Cinder stiffened visibly, her throat feeling tight and dry as she searched for words. "Yes.. you did; I.." Her voice trailed off and she cursed the tremble in her voice. Mere hours before, she'd lied flawlessly to Salem about Ruby Rose using the last of the Lamp's questions. Why couldn't she even conjure up a decent excuse for being outside of her mistress' chambers at midnight?
"Are we suffering from selective hearing tonight?"
"No, ma'am.. it's.." Cinder swallowed hard and words slipped out almost instinctively in her attempt to quell Salem's obvious irritation. "It's been so long since I was.. home," she said softly, realizing with a faint pang of horror that she'd spoken the truth. I wasn't supposed to say that.
There was a long silence. Much too long.
"Hm.. it has been." Salem's tone was softer than Cinder expected, yet she couldn't read the inflection in it. That was almost always dangerous. She drew another deep breath and fought the tension in her muscles as they instinctively responded to far less pleasant memories.
The silence deepened again, but Cinder still didn't dare to turn around, nor did she dare to walk away.
It was a long time before Salem spoke again. "I suppose we've been away longer than I realized," she murmured softly, meditatively even. Cinder swallowed, wondering if her words had more than one meaning.
Her posture tensed when she heard Salem's footsteps behind her. A part of her flinched away instinctively, but another part longed to turn around, to run toward the familiar memories. She clenched her teeth and cursed herself silently, starting to excuse herself from the situation, but a warm hand gently settled on her raven hair. She froze.
"You're so tense, Cinder." Salem's fingers were gently weaving their way through Cinder's short, raggedly cut hair. "What is it that's troubling you? Are you unhappy to be home?"
"No, ma'am.." On the contrary, it was quite the opposite. Her first sight of the castle in six months, resting in her own familiar bed— they were small things, foolish things even, but Cinder's heart had leapt like a child's at every sound and sight inside Evernight's walls. The only thing was..
"It's so quiet," she murmured, then hesitated. Was that wrong to say?
"Mhm.. it is." There was an unusual gentleness in Salem's voice and in her touch as she continued caressing Cinder's hair. "It's quite a pleasant change from what we're used to, isn't it?" she mused. "Just you and I, the quiet, and the dark." The faintest soft, husky chuckle followed and her warm breath ghosted across Cinder's neck.
The girl silently cursed herself for the shameful heat pooling between her legs. It's not that way anymore. Not after Beacon. She hated the way her Grimm arm twitched instinctively, either from the memories, or the way that Salem was currently stroking her hand over Cinder's maimed left shoulder with light, lengthy motions.
"I-I should be leaving now," Cinder said, in a stilted monotone that wasn't her own voice. She started to slip away from her mistress' touch, but she paused at the top of the staircase when Salem spoke.
"Why are you running away?" she whispered.
Cinder clenched her right hand around the banister, tiny drifts of smoke emerging from the black wood. She hated the way the need inside of her reared its head again, responding to Salem's tone, her very presence, and Cinder's own vivid memories. She drew a deep breath to steady herself, feeling far too exposed to Salem's eyes despite being fully clothed. She prayed that her mistress couldn't see the way her legs trembled or hear the sound of her heavy breaths.
Slowly, Cinder turned around. Salem standing only a few feet away from her, but that wasn't what made the young Maiden's lone eye widen and her cheeks flush deeply. The dark goddess was clothed in a familiar black velvet robe that was left completely open, revealing the valley of smooth, pale skin between her full breasts. She'd let her white hair down out of its elaborate chignon; most of it hung around her shoulders now, but a few strands had been gathered around her head, woven with small black and red jewels.
Cinder's mind faded to a dangerously blank state. She swallowed hard, but no words came out. The wooden banister she'd twisted her hand around was charred now, filling the air with the aroma of smoke.
"Are you restless, Firefly?" Salem murmured.
Firefly..
The need inside of Cinder exploded into a roaring blaze at the sound of that name. It was terrifying, being able to shape and wield flames with her own hands, yet she had absolutely no control over this intimately familiar burn between her legs. Salem was walking closer to her now, far too close, but she couldn't pull away.
No.. this isn't like before..
Salem's hands settled on Cinder's hips, stroking them gently. "It's only you and I here tonight, little flame."
I.. I'm not worthy..
Cinder barely had a chance to suck in a smoke-tinged breath before Salem's lips captured her own. The kiss was rough and burning, and the young Maiden shuddered, her mind spinning as Salem's velvety tongue explored every familiar inch of her mouth. Instinctively, Cinder began to return the gesture— hesitantly at first, then gaining eagerness, becoming more demanding. She felt Salem's chest vibrate softly against hers as she hummed in appreciation.
Surprisingly enough, it was her mistress that broke the steaming kiss, although just barely. Cinder hurriedly took in breaths of cold air as Salem's lips still ghosted against hers. Her thoughts were muddled and blurry and her body was shaking.
Cinder shuddered softly as Salem's teeth met the flesh on her neck, not hard enough to draw blood, but enough to leave a bruise there. She drew a deep breath of her mistress' scent, of the flowers and wine and smoke.
"I think we should take this to my chamber, Firefly."
Salem's warm hand slipped lightly into Cinder's, and the girl squeezed it with a silent nod.