by Eva Brandt
It was also not something my vampires were willing to accept. “Why must you be so stubborn?” Baltasar snapped at me. “Is it so hard to believe that we genuinely care about you as a person? Eiar has nothing to do with it. Her existence doesn’t change how we feel about you.”
The words came out sibilant, the distinctive hiss in his voice reminding me of his lamia nature. For a few seconds, his eyes seemed to take a slitted, serpentine look. He looked away and took a deep breath, apparently struggling to calm down. I hated myself for putting him through more turmoil, but I couldn’t shy away from something that was, in my opinion, obvious.
“It’s not stubbornness. I’m trying to be practical and realistic. I can accept that you care about me. But look at it from my perspective. Who in their right mind would go to Hades for a stranger?”
Much to my surprise, my logical inquiry drew wide smiles from my vampires. “There you go then,” Cezar said smugly. “You answered your own question.”
“What?” I asked, completely baffled and feeling like I’d skipped at least part of this conversation. “When did I do that?”
“We’re undead, Eranthe, even if only in part,” Adrian explained. “We’ve long ago stopped being in our right minds.”
Baltasar nodded. “Sanity is overrated for us. Honestly, we find it boring, and there’s nothing worse than boredom for a vampire. We might have been sent here by the Grand Lich, but we volunteered for the mission because we needed some excitement in our lives.”
The sudden shift in their mood and in our whole exchange was so jarring that I burst into laughter. I couldn’t help myself. It was just so ridiculous that they’d say that, now of all times, when we all would’ve probably preferred boredom to a war we had no idea how to handle. Then again, maybe I didn’t find the comment funny at all and it was just hysteria and nervous tension that caused my undignified display.
“I thought I was the one with the mental health issues, not you,” I said between chuckles.
Baltasar arched a brow at me, his eyes glinting with mirth. “It’s not an exclusive club, is it? Anyone can join. I’ll have you know that no matter how bad off you are, you’ll still be doing better than three-quarters of The Voievodat.”
That, at least, I could believe. I had his crazy mother languishing in my cells and, considering our earlier conversation, my other self had as many issues as I did, if not more. “I guess no matter how crazy you are, there’s always someone crazier than you. In my case, that person is a former part of me.”
Gods, I couldn’t believe I’d said that out loud. I couldn’t believe that it was an actual fact of my life and something I had to deal with soon.
Adrian stepped in before I could start panicking again. “I do know one thing that isn’t crazy at all, Eranthe, and that’s trusting your soulmates. You might not be completely wrong in stating that our previous closeness to the Grand Lich influenced us, at least a little. But I’m still convinced that you’re the one who is my soulmate, not her. You might be similar, but you’re not the same.”
My laughter died at his serious, but warm words. It was nothing we hadn’t already said more than once, and yet, my mouth suddenly went dry and my heart started hammering.
“Not everything is about me,” I said. “Tell me something. What do you want? What do you all want?”
Adrian wasn’t a vampire, but when he smiled at me, his fangs were just as sharp as Baltasar’s. “I think you already know the answer to that question, Your Majesty, and you’ve known it from the first moment we met in the forest.”
I remembered the way they had looked at me back then, with a desire that had bordered on awe, an emotion I’d exploited to find out the true purpose of their arrival in Chronikos. I remembered speaking to them in my gardens and using the nectar to take them captive. And most of all, I remembered what I’d felt when they’d drunk my blood.
Maybe that was why they’d come for me. That moment of deep intimacy might’ve been caused by my own feelings of guilt over what I’d done to Baltasar, but the end result had been very different. Our relationship might be crazy and tangled, but we had found something.
They were the only ones who could truly make me feel... myself. As much as I loved my sisters, I wasn’t convinced Eranthe was the person they needed. But my soulmates... If they did believe that I was the one for them, not Eiar, that would make all the difference in the world.
“Maybe I did know once, but now, I might have forgotten. Why don’t you show me?”
Making flirty comments about forgetfulness wasn’t the best plan when I’d just drunk water from the river of oblivion, but my vampires seemed to understand what I meant anyway. Adrian didn’t hesitate. He crushed his lips to mine in a devastating kiss that instantly made me forget about everything that didn’t involve the four of us getting naked together and a bed. Or any flat surface, really. Or the wall. At this point, I wasn’t that picky.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, trying to pull him closer to me, anxious for his touch, but at the same time, needing to show all my soulmates how much I wanted them. My magic responded to my wishes, and vines sprouted out of the floor, wrapping themselves around my vampires like an extension of me.
It should’ve been strange, since I couldn’t physically feel their response to it. It wasn’t. It felt natural, both to me and to them. My magic took in everything my nerve endings couldn’t.
And then, it stopped being about the magic, and everything became so much more carnal and potent. Once they followed my call, it took them about ten seconds, if that, to tear off my dress.
I was so distracted by Adrian’s kiss that I couldn’t have protested even if I’d been inclined to do so. I wasn’t, though. I’d always liked nudity, and today, the barrier between our bodies seemed particularly offensive. In fact, I decided that their idea was so good I needed to reciprocate.
Since my hands were busy with holding onto Adrian, I let my magic to the work for me. The vines I commanded slithered over my soulmates, easily sliding under their clothes and making short work of the material that covered their bodies.
I didn’t have the presence of mind to keep the surface of the vines smooth. The thorns dug into my vampires’ flesh, drawing their blood. They didn’t seem to mind. If anything, the sensation aroused them. Baltasar’s hand slid over my chest, cupping my breast and slowly sweeping his thumb over my nipple. Behind me, Cezar groaned and kissed my neck, sweeping his fangs over my skin without scratching me. “Eranthe... Do you have any idea what you do to us?”
I pulled away from Adrian just long enough to answer. “Probably not as much as I’d like.”
I’d never spoken a truer statement in my life. The simple promise in their kisses, caresses, and most of all, in that near bite, had me so wet I wanted to scream. But if I was going to make such sounds, it would be for a better reason. “Would you like to fix that?”
“Oh, of course, my dearest queen,” Baltasar replied. “It would be our honor.”
Unlike earlier, his words held no trace of apprehension or dismay, and his eyes glowed with lust, not pain. It was a welcome change, and I prayed that I’d never have to see grief on his face again.
Adrian nodded sagely. “You’re quite right. I’m being selfish by hoarding Eranthe’s attention. We have a far better option here, don’t we?”
He didn’t elaborate on his train of thought, but he didn’t have to. Actions spoke louder than words, and my other soulmates seemed to understand what Adrian had in mind. Unhindered by the magic still swirling around us, Cezar hoisted me over his shoulder and stalked in the general direction of the bedroom.
It didn’t take him long to get to the bed, but he didn’t let those seconds go to waste. His hand landed on the curve of my buttocks, caressing the mounds of flesh. He didn’t say anything, but I could read the sexual intent well enough.
By the time he deposited me on the bed, my heart had started to race so badly I feared it would burst out of my chest. Courtesy of my overpr
otective minions and family, I’d never been with a man. Taking three lovers at the same time seemed a bit much. But if it was with my soulmates, surely, it would be all right.
Surely, they’d be able to teach me everything I didn’t know and show me how to be what they needed.
Cezar joined me on the bed and kissed my knee. “Spread your legs, petal. Show us how beautiful you are.”
His command, or rather, the nickname he used, made me narrow my eyes at him. My previous doubts reemerged with a vengeance, threatening to chase away my arousal. “Petal? Is that what I am now?” I didn’t want to be a delicate flower, and I’d thought they understood that.
“Oh, Eranthe... The most beautiful flowers are always the most dangerous ones.” Cezar leaned over my naked body and brushed his lips over mine. “You of all people should know that. So yes, you are our flower and our petal, no matter how strange it might sound to you. But you’re also so much more than that, our soulmate.”
Adrian came up from behind him and cupped my cheek with gentle fingers. “You’re a bloom of blood, Eranthe,” he added, and his reverential tone chased away any fear I might have experienced at the strange metaphor. “A flower, yes, but stronger and fiercer than you know.”
I hadn’t set out to become a ‘bloom of blood’—whatever that meant—but very few things in life were strictly black or white. Maybe that was the lesson I needed to learn from this. I was Eiar as much as my other self was. She might have taken that name, but she herself had admitted that it wasn’t one that suited her.
Or maybe this wasn’t about lessons, nicknames, or metaphors at all. I was just splitting hairs due to my own feelings of inadequacy when the only thing I needed to do was to follow Cezar’s original request.
The weight of my uncertainty vanished from my shoulders, and I threw all caution to the wind, surrendering to the moment. I spread my legs, exposing myself for their pleasure. It was a slight motion, nothing that special, but the reaction it drew from my soulmates was very satisfying.
Baltasar hissed under his breath, sounding more serpentine than ever before. Cezar let out a low curse, his eyes flaring with a heat far more intense than Tarasia’s wards. Adrian’s fingers twitched against my cheek. He wasn’t in the best angle to see me, but apparently, he didn’t need that to respond to the view.
It was only for a moment, and then my soulmates mimicked me and abandoned all composure and hesitation. Once I had asked them for time and patience, believing that here, in Chronikos, we had time aplenty. I’d been wrong, and none of us were willing to wait any longer.
Everything about our meeting, our relationship, and the experiences we’d shared had been savage and rushed, and this was no different. They practically pounced on me like wild beasts, and their enthusiasm aroused me further. Within seconds, Cezar had buried his face between my legs and stabbed his tongue into my wet pussy. As I arched against him and cried out, he started sucking on my swollen clit, making tiny explosions of pleasure erupt over my body.
Meanwhile, Baltasar leaned over me and crushed our mouths together. In the kiss that followed, his tongue split, and I sensed him tense and start to pull away. I refused to let him. I vaguely remembered Pandora once mentioning that men who displayed animal-like characteristics were often sensitive in certain areas non-shifters didn’t find arousing. In nature, serpents used their tongues to scent, didn’t they? Maybe I could use that.
I sucked on Baltasar’s tongue, wordlessly showing him how much I wanted him. Cezar was making it a little hard for me to focus on anything that wasn’t the pleasure he gave me, and my kiss was a little clumsy and inexperienced. It still worked better than expected. Baltasar instantly stopped resisting and took over the kiss, devouring me, claiming ownership of my mouth and leaving me with no other choice but to surrender to him.
The lip-lock was so all-consuming I began to have trouble breathing. I didn’t mind it. Air didn’t seem a necessity at that moment. If I suffocated like this, it wouldn’t be such a bad way to go.
A stirring of magic shattered that thought as Adrian bent over my chest. “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered. “You’re perfect just the way you are. Don’t ever forget that.”
Perfect. The sheer notion should’ve been absurd. The ritual had shattered me into two pieces, one of which had already been acknowledged as superior.
I might have said that, but Cezar and Baltasar distracted me too much, and in the end, Adrian didn’t let me dwell on the idea at all. Instead, he raked his fangs over my right nipple. The brief sting was the sole warning I received before the sharp tips dug into my flesh and Adrian started feeding.
I’d always thought that vampires mostly fed from large veins, but apparently, that wasn’t quite true. Or maybe it was, and it just didn’t matter when we were having sex. Either way, the sensation of suction felt so good I almost came on the spot. My vampires had only fed from me once, and while it had been an intimate experience, we’d stopped before it could get too far. I regretted it now. Maybe if I’d spread my legs for them sooner, I would’ve never gotten involved in other, more unpleasant affairs.
I moaned into Baltasar’s mouth, not sure which way to move, trying to grind into Cezar’s face, but at the same time, having no desire to interrupt Adrian’s feeding session. When Cezar thrust two fingers into my pussy, my thoughts drifted into a litany of “Oh, gods, yes. Please. Please fuck me.”
I needed it so badly. I needed to feel them inside me, to have them claim me in every possible way.
If I was theirs, maybe my name and my identity wouldn’t matter. If I belonged to them, I could believe that the ritual my parents had cast hadn’t left me a shell. Maybe Adrian was right and I could still be whole.
I couldn’t say any of it out loud, but in the end, I didn’t need to. My soulmates must’ve understood, regardless. They moved in complete sync. Adrian released his hold on my breast and Baltasar pulled away from me, interrupting our kiss. I let out a whine at being robbed of the addicting sensations, but the sound turned into a choked cry when Cezar pulled me into his lap and impaled me on his cock.
He wasn’t gentle, because we were beyond that. It wasn’t painless, but I didn’t care. The harsh burn I felt at his entry brought tears to my eyes, but that just made everything better, clearer. Something clicked open inside me, and I buried my fingernails in his shoulders, holding onto him so tightly my hands started to ache.
Cezar licked the tear drops on my cheeks and smiled darkly. “Does it hurt, petal?”
Somehow, I managed to nod. “It does. I like it. Hurt me more.” Hurt me always, I wanted to add. Make me feel alive, wanted, and real. Make me feel like the nymph I truly am.
“Your wish is our command, Your Majesty,” Baltasar hissed.
His clawed hands landed in my hair, and Cezar leaned back, giving him more room to move around. Baltasar’s erect cock appeared in my line of sight. He barely gave me enough time to open my mouth. With no regard for my comfort, he thrust his dick inside.
I choked, my gag reflex kicking in at the unfamiliar sensation. When I instinctively tried to pull away, he gave me no quarter. His hold on my hair tightened so much my scalp hurt.
As he started to fuck my mouth with abandon, I struggled to accommodate him, to breathe through my nose and accept everything he was giving me. I wanted this. It was just so difficult to grow accustomed to it, to his size, his passion, to the commanding nature I’d craved but had been unprepared for.
I was overthinking things, of course. Cezar shoved his dick inside me so hard I saw stars and just like that, I found it easier to adapt to them, to their strength and their desires. And then, Adrian joined in and buried his fangs in my throat. I descended into a state that bypassed all physical limitations.
My magic erupted out of me, fierce and lustful, an expression of everything I desired and more. When the thorns scratched my soulmates’ skin, the sight and scent of their blood aroused me and encouraged me to go further, to take more, to hurt them like they were
hurting me.
Moaning, I did my best to suck harder on the cock in my mouth, all the while clenching my pussy around Cezar. I didn’t have enough concentration to guide my powers, but coherent thought was overrated. The vines moved without me having to tell them to, responding to my instinctive knowledge of my soulmate’s body.
As my eyes drifted shut, my consciousness registered what was going on through senses that went far beyond the physical. The most slender vine traveled down Baltasar’s body, snaking over his skin in a serpentine fashion that suited him perfectly. When it reached his ass, it gave him about as much preparation as Baltasar had given me. The thorns vanished, and the plant wriggled its way into Baltasar’s anus.
Baltasar tensed and cursed viciously. “Fuck. Ah, fuck. Eranthe.”
His hold on me tightened even more, and his claws scratched my scalp. Anyone else would’ve perhaps been taken aback. I wasn’t. Instead, I allowed myself to be guided by the pace of his thrusts and Cezar’s, by their lust for me and the passion rising higher and higher between us.
Another vine reached for Adrian, dragging him into our game. Distracted by his feeding session, he didn’t notice what I was doing until the still thorny plant wrapped itself around his cock.
It wasn’t the best plan, since the bold caress made his bite harsher, almost resentful. Then again, that was the whole point, and as expected, my magic had done what I couldn’t. The slight pain turned into pleasure, and I writhed between them, needing more, needing all of them inside me.
When Adrian released his hold on my neck, my first reaction was to protest. He didn’t leave me waiting for long. “You do realize, my queen, that you’re playing with fire,” he murmured huskily. “If it’s my cock that you want, you’re going to get it.”
He pressed me down against Cezar’s chest, the motion so abrupt Baltasar’s dick slipped out of my mouth. Baltasar didn’t seem to mind. When I cracked my eyes open to look at him, he grinned down savagely, the feral intensity of his gaze flowing over me like a palpable caress. “Don’t worry, love. You’ll get to taste us all.”
