Ch 5: The Cold Eyes

Astasha set her glass down on a table as she wound her way through the festivities. Having performed a quick spell when their hands had touched, tethering Calder's energy to her, she could sense where he was and knew he was following her. No sooner had she slipped into the crowd, had he excused himself from the conversation he was in, and headed after her.

While she knew he was smart and wouldn't make it obvious, he was quickly starting to catch up, and she worried someone might notice him rushing after her into the woods, so she quietly uttered under her breath, and with a flick of her wrist, a rush of air pushed a servant carrying a tray of glasses, right into his path.

A smile broke across her lips as she heard the poor soul apologizing profusely for getting in his way, while Calder graciously tried to take the blame. He had always been so humble, never viewing himself above anyone. It was part of what she had loved about him, still loved about him if she was being honest.

She knew he was making sure not to lose sight of her, but she risked a glance anyway before slipping out of the garden and into the forest. There was a look on his face, almost a hunger, and he followed quickly after her.

Stepping a little further into the trees where she knew they wouldn't be easily found or seen, she stopped. Her heart was racing but she tried to still it. She had a job to do. This wasn't like before, when she would sneak away from her cottage and her mother's watchful eye, to meet her handsome Prince in the woods. It wasn't her luring him away to seduce him either, although she couldn't deny the feeling in her stomach that longed for his touch. No, she tried to remind herself, this was her doing the Grand Sorcerer's bidding; getting him close and vulnerable so she could feel his true self without interruption or resistance. She only hoped her emotions wouldn’t get the better of her.

Despite her attempts to bury her feelings as she sensed him approaching, her heart still jumped as his hand brushed down her arm.

"Tasha..."

She turned.

He was right behind her, so close she could smell him. It was intoxicating. She hadn't realized how much she had loved the smell of him until having gone without it for so long.

"We can't be here for long, people will start to wonder–"

"You have no idea how much I missed you." He stepped even closer to her, his breath like a soft breeze on her cheek. "I thought about you every day. You're even more beautiful than I remember." He reached up and ran his hand through the hair that framed her face, her eyes closing involuntarily at his touch.

"Calder, you know we can't." She had had every intention of simply getting him alone to speak with him, to search inside him while he opened up to her, but her mind was having a hard time concentrating, and all she wanted was to feel more of his touch.

Damnit, Astasha! Focus! she told herself.

"I spent five years with nothing to keep me going through the hardest trials of my life, but the thought of seeing you again," His hand touched her cheek.

“Cal…” It was the first time she had spoken his nickname in five years, and it made her heart tremble, but despite her feeble attempt to sway him, he simply leaned in, his other hand gently resting on her hip, as if it had spurred him further. 

"The thought of holding you in my arms… kissing you." His thumb trailed across her lips which gently parted as her breath caught. Every fiber of her being felt like it would burst into flame. She opened her eyes to see his own looking into her soul, his body standing over her, so close she could feel the warmth of him, and it made her yearn for more.

"Things are different now. Please, Cal, you know it's forbidden." Her voice was barely a whisper.

He looked at her for a moment, taking her in, his gaze searching over her mouth, meeting her eyes that burned with flames of desire, before shaking his head. "I don't care."

Wrapping his hand in the back of her hair, he pulled her face to his, slamming his lips into her own with a ferocity she had never experienced before.

Senses exploded inside Astasha as she lost complete control of her power. It was like she was on fire, the flames moving through her into him.

His hands moved over her, from her hair, down her shoulders, touching her sides as they moved to her waist. She realized her own were doing the same, one on his sculpted chest, the other tangled in his shaggy, blonde hair. Their tongues danced together, heat rising between them.

Suddenly, she felt her back slam into a tree.

He had never been this rough, this out of control with passion, before. His hands continued to explore, grasping her breasts, grabbing her neck.

The force of her body hitting the wooden trunk had pulled her from the fog that had taken over her mind. There was a reason she was here. A job she had to do. She needed to find out what she had sensed during the ritual, and after all, she had wanted him vulnerable. While this hadn't been her intent, it was the perfect moment. His guard was down, his mind distracted.

Taking the opportunity, she focused herself and sent little feelers of energy out, winding their way into him.

His actions became more aggressive as he began to drag the bottom of her dress up. She tried to ignore it, pushing her power further into him, searching for his essence, for the part of him she knew was locked behind a defensive wall. What was it that had happened? That had caused the change in him she felt?

The man she had grown to know so well was there, but as she pressed deeper, something was different.

A shiver ran down her spine. There was a presence, dark and sinister, with an energy vastly different than the one she knew.

Something was wrong. Calder wasn't himself, she could sense it.

Astasha tried to slow his hands from their frantic groping, but he responded by biting her lip. Her eyes shot open in shock and pain as she tasted blood, but what she saw when they did, made panic grip her like a vice.

His eyes were open and watching her, but instead of the majestic blue she was so familiar with, they were cold and dead, like a corpse looking out at her from within him.

"Stop!" She pushed him away, both physically and with a force of energy. The Prince was blown back a few feet, bewilderment covering his face.

Astasha was panting, trying to regroup. She looked back into his eyes but saw only confusion in the deep wells of blue. Whatever had been there, was gone.

"I—I'm sorry..." said Calder. "I don't know what came over me."

She watched him for a moment before collecting herself. "We need to return, people will be looking for you."

And with that, Astasha hurried past him back toward the party, her mind reeling, the Prince still standing alone amongst the trees.