by Amy Sumida
“Is it safe to use this Shining One knife on Slate?” Verin asked.
I went still as I stared at Darc again. “Fuck. I hadn't gotten there yet.”
“I know,” Darc said grimly. “We could end up killing him.”
“The knife must be inserted into the victim's heart,” I explained to Verin. “The last time we used it, it was on me. I obviously survived but only because Faenestra had grown in power to the point where she had altered my body to be immortal; divinely immortal, not just resistant to time. I healed the wound.”
“Couldn't Slate do the same?” Verin asked. “He's possessed by a God too.”
“I doubt it.” I swallowed roughly. “Poseidon took weeks to be changed by Gargo and it wasn't permanent; he's not immortal like us.”
“But Poseidon wasn't a proper host for the Gargoyle God,” Darc reminded me. “Gargo will change Slate faster than Poseidon and don't forget; he's likely been inside Slate for months now.”
I paled as I began to consider what that meant; all of those intimate moments with Slate had been shared with Gargo.
“El?” Gage took my hand. “It'll be all right. We're going to free Slate and kill that bastard inside him.”
“I should have known,” I lamented and dropped my gaze to my lap. “Slate was saying some strange things; musing about love and how odd it was as if he'd never felt it before.”
“What?” Darc leaned in to ask. “He was talking to you about love?”
“Gargo said that Slate's affecting him,” Banning reminded us. “Do you think he's having feelings for Elaria?”
“I do,” Darc growled. “But Gargo is a psychopath; a God driven insane by centuries of imprisonment... if he wasn't already insane, to begin with. Believe me; I know what solitary confinement can do to a mind, even a God mind. Whatever Gargo's feeling for Elaria, it will be twisted; a mockery of love.”
“You came through it all right,” Declan pointed out.
“I loved Elaria before I was imprisoned; we were married and joined in the way of Gods,” Darcraxis reminded him. “I had her to sustain me; I lived through her, experiencing pieces of her life through our bond. But, if you'll recall, when she first released me, I wasn't as reasonable as I am now. Or as accommodating.”
“No, but that was because you were a God, not a psycho.” Gage smirked.
“It doesn't matter what Gargo's feeling,” I hissed. “Fuck him and his feelings. I just want him gone but not if it's going to kill Slate.”
“That's what I was saying, my fire.” Darc leaned forward and took my hand. “I don't believe it will. You saw the control Gargo has over Slate's body; the way he lengthened his claws. Slate wasn't able to do that before. I think his body has already become immortal.”
“And if it's not?” I countered.
“Then you'll sing him back to life as you did with me,” Gage said confidently.
Verin made another sound of astonishment and looked at me askance.
“I didn't sing him back to life,” I protested. “Gage was gravely injured and I healed him.”
“I was nearly gone, El,” Gage squeezed my hand. “Your voice and your magic brought me back.”
“And that's what Slate will be; gravely injured, not dead,” Darc said. “You can heal a wounded heart, my fire. In so many ways. I have every confidence in you.”
“I wish I felt the same,” I muttered.
“You won't be alone.” Banning leaned in to rub his cheek against mine. “You'll have us empowering you.”
Gage started to add something but I couldn't hear it. Not over the sound of my own screams.
Chapter Forty-Four
I heard my name being shouted over and over but pain dulled every other sensation. My vision went wonky and so did my hearing. Muscles clenching, I fell backward and went into spasms. Strong hands caught me before I hit the floor. More shouting. I was being carried.
I'm with you, my love, Kyanite's voice was the only one I could make out. RS is trying her trick again and Darc knows what to do. Hold on.
I was laid upon something soft and my clothing gently removed but that tenderness was wasted on me. They could have thrown me around and it wouldn't have mattered. Fire burned me from inside out, searing me with such fury that I was shocked to be conscious. I wished I weren't. I began to reach for the darkness of oblivion.
No! Kyanite shouted. You have to stay with us, Elaria! You have to let them help you. Please!
I couldn't form a response; my brain was boiling. My immortality wouldn't hold up to this. Goddess healing couldn't work fast enough, not against my own magic. It felt as if my very cells were separating. I was becoming one of those magic bombs. I had a sudden image of my body exploding and killing my lovers in the process. I tried to push them away but I was too weak and they were too determined.
Then I felt their hands. Stroking. Gliding. Rubbing. Massaging. Kneading. Their mouths opened on my body; tongues licking at me and mouths sucking. They teased me with fingers and lips and cocks. There was so much pleasure that it nearly pierced the pain. The fire started to lose its force but it kept burning; a red-hot brand in my gut. I cried out in agony even as I was consumed by ecstasy.
Someone entered me but it was only their fingers. A mouth moved on my sex above that gentle thrusting, making me lift toward it, demanding more. The fire focused on that pleasure and consumed it instead of me. The heat shifted, turned into something else. Something just as hot but not burning. I gasped; relief so intense that it arched my back like a climax. My hands went to the man between my thighs and pulled him closer. Thick, wet tongue licking ferociously. Broad shoulders bunching with muscles. I pulled at them, urging him to get up and enter me.
I opened my eyes and saw Gage; his hazel eyes shifting into an aroused gold while sweat turned his tawny skin into matching metallic. Even his leonine hair shone, making him appear to be a golden statue come to life. I grabbed handfuls of that thick, wild hair and yanked Gage's face down to mine. As our tongues twisted and tangled, he slid into me and started a savage pace. I lifted my hips to meet his. The slap of flesh became tribal music and its rhythm reached the RS. I could feel her drinking our lust; shooting it like shots of Tequila. She gasped with every swallow but she needed...
“More!” I demanded and turned my head toward Declan.
Declan obliged me, bringing his velvety cock right to my lips. I licked its rosy tip even as another man moved beneath me. I didn't care who it was; I just needed him inside me as much as I needed Gage and Declan. I sucked Declan in and groaned as a starving woman might when presented with a juicy steak. The feel of him moving over my tongue and stretching my mouth sent my eyes rolling back in my head but his dark taste forced them open again. I had to see his tight belly clenching as he drove himself past my lips. Had to look up to see his alexandrite eyes shifting from sapphire to amethyst.
A shaft eased into that other place, and I moved down on it, drawing it deeper. I became achingly aware of the body beneath me. It was Darcraxis; I knew that stretch of chiseled chest and the confident way those hands touched me. I knew the feel of his lips on my throat and the cords of his thighs. I even knew the length of that wondrous cock, driving deeper and deeper. A chorus of male moans added to mine and we became one writhing creature; grasping and pushing ourselves together desperately.
My free hand was lifted and wrapped around one last piece of rigid manhood. His larger hand held mine firm as Banning pumped into my grip. I couldn't turn to look at him, not with Declan holding my face for his thrusting, but I could see Bann in my mind. His muscles—built from his years as a human soldier—tightening beneath his skin, his lips parted to reveal the tips of his fangs, his Blooder blond hair—even more golden than Gage's—shining, the tattoos on his arms seeming to writhe, and those stunning green eyes beginning to glow as he stared at me in stark arousal. The mere image of him in my mind was enough to break the wave of my pleasure. It all came crashing down.
I screamed again but this tim
e it was in rapture, the sound muted by Declan's pulsing, pumping shaft. My body undulated wantonly between my lovers, seeking more even as I was satisfied. I clutched and sucked and worked them inside me. Pleasure burst like champagne bubbles everywhere and my body tensed with the power of my release. That power sank straight into the RS; feeding her until she couldn't take anymore. She curled up inside me, content at last.
I'm losing myself, Elaria, a voice I didn't recognize spoke into my mind.
With horror, I realized it was RS.
Yes, it's me, the deep, only slightly feminine voice confirmed. I'm regressing to what I was. If we do this again, I fear I will lose myself entirely and your relationship with your men will change. Everything will change. Not for the good.
Then we won't do this again, I decided.
RS went silent.
Around me, my lovers continued to move, their bodies building the pleasure again. I let it carry me away; make me forget the danger for a little while. Hopefully, we could fuel RS with enough lust to last us until the Witches could finish the spell. But I knew that hope was weak; a tremulous thing destroyed with the barest breath of fire.
Chapter Forty-Five
Walking downstairs to the living room to face Verin after making love to my men was the most embarrassing thing I'd ever had to do. Well, it probably wasn't but at the moment, it felt like it. I did not doubt that Verin had heard the entire episode; an episode that had lasted hours and actually consisted of several episodes. I had hoped that he'd left the tower and gone to find something to eat or explore the castle. Anything but sit there and listen to us go at it like wild animals.
No such luck. Verin was exactly as we'd left him with the exception that he now had a drink in his hand. His back was facing us as we entered the room and his shoulders were tense. I could have bounced a quarter off them. Although, I suppose I could have done that normally. Let's just say they were extra bulky and held particularly straight. My face heated and I seriously contemplated turning around and running back upstairs. I paused to do just that but then Darc squeezed my hand, winked at me, and pulled me forward with him.
“Our apologies, King Verin,” Darcraxis said casually as we came around the couch and went back to our seats. “As I'm sure you've surmised, Elaria's spell had a... fuel deficit. The spell has taken to altering itself briefly to accept sex as a substitute for love. We had to act immediately and... forcefully. I hope we didn't make you uncomfortable.”
Verin grunted noncommittally and took a swig of his drink. He had one leg bent with its ankle propped on the other knee. It concealed his lap, but I didn't want to contemplate why it needed hiding.
“We can't do that again,” I said to my guys. “RS is starting to sound different; more masculine. She's reverting to her old self and once she does that; we lose this for good. Once more is all it will take.”
“What exactly will you lose?” Verin asked in a strained tone.
I finally met Verin's gaze; it was bright turquoise. Stunning, really, especially with the fringe of his coal-black lashes and their exotic shape. I cleared my throat and answered, “We lose the peace she gives us and the power.”
“Peace and power?” Verin lifted a brow that was so dark blue it was nearly black.
“We're all what you might call alpha types,” Gage explained. “Not the sharing sort. I mean, we've got a Griffin, a Blooder prince, Shining One kings, a Gargoyle, and a God. None of us were accustomed to sharing before we met Elaria, but the RS makes us okay with it. It unites us and turns us into a family.”
“And it unites our magic,” Darc added. “We can empower each other or share in the collective bounty.”
“That's what you did at the battle in the Zone,” Verin murmured.
“Yes,” I confirmed. “The men gave me their strength so I could fight Gargo.”
Verin grunted thoughtfully then took another sip.
A chiming sound interrupted us. I looked down at my chest in surprise. With a quick hook of the chain around my finger, I pulled out the collection of amulets and separated the contact charm from the other two. I slipped it into my ear, the chain dangling, and answered.
“Yes?”
“Little bird,” Torin sounded unsettled.
“What happened?”
The men leaned in around me.
“We can't make the bombs.”
“What do you mean; you can't make the bombs?” I growled.
“We forgot about the key component.”
“The spell,” I whispered and closed my eyes as if I could block out the failure.
“Yes, the spell. We need a spell that can unmake magic.”
“Well, can't we try to craft one?” I asked. “A Shining One did it before; we know it's possible.”
“True, but we'd have to find someone with the right jewel for that and the proper amount of power.”
“And that would mean sharing this secret with another monarch.”
“Most likely,” he confirmed. “I can't see anyone less than royalty being able to craft such a spell.”
“A spell so powerful it would unmake the caster,” I murmured.
“What spell?” Declan asked.
“Hold on, Torin.” I transferred my attention to Declan. “The key component in a magic bomb is a dark spell that destroys magic.”
“But isn't that what the bomb does?” Gage asked, confusion wrinkling his forehead.
“The bomb's true purpose is to make it possible for such a spell to be used,” I explained.
“A spell like that has never been cast because it could potentially kill the caster,” Declan expounded. “You'd have to be confident in your ability to throw it a great distance and certain that it wouldn't backlash on you.”
“But if you charge a piece of copper—which is a conductor and receiver of magic—with such a spell and then protect that copper from the air that would eventually release the spell, you could control when and how it was released,” I added.
“Sounds complicated,” Gage muttered.
“Oh, it is,” Banning agreed. “You have to charge other pieces of copper with a benign spell then separate them from the nasty spell with a piece of steel because the nasty spell needs a target to start the chain reaction. All of this has to be contained in a copper and steel sphere to prevent the spells from activating. When the separating steel piece is removed, the spells touch and you have seconds before the explosion occurs.”
Verin grunted; he sounded impressed.
“But without that destruction spell, we've got nothing,” I concluded.
“You said you need a dark spell?” Darcraxis lifted a brow.
I gaped at him. Could it be that simple?
“Was that Darcraxis?” Torin asked.
“Yes,” I whispered to Torin. Then I asked Darc, “Do you think you can cast a spell like that? Your Darkness isn't essentially evil.”
“No magic is essentially evil, my fire.” Darc grinned. “It's all in the way you use it. What we need is a spell to destroy other spells and if any magic can do that, it's God magic. Especially if my spell is cast against one crafted by a Shining One. We are the creators of their race, their world, and their magic, after all. What you create, you can also destroy.”
“Tell him to get his ass to Onyx!” Torin shouted loud enough that Darc heard.
Darcraxis grinned—a little eagerly—and got to his feet. He headed toward the door.
“Darc!” I called after him. He turned to look at me. “Don't blow yourself up.”
“I will endeavor not to.”
Chapter Forty-Six
While Darc and Torin worked with Quinlan to make the M-Bombs—I'd relented and given them the name I refused to give them before—I searched for a song that would heal Slate's heart if it needed some help. The process involved scouring my iPod while drinking vast amounts of coffee at the dining table, a pair of earbuds in so I wouldn't disturb the men in the living room nearby. I finally decided on a couple of options then joine
d the rest of the team to finish planning.
We had called Cerberus in. Mainly because I knew he would never forgive me if I left him out of this battle. He'd been pretty pissed as it was; I'd taken too long to contact him evidently. He should have been consulted from the very beginning, especially since his “expertise” would be “invaluable” when dealing with Zone security.
Whatever. He just wanted to fight Gargo again.
“Where's Luke?” Cerberus asked as I plopped into a chair next to his.
“We didn't call him,” I said. “We don't need him for this.”
