Above the Winter Skies [English Version]

23

We stayed on the deck for a while longer before eventually returning to the ballroom. Cassiel dragged me to the buffet and piled way too much food onto my plate. We found a free table, ate, talked, and talked some more for hours. Well past midnight and after another bottle of wine, he pulled me onto the dance floor again, and we danced for what felt like forever. Michael didn't show up again, but Luxvera made a brief appearance. She looked incredible in her sky-blue, expansive evening gown, with her golden hair artfully piled up and a few loose curls gently falling across her face—like a queen. A pang of jealousy shot through me when she and Cassiel embraced warmly, but then I gasped in surprise as she hugged me too, enveloping me in her lilac scent.

Afterwards, she twirled away, and Cassiel pulled me close. "You don't need to be jealous," he whispered in my ear.

Of course, he had sensed it. Embarrassing. "I'm not," I claimed. "For that brazen lie, I should really put you over my knee. I've known Luxvera my entire life. I love her, but she's like a sister to me. You can believe me, there is only one woman I'm interested in right now. And I don't think that will change anytime soon."

Could he really mean me? Or was that just my delusional wishful thinking? I didn't know what to say. So many things were on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn't find the right words. I only knew that I felt the same. There was only one man I wanted to be with, and that was him. I had felt it for days, and now, under the cover of darkness and intoxicated by music and wine, I dared to admit it to myself for the first time. But our days together were almost numbered, and I didn't want to think about Cassiel soon disappearing from my life and how much it would break me. So I laid my head on his chest again, listened to his heartbeat, let him hold me, and let the music carry me away.

We only went back to the suite in the early hours of the morning. Cassiel did not make good on his threat to punish me for my half-hearted lie. Instead, he pulled me close in bed, my back against his chest, and gently entered me from behind. He kissed my shoulder, my neck, stroked me, whispered in my ear how beautiful I was, how crazy I drove him. He moved at just the right rhythm, tender yet firm enough to bring me to one climax after another.

When we finally fell asleep, exhausted, hours later, it was already broad daylight outside.

"Just seven more days!" Nova squealed. She bounced up and down in her chair, clapping her hands like a little child. "Seven days and you'll see paradise, the heavenly realm! God, Lumi, believe me, it will leave you speechless! And breathless! It will knock you out!"

I was sitting with her in the lower dining room, enjoying coffee and cake, which were served in the afternoon. For once, Torin was there too, having the day off. The two of them were sitting closely together, exchanging such loving glances that I couldn't help but be happy for them, even though my own love was so tragic.

Lyndor was nowhere in sight, and I was glad about that. I knew he was still in charge of the Regent Suite, even though I hadn't run into him there, thankfully. He had most likely noticed what was going on between me and Cassiel, and probably figured out that I had tricked him into giving me the password. I still felt ashamed about that and wasn't particularly eager to run into him.

I forced a smile, but it came out a bit crooked. "I'm looking forward to it," I said half-heartedly, stirring my coffee, but in truth, I was heartbroken.

Just seven days.

I didn't want to be sad, because after these seven days, my new life would finally begin. My real life, one where I could make my own choices, where I was free. I should have been excited. Just one more week and I would be handsomely rewarded for my work on the ship, for my time with Cassiel. Yet, I didn't even want the money anymore. It felt awful to be paid for what we had together. It felt sordid, wrong. As if it devalued our time together, but that was nonsense. I needed to pull myself together because I couldn't change the facts and the money would come in handy.