Page 23 of Court of Evil

“That you did. Very good, human.” His voice is soft and sure, sliding across my skin like a caress that leaves me gasping. He watches me for a moment as I stare back, then he begins to circle me.

“I can free you of this . . . this curse,” I begin, unsure what to say now.

His laughter makes me shudder once more.

“You think I fell under a curse or spell? No, naïve human, my sister made me this way. She trapped me in my own mind out of fear and love, as she called it.” He lifts my hair as he circles me. “You are beautiful.” His whisper reaches me as he stops behindme, his breath wafting over my neck and ear. “And so tasty.” His tongue darts out, licking down my neck, and I jerk away.

“Wait, your sister?” I frown, turning to keep him in view.

His head tilts to the side as he watches me. “You truly are naïve. Did you just follow her blindly? Silly little human. The one who brought you to me made me like this, trapping me here.” He throws his arms out to encompass the shadowed area of his mind. “For my own good, she said. She thought she could free me as she wished, but magic has its own price. I have been trapped for centuries, and everyone she brings to try and free me ends up feeding my hunger.” His head dips, and his eyes darken.

He looks like an angel, but there is a devil in his eyes.

This one is not the same as the other fae.

“Did she trap you because she feared you?” I ask boldly.

He laughs. “So bold and brave. Yes, human, they feared me. I am not like them. My sister and I, we are . . . How do you humans say it? Born from two sides of the same coin—one is bright and good and the other is dark and evil. We bring balance, but when I grew stronger, she feared me so she trapped me here. Now she lives with regret, loving me even now.”

“You don’t love her?” I ask.

“I love no one or nothing, only power and feeding.” He grins slowly. “So, human, free me and I shall feed on this earth or you will die like the others.”

I watch him for a moment. “I choose neither.” Following an instinct I do not understand, I fling myself at him. We fall through the darkness, my hands trapping his face, and then I lift my arm, bite into it, and press it against his mouth.

I feel my blood drip into him, filling him as we hit the ground and he rolls us. He stares down at me, panting, his eyes wide and lips stained with my blood.

It’s then I understand what I am doing.

I am quenching the evil.

He is powerful but so hungry it drives him mad, warping his mind.

The hunger made him do terrible, terrible things to stop the pain.

That, I can understand.

“What are you doing to me?” he rasps as my blood seems to work through him.

“Saving you for real and freeing you from your hunger. I know pain. I understand how it can change you. Let me help.”

“It will hurt,” he warns.

“I can handle the pain,” I reply as he pulls my head to the side without any hesitation. My screams split the air as he buries his vicious teeth into my neck and feasts on the power within me—the life he so desperately needs. “I can handle it,” I tell him as I wrap my hand around his head, pulling him closer as he guzzles my blood.

Pain flows through me so strongly, I scream again, even as his hands slide under my clothes. He pinches my nipple as his other hand slides into my pants, pressing firmly against my clit. I am unable to stop him, and I know he tastes the moment the pain mixes with pleasure in my blood. He snarls, gnawing at my neck as he pinches my nipple so hard it aches. My thighs part and I press into him, rolling my hips.

The pleasure grows until it explodes.

I come with a scream, and he swallows my pleasure in my blood.

He jerks backwards, falling to his hands and knees, his back bowing as he coughs up black ink. Propping myself up on my elbow, I watch him.

“What have you done?” he snarls.

“I have fed the beast within you, and now I will free you.” I throw myself at him again before I chicken out, wrapping my arms around him as we fall once more. We descend through thedarkness, but this time we fall right into our bodies and out of our minds.

My eyes snap open, the light so bright it hurts. My body is swaying and weak.

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