Page 17 of Lady of the Nightmares

My breath caught, and goosebumps erupted on my skin, and I knew I was about to be done for, yet Bael didn’t let up, pumping harder into me so fast that his palm slapped against my clit with each punishing thrust.

I squirmed, the pressure almost too much, somewhere between pain and ecstasy, and choked as the sting of his hand drove me closer to an edge I wasn’t familiar with.

I whimpered, my heart pounding so hard against my ribs it must have been audible outside to any nearby Fae, and I couldn’t bring myself to care.

“Now, little monster,” he demanded. “Come for me.”

I couldn’t have denied the order if I’d wanted to. Heat washed over me, and my inner walls clenched so tight I squeezed my eyes shut as every muscle in my body tightened painfully. I tried to press my thighs together, but Bael held them apart, and I shook, a cry falling from my mouth that was nothing like any sound I’d made before.

Stars broke behind my eyes, and I slumped back, panting against him.

Bael waited a beat until my breathing slowed slightly before turning me slowly around to face him. Our eyes met, and I had nothing left to say. Perhaps he was right, but there were so many confused emotions swirling inside of me I wasn’t even sure myself.

I dragged the back of my hand over my mouth, and fleetingly, I became aware of pain and moisture coming from my lips. With a start, I realized I’d bit down on my own bottom lip.A shiver of fear and awareness traveled through me.Instinct.Was that what would take over if we were ever together for real?

LONNIE

THE DEPLETED QUARRY, INBETWIXT

The morning light dawned over Inbetwixt, and with it came the end of the second hunt.

During my last hunt—my only official one to date—I’d survived by crossing the finish line before anyone managed to hunt me down, taking the crown and the throne it represented by blood and force.

This time, my win was far less dramatic.

Once Bael arrived, I encountered no further trouble, causing me to wonder if his escorting me would make all hunts nothing more than a simple stroll in the woods. That almost seemed too easy, yet there had to be some reason that the Everlasts held on to their crown for so long, and it could not be simply that there were so many of them.

“Do not get used to it,” I said out loud as the haunting sound of the hunting horn rang over the quarry, echoing far too loudly, as if it were right beside me and flowing through me at the same time.

Bael, walking beside me, was not listening. “Did you say something?”

“Er, no. Nothing.” I looked over at him and did a double take, jolting in alarm. “What are you doing?”

His yellow eyes were invisible, only the whites showing as they rolled up into the back of his head as if he were having a fit. Oddly, though, he was having no difficulty walking in a straight line beside me. He blinked, and his eyes returned to normal.

“I thought I saw Scion’s horrible, great bird lurking in a tree back there.” He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. “But now I can’t find it.”

“Were you looking at the trees just now?”

He nodded. “If you ever got around to practicing what you could do with your abilities, little monster, you may realize there are secondary applications that may not seem obvious at first.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, curious in spite of myself.

“Magic is like any other skill. You may be born with a natural affinity, but you still must hone the skill over many years to be worth a damn at using it.

Was he saying that offhand, or was it meant to be instructional? I shook my head, refusing to indulge the trail of questions and self-loathing that would arise if I let myself wander too far down the path of “what if.”

“And what’syournatural affinity?” I asked, hoping to distract him into changing the subject.

I recalled a comment that Aine had made once about her brother’s magic and how I likely did not know what his abilities were. That, coupled with the cage, pulled at my curiosity.

Bael looked from me to the smoke rising from a campfire some twenty feet ahead of us. We’d almost reached the camp where the group from the capital had set up. He gave me a sheepish smile. “You will think this is too convenient, but I’d rather not discuss it near others. I’ll show you when we have more privacy.”

I narrowed my eyes. “I’ll hold you to that.”

“See that you do.”

Perhaps it was due to the prince at my side as I walked unaided back into the camp on the edge of the quarry, but there was far less fanfare than I’d expected. No snide glances. No whispered comments. Yet, that was not to say that no one noticed us.

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