by Maribel Fox
Maal’s right — this place is bleak. And I don’t appreciate that I can’t look up. What’s that even about? Some bullshit magic put in place just to control how we think.
I’m tired of being controlled.
I refuse to go along with it anymore, in any form.
First things first, find and kill Valephar.
Shouldn’t be hard, since I know the coward. And he knows me. He knows that dangling that key in front of my face is all he had to do to send me on a warpath storming back down here to find him.
And knowing that — and not being a complete fucking idiot — he’ll be holed up at his estate, probably with some extra security if I know him.
It’s right about now that I wish I had a weapon — maybe that sweet dagger of Dima’s? — to make up for my lack of powers. I’ll have to make do, though. That’s what I do. What I’ve always done. When a job needs doing, I find a way to get it done. Period.
Getting to Valephar’s place takes some careful navigation on my part, but by following the right people through the right portals, the right Demonic servants going to the House of Six Coins, I manage to find myself at the gates of Valephar’s sprawling family estate.
Just as I suspected, he’s got two guards posted outside the gate, a show of force that would normally be considered an act of intimidation toward the other Houses.
I wonder how he’s playing those politics.
It gives me a smug little thrill to think he’s having to navigate that mire all because of me. He certainly won’t be able to reveal who he thinks is out to get him, which will only raise suspicion among the other Houses that he’s done something to warrant the fear.
That his last days have been spent dealing with that fallout is only going to make me ending him that much sweeter. Bastard doesn’t deserve a moment of peace.
But two armed guards — even ones that look like they’re more for show than skill — is quite the ask for little ol’ unarmed me.
The collar might be able to take away a lot of my powers, but I’m still a succubus, if that fool thinks I can’t get past the two meatheads he deserves what he’s getting for his hubris.
Well, he deserves it either fucking way.
I’m still out of sight, and I fluff and primp my hair — a vanity I was so frequently chastised for in the Academy, but I know my assets and how to use them, Commander — and saunter on by, paying them no mind. I feel their eyes following me, and at the last moment, I give one of them a sideways glance, the tiniest of smiles. Then, because I’m not looking, I trip, lose my footing, and hit the ground with a yelp that’s just helpless enough.
I make a show of struggling to pull myself up, the guards arguing under their breath about it until one of them decides to stay at his post.
“You heard what he said; you leave this spot, you’re fired,” the guard says.
“It’s fifteen feet, cover for me for a minute,” the other one says, footsteps coming nearer.
Hook, line, and sinker.
“You okay, miss?” he asks as he approaches. His tone is nice enough, but I can sense the raw lust radiating off of him, I know his intentions, and they’re not nice.
“Yeah, thanks for checking on me,” I say, pulling myself up now without a problem.
“No need to thank me,” he says, eyes leering on my body — the fool; if he was paying attention, he’d have seen my— Yep, there it is. He’s finally seen the collar and now he’s reaching for his sword.
“No, really, thank you,” I say, barely holding in a grin as he draws the sword, lifts it up high. He slices down and I side-step, turning my body, my elbow connecting with his, jostling his grip enough so that when my hand comes down on his forearm, his fingers release.
Before he can, I scoop it up, hefting it up, testing its weight.
“I needed one of these,” I say. The other guard has realized something’s up, and is drawing his weapon, approaching with caution until I run this one through his pal.
“You’ve been so helpful,” I tell the guy, withdrawing the blade and stepping away as his body drops.
“Hey! What are you—”
He stops mid-sentence as I charge at him blade raised. His sword’s only halfway out of its scabbard, and he fumbles for it at the same time he’s trying to retreat, failing miserably at both as he falls on his ass, scooting away.
“Where is Valephar?” I demand, the sword point at his throat.
Fear falls away, the guy realizing he’s not getting out of this alive when he looks over at his friend. I don’t know if it’s some misplaced loyalty, or a strange Devil code of honor, but he sneers at me, his lip curling.
“I’m not telling you anything, succubus bitch.”
I snarl, dragging the sword down, pressing the point against his crotch.
“Wanna try that again?” I ask, digging it into his nuts enough to rip the fabric of his pants. He whimpers, trying to back away, the fear back, but I press harder and he freezes.
“South east corner, in his study, he told us no visitors,” he blubbers, every ounce of bravado gone.
“Are there more guards?”
He whimpers, and I’m half-tempted to just put him out of his misery now to shut him up because it’s so pathetic. They spent a hundred years trying to figure out how to break me. If I’d been a guy the whole thing could’ve been over in thirty seconds with a sharp object threatening my balls.
“N-no. He’s… He’s broke, he hasn’t even paid us yet— Oh, please don’t—”
I growl, bloodlust pumping through my veins, a steady drumbeat of kill, kill, kill, demanding blood be spilled for what was done to me.
But this guy… He’s nothing. He doesn’t even want to fuck me. He’s a guy doing his job — poorly, but can he be faulted when he’s not even being paid? — and I can’t bring myself to do it.
“Get the fuck out of here and you didn’t see a damn thing, you got it?”
He nods frantically, crab-walking away before I can change my mind, then scurrying up to his feet and taking off.
“That the best you got, Valephar?” I chuckle to myself, twirling the blood-stained sword in my hand before hoisting it over my shoulder. “Almost too fucking easy.”
The guard was telling the truth — there’s a serious lack of security around for a guy that’s worried about his life being on the line, and I’ve gotta wonder what Valephar’s done with his House’s fortune if he’s really as broke as the guy said.
But it doesn’t matter. He’s going to die today and all those debts will stay unpaid.
Sorry, creditors.
His house is ridiculous and ostentatious as I would have expected, but he’s stripped it inside, no furniture, no art; guy’s living a lie. I follow his stench through the house, creeping up the stairs slowly, taking my time to stalk him and savor it. This is the moment I’ve been dreaming about for a century, after all. The fantasy that kept me going when they were working so desperately to break me.
There’s a sliver of light spilling from the only open doorway on the second floor.
I can’t wait any more. The anticipation is killing me. I push through the door, sword raised, jaw clenched.
“There you are,” he says from behind his desk. This room is furnished more like I’d expect of him — too much useless, overpriced shit he doesn’t need, all displayed to make him fit the image he projects.
“I’m sure you’ve been creaming your pants waiting for me to get here and put you out of your misery,” I snarl, marching forward. It’s a big room, and he has the time to step back from his desk, dangling the key.
“Did you forget, Lili? I own you,” he says, stroking the pendant on the chain lovingly. “The experiments never had to be painful,” he says, chuckling to himself. “That was for me,” he adds with a deranged giggle and a shrug right before white fire shoots through every nerve ending in my body.
“All for me,” he says gleefully as my muscles spasm and twitch, convulsing as pain roars through me.
It
was him. This whole fucking time. The key is causing this agony?
“You son of a bitch,” I grind out through clenched teeth, shoving away the irritation, harnessing the pure fury the realization’s sparked.
One staggering, trudging step at a time, I press forward, growling, sword raised, determined that He. Will. Not. Win.
Valephar’s eyes widen, that lovely shade of fear crossing through them.
“You never owned me,” I spit, lunging for the necklace. The pain stops the moment we’re struggling for control of it, and that gives me the upper hand I need to snatch it away, sword already aimed at his throat as I scramble back up to my feet, victory coursing through my veins.
“And one more thing,” I say, pressing my sword into his throat, watching the sweat slide down from his forehead with undisguised delight. “Fuck yo—”
All at once, space rips open.
A portal splits the air and all my guys come tumbling out, shadowy fingers reaching out after them.
I’m not expecting it — how could I be? — and looking away, even for that split second, gives Valephar his window. I see the slightest movement, and before I can even get my eyes back on him, he’s gone.
“FUCK!” I scream, heaving the sword across the room, clattering into the wall, the echoes of my frustration the only sounds in the room.
Then I look at my guys — my guys who look like they’ve been through Hell, even though that is not where that portal was coming from — and let out a heavy sigh. They’re all wary, waiting to see how big this eruption of mine is going to be.
I shake my head and shrug.
I’ve got the key.
“I’ll get him next time,” I say, forcing a smile.
“You got it, querida?” Ocho says, rushing to my side when he sees the necklace dangling in my hand.
“Yep.” I grin, unlocking both our collars, a huge sigh of relief escaping as they fall to the ground.
“Holy shit, that feels good,” I groan, full access to all my powers back. Teleporting, opening portals, feeding and more. Fuck, yes.
“Let’s go home,” I say, realizing that ‘home’ in this case is Lupine Bay, even though that hardly makes sense. None of it does, but somehow it works? I don’t know.
I know that the moment I stepped foot back in Hell, I missed Lupine Bay. I know that even though I was imprisoned here, somehow, I found that place and claimed it as my happy place.
And I know that it brought me these five amazing guys who would apparently do crazy things for me.
So yeah, I guess it’s home now.
“Well… Maal, I guess I shouldn’t assume. Not that you’ve really been a prisoner past the first hour, but… You’re free to go. You’re back in Hell if you want to be, and I’m sorry if I made your life harder—”
“Lil, you’re kidding, right? There’s no way you’re getting rid of me that easily,” he says, making my heart skip a beat. Maybe next time I won’t tie him up. Maybe I’ll let him touch me. I think he’s earned it.
“Querida, you know I’m loco for you, but…” He hesitates and looks over at Dima. “I’ve made too many decisions without consulting with my wolf, I can’t do that to him again.”
Dmitry snorts, rolling his eyes.
“You are one dragging me all over world. Den sounds nice—”
“Lair; dragons have lairs,” Ku says, busily going through papers scattered on Valephar’s desk.
“And wolfs have den,” Dima says matter-of-factly.
Ku isn’t nearly as amused by that as I am, but he’s also not dwelling on it. “Lili, I think you may want to see this,” he says, passing me a folder.
A folder with my name on it.
I flip through the contents, but there’s not much here. The results of their experiments — not very helpful beyond learning I’m a psychic dragon, guess that makes sense — and…
Fuck.
My parents aren’t missing. At least, I don’t think they are. This isn’t conclusive, but there’s a letter in here with enough clues to suggest they might be paying the price for my disappearance and Bali Raj’s defection. It isn’t enough to do anything with, but it tells me that they’re going to need my help.
Another day, though. For now, I want to go home, curl up with my guys, and maybe gorge myself a little.
Epilogue
Lili
Looking around in disbelief, I turn to Ku, eyes wide, jaw slack.
“You did all this for me?”
He shrugs, ducking his head, color flooding his cheeks as he looks away. “Not all… The decorations are a surprise,” he says.
I snort a silent laugh, still in awe, craning my head back to look at the place.
My place.
No… our place.
After we got back from Hell and recuperated, rested, and caught everyone up on what had happened, Ku told me he had something he wanted to show me.
“I was trying to tell you before you ran off,” he’d said, a little perturbed at the memory of my impromptu flight.
Hey, it worked out, didn’t it?
I never would’ve guessed in a million years that the thing he wanted to show me was a house.
Well… a mansion.
Or as he puts it, a ‘lair.’
It’s high on a mountainside, overlooking the water, across the bay from Ava, Raj, and the others, and it’s built right into the mountain. The whole face of the house is windows looking out over the bay, and it looks like a fortress from here, no visible doors, the only balcony fifty feet up on the top level. It’s actually a huge deck with tons of seating, and it’s currently strung up with twinkling lights, garland, and ornaments.
“Well, are we gonna go inside or what?” Maal asks, practically bouncing on his toes. Ku brought us all here and I’m still just gaping at the place from the outside, not even able to comprehend it. Dima’s prowling the perimeter, nodding sagely as he looks up the sheer face of the house built into the mountain. It looks like it’s built on about thirty feet worth of foundation that supplements the mountainside and makes the house damn-near inaccessible from this angle.
Which is perfect, because it’s actually the back of the house. I appreciate the security aspect. I think Dima does too.
“Guess you were right,” Iseul says, looking up at Ku.
“About what?” I ask.
Ku chuckles. “Being a dragon,” he says.
Is rolls his eyes. “I told him you weren’t going to want to stay here and that looking for a lair was a waste of time,” he offers as more explanation for my confusion.
I snort.
“Well, you weren’t wrong… But having a safe haven here makes a lot of sense,” I say, reluctantly conceding the point. It’s not even much of a concession anymore. I know this is where I want to be. At least for now, with my guys.
I’m not done with Hell. Not by a long shot. But being imprisoned for a century taught me how to bide my time, how to plan, prepare, and prevail.
Hell wants to study dragon powers, to harness them for their own ends, but they don’t know the first thing about what dragons can do. They’re still trying to learn. They couldn’t even code the collars to fully cut off all of Ocho’s shadow powers — or my psychic stuff for that matter — so we know they’re fumbling through the dark.
But us?
Well, we’ve got Ku, the reigning expert on the subject.
Not just that, but there are five of us dragons — and one werewolf that could probably put us all to shame — and I’m not half-starved anymore.
Once I master my powers, it’s on. They have no idea what I am capable of, because even I don’t know.
But I sure am excited to find out. Iseul, Maal, and I are all going to have a lot to come to terms with with our recent dragonhood, but with all of us together, I know we’re going to come out on top.
Ku leads us all around the house, up a steep path, to the front door, adorned with a sweet little wreath.
I shake my head, smiling.
/> A Demon celebrating Christmas. Who ever heard of such a thing? Ku said the decorations were a surprise, but from whom?
The moment I walk in the door, I stop, let out a squeak, and cover my mouth, trying to hide how overwhelmed I am by it all.
It’s gorgeous — fully furnished, completely decorated to the nines. There’s a huge lit tree, a pile of wrapped packages with festive bows arranged under it. The tree fills the space with the scent of the forest, and I breathe deep, taking in the whole open-floor plan space.
It’s huge, enough space to host a party for a hundred people without anyone being crowded, and then there’s a second-story landing with a balcony railing that overlooks it all.
“There are many rooms to explore,” Ku says, “but can I show you what I’ve been working on first?” he asks, hesitant, clasping his hands in front of him.
“There’s more?” I ask.
He scowls.
“This is merely a house. I promised you a lair, Lili.”
He’s so serious that it’s making it difficult for me to keep a straight face, especially when I’m so overwhelmed with happiness and excitement. I return his sober look, snickering internally, and nod.
“Please, show me the lair,” I say.
“You’re gonna get him all worked up talking like that querida,” Ocho teases. Ku doesn’t acknowledge it, letting the jab roll off him like water.
“Dragon lairs are very serious business apparently,” Iseul says, playfully admonishing Ocho. “You should know that, mister shadow dragon.”
Ocho scoffs.
Dima growls. “If he had instinct to den, we would get along better.”
“It’s a lair,” Ku grunts.
“Does it matter what it’s called if it’s cozy?” Maal offers, trying to diffuse the tension as Ku leads us all downstairs.
“I had to make some modifications…” Ku says as we descend into the basement.
It’s another living space, though less decorated and turnkey.
“This is nice,” I say, nodding, still not sure what makes this such a good lair.
Ku gives me a look, then heads to the far wall, the one that’s made of the natural rock face of the mountain. With a look of concentration, he moves his hands and the whole earth starts to tremble under our feet as the stones peel away from one another, casting dust and pebbles about as the cave mouth yawns open.
