Page 43 of The Succubus's Song

The Marquis de Sade couldn’t have come up with something like this.

Finley blanched as he passed a succubus on a low bench, riding another male until his cries of pleasure turned into a sick gurgle and he choked on his own blood.

Finley knew from experience that a baobhan sith’s bite was pleasurable, but these women were purposefully ensuring their victims felt pain.

I know why Mara didn’t want to be a part of this, Finley thought to himself, forcing himself to look at the ground and follow Alice’s feet. They crossed the entire great hall, and only when she stopped, did Finley look up.

At the very end of the hall was a massive, ornate chaise covered in red velvet cushions. The succubus lounging on it was one of the most terrifying creatures that Finley had ever seen.

She had a short, blunt bob of black hair and crimson lips. Her talons were nearly twice as long as any of the other baobhan sith’s, and they were tipped in black too. She was dressed in only a chain mail shirt with no undershirt, exposing her midriff.

Alice dropped to her knee and bowed her head to the mysterious woman. Finley made a point to do no such thing.

“Rise, child,” the woman said passively to Alice while keeping her eyes on Finley. “Is this him?”

“It is, Mother.” Alice grinned. “This is Calum’s brother-in-law.”

Oh, fuck me. Finley’s thoughts raced. This must be Mara’s mother.

“He’s very unassuming,” she sneered, looking down her nose at Finley. He bristled slightly, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

Finley knew he shouldn’t be concerned about his kidnapper’s opinions, but something about this woman’s attitude was rotten to its core.

“I could say the same about you,” Finley grunted, determined to put some bravado in his voice. “Isabella Rossellini is already a person, but you’re doing a nice cosplay, I guess.”

Alice and the woman immediately turned and hissed at Finley. He forced himself to think of Mara to keep his fear at bay.

“Let me guess…” Finley winked mockingly at Alice. “You don’t know who that is, but you’ve inferred disrespect from my tone?”

“He’s insolent,” the woman growled, clicking her talons together. “Maybe I’ll dispose of him now and deal with the High Prince another way.”

“One thing, Mother.” Alice took another step closer to the dais, a devilish smirk on her face. “Mara is in love with this one.”

The matriarch’s face danced with illicit glee, her eyes widening as she looked at Finley with a new purpose.

“Well then,” she clapped her hands, “let’s have some fun with him while we wait for my daughter to come home, shall we?”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Over Mara’s long life, there had been many different occasions when she surprised herself with her capacity for rage.

None of them compared to the rage that rippled through her body when she saw Finley hauled out of a coffee shop by her sister. She leaped to go after them, but Pippa stopped her, nearly tackling Mara to the ground.

“Pippa!” Mara growled, sounding nearly feral, “let me fucking go or I swear to god—”

“Think, Mara!” Pippa pleaded, giving her cousin a good shake. “If you go after them now, you’re going to give your family exactly what they want. Even if they don’t have Calum, they’ll be all too pleased to kill Finley in revenge.”

“Revenge!” Mara nearly screamed. “They were the ones who murdered—”

“I know,” Pippa reassured her, grabbing Mara’s shoulders. “You know how prideful they are, though. The fact that you bested them all in combat, blinded your sister, and the fact that your mother has a daughter who was able to stand up to her all those years ago…”

Mara screwed her eyes shut and tried to keep her tears at bay. She knew her family was angry over what her rebellion had done to their reputation, but she still couldn’t believe they were so eager to destroy her.

They wanted to destroy her.

They wanted to destroy her home.

They had to be stopped.

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