by Maribel Fox
“What… happened?” I gasp as we get close enough to see it.
It’s not at all what I remember.
It’s abandoned. There’s not a single servant in sight, no signs of anyone having been here in months. It’s not just abandoned — it’s boarded up. The grounds are messy and unkempt, there’s graffiti on some of the boards.
From the other side of the locked gate, I stare in horror, tears building up in my eyes.
Traitors
Faerie’s Bitch
Angel-lovers
All kinds of nasty, horrible things scrawled on the walls of my childhood home.
“Querida…” Ocho says softly, his hand falling on my shoulder as soft sobs shake them.
This is my fault. At least partially. I am to blame for a portion of my parents’ pain. They never deserved this. They took in an orphan that most would have left to die. And this is the thanks they get?
But it’s not all my fault. Some of these things are about Raj.
I whirl on Maal, finger in his face.
“Tell me what happened with my brother. All of it.”
Maal swallows, licks his lips nervously, looking over at Dima before he shrugs.
“He went MIA while on a mission. The Houses of Council disavowed him amidst rumors of him settling on Earth, palling around with a bunch of Faeries and Angels,” Maal says, cautiously, almost like he’s waiting for me to lash out for the information.
Hearing that Bali Raj defected is not all that surprising to me, though. He never had the loyalty to Hell that I do, and despite my warnings, he never seemed to think anything wrong with his friendships with the others. That Fae Seamus, in particular. They’d been very close friends for a time, perhaps the closest friend Bali Raj ever had. And there was that Angel Kushiel that he liked, they got into no end of shenanigans together.
I expected more of Raj, though. I expected him to have concern for our parents’ well-being. To make sure they were taken care of before he absconded off to his idea of a good time.
Maybe he took them with him?
It’s a hope. Else, what happened to them? Where are they? I turn to Dima. “You said you saw him on Earth. Where? Did you meet my parents as well?”
Dima growls but doesn’t ignore my question. “I met his court. We were going there before he was… taken. After, I kept going and that is when I ran into his people.”
“And my parents?” I ask.
“Ne znayu, I don’t know. I was not there long though.”
I sigh, my shoulders sagging. It’s good to hear that Raj is safe, but I’ll kill him myself if he went running after some woman and let something happen to our parents.
“What now?” Dmitry asks, kicking the gate. The estate is like a fortress, and all locked up like this, there’s no getting in.
Not unless you happen to know a secret entrance from a lifetime of sneaking out.
“Follow me,” I say, slipping around the high walls surrounding the house. It’s possible that whoever blocked off the rest of the house blocked off my secret entrance, but since it’s a tunnel hidden in the rock wall that goes under and up into the kitchen, my hope is they never noticed it.
Jackpot.
The boys follow silently along behind me in the dark tunnel, close enough that when I pause, there’s a chain reaction of them bumping into each other.
“Moment of truth,” I mutter, shoving on the trap door. It doesn’t budge. “Fuck. I think there’s something on top of it.”
Dmitry pushes me aside without a word. He pushes on the door, and finds the same thing I did. That it’s not moving. I’m getting ready to give him shit for thinking I’m just a ‘weak woman’ when he suddenly growls, and with a burst of force, shoves the trapdoor up and open.
Fine. Guess he is stronger than me.
One by one, we climb up the ladder and find ourselves in the kitchen of the Estate of the Seven Flames.
“So this is what the other half lives like,” Maal says with a low whistle, looking around the kitchen. “This kitchen is bigger than my whole place. Fuckton nicer, too.”
I try to hide a yawn behind my hand, but it grows way too big to be hidden. Now that we’re somewhere relatively safe, without the constant worry of being ambushed and tossed back into jail, relief’s flooding through me, and I’m tired.
“Let us rest before planning next move,” Dmitry says, watching me with those dark, brooding eyes of his. I can’t figure out if he hates me or not. It certainly seems like it. He came down to Hell to rescue Ocho, and now he’s saddled with a whole motley crew of people he didn’t ask to be stuck with.
“Good idea, buddy,” Ocho says with a nod. “You need a little pre-bed snack, Lil?” he offers, suggestive grin spreading across his face. I snort and roll my eyes.
“So thoughtful, but I think sleep sounds more appealing at the moment.”
He’s clearly disappointed, but he’ll get over it. I’ll be hungry when I wake up, I’m sure. Without thinking about it, I head upstairs to my old room, expecting it to be as I left it a century ago. For the most part, it is. There are a few new additions — gifts of well wishes from those who hoped my family would locate me, that kind of thing — but it’s achingly familiar, so welcoming I’m having trouble not being suspicious of it. It’s just home, but after all this time, all these years of torture, it doesn’t feel real.
I don’t know what the others are doing, where they’re making their beds, but I collapse onto mine, a puff of dust choking me momentarily, spurring a coughing fit. I flip the blankets back, punch the pillows, and then, mostly dust-free, collapse again, sleep dragging me under like it had been waiting for its chance all this time.
Immediately, I’m in my happy place. It’s night, though. That’s new. It’s night, but it’s also chilly, gray and overcast. I wrap my arms around myself before I spot them: the two guys from before.
“You’re here,” the one says, smiling as he stands and approaches me. “I hoped this would work.”
“What would work?” I ask, confused.
“The dragon telepathy network. We’re connected. I believe that’s what’s been happening,” he says.
“Who are you?”
He chuckles shaking his head. “Of course! How could I have forgotten? I’m called Ku, by most. This is Iseul.” He gestures to a smaller man, this one slight, athletic, with a pointed face and eyes that sparkle with mischief.
“Lili,” I finally introduce myself. Having names to put with the faces sure is nice. “How did you… I don’t understand?”
Ku’s still smiling patiently, almost like he’s been waiting for the chance to explain it all.
“This place you projected in your dreams must have some significance to you.”
I shrug. “I don’t know. I thought it was a place I made up. My ‘happy place’ I call it.”
Ku looks thoughtful at that, nodding. “It is a real place, in Lupine Bay. Have you been here?”
“I don’t even know where that is!”
“Oregon,” Iseul answers. “It’s a little town in Oregon run by a new weird Fae Court—”
“A Fae… Bali Raj?”
“You know Raj?” Iseul asks, and I’m not sure which of us is more surprised that he’s come up in the conversation.
“He’s my brother,” I answer.
“And a member of the local Court,” Ku adds. “Are you planning on visiting him?”
I scoff instinctively. Leave Hell?
But this is strange, isn’t it? I’ve never been to this place, but apparently it’s real, it exists, and it’s near my brother? Is that a coincidence?
Seems impossible.
“I’m not leaving Hell,” I tell them firmly anyway. There’s too much here for me to deal with. Too many loose ends to tie up.
Ku and Iseul exchange a look between them, but neither of them tries to press the issue. After a long moment of shared silence, the vision starts to fade away. I don’t know who’s doing it — or if any of us are — b
ut it’s gone, and it doesn’t come back.
None of the dreams do, actually.
For the first time in a very long time, I sleep deeply and soundly.
20
Ocho
It’s hours and hours later that Lili comes out of her room and asks to talk to us. She’s been upstairs sleeping for a long time, and the three of us have been sleeping in shifts, too — not that we organized it that way, I think there’s just enough mistrust among us that we’re not all ever asleep at the same time.
She gathers us in a sitting room — this house has got about a billion of them from what I’ve seen of it — and looks a little nervous when she stands in front of us.
“What is it, querida?” I ask, wanting to comfort her. She’s full of anguish, that much I can see, and she doesn’t deserve it.
“There’s… I don’t know how to explain it,” she huffs. “Okay, so I’m just going to put it out there. Screw it. Apparently there’s some kind of dragon telepathy network?”
“Sí.”
“And… Um… I guess I’ve been inadvertently reaching out to guys through it… There’s these two guys in a place called Lupine Bay that are worried about me — and apparently that’s where my brother’s wound up.”
“Da, that’s where the Court is.”
“Wait… you were in Lupine Bay?”
“Da.”
“Me too… Well, I was heading there, before I was kidnapped,” I add.
“Why? This is… This is crazy, right?” She sinks onto the couch between me and Maal, and neither of us is upset about it a bit.
“We were hoping someone there would be able to cure our curse,” I say, running my fingers through my hair. “With a Faerie Queen and a whole Court to support her, it seemed possible. I didn’t get to see much of the place though. What do you think, Dima? A place she might like to stay a while while recovering from Hell?”
Lili scoffs, rolling her eyes. “I have no intention of visiting Earth, much less moving there. I’m getting this collar off, then going after the bastard that double-crossed me.”
Dima gives me a look, and shakes his head.
I’m inclined to agree.
“Your brother cannot visit you,” Dima points out.
“Yeah, he would be arrested on sight,” Maal adds.
“He’s not the only one,” Lili grumbles bitterly. “I’m in the same danger as long as I’m here. The least he could do is come down and help me.”
“Or, you could go to him and hatch a better plan,” I offer.
She gives me a dead-eyed look that makes me feel like an idiot for even suggesting such a thing. Then I realize that she’s staring me in the face and shrink back even more, trying to disappear into my own shadows. It’s easier for me than most.
“We’ll talk about it later,” she says, ending the discussion on her terms. I’m pretty sure that translates to ‘you’re wrong, but I don’t want to argue anymore.’ “There’s something else we should probably discuss…”
Her hips shift subtly, and she licks her lips, looking at each of us in turn.
“As long as this collar is on, feeding off random people is going to be impossible… Do you mind feeding me?” she asks, sounding nervous. Does she really think this is a question?
Maal and I look at each other from opposite sides of her, and both laugh.
“I certainly don’t mind, querida.”
“You know you’re not gonna get any complaints out of me,” Maal adds.
Dima says nothing, and even though I see Lili’s eyes lingering on him, waiting for him to chime in, when he doesn’t, she doesn’t press it.
“It’s not all fun and games, though, guys,” she says, still cautious. “I’ll be draining energy from you… So, taking turns is probably a good idea — the more partners the better, honestly,” she says, eyes flicking to Dima again. He’s still mute, and part of me wants to call him out in our mental link for being a fucking idiota, but I remember Lili butting in before, and I don’t know how much she’s able to hear, thanks to that dragon telepathy thing.
“Are you hungry now, querida?” I ask, moving in a little closer to her on the couch, hand settling on her knee.
“I am,” she says, eyes flashing a warm, alluring red as she gazes at me. “But you’re still weak. I think it would be best to take only a little from each of you — if you’re up for it?” she asks, turning to Maal with the same question lingering in the air.
“At your service, Ladyship,” he says with a goofy grin. It’s like the kid’s never been laid before with that dopey look in his eyes.
“Come on then,” she says, taking my hand in hers. It’s a small victory, I know, but one I’m going to preen about anyway as she leads me up the stairs to the room she occupied while she slept.
“No wall between us this time,” I say once we’re in the room together, the door closed behind us. I don’t know if that’s for my sake or hers. A modest succubus seems like an oxymoron. I slide my hands around her waist, settling on the ample curve of her hips where my sweatpants are still slung low.
“Nope,” she agrees, studying my face, filling me with the sudden urge to pull away. To hide.
To my surprise, she doesn’t turn away in fear or disgust, though. She shoves her fingers into my hair, yanking me down to her, our lips crashing together all at once.
Dios mío, this kiss. Her lips are soft as rose petals, sweet and silky, a stark contrast to the ferocity in her fingers, digging into my scalp, pulling me in deeper.
“Let me taste you,” I beg, dragging my teeth across her bottom lip. Lili sucks in a sharp breath, arching toward me, dragging my hands up her body, encouraging me to squeeze her breasts, to pinch her nipples.
“Fuck, yes,” she moans, shoving me back on the bed hard enough that I bounce on the mattress.
Damn, I love this take-charge way she’s got about her. There’s no question about what she wants, and there’s no doubt that she’s going to get it, because she’s going to take it.
She slides her — my — sweatpants off, and Maal’s shirt does a terrible job of covering her. It skims down over the tops of her thighs, but pulls up at the sides from her hips, the tails of the shirt dangling just above the dark shadows between her legs.
My mouth’s dry and watering all at once. Everything’s locked on her, every bit of my awareness drawn to the smell of her — lotus blossoms the overwhelming scent, but there’s more under it, the crack of fresh leather, the bite of sea salt, the acrid tang of sulfur — it’s a heady mix that just screams Lili and makes my whole body aware of her. Awake and ready.
My dragon, too. He’s starving for her. It’s been a lifetime of waiting for the call to come, figuring it never would. And here we fucking are.
“This what you’ve been drooling over, silly boy?” she asks, sauntering over, her fingers making a walking motion over her hips, drawing up the shirt fabric little by little as she does. It creeps higher and higher, until I see the first glimpse of glistening wetness between her legs.
“You feed off of teasing me too?” I growl, transfixed by the show, too afraid to grab her and yank her onto me because it might break it all. Lili’s in charge here — here and everywhere else, for that matter — there’s no doubt about it, and demanding my way just wouldn’t work.
“Maybe,” she says, coy and playful as one of her hands drifts over her stomach, down over her mound. She slips a finger though her slit, and I suck in a breath, watching with rapt attention.
Her breath hitches when she slips over her clit, and then she pulls her hand back, that one finger glistening in the low light. She smiles at me, my heart hammering wildly in my chest, not knowing what the fuck to expect from this wild woman, and then she slides that shiny wet finger past her lips and sucks on it.
“Mmm…” she moans, eyes still locked on mine. “I don’t know if you’ve earned a taste of this,” she says, still smirking.
“You’re killing me, querida. I’m yours. What do you want
of me?”
She moves over my body, getting onto the bed with me, her legs straddling me, ass facing me. The most perfect fucking ass I’ve ever seen. I’m reaching out and grabbing it before I can stop myself, squeezing those firm cheeks, spreading them, opening her up for me, her wetness slick, enough that it’s running back to coat her asshole too.
Everything goes white.
“Fuck,” I hiss as her lips descend, hot, velvety heaven wrapping around me.
No way is this fair.
Grabbing her by the hips, I pull her back against my face, tongue darting out to taste her candy pussy. For fuck’s sake, it’s too good to be real. Is it a succubus thing? A dragon thing? A Lili thing?
I’m already addicted.
“Yes,” she groans as my lips latch around her clit. She grinds back against me, fucking my face while she does mind-blowing things with her tongue. The pleasure inside me is too much, too great. It’s building with this intensity that I can’t deny, pounding at the door, ready to bust it down if I don’t open.
But I can’t yet. Not until I’ve had more of her. There’s a war in my body, everything coiled tight and ready to explode, a persistent voice screaming at me that this is the only thing that matters right now. It’s not, though. Lili is. She’s writhing on my tongue, and that’s what I focus on. I focus on her, the taste of her, the way her muscles ripple around my tongue as I thrust it deep inside her.
I focus on the satisfied moans that come when I slide two fingers inside her clenching wetness, stroking her from the inside while I bat her clit with my tongue, her thighs trembling with every flick.
And I focus on the yelp of surprise that she lets out when I slide a finger into her asshole. Surprise lasts the briefest moment before she’s moaning even more around my cock, the vibrations coming from the back of her throat strong enough to echo through my whole skeleton, sending tremors all through me until they’re crashing into each other, nowhere to go, the pressure building and building.
It’s when she sticks a finger in my asshole that everything shatters. The rush of it hits Lili too, and she screams, the sound muffled by my cock. It’s still the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard.
