Page 27 of Bound By Darkness

“No,” Dragan concurs in a deep and low voice.

“So what makes you think she’s even on our side anymore?”

“I don’t,” he responds.

“You were the one who said Morrigan turned her back on us,” I continue. “I am likely to agree with you. I don’t trust Morrigan almost as much as I don’t trust that Succubus.”

“You seem to forgetthat Succubusis still half angel,” returns Dragan.

“She could simply be artful with her demon magic,” I spit back. “For all we know, she magicked the angel wings.”

“You know that’s bullshit,” Dragan scoffs. “We’ve subjected her to enough of our magic, as well as Thoradin’s, when he was alive, to force that option out.”

I shrug. “I don’t have answers for you. The fact she’s Succubus is enough for me. It should be enough for you.”

“I didn’t say I trusted her,” he responds staunchly.

“You’re biased, regardless,” I continue.

“What the hell are you going on about? I just told you I don’t trust her.”

“True but you’re also the only one of us who’s fucked her, and you remember what that did to you the last time,” I finish.

He glares at me. “This is entirely different. Eilish doesn’t have the same level of power Lamia did.”

“And, how in the bloody hell do you know that?” I rifle back at him. “You saw her destroy the bone devil back in Grimreap. That wasn’t weak magic.”

Dragan nods. “All I can tell you is I learned my lesson with Lamia, and I won’t let the same situation ever repeat itself.”

“I believe you,” I assure him, and it’s the truth. I remember the hell Dragan went through at the hands of Lamia and her daughters. No, I didn’t witness it firsthand because by then,both Dragan and I were already in our banishment. But Variant wanted me to know what Dragan was suffering all the same, so he sent a Divination Mirror and forced me to watch, in morbid detail, every day of Dragan’s suffering.

And the fucking icing on the cake? Variant enlisted my brother, Theren, the King of the Unseelie, to ensure I didn’t miss a second. Meanwhile, Theren and his men would laugh and taunt me for having believed in Dragan in the first place. All of this while I watched Dragan mindlessly fuck Lamia and her daughters as they sucked his life essence away with every thrust of his cock.

“Is it necessary to keep her hands bound?” Dragan continues as he glances back at the Succubus with a frown.

“Her hands stay tied,” I tell him forcefully, careful that my tone doesn’t open the door for further argument.

Baron still holds the two pieces of the stone, muttering incantations under his breath. I highly doubt there’s a spell he knows which I don’t, but I don’t stop him from attempting to salvage the broken answer to his questions. The less chefs in the kitchen, the better.

It feels good to be the leader.

I’m sick of taking orders from Dragan and being treated like I’m a lesser king. I was born a leader, and it’s time the members of our troupe realized as much. There was a time, over one hundred years ago, when Dragan and I weren’t out for one another’s blood, such as we are now. Granted, we also had Variant and Baron to balance us.

Now, though, we’ve managed to accomplish next to nothing. For all our trials and tribulations, we’re no closer to our goal than we were when Dragan first came to see me in Geldingstock. It seems an awfully big payment for absolutely no reward.

But with me at the helm of the ship, things will change. We were in need of a focused leader—and I am just that.

***

EILISH

Once night settles over the forest, we stop moving and prepare camp for the evening. Of course, as with all things between Dragan and Cambion, there’s much arguing. Dragan feels we should continue forward and take advantage of the cover of darkness but Cambion insists we all need our rest. Flumph is quick to agree with Cambion, and Baron says nothing. He’s said maybe five sentences since the stone broke. The rest of the time, he’s been morbidly quiet. I’m worried about him.

Once we set up camp in a wooded area beside a spring, each of the men separates himself from the group. Cambion finds a spot beside the water and sits down with his legs crossed. As an elf, he doesn’t sleep but meditates. His form of meditation is deep though and it’s not easy to wake him. Before going into his meditative trance, Cambion informs Dragan I’m now Dragan’s responsibility and he needs to keep an eye on me. Dragan grumbles something indecipherable in response but Cambion’s already in his trance. Baron disappears into the woods, saying he’s going to collect pinecones and kindling for a fire, and no one seems to care. Flumph stays beside me.

It’s difficult to sit down with my hands bound, but I find a pine tree that’s a good distance from the others yet still in eyeshot. Pushing my back against it, I use it for support as I guide myself down to the ground. Flumph makes himself comfortable in my lap.

As I look down at the rotund sprite, I smile as I think about how I’ll miss him. Of course, I’ll miss Dragan the most, but I mourned the passing of that relationship when it ended the moment he saw the black Succubae wings escape my back.

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