Steva and Boya made an attempt to join hands, but it was hard as both were bleeding profusely. Once connected they sent a double blast of fire straight to her face. She hissed and took a couple of steps back, but didn’t stop that horrific screaming.
Ninia’s face contorted in pain, her breathing hard and ragged. She still wouldn’t give up, though, she didn’t know how. It drove Steva insane, but had helped them out of some sticky situations.
From her position on the floor, she raised one hand, and followed up where the dragons had left off.
Lin took my hand, and together with Ninia, we sent out a blast while Boya and Steva let loose with more fire.
Our efforts combined, the Banshee spun on her heels, stumbled back, and then disappeared into thin air. I sagged against Lin for support, closing my eyes, glad I could finally breathe again.
6
I awoke sometime later. My stomach felt raw and my jaw and upper face ached. Someone had patched up my wounds, and so at least I wasn’t bleeding anymore.
I was still hurt though, and I guessed Lin was as well. This meant we didn’t have to wait weeks to be together. The fact that we’d both been hurt so badly meant that we started at zero.
Since we both needed healing energy, we could be together and heal at the same time.
I looked around a bit, trying to get a better clue of my surroundings. The bed under me was my own, and to one side of me was Boya, on the other side was Lin. Which meant the chief had eventually found us and brought us home.
I sat up and rubbed tender fingers over my head. Something was coming back to me. I vaguely remembered the chief yelling as they loaded us into the med van; rescue workers doing what they could to keep us alive. An image of Steva, Iscca, and Ninia being carried to the same room once we’d made it home popped into my head, yet I had no clue if it was real or imagined.
Well someone had gotten it right because I needed Boya and Lin tonight as much as Ninia needed Steva and Iscca.
It was the only way to get better. Lin and I both needed Boya. There was an incredible trust there, between the three of us. There had to be, because it was more than just Boya healing us.
It was Lin and I both pouring so much healing energy into Boya that we were almost incapacitated.
Yet he never took advantage. Never did anything we didn’t want him to do. There was no one on this earth that either of us trusted more than Boya.
A touch to my thigh alerted me to the fact that Lin was now awake. He put his hand on my face and just stared, his features soft and inviting.
I stared back wanting to be as honest and as open as I could. Slowly he moved toward me. His hand tangled in my hair as he pulled me in for a slow tender kiss.
Boya in the meantime started a slow kiss on my back and neck. I leaned into his touch as Lin rose to his knees. Boya rose as well. They shared a long smoldering kiss and then Lin and I breathed energy into Boya.
The kiss from us would heal him, and then he, in turn, would heal us.
We all fell back onto the bed, and after that, it was a free for all. We tore into each other, loving hard and good, as only we knew how.
It was one of the best nights of my life, no matter what it’d taken for us to get there.
The next morning, I felt energized and refreshed. I walked into the kitchen and saw that Ninia looked as well as I felt. “See you had a good night,” she said giving me a knowing grin.
“Backatcha.” I raised a single eyebrow to let her know that I knew exactly what she’d been up to.
She smiled cheekily, completely unfazed. “We gotta do what we gotta do, right?”
I poured myself a cup of coffee and sat across from her smiling. “The life of a succubus is so hard,” I whined.
She threw a piece of bacon at me and we both fell out laughing.
Later, once the others had joined, we talked about the night before.
The chief called and informed us that the First Families had called off their hit on us, satisfied that we’d provided enough proof of Rome’s guilt.
Now that they knew who the guilty party was, they’d focus all their attention on finding him and leave the rest of us alone, which was a welcome relief to us all.
We went on to tell the others in the kitchen about Rome. I wanted the other agents to be on their guard, know what to look out for.
Rome was the real deal. We couldn’t stress that enough. His allure was powerful and could theoretically draw any of us in. So they had to be ready.
Other succubi and incubi lived in this house. He couldn’t get us to join him. No doubt he’d go after them next. I just wanted to make sure they’d be ready.
Steva put jelly on a piece of toast and bit into it. He talked, with a mouth full of food, not caring in the least about the disgusted groans around the table. “I don’t think we’ll see him again. Now that his little coup has failed.”
Lin shook his head, his brows drawn together, his face hard. “It hasn’t failed. We stalled it. He’ll be back. Probably stronger than ever. We need to be ready.”
He was right, of course. Guys like Rome didn’t give up easily. The only thing in our favor was that we at least knew what we were dealing with now. “What about the twins?” I asked, knowing that he’d wanted to save them.
A pained look crossed his face, but he shook it off quickly. “We keep trying.”
“We keep trying,” I repeated, letting him know that I would stand with him as long as he needed me to.
Boya wrapped an arm around my waist and kissed my neck, mumbling a good morning for my ears only. He swatted me on the behind, and then turned to the others. “So, who’s up for a game of spades?”
Acknowledgments
A special thanks to my beta readers, and editors for making this book what it is. Thank You!
About the Author
N.R. Hairston resides in Southern Virginia with her family. She enjoys writing, reading, cooking, and spending time with her family.
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A Magical Reckoning: Magic and Mischief Book 1 Page 25
