Seduced by a Demon King

by Heaton, Felicity

  Being unable to see Suki was a torment he could endure.

  Because seeing her again would be unbearable.

  Just the thought of her with another male was enough to have his rage storming to a new level, rising again just as it had been starting to abate. If he foolishly went to see her as his aching heart wanted, if he witnessed her with another male, nothing would stop him from turning the black rage he would feel on the fae town where she lived.

  Nothing would stop him from going to war.

  And the entire world would be his enemy.

  For the first time in his long life, he didn’t want a war.

  He wanted the peace Edyn had given his life for. He wanted to uphold the truce and he wouldn’t be able to do that if he could see Suki. His strength would crumble, his resolve sure to waver without a spell to keep him from her and her from him.

  War would be inevitable.

  So he had to do this, to keep his people safe, to be the king they deserved, and to keep his word.

  He stared the witch down and growled.

  “Make the spell.”

  CHAPTER 29

  Suki stumbled into the clan house, making it as far as the foyer before she collapsed to her knees again. Several of her sisters came to her as she sat there, ears ringing, mind swirling, struggling to grasp what had just happened.

  Everything in her life had been looking up, filling her heart with light and hope, and now all she knew was darkness and pain.

  She had to find a way to see Tegan again so she could explain. She had to make him see that he was wrong about her. It might have started out as a seduction, a way of gaining respect and acceptance from her clan, but by the time she had finally slept with Tegan, it had been something else.

  It had been love.

  “You’re bad for business sitting there,” one of her sister’s grumbled and took her arm, trying to pull her off the floor.

  Another sister helped her, muttering, “She’ll drive the men away and I’m hungry.”

  Allura shoved them aside, breaking their hold on her. “Back off. Something’s wrong with her, can’t you see that?”

  She had never heard Allura speak that way, with so much care in her voice. She wanted to cry when the black-haired succubus crouched before her and brushed her hair from her face, sweeping it back behind her ears as she looked at her with warmth flooding her violet-to-blue eyes.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Suki wasn’t sure she could find her voice to tell her what had happened. She fought for the words as other succubi surrounded her, driving back the ones who wanted to evict her from the foyer.

  “Tegan,” she muttered, fresh pain rolling through her as she recalled how cold he had appeared sitting upon that black throne, looking at her with eyes that had held no trace of softness, no warmth.

  There had been only anger and pain, fury directed at her.

  “The one who dropped you off the other day? Your trophy male?” Vidia eased to her knees beside her, her standard blue plaid skirt filling the edge of Suki’s vision.

  Sickness brewed inside Suki on hearing her sister speak of Tegan in such a crass way and guilt followed it, eating away at her because originally, that was what he had meant to be to her.

  A trophy.

  She had wanted him as her prize. There was no denying that.

  And gods, she hated herself for it.

  Vidia patted her knee. “Cyrena went to see him after he dropped you off. She looked pleased when she returned.”

  Another sickening wave broke over Suki, this one born of the horror that filled her as she listened to Vidia. It couldn’t be coincidence.

  “You’re sure of that?” Suki lifted her head and searched Vidia’s aqua-to-navy eyes.

  Her friend nodded. “She told me she had gone to Hell to see for sure whether you had successfully managed to seduce the Second King. She’s planning a celebration for you.”

  Was she the only one who hadn’t known what Tegan was? Vidia didn’t look surprised that he was the Second King. She looked at Allura, who didn’t look shocked to hear that either.

  A celebration? Checking she had seduced Tegan? Suki hadn’t been born yesterday. Cyrena’s reasons for going to Hell hadn’t been so magnanimous.

  Cyrena had gone there to destroy everything between Suki and Tegan.

  Suki hissed and pushed to her feet, strength flowing through her as anger turned the blood in her veins to molten fire. Her short claws and fangs grew as her pointed ears flared. She felt her eyes brighten, the colours of the world growing more vivid and the auras of everyone around her appearing as her temper snapped.

  She shoved past her friends and the other succubi, and stormed across the foyer, heading for a corridor that led to the eastern wing of the building. Rage built inside her as she picked up pace, the hallways passing in a blur as she focused on her destination. She rounded the corner at the T-junction, banking left and not hearing the noises coming from the rooms on either side of her as her gaze locked on the closed door at the end of the corridor.

  Cyrena’s office.

  Suki didn’t bother to knock. As soon as she reached the cream wooden door, she shoved it open and strode into the office, making a beeline for Cyrena as she shot to her feet on the other side of the wide dark oak desk in the middle of the red room.

  “What is the meaning of this intrusion, Suki?” Cyrena swept her blonde-to-blue waves over her shoulder with a flick of her wrist, her brown-to-navy eyes flashing at her as she swiftly gathered herself.

  Suki reached the desk and slammed her palms down onto it. “I think you bloody well know what this is about. Don’t act dumb. Vidia told me you went to see Tegan and I don’t believe for a second it was for the purpose you told her it was.”

  The fire blazing in her veins burned hotter as she stared Cyrena down, waiting for the bitch to admit she had intentionally messed everything up for her out of jealousy and anger.

  Cyrena’s red lips curved into a vicious smile. “You reap what you sow, Suki. You thought to undermine me by seducing the demon I had failed to win over. I only did what any respectable succubus would have in my position.”

  She had lashed out in a way that had saved face for her, making her appear like a caring and wonderful mistress to the clan, a woman who only wanted to check Suki truly had fed from the demon so she could officially congratulate her with a celebration.

  “You conniving bitch,” Suki spat and leaned towards her, breathing hard as rage began to get the better of her. She pressed her short claws into the wooden top of the desk, fighting for restraint as the urge to leap over the damned thing and attack Cyrena built inside her, stoked by a thought that left her cold and on fire at the same time. “Did you get what you wanted? Did he fuck you this time?”

  Cyrena’s expression soured and she jerked her chin up, doing her best to look as if Suki’s rage and what had happened with Tegan didn’t bother her, but Suki could see she was affected by both. She was afraid of Suki and she was furious with Tegan.

  “He became enraged and I left.” Cyrena looked down at her and her cruel smile returned, a flash of victory crossing her eyes, and Suki braced herself for the incoming salvo. “After I had told him about your game.”

  Her heart sank as that hit her like an atom bomb, obliterating the tiny seed of hope that had started to grow inside her again. Now she understood why he had been so cold towards her.

  So angry.

  So hurt.

  He thought she had betrayed him. He thought she had been using him the entire time. It had started out that way.

  But now?

  She hurt so bad she wasn’t sure she could recover from it. Her chest was raw, scraped out and hollow, and she couldn’t bear it as sorrow pressed down on her, her anger giving way under the weight of it.

  Cyrena stilled.

  Stared at her.

  Whispered.

  “You’re in love with him.”

  Suki scrubbed a hand over her eyes.r />
  “No, I’m not. I’m done with this conversation. I don’t want a celebration.” She hiccupped on a hollow laugh. “Funny… I wanted to be part of this family… I wanted to be included… and now I just want to be left alone.”

  Cyrena rounded the desk, her long crimson dress flowing around her ankles with each step.

  Her tone softened, all the cruelty and hardness leaving her expression and eyes as she stopped near Suki.

  “You know he’s in love with you too, that’s all this feeling inside you is. You don’t really love him, Suki. You love the idea that he’s in love with you.”

  Suki rubbed the heel of her right hand against her eye, trying to stop the tears from coming as she thought about Tegan and what she had done, and how Cyrena had ruined everything.

  “Stop trying to be nice to me,” she bit out and pushed her hurt down, seized hold of the tattered shreds of her anger and turned a glare on the blonde. “Stop feeding me bullshit. What do you think is going to happen? I’m going to forgive you for what you did? Lying to me isn’t going to make me feel better. I don’t know if he’s in love with me.”

  Cyrena threw her a confused look. “What do you mean? It was painted all over his aura.”

  Shock swept through Suki, sending a chill tumbling down her spine and arms. “How? His aura is shadowed.”

  The blonde stiffened. “Shadowed?”

  Suki nodded. “Wasn’t that the reason you failed to seduce him?”

  “No,” Cyrena spat, a flare of gold in her eyes that warned Suki she didn’t like being reminded of her failure. “I can see his aura. The reason I failed was because he thought I was only interested in his throne.”

  It hit Suki that he thought the same about her now. He thought she only wanted to be queen.

  But she hadn’t known he was a king.

  She had fallen in love with him, not the thought of being a queen.

  Cyrena edged closer, her voice low and cautious and brown-to-blue eyes holding a flicker of curiosity. “You really see shadows when you look at him?”

  She nodded again.

  The blonde hesitated and then shook her head. “It doesn’t matter now.”

  Suki didn’t like the way she said that, as if it was all over and there was no hope of getting Tegan back. She wanted to give up, but she couldn’t.

  She wouldn’t.

  If Cyrena was right and Tegan was in love with her, then she needed to find a way back to him. She needed to make him listen to her and make him see that she hadn’t betrayed him. She needed to set things right.

  Standing here arguing with Cyrena wasn’t going to achieve that, and neither would moping and nursing her broken heart.

  She pivoted and stormed from the room, not listening to Cyrena as she called after her and not stopping when Allura and Vidia caught her in the foyer, demanding to know where she was going.

  She was going to war.

  And she wasn’t going to stop fighting until Tegan was hers again.

  When she hit the steps, she teleported, appearing deep in the witches’ district in a narrow alley in front of one of the small two storey white houses. The violet door had seen better days, the paint flaking around the ornate gold knocker. She grabbed it and rapped it against the wood.

  Tense minutes passed as she strained to hear whether someone was home.

  “Please be home.” She shifted foot to foot, unable to keep still as she waited.

  Finally, the door opened, revealing a brunette witch. Suki arched an eyebrow at Julianna as she hastily tugged her long black dress down and then retied her shoulder-length hair into a high ponytail.

  As if that would cover up what she had been doing.

  “I can smell sex on you and you’re throwing off energy like a power plant.” Suki shrugged when Julianna glared at her, chocolate brown eyes narrowing with it as her lips compressed into a mulish line.

  “I didn’t know it was you.” The witch huffed and gave up trying to fix her appearance. Instead, she leaned back slightly and hollered over her right shoulder. “You might as well leave. I have a feeling this might take a while.”

  A handsome blond male leaned over on the stairs, his head appearing at ceiling level. “You sure. I can hang out.”

  “She won’t be able to concentrate while you’re skulking up there.” Julianna jerked her chin towards Suki. “You want her feeding on your unsatisfied lust?”

  He looked disappointed and tasted it too as Suki caught a faint whiff of his scent and his energy flowed towards her. Whatever these two had been up to, they had been right in the middle of things when Suki had knocked. She shivered as he emerged, descending the stairs to stop on the bottom step.

  Julianna crossed the room to him, placed her hands against his shoulders and tiptoed, her lips claiming his in a brief, passionate kiss. He groaned, that sexual energy rising, sending another wave of it rolling over Suki.

  Delicious.

  But not why she was here.

  She battled the haze, dragging her focus back to why she had come to see Julianna. “It’s urgent, Julianna. I’m never one to interrupt anyone’s fun time, but I really do need to speak with you. Alone.”

  Because the witch was right and she was never going to be able to focus while the man was hanging around, waiting to resume things with her friend.

  “Go on.” Julianna patted him on his ass. “Grab me some of those caramel shortbreads from the café and I’ll call in when I’m done.”

  The man dutifully nodded, slid Suki a disgruntled look that left her in no doubt of how much she had annoyed him by interrupting them, and pushed past her.

  “What’s this about?” Julianna waited for her to step into the room before closing the front door.

  The living room was a mess as always, books stacked everywhere, all of them with pieces of paper sticking out of them at haphazard angles. The handwriting on the notes was masculine, and Suki had spent years trying to get Julianna to tell her who the books belonged too, because apparently they didn’t belong to her.

  They certainly didn’t belong to the panther shifter who had just walked out of the door.

  Julianna was covering for someone.

  She let her curiosity go as she cleared a stack of books from the worn crimson couch and slumped onto it, coming to face Julianna as she neatly settled herself in the plum armchair opposite her.

  “I need a talisman. One that can open the portal pathways to me.” Because in this instance, being a fae sucked. She was one of a few species who couldn’t teleport into Hell without assistance.

  Most succubi convinced demons to escort them, charming them into doing their bidding. Suki didn’t think asking a demon to teleport her to the castle of the Second Realm would go down well with either the demon or Tegan.

  Julianna rose to her feet, crossed the room to a wooden crate on the cluttered sideboard near the TV and started rifling through it. “Do I need to ask why you want a return ticket to Hell?”

  Suki shook her head and then sighed. “I pissed off a demon and I need to make things up to him. I need to make him see he was wrong about me.”

  “He fled to Hell?” Julianna glanced over her shoulder at her, a cute toy bat in her right hand.

  “Not really. He was already in Hell. I screwed up and he had me brought to him so he could banish me.”

  Julianna tossed the bat into the box, twisted to face her and frowned. “You sure you want to confront him then? Demons love a good grudge and a good fight. What if he tries to hurt you?”

  “He already hurt me… and I hurt him.” She shook her head. “And he wouldn’t physically strike me. I know he wouldn’t.”

  She rubbed her throat. Although, he had held her tightly, his grip strong enough that she hadn’t been able to breathe in the moment between him seizing her and tossing her away from him like garbage.

  She shook off the hurt and the doubts, and focused on her mission.

  Winning Tegan back.

  Julianna pulled a tangled we
b of black string from the box and held it aloft, glaring at the various wooden, stone and crystal talismans hanging from the thongs. Her face twisted in frustrated lines as she untangled two of the stone talismans, small black pieces of rock that looked as if someone had chipped them off an old lava flow.

  The brunette witch brought one to her lips and muttered words against it, her eyes brightening with each syllable she uttered. Flakes of gold swirled around the rock when she was done and she set the uncharged talisman down near the TV, crossed the room to Suki and placed the charged talisman over her head.

  It felt warm as it settled against Suki’s chest.

  She took hold of the talisman in her hands, clutching it over her heart, closed her eyes and focused on her destination, but stopped when Julianna grabbed both of her wrists.

  “Swear to me that if he looks as if he’s going to murder you, you’ll leave.”

  Suki looked up at her friend and nodded.

  The moment Julianna released her, she teleported.

  There was a brief moment of darkness, the rush of cold wind over her bare skin, and then she landed.

  She opened her eyes.

  Julianna arched an eyebrow at her. “That was quick.”

  Suki frowned at the room and then her friend. “I’m sure I did it right. I pictured the castle. I envisaged the point where I had landed before with the demon Tegan sent for me. I should be able to teleport there.”

  Julianna took hold of her upper arms and looked her over, gold sparks lighting her eyes as she checked her from head to toe and back again. A frown slowly knitted her eyebrows.

  “What is it?” Suki searched Julianna’s eyes when they finally settled on hers.

  “I’m picking up a faint trace of a spell. You haven’t been dabbling in magic, have you?” Julianna frowned when Suki shook her head. Her friend closed her eyes and stood tall, breathed slowly and steadily as she held Suki’s arms, and Suki struggled to remain quiet, silencing the thousand questions suddenly burning on the tip of her tongue. When Julianna opened her eyes, they were grave. “When he banished you, he really banished you. There has to be a spell on him, or something is blocking you.”