by Noree Cosper
“And you’re still not going to try. Typical.” Colin muttered. “You know where to find me if you change your mind.”
He stormed out of the room, leaving me with the mess and few options on what to do.
17
I rested my forehead against the cool stone of the elevator and closed my eyes with a long sigh. The cleaning had taken hours and left me more exhausted than before. I opened my fist and stared down at the bit of maca root I’d managed to save. This would last me a couple days, but then what? I was approaching the eleven-day mark, when permanent insanity starts to set in. The Potion would have been able to fight against that, but the maca root alone wouldn’t.
Instead of pushing the button to my floor, I pushed the top button, like I had done every day since we had been here. After a few moments, Vaughan’s face appeared in the mirror embedded above the buttons. His eyes narrowed and his lips thinned to a slit.
“The Prince is unavailable for you to speak with,” he said.
This had become a ritual for us. I wanted to speak to the Prince personally in order to get him to let us leave. Only, they had set the elevator up to stop that sort of thing. Everyone had to talk to Vaughan first to get permission to speak to the Prince. Vaughan loved playing god of the access button.
“I just need like one or two minutes to talk to him,” I said. “All I want is to leave the city. You won’t have to see me, then. It’s actually in your best interest to help me.”
He looked down at something beyond the mirror’s scope, his jaw working. His gaze returned to me with a sympathetic frown.
“I’m sorry, Aneira,” he said, “but the Prince won’t see you. It’s best you wait for him to come to you.”
With those words, the mirror turned black. With a shriek, I slammed my fist into the wall. The panel rattled with the force of my blow. I rubbed my aching fist, panting as the world seemed to flare red. No matter how I tried to avoid it, the Fae were going to end me, whether it be the bastard at the top of the tower or the bitch who had marked me.
I jabbed the button to my floor and crossed my arms as the elevator began to ascend. It opened with a ding and I trudged to my room. I stopped with my hand hovering over the handle and stared at Colin’s door. At this point, what more did I have to lose?
I shuffled to Colin’s door, taking a few minutes to reach it, despite being a few feet away. My knock echoed down the hall. I crossed my arms, biting my lip as I waited. Minutes passed with no response. I raised my hand to knock again and paused. He was probably out or had invited someone to his room to play. There was no shortage of those wanting to sleep with him. I’d seen the looks they’d sent his way at the bar downstairs when we’d gone downstairs to eat instead of ordering room service.
I gritted my teeth and a burning sensation filled my chest at a vision of his hands caressing some faceless woman. I pressed my hands to my eyes. Why did I even care? Colin was free to sleep with who he wanted.
The door swung open as I stood in my weird moment of crisis, revealing Colin, shirtless with mussed hair. A wave of relief rushed through followed by a wave of heat.
I took a deep breath and let my words rush out of me. “All right, we do this spell. But on one condition. You have to watch over me while I sleep.”
His drowsy look of confusion disappeared from his face as he became more animated. “Really?”
He trotted to the bedroom, leaving the door open for me. I stepped inside and closed the door, then leaned against it. He returned with his arms wrapped around the book from the Mara.
“I’ve read through the spell several times. Luckily, there is no gestures in it, just chanting for me and incantation for you. It does require for you to ingest an herbal potion.” His gaze shifted to my stained clothes. “I should probably make that. It’s complicated.”
I looked down at myself. “I need to clean this junk off me before we do this.”
“I’ll head down to the training room and make the herb mixture,” he said. “Meet back in your room?”
“Yeah,” I said.
In my room, I showered, scrubbing off the dried bits of goo that clung to my skin. Afterwards, I walked to the oak wardrobe and pulled open the double doors, staring at an array of clothing. The Prince had provided anything we’d wanted or needed during our stay, as long as we didn’t leave the tower. As pretty as the tower was, it was still a cage. A feeling lingered in the pit of my stomach that the Prince would want something eventually.
I sighed and grabbed a tank top and pair of shorts. The room was warm enough not to need long sleeves and I was always hot when I slept. A fluttery empty feeling filled my stomach as the thought that I would actually get to rest. I slipped the clothes on and sagged in the cushioned chair near the window. My eyelids began to droop and I jerked myself straighter. Now that it was close, my body wanted it to happen immediately. I stood up and began pacing. Better to keep moving to stay awake.
A while later, Colin knocked on the door. I shuffled over to answer it. He balanced a small teardrop vial on the top of the book. His gaze swept over me as he stepped inside, and it lingered on my bare legs.
He cleared his throat and his eyes met mine. “Are you ready?”
I nodded and led the way to the bedroom where the enormous four poster bed took up most of the room. I pushed back the sheer black curtain and sat in the middle of the burgundy bedspread with my legs crossed. Colin sat on the edge of the mattress and pushed the book and vial between us.
“How does this work?” I asked.
He flipped the pages to the spell and turned it my direction. “Well, since the Mara wrote it for herself, she has how she does it, but I think we can change it for you. You need to focus your magic on giving you sleep, but not dreams.”
I read through the directions and then pointed to an incantation. “In the meantime, you chant this?”
“Yeah, it’s supposed to combine our magic.” He handed me the vial. “But first, you need to take this.”
My fingers played with the pointed crystal stopper, the edges poking into my skin. The fluttery feeling in my stomach had grown heavy. Colin had had only six days to learn the intricacies of witchcraft and potion making was pretty complicated. I’d had years and still had messed up earlier. What if this didn’t work? Colin took my hand and stopped my fidgeting.
“I triple checked the measurements,” he said. “Besides, I don’t think the Mara would have given us the spell if she didn’t think we could do it.”
I licked my lips and nodded to him. The Mara probably could have done the spell herself, but she’d given it to us as another lesson. She probably had measures up in case we messed up. I just had to trust she and Colin would protect me if anything went wrong. With a deep breath, I popped open the bottle and knocked it back, making a face as the bitter bits of plant hit my tongue. I had to swallow several times to get it all down.
“Ugh.” I smacked my tongue against the roof of my mouth and shook my hands. “Okay.”
He moved to sit across from me and threaded his fingers with mine. He closed his eyes and chanted in a soft, singing voice. At first, nothing happened, then small tingles crept along my fingertips as our magic connected. They traveled up my arms and to the rest of my body. Colin’s scent surrounded me. I breathed it in, letting it fill my insides. My nipples hardened as the tingling turned to a heat, and need. Even his witchcraft was like this?
Concentrate, woman. I told myself.
I inhaled, counted to ten, and released the breath as I focused on my exhaustion. It rushed forward to the center of my mind, threatening to overcome me. I pulled one hand from Colin’s and touched my amulet.
“Now I lay me down to sleep. My dreams the Fae don’t keep,” I chanted. “May oblivion carry me through the night. And restfulness wake me at morning’s light.”
The dam holding back my exhaustion burst. I fell back against the pillows and the oblivion I called for washed over me.
I woke with a start to a darkened roo
m. The glow from the light of Bedlam peeked through the edges of the thick curtain.
Something heavy and warm was thrown over my waist. Colin’s arm. My hands were wrapped around his other arm, which I was laying on. He must have fallen asleep during the night. How long had I been out? Elation shot through me. I’d slept and couldn’t remember one dream.
I rubbed my face with my hand and moved to lift his arm from my waist. My fingers paused on his wrist. It was so warm here, so comfortable. A few more minutes wouldn’t hurt. I snuggled closer and gasped as a hardness pressed against my ass. A soft giggle escaped my lips. At least one part of him was up.
I wiggled my hips, enjoying the sensation of him sliding up and down my crack. He moaned and his hand moved from my waist to the top of my thigh. I stilled my gyrations, and his breathing went back to its steady rhythm. I arched my back and moved my hips again. I got another moan and a quick rush of breath. His hand tightened on my thigh and he thrust against me. His bare chest pressed against my shoulders. Those tingles from earlier arced through my body. Shit, were we still connected?
“Finally awake, I see,” he murmured in my ear.
“Same to you,” I said. “You were supposed to be watching me.”
“Yeah, sorry,” he said. “I tried, but I couldn’t stay up the whole night.”
“I thought you were good at that.” I rubbed my ass against him again.
He sucked in a deep breath. “I usually have to have some sort of incentive, like now.”
His hand moved to the cheek of my ass while his teeth gently nipped at my earlobe. A delicious shiver ran through me as I continued to move my hips. Heat built between my legs and I wanted more.
“I’ve been in love with this ass since I saw you walk out of my room in shorts as skimpy as these,” he said.
My heart skipped a beat. His hips rocked against me and his hand slid forward, under my shorts, to cup my sex. I gasped as his finger slid along my slit, teasing and taunting me, before it plunged inside. I reached back and gripped his thigh, grinding against him while his fingers worked their magic.
I yanked at his pants and he breathed a chuckle against my neck. His hand left me right when I was on the edge. I groaned with frustration, my shoulders slumping. He shifted behind me to remove his pants. With the whispered caresses of fabric, they came off as did my shorts and panties. He returned to press his naked cock against my bare ass.
“Much better,” he murmured as his cock slid between my legs and brushed my clit.
I sucked in a gulp of air and raised my leg up, hooking it around one of his. He took the invitation and with one swift jerk of his hips, he plunged into my aching hole. As he slid all the way in, his taste, the musk of him, danced on my tongue, even though we hadn’t kissed.
“What’s happening to us?” I managed to get out between gasps.
He panted as his hips slowed. “I think our magic is mingling. Do you want to stop?”
“No. Keep going,” I said. “This feels amazing.”
It did. His magic rushed through me, making my nipples rock hard, and he picked up speed. I’d never felt connected to anyone like this.
He rolled us over so that I was on my stomach with him on top of me from behind. I curved my back and pressed against him, taking him deeper. He trailed kisses along the back of neck as he continued to pump in and out of me, each thrust more intense than the last.
I slipped my hand beneath me and rubbed my clit. I was on the edge of my orgasm, ready to leap and find what was on the other side. I bit into the pillow to keep from screaming out loud.
He tugged my hair gently. “No, I want to hear you.”
A throbbing shudder tore through me, ripping a scream of pleasure from my lips. He pounded into me faster before he stiffened and gave a loud moan with his fingers digging into my hips. His body relaxed on top of me and he kissed my shoulder.
I let out a breathy laugh. “Wow.”
“Yeah.”
He rolled to his back, taking me with him. I turned in his arms and rested my cheek on his chest as we both caught our breaths.
My fingers traced around his nipples. “I thought you could stay up for a long time.”
He kissed my temple. “Who said this was the end? I told you before there is so much I want to do to you.”
A knock sounded from the front room. Colin groaned and pressed his forehead to mine.
“I think those words are cursed.” I chuckled as I got up and grabbed a robe from the closet.
“Just leave it,” he said. “They can come back later.”
“You really want the Mara to come out of the shadows when we don’t answer her summons?” I crawled on the bed and kissed him. “Besides, this is always an enticement for later.”
I pranced to the door and swung it open. No one stood outside. Weird. I peered out in the hall, but it was deserted.
Goosebumps rose on the back of my neck. Something wasn’t right.
The air shimmered in the doorway and the arm of a Dreamless appeared, reaching for me.
18
With a gasp, I tried to slam the door. The hand caught and shoved it open. The door crashed against the adjoining wall with a bang. The rest of the Dreamless shimmered into view followed by four of his companions.
How did they get in here?
My foot shot out and jabbed into the stomach of the first Dreamless. He grunted, stumbling back into the second one. The third stepped to the side and huffed a deep breath. A shimmer of something floated in the air towards me. I tried to back away, but it was too late. The particles invaded my nostrils and filled my lungs. The world tilted.
I stumbled back several feet and coughed trying to stay upright. “Colin!”
The Dreamless I had kicked stepped into the room and pulled down his mask. My heart sank in my stomach as I stared up at Dylan’s face.
“Is that any way to greet your boyfriend?” he asked.
Colin stepped out of the bedroom, buttoning his pants. “Let me guess, the Mara left a ‘surprise.’”
He froze as his gaze locked on Dylan, looming over me. With a soft curse, Colin lunged forward, grabbed a nearby vase, and flung it at Dylan. Dylan threw himself to the side. The vase hit the wall, shattering with a loud sound. Colin leapt over the couch and landed by my side. The other four Dreamless marched into the room. Colin yanked me to my feet and I leaned against him as we faced off against them.
I gulped, blinking as the world wobbled. “We can do this, right?”
Colin cast a sidelong glance at me. “You don’t look so well. Stay behind me.”
“I’m fine,” I said. “Just watch out for the dust they blow. It some sort of sleep powder.”
Dylan glanced between the both of us. “This is what you’ve moved on with? You’d choose another Fae over our glorious mistress?”
I gritted my teeth. “She’s not my mistress.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll come around. I’ll just need to get rid of this loser first.”
“Hey. If anyone is a loser, it’s you, whatever your name is.” Colin looked to me. “Seriously, who is this guy?”
“Not really the time for this conversation.” I nodded to the Dreamless.
Dylan pulled out a small baton and charged towards Colin with it raised. One of the others joined him, also pulling out a baton. The remaining three spread out to trap me in a semi-circle. They kept their hands free even though they had batons as well as guns holstered to their sides.
Colin spun towards the fireplace as Dylan and the other dreamless came at him. He scooped up a fire poker. His fingers danced over the metal in quick strokes and he chanted something. The poker morphed into a sword, which he held up, ready to parry.
The three Dreamless seemed hesitant on attacking, like they were waiting. I staggered as a wave of dizziness washed over me. Right. They were waiting on the drug to take effect.
“Blow, wind, blow.” I muttered, clutching my amulet. “Make these three go.”
The ai
r around me rippled. The three Dreamless flew back from me. One managed to fly through the door and collide into the opposite wall. The other two were not so lucky. They crashed through the wall, leaving holes in their wake.
A high-pitched roar echoed through the hall followed by a gout of purple fire. The Dreamless in the hall tried to scrabble out of the way of Morphy’s fly by. Two hurtled into one another in their mad dash towards the doorway. The flames hit all three, licking up their back and heads. Their screams bounced off the walls as they batted at their burning flesh. I pressed my hand to my mouth and nose, trying to block out the stench. Morphy flew into the room and hovered between me and the doorway with smoke spouting from his nostrils.
A shout caught my attention. Colin had killed the extra Dreamless on him. He swung at Dylan, who brought his baton up to block the blow.
The lights flickered. The Mara stepped out of the darkened shadows from between the open door and wall. She took in the chaos around her and turned to the three Dreamless in the hall. With a pinched mouth and narrowed eyes, she spread her arms. Her dress shifted and black tendrils slithered out from underneath it. The tentacles encircled the waists and legs of the Dreamless on fire. Muffled screams sounded from them as they were lifted into the air, struggling.
Colin had cornered Dylan between the bathroom and bedroom doors. Dylan turned his head back and forth with his chest heaving, his baton fallen far from his reach. Colin raised the sword for the killing blow.
“Don’t,” I cried.
Colin glanced my direction. Dylan yanked a round disk from his pocket. He held it up and muttered a few words. Light around him shifted and bent. He gave me a wink as he disappeared with a soft popping sound. Colin spun and frowned at the place Dylan had been.
