Page 86 of Of Vows and War: Special Edition
“I need to explain this to you, but I want you to first remember that I am sorry. I am so fucking sorry,” Bellamy said, stepping in front of me and grabbing my shoulders.
Eternity above, this wasbad.My stomach rolled, my head spun, and I was fairly certain I would have shit myself if I had eaten anything recently.
Closing his eyes, he first tilted his face up, breathing heavily. Then he let his entire head fall forward and his shoulders slump. With a nod, he turned me fully towards his king and began pushing me to the bed. Quickly, I prodded his mental shields, finding them down.
If this is some sort of family kink, I need you to know that I am not a fan and would rather not.
Bellamy snorted at my words in his head, causing King Adbeel to raise a brow. The demon ruler had sat up, his eyes tracking us as we neared. Why were they being so ominous about whatever it was? It could not have been that bad.
“Asher, this is King Adbeel Ayad. He is the ruler of Eoforhild and a descendant of the…goddess,Asta. He is also your—well, he is—I mean, you are—”
“You look so much like your mother,” Adbeel cut in. I gasped, staring at the bedridden king with wide eyes. Bellamy choked on what could have only been air, his hair grazing my arm as he bent forward. The king merely stared at me, his lips slightly parted.
“How did you know my mother?” I asked, suspicion woven into my voice like a tapestry of unease.
Adbeel smiled, the expression soft and somewhat pained. It was then, as I looked at the demon king with his unruly curls and light brown skin, that I realized exactly what I was.
“She was my daughter.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Perdita
Damn it all to the Underworld!
Today was not going as planned. That oaf of a prince gave me double what he said he would, which should have excited me, but he had Blue and her absurd lover bring it.
She was getting on my nerves. Not because she was being clingy like other females usually were, but because she was being quite the opposite. It was no secret that I wanted her, just as it was plain as day that she did not want me.
Absurd. I was the greatest pirate to walk Alemthian. She should beg on her knees for me. Stupid, ridiculous fae.
I hated her.
Lian walked up to me where I leaned back against the starboard bulwark of the Abaddon. Her hair was shining beneath the bright light of midday as she approached. She was without curves, her chest nearly flat and her hips nonexistent. So different from Dima—from any female I had ever wanted. She was also far less alluring. Apart from when she was flirting with CJ, of course. I caught it for the second time the day before she left me, the sight of her practically humming words to the Water. CJ would giggle as Lian winked, and the two would go on chatting as they worked.
The bane of my existence stopped before me, her overly full lips splitting to show her bared teeth—too large compared to her small, upturned coffee eyes.
I wanted her.
“Blue,” I signed before crossing my arms and lifting my chin. She rolled her eyes, mirroring my stance and looking at me. While I had three or four inches of height on her, she still seemed to scowl down at me. As if I were the one leaving.
“You have your money and your privateer license, which means you no longer need to steal for wealth. We expect you to behave.” She said the words slowly before quickly signing, “To be good.”
I could make her be good for me, if only she would let me.
“I amthe,” I signed with a sharp jolt of my hands, “Perdita Harligold. I will do what I want.” Lian put her hands on her barely-there hips, glaring at me like she might stab me. I wondered what face she made when that giant, stupid fucking demon made her come. “Is your little lover not eager to leave, Blue?”
She watched my hands with an intense sort of focus before following my now-pointed finger until she noticed Henry, who stood with Fatima. She was likely finding herself stumped on lover.
I had not taught her that one yet.
Smirking, I reached forward and pinched the end of her hair. It stopped just above her breast, the strands brighter than the sky above. It was the blue of Eoforhild. It was like second nature to close the distance between us as I twirled the hair around my pointer finger. Then, ever so slowly, I released the strands and slid my finger beneath her chin.
With Dima, it would have worked. She loved how forward I was. All the females I had ever sampled agreed. Lian, sadly, did not. One second I was trying to decide how to show her what the sign meant, the next I was on my back. My lungs burned as they searched for air that was not there, my body already aching.
Just as the smiling beast of a female above me went to release my arm she had used to flip me, I called to my shadows. We were engulfed instantly, the Moon magic taking us to my quarters.
“You moron,” she signed. Laughing, I pushed myself up. It was not until I was in front of her again and staring into those eyes that a brilliant idea came to me. A smile lifted my cheeks and creased my skin, making me nearly feral with the perfection of what would soon be my life.
