Page 12 of Midnight Kingdom

“Oh! Good! You ain’t so dark no more!”

“Dark?” I repeat, still panting.

He nods. “I seen yer eyes go all black.” He swallows hard. “But they ain’t black no more.”

I don’t respond other than to reach down and grab the keys from the pool of blood spreading across the marble like a horrific paint spill. The keys jingle in my hands as I retrieve them and I turn to face the door, feeling as if I’m in slow motion. The Succubus’s need still burns inside me and I feel strangely exhausted and, at the same time, desperate for sex. I literally have to keep my gaze glued to the floor or the walls or the door because looking at the men around me makes me weak.

For a minute I don’t look anywhere but at the lock.

“What’s she doing?” Cambion asks.

“Shh,” Revenant responds. “She’s fighting to get control.”

He understands. He sees what’s happening to me and I’m grateful to him for his understanding. I notice that Dragan says nothing but I can feel the weight of his stare and his judgement all the same.

I continue to focus on the locked door before us—at the intricate runes carved into the iron. “Iron repels faeries, right?” I ask, my voice coming out whispery and exhausted.

“Yes,” Cambion answers as he strolls up beside me and his aroma wraps around me like a blanket. I have to hold my breath.

I close my eyes and fight to get control of myself. “Why would Variant ward the Midnight Queen’s room against faeries when we’re in the realm of the Fae?” I ask.

“Technically we aren’t in the Fae realm,” Cambion answers.

“But the majority of the creatures here,” I start.

“Are Fae, yes,” he answers. Then he faces the locked door with interest. I stare down at my hands, watching them shake with the force of my attempt to keep my needs at bay. Were I to release the Succubus, she would throw Cambion to the floor, climb on top of him and ride him until she reached multiple orgasms. I almost smile at the thought of his reaction to such a scenario.

“We aren’t the only ones who have attempted to free her?” I ask.

Flumph attempts to touch the lock and it turns red hot, instantly burning the tiny creature. He lets out more curse words than I’ve ever heard from him before and shakes his hand. Baron rolls his eyes and digs out some sort of poultice from his bag of poisons and tinctures. He spreads it across Flumph’s injured hand in order to ease the pain and it appears to do the job.

I glance down at the ring of keys in my hand until I find a key that matches the runes on the door. I take a step forward before Cambion reaches out and stops me with a hand on my arm.

“Don’t touch me,” I whisper as I close my eyes and fight for control over myself again. “It’s hard enough controlling my impulses,” I explain.

He immediately drops his hand back down to his side. “Sorry,” he says.

I say nothing but grit my teeth as I fight the desire inside me. Cambion’s hand felt so warm and the warmth of his light magic continues to plague me, even after he pulled away.

“You’ll have to dissolve the wards on the lock first,” Cambion says in a soft voice.

I nod and remember the lessons Pyre taught me. I focus on the magic that surrounds the lock and tune into the sight offered me by my third eye—that invisible eye that exists in the center of my forehead and allows me to see the invisible.

Immediately, I see lights dancing and spinning around the lock in the door. They appear as short and long bursts that circle around and through one another. I reach forward and without touching the iron lock, I place my palm toward it and I imagine absorbing all the light energy. As I watch, the dancing lights began to move toward me. I continue focusing on them, drawing them closer. Soon they dance around my hands and after another few seconds, they dissolve into my palm.

“It’s done,” I say as I open my eyes and face the lock again, slipping the key into the iron opening before turning it with a crank of my wrist. The runes glow for a second and the door swings inward of its own accord. We’re immediately greeted with darkness and beyond the darkness appears a winding stone staircase.

I step forward, but Cambion stops me by clearing his throat. “The stone could be spelled. Let Dragan go ahead of you, he’ll be able to sense if there’s anything amiss. Just... to be careful.” The worry is evident in his voice, despite his best efforts to hide it.

Dragan concentrates intently as he walks forward and passes me. He won’t look at me and I notice that he holds his breath while passing me. When he enters the room, he closes his eyes and walks in a circle—first clockwise and then counter. He frowns over his shoulder at the rest of us. Well, at everyone else… save me. He doesn’t bother to look at me. He then shakes his head.

“There aren’t any wards in the stone.” He glances up the narrow staircase. “I don’t even sense a door at the top of these stairs.” He faces Cambion. “Only two demon guards and one easily opened lock to ensure the prison of the Midnight Queen?”

“Either she didn’t prove much of a threat or whoever attempted to rescue her before us didn’t,” Baron responds with a shrug.

“Whatever the reason, I don’t care. Let’s just get to her,” Cambion answers, shoving past Dragan and starting for the stairs. Dragan is quick behind him and Baron rushes past me as I continue to try and battle the Succubus for control. Allowing the Succubus out was a risky venture and it’s proven near impossible to bottle her back up again.

The sound of my footfalls echoes through the tower. I’m the last one to take the staircase and Flumph flits around my head. I’m nervous. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because I’m about to meet the Midnight Queen—the woman responsible for keeping me safe all this time. The woman whose voice I’ve been hearing in my head all along. The woman who will be able to answer all the questions I have. I just hope I don’t disappoint her.

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