“And Lilith?”
“Resides in the center of the Circle. Imperium makes up what were once four circles and are now split into three levels of the Keep. Inner, central, and outer. The wedding will take place in the outer Keep.”
“Are we done with the history lesson yet?” Mal drawled. “The sound of your voice droning on and on is starting to give me a headache.”
Yep, definitely not asleep.
Conah sighed. “It’ll be close to midnight by the time we arrive. You really should get some sleep, Fee.”
He scooted over to the other side of the seat and patted his thigh. “You can rest your head in my lap.”
He looked over at Mal when he made the offer, but Mal kept his eyes closed. I gave Conah a flat look, and he sighed and nodded wearily.
Fuck it, I was tired. I lay down, tucked my legs up onto the seat, and closed my eyes.
The gentle sway of the carriage soon lulled me under, and just as I drifted off, I felt Conah’s fingers in my hair.
“You’re loving this, aren’t you?” Mal said.
“Touching her?” Conah asked, stroking my hair. “Yes. Although it’s kind of disconcerting how she’s a he with short hair, and yet when I touch it, the strands are long and silken as they slip through my fingers.”
I surfaced from sleep, but kept my eyes closed and my breathing even.
“You’re about to be married,” Mal sneered. “You really are an unfaithful bastard, aren’t you?”
“This coming from a demon who fucks anything that moves.”
“I’m not the one in a committed relationship.”
Conah stopped stroking my hair. “Fuck you, Mal. You think this is easy for me? You think I want to be in love with a woman I can’t have? You know why I have to go through with this wedding. You know what’s at stake.” He sighed.
“And if there was no need for a wedding?” Mal asked. “What then? You know Kiara’s in love with you.”
“I don’t know.” Conah sounded torn. “I don’t know if I could allow myself to love Fee if it meant hurting my soulmate.”
My chest ached at his words.
“Join the fucking club,” Mal snapped. “None of us can have her. None of us get to love her.”
“That might be true for Az and me, but not you, Mal, you sadistic fuck. You’re doing this to yourself. You’re punishing yourself.”
Mal made a sound of exasperation. “For the hundredth time, it’s a fucking curse.”
“That you’re keeping activated by your guilt. What happened to Gailan wasn’t your fault. When will you allow yourself to believe that?”
“Don’t you think I’ve tried?” Mal’s words were an angry hiss.
Time to wake up. I groaned and opened my eyes. “Are we there yet?”
The carriage dropped, taking my stomach with it.
“We’re about to make our first stop,” Conah said calmly.
I looked at Mal, and this time, he didn’t tear his gaze away. This time he met my eyes with all the hunger and longing that I’d seen the night he’d made love to me.
He let me see it, and then he snapped it off and sat back. “Once we get there, I need to fuck and recharge.”
A soft whimper escaped my lips before I could bite it back. I swallowed the lump in my throat and looked out the window at the snowy terrain that was getting closer by the second as we descended.
“You’re a bastard, you know that, Mal,” Conah said softly.
“Yeah, I know,” Mal said. “Best not forget it.”
His attention was on me. I could feel it hot on the side of my face, and anger heated my neck because I didn’t deserve to be treated like this.
I didn’t deserve to be deliberately hurt. “Trust me, I won’t. But it’s not me you need to worry about. Worry about being memorable to your conquests.”
His reply was cut off as we landed with a thud that jolted my bones. Thank God. Because I needed to get away from him. As far away as possible.
The sooner this week was over, the fucking better.
Chapter Fourteen
The tavern was old-school, made from wood and slate with a working chimney that was gushing smoke into the clean, crisp winter air. The streets of the village were empty of demons, all probably indoors to get away from the chill, or maybe there was more activity farther into the village.
The tavern was on the outskirts, a watering and feeding hole for the weary traveler. A trough of fresh water awaited the drakes, who broke the layer of ice settled on it to drink their fill. There was hay and a strange pungent mulch on offer too, which the drakes seemed to like.
No other carriages were parked in the rest area, though.
“Is it always this quiet?”
Mal snorted. “This place is the arse end of nowhere. I have no idea why Earnest would plot this route.”
Conah pressed his lips together. “Earnest’s job is to plot the safest route. If he wants us to stop here, it’s for a reason. Why don’t you confess the real reason for being pissed off, huh?”
“I’m not pissed off,” Mal said. “I’m bored of this conversation. Enjoy your meal, and I’ll enjoy mine. I’ll meet you back here in an hour.” He strode off, leaving me and Conah standing in the snow outside the tavern.
There was no need to ask where he was going. He’d made his intentions clear in the carriage.
“Come on,” Conah said. “Forget him. Let’s get some food.”
He led the way into the tavern, where a delicious meaty aroma had my stomach cramping with hunger. The place wasn’t too busy, just a few locals sitting around wooden tables, drinking ale. All eyes turned to us as we entered, but they looked away quickly, tucking in their chins.
The demon behind the bar touched one of his horns nervously as we approached. “We don’t want any trouble,” he said. “I paid already. I got nothing till the end of the month. I swear.”
Conah and I exchanged glances.
“I think you may have us confused with someone else,” Conah said politely. “We merely stopped for some food and ale.” He pulled a pouch of coins from his pocket. “We can pay.”
The barman looked horrified. “No. No payment. I insist. Please take a seat, and my wife will be over to take your order.”
Conah frowned and put the money away. “Very well.”
We left the bar and took a table up against the wall, where it was obvious we were being scrutinized surreptitiously by every occupant of the room now. Was there a spotlight on us only they could see?
What the fuck was going on? “Conah?”
“I don’t know,” he answered my unspoken question.
“Our cloaks?”
“Yes, they’d know we were from Lilith’s court.”
“The bar guy seems scared.”
“I know. It’s worrying.”
“Maybe we should—”
“No. We’re not leaving. You need food.”
It was weird how he was reading my mind. “You can’t read minds, can you?”
He looked thrown. “No. I don’t read minds. I can read memories, remember.”
A female demon approached us. She was wearing a scarf around the bottom half of her face, and her eyes were slanted with vertical pupils. Her hair was pulled back from a forehead that was peppered with a scale-like pattern. She placed a jug of ale and two glasses on the table a little too roughly, and some ale sloshed onto the surface.
She didn’t bother to apologize.
“We have meat stew, vegetable stew, and meat pies,” she said gruffly.
If I didn’t know better, I’d think we’d insulted her firstborn or something.
Conah cleared his throat, clearly disconcerted by her unflinching glare. “I’ll take a pie and some vegetable stew.” He looked at me. “Felton?”
I stared blankly at him for a moment before it clicked. He was calling me by the guy name they’d picked for me.
“I’ll have the same, please.” I smiled at the barman’s wife, and she glared a
t me.
Damn, she was pissed at us about something. She retreated to get the food.
“Conah, I don’t think we should eat the food. I think she might spit in it.”
“Or put venom in it,” Conah said. “She’s a Conari daemon. Pureblood from the looks of it. They have venom glands in their cheeks.”
I stared at him, horrified. “You think she’ll poison us?”
He chuckled. “No. Not unless she wants to be executed.” He touched his cloak. “We’re Lilith’s court. Any harm done to us is punishable by death.”
Still, I wasn’t feeling hungry any longer.
Conah poured us ale and picked up his mug. “Relax, Fee, they’re probably just nervous to have nobility in their tavern. This place is off the beaten path. This village is on the outskirts of Imperium rule.”
“We’re nobility now?”
“Dominus are automatically part of Lilith’s court. But you’re also a descendant of Samael, Lilith’s one true love, which makes your connection to the court even stronger, not that we can claim that right, though, even with you glamoured as a male.”
If we claimed I was descended from Samael, she’d be able to deduce that I was Samael’s and Eve’s bloodline because she kept tabs on her and Samael’s bloodline. Not even the amulet would keep me safe then.
“Has Cora spoken to the Masterton Coven witch about her abilities yet?” Conah asked before taking a sip of his ale.
“No. She thinks she’s an anomaly. Apparently, she shouldn’t be able to do the things she can without being bound to a coven.”
“But she’s a Tulpa, so maybe the rules are different for her,” he suggested.
“Probably, but I think she wants to scope things out before she reveals herself. I don’t blame her, though.”
“And you?”
“What about me?”
He canted his head slightly, studying me from sapphire eyes. “Do you have any witch power you’re not telling us about?”
I snorted. “Aside from being able to smell magic, no.”
He looked thoughtful. “Being a witch is part of your DNA, but it seems you somehow shut off your ability to manipulate miasma and gave that ability to Cora instead.”
“It makes no sense scientifically. I mean it’s my DNA, how can Cora use the ability in my DNA?”
“I don’t know,” Conah said. “Magic is a kind of science we haven’t yet completely grasped, and it has its own rules. Maybe Cora is still linked to you somehow. Able to utilize facets of your makeup you can’t. Or maybe her body is a copy of yours but without the Loup and demon genes.”
We dropped into a companionable silence as we considered the options, and it hit me that this was the first time we’d sat and chatted. Just chatted. The first time since the day he’d cooked for me and told me about the world I belonged to.
I’d started falling for him then. I would have given him my heart so easily. I’d been ready.
Nostalgia was a fucking bitch.
“We’ve come a long way, haven’t we?” Conah said softly. His eyes crinkled in a smile. “I knew you were special the first time I set eyes on you, but I never anticipated how special.”
“I’m nothing special, Conah. I’m just me.”
“No, Fee, you’re special. You’ve changed us for the better. You’ve made us question the way we see the world. I’m honored to serve with you, and I want you to know that whatever happens, I will always be here for you. We’re a team: you, me, Mal, and Az. We stick together.”
I nodded, a lump in my throat. “I know. Same goes for you. I’m here for you and the guys, and Kiara too. We’re a team.”
Our gazes locked and all the stuff that could never be said and never be thought passed between us one last time, and then I let it go and smiled brightly.
“Where the fuck is this food, huh?”
His smile was sad as if he knew that this was it. The end of any possibility of us. “Is that your boisterous male impression?”
“Good, right?”
“Not bad.”
The food arrived, and we tucked in. It was delicious, and I forgot about the eyes on us for a few minutes as I stuffed my face, not caring how messy I was being. Ha. I was a guy, after all.
We were finishing up when the door slammed open, letting in a gust of icy air. Four massive demons wearing crimson cloaks strode in. Cloaks like ours, except theirs were edged in silver and black, not gold. They scanned the room, and their gazes rested on us.
The bar guy held up his hands. “I’ve paid. I’ve paid.”
“We’re not here for you. We’re here for them.” The demons strode toward us.
Conah put down his glass and stood to meet them. “We didn’t request a guard escort.”
I studied the demon in the crimson cloak—his gloveless hands and dirty nails, his yellowing teeth, and unkempt hair. His boots were shoddy too. Surely Lilith’s guards wouldn’t look like homeless demons who’d robbed noblemen of their cloaks? I’d expected them to be better groomed. There was something wrong with this picture.
I slipped out of the booth. “Conah?”
But Conah must have noticed the oddities too. “What regiment are you with?” he demanded.
The guard bared his yellow and black teeth. “The regiment of you-need-to-die.”
The glint of a blade galvanized me into action too late.
Conah made a strange grunting sound, and my blood turned to ice.
The guard pulled his dagger out of Conah’s side.
He’d stabbed Conah.
He’d fucking stabbed him.
My vision bled to red, and rage took a front seat.
Conah staggered, clutching his side, and a growl tore the air.
My growl.
The beast wanted out, and I was ready to shift, but my Loup smashed into a wall and shrank back. What the fuck? Why couldn’t I…The fucking amulet. It wouldn’t let me shift.
My obsidian dagger was in my hand, and I lunged, shoving Conah to the side and slashing at the guard. He jumped back out of the dagger’s reach. Conah would be up in a moment. Healed. It was just a dagger wound, but he wasn’t moving. Fuck. I slashed and swiped, trying to keep them away from him as they attempted to get to him.
“Who are you?” I swiped in a lethal arc, forcing them to back off. “What do you want?”
“Get out of the way or die,” the fake guard said. “We don’t have any issue with you. It’s him we want. Orders of the queen.”
The queen? Why would the queen want to hurt Conah?
I needed my scythe, but no matter how much my hand tingled, the scythe wouldn’t appear.
The damn amulet was blocking that too.
There were four of them and one of me. I was good, but could I fight them off and keep them away from Conah at the same time? Fuck it. Only one way to find out.
I lunged at the guard trying to circle around me. My dagger tasted blood. He yelped and leaped away, clutching his cheek. And then they all attacked at once.
I slashed and stabbed and spun, daggers in both hands to create a barrier between them and us. Fire ripped across my forearm and my thigh. Fire in my blood and in my veins. The world was wavering like I was looking at it through one of those funhouse mirrors that distorted everything. My legs…Why wouldn’t they move?
Wait, why were they staring at me. “Come on!”
My voice was slurred and thick.
“He’s determined, all right,” the guard said.
“Shall I finish him off?” the other one asked.
“No. We weren’t paid for that.”
Their blades…There was something on their blades, and they’d cut me. It was inside me. Inside Conah. I…
The lights went out.
Chapter Fifteen
Mal
It’s not the demon’s fault I can’t get it up. She’s beautiful, with creamy brown skin and huge innocent eyes and a mouth that was made to swallow, but she isn’t Fee, and my cock refuses to stand to attention.
I lay back on the bed as she straddles my legs with her mouth working my cock, and will my mind to shut down so my body can take over, but my fucking dick is adamant it’s going to lie there like an epic slug getting a tongue bath.
I sit up. “Well, this is embarrassing.”
She isn’t quick enough to mask the relief on her face. “Is it me?”
Ah, sweet of her to offer the copout. I stroke her cheek, not as soft as Fee’s peach velvet skin.
Not Fee.
Still, ten out of ten for effort. “No. You did good. Great job on all the sucking.”
“You want me to fuck you in the ass?” She looks hopeful. “I have a strap-on.”
I look down at my crotch. Not even a fucking twitch. “Tempting, but no.”
She looks worried. Probably thinking she won’t get paid. I’m not a jerk…Well, not all the time. I hand over double the price of her services and pull my pants back up. My body feels weak as I stand. If I don’t sort this shit out and feed the curse soon, I won’t be able to get out of bed by the end of the week, and that would suck.
Just fuck Fee.
That is the more desirable option, but I’ll be fucking her in more ways than one if I take what I need from her. No, this is my problem to fix, and like they say, you can’t keep a hungry cock down for long. I just need time to get her out of my system.
This is a minor setback. Nothing more.
Leaving the whore house, I make my way back to the edge of town where the tavern awaits. Time to put on an act. Got to make her think I fucked someone else. Have to hurt her to protect her. I feel sick, but I can’t let her see that.
There’s commotion outside the tavern as I draw closer. People are being evicted. Cursing and excitement saturate the air. My gaze goes to the carriage and the drakes. I head over and find it empty.
“We’re closed. Go now. Go away!” a female voice cries.
Foreboding skitters across my scalp, and then I’m striding toward the shitty structure because they have to be in the crowd somewhere. Conah said to meet here. The crowd parts to let me through, and wary eyes burn me, making my hand tingle with the threat of summoning my scythe.
Reaper Unveiled (Deadside Reapers Book 4) Page 8
