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“My mother may have been foolish enough to engage in an affair with your uncle,” Angelica replied coolly. “But I don’t think I’ve ever heard you call me cousin before, Darius. And I see no need for you to start recognising my existence now.”
Angelica smiled and I gasped as her teeth lengthened and sharpened. She dropped her bathing suit at her feet and lunged forward, transforming into a glimmering red dragon before releasing a roar which made the water shudder around my feet. She was much smaller than Darius’s Dragon form, about the size of a large horse, but the delicate beauty of her reptilian body still took my breath away.
I lurched back a step as her body expanded and two more heads grew from her shoulders, complete with shining white fangs which no doubt held that poison she’d mentioned.
The three headed dog which was Geraldine was almost as big as a goddamn elephant and I craned my head back to look up at her in astonishment. Three huge pairs of jaws bared three sets of fangs and she growled low in the back of her three throats.
“Holy shit, Geraldine,” I muttered as I looked over her brindle coat in astonishment. “Who knew you were a straight up badass underneath the sweet raisin bran exterior?” Cerberus Geraldine tilted her three huge heads like a happy puppy and wagged her tail at my words before striding out into the deeper water with Dragon Angelica at her side.
I couldn’t say we’d ever really done anything to earn such unwavering loyalty from the A.S.S. but in that moment, I swore never to take them for granted ever again.
“Oh, for the love of everything that’s destined,” he growled. “Why the hell did it have to be you?”
“It’s like I’ve summoned a star damned mortal,”
“You can’t go. Not until you’ve kissed me,” Max said, using a tone which suggested I was stupid.
You were drawn here by my Siren song, so you have to kiss me if you want to go. I don’t control it. It picks someone who the magic thinks needs to feel my power. For some unknown reason, it picked you.”
This is part of what my Order does. When the stars align right, we’re compelled to release our song and wait for the arrival of the person destined to hear it. I don’t get any say in who that is, obviously. And neither of us can leave until we get this over with.”
“Because when you hear the call of a Siren you have no choice but to answer it. You’re Song-Spelled. And when you follow the song, you have to kiss me. For the duration of that kiss, my power will be reversed so that instead of me feeding on your emotions, you’ll feed on mine. And believe me, I couldn’t think of anyone I’d less like to give a peek into my mind. But here we are.”
“They outlawed Sirens killing the Song-Spelled over a century ago,” Max said in a tone that suggested he thought I was stupid. “But I can imagine why so many Sirens killed those they kissed; they didn’t want their victims as you call them running off with all of their secrets.”
“I’m too powerful for that,” he assured me. “But a less powerful Siren might lose control of the flow of their thoughts and feelings if they kissed someone stronger than them. They might feel compelled to murder to protect themselves if that happened.”
He was only covered by a small pair of swimming trunks and his navy blue scales concealed the flesh from his ankles to his wrists and neck, leaving only his face, hands and feet clear of them.
Max’s mouth moved against mine slowly and I gasped as I felt a sliver of lust trickling beneath my skin which didn’t feel like my own. It was quickly followed by an image of me from a few minutes ago when Max had first seen me in the clearing. He’d looked over my silky pyjamas, noticing the curves of my body and the way my flesh was exposed. The moonlight shone on my dark hair making it look like a spill of ink and he was filled with irritation and a little anger, countered by the strange desire to take this kiss from me.
No one outside of the family had ever known it, but Max was a bastard.
Max was still an Heir because his power came from his father’s side but if anyone ever found out he was illegitimate they could push for his half-sibling to take his place.
The sensation of his emotions skewing my own sent a shiver down my spine and I couldn’t help but wonder why the hell he liked the taste of other people’s fear. Because I know that taking their fear from them makes them happier.
I could see memories of him absorbing fear from others. It wasn’t the fear he enjoyed; it was the sense of peace and calm he left them with as he removed it. He only claimed to like the fear itself as a way to seem more intimidating and cover up the fact that he preferred using his power on softer emotions.
My gut squirmed. I was looking into the soul of a monster, and I didn’t like the fact that I was finding out so many opinion-altering things about him.
“My song has never called anyone more powerful than me before,”
“Hell, there never was anyone more powerful than me before...normally I can control what the Song-Spelled get to see of me, but you took control...” “I used your own power on you?” I asked, putting the pieces together.
“A fucking Pegasus? Even if I found out I was Elysian Mates with a Pegasus I doubt I’d be allowed to consider marrying them! Can you imagine?!”
“What’s an Elysian Mate?”
It’s like your one true love.
“Don't worry about your hair. There's still plenty left to run your fingers through.” I shuddered as he walked away. “Maybe you should shave it off,” Tory whispered.
“Your love line tells me there's a forbidden romance in your future,” he whispered, his finger circling on a small break in the line on my palm. “A stormy sea is coming, Miss Vega, but you will ride it well.”
“I thought Fae fought their own fights,” I said, staring determinedly at her hand as angry energy burned through my veins. “I am fighting my own fight. I'm fighting to keep his eyes off of you,” she blurted, then froze as if she hadn't meant to say it.
“Because you're beautiful and every time you're in a room he stares at you. And when you're not there he can't stop looking at that disgusting bracelet of hair he made. He wants you to bow to him, but given half a chance he'd have it both ways and have you under his arm too,”
Tyler Corbin: Just witnessed a Major Meltdown after Washer sucked out two truths and a lie from @Kylie Major's mouth. Truth: @Darcy Vega makes @Seth Capella drool Truth: We've all seen him sniff the bracelet (no one blames you, bro) Lie: He wouldn't actually have a Vega Twin under his arm, but he might take one under his sheets once or twice. #majorfail #suckedbyasiren #majorenvy
Seth Capella: FUN game. Let's flip it around and play two lies and one truth @Tyler Corbin. Your mom was the best lay of my life. Your dad was the second. Your face is going through a brick wall the next time I see you. (Hint: both of your parents suck in bed).
Seven pm and Orion was predictably late. I'd even dragged my heels on the way to his office to account for it, but he still hadn't arrived.
And okay, maybe I'd been half a percent eager to see him. I didn't know what it was that drew me to him. He was obviously good looking. Like slap-you-in-the-face hot. He was also a mega asshole most of the time. But those two things tended to be a dangerous combination and I was definitely a sucker for it.
A hand shot out of nowhere and dragged me through a door just up ahead of me. I was plunged into absolute darkness and a scream bit at my throat just before a palm slammed down over my mouth. I was dragged against a hard body as the door clicked quietly closed, my back to their front. The scent of cinnamon stoked a fire in my soul, and I stiffened as I realised who had come to my aid.
My skin prickled with heat where the press of his chest and stomach met my back. I shut my eyes, willing my thoughts onto why I was hiding and nothing else.
The muscles in my legs twitched as I prepared to move but Orion's hand suddenly sailed around my waist and stopped me from leaving. My heart beat to a forbidden tune and I stilled entirely, frozen in place. We were flush to each other. And I only realised how intimate this was now that I was no longer in fear for my life. Yet I didn't try to move again, and he didn't either.
The most rational reason for him holding onto me was that he was about to bite me. He'd saved me from facing an Heir, so I guessed I owed him. The other reason though...oh holy shit the other reason... His fingers found my skin between my shirt and waistband, and heat weaved a frantic whirlpool through my stomach, pushing lower into the deepest regions of my body.
My instincts told me he wanted me, but that was pure insanity. I just couldn't come up with any better reasoning though. He made my thoughts hazy and my morals fray. He was my teacher.
I turned around, finding my resolve but his arm remained in place, so it lay on my back instead. His fingers curled into a ball, keeping me close, not letting me escape.
A blur in my periphery alerted me one second too late before Orion swept me off my feet and tossed me over his shoulder.
“It's my duty to protect you as your professor.” He said professor extra loudly like that was supposed to make a point.
“Well, that's the end of the session.” “Are you kidding me?” I breathed. “It's eight o'clock,” he said with a shrug, rising to his feet.
He leaned in close, his breath a delicious cocktail of bourbon and danger. “There's many things I'm not saying and for good reason. But I'll tell you this… I've spent most of my life hating The Savage King and anyone associated with him too. Including you and your sister when you first came here.”
“But I learned a long time ago that blood doesn't define a person, so I shouldn't have judged you so quickly. You're unlucky to bear the title that you do. And I would never bow to either of you for many reasons. But you aren't bad people. That being said...” His eyes travelled down me, the sensation of a zip opening along the line he cast with his eyes. “I will do whatever it takes to ensure Darius and the other Heirs sit on the throne of Solaria. And I urge you to never underestimate that vow.”
I scrolled through my FaeBook feed, smirking as I noticed a few posts mentioning Caleb Altair’s secret Pegasus fetish. Our plans against him were starting to take shape. Sofia had spread that little rumour among the Pegasus herd, and we’d been stoking the flames of it through the A.S.S. whenever the opportunity arose.
Darius smirked at me as he prowled closer, apparently not the least bit embarrassed by his body being on show. Not that he should have been, he had sculpted muscles and broad shoulders that just screamed touch me. His skin was tanned and kissed by his tattoos and just looking at him had heat rising across my body. Bad Tory. Don’t look at the jackass like that. He might look good enough to eat but he’d sure as shit give you indigestion.
“Oh yeah, you caught me. Secret fangirl right here. I just love to stand about staring at photos of you, daydreaming about your oh so dreamy body and imagining what it would be like if you had a halfway decent personality.”
“I’m of the Cerberus Order. We have to eat aconite, which you might know better as wolfsbane, to replenish our magic. I was just gathering fresh supplies of it which is easier to do at night. It’s deadly poisonous to most other Orders though, so no snacking!
Geraldine Grus is a firm friend and trustworthy protector of the true Heirs to the throne of Solaria. Your scandal is my scandal, your war is my war, and your enemy is my enemy.
