Page 39 of Fallen Angels

“And your attachment to Baron was a close one, yes, but I speak of attachments that are far closer,” Pyre say. “Raflamir faces repentance, not punishment. Such is justice.” Masky man stand up an’ hang his robe an’ mask on the hook-thingy by the door o’ the cottage. He all muscley an’ pale with them runes on his body.

Pretty’s eyes all but bulge outta her head when he take his shirt off an’ pull the band from his red hair. That girl must be in heat ‘cause the only one she ain’t eyein’ like they be prime cuts o’ meat be Noni. Well, an’ me, I guess.

Pyre must feel her watchin’ him ‘cause he turn an’ give her a look that feel all heavy with lust, I be thinkin’. ‘Course, I ain’t good with this shit soze what do I know? Whatever that look is, it say a lot when a blind psycho can give a look like that. I think she wantin’ him an he wantin’ her an it make me wantin’ to get the fuck off her lap. When he go an’ smile at her like they gotsa private joke er somethin’, I notice the red blotches on Pretty’s cheeks.

CHAPTER NINE

DRAGAN

The Veil

I hate the way Eilish keeps looking at me—like she expects me to say something or do something to let her know where I stand on everything Pyre just told us, but the truth is... I don’t fucking know where I stand or what I think about any of it. The only thing my brain can comprehend at the moment is how much I want to beat Revenant to death and have Pyre reanimate him just so I can do it again.

I hate his sleazy fucking face.

He keeps glancing at me with expressions that bear the weight of something I can’t quite fathom, but I know he’s taunting me, in any event.

It shouldn’t matter, right? Whatever the hell he’s thinking, why he thinks he has something over me, whatever the fuck he’s doing with Eilish, none of it should fucking matter!

But, it does. And it’s burning me up to the point that I can’t fucking concentrate on anything else. Well, there is one other thing I’m concentrating on and that’s the fucking pain that seizes my whole body every time I turn the wrong way. When the Fae soldier speared me with his magic right before I busted out of my cell, he must have gotten me better than I thought he did because my body’s been aching ever since.

I’ve got to admit that it fucking irks me that no one’s noticed—yeah, I’m wearing a black tunic so it’s not like if there was a bloodstain, that anyone would notice. But, I don’t fucking care! It should be obvious in the way I’m favoring my right side or the fact that I can’t take a deep fucking breath.

Stop feeling sorry for yourself, I yell inwardly.And pay attention to the real reason you’re in such a funk. And it has nothing to do with the fact that some asshole got a good one in.

Why am I so upset that Revenant fucked Eilish? Why do I care that he fed her when I’ve done the same? Unknowingly or not.

Maybe my anger is owing to the fact that feeding the Succubus within her doesn’t bother him when it bothers me palpably? In fact, he seems to enjoy the idea of feeding her. He seems to fucking love the fact that she’s half demon and in response, she’s now like his little lap dog.

Well, what the fuck do you expect?I yell at myself.Eilish has no one—no family, no friends, no memories, no idea who she is. She has no one else to turn to. Of course, she’s going to accept the first person who shows her even a tinge of kindness.

That used to be me,I respond.She used to show all that affection to me.

Then you turned on her. You have yourself to thank for that, you fuck.

There’s something horribly wrong with this possessiveness that throbs in my veins. I can’t think straight when all I can see and smell is Eilish. And the memory of seeing Revenant so close to her in that fucking cell—it’s an image I haven’t forgotten—a memory that haunts me constantly.

Just the memory of them—so guilty, their hair in disarray, the smell of sex thick in the air… it still makes my blood boil. Why? Because I still fucking want her. It doesn’t matter that she’s half Succubus. It doesn’t matter that she’s demon and that every time I touch her, she unwittingly or not drains me of the essence of my life. I still fucking want her.

Whatever this is between Eilish and me, it’s something I don’t understand. It doesn’t feel the same as it did with Lamia and her bloodthirsty daughters. It feels different, but the same darkness writhes in Eilish, nevertheless. And it’s a darkness I should hate. It’s a darkness Idohate.

“There is nothing more to be said on this subject,” Pyre announces and faces all of us. I have no idea what he’s talking about but whatever it is, it appears to be over now. “As you are my guests, please make yourselves at home. Noni will see to whatever needs you have while you’re here.” Then he faces Eilish and a slight smile plays on his lips. “If you intend to rescue the Midnight Queen, you’ll need all of your strength.”

She smiles and drops her attention to her lap. The sprite sits there and appears to be annoyed. He can’t be half as annoyed as I am. As soon as I look at Eilish, my cock starts throbbing.

Pyre points to a winding staircase that appears in the center of the room. It wasn’t there before so I imagine it’s just another example of his extreme magic. Then he stands and a doorway appears in front of him. He nods at each of us and then disappears through the door.

“This way!” his house brownie says as she scurries across the floor and begins to climb the stairs. She turns to face us and beckons with a wave of her little hand. Each of us follows her up the winding staircase and into a hallway.

There appears to be no ceiling above us and no walls—just the expansiveness of the sky and stars. When we step foot into the hallway, the stairs dissolve into the ether and all that exists is the stretch of wood flooring ahead of us. Again, there are no walls—just doors that appear on either side. One of the doors opens and I notice several beds lined up along the far wall. The next door reveals a bathing room.

“Noni find you clothes,” the house brownie says as she faces me. “You big like Master, so I bring you some of his.” She pushes open a large trunk at the foot of one of the beds and faces Eilish. “There be dresses and lady clothes here. Mr. Flumph need to wear some of Noni clothes?” The brownie scrunches her tiny nose at the sight of the sprite’s abhorrent clothing.

“Your clothes?” the sprite says in disgust. “I ain’t interested in no girl clothes.”

Frankly, I doubt he’d even fit into them. Even though he’s small, he’s fat.

I head into the bathing room as Noni discusses clothing options with Revenant and Cambion. Hopefully, she’ll be able to provide Cambion with attire that’s more suited for a king and less for a ballerina. With the ridiculous getup he’s wearing now, I don’t understand how anyone can take him seriously. The dickhead has no understanding of modern fashion. But I suppose he’s been locked away in the land of faerie for the last one hundred years so I can’t really blame him.

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