Queen vs. The Subtle Art of Seduction

2

"You should know… I don't teach half-measures."

Astra's breath fanned against Eydis's skin, warm, certain. Then a softer, more dangerous murmur followed.

"And you, Eydis? You need to stop pretending you don't want to learn."

The space between them was vanishing, slowly, torturously, until it was nothing but breath. But despite the surety in her tone, despite the effortless way she wielded control, Astra hesitated.

Her crimson eyes flickered downward, dipping to Eydis's lips and staying there. Too long.

As if drawn. As if fixated. As if afraid of what Eydis's gaze might reveal.

And yet, she neither moved away nor closed the space between them. She waited.

For Eydis.

To decide. To bridge the gap.

Heat coiled. It wasn't the blaze of battle or the all-consuming burn of wrath or vengeance. It lured, enveloped, invited.

Eydis bit her lip. "Screw it."

Her words, rough and impulsive, grazed Astra's lips, erasing the final sliver of distance. Collapsed into a single point of contact.

It was a touch both gentle and devastating at once. Eydis felt it in the featherlight brush of Astra's mouth against hers. Neither of them moved at first, yet even that barest touch felt like drowning.

Eydis had never tasted wine, yet this was intoxication.

When she moved, Astra's breath hitched as she pressed firmer, breaking through that last delicate restraint. A sigh. A shift. A parted mouth, like a quiet, whispered finally.

Like it was meant to be.

Eydis heard everything. Every fragile, almost delicate sound pierced the thunder of Eydis's pulse.

And Astra, who was always holding herself back, was kissing her like she had been waiting. A slow press, tentative at first, then lingering. Testing, tracing, mapping, memorising the shape of Eydis's mouth.

Astra sighed against her lips, and Eydis nearly groaned. Fingers found the curve of Astra's waist, feeling the warmth sparking at the answering hitch of breath.

Astra's hands rose, gliding up the length of Eydis's throat, tracing the curve of her jaw, tilting her face up; just enough to set the pace, to guide her, to command her.

But Eydis wasn't one to be led.

Her touch traced down Astra's back, teasing, light, barely there, then decisive. She grabbed Astra by the waist and yanked her closer, hard. Bodies collided, heat against heat, pulse against pulse.

A gasp escaped Astra, a sound stolen by the kiss, breathless and startled, before she lost her footing completely, tipping forward until she was straddling Eydis, knees pressing into the mattress on either side of her hips, thighs locking around her.

And her body was betraying her. Skin burned, chest heaved, heartbeat drummed wild and hungry. Just like Eydis.

The line between excuse and choice, between pretense and desire, blurred, then vanished entirely, leaving only raw sensation. Then, with a painful reluctance, Eydis broke the kiss.

But only because she needed to see. And what she saw…

Ruined her.

Astra. Wrecked, in the most beautiful way.

Pupils blown wide. Lips, parted, swollen, glistened and trembling, a flush spilling down her throat.

Eydis managed a rough smile. "Well… am I a good student?"

No answer. Astra was too busy breathing.

Eydis's smile widened. Nails scraped lightly along Astra's waist, tracing the barest line down Astra's spine before sliding up again, up her back, gripping the base of her neck—

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And pulling.

Astra groaned. The sound was soft, breathless, shattering.

Eydis smirked against her lips. "Nothing to say?" she teased.

She let her fingers tangle deeper in Astra's hair, let her lips barely graze against hers, just to feel the way Astra shuddered in response.

"Professor?"

Astra shivered.

Eydis felt Astra's thighs tighten around her hips, felt the weight of her pressing down, felt the way her hands slipped from her jaw to her hair, fingers tangling, nails grazing against her scalp—

And that— That did something dangerous to Eydis.

Astra's tongue flicked over her lower lip, catching, tasting, savouring the last trace of the kiss.

Eydis's mind emptied. She barely noticed Astra's fingers twitching against her skin, the gaze that dipped, almost disappointed. Because her own gaze had already dipped back down.

To Astra's lips.

Did they taste as good as they smelled? Sweet, like cherry? She had never done this before.

Any of this.

Cautious, curious, she licked her own lips, feeling the imprint of Astra's heat. Her body thrummed with something she didn't have the words for. Before she could second-guess herself, she trailed the very tip of her tongue against the seam of Astra's lips.

Exploring.

Astra's breath stilled, but the fingers in Eydis's hair clenched. Hard. Eydis didn't know why it thrilled her, only that it did. Too much. The tug tore a growl from her chest before she could stop it.

She needed more: more of Astra's raw breaths, more of the betrayed sounds she made when control slipped, more of the shy vulnerability only Eydis could draw out.

Her lips tasted Astra's, teasing, stealing the wetness, the heat. Almost instinctively, almost wantingly. She had never known an urgency like this, a need to press, to learn, to claim.

And so she did.

Her tongue slipped past Astra's lips, swallowing the sharp, startled intake of breath, feeling the shudder, the way her body stilled, then melted.

And what answered her, what pushed back, was fire. Astra matched, studied, and smiled against Eydis's lips as if victory was already hers.

And it was utterly disorienting.

The kiss deepened, hotter, slower, messier, devouring. Astra responded with the kind of deliberate, languid, teasing movements that set Eydis's blood thrumming, as if she was both learning the rhythm of Eydis's kiss and rewriting it at the same time.

The pace changed, as if Astra had found something she liked and wanted to set fire to it.

Eydis barely held back a groan while Astra's nails raked through her hair, a touch violent enough to ruin her, to erase everything except this moment.

Astra drew back a fraction. "You fight dirty, Your Majesty." Her smirk promised more.

Eydis's lips chased Astra's. "What can I say?" The words dropped low, indulgent. "I don't believe in half measures either."

Astra's pupils darkened.

The kiss turned hungry. Astra's fingers curled tighter in her hair, not letting her go, not letting her think. Then, suddenly, Astra pushed.

Down.

The world tilted. Eydis's back hit something firm, Astra following, pressing her down, breath scorching her lips.

Yet something was wrong.

Through the haze came a ragged, shallow inhale that was not Astra's. Eydis stiffened. Astra's weight was warm against her, her fingers still tangled in Eydis's hair, but the heat at her back burned with fever.

Natalia.

Reality slammed into place. Eydis jerked away, breathless, scattering the spell Astra had cast over her senses.

Astra pulled back too. They froze, lips parted, wants colliding with truth. In her eyes, there was a faint shimmer that made Eydis's stomach drop.

The vulnerability. The almost-hurt.

Astra sighed, a slow, drawn‑out exhale. Her hands slipped from Eydis's shoulders with lingering tenderness. She cleared her throat, but it was too raw, too low.

"You can…" She forced the words. "You can help Natalia now."

The words didn't match the way she looked at Eydis.

Before Eydis could answer, Astra turned, jamming her hands into a denim pocket and heading for the door.

Something inside Eydis pulled tight. Her fingers closed around Astra's elbow, stopping her.

Astra jerked at the touch, and something fell between them. A cigarette. Small, almost trivial. Eydis knew better.

"You smoke, Astra?"

The words weren't an accusation, weren't even curiosity. She was stalling. She could not watch Astra walk into the night alone or leave with that hurt still glimmering in her gaze.

Astra's lips parted, then closed. She stepped back, eyes sliding from the floor to Eydis's mouth to the door. "I need to go." The words were almost too soft.

Eydis refused. She rose fully from the bed, closing the gap between them. Her hands found Astra's waist. Step by step, she nudged Astra gently backward, their bodies nearly brushing, until Astra's back met the worn timber of the door.

She cupped Astra's cheek and traced the delicate line of her jaw, feeling the tension there. Leaning in, she brushed their lips together—no claim, no desperation, only a gentle promise.

We will talk about this.

A promise that Eydis would tell her everything: that Astra was the Saintess, that they were meant to stand on opposite sides, that their fates were tangled in a way neither of them had fully grasped yet.

And when the time came— She would let Astra decide.

For a moment, there was nothing but the slow, steady press of lips. The kiss was barely there, but Eydis felt the way Astra melted into the touch just slightly, how the tension in her shoulders softened.

A thought intruded. Eydis had watched Astra heal wounds too quickly, too cleanly. A Saintess could heal what had been broken, body and more.

So why was Natalia still suffering?

Her mind caught up before her breath did.

Unless… whatever plagued Natalia wasn't just Lust. It was something Astra couldn't touch. Something her power refused to acknowledge.

She pulled back with a reluctant sigh, her breath lingering between them like an unfinished sentence.

Astra kept watching her, curiosity stronger than confusion.

Eydis smiled; the hurt in Astra's eyes was gone. "I think there's another way to help Natalia."

Surprise flickered across Astra's face, then the walls came up again. "What are you thinking?" The playfulness was gone, replaced by careful control.

"Can you drive a car, Astra?"

One eyebrow arched. Wariness glinted, then amusement. Her lips tilted.

"I can do better than that."

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