“But Firian could be there.”
“You could do that?” I clutched their hands. “Oh, come on, we have to! Poor Firian! It’s Christmas.”
“The cabin is cold,” Firian said. “You’ll want me there.”
“We just have to get back in the house super early before Grandma wakes up,” I said.
Firian’s bed would never fit all of us, so we made a pile of pillows and quilts on the floor and the guys snuggled close around me. Alec was almost too hot, and Montague was too cold, but Firian was just right, and there was still nowhere else I’d rather be. I fell asleep quickly, only to step into a dream version of the cabin, where for some reason I was naked on a bed of furs.
Some part of my brain wondered whose brain came up with the furs, but I guess it was okay in a dream. No animal had to die for these pelts. They looked like polar bear fur or something and they felt so soft on my skin. Where were the guys?
No sooner had I realized I was alone than the door opened and Firian walked in, wearing a nice dark red suit, collar loosened. He leaned over me with a soft smile. “How long have you been waiting?”
“For you? For a long time.”
“The others will be here soon. But no one gets you warmed up like me, do they?” He bit his lip hungrily as he slowly ran a finger down my slit. Heat rose to the surface of my skin as I immediately grew wet. Then he started unfastening his buttons.
“Let me help you,” I said.
We worked his shirt loose together, button by button. He let me take his cock out of his pants but not to take them off. “Wait. I don’t want them looking at my pale ass instead of yours,” he said.
“You’re so shy sometimes.”
“Not shy, just…considered,” he said. “You deserve every eye on you, beautiful girl.” He climbed over me and started working his tongue over my folds, the way only Firian could do very well. The way he leaned over me, I could see his cock right above my face, and I gave it a little tug.
“Oh, shit,” he said. “You haven’t touched me in so long.”
“We haven’t tried 69ing yet,” I said. “I’m an equal opportunity girl.” I ran my tongue down his cock and was rewarded with his tongue tasting me deep and the most gratifying sound coming from deep in his chest.
I was making some very gratified sounds myself as he stroked in and out and circled around spots that made me squeal and then remember I had offered my own part in this, and I wrapped my mouth around his cock and sucked and licked up the length.
Just as we were really getting into it, the door opened and Alec and Montague walked in. Alec was already totally naked while Montague was, of course, wearing what looked like some fine Italian suit but he started stripping out of it while he made eye contact with me.
“No need to greet us,” Alec said. “When your mouth is already full.” He bent down and took my breast in his mouth and now I was practically spasming with overstimulation as Firian was sliding his tongue from my clit to my entrance and back again with side explorations of every fold, and Alec sucked and bit my nipple, and I was watching Montague while I was sucking on Firian like he was an oversized lollipop.
Montague dropped his shirt on my eyes and then he bent down and put his fangs around my other nipple.
“Ohfuck,” I tried to say. I writhed and arched as they played with my breasts, my core pulsing hot. Alec and Montague reached for my knees and they each wrapped an elbow around them, spreading me out so Firian’s tongue seemed to his even more sensitive spots, and I felt like I belonged to them completely.
“You’re so flexible,” Alec said.
“Yoga,” I panted. “I’m in better shape than I look.”
“I’d say you’re in excellent shape,” Montague said, as I started seeing stars. “Good thing.”
“Oh, I know,” I cried. “I want to make all of you happy tonight!”
“You always make us happy,” Firian said.
“We’ll build you back up slowly…,” Alec said, now gently grazing my skin with his fingertips. “And then claim you…one at a time?”
“Ohh…”
“Two at a time?” he purred. “Three?”
I flushed. “I don’t know.”
“It’s a dream.”
“Is it?”
Alec shifted position so my head was in his lap. He stroked my hair and my face, as Montague and Firian just as gently explored the rest of my body with their hands. Firian started giving me a foot rub that made me wonder if I could fall asleep inside a dream, but paired with Montague caressing my breasts it was also arousing. Before long I was craving them as urgently as if the first interlude had never happened.
“I want to feel you here,” Firian said, moving up to stroke my bottom.
“I want to feel you everywhere, Firian…”
“Stay nice and relaxed…”
“You too,” I said, as Montague and Firian were getting a little tense with the close proximity, but I soothed them with my best sexy expressions and needy caresses and tugs of their arms, their hair, anything I could get my hands on, as Firian’s stiff cock slid inside me and I knew Montague was hungry for me.
“Three,” I said. “Let’s try three.”
It took some awkward shuffling around but in another minute Montague was almost in Alec’s arms, as close as they were, while he steadied me to claim my pussy. Firian waited patiently, throbbing inside me, while I sucked Alec’s cock, clutching his hips, hardly able to process what Firian and Montague were doing to me except that it became a blur of ravishing pleasure. I was only in control of Alec, who groaned for me, letting me know I was doing my job well despite exhaustion. In fact, he came quickly and let me go so Montague and Firian could catch me between them and sate themselves.
When they let go, I let go again with them, and I felt like I was melting—or exploding—but then I woke up.
“Ohh…Alec…dang. That was nuts.”
“Just a dream,” he said.
“Tell that to my aching loins.”
“Heh…” He kissed me. “All right. I’ll have a talk with your loins later.”
“Just a dream,” Montague confirmed. “I wouldn’t have wild sex on Christmas Eve.”
“Oh yeah. If anyone asks you were at midnight mass,” I said.
Alec and Montague seemed to fall back asleep within seconds.
Firian was still a fox again, warming my feet. He blinked at me.
I blinked back.
“I love you, Charlotte,” he said. “I love your hot ass but I’d love you just as much if you turned into a possum forever tomorrow.”
“Same.”
“You’d be a hot ass possum, anyway, I’m sure. Just like I’m an especially foxy fox.”
“True,” I said. “Merry Christmas, Firian. Wake me up at four am.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Harris
“Hello, Harrison,” my father said coolly. “I’m glad you decided to join us.”
Behind him, my mother’s ice blue eyes bored into me. She looked a little scared, I thought, like she thought something terrible had happened to me, but when my father looked at her, she smothered it with a tightened mouth.
I was going to have to put on the Perfect Son Show. I bowed my head. “I want to make amends.”
“We were worried sick,” Mother said. “You still haven’t given us a sufficient explanation for where you went this summer. To stay with ‘friends’? What friends are you keeping these days?”
You think I don’t have friends? You think I have new friends you disapprove of even more than Monty and Alec?
Well, that’s probably true. A faery lord of Wyrd is probably worse, considering it could destroy your carefully constructed hierarchy.
But, I bit my tongue.
“I just want to say that I’m sorry,” I said, even as I heard the voices of my parents and teachers ringing in my head, telling me that one of the worst things a magic user can do is to tell a lie, because magic thrives on truth. “I made
a mistake. I realize this. I needed to get away from home to work through some thoughts. I’ve had some personal issues at college that I’ve had a hard time talking about.”
“You don’t have to hide those things from us,” my mother said, which was as much a lie as anything I’d ever said. “I am very happy to have you home. How are things going with Piers as the new dean? I would think that structurally he would run a tight ship.”
A tight ship? He forced Alec into exile and he almost did the same thing to Charlotte.
“I’m sure you heard about Alec,” I said, in a neutral tone. “I suppose…it was inevitable.” That was the best I could say in Piers’ favor.
“It is truly a shame,” Father said. “Dr. Lyrman must be distraught. He really paid the price for sleeping with a succubus. But it is a cautionary tale. One mistake can ruin your life. Same with your friend Montague. So…your mother and I have been talking with members of the council…”
“Yes,” she said, as they started to walk down the main hall of Ladyswald, past the somber posthumous Medieval portrait of my ancestor Rudolf II, which guarded over the treasure vault, and to my right, the Lady Elena Alexandra Nicolescu, famous for killing a vampire while heavily pregnant. A couple of my sisters popped their heads out of doors to listen in, and Mother shooed them away with a wave of her hand.
“Harris, my dear son,” Mother said. “Is one of those personal things you don’t want to talk about…Charlotte Byrne?”
I frowned, probably revealing too much.
“I have heard,” she said. “And it would explain a lot about your mood these days. Look, your father and I are actually very happy about this. I’m sure you thought we wouldn’t approve of Charlotte, but the Caruthers bloodline is worth redeeming, and Councilwoman Caruthers wants Charlotte to be safe. Since things didn’t work out with Daisy, we would like to consider a betrothal between you and Charlotte.”
I knew this was coming, because of what I’d heard, and yet, hearing these words actually escape my mother’s mouth…
“This would keep her safe,” my father urged. “She would come here to Ladyswald right after graduation, and we would find you a newlywed home right here along the Hudson, so we can all help to show her through wizard society.”
Charlotte…
Daisy would have fit in here, in the long run. She would have found her place, lost her edges. Charlotte was like another species.
What sort of expression would a dutiful son have? My acting ability was smothered by the thought of Charlotte, holding hands with my two best friends, as intimate with them as I once was (well, actually, way more) while I held back. Out of necessity? I wondered if I could ever let my guard down.
“What do you think?” Mother asked.
“I…I don’t know.”
“You’re blushing,” she said, wagging a finger and then giving my father a knowing little pat on the arm. “I can never hide my feelings as well as I’d like either. Now, Harris, I think you realize that Charlotte is in a lot of trouble. She was accused of consorting with her familiar, which is troubling enough. She has a Wyrd wand, and I heard about the incident in the chapel. Something happened in there, didn’t it? And what about Stuart Jablonsky? Anyway—do you know how close she is to being put away in the Haven for not just her safety, but everyone else’s?”
“What’s stopping them from just going ahead with it, anyway?”
“Councilwoman Caruthers is heartbroken at the thought of losing her last family member.”
Councilwoman Caruthers doesn’t give a shit about Charlotte. Not who Charlotte is. She’s just a symbol to her.
“Harris,” my father said. “When I was young, I had a moment just like you did, where I did some rebellious things, and I know that you are a trustworthy kid, and you’re going to do us proud. You’ll be on the council someday with your cousin. And Charlotte can be at your side. She’s cute, isn’t she? It’s true, you and your mother can never hide a blush. So shall we go along with the plan?”
It’s true. They want me to forget about Monty and Alec…
If I didn’t need the holy treasures of the Hapsburgs that were in that room, I might have told them just how it felt to watch my two best friends getting closer, to Charlotte and each other. Now Daisy was even starting to enter their orbit. I would tell them that Firian wasn’t just a ‘familiar’, he was a person and he followed me through the woods in the rain to help Charlotte. I would tell them that was what love looked like, and I hardly even knew how to share it.
I would tell them I never intended to be on the council. I wanted to get to Wyrd.
“Sure,” I said, sounding idiotic.
They walked into the dining room, where Councilman de Brigue was sitting in one of the substantial wooden chairs. He looked up at our entry as if waking up from a nap, pausing to wipe his glasses. “Good day, young Mr. Nicolescu,” he said in a craggy voice that could barely hit a standard volume.
I had the immediate sense I’d been tricked. My parents had this shift, suddenly, like they were taking a little kid to get shots instead of ice cream, which I knew well because they had actually done that to me.
“Harris, dear, the councilman wants to ask you a few questions,” my mother said.
“Yes…yes. I am going to need the truth, young man,” Councilman de Brigue said, coughing. “Is he amenable to the marriage arrangement?”
“Yes.”
“You will be doing her a great favor, young Miss Byrne,” Councilman de Brigue said. “She would be at the Haven as we speak if not for a few of us standing up for her, on account of the Caruthers legacy…ahem-hem…” He looked at some papers. “Yes, well, sit down.”
What if I refuse?
The question was on the tip of my tongue. I had to calculate the risks quickly.
We needed the Hapsburg treasures to fight the Withered Lord, especially so soon. That was pretty much a fact. The holy relics were devastating to demons. If my parents didn’t trust me, I would not get the relics.
But what will he ask?
I walked up to the table, trying to catch what he had written down. I saw Stuart’s name.
They really want Stuart, I thought. Piers keeps trying to find him. But Stuart is a frickin’ faery lord. He can take care of himself.
“All right,” I said, plastering on a slightly aggravated smile now. “Seems like a lot of fuss…”
Councilman de Brigue gave me his hand. “You must swear to tell the truth, a promise that is binding, a lie shall burn upon your lips and set your mind unwinding.”
“Why would I lie?”
“Your hand, please.”
I slipped my fingers in his withered claws. Councilman de Brigue was over a century old.
“Do you swear?”
“I swear to tell the truth.”
I couldn’t help a little cringe as I felt the spell settle on my lips. I hope this isn’t a huge mistake.
“Is Stuart Jablonsky one of the fae race?”
“Yes.”
“Does he come from Wyrd?”
“As…far as I know.” My attempts to mince words made my lips tingle. “Yes.”
“Do you know his whereabouts?”
“Not right now.”
“But you did.”
“He had a cave in the forest near Merlin College.”
“Who else was with him there?”
“Professor McGuinness and two servants…”
“Did you stay with Professor Jablonsky when you ran away from home?”
“I—I—yes.” Damn, for being so old and doddering, de Brigue was a very focused interrogator.
“Oh, Harrison!” My mother looked both distraught and angry.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I needed somewhere to go and I was trying to figure out his deal. But to be honest, I’m not sure Stuart is that important. He doesn’t seem close to the faeries either.”
“Did you see any other faeries while you were there?”
“As I said, just his two se
rvants.”
“Two servants? Faeries? Did they have any power?”
“Orson is just a gruagach who makes a lot of trips to Publix, and Penny is a house silkie who cleans up after you if you so much as drop a crumb on the floor. You don’t have to worry about any of them.”
“I see, I see. And you don’t know where Stuart and his servants have gone?”
“I’m sure they are hiding from you,” I said.
“Reasonable of them,” he said. “Thank you, Harrison. That’s all I needed.”
That’s it? It wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it might be. They didn’t ask about any of Charlotte’s business, at least.
“Would you like to stay for dinner, Councilman?”
“No, madam, I will be going,” he said, with a look in his rheumy eyes like he had Things To Do.
“I’ll see you out,” Father said.
“You might as well have a seat,” my mother said. “Dinner will be starting soon. Let me just inform Marius and then I’ll call your sisters.”
“You did very well,” Father said. “I’m glad you’ve realized what must be done.”
Crap. I had a bad feeling about this, but I had to just go with it. Any attempt to dig deeper would alert my family that I wasn’t a dutiful son after all, and then I wouldn’t be able to steal from them, which was the whole reason I’d come for Christmas in the first place.
I endured days of holiday festivities. I used to enjoy our holidays, with the ten foot tree that was cut from our own woods on Christmas Eve and lit with real candles, the long table heaped with food, and all my older sisters getting along for just one night when they usually fought like a house full of rescue cats. This time, I suffered through every second of it, knowing what I had to do on my last night here. I would only have one chance and then I had to get the hell out of here before any noticed.
Anyone with direct Hapsburg blood in the house could just walk into the treasure room. It was unthinkable that anyone in the family would steal anything. Because of the nature of the wards, the family legend was that my father had to drink three drops of my mother’s blood to be allowed to enter. The treasures had been in the family for centuries, carefully kept. If our home was ever attacked, we were to flee to the treasure room and defend ourselves there. We might not be royalty anymore, but my parents had taught us royal paranoia that we might be attacked or poisoned.
A Witch Among Warlocks: The Complete Series Box Set Page 72
