by Eva Brandt
“All right. I will do whatever it takes, as long as you think it’ll work.”
“I know it’ll work.” Bjorn shot me a wicked smirk that made me feel butterflies in my stomach. “I’ve done it before, although granted, in a far more discreet manner. I’m prepared for this, you know.”
I wasn’t, but whatever. My sexuality was beside the point here. What mattered was the use we’d get out of this exchange. If Bjorn could save Malachai and Darius using my power, even temporarily, I would not hesitate.
Would my current inability to wield my mind magic hinder us? I didn’t think so. The skill was there. I just couldn’t reach it. Still, maybe it would be better to ask and make sure.
I opened my mouth to do just that. The words that came out were entirely different. “You can take whatever you need. If it’s better and safer, you can go ahead and fuck me.”
My own audacity shocked me a little since I had about as much experience with men as I did with breaking curses. Then again, maybe the fact that this wasn’t about me made it simpler. I didn’t have to make it a bigger deal than it was supposed to be. We could just… do it, without having to cling to useless notions of sentiment.
And yes, maybe I would have liked for my first time to mean more than a power transfer. I couldn’t stop thinking about the kisses I’d shared with Declan, those moments of passion we’d had together the last time I’d seen him. Yes, I would have liked to lose my virginity to him.
In the end, it didn’t really matter. Power was the only thing that counted, and this would give me the power I needed to save the people I cared about.
Bjorn’s expression softened at my words. “Oh, Lucienne,” he murmured. “You really are so much braver and better than I deserve. I am so sorry.”
I wanted to tell him that I didn’t need apologies. I just needed for someone to start showing sense and believing that we could still make a difference. I also didn’t feel all that brave. People kept giving me too much credit, but the only thing I’d accomplished since entering the lives of my soulmates was making a mess. My courage, my bravado, my defiance—nothing I’d done had helped. At least, not so far.
Saying such a thing would’ve been pathetic, so instead, I used the approach I’d taken with Declan. I walked up to Bjorn and pressed my mouth to his.
He didn’t tense up like Declan had. The moment our lips came into contact, he pulled me closer, his hold on me almost painfully tight. Before I knew it, he had taken control of the kiss and was plunging his tongue into my mouth. I had not even realized that I’d parted my lips for his invasion. I decided it wasn’t worth dwelling on and completely surrendered to his domination.
Bjorn pivoted us around and pinned me against the wall with his larger body. Dust rose up around us, tickling my nostrils, but miraculously, I managed not to sneeze.
Maybe Bjorn had another magical ability beyond absorbing the emotions and sensations of other people. Maybe he could block reality itself and make it seem like only he existed. At that moment, it certainly felt like he did. In fact, it felt like if he didn’t touch me more, I would explode and die out of sheer desperation.
I shook against him, clinging to his shoulders and trying to bury my fingernails in his flesh. Holding onto him like this felt a little weird. Despite the layers of material between us, I could feel the fact that his body was denser than that of a human being, which was disconcerting and threw me out of the moment.
And then, Bjorn reached between us and gently cupped my left breast. A surge of heat erupted over me, and I forgot all about irrelevant details. The only thing I could focus on was how much I needed him. My pussy clenched around empty air, and my thoughts became a repetitive litany of “please, please, please, fuck me, touch me, oh, please.”
I didn’t know if he heard me. I couldn’t vocalize my wishes, but I didn’t need to. His free hand traveled down my body and popped the buttons of my pants. His clever fingers easily pushed my panties out of the way, rubbing my wet folds with a zeal that bordered on viciousness.
When he zeroed in on my swollen clit, my world started to melt away around the edges. He might have said that he couldn’t wield fire magic, but that had to be a lie because I felt like pure flame was rushing through my veins. It was so good, but at the same time, akin to torture. Feverish with lust, I bit his lower lip, trying to convey through my actions what I couldn’t say through words. If he didn’t get inside me within the next minute, I would… I didn’t know what I would do, but it’d probably not be as enjoyable as fucking.
Bjorn did not disappoint. His finger slid into my channel, thrusting in and out in a maddeningly slow motion that made sparks of pleasure dance all the way into my core. I tore my mouth away from his, no longer able to focus enough on our kiss.
I said something that might have been his name, another plea, or some kind of incoherent screech. Bjorn kissed my jaw and my neck, all the while never stopping his ministrations on my hungry pussy. “Go on, lovely,” he crooned in my ear. “Come for me. Let me see your pleasure.”
His voice almost seemed to have a physical quality to it, and he punctuated his order by twisting his fingers inside me just so and rubbing my clit with his thumb. I couldn’t resist the command, couldn’t resist him. With one last cry, I came so hard I saw stars.
I’d always thought that description was stupid and cliché, but nothing else could have fit. I literally got flashes of what looked like distant galaxies, nebulas, and supernovas—all the good stuff I’d only ever seen during the occasional school trips I’d taken to the observatory. They flickered behind my eyelids like fireworks, their light sizzling over my skin, into each and every one of my atoms.
I didn’t understand the reason, but as I convulsed through my orgasm, it felt as if his touch had gone beyond the sexual. I could sense his desire for me pulsing through my body like wildfire, consuming everything in its path. And when I surrendered to it, for the first time in forever, I was free.
But freedom was not a gift that was meant to last, and all too soon, the intense sensations began to settle in a comfortable afterglow. My knees still went weak, no longer able to hold me up. I would have undoubtedly fallen had Bjorn not been there to catch me. “Easy there. Take a moment to catch your breath.”
My face flamed at my display, but Bjorn didn’t laugh. Instead, he gave me some space, silently encouraging me to recover. At the same time, he stayed close enough to support me and keep me from embarrassing myself further. He wasn’t really successful in that latter task.
As I leaned against the wall, still struggling to process what we’d just done, I realized that unlike me, Bjorn hadn’t come. I stole a look down, and sure enough, I could see the clear outline of his erect cock straining against the material of his tight pants.
“Don’t you… Don’t you need to…?”
To what? Come? Put it in? Fuck me? I didn’t know how to finish that sentence. My orgasm seemed to have sabotaged my ability for rational thought. Frustrated with myself, I decided on the option that seemed most advantageous. “I could suck you.”
I had zero experience at fellatio, but I’d watched enough porn and read enough books to understand how it worked and I was confident that Bjorn could help me through whatever awkwardness my inexperience would unavoidably create. Bjorn’s breath caught. “You have no idea how tempting that offer is, but we have a job to do.”
When he reached for me again, his eyes glowed purple. Still too dazed by my orgasm, I didn’t resist, but the moment he kissed me, I instantly regretted that. This time, his touch was different. He was different. The edge of the passion I sensed emanating from him felt sharp, like a knife slicing into my soul. A thread of shadowy magic slid into me, insidious and icy. In the blink of an eye, the deep emotions and the pleasurable sensations that lingered in the wake of my orgasm vanished, wiped away without a trace.
Bjorn pulled away from me, freeing me from whatever enchantment he’d cast. It didn’t help. I still felt like a blackboard brutally wi
ped clean of a beautiful poem that had been written upon it. Okay, so maybe that was a bad comparison since blackboards didn’t have nerve endings to experience any kind of sensation. But if they had been alive, I thought that maybe they would have felt like this.
The regretful, ashamed glint in Bjorn’s dark eyes snapped me out of my trance. I couldn’t allow him to think he had hurt me or anything like that. It wouldn’t have been completely false, but if we had gone this route, it was for a reason, and I did not regret it. “That was weird,” I managed to say, marveling when my voice didn’t shake. “Did it work?”
“Yes,” Bjorn replied softly. “I’m sorry you had to go through such an unpleasant experience. I wouldn’t have—”
“Don’t be stupid,” I cut him off. “I enjoyed it, and I’m sure I’ll enjoy whatever you do with your prize just as much.”
Bjorn pressed his forehead to mine, and I got the feeling that he didn’t believe me. “All right,” he replied. “I’ll go see to our… little issue and come back to talk to you. Now come on. We should get back outside before someone notices you’re missing.”
He grabbed my hand and entwined our fingers, guiding me toward the exit of the passageway. His hold on my palm was gentle and warm, and somehow, it felt just as intimate as the kisses and sexual caresses we had shared.
Maybe that was what made me jerk on his hand and stop him. “Bjorn,” I whispered, “before you go, can I ask you for a favor? Well, two favors.”
Bjorn turned toward me and tilted his head inquiringly, his brow furrowed in a small frown. “Sure, Lucienne. What is it?”
“It’s about…” God, this was hard and awkward to explain after what we’d done. “My friend Pierce Garnier vanished after the plague attack. I have no way of reaching his mother and sister. They might know more about it, but at the same time, they could be in danger too. The problem is that they’re twice-blessed and I can’t leave the Palasion. Would you mind…? If I give you their address and phone number, could you possibly…?”
Bjorn smiled, not seeming taken aback or offended by my request. “Of course, Lucienne. I’ll look into it. It’s not a problem at all. What is the other thing?”
“It’s about Declan.” I bit my lower lip and forced myself to continue speaking, even if this was one of the things I most hated bringing up. “Everyone… Everyone thinks that he’s dead, that Vandale killed him, but I refuse to believe that. I know you can’t find any information about it on your own, but could you maybe contact his family and discuss it with them? I don’t know much about Declan’s life from before he was a guardian, but he mentioned his brother to me, and seemed to trust him.”
“That’s a good idea, Lucienne,” Bjorn answered with a small frown. “I won’t lie to you, though. That one will be tough. The Inquisitor Corps doesn’t exactly socialize with the Banished. Still, I’ll give it a shot. Anything that has the potential of helping us or giving us a lead is more than worth investigating.”
His words were like a balm to my badly wounded heart. I still had no news of Declan, Pierce or my surrogate family, but that might change soon. Just having that hope meant a lot.
“Thank you,” I replied. Impulsively, I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him one more time. “Seriously, thank you so much.”
“Don’t mention it, Lucienne,” he whispered in my ear. “It’s the least I can do.”
I closed my eyes and buried my face in his neck. For a few seconds, I allowed myself to revel in the warm comfort of his embrace.
It should have felt wrong. I should have felt guilty about what I’d done, especially when Declan and I already had a tentative thing. But for some reason… For some reason, even if the thread of guilt was there, so was the connection Bjorn had been talking about earlier.
It was true, wasn’t it? He really was my soulmate, and quite possibly, another man I couldn’t have. Damn it all to hell. Why had my life turned out like this?
* * *
Malachai
They came for me shortly before noon. I knew because of the slight torpor that lingered over me due to my vampiric nature. Bjorn’s blood would keep me from experiencing other unfortunate and debilitating side-effects, but I’d always still sense it on some level.
The threat The Pure Inquisition posed to my well-being was far more serious than that of the distant sunlight. When the group of Alarians entered my cell, I instantly realized they meant business.
Inquisitor Chen had brought two others with him and all of them had a tendency to use the most painful methods possible while extracting information from the enemies of The Pure Kingdom of Alaria. I’d witnessed some of them work a few times, and every scavenger who had been unfortunate enough to warrant such focus had died in very unpleasant ways.
I didn’t panic. My defenses were still solid, still holding up, and as long as something extreme didn’t happen, I would be able to keep my part of the deal.
“Get up, scavenger,” Chen said, curling his lip. “It’s time to test out some new interrogation methods on your disgusting self.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. His demeanor was unusual. Scavengers were the mortal enemies of Alarians, yes, but even so, no inquisitor was supposed to express such a personal opinion about one of his or her captives. All of the forceful actions Alarians took were guided by reason and logic. They weren’t supposed to be able to feel disgusted at all and therefore, their insults, if they were ever uttered, never sounded like this.
Something was off.
I followed his command and displayed no reaction when he was a little rougher than usual in his treatment. He jerked on my chains so hard the silver cuffs bit sharply into my already chaffed skin, but I didn’t mind the pain. If anything, I found it intriguing, because it confirmed my theory.
The other inquisitors took everything in stride, acting like they hadn’t seen anything at all. They said nothing and appeared to be as calm as they usually were, but that alone was suspicious. As inquisitors, they should have easily caught onto the fact that their colleague was acting strangely. For whatever reason, they hadn’t.
Could it be…? No, it wasn’t possible. But it was the only explanation, the only thing that made sense.
I hid a smirk as Inquisitor Chen ushered me through the cell block and into the Inquisition wing. I should have seen this coming. Bjorn was, after all, an incubus, and he wouldn’t have been himself if he hadn’t made things as dramatic as possible. I had to appreciate the fact that he’d taken the time to use his powers on Chen, even if it was just to make sure Chen didn’t do anything stupid that would ruin the plan. It might have caused me to get incipient silver poisoning, but as long as I saw some results, I didn’t even care.
As expected, my accomplice was already waiting in the interrogation chamber Chen led me to. As I walked into the room, our eyes met, and a jolt of something familiar coursed through me. It vanished when he broke eye contact, his gaze going to my wrists instead. He pressed his lips together in visible displeasure as he took in the state of my bound hands, but didn’t tell the other inquisitors to let me go. He simply nodded as they guided me to the prisoner-assigned seat in the room and strapped me down using the chains and shackles.
For about five minutes after they completed their task, we just waited there in silence, without doing anything at all. Well, I wasn’t doing anything. Bjorn was staring unblinkingly at his fellow inquisitors, green sparks dancing through his eyes. A terrible suspicion dawned inside of me, and I opened my mouth to ask. One look from Bjorn silenced me, reminding me of our location and circumstances. I glared at him, clenching my hands into fists. If he had hurt Lucienne to go through with this crazy plan of his, I would make him pay.
“Thank you, Inquisitor Chen,” Bjorn finally said. “Now, go and deliver the following message to Cardinal Vaughn. The prisoner has broken, and it appears that he has some information of great importance regarding Vandale. The plagues might be planning an attack on The Pure Kingdom of Alaria. However, we cannot be certain as t
here is a mental shield in the prisoner’s mind, one Vandale himself erected. We cannot bypass it ourselves. This matter must be dealt with urgently, as the health of the prisoner has deteriorated during the last interrogation session.”
His voice was infused with so much mind control magic that even if the order was not directed at me, I was a little tempted to leave and do what Bjorn had just said. The inquisitors, whom Bjorn had already been working on for a while now, didn’t have a chance. They nodded, acknowledging the instructions with the same deference they would have shown King Sterling.
“I understand,” Chen said. “Praised be the High King.”
“With honor, we move forward,” Bjorn automatically replied, his lips twisting into a small smirk.
The other two inquisitors echoed Chen and Bjorn’s salute, and together, the trio departed. Once the door closed behind their retreating backs, I tried to lunge at Bjorn. “What did you do?”
Unfortunately, my chains and shackles kept me immobilized and I could do nothing but sit there and watch the smug bastard gloat over his misdeeds. “Nothing permanent or unnecessary,” he replied. “Relax. So far, everything has gone well, but you need to keep a cool head, or this will all be for nothing. I can’t make sure the inquisitors stay tame and handle the cardinal on my own. Even with the boost, it’s too dangerous. Remember our deal.”
“I remember,” I answered, “but our deal did not include you using Lucienne in any way.”
“I will do whatever it takes to achieve our goals. You’ll just have to trust that the end result will be favorable for both of us.”
He walked up to me and offered me his wrist in a silent command to drink. At that moment, I hated him for having forced us all in this situation. A part of me realized very well that our current predicament wasn’t his fault, but that part was very small and easily drowned out by my outrage at what he must have done to Lucienne. I strained against my shackles, but the resulting painful burn did very little to calm me down. “Swear to me. Swear that she’s fine.”
