Guardians of Hellfire (Guardians of the Fae Book 2)

by Elizabeth Hartwell

  “Rough. Fuck, Princess, I like it.”

  I growl, sliding down his body before grabbing the waistband of his pants and pulling them down. His cock pops up, hard and standing proud, and I grin ferally. No matter how rough, who’s on top, who’s in charge . . . Jacob’s always down for this, and right now that’s just what I need. I grab his cock, tugging it as I pump him roughly, looking in his eyes.

  “This is mine.”

  “Totally yours, Princess,” Jacob promises me. He smiles, but the smile disappears in a moan of pleasure as I swallow him, sealing my lips hard around his shaft as my tongue strokes the velvety flesh. I pull off, licking down Jacob’s cock before finding his balls, rolling each one around in my mouth as I suck and tease him.

  I hear footsteps behind us, and I pull back, looking over my shoulder to see Cole watching us, his cock pushing his trousers out vulgarly.

  “What are you waiting for?” I ask, pumping Jacob’s cock.

  Cole smiles, dropping to his knees before pulling my pants down. My pussy’s already wet, but a thrill rushes through me as Cole’s breath tickles on my lips, and as his tongue teases me, I tease Jacob the same way, grinning.

  “Fuck Princess . . . you’re torturing me.”

  I try to take him down as far as I can, but gasp as Cole smacks my ass. I pinch Jacob’s nipple, twisting it as ‘punishment’ and Jacob’s cock twitches, a delicious drop of precum oozing from the tip for me to savor. Cole’s tongue traces my lips and I run my tongue around the head of Jacob’s cock.

  It’s almost as if Cole and I are in tandem, his fingers plunging in and out me while I bob up and down, my body thrilled as I’m in total control. I take what I want from Jacob as Cole gives me what I need, his thumb rubbing my clit until I’m gasping and Jacob’s trembling.

  “Do it,” I growl as I take Jacob all the way in. He cries out harshly, coming in rapid spurts that fill my mouth until he collapses back, spent. I swallow, kissing his cock as I push my hips back against Cole while my own tremors fill my body. “That’s it, fuck me good Cole . . . make it deep.”

  Cole’s fingers combine with the first tingle of Jacob’s faerie cum to send me over the edge and I cry out, burying my face in Jacob’s crotch in order to stifle my cries. Before I’m done, I feel Cole take my hips in his hands and he lines up, thrusting all the way to the hilt into my still trembling pussy.

  “This what you want, Princess?”

  I nod, pushing back and fucking myself on his cock as Cole meets my hips with savage, hard thrusts that shake my body. I grab onto Jacob’s thighs for support as I push back into Cole, pounding hard against him as I need it more, harder.

  It’s not just sex, it’s not fucking, and it’s definitely not making love . . . this is a battle, and I love every second of it. I give it to Cole just as hard as he gives it to me, the sting on my ass from his hips slapping against me just driving me to squeeze my pussy around him, daring him to come first. I can’t make words, I don’t need them, I’m just focused on taking the pleasure I want from him, my body, my lust . . . everything.

  Cole’s cock is just what I need, stretching and rubbing over my g-spot as he digs in, grunting like an animal with each stroke, our bodies challenging each other. I feel strong hands take mine and I look up, my eyes unfocused I’m so taken over by my intense need to blearily see Jacob entwining our fingers, lending me his strength as I push back against Cole.

  Every thrust sends shockwaves up my back, and I can hear my hips and spine popping, crackling with the effort of the intense pounding I’m getting. My body can’t take much more, but my throbbing clit cries out when I feel something start stroking over it and I look up to see a hazy flash of white. It’s enough to send me over again and I scream, Cole following right behind as he comes hard inside me, growling my name before he collapses back, an almost sob tearing from his throat. “ . . . never so intense.”

  “What are you doing?” Jacob asks as Cole gets to his feet, his knees still shaking after only a few moments.

  Cole pulls his pants up before kneeling down and kissing me tenderly. “Serving my Princess. And now, my service is to make sure she stays safe for the next three hours.”

  I kiss him back, my battle lust sated, and nod. “Thank you, Cole.”

  He nods back and gets up again before disappearing into the blackness of the night. I turn to Jacob, who’s stroking my face with a look of total devotion on his face. “You gave me just what I needed.”

  “I hope I always can,” Jacob says, gasping as I adjust my body and I feel his once again hard cock press against my chest.

  I smile as I start to undo my top. “One request . . . this time nice and gentle? I can’t take a pounding like that again.”

  I lift up my top, freeing my breasts as Jacob gathers me in his arms and rolls me over onto the soft grass. Kissing my lips softly, he nods. “Secret, just you to me,” he whispers, stroking my hair as he looks down at me. “I know everyone thinks I’m the horny kink fiend . . . but this is my favorite. Soft and gentle. You’re the first I’ve ever felt comfortable being that way with.”

  I stroke Jacob’s hair back, tears in my eyes. “Then give me as gentle as you want.”

  Chapter 23

  Noah

  The woods are dark, but not in that lovely way that Robert Frost wrote about long ago, a poem that Noah appreciates for its near Fae-like simplicity, stoicism, and imagery. These woods are dark and carry on them the hint of evil with every whisper of wind and mournful cry of an animal within. Noah shifts back from wolf to human form, and Tyler stops, unslinging the pack on his back and handing Noah his things.

  “How is it?”

  “We must take the alternate path.”

  Tyler hisses, not pleased. “The Twisted Woods? I cannot believe Cole’s serious.”

  “Sadly, he’s right,” Noah replies, pulling on his pants. “The Winter’s Pass is highly fortified. They’re not even trying to disguise themselves, either. A full battalion with siege support.”

  Tyler sighs, shaking his head. “I wish I was able to shift.”

  “Tomorrow, my friend,” Noah reassures him. “You know the protocol better than I do. After a broken limb, no shifting for a few days. Just to make sure everything goes back to the way it’s supposed to.”

  “Still . . . it’d be easier to get around the Guard patrols.”

  “And leave me to carry the pack all the time?” Noah asks, chuckling as he retrieves his staff. “No thank you. Come, the others are not far.”

  The two continue on, keeping themselves hidden as they approach the place they know they’ll find the others. With Lysette and her troops so close, they can’t stay in constant contact, but still have to communicate when necessary.

  “So . . . are you excited to see her again?” Noah asks Tyler as they slip deeper into the light woods surrounding their target.

  “Of course,” Tyler admits readily. “Aren’t you?”

  Noah nods, lifting a hand as he hears something. Tyler nocks an arrow but doesn’t pull back the string as they keep going. Suddenly, a double bird whistle sounds out, and they kneel, Noah whistling back a triple trilling note. There’s a rustle in the trees ahead, and Jacob drops down, grinning.

  “You fuckers make a lot of noise for supposedly sneaking around.”

  Noah chuckles, while Tyler grins. “Yeah well, we wanted to give you more advance warning than my arrow in your ass.”

  “You wish . . . come on, Cole and Eve are just over here,” he says, leading them over to a small clearing in the trees. As soon as they step through, Tyler is enveloped by Eve in a big hug before she lets him go to leap into Noah’s arms.

  “It’s good to see you both,” she says, letting Noah lift her into the air. She giggles, her hair flying around like a halo, and Noah feels that stirring inside his heart that tells him she is the one he’s been looking for all his life. “Sometime I think I’ll let you get a workout just tossing me into the air like this.”

  “I may
just,” Noah says, setting Eve down and hugging her carefully. “When we heard you had a run-in with Lysette, I was concerned about you.”

  “You have no need to worry,” Cole says, smiling. “Eve more than handled herself, I wish you would have seen it.”

  “She fucked Liam up,” Jacob chuckles. “I’ve been wanting to deck that blowhard for a century.”

  Tyler grins, looking at Cole and Jacob. “And what was it you said about Lysette?”

  “Noah, would you help me gather some firewood?” Eve says before Cole and Jacob can share the tale. “I could use the stretch of my legs, and it’s probably unwise to go alone.”

  “Of course,” Noah says, following as Jacob eagerly launches into telling Tyler about the fight with Lysette. Eve leads him until they’re about a hundred meters away before she turns to him, hugging him tightly again. “Thank you, Princess. But we were safe.”

  “You risked your life for your brother,” Eve says softly, burying her face in his chest. Her arms feel good to Noah, who holds her closely, tenderly comforting and protecting this woman who’d become vital to him. “I wish I could give you more than this.”

  “It is more valuable than a chest of gold,” Noah replies, kissing the top of her head. “Did you really want to gather firewood?”

  “I did, but,” Eve admits, letting go, “also because . . . well Noah, with my bracers on, you’re such a mystery to me. You don’t exactly broadcast your feelings, and . . . I missed you. Is that wrong?”

  “Not at all,” Noah replies softly. “I missed you too. Tyler’s hardly as welcome a bedmate as you.”

  Eve chuckles, punching him in the chest, her small fist thumping on his massive muscles. “How often do you let people see that sense of humor you’ve got? It’s dry, but it’s there.”

  Noah shrugs, picking up some branches. “It’s more difficult for me to state my feelings, I guess.”

  “Why is that?” Eve asks as she picks a branch, considering it before tossing it aside. “I remember the night I could feel our Link start to form, you are a man of powerful passions.”

  Noah purses his lips. “A few reasons, one I especially feel guilty for. When I learned of this mission, I didn’t want to be included . . . I didn’t want to go to the human realm. Not only did I not put much stock into there being a human with such ability, I had my own lingering personal prejudices about humans.”

  “I know there was something there,” Eve says quietly. “What caused them? You’re too intelligent and kind of a man to have them from pure ignorance.”

  Noah walks on, and Eve stays with him as he examines his soul, and if he’s ready to let go of the weight on his shoulders. He realizes, as they walk through the quiet woods, that he is.

  “My parents were members of a group known as Faeledd, or the Conference of the Fae. They are a reactionary group that formed after the last great migration to the Fae realm and the last great war with humanity.”

  “When was this?” Eve asks, intrigued by this glimpse not only into Noah’s past, but all of Fae history.

  “About two thousand years ago,” Noah replies. “There was a group of humans that practiced the old religions and were in danger of being exterminated. So they fled to the Fae realm, but in doing so, the Fae had to face off against their enemies and the Fae suffered terrible losses before they could close the realm off. Faeledd preaches an abolishment of any limits on monarchical power, elimination of rights for humans, and a militaristic change in Fae lifestyles. Their teachings are a collection of theories about how the Fae are unique and therefore superior over all other forms of life. There’s more, but along those lines. I never fully bought into it, but it still shaped me in a way.”

  “I know exactly what you mean. The Para Wars . . . what I experienced, saw, and heard shaped my feelings about Paranormals. It took me long time to realize I was wrong, even before I realized I was one myself.”

  Noah nods, picking up another branch. “Beyond that, I was taught that the Queen and other high nobility are directly descended from the Gods, and that we are all the children of such deities. Of course, it’s false, but I actually believed that for a long time . . . even after I joined the Guard. I think we all did to varying degrees, except for maybe Jacob. He’s kind of always been a rebel.”

  “How did you and he become friends?” Eve asks. “I’ve heard the story of him and Tyler, but Jacob hooking up with you and Cole seems unlikely.”

  “If I could answer that, it’d be the answer to a lot of psychological questions. Fact is, for most of the first few weeks we were in Guard training together, I saw him as uncouth and undisciplined. Beneath the fitting of a Guardsman. But as training continued, I started to like him. He’s a good warrior, and beyond his carefree exterior, he’s a great brother in arms. He’d lay down his life for any of us.”

  “That he would. What are your feelings now? On humans, that is,” Eve asks, stopping.

  “You have obliterated all remnants of the teachings of Faeledd from my heart and soul. I know we’ve learned you’re a halfling, though the halves are not what we expected . . . but you lived your life as a human and that’s what matters.”

  Eve smiles, but then her face turns grim and she freezes, her hand dropping to the hilt of her sword. “Noah?”

  “Yes, Princess?” he asks, his staff coming up. “Something wrong?”

  Eve tenses for another moment, then relaxes, sighing shakily. “Just my personal demon again. The Dark Rider . . . he looked like he was gesturing in the direction of the Twisted Woods.”

  The woods are close, but as if the very ground itself understands how evil the area in front of them is, there’s a line almost ruler straight between the regular forest that Noah stood in and the beginning of the Twisted Woods.

  “Creepy looking place,” Eve says, shivering slightly. “Does it get any better in daylight?”

  “Not really,” Cole says, squatting down. Jacob had gone ahead to do a scouting report, and said that they were hemmed in. The battalion of Guardsmen are still blocking their way through the Winter’s Pass, while Lysette’s ‘hound’ forces were making camp behind them. Lysette was more than content to let the Twisted Woods do their work, it seems.

  “I can see the Dark Rider,” Eve whispers, hugging herself. “He’s standing right by the edge of the trees, beckoning. He’s glowing slightly now, outlined in green. I can’t believe . . . that’s a part of me?”

  “That side knows the evil of the Twisted Woods,” Cole says, looking at Noah. “Noah? You’re the expert woodsman. My knowledge is more local knowledge, and a lot of tall tales.”

  Noah tosses another stick on the fire. It isn’t much, but with Tyler in the tree above them, his bow ready as security, they’re ready if anything comes.

  “The Twisted Woods have been in existence for thousands of years. They say that when the realms separated, there was a woman, a nature witch whose connection to the light was so strong that she was pulled here against her will. She had a mate, an Arch demon, and she was pregnant at the time. The separation caused the witch to lose her child, and then her mind.”

  “That’s terrible,” Eve whispers, and Noah nods.

  “The books I read do not say if she was Fae or human, just that she settled here. Her hatred of all beings became so great, and her hatred of women especially, it turned her magic against itself. She became a creature, the Childless One, whose magic twisted these woods where she hunts, screaming for her child and finding victims. The men she captures, she drains of all their seed in a futile attempt to impregnate herself again before she removes their hearts from their chest and kills them. The women have a . . . darker fate.”

  “How can it be darker than that?” Eve asks, and Cole takes a deep breath, shivering because he knows this tale.

  “She claims them as her sisters, tearing their wombs out. Her magic then reanimates the women to join in her search for their missing offspring.”

  Eve gasps, looking at the woods. “And what if a child
is found?”

  Noah shakes his head. “A child lost in there has never emerged again. Some say they are kept by the Childless Ones in a cave deep underground, cared for in a twisted way that makes them into something so terrible that they cannot even emerge into the sunlight. Others say that the anger of finding the wrong child leads to the consumption of the child by the Childless Ones.”

  Eve looks into the fire, tossing a small stick in. “For the sake of keeping my wits, I’m just going to assume this is all tall-tales, to keep people out because no one really knows what goes on there. We don’t really have a choice, right? We have to venture in or face off against Lysette and the Guard?”

  “Rock, hard place . . . take your pick,” Jacob says, nodding. “And for once, the hard place I’m talking about isn’t in my pants.”

  “I suppose there’s only one path to take then,” Eve says quietly. “When do we begin?”

  “At first light,” Cole says. “If Lysette wishes us to kill ourselves, I don’t plan on making it easy for her and go rushing in during the night.”

  Chapter 24

  Eve

  When I was little, I remember being scared into hysterics the first time Mom and Dad sat down with me to watch The Wizard of Oz.

  At first, settling in between them was fun. It was family movie night, we had popcorn, sodas . . . and it was just fun. And of course, the first part of the movie was awesome, with the twister, Munchkins, and of course, Toto. Sure, the Wicked Witch was a bit creepy. I mean, what puts it over for her is just these five immortal words ‘and your little dog, too!’ Even as a little kid, I knew that was just some stone-cold shit. The girl? Hey, I get it. She did drop a house on your sister. But the dog? That’s just wrong.