Gluttony

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Gluttony Page 19

by Katie May


  whose sole purpose was to protect the Kings and kill the dissenters?

  Silencing their indignant cries with a sharp look, I continued. “But I never

  agreed to hurt innocent people. I might not be able to harm the Kings, but I

  can promise you that I will spend my entire life working to break the spell

  they have on me. In the meantime, I will protect you all. I will be the

  champion for the human race. I’ll be the voice when you feel as if you’ve

  been silenced.” An awed hush fell over the crowd, and I made sure to meet

  each and every one of their eyes.

  “You’re not going to get a princess out of me,” I stated calmly. “I’m

  dirty, messy, and I like blood way too much.” A flurry of chuckles erupted

  from the crowd, disrupting the tension hanging stagnant in the air. When the

  laughter abated, I stared at them all with steely determination. “But I will

  fight for you. And I always win.”

  “I’M SO FUCKING proud of you,” Devlin whispered as we said

  goodbye to the last human. I had no idea where they would go, but I prayed

  they ran as far and as fast as they could. I cautioned them not to mention my

  involvement, but I did advise them to warn other humans about what had

  happened.

  “We will, Liberator,” one of the men declared with a reverent nod of his

  head.

  My stomach fluttered at the nickname, but not in a good way. I didn’t feel

  like a liberator or a hero.

  I was the fucking villain in this story.

  A kid had died because of me, because I had failed to save him. Self-

  loathing gripped my heart in a vise and refused to release it.

  “It’s all so fucked up, Lin,” I whispered.

  “But we’ll fix it,” he assured me, wrapping an arm around my shoulder.

  “We’re next in line for the thrones.”

  “I don’t know if we can wait that long.” If my estimation was correct, the

  Kings had twenty, maybe thirty, years before they would be too senile to rule

  their Kingdoms. And me? I only had a few months, give or take, with the

  poison currently running rampant through my system. I had no idea how my

  mates would react when I was gone. Would they continue fighting? Continue

  advocating for the oppressed humans? Or would they give in to their

  primitive instincts and become the puppets the Kings always wanted them to

  be?

  No, they wouldn’t do that. They were too good, too kind. They saw the

  evil in the world, and unlike a lot of others, they sought to fix it. To shine a

  light on the darkness. I had no doubt they would grieve me, but they would

  survive and continue fighting.

  Devlin kissed my forehead softly. “I know, Baby. I know.”

  “Here!” Killian declared suddenly, materializing behind us. He unhooked

  Devlin’s lamp from his belt loop and handed it to my Genie.

  “You don’t owe Devlin your soul now, do you?” I queried, only half-

  teasing. I knew that each wish required an extensive contract crafted by the

  powers that be. Killian had made two wishes inside the Carnival, and who

  knew how many he made before that.

  “Don’t worry,” Devlin said, opening up his backpack and sliding the

  lamp inside. “We made the contract before we even entered the Carnival.”

  “I have three wishes to use before I owe him my soul,” Killian explained,

  grabbing my hand and playing with my fingers. It was such a mundane

  gesture that I was struck speechless, staring at where our skin connected. His

  hand was warm on my own, eliciting full-body shivers that danced across my

  body.

  “He only made two,” Devlin added. “As long as he doesn’t make another

  wish…” He trailed off with a pointed look in Killian’s direction.

  “I won’t touch the damn lamp for the rest of my life,” Killian promised,

  not bothering to lift his head from where he stared at our conjoined hands.

  “Good.” Devlin folded his muscular arms, peering over my shoulder. “I

  wouldn’t want your ugly soul hogging up space in my lamp anyway.”

  Killian glared playfully. “We both know that’s not true.”

  Whatever Devlin was going to retort was interrupted by a grinning Axel

  emerging from the tent. “Would you like to do the honors, little sister?” He

  removed the detonator from his jacket and held it out to me enticingly.

  “Fuck yes.”

  Devlin and Lupe stood on one side of me with Killian on the other. Axel

  remained a short distance away, hands in his pockets and a sardonic grin

  twisting his lips.

  “Fuck this place,” I murmured, pressing down on the button.

  Immediately, the tent exploded in a kaleidoscope of colors. Smoke

  permeated the air as sparks hissed and danced in fireworks of red, orange,

  and yellow.

  I held up my middle finger, saluting this shit-hole the only way I knew

  how. Devlin, Lupe, and even Axel were quick to join me.

  “Oh, sorry! I didn’t realize…” Killian stuttered, staring at our raised

  fingers. He quickly joined us as we gave the burning Carnival the bird.

  It was a fitting send-off for such an atrocious place.

  THIRTY

  Z

  I t was silent as we drove away from the flaming Carnival. The

  cold wind from the opened window was a balm to my overheated

  skin.

  No one spoke as we crossed flat plains and entered a surrounding forest.

  By then, the sun had completely fallen and darkness descended. Stars

  peppered the velvety sky, bathing everything in hues of gold and white.

  At some point, Killian had drifted off to sleep, his head resting on my

  shoulder. I absently brushed through his gorgeous red locks as my mind

  wandered.

  No matter what I did, what I thought about, Miles’s face haunted me. All

  I could see were his soulful eyes, gazing blindly up at the burning tent. Had

  he been scared before he died? Had it been a quick death or a long one?

  Fuck, I couldn’t think about it. I would drive myself insane with the

  “what ifs.”

  “It’ll be okay,” Lupe whispered gruffly from the passenger seat. He had

  slid his glasses back on as soon as we entered the car, and they somehow

  demoted him from intimidating to approachable.

  “I don’t think it’ll ever be okay.” My voice was low and distant, heady

  with pain and self-loathing. Guilt ate away at my insides like a parasite.

  Could someone die from this—from this gnawing, undefinable bug prowling

  in your stomach?

  “Axel is looking for Miles’s sister right now,” Lupe continued. “She’ll be

  okay.”

  “But can we trust Axel?” I questioned, pain splintering just behind my

  eyes. A part of me did trust the eccentric assassin, but a larger part of me was

  fearful. For five years, he had been in the Kings’ back pocket. It was

  ingrained within him to follow their commands and rules. He was loyal to the

  Kings, first and foremost.

  Lupe turned quiet, contemplative, seemingly unable to answer my

  question any more than I could. He scrubbed at the dusting of hair coating his

  jaw.

  “I think—”

  I let out a sudden scream as a body fell on top of me. Killian jerked

  upright, karate
-chopping the air chaotically with an audible “ahhh!” Devlin

  cursed, the car halting to an abrupt stop in the middle of the road, and Lupe

  growled, jumping into the backseat and holding the intruder in a headlock.

  “Nice to see you assholes too,” a familiar voice choked out.

  “Dair?” I asked in disbelief, slipping my dagger back into its sheath. I

  blinked rapidly at the golden-haired prince as he smiled back sheepishly.

  “The one and only.” He flickered his gaze towards Lupe, still holding his

  neck, and then back to me. “Errr...can you release me, please? Choking might

  be your kink, but it’s not mine. At least, not with your ugly ass doing the

  choking.”

  “What the fuck, man?” Devlin exclaimed, swiveling in his seat. His violet

  eyes flared brightly in the darkness of the cab.

  Dair’s smile grew on his face as Lupe reluctantly released him.

  “A pill,” he declared with a smirk. “From the Mage King himself. It acts

  as a portal. To send you to your heart’s true home.” His eyes focused intently

  on me, and a flush erupted in my chest. I had used those pills frequently when

  I worked for the Resistance. It had always brought me back to the Compound

  with the other assassins. Now, I wondered if my home wasn’t truly a place,

  but a person.

  Or people.

  “So cheesy,” I murmured, attempting to stop the satisfied blush creeping

  up my neck and to my cheeks. Dair, in answer, merely pecked me on the lips.

  One touch from him was nuclear.

  He froze suddenly, pulling back to survey me with unwavering intensity.

  His eyes traveled over my dirty clothes and blood-stained skin, darkening

  infinitesimally when they landed on a gash on my forehead.

  “What happened?” he inquired dangerously, his animosity saturating the

  air.

  My lower lip began to tremble, but I stubbornly held my tears at bay.

  Later. I would fall apart later.

  I would fall apart until there was nothing left of me to weave back

  together. It felt as if my heart was ripping open and weeping blood.

  “I’m so glad you’re alright,” I whispered, staring at his handsome,

  chiseled face. His eyes softened slightly as he cupped my cheek, leaning

  forward to dot kisses on my nose. The last time I had seen him, he had been

  unconscious in his room—a shell of the man I knew and loved. Something

  settled inside of me at seeing the vibrant light returning to his sea-blue eyes.

  “I’m alright,” he agreed, peppering kisses across my lips. “But you’re

  not.”

  My heart cracked like a stone being dropped as I told him what had

  transpired. The more I talked, the more I wondered if I would ever be

  mended. Fixed.

  Or if I was always fated to remain broken.

  ONCE MORE, I was in the elegantly furnished bedroom.

  My Vampire mate sat on the bed, sucking the neck of an unconscious

  female. Horror momentarily stilled me before I forced myself into action.

  With lightning-fast reflexes, I gripped the girl’s arm and dragged her

  body away from Jax.

  “No!” I screamed in horror as her head lolled to the side, giving me an

  unrestricted view of her lifeless eyes. The gathering darkness I always felt—

  lying in wake—exploded out of me like a whirling tornado. “Jax, how could

  you?”

  He growled, the sound more monster than human, before prowling closer

  to me. Blood stained his chin and dribbled down his bare chest.

  “I’m thirsty!” he roared, his fangs poking his chapped bottom lip.

  “This isn’t you,” I insisted, stumbling back a step. Anger rampaged

  through me as I stared at the girl’s face. Her features twisted and contorted

  until they took the shape of a young man with honey blond hair and wide,

  innocent eyes.

  Miles.

  “How could you?” I whispered hoarsely, dropping to my knees. “I don’t

  even know who you are anymore.”

  “I’m thirsty!” Jax screamed again, shoving at the nightstand flanking his

  bed. It fell to the ground, the glass vase on top of it shattering into pieces. I

  winced at the cacophonous, almost deafening, noise.

  This wasn’t Jax. Not my sweet Vampire. My Jax wouldn’t look at me with

  vitriol spewing from his eyes. Instead of the love and warmth I usually saw,

  there was nothing but coldness. An icy tundra I didn’t dare venture across.

  “What happened to you?” I remained kneeling, unable to find the will to

  climb to my feet. I had lost Miles, and now, I had lost Jax. He had killed

  someone, and there was no turning back from that.

  “She’s a murderer,” Jax growled through gritted teeth. “She killed seven

  innocent children. She didn’t deserve to live.”

  “And that makes you God?” I screamed, my voice infused with so much

  passion and emotion I felt like a completely different person. Finally— finally

  —I stumbled to my feet, jabbing an accusatory finger into his chest. “That

  makes you judge, jury, and executioner?”

  His face darkened, something unrecognizable flitting across his features.

  “And you’re one to talk? You’re an assassin! You kill people too! Why do

  you get to judge me?” By the time he’d finished his spiel, he was panting,

  chest rising and falling with his erratic breaths.

  And…

  And he was right. Some of my anger diminished as I considered the

  broken, scared man standing before me. I had no fucking right to judge him

  when I, too, was a pawn to death. I’d enacted my own form of vengeance

  daily before the princes had come into my life. I still did. At the Carnival, I

  had killed Hans because I had deemed him a horrible man who didn’t

  deserve to live.

  Fuck, I was a hypocrite.

  “I’m.” He stepped even closer until we were nose to nose. “Thirsty.”

  “This isn’t you,” I tried again, dropping my hands from his chest and

  balling them into fists. “Aaliyah did something to you. I don’t know what, but

  I swear to you, Jax, I’ll find out.”

  “You don’t know what I am!” he roared. He continued pushing me

  backwards until I was flush against the wall, my chest heaving. His strong

  arms blocked me in on either side, caging me against his sculpted frame. His

  face contorted in mild recognition as he roared out, “I killed before, when I

  was younger. I killed a human maid’s daughter because I was weak.”

  “Jax…” I whispered, my heart splintering at the raw emotion in his

  voice. He sniffed my neck, and dissonance once more clouded his features.

  His eyes rolled back in his head as my scent curled around him, a soft smile

  playing on his luscious lips. It was almost as if he was adrift at sea, and my

  presence was keeping him tethered to the shore. With each inhale, coherence

  returned to his face, accompanied by something primal. Feral.

  “Mate…” he rumbled, voice almost guttural. Something like wonderment

  sparked to life in his eyes as he lifted a strand of my hair and sniffed it.

  “Mate.”

  “Yes,” I whispered, cupping his cheek. I gently wiped the remaining

  droplets of blood off his lips with the pad of my thumb. “I’m your mate, and

  you’re
mine. I’m coming for you, Jax. I’ll help you. I promise.”

  “Mate.” His eyes lowered to my lips, and the previous anger and rage I’d

  noticed before diminished instantly to be replaced by liquid fire. Lust

  saturated the room like a perfume.

  “Mate,” I echoed. Before I could think better of it, I pushed myself onto

  my tiptoes and pressed my lips to his. He held himself rigidly—body taut—

  before he kissed me back with reckless abandon. His hands fisted in my hair,

  pulling tightly enough to sting.

  “Mate,” he growled against my lips. His kisses were feverish, and I

  rivaled it with my own intensity. When his hands dropped to my ass, I jumped

  up his muscular body and wrapped my legs around him.

  He spun, still carrying me, and lowered us both roughly onto the bed.

  “Come back to me, Jax,” I pleaded, kissing up his neck. “Please.”

  My Vampire mate released a roar—the sound eerily similar to that of

  Lupe’s Bear—before he ripped my shirt straight down the middle. His eyes

  devoured my revealed skin before he lowered his lips to the valley between

  my breasts.

  His fangs scraped at my skin, but instead of pain, molten lava flooded my

  veins. I gasped softly as those same fangs pricked my nipple through the thin

  material of my bra.

  “Mate,” he whispered against my skin.

  “Your mate,” I agreed readily.

  Using his teeth, he cut through the flimsy fabric of my bra and pulled it

  off my body. He cupped both of my breasts, tugging on and twisting my

  beaded nipples.

  “So. Beautiful,” he murmured dazedly, lowering his lips to my right

  nipple as his hand continued to knead my left. He traced my areola with his

  tongue before grazing his fingers over the sensitive nub. I gasped, arching off

  the bed, as he sucked and licked my aching nipple. He quickly moved his

  head to my left breast, giving it the same attention as my right.

  He was already shirtless, and I took the moment to trace the contours of

  his beautiful body. He wasn’t as muscular as Lupe or even Killian, but he

  had a defined six-pack and a prominent V.

  I twisted his nipples just as he did mine, and he groaned against my chest.

  “Z…” he whispered, and when I guided his face back to mine, there was

  a flicker of coherence and intelligence in his eyes. It was quickly replaced by

  primal hunger as he devoured my lips with his own.

 

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