by C. R. Jane
I'd never seen anything so… perfect. Everything was brighter here, like the gods had leveled up when they'd created it, giving it the best of everything. The glimpse I had before hadn't been enough to make a tremendous impact. But what I was seeing now... It’s the kind of beauty you would yearn for your entire life if you left it and never got to see it again.
I understood more than ever the pain Seth was experiencing at losing this. I was going to be changed after losing this.
Footsteps sounded down the hall, and Seth snapped to attention like he'd been in a trance. He grabbed my hand and pulled me behind one of the enormous curtains that buttressed the entrance to the balcony. Voices got louder as they approached.
"The reports show our instructions are being carried out exactly as given. Eventually, he'll do the job for us, and just beg for death," one of the voices laughed.
Seth stiffened next to me. "No," he whispered, horror etched across his beautiful features. That's when I realized he was whole here. All evidence of the prison's destruction had disappeared from his face. The only difference between this Seth and the Seth in the first vision I'd seen was the sorrow in his eyes.
A female's voice giggled, and now I was stiffening. Because I recognized the sound of that voice, even just from the laugh.
It was Seth's fiancee or ex-fiancee, I should say.
That bitch.
“What-” I tried to whisper, but Seth put a finger to his lips. The voices quieted as they passed and went further down the hallway. We stood there frozen for what felt like forever before Seth grabbed my hand and pulled me from behind the curtain. Staying close to the wall, he led me down the hallway towards where the two fae had gone. There was a tic in Seth's cheek as we moved quickly, his gaze staying locked on the end of the hallway. He stopped in front of a door that appeared to be made of solid gold, and leaned his head against it before grimacing at whatever he heard.
Seth waved his hand in front of the door and muttered a few words before opening it without a sound. I tried to ask what we were doing, but no sound came out. I realized Seth had somehow silenced everything. He squeezed my hand, and then we walked through the door, our footsteps completely silent.
As we walked into a room fit for a king, a loud grunting filled the air. I looked at Seth in alarm, thinking his spell or whatever he'd done was fading, but he just shook his head. Deciding to trust that Seth would handle it, I followed him around another corner.
And then promptly wanted to pull my eyeballs out and break my eardrums as I realized what the groaning was.
Seth's fiancee was riding the mystery man that I'd seen in my first vision like he was the horse of her dreams. Except I was feeling good about my ability to please Seth after watching this display...because she was terrible at it.
She may have been beautiful, but she was no cowgirl.
Seth didn't seem upset by his ex's erratic thrusting. His gaze was locked on the groaning man underneath her; suspicion and devastation clouded his gaze. I squeezed his hand to get his attention and gave him a questioning look, nodding towards the couple.
"My brother," he mouthed, and I let out a silent gasp. That would explain why the ebony haired fae looked like him. And that meant...
Before I could say anything, Seth's brother let out a loud groan as he finished with gusto. He immediately flipped the girl off him, and I grinned because obviously she hadn't finished. He stared contentedly at the ceiling, especially pleased with himself.
The girl visibly rearranged her disappointed face and cuddled up next to Seth's brother. "Tell me again how it will happen," she purred, using her finger to trace circles all over his chest. I stared in rapt fascination at the pair of them, the pieces arranging themselves in my mind.
I pulled on Seth's hand, and he glanced over at me. "Your brother killed your father," I mouthed. He didn't look surprised, and I realized that the scene before us must have given him more answers than I could imagine.
"We have spies in the prison spending day and night looking for the scepter. As soon as we find that…and the crystal, no one will have any doubt that I'm the king. Seth will die, and I will rule this land for eternity." Seth's brother spoke the words dreamily. I wanted to throw up.
"Why don't we just kill him now?" the bitch asked, her hand sneaking closer to his flaccid cock.
"Because if Seth’s figured out the perfect hiding place and they can’t find the scepter, then it will be lost forever. There are more secrets in that prison than anywhere else in the world."
"How do you know Seth even has the scepter?" she asked in a baby voice that was worse than nails scratching on a chalkboard.
"I just do," he announced darkly before grabbing her head and forcing it towards his hardening dick.
Seth had heard everything he needed to know. Luckily, he dragged us out of the room before I was traumatized by all the moaning. The spell lasted until we'd made it to what seemed like the other side of the castle. The spell abruptly snapped, the smell of magic sizzling in the air as Seth's heavy breathing filled the silence.
"Seth," I whispered as I watched him break apart in front of me. His elbows fell to his knees as he hunched forward, inhuman noises erupting from his mouth. He abruptly stood up and yelled so loudly I was sure every occupant in the castle…and out of the castle could hear him.
"The person I was closer to than anyone else in the world betrayed me. He stole everything from me," Seth said brokenly, his eyes staring at me unseeingly, like he wasn't speaking to me. "How do you get past that?"
I closed my eyes, feeling his pain in my heart as if it was my own.
My eyes flew open, and I gasped when I realized we were still standing in Seth's cell, both of us holding the scepter. Compared to the Technicolor dream world we'd just come from, the prison seemed even more dark and depressing.
Seth was just staring at the scepter as if in a daze.
Before I could say anything, pounding footsteps filled the hallway. I really needed to learn Seth's trick if I ever got my power back, and then I would silence all footsteps permanently. They were the harbinger of only bad things.
"It's a guard," Seth snapped in panic. Our gazes both flew to the scepter.
"Hide it," I gasped, stating the obvious. I was a fool to have brought it here… though now Seth knew who had betrayed him.
I'd need to unravel all of that at a later time.
Seth dropped to his knees and dug his nails into the concrete and rocks under his cot. Suddenly, a stone popped up, and Seth dropped the scepter into the hole it revealed before quickly covering it right back up and grabbing the notebook he was sketching in. I darted to the cart and grabbed a food tray just as the guard appeared from around the corner. That was another thing I wanted to get rid of, corners. My house needed to just be one long line so no one could be lurking anywhere.
"Get going," the guard barked, and I hurriedly pushed my cart away, not wanting to attract any attention.
Once again, I left another piece of my heart in Seth's cell. At this rate, I wasn't going to have any pieces left if I ever did get out of here to actually survive...
A soft caress across my face woke me from a fractured sleep filled with memories I didn't want to relive but was forced to courtesy of my dreams.
"Keon?" I asked blearily as I sat up and saw him standing beside my cot.
"Sorry to wake you, princess. We're meeting with the others and have to hurry."
I nodded, still half asleep and hurriedly changed clothes before Keon and I walked out of my cell. We made our way to Alaric's cell, where he and Laz were in a tense discussion. Their gazes snapped to us as we walked inside. Before I could even ask what we were here to discuss, since it had taken me the entire walk to even form complete sentences, the guys started bickering back and forth.
Apparently, the search for the guard wasn't going well.
"I've made it through at least a hundred so far," Keon groaned angrily. "None of them have the key…and I'm beginning to arouse
suspicion."
"So, keep going. There have to be rumors about some of the older guards who have been here forever," snapped Alaric, obviously not feeling sympathetic to Keon's whining.
"If you're so confident it's such an easy job, why don't you do it," Keon hissed.
"Well, we have to give you something to do since you wouldn't be able to contribute anything else," Alaric responded cockily.
The guys continued to snap at each other; it was way too much for me to deal with in the middle of the night.
"Guys," I said wearily as Keon and Alaric fought back and forth. I sighed when they appeared to not hear me.
"I'm taking Selena back to her cell," Laz announced, and that got their attention.
"I can take her," Alaric and Keon snapped almost simultaneously.
"You both seem to have a lot more to talk about and Selena's dead on her feet," Laz said firmly. "I'm taking her."
Both Alaric and Keon looked at me expectantly, like they wanted me to pipe up, that I wanted one of them to take me back to my cell. I was unamused by the macho shit show I'd just witnessed, though, and getting away from them sounded really good actually.
So I kept silent.
Laz smartly held his tongue and didn't gloat as he led me out of Alaric's cell. I could feel Keon and Alaric's shocked and disappointed stares on me all the way down the hall.
"That was fun," I finally said after we'd been walking silently for a while.
Laz made a half-hearted, non-committal sound, and I gazed over to look at him to see what he was thinking. He appeared to be in deep thought.
A dirty coin skittered down the dank hallway as we walked, and I smiled and picked it up. "Penny for your thoughts?" I purred.
He snorted. "Cute, princess," he murmured, but his serious mood didn't lift.
I stopped and gently touched his shoulder. "Seriously Laz, what's wrong?"
"Nothing," he said stiffly, but it was easy to tell he was lying. "Let's just get back to your cell."
We walked in silence the rest of the way. The journey was long enough for my anger to build. Stupid, stupid men. All of them.
"Bye," I told him, turning my back to him in a way that hopefully clearly illustrated I was telling him to fuck off.
Laz sighed deeply but didn't leave.
I swirled around indignantly. "Is there a reason you're still here?" I fumed.
He stared at me, biting at his lip so savagely I was half afraid he was going to tear it off.
"What's up your ass, princess?” he sneered.
I balled up my fists angrily. "I don't know what I did wrong. Why are you treating me like this?" The words came out half-sobbed. I was tired, frustrated, and overwhelmed. Basically, a basket case of emotions.
"You haven't asked me to go with you," Laz exploded.
Shocked, I stumbled back a few steps. "What do you mean?"
"Don't be an idiot," he snapped. "I'm entangled into this plan to get you out of here, spending night and day strategizing with Alaric and Keon, and you haven't even asked me to go with you once we get you out."
I gaped at him. "Of course, you'll come with me," I blurted out, the rightness of the words settling deep inside of me. Suddenly, I couldn't imagine a world where Laz didn't come with me. He felt necessary for any chance of happiness.
When did that happen?
"Why haven't you said anything?" Laz replied, vulnerability creeping into his voice.
I thought for a moment, a thousand excuses on the tip of my tongue. "I guess I thought it was obvious," I murmured. And that was the truth. I'd assumed that all of them would be coming with me somehow. Did they not know that?
Laz walked towards me and just stood there, studying my face. "I wish you could see what was right in front of you," he said sadly.
"I don't understand," I murmured, hating that I was the cause of the sadness in his eyes.
"I'm the only one that's just here for you," Laz told me as we stared at each other. "Alaric wants to find the stone, and whatever other secrets there are in this place to increase his power and take over the world. The fae wants to get his kingdom back. Keon feels a sense of duty to this place, and is a fucking serial killer with an urge to kill everything around him. But me, Selena, I just want to be there for you… to make you happy."
There were a million arguments I could have made in defending my other men's honor. But the words he was saying… They did something to me. Although he was wrong in so many ways, he was also right in other ways about Keon, Seth, and Alaric. And for a girl who'd always been overlooked or used, whose own mother had treated her terribly, his words were a balm to my soul.
"All I want to do is love you," he told me in a throaty whisper, his gaze searching my face for answers. "Please, just let me."
Warmth filled up my insides, threatening to overflow. This beautiful, incredible creature was telling me he was mine.
How did I get so lucky?
"So love me then," I murmured, and I watched as his face erupted in happiness when my words sunk in.
"You don't even have to love me back," he told me, all but begging as his hand caressed my cheek like I was extremely precious.
"You're a terrible negotiator, Lazarus," I scolded softly, my eyes closing in delight as his hand continued to trail all over my skin. "And it's too late to offer me a way out, not when I've already fallen."
Laz's breath hitched at my pronouncement. "Are you saying-"
"Yes, Laz," I told him, getting up on my tippy toes to lay a gentle kiss on his perfect lips.
"I need the words, Selena."
"Lazarus. I love you," I announced.
Before I could say anything else, his lips were on mine, devouring me whole like he was a dying man and I was his last meal. Owning the very breath from my body. His mouth moved against mine as his hands cradled my face. He kept me firmly against him, our lips staying fused. Running the tip of his tongue across the seam of my lips, I moaned, and he pushed his way into my mouth. His kiss forced my feet to move with him as he backed me against the wall. I was trapped between the cool stone of the wall and the heat of Laz's body. It was a delicious feeling.
He leaned back and studied me like a lion about to strike his prey. His gaze flashed. "Say it again," he ordered, and I smiled as his lips hovered a few inches from mine, washing his warm breath over my own.
"I love you," I told him. My pulse raced as he closed in on what looked like pure bliss.
"Thank you," he murmured as his hand grazed my neck, sliding down my shoulder before he ran his fingers across my arm. This time I was the one who grabbed his face in my hands, brought our lips together, and kissed him. It didn't take a second for Laz to take control, sliding his tongue against mine. Both our breaths were heavy as we drank each other in. His kisses were drugging, the kind of hit I wanted to experience every day, over and over.
Laz led me from the wall and pushed me to my cot until I was lying on my back. My heart took off in a gallop as his hands moved from my hips and up my chest as he easily removed my shirt.
“It's hard to comprehend such beauty exists in the world,” he declared while his gaze caressed my body. The passion in his eyes was hard to miss, but under that was a layer of love so strong that it felt hard to breathe.
“The way you look at me,” I whispered in an aching voice. "It’s something to me. Right here," I told him, as my hand rested on my pounding heart.
“Kiss me,” I all but begged. He didn't make me wait. His mouth was on mine in an instant. His hand cupped my cheek, providing the tenderness to offset the force of his lips. I tried to pull his shirt off, needing the skin-to-skin contact, but I couldn't remove it. He pulled away from me for a second, stripping off his shirt in one move, the universal sexy guy move that I'm pretty sure I could watch over and over again and never get bored.
My hellhound was a thing of beauty. Sleek lines and tatted skin. I watched as his muscles tensed as I brushed my fingers across his skin, wanting to explore every inch of him
.
"What does this one mean?" I asked, gliding to a Latin phrase, Flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo, typed in small subscript letters across his rib cage.
"If I cannot sway the heavens, then I will raise hell," he said throatily, his eyes closing in pleasure as I continued to caress his skin.
My hands glided to his chest. "And the skull in the cage?"
"To remind me that no matter where they put me, I will always be free."
My heart hitched at his blank tone. "That's beautiful," I breathed. “This one?” I brushed along his shoulder, following the shape of the giant enchanted rose that I was pretty sure was from Beauty and the Beast. “Disney's a little different for a hellhound.”
"To remind me that happily ever afters can happen… even for a beast." I giggled because it was kinda corny, but also kinda hot that this big, strong, scary hellhound shifter believed in happily-ever-afters.
“You're perfect,” I whispered as his lips danced across my skin again.
Laz pulled the straps of my bra off slowly, placing soft kisses on my neck before fully removing it. Our mouths found each other again as his hand moved to my breast. Pulling the nipple between his fingers, rolling it, causing me to moan.
“The sounds you make are so damn sexy,” he declared as his mouth moved lower.
“Laz,” I gasped his name as he licked around my nipple before taking it into his mouth. My hand went to his hair, fisting it and holding him there as his other hand moved to my pants. Together we worked to get them and my underwear off until I was lying fully naked underneath him. He moved back to my mouth, kissing me hard while he drove me crazy with his hands. I gasped when his finger found my clit and he began to make a circular motion, which sent immediate heat spiraling throughout my body.
“Want this every day,” he murmured against my ear. “I want to hear those moans, and feel this perfect pussy. I don't want a day to go by without being inside you.” His words, combined with the way he increased the pressure on my clit and then inserted a finger, were driving me insane. My head lolled back and forth on the bed as pleasure surged through me.
