by Rory Miles
“I guess our little friend needs a bit more encouragement.” The knife embeds in her thigh. She grunts this time, gritting her teeth and intentionally not screaming.
“This was not the plan; I hope you’re not disappointed,” Carnivea whispers to me, a frown pulling at her lips. “She’s usually so well behaved. I can’t imagine what’s gotten into her.”
“It’s fine,” I say, focusing again on the sylph who is now staring at me. A manic grin slashes across her face.
Carnivea sighs. “Why do the creatures always like you best?”
Raising an eyebrow, I ask, “Really?”
She chuckles. “Succubus. Creator, what I wouldn’t give for some of that allure.”
“I’m sure you’d give a lot.”
“What?” she asks, eyes searching mine. “What does that mean?”
With a shrug, I say, “Nothing, dear, it was just a badly delivered joke.”
She narrows her eyes, but seems to believe me. “All right then.”
“Where is he?” the sylph shouts. “Where is the Lord of Shadows?”
I’m careful not to let anything show on my face as I ask Carnivea, “Who is she talking about?”
Carnivea’s brows scrunch together. “I have no idea. Liko, my love, I think your pet needs some rest.”
Liko bows before yanking on the chains.
“I feel the shadows, demon! Where is he?” The little fae continues to shout questions as she’s shoved into the box. When Liko slams the lid closed on the still-injured sylph, I begin to worry about her ability to heal. Between the iron and the runes, it’ll be nearly impossible for her natural healing powers to kick in.
“Ugh, the fae, am I right?”
“Mm,” I say to humor the duchess. I watch the stagehand rush on stage to clear the set. Liko hops off the front of the platform and plops onto the pillow next to Carnivea.
“The little creature was rather defiant tonight.”
He scoffs at her observation. “A week in the box without food will set her straight.”
A week without food and still injured?
How did she know about Draven? She said she felt him. . . does that mean the sylph felt the shadows within me? The pieces of the Lord of Shadows that are now a part of me thanks to the fae bond?
“I’ll fix this.” Carnivea stands and struts on stage, skirts swishing with the sway of her hips.
“Well, not all acts go as planned. Now, I have a rather delightful surprise for you all.” She snaps her fingers, and someone jumps up to go retrieve her surprise. She smirks at the crowd. “I’ve always wondered what would happen if you pitted a starved snake demon against a starved vampire. Would they bite each other to death? Whose would be more vicious?”
A man runs to her, pausing her speech, and whispers in her ear.
“What do you mean gone?” Her eyes flit to me. “You’re certain?”
The man whispers some more words, hands gesturing wildly.
Liko side-eyes me, scenting the air and no doubt my fertility. “So, succubus, are you single?”
Devil below, really?
Carnivea glares at me, clearly having heard his words. She says a few words to the messenger before he runs off again. “Liko, Shera doesn’t want to sleep with you.”
Liko pouts. “Why not? I’m attractive.”
Wow, she’s got great taste in demons.
“Why are you here?” She steps down the stairs, hands on her hips. “Why did the succubus who’s never given a shit about me and my games suddenly decide to show up?”
“Curiosity finally got the best of me.”
Her fingers are white at the tips from pressing down so hard. Carnivea is pissed. Time to go.
I stand, brushing invisible dirt off of my shoulders. “I lied earlier, you know. I’m extremely disappointed in what I’ve seen so far. Really, I expected more from the Duchess of Obscenity.”
“Bitch.”
“Guilty,” I say, laughing a little. “I guess I’ve overstayed my welcome. Do give my love to Levia.”
She seems surprised by that, but quickly recovers. “Liko, stop her.”
“Don’t,” I tell him and he pauses mid-rise, looking between her and me.
“If you wish to live past this night, you will not let the succubus leave.”
Now that’s just funny. Does she forget who she’s dealing with?
“Liko,” I say sweetly, “remind me, where on the power scale do you fall?”
“I’m mostly pure of blood.”
Hm. An exaggeration if his essence is any indication. He’s half-pure, half-lower.
“Remind me where I fall?”
He scrunches his face in thought. “Within the first?”
I tsk. “Didn’t your parents teach you anything? Succubi are outside the hierarchy, but my power rivals the strength of Lucifer when I’m fully sated.”
His eyes go to Carnivea, who is now glowering at me. “Stop her.”
“Babe,” he pleads so much with that little nickname, but she doesn’t seem to care.
“Probably shouldn’t have asked me if I was single.”
As if finally understanding his mistake, his eyes go wide. “Carni, love, don’t be mad. I was asking for us.”
I start to back away, not really expecting to make it far, but it never hurts to try. When I bump into the table behind me, her focus flies to me.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
I laugh. “Are we really doing this then?”
She finds none of this funny, and says, “One wish.”
With a dramatic sigh, I place my hand on my hips and look around the crowded room. The demons are watching with rapt attention. I wonder if they think this is part of the show.
Well, we wouldn’t want to disappoint them, now would we?
“I accept what is proffered,” I say with all the air of a demon princess. Carnivea is making a mistake, but she’s past any sort of rational conversation.
Her eyes are dark blue and silver, swirling like the eye of a hurricane. “Speak what you desire.” With her words, the room falls away and I find myself in a strange fog-filled space.
Knowing how Anakin and Micah’s powers work, I don’t panic. We’re still in the room, the illusion is just part of the wish magic.
With a smirk, I tap a finger against my lips. Thinking of the perfect solution, I narrow my gaze and say, “I wish for you to be left alone, for eternity in Avernus’s wastelands, with no touch, no one to talk to while I flourish wherever I’m meant to be. An eternity of nothing for the years of pain you gave me.”
At least I’m smart enough to clearly state what I want.
The fog starts to swirl and she shouts, “No! You can’t.”
“Oh?” I raise my eyebrows as her feet disappear into the mist. “I think I just did.”
“You’ll pay for this,” she promises, fist shaking at me.
“I guess if your lovers care enough about you to seek revenge, they can try. But, seeing as Liko doesn’t give a shit, I doubt you’ll have a fairytale ending.”
The mist has nearly covered her torso and the fog falls away, placing us back in reality. The demons gasp as the mist continues to climb.
“Carni?” Liko asks, mouth hanging open in surprise.
“Come for me?” she asks with distinct uncertainty.
Liko doesn’t answer, and the wish magic fully consumes her body, banishing her to the wastelands.
“Well, I do love being right.” I clap Liko on the shoulder, a thanks for being predictable, and drop my glamour. “Take me to the box.”
His eyes widen and when he grabs for me, I smack his hand away.
“First the box.” I shove him toward the stage so he can take me back to wherever they’re keeping the sylph.
“Thank you all for coming, the next show will start momentarily.”
A low born demon who doesn’t understand I’m joking starts to clap. The female next to him grabs his hands and shakes her head, whisperi
ng furiously at him. His confused look is the last thing I see when Liko leads me behind the curtains. I hear the crowd grow louder now that I’ve left the room, but I don’t worry they’ll come after me. Most are too scared to get involved with Avernus’s politics.
When Liko takes me into a small room and stops in front of the damned wooden prison, I kick the back of his knees.
“Unlock it.”
Watching as he traces the pattern, I wait for the lid to pop open. When it lifts slightly, I pull up my glamour.
“Off you go.” I shoo him with my hand.
Liko looks stupefied, his mouth hanging slightly ajar and a sad pout on his lip.
“Shera, I’d be honored if you—”
Nope.
“Don’t even start. You’re a pitiful excuse for a lover and I’d never take Carnivea’s leftovers.”
My shoes clack against the wood floor as I step forward, grabbing the lid with one of my hands.
“I suggest you run before I open this.”
“You can’t let her go!” He moves to stop me, but halts when I grab the knife he has holstered on his hip and hold it at his throat.
“You will leave. Do not look back or I’ll not stop her when she comes for you and eats your eyes as dessert.”
Holding his hands up, he gazes one last time at the box before turning and jogging out of the room.
The angry little fae scowls at me when I open the lid all the way.
“I’d never eat that filthy creature’s eyeballs.”
I laugh and say, “Well, it got him to leave. What’s your name?” Using the knife to disengage the lock holding the iron shackles together, I slip the cuffs over her small hands.
“Lietta. Why do you smell of demon and fae?” The way she’s looking at me reminds me of Sewyn, her eyes full of distrust and a smidgen of disgust.
“Fae bond with the Lord of Shadows. I can take you to him, if you’d like?”
She hops out of the box, which is half the height of her body, and lands on bare feet. Her purple hair sways, but it isn’t as long as Sewyn’s.
Waiting for her response, I watch as she glances around the room. When she picks up a metal prodding stick, she gives me a devious smirk.
“I can find the Lord of Shadows on my own. . . that is, if you’ll wait for me.”
Eyeing the rod, I say, “How long do you need?”
She shrugs. “About twenty minutes, that should be long enough to find and break him.”
“Lietta, I don’t want to dissuade you from your revenge, but are you well enough?”
When she flits to me on small translucent wings, I try not to act surprised. I’ve never seen Sewyn fly, but that doesn’t mean she can’t. Lietta’s wings flap and keep her eye level with me.
“I’ll be fine. When you’ve been kept prisoner and deprived of food, water, and light, maybe you’ll understand how much strength seeking retribution for your pain can bring.”
I don’t tell her I have experienced all of those things, save the retribution. She doesn’t want empathy. She wants exactly what I’ve wanted for so long, but unlike me, she’s getting her revenge straight away. She isn’t stupid enough to wait centuries for it.
I sweep my hand toward the door. “I wish you luck, Lietta. We’ll wait for you.”
She dips her head. “Thank you, Lady of Shadows. I will follow the darkness to you and my Unseelie lord.”
I feel my brows scrunch together at her use of the title, but don’t have the heart to correct her. She’s on a mission.
“Go kick his ass.”
Her teeth are razor-sharp when she smiles. “With pleasure.” She zips out of the room, flying fast and with purpose.
I’m left standing next to the empty box, eyeing it with contempt. Spotting another metal rod of sorts, I pick it up, feel the weight of it and adjust my grip. When it strikes against the box, I let out a grunt, hefting it back over my shoulder and smashing it down once more. Wood splinters and flies at my face; a sharp piece draws a line of blood on my cheek, but I ignore it.
When I finish destroying the stupid thing, I toss the metal rod down and suck in air. My arms are tired and exerting so much demon strength has left me feeling a bit shaky, but I feel great.
No, actually, I feel fucking fantastic.
Chapter Twenty
“Well, that was some show you put on,” Verrina says when I leave the room, falling into step with me as I head to the side door at the end of the hall. She gives me a once-over and picks a piece of wood out of my hair.
“What are you doing here?” I side-eye her, brushing some debris off my pants. “Twice now you’ve shown up.”
She shrugs. “I actually had no idea you would be here.”
I mull over that as we step into the hallway, where she stops paying attention to me and glances around. “Levia’s here.”
“Indeed she is; she’s got a play toy, we should be fine.”
Verrina stops walking, chewing on her lip and staring down the hall toward where Levia’s dressing room is.
“We should take care of her while we have the upper hand.”
I step back in surprise. “We? What you are suggesting is punishable by death.”
Verrina chuckles darkly. “We both know you’ve already done enough to warrant your death. Levia is dangerous.”
I don’t like how she’s looking at me. It’s almost as though she thinks we are allies. Which we’re not, at least I don’t think so. She’s in the hierarchy, for fuck’s sake. One of the problems.
“One could argue you are as well.”
She dips her head in acknowledgment. “One could, but I’m no threat to you.”
Glancing down the hall to make sure we’re still alone, I scrunch my face in thought. Cocking my head to the side, I ask, “What are you doing?”
“Helping.”
“Yes, but why?”
She closes the distance between us, looking up at me. “I’m quite tired of all the games, aren’t you?”
“I am, actually.”
“I’m not sure what else needs to be said then. For now, think of it as the two of us working toward a common goal.”
Hm. I guess I can get on board with that, except. . . “What happens when someone tattles on you? Lucifer won’t be happy.”
“The male is never happy. Not unless he’s killing.”
Shane.
“What happens when he comes for you?”
She shrugs. “I’ve got a plan.”
“That’s vague.”
“Do you really need to know? He will come for the both of us regardless. Two against one sounds a hell of a lot better than one on one, don’t you agree?”
I don’t bother correcting her. When Lucifer comes for me, it won’t be one on one. With the men on my side, it’ll be six on one. Now, with Verrina, we’d have seven. With two royals on my side, Lucifer will fall hard.
“Right,” I say, glancing down the hall once again. Killing Levia now would solve the whole Lord of Fire issue, but something doesn’t feel right about sneaking up on her.
“Well?” Verrina asks, her spiked hair glinting under the overhead lights.
“I prefer my giving her a fair chance.”
Verrina scowls at me. “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“Perhaps, but I won’t take the cheap shot. When Levia falls, I want her coming at me with all she’s got.”
The princess’s shoulders drop and she glances at her feet. “Bloody then.”
I pat her arm. “Gallons and gallons, my dear. It will be marvelous.”
She shakes her head. “This is a mistake.”
Oy, enough already. “You’re either in or out, Verrina. You can come with me now, or stay here and take her on yourself. We both know she’s stronger than you. The element of surprise may not be enough.”
The flash of annoyance in her eyes tells me I’ve hit a nerve, but she needs to hear it.
“I promise we will deal with her when the time come
s. I don’t know what she’s done to earn your wrath, but she’s certainly gained mine.”
Nodding, she says, “All right. Let’s get out of here.”
“You weren’t thinking of leaving without us, were you?” Micah pouts as he comes to stand next to me. “I’m hurt.”
I roll my eyes. “Always with the dramatics. You’re both here now, let’s go.” Discreetly checking for any marks of harm, I look from him to Anakin. Micha’s dressed in his suit, fully primped and looking good enough to eat. Anakin wears a band shirt and acid-washed jeans. His combat boots shine, and I wonder why he polished them.
“We’re fine.” He grabs my hand and pulls me toward the exit. “You can ogle us later. Liko hasn’t snapped out of it yet, but he’ll call the rest of Carni’s harem once he gets his wits about him.”
“We’ve nothing to worry about,” Verrina tells him as she walks behind us.
Micah says, “You’re right, but why stick around when we’ve already got what we came for?”
“Touché, demon boy. Touché.”
Micah grins at her, and asks, “You joining the party?”
“Heard it was the place to be,” Verrina says casually, passing through the door Anakin and I just exited.
“Welcome to Team Sucky Sucky.”
“Devil below, that is not our name,” I scold him and tug on Anakin’s hand. “That’s not our name.”
Anakin raises his eyebrows at me. “Why not? It rolls off the tongue.”
Verrina chimes in, “Team Sucky Sucky. It suits you, Shera.”
I narrow my eyes at her. “If you’re trying to say I suck dick, fuck you.”
“She does, lots,” Micah whispers loudly behind his hand.
The princess snorts, covering her mouth before I destroy her with my succubus powers.
“Quite well.” The words are spoken so only I hear them, and I preen under Anakin’s quiet compliment. Guess who’s getting a reward for being a good boy?
We make it back to the hotel room without further incident. Naomi is awake, but she looks awful. Her honey-blond locks are askew and she’s obviously famished. Verrina takes one looks at her and rushes to her side. The tender way she cups her cheeks sparks my curiosity.
What have we here?
“You foolish, stubborn woman.” Verrina’s words end with a waver. “You never listen.”
