17 Eternal Flame

“Maya this is the most insane thing I’ve let you talk me into yet!” Phoenix hissed as he laced his fingers together and hoisted Maya up so she could grip the stone walls surrounding the palatial medieval manor. “Not only is this place surrounded by armed knights – the very same ones who helped toss you into that fire pit, but there will be hell to pay if we get caught gatecrashing the Storyteller’s masquerade ball!”

Maya pulled herself up, then crouched down on the top of the ledge and extended her hand down to her clandestine paramour so he could pull himself up as she flashed a devilish grin. The rest of her face was obscured by the semi-covering helmet resting atop her raven locks even though her eyes twinkled impishly through the peepholes.

“The problem with you, old man is you have no sense of adventure!” She chided playfully. “Tonight is all about celebrating the magic of me coming back to life! And what better way to rejoice in this miracle than literally attending a party?”

“But who knows what kind of ramifications we’ll face if we get caught?” Phoenix protested as Maya dragged him towards the secret underground entrance that only the Labyrinthian knights used. “It will cause a major uproar in the village, especially if Barnham spots us – since HE, like everyone else, thinks you’re dead!”

“Dead men tell no tales?” Maya snickered as she pressed a finger to his lips, silencing his next objection before he could make it. “Nor do they show up at costume parties! Nobody will ever suspect me – OR you, since you’re wearing that Zorro mask!”

“Maya!” Phoenix groaned as they entered the darkened secret passageway and heard the blaring music going on ahead in the distance. “I swear I don’t know why I let you talk me into these things!”

“Because you LURVE me!” She winked, a knowing smirk on her lips as she suddenly stopped in her tracks and yanked him by the tie so his lips were only inches from hers. “Not that you’d be able to deny it, since I have my trusty magatama on hand, but also because Espella told me how morose you were when you thought I had gone to the Twilight Realm!”

“Guilty!” Phoenix sighed rapturously as she ran her fingers through his spikes with one hand and ran her fingernails over his chest with the other. “Not that you could deny it either! You’re not the only one who has a mystical gemstone you know!”

“I wouldn’t dream of it!” Her voice turned into a sultry purr. “Plus, don’t tell me you’re not finding the extra element of the dangers of being caught kinda hot, Nick! But methinks the gentleman might require some extra…persuasion to complete our stealthy mission tonight.”

She pulled him even closer and, raising one slender leg, wrapped it around his hip.

“Have I told you how dead sexy you look in that mask, Sir Blue Knight?”

Powerless to resist her, Phoenix felt his pulse race as he realized exactly what her intentions were, and with a moan of defeat, pushed her back against the tunnel wall, this time having no objections whatsoever as her fingers deftly began pushing his suit jacket down his arms and then began unbuttoning his shirt.

“Maya Fey, you make me burn hotter than any fires in any pits in all of this damn medieval town,” he growled, before he pressed his searing lips against her throat, making her gasp and arch against him. “Even if we get busted, I’d rather be in hell with you than in heaven with anyone else.”

“Light my fire, Sir Blue Knight,” Maya whispered as his mouth slid up her neck to claim hers. “You’ll always be MY eternal flame.”