionate, tantalizing bliss.
But that feeling would not subside, and that thorned wall around her heart began to thicken and fortify.
"What if I don't?" Cora asked, breathless. "What if I tell him not to let you in under any circumstances?"
Maren blinked, that heated cloud over her eyes had cleared.
"Do you want me to stop?"
Cora turned her face away from Maren, toward the near-embered fire. She didn't know how to respond. Her mind was at war with itself. On one side, anxiety tugged her internal rope, and battling on the opposite end was Maren and Cora's own hot-blooded desires.
She didn't want this to end, but her fear far outweighed her own personal feelings. They may have been blessed by the Stars, but their power was minimal, and the world that was built around them was far more powerful than either of them had ever been.
"It may be best," Cora whispered, looking back at her.
And the disappointment she was met with was like a knife in her gut.
Maren hesitated for a moment; her eyes void of the passion she once saw within them.
Then, she moved off of Cora, tossing the blanket back on the sofa as she slid her slippers on her feet and swiftly made her way toward the door.
Maren paused for a moment, her hand on the doorknob. Cora thought she might say something meaningful like the last time. She thought she might utter something of unity and trust.
But Maren said nothing and escaped through the door.
***
Maren slipped through the doors without a word from the Knight. She wandered back to her room in silence and found her own Knight still sound asleep.
Inside, she spared not a single moment and rested her head on the pillow.
Tomorrow would be one of excitement and chaos. Maren would have to keep her wits about her and needed good sleep.
She closed her eyes, and as the world began to slowly scramble around her, she'd considered that there was something she'd forgotten about. Something important, but she was too absorbed in her own feelings to remember what it was.
***
"It's too late now," Elena spoke to the spirits within her as she trudged through the wood, plant in hand. "The sun has settled. Nemaine had a job for us and now we can't go swimming — I'm very sorry but that's that. And I can't make any more promises because we're going to God knows where in Inaha. One can only hope there's a hot spring we can bathe in. I shall quite literally curse Nemaine if I have to take cold baths for the rest of my life."
Maren sighed internally, realizing she had forgotten about the stone under her pillow.
Elena made it to the clearing, speaking just as loud as she would if she were speaking to another person, and not the dead spirits of animals that inhabited her body.
She set the tree just outside the door and waltzed right into the cottage.
"I'm home!" Elena called, bright and exuberant.
But her cheer quickly faltered. A vine snapped tight around her wrist,yanking her off balance as Massey dragged her toward the back.
Elena blinked, stunned by the druid-beasts speed. "Massey?"
"Quiet, girl," Masselythe hissed.
As she was hauled further into the house, her gaze flicked past the spell room and for just a moment, it was like time slowed.
A pair of deep brown eyes stared back at her.
A pretty face. A young man's pretty face.
Alive, yet soaked in blood.
"Massey, who is—" Elena murmured but was cut off by the force of being thrust into her room.
Elena landed on the clay floor, and when she looked up, her bedroom door was quickly shut.
"Do not even think of coming out until I say so, child," Massey said through the door, their voice harsh. "We have company."
Maren could feel the way Elena's heart beat rapidly — the way tears threatened to fall from her eyes.
Instead of succumbing to her emotions, Elena stood from the floor, dusted her pants off and sat on her bed. She watched the shadows move beneath the door, until Massey moved away.
"We've had visitors before and they've never been so harsh," Elena whispered to Peppertree, a soft smile playing around her lips. "Want to go see what all the fuss is about?"
Pepper moved rapidly back and forth across the length of Elena's forearm in agreement, her light growing just a bit brighter.
"You'll have to dim your light if we do this, Pepper."
The bird relaxed, slowing its pace and the light dimmed so much so, Maren could finally make out the tattoo on her arm.
"Good girl," Elena whispered.
Then, she began to hum a tune — somber, resounding deep in her chest. The melody struck Maren instantly. She'd heard it before, but the memory was so faint she couldn't place it.
Beneath Elena's skin, Pepper struggled to break free. The bird writhed, pushing and pressing, unable to release herself. Maren thought the sensation unsettling, and slightly grotesque, but Elena's indifference steadied her.
Finally, Pepper escaped from her fleshy prison, darting about the room happily.
"Are you ready?" Elena asked. The bird agreed through their connection, and then Elena whispered, "Connexio."
Then, something happened that Maren had never before experienced.
Elena's eyes flashed a brilliant violet color, and suddenly, she was staring back at herself.
Maren gazed at her through the bird eyes. Elena was beautiful, with long black hair, a matching set of dark lashes, deep bronze skin and a tall, willowy physique. But it wasn't her lengths of dark hair or the strength of her cheekbones that drew Maren in.
It was the stone that hung around her neck, wrapped in black twine.
The memory stone.