“I bind you from harm in action.”
I tie another knot, and my sister chimes in. “So mote it be.”
“I bind you from harm in words.”
I repeat the knot, and this time, Alice says it. “So mote it be.”
“I bind you from harm in inaction or silence.”
Another knot. I nod at Sirena, and she stammers, “S-so mote it be.”
“In the name of Lucifer Morningster, I bind you. Until Sirena releases you, I bind you.”
I tie the last knot, a complicated three-part affair, and then hold the bag out toward Sirena.
“There. Now you have his junk under your control.”
She looks at the thing in her hand with uncertainty. “What do I do now?”
Broin stands. “Now you bury it and let it rot.”
“Where? Here?”
“Right under the altar,” Alice suggests. “Get the full effect.”
Broin looks impressed. “That’s actually a really good idea. That way, whenever anybody uses this altar, the power that they use will have a secondary effect of strengthening the curse.”
Sirena digs a hole and plants the cucumber dick and leather scrotum inside. We help her cover it up, and she tamps the dirt down with a solid stomp of her foot.
“There!” she says. “Take that, you lying creep!”
I pat her on the shoulder, proud of her determination. Overheard, something starts approaching through the woods. It’s short and fast, and it’s probably an animal, but Broin steps into the clearing between us and whatever is coming, just to be safe.
The bushes part, and the face of an imp appears amid the foliage. It lets out a surprised cry and darts away.
“What the hell is that?” Sirena gasps.
The rest of us don’t answer, because we’re too busy chasing the little fucker down. We crash through the bushes, my sister and I trying to hem it in from the sides while Alice chases it straight down the middle. We create a sort of cul-de-sac for it, and Broin shifts into raven form and lands right in front of the fleeing monster. It shrieks as he grabs it by the neck and lifts it from the ground.
“What have we here?” he asks aloud, scowling.
“Nothing! Ahh! You have nothing!” the imp insists.
“This is the imp that built the shrine,” I tell them. “Aren’t you?”
“Yes, I build,” it says, its three-fingered hands clawing at Broin’s grip. “Ahh! Release me!”
Broin’s talons tighten. “Not until you give us some information.”
We carry it back to the clearing, and Broin dumps it down on its back on the wobbly little altar’s top stone. Red and I bind its hands and feet like a sacrifice, and it wails as it struggles fruitlessly.
“Ahh! No! Let me go!”
Alice pulls a knife from somewhere and puts it to the creature’s throat while Sirena looks on, horrified.
“Who are you?” Broin demands.
“No!” the imp cries. “No name! I won’t give my name!”
Redera pulls a knife of her own and presses it against the imp’s arm. A thin stream of blood, green as moss, trickles down its pimped skin.
“Why are you here?” she asks.
“I come to worship,” it wibbles. “Just to worship.”
“Who?”
The imp squirms, not wanting to say the name. Thanks to the cut Red just put on his arm, a blood sacrifice has been made, and saying the name will be as good as summoning its master here.
I put my fingertip on its forehead and say, “I command you, lesser being, in the name of Lucifer, to speak the truth.”
Smoke rises around my fingertip, and the imp squeals. “Lilith! I worship Lilith!” It sobs, “I only want to communicate with my Lilith. Please. I didn’t know you were here.”
“What do you want to tell her?” Redera asks, curling the edge of her lip. “I can make sure she gets the message.”
The spindly fingers of the trees over our heads quiver. A wind is picking up, but only high in the canopy. I can feel darkness gathering.
“A report,” it finally says, staring up at the treetops. It feels the same thing I do, and it probably thinks someone is coming to rescue it.
I wouldn’t bet on that.
Broin shifts and shakes the creature by its shoulders. “What kind of report?”
“Spy report. I spy. I spy. I live at Everafter and I spy!”
Pieces click together in my head. “Are you the blackbird I keep seeing?”
“Yes,” it answers. “Let me go?”
“No. Who do you spy on?” I demand.
“Lockwood! I spy on Headmaster Lockwood for Lilith!”
“For Lilith?” I repeat, exchanging a look with Red and Broin. “Why?”
The imp lets out a startling gurgling sound, and then its face starts to turn ashen. Patches of mold appear on its skin, and the stench of decay fills the air.
It shrieks, “Lilith! Lilith!”
Its face curdles and folds in on itself, and it’s like it’s rotting beneath our hands. Red and Alice step away, and Sirena looks like she’s ready to scream. I’m just pissed off.
The imp stares up at me. “Lockwood is Darkblood… and more… he is the A… Aaaaaa!”
The little monster’s head implodes, and pieces of gunk fly everywhere. I put my hand up to shield my eyes, and when I’m able to look again, there’s nothing but a pile of ash on the altar. The creature’s words resonate within me.
Lockwood… is a Darkblood?
The tattoos. The darkness inside him. His delight in causing pain. His war with His Excellency… it all makes sense now.
How could I have been so stupid?
Broin is staring at me pointedly, and I stand up, wiping my hands on my skirt. I’m glaring at where the imp was, furious almost beyond words. Not because of what he supposedly is. But because he lied to me.
Alice comes over to stand beside at my side. “Would it really be so bad if Professor Lockwood is a Darkblood?”
The question takes me off guard, and I hesitantly shake my head. “N-no… Of course not. I’m just a little surprised.”
In actual fact, I’m fucking pissed, I almost tell her. I decide to spare her and the others of my inner turmoil. If that stupid imp was telling the truth, why did Lockwood never tell me this? I mean, it’s not like I would’ve been horrified or judged him. If anything, I’m probably the only person in this school who would’ve understood. I doubt there are many other Darkbloods hiding here.
But he lied to me, just like Lucifer lied to me. I am so fucking tired of being lied to. They might have their reasons, but fuck that. I deserve the truth.
And Lockwood is going to give it to me.
I go straight up the stairs to Lockwood’s office, not caring that I haven’t been invited, or that the others are with me. Broin steers the other girls, including Redera, back toward their rooms with vague warnings about curfew. I don’t stay around to listen.
I take the steps two at a time, not at all in the happy way I did before, and I cast the spell to open the door. The lock obeys and clicks, and then I’m stepping into his tower.
All the lights are off, and he’s not in his office. I go to his bedchamber and find him standing at the window, his back to me. He’s completely nude, with his feet planted shoulder-width apart and his arms folded.
“You lied to me,” I hiss.
He doesn’t turn around. “Is there a problem, Hemlock?”
“You’re a Darkblood.”
Now he turns to face me. “I’m shocked it took you this long to figure it out.” He gestures toward the ink covering his chest and arms. “This should have been a giveaway.”
“Why did you lie to me?”
“Why do you think?”
“Everafter,” I guess.
He nods. “How do you think Queen Laurette will feel to know that she’s entrusted her school to a Darkblood? She’d probably be as angry as you are.”
I shake my head. “Not even close.”
&nbs
p; I’m not thinking straight. I march over and try to slap him in the face, but he grabs my wrist before I can connect, and in one powerful move, spins me and traps me against his body with my own arm.
“Careful, Hemlock,” he hisses in my ear.
I’m breathing heavily, and even though I’m completely pissed, the scent of him and the feeling of his naked body against me, coupled with the memory of how we usually spend our time in this place, conspires against me. I start getting wet, and that pisses me off, too.
He wraps his arms around me, holding me pinned. “How did you find out?”
“An imp,” I snarl. “I was at the altar you found.”
“I did ask you to investigate it,” he says, sounding unimpressed. I hate how calm he is. I want him to be angry with me. Why isn’t he angry? “What did you learn?”
“The altar was built by an imp that’s been hiding here at the academy.”
He nods. “Hmm. I suspected that we had a spy here.”
“He said he was spying on you… for Lilith.”
He grunts in surprise. “Strange.” He puts his mouth beside my ear. “If I release you, will you behave?”
I shake my head furiously. “Not on your life.”
“I am warning you, Hemlock,” he says, his voice dark, “you are starting to annoy me. That will not go well for you.”
“I don’t fucking care!”
He drags me over to his St. Andrew’s cross. “You will care,” he predicts. He’s starting to be angry, now, too, and the danger in his voice makes me shiver. He pushes me against the rig and holds me in place while he straps me in. I don’t exactly fight to avoid it, but that’s beside the point.
“I didn’t come here to play,” I spit at him.
“I know,” he says, tightening the straps on my ankles and wrists. “And I’m not playing, either.”
“Why is Lilith spying on you?”
He walks away a few paces, leaving me with my back to him. I lean my cheek against my extended arm. There’s a scraping sound I know all too well. He’s just pulled one of his canes from the umbrella stand by the door.
“She’s not spying on me,” he says. “She’s spying on Everafter.”
“Why would she care?”
He comes closer, and I can hear the soft sound of the cane tapping against his leg. My body trembles in dread and anticipation, and also something more. Desire floods through me at the promise of pain, rapidly replacing the betrayal and anger.
“This is where heroes and heroines come to be educated. To learn how to stop her from succeeding in her plans.” He rests the cane against my buttocks, and I hold my breath. “To learn how to stop people like you.”
He gives me a love tap with the cane, but it’s nothing like the blows he normally delivers. “Like us.”
I’m not letting this go without a fight. “Hypocrite,” I accuse.
Lockwood strikes me sharply with the cane, and my body jerks at the sudden pain. I stifle a moan, because I don’t want him to think I’m enjoying this, even though a part of me certainly is.
He runs his hand over the welt he’s just created, then dips his middle finger between my cheeks, running it over my hole and down to my pussy. He gives a grunt of satisfaction when he feels my wetness. He leans against me, his mouth by my ear, his cock hard and hot against my skin.
“You are in no position to make accusations about dishonesty,” he hisses.
“Fuck you,” I spit feebly.
He chuckles. “Oh, you will.” His hand rubs over my cunt. “And you know you want to. You’re so wet for me again. Tell me, Ravyn… when you came up here, violating my privacy and accusing me of being a liar… you knew this was how it would end. Didn’t you?”
I pull against the leather straps. “No.”
“But this is how you wanted it to end.”
I’m shaking, but now it’s not just anger. In a quiet voice, I admit, “Yes…”
I can feel his face muscles move as he smiles with his cheek pressed against mine. “I thought so.”
Lockwood steps back, and I ready myself for more. It’s not long before it comes.
Whack!
“That’s for coming into my room without an invitation.”
Whack!
I bite my lip to keep from crying out.
“That’s for calling me a liar.”
“You are a liar.”
He hesitates. “Do I need to gag you, Hemlock?”
I open my mouth to argue, then snap it shut and shake my head.
Whack!
“That’s for trying to hit me.”
I gasp, and my pussy quivers. “Pot, kettle.”
Lockwood chuckles.
Whack! WHACK!
The last cane stripe stings like a fucker, and I stifle a wail. He’s up behind me now and he buries his cock inside me. He puts his hands over mine, and we entwine our fingers while he fucks me so hard the whole rig bounces.
“I would never lie to hurt you,” he growls, his words slightly distorted by his rapid breathing. “I would never do anything to hurt your heart or your spirit.”
I try to listen to him, but with his dick pounding me, it’s hard to think about anything else.
“I don’t know why,” he pants, “she of all people… would spy on me. That’s the truth.”
I tip my head back against his shoulder and let out a moan. His big hands grab my waist and hold me in place so he can fuck me harder.
“If I keep secrets… it’s for… our good…” He takes my earlobe in his teeth and nips, and while the pain isn’t much, it adds to the delightful cocktail of sensations that fill my body. “The truth can hurt.”
He stops talking and keeps fucking, his thrusts fast and hard. My toes start to curl.
“Ohhh…” I moan. “Don’t stop…”
He runs his hands up my torso to cup my breasts, and he toys with my nipples, rolling them between his fingers and his thumb. They’re hard as pebbles and sensitive to every touch. His right hand slides down until his finger pushes into me from the front, joining his cock inside me. I moan again, and he pulls his hand back, fingering my clit while he keeps pounding me.
His forehead leans against my shoulder blades, and as he cums, I hear him gasp out in the language of Draoich, “Trust me.”
Lockwood’s hands and his dick undo me, and I come hard, shaking and moaning, squirting my release all over us both. He doesn’t stop moving until I sag in the restraints. Only then does he pull away.
He gets a towel and throws it on the messy floor between my feet, and then he kneels on it. With another towel, he wipes my juices away from my legs, touching me gently with the fabric as I struggle to catch my breath. He brings the towel to his face and takes in the scent.
“Nobody else smells like you,” he says before he folds the towel into messy quarters and puts it aside.
He wraps his arm around my waist and uses the other hand to set me free. I lean against him, no longer angry and certainly not wanting to get away. He carries me to his bed and lays me down carefully. The welts on my bottom scrape deliciously across the sheets as he joins me. Lockwood spoons up behind me, his arms wrapping around me and holding me close.
He admitted to keeping secrets. Maybe that will bother me in time. Right now, all I can hear is his voice asking me to trust him.
I trust him enough to have sex with him, but more than that? I don’t know if I do or not.
Time will tell.
It’s the final tryouts for Everafter’s Flick team and both Gideon and Erik made the cut. As they each take turns to flick the ball through hoops and compete to get the highest score, I can’t help but notice how extra irritable Erik is today. And I’m not the only one who sees it.
“Erik has missed nearly every shot,” Cinder remarks, sipping the hot drink she’s squeezing between her woolen mitts.
My sister nods. “I wonder what’s wrong with him?”
“Nothing is wrong,” Aurora snaps, glowering at the three of the
m. “He’s just… he’s just tired!”
—I’m tired, too. It’s terribly cold to be standing here,—Phillip tells me, shaking his grey wings, his talons gently digging into my shoulder.—Must we stand here like fools?—
—We must. It’s Gideon we’re here to support, anyway.—
Phillip hoots in my ear, the sound almost that of a human laugh.—Oh, yes. The Angry Prince.—
—He’s not angry! He’s just got a lot on his mind,—I all but growl at my familiar.
—Mm. I daresay this Darkblood is proving to be quite the distraction.—
The comment irks me and I shrug my shoulder, knocking Phillip off balance for a moment. Thankfully, Phillip decides not to challenge me any further, and I turn my gaze back onto the field. I’m annoyed because Redera is, indeed, a distraction, as I know all too well. She takes up almost as much space in my mind as Gideon does. At first, it terrified me, but the more I think about her and Gideon together, the more I want to be between them. I no longer fear Gideon leaving me. I just want to be with him, and with Redera.
Every time I see her, I get that sickly butterfly feeling in my stomach. At first I thought it was just because I felt bad for her. I hated how my friends were treating her just because she was from a different kingdom. But the more time I spend with her, the more I get to see and hear her laugh, the more I want her.
I’ve only ever wanted one other person in this world and that’s Gideon.
Now I’m beginning to want someone else.
I want them both.
And right now, one of them needs my help.
“We’re off to get more hot chocolate,” Rapunzel says, gesturing to the hot drink stand outside the changing rooms. “Want anything?”
I shake my head, and so does Aurora.
Professor Mulan, who’s the Flick team’s coach, is prowling beside the drink stand, blowing her whistle and marching people on and off the field. I don’t like the thought of getting in her way.
Once my sister and Cinder have gone, I turn to Aurora, who’s leaning against the railing that surrounds the field. “Do you remember that spinning wheel you showed me?”
My so-called betrothed nods absently, her eyes fixed on Erik. I don’t think she even heard me, so I repeat the question louder in her ear. This time, her steely eyes snap toward me.
Once Upon A Devil: A Dark Academy Reverse Harem Bully Romance (Everafter Academy Book 3) Page 13
