Dance of the Damned

Thirty-Two

The intensity of my embarrassment caused my entire body to flush with heat. Not only had Zeddicus caught Bastien and me on the verge of having sex, but he also had an unexpected glimpse of my breasts. Although Zeddicus maintained a stoic expression, a mysterious emotion flickered in his eyes, evading my recognition. It was possibly jealousy but it couldn't have been, could it?

"I apologize. We didn't realize how carried away we had become," Bastien said, rising to his feet and nonchalantly draping his arm around me, a mischievous smirk playing on his lips. His hand traveled down from my waist to my ass, pulling me closer to him. "We simply couldn't resist."

Zeddicus, still glaring at both of us, inquired sternly, "Don't you both have bedrooms?" Under the weight of his intense gaze, I squirmed uncomfortably.

"Yes, we will retire there now and continue in private," Bastien replied, flashing a smile at Zeddicus. Before I could react, he swiftly transported us to my bedchambers using his mystical powers.

As soon as the shadows dissipated, I pushed Bastien away from me. "What the hell, Bas?" I demanded, placing my hands on my hips. "I don't know what happened between you and Zeddicus before with that other woman, but don't you dare involve me in your issues."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he responded grimly, the amusement fading from his face.

"You couldn't stop smirking and touching me as if you were staking a claim," I accused, wanting nothing to do with him in that moment. The way he had grabbed my behind and looked at Zeddicus, almost challenging him, was unacceptable. "Sort out your shit, and until you do, I don't want to see you. I refuse to be a pawn between the two of you."

Without waiting for his reply, I stormed out, ignoring his calls as I made my way to the room where Arter was staying. Upon entering, I noticed Arter and Nayte engrossed in a game of chess, both of them startled by my sudden appearance as I slammed the door shut behind me.

"What's the matter? You look furious," Arter remarked, rising from his seat and approaching me with a concerned expression etched on his face. "You're not going to shift, are you?"

"No, I'm fine," I replied, pacing back and forth, trying to calm myself and disregarding their curious gazes. "Trust me, you guys don't want to know. It's just some boy trouble."

"I fail to understand why you would even put yourself in such a situation. It's senseless. Both of them are our enemies," Arter responded.

"Why? Just because you say so? Zeddicus is the only person who can assist me, otherwise, I would never be around him again. I despise him. And Bastien... I care for him deeply, but it seems like he's using me as a pawn to provoke his cousin. Zeddicus even warned me not to trust him and I'm fucking confused," I continued pacing, reminding myself to breathe deeply and not let my anger escalate to the point of harming my brother and Nayte in an instant.

"If the King of Death advised against trusting him, then don't. Don't place your trust in any of these individuals, Ven. You know better," Arter's voice was tinged with desperation, and deep down, I knew he was right. I should have known better. I had grown too comfortable here, forgetting that Zeddicus had mercilessly killed Mira, claimed I was a captive, and had done very little to aid me in controlling my powers so far. But what other choice did I have? He had promised that we would start visiting the Grim Cave every weekend until I learned to harness my abilities.

"I know, I know," I finally conceded. "But I can't help feeling something for him."

"Listen, have your fun, but don't fall for him, okay? Once you have mastered and gained control over your powers, I'll find a way to get you out of here," he assured me.

"The Light Kingdoms would have me executed. We all know that," I argued.

"She's right," Nayte interjected. "You witnessed how they treated her at the ball. They won't budge on their laws. This is the only place Venya is safe, Art."

"Well, now that I'm the heir to Storia, maybe we can change that. We'll address it later, though."

"I agree. For now, we'll work with what we have, just like we always have," I said, taking a seat on the couch, while Arter returned to his spot across from Nayte to resume their game of chess.

"So, you really do like Bastien?" Nayte inquired. Arter shot him a disapproving glare but remained silent.

"I do, but he has some personal issues to resolve first," I admitted. "Something happened between him, Zeddicus, and another girl, and no one wants to discuss it."

"Well, you can't fix anything until you know the full story," Nayte chimed in.

"What if I never uncover the entire truth?" I asked him dramatically.

"Perhaps you can persuade them to disclose it to you," he replied with a mischievous grin. "I have some enigmelix if you'd like to use it."

"You mean drugging the King of Death and his cousin with a truth serum? That's a terrible idea," Arter finally interjected.

"Art is right. There would definitely be consequences for something like that," I agreed, releasing a deep sigh.

"That's what I would do," Nayte shrugged nonchalantly, refocusing his attention on the chess game.

"That's why you're the reckless one," Arter retorted. "Checkmate."

"Damn it, again? Are you sure you're not cheating?" Nayte let out a frustrated breath and ran his hands through his hair. "And I thought Ven was the reckless one since she's the one who got herself kidnapped."

"No, I just have more patience than you. And both of you are reckless," Arter replied. "You've proven it time and time again."

"Like when?" Nayte asked but immediately retracted his question. "Nevermind, don't answer that."

"On that note, I think I'm going to find Dean and see if he'll share any information with me," I stated, rising from my seat and opening the doors. "Thanks for... well, nothing, actually. I didn't uncover a single thing."

"Always happy to help!" Nayte called after me as I exited the room and made my way through the hallways, hoping to locate Dean's room without getting lost.

I was walking down another hallway when I noticed Bastien approaching me, just a few feet away. Our eyes met, and I quickly turned around, intending to go in a different direction and ignore him as he called after me. However, he didn't leave me alone. Instead, he ran up to me and positioned himself right in front of me, blocking my path.

"Bastien, move. I don't want to deal with this right now. Not after this morning," I said, attempting to walk around him, but he persisted in blocking my way.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to use you like that. I can't help but have these feelings for you, Venya. I just couldn't control myself when Zed caught us," he confessed, looking down at me with intensity.

"Why? I'm not involved with him. In fact, I can't stand him. So why would you do something like that?" I demanded, crossing my arms but ceasing my attempts to bypass him.

"Just give me a chance to explain, please. I'll tell you everything. About Orbissa and what happened between all of us, if you'll let me," he pleaded.

"Fine," I replied, allowing him to take hold of my hand and orb us back to my bedchambers.

As I settled down on the couch, Bastien didn't join me. Instead, he appeared nervous and began pacing back and forth.

"What happened?" I pressed after a few moments. "It couldn't have been that bad."

"It was," he replied solemnly.

"Why? Because you and Zeddicus both fell in love with the same girl? And Kalyani killed her?" I asked, hoping to finally get answers to the questions that had been swirling in my mind since the dance last night.

"No. It's because I killed her. Her death is my fault," he confessed, his piercing blue eyes locking with mine.