by Layla Heart
“I can smell her on you.” His gravelly voice rumbles in his chest as his hands move over me.
I swallow hard, a jolt of uncertainty going through me. “And?”
“It’s hot. Fucking hot.” He rips open my shirt, which had already been ruined by the wings anyway, and bites down on my chest, hard, sending shocks of pleasure through my body.
Oh! “Fuuuuck!” I roar as I nearly come from that mental image, Rune getting all hot and bothered because I’m with Litha. Sharing Litha between us, giving her pleasure at the same time.
Also, that’s definitely the end of keeping our nightly actions hidden from the other guys... But I don’t care, because the thought that Rune is in this state because of Litha definitely turns me on beyond anything I’ve ever been.
10
My skin is still all flushed when I get back to my room. I’m so nervous and excited at the same time. Talking to Aideen, I thought that the princes were all distant and wouldn’t give anyone the time of day. But then reading Mum’s notebook, I understood why they would have interest in me, or at least, try to get to know me, but none of that prepared me for the evening I just had.
They were kind, and sweet, and... And normal, in a way. Sure, they were used to money and luxuries, but you’ve got kids like that in every school, that’s not weird. That’s rich kids. But they just hung out with me, let me ask them questions and they just... They just were, just there, being normal guys.
I let myself fall back on my bed, my cheeks all hot. And they were hot. Fucking hot. How am I supposed to focus in class with them around?
And Kit has a huge penis... I could feel it against my back the whole time he held me, and he still acted like he didn’t have a boner the whole time, never touching me inappropriately. It was... It was sweet and considerate. I could definitely get used to doing that more, if he’d let me. I’d even... do more with him.
And Bane... He’s so beautiful, thoughtful and broody. His grip on my hand was strong but tender, he just held me as we talked. Neither of them tried to come onto me, although... at the end, when they were dropping me off... maybe a little. I smile, a stupid grin forming.
I’ve never done this before. Dating. Meeting boys, or girls, to hang out with, to spend special time, when we all know that this will eventually lead to more. To sex. To relationships. To marriage. But for now, it’s just been a happy night where I didn’t feel that lost, where I finally felt like I could be at home here. At some point. Maybe.
Being on that rooftop has been the only time today I didn’t feel lost or alone, where I felt like I belonged. Where I wasn’t panicking, but was just alive, living.
And with that thought, I fall into a deep sleep.
A loud knocking on the door wakes me, and I groggily open my eyes. What? What the? What time is it?
I look down at myself, I’m on top of the covers, still wearing yesterday’s clothes... Oops.
Then the knocking starts again. “Litha?” That’s Aideen. “Are you up? I’ve got coffee for you.”
Coffee! I sit up way too fast and stumble to the door, anything for coffee. When I open it, Aideen is grinning at me, raising an eyebrow as she looks me over.
“Do humans not change their clothes when they sleep?” She shakes her head as she comes inside, putting two cups of coffee and two brown bags with some pastries in it on my small desk. Then she sits down on the other bed, looking around. “We may be in the same building, but you definitely got one of the better rooms.” She shrugs. “I guess it’s something to make up for having to share with Phoenix all year.”
“Phoenix?” I may kind of have forgotten my roommate’s name, since, you know, too many impressions before coffee and all yesterday morning. Talking about coffee... I eye the two cups on my desk.
“Take either, they’re the same. Dark roast coffee, milk, caramel.” Aideen grins, then lets herself fall back on the bed. “Phoenix is kind of stuck up. Her mum is the highest priestess of the witches.” She sits back up straight, eyeing me curiously. “Basically, she’s to you what Rune is to me. Royalty. Princess. Whatever.” She shrugs, pulling a face. “She always knows best. She’s always competing with Kit for the highest grades and is severely goody-goody.” Then she stands up, looking around the room, running her finger over some shelves. “Enjoy the quiet as long as it lasts. She’ll be here as soon as the full moon celebrations are over.”
“Full moon celebrations?” So much I don’t know about being a witch... If I hadn’t gotten distracted by Bane and Kit last night, I might have actually known some of these things. My face flushes and I go to the window, my cup of coffee in my hand, looking out over the field in front of me, towards the wall surrounding the academy, trying to hide my feelings.
“Don’t worry about it. She’ll teach you all about it.” Aideen lets out a sigh and when I glance back at her she’s rolling her eyes. “Talking about teaching, and classes... I thought I should pick you up and we can go to the library. Grab some books and see which classes you’d be able to take, you know? Maybe we can even share some of them.” She looks me over. I’m obviously not dressed for the occasion. “But, first, you need to get changed. Put on something clean. I’ll wait here.” She sits down on Phoenix’ bed and sips from her coffee, looking at me with an intense gaze. “Let’s get going. Don’t want the library all busy, and if we hurry up, we can even explore the grounds in the sun later.”
I sigh, taking a final sip from the coffee and then grab a change of clothes from my suitcase. I’m about to leave the room, using one of the bathrooms I’d seen in the hallway, when Aideen makes a sound. I look at her and she nods towards one of the doors on Phoenix’ side of the room.
“Ensuite.” She shrugs. “I told you this room was special.”
Right. I blink and when I open the door she nodded at, a decently sized bathroom greets me, including a bathtub that looks big enough to fit three people at once. I quickly close the door behind me as my cheeks are aflame again. Three people in a bathtub... Me, Bane and Kit? Or Rune? Or Finn? My body heats up, my core pulsing with a need I’ve only ever felt while reading sexy scenes in romance novels, not by imagining people in real life. Oh, fuck…
Is this what the whole year is going to be like? Me imagining inappropriate things I could do with the princes?
Oh, fuck... This is going to be a long year.
On our way to the library, I can’t help glancing around, wondering when one of the princes will show up again. Not because I want to see them but because they seem to show up everywhere I go. Yesterday, it was like they were there every time I turned around. Maybe they weren’t awake yet or something. Maybe.
“Trying to find Rune?” Aideen laughs.
“N—no.” I shrug, trying to not look as guilty as I feel.
“The princes are probably having breakfast at their place, or working out or something. If they don’t have to come to class, you don’t see them before noon, if at all.” Aideen shakes her head. “They’re master slackers. They’re smart, but master slackers.”
We reach the library and Aideen seems to know where she needs to be as she immediately goes to some of the shelves and starts pulling books out.
“Come here.” She waves me over, and then hands me the stack. “Next aisle.”
“What are all these?” I try to read the titles, but it’s not easy from this angle, something about... ehh... Yeah, no clue, none of these words make any sense to me.
“Herbology, astrology, elemental magic and a few other more witchy things.” She grabs more books, this time filling her own arms. “These are general subjects like history of the four kingdoms and general mathematical and stuff like that.” She walks us to a table at the side of the building, where we can look out over the square in front of the library, the same view as last night, just a different angle.
“I need to read all this?” I look at the stacks and Aideen snorts.
“No. Not all of them. Though, you’ll probably want to read the book on the history
of the four kingdoms, but the others are all your own choice.” She puts the history book to the side and then opens one of the others. “I’m no good with numbers, but maybe you are?” When she hands me the book I’m surprised by how relieved I am by the familiar mathematical formulas.
I take the book, flipping through it and surprised by how normal it looks. “This looks... identical-ish?”
Aideen shrugs. “The world doesn’t work that differently, I guess maths is just maths.”
“But... magic?” This world is really different, no matter how you twist it. Magic. People who can shapeshift. All of that?
“Addition, not replacement? I guess? I don’t know. I don’t know much about the human realm, not my speciality.” She hands me the next book. “If you like numbers, maybe astronomy is something for you too? It’s a new class at the academy level, so you’d start at the exact same level as the others, if your maths is good enough, you wouldn’t be behind. And as a witch, it’s probably interesting.”
As I flip through the book, I’m greeted by charts and charts of the moon and the stars and graphs and all sorts of stuff that almost looks like magic to me, but it’s grounded in numbers I can understand and I guess it’s probably more interesting than the economics class I was going to take. “Any job prospects with this?” Hey, I’ve got to stay sensible. Even with the stupid prophecy, I’d like to keep some independence. Financial independence is important.
Aideen looks at me like I’m asking a stupid question.
“Yes?” I try.
She nods, fast. “Yeah. Loads. Any large rituals being done, the movements of the planets, things to do with animal spirits, all of it. It’s basically a surefire way for a job.”
“Cool.” I nod, putting the book on top of the maths book. “Next?”
I guess that no matter if you’re in the human or in this world, everyone needs the people who can predict the movements of something, being that the economy or the stars... People like certainty when everything is unpredictable.
I can understand that.
11
Just as I was falling asleep last night, Kit and Rune went at it like... Well, like incubi. Keeping me up for hours, and right now, they’re pretending like we don’t know what they’ve been doing, even though they’re both still sporting marks that aren’t exactly covered by their shirts...
“Want to spar later?” Rune looks my way and I raise my eyebrow at him.
“No thanks, you still smell like incubus.” They didn’t even shower... Though, after last night, I don’t want to think about them showering together. I sigh, standing up. “I’m going to the library. It will be quiet there. Unlike some places...” Maybe I can get some more sleep in the herbology aisle, or the astro aisle, people tend to go there less often.
“Sure. See you later.” Bane grins at me, shaking his head. He thinks I’m too ‘stuck up’ when it comes to sex. I just don’t go around fucking random people like the rest of them do.
I take the long way to the library, trying to avoid people who may want to talk to me, just trying to get there as quickly as possible. At the back of the campus is a huge forest, both for classes and just to hang out in, and I go up to the tree line. Walking under the trees calms me down, my fae blood not doing well inside buildings.
Yesterday was weird, strange, and I don’t know what to think of it. I’d hoped that coming here would make my life easier again, but now it’s only turned more confusing, it’s only turned into more of a mess. Normally getting back to campus helps me avoid the politics of the real world, but not anymore...
Through the trees, I spot someone further into the forest, slowly following the path towards one of the clearings. I don’t need to see who it is to know her, it’s Litha. The trees know her, her legacy, the sensation of her family’s blood running inside her. And I can feel too, the way the trees and plants almost bend towards her, everything wanting a bit of the energy hidden inside her, try out her powers. What is she doing here?
I step onto one of the paths, following her even before I decide to do it. I keep my eyes on her, not letting her out of my sight.
This forest isn’t without danger, which any student would know, just not when they were late to yesterday’s announcements and hadn’t grown up hearing about the forest. The dangers of this forest are only mild, if you know what they are and how to protect yourself. But some plants would find a strong witch, unaware of her powers, a great snack for a hot summer day. Especially a witch who’d just walk right into their territory...
I take the small blade from my pocket, easily holding it in my hand, it was crafted specifically for me, and I dart even closer to her, trusting my connection with the forest to make sure I don’t trip.
She seems to be fine, and she’s almost at the clearing. As soon as she reaches the clearing, she’ll be safe. The dangerous plants don’t like the light, especially in the middle of summer, they thrive in the darkness.
A small movement in the leaves of a tree near Litha makes me jump, rushing for her, knife outstretched. I don’t know what it is yet, but I know it’s going right for her, wanting a taste of her, and I internally roar. She’s mine! Not that strangle vines listen to fae...
Litha is still unaware of what is going on, happily walking along, her eyes darting to things in front of her, no focus on what could be coming from behind.
I curse, pushing my body faster and I’m almost too late. I watch as the vine reaches out to her. Fuck no!
The vine is only a fraction from her shoulder when I slice it off, wrapping my body around Litha, protecting her from more attacks, keeping her close as we stumble into the clearing. Behind us, the vines pull back, rustling through the leaves of other plants as it tries to get away from me as quickly as possible.
Litha trips from the force of my speed as I grabbed her and we go to the ground, sliding and rolling until we stop and she’s under me. I’m holding her tightly, one hand behind her head, tucking her against me, the other around her back.
Adrenaline floods me, and I try to sense if there is more danger in the forest around us. But everything is still, as if even the leaves wait for a sign to move again, before the birds start singing again and I can hear how her heart beats in sync with mine. Oh, fuck.
“Are you okay?” I force the words out, scared I’ve hurt her, her heart is beating way too fast. “Are you hurt?”
“I’m okay.” Her voice is soft against my shirt and I relax a little, loosening my grip and pushing myself up on my elbow, looking down at her.
I’m caught in her gaze again, the fire in her eyes, her beauty. It’s like she’s burning up my insides and my body responds to her. I want her, I need her.
She pulls one of her arms free, slowly reaching up and touching my face, her fingers hot against my skin. “They really are the colour of leaves during the summer.” Her voice is soft, low, and then her eyes slowly go down to my lips, as she licks hers, swallowing hard. “Thank you. I don’t know what that was, but thank you.”
“Strangle vine.” My voice is almost like one is curling around my neck right now, for how rough it comes out. Oh, fuck. This is not a good position to be in.
“Ah.” She nods, the word just a breath. Then her fingers slide down more, skimming over my lips. “I suppose the prince should be rewarded with a kiss? For saving the princess? Isn’t that how it goes?” Her eyes shoot back up to mine, lust burning in them, before settling on my lips again.
I don’t know where it comes from, I shouldn’t be doing this, but I lean down, closing the final distance between our lips. Her lips are soft against mine, giving away easily, and her fingers curl into my shirt, pulling me against her more, her body inviting.
She tastes like heaven, like the most delicious thing in the world, and I can’t stop kissing her. She lets out soft sounds, her tongue darting out to find mine, teasing me. And I deepen the kiss, wanting to taste her more, needing to taste her more. My whole body is thrumming with energy, with need, with lust. Is
this what it’s like? Is this what real lust is like? What kissing someone is like?
Our breathing syncs and everything around us starts to hum with the sound of electricity, charging me more and more. Not good! I can’t hurt her!
When I pull back, her cheeks are red, her eyes clouded with lust, and she’s licking her lips, like she needs me to touch her again, like she wants me to kiss her again, and I can’t help complying. So I lean back in, my lips only a fraction from hers...
Then, everything comes crashing down, quite literally. “Finn! Litha!” Rune is the first one to land next to us, his voice panicked, Bane jumping from his back. Moments later, Kit also arrives.
They’re all looking like they’re ready to fight, partially shifted, Rune’s dragon claws out, Bane’s upper body that of a wolf, ready to shred with his teeth, Kit holding magicked daggers engulfed in black flames, their eyes filled with fury. But when they find us on the ground, almost kissing, they look a little confused.
Double fuck. We weren’t supposed to do this, it wasn’t supposed to be me, and they definitely weren’t supposed to find us like this.
I carefully roll off Litha, sitting next to her, but keeping her gaze. “Are you okay?” I’m not even sure which part of everything I’m asking her about…
She nods, wordlessly, and sits up too, turning a very dark red, now she realises that the others have caught us. Then she looks at the guys, blinking, they’re all partially shifted, their pure forms shining through their human shapes... Looking very impressive and a little scary, probably.
“Oh.” Rune frowns. “Not exactly what I was expecting...” He pulls his wings and claws in, sitting down on the grass too. “Awkward.” He sighs, rubbing the back of his neck as he pulls a face. “That wasn’t supposed to be happening...”
“Very awkward, even for an incubus.” Kit raises an eyebrow, the daggers disappearing and he pulls his wings back in. Then he glares at Rune. “You can’t tell the difference between danger and horny? What the fuck, dude? Your system off or something?”
