A Blossom of Flames

When Valentina came into the Red Room, she immediately saw that Faustus was in terrible shape. He was crouched on the edge of the bed, tapping his foot, his expensive doublet rumpled, his hair in disarray, as if he had been running his fingers through it nervously over and over again.

"Lily," he gasped and jumped up. His movements were erratic, uncoordinated. Was he drunk? "At last. I've been waiting for ages."

"He looks like a hunted animal ," Vyxara remarked.

"What happened?" Valentina asked gently as she closed the door behind her. The muffled sounds from the other rooms only faintly filtered through to them.

"They have increased security again. They search everything," Faustus whispered. His eyes darted restlessly around the room. "More and more rooms. More and more thoroughly. The Illuminator has sent for new Essence Weavers from Vandercourt. Experts in... for hidden things."

He walked up and down the room now. His movements reminded Valentina of a trapped wolf.

"They searched my room yesterday," he continued. "Luckily... luckily it was hidden somewhere else. But they asked questions. About 'suspicious activity'. The Illuminator himself interrogated me."

"What did he want to know?"

"Everything. Where I got the money for my 'dissolute lifestyle'. Why I was sometimes seen in the library at night. Whether I had contact with... with 'suspicious people'."

He laughed bitterly. "As if my father hadn't given me enough money to live three lives in luxury. But the Illuminator... he sees corruption and shady dealings everywhere."

"He's finished," Vyxara purred. "Let him talk."

"They're watching me," Faustus muttered. "Everywhere. The Emberwardens are following me. Students whisper behind my back. Even the servants..." He broke off, running his fingers through his hair again. "I'm going mad."

Valentina stepped up to him and gently placed a hand on his arm. He flinched, but then relaxed under her touch.

"You're the only one," he whispered. "The only one I can trust. Who understands me."

"Tell me about this gardener," she said gently. "The one who gave you this artifact? I'm worried about you. What if he betrays you?"

"I... I shouldn't..." He fell silent, his gaze unsteady. "He's dangerous. Knows too much. But he helped me when I was... when I was desperate."

"How did you two meet?"

"In the garden. By a greenhouse. Late in the evening. He... he saw me practicing. For the competition." Faustus swallowed hard. "He said he could help me. Show me better ways. And then..." He broke off.

Suddenly he grabbed her shoulders. "Come with me!" he groaned. "Let's get out of here. To Clairmontine. Nobody knows us there. We could start over."

"Faustus..." She released his hands from her shoulders.

"No, listen!" His voice became urgent. "I have money. More than enough. We could... we could be happy. Together. Away from all this."

"Oh, how sweet ," mocked Vyxara. "He wants to elope with you."

"You can't do that," Valentina said gently. "You know that."

"Why not?" He sounded almost like a defiant child. "What's keeping you here? This place, these lies..."

"My family," she replied calmly. "My obligations. Just like you have yours."

He dropped heavily onto the bed. "I want to see you," he said suddenly. "You. Not the illusion."

"What do you mean?"

"Change back," he begged. "I want to... I want to see the real Lily. Please."

Valentina was confused. "But... you paid a lot of money."

"Please." He held out his hand to her. "Only today. I want... I want to be with you today. The way you really look."

"Do it," Vyxara said annoyed. "Otherwise he'll never shut up."

Valentina activated the pattern in the necklace and the familiar tingling of transformation ran through her body.

A strange expression entered Faustus' eyes, which almost glittered a little as he looked at the blond hair and elegant features of her Lily guise. "You are beautiful," he whispered. "Just as beautiful as Valentina."

His kisses were different this time – tender, almost reverent. His hands gently explored her body, as if he wanted to memorize every curve.

"Let me..." he murmured and slid down her body.

Valentina bit her lip as his tongue began to explore her. It was too intimate, too personal. The brute force of their previous encounters had been easier to bear than this false tenderness.

When his head disappeared between her thighs, Valentina took a deep breath. She knew what was about to happen and yet she wasn't prepared for it. His tongue parted her folds, found her pearl and caressed it with slow, circular movements. She breathed out slowly.

Faustus took his time, clearly enjoying tasting and exploring her. His tongue plunged deep inside her, licking up every drop of her dew. Valentina felt the pressure building up in her abdomen, her muscles contracting and demanding more.

"Just let it happen," sighed Vyxara. "There's no point in fighting it."

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Valentina didn't want to let it happen though, would have preferred to use sheer willpower to stop herself from coming. But of course, her body had its own plans. A tremor ran through her limbs, her breath came in gasps and then the orgasm overtook her with a force that rendered her helpless.

Only a very soft moan escaped her as the waves of pleasure surged through her. Her abdomen pulsed and contracted, and her core throbbed in time with her heart.

Faustus lifted his head and looked at her. His lips were wet with her juices and there was sincere tenderness in his eyes. He climbed back onto the bed and lay down next to her. His hand gently caressed her cheek, his thumb stroked her lower lip.

"Don't be afraid," he whispered. "I'll never be rough with you again."

When he finally penetrated her, he moved slowly, his eyes never leaving her face. "I love you," he whispered again and again. "I love you so much."

Valentina closed her eyes. She just couldn't look at him. This was worse than anything before. This intimacy with someone she hated, who thought she was someone else, who confessed his desperate, misguided love for her...

She wanted it to be over as quickly as possible. Valentina concentrated on the feeling of his manhood inside her, the friction against her inner walls. And then she flexed her muscles down there, rhythmically embracing him, squeezing and releasing, again and again.

Faustus gasped and moaned in surprise and lust. "What are you doing?" he asked breathlessly.

Valentina did not answer. She just increased the pressure, intensifying the contractions. She knew that she gave him unprecedented pleasure like this, so intense, it would bring him to orgasm in no time – and that was exactly her goal.

Faustus came with a loud, helpless groan, pouring himself in several surges deep inside her. Valentina felt nothing, just a slight satisfaction at being in control, albeit in this weird way.

When Faustus sank down beside her, exhausted, she took a deep breath. She had survived it, at least this time. But she knew she had to be careful not to let this grotesque tenderness confuse her.

He held her in his arms for a long time, caressing her, until he actually fell asleep next to her.

"That was... unexpectedly tender ," Vyxara said amused.

"I feel soiled," Valentina thought bitterly.

"Because he loved you instead of brutally taking you?"

"Because it was so wrong. Everything about it."

She rose carefully so as not to wake him. It was time to go, she had another client today.

At the door, she turned around once more. Faustus was curled up on the bed, his features relaxed and vulnerable in his sleep. You could almost forget who he really was.

Almost.

~

As Valentina walked through the dark streets back to the university after the last client, she tried to organize her thoughts.

"That damn gardener," she thought to Vyxara. "He must know more. If he gave Faustus the Eye of Deceit ..."

Again, Vyxara did not answer.

"Vyxara?" Valentina stopped. The cold wind tugged at her coat. "Why don't you talk to me? What do you know about him?"

Silence again.

"That's not like you," Valentina thought worriedly. "You usually have a pointed remark about everything."

"Let's talk about Faustus ," Vyxara said suddenly, the demon's voice unusually serious. "His growing dependence on you makes him dangerous. And vulnerable."

"You're deflecting me," Valentina said. "Why don't you want to talk about the gardener?"

No answer. But Valentina felt the presence of the demon in her mind, tense as a cat ready to pounce.

She continued on her way while the questions circled in her head. The gardener. She remembered the good advice he had sometimes given her, he had a calm, almost reassuring manner... could there be more to him? How would he get his hands on an old demonic artifact like the Eye of Deceit?

A rustling sound made her pause. There, in the shadow of the university gate, sat a black cat. The same cat that had run into her summoning circle, her bankreizh. Its yellow eyes seemed to glow in the moonlight.

Valentina and the cat stared at each other for a long moment. There was something deliberate in the animal's gaze. As if it had recognized her.

Then the cat scurried off in the direction of the gardens.

"What...?" Valentina said.

Vyxara remained silent again. It started to seriously worry Valentina.

In her cold attic room, Valentina dropped exhausted onto her narrow bed.

She thought of Faustus, of his desperate tenderness, his growing paranoia. Part of her felt something like pity for him. Another part remembered his cruelties, his humiliations.

"You could give the Illuminator an anonymous tip," Vyxara suggested, suddenly talkative again. "About the Eye of Deceit. Eastwald would pounce on Faustus like a bird of prey."

"And then?" Valentina stared at the ceiling. "Faustus would end up at the stake."

"Would that be so bad?" Vyxara's voice became velvety. "After everything he's done to you?"

Valentina shook her head. "No. I'm not like that. I don't want to see him dead."

The demon purred in amusement. "Did his gentle lovemaking get to you after all? You're developing a dangerous level of compassion, little Weaver."

"Maybe." Valentina sat up. "But you're developing a dangerous level of secrecy. What aren't you telling me about the gardener? And the cat?"

That eerie silence again.

"Vyxara," Valentina thought firmly. "I thought we trusted each other."

"We do," the demon replied gently. Then after a short pause. "I'm just sticking to the rules."

"What do you mean?"

But Vyxara had fallen silent again.

Valentina pulled the blanket tighter around her in frustration. What was the gardener's secret? Why was Vyxara silent? And what about that black cat that kept appearing? The Illuminator had also shown her a small cat. What was it all about?

She had the feeling that she was on the verge of recognizing a larger pattern. But she was still missing too many pieces of the puzzle.

With a sigh, she extinguished the lamp. It was late, she was exhausted and she needed her sleep.

But when she closed her eyes, she still saw the knowing look of the black cat in front of her.