Page 27 of Consorting With The Enemy

“If Sacha is going to survive, Julian, he’ll need to feed from Jarsan. It’s the only way. I’m sorry.”

“Feeding from him is what fucked him up to begin with.” Julian roared.

Jarsan laughed. “That’s not exactly the kind of feeding he needs, vampire. He needs sex from me. Often. Very often. Now, do you want your young one to survive or not? I could always return to the underworld and let him die.”

Why had Jarsan returned? I’d seen thousands of Incubi walk away from their victims, knowing they’d suffer and die. Hell, I’d seen Jarsan do it.Yet, here he stood, trying to invade my safe world…and save Sacha, which was much more important. Even without my wings, I could take care of the Incubi, so as long as the others agreed, I was okay with it.

“For fuck’s sake, Julian. Let the demon in. Sacha needs him in order to survive. We’ll worry about how to break the bond later,” Valen told his lover. “He’s…he’s suffering. I can’t watch it any longer. He’sours.”

Julian allowed the demon to slide to the floor. Jarsan straightened his long leather jacket and said, “No, he’smine.” Without fear, he crossed the threshold to my loft. A demon, regardless of what type, entering my sanctuary was still hard to accept. I heard a growl escape from my lips and then…then…huge wings unfurled from my back.

“What the…” I swirled round and round, like a dog chasing its tail, as my eyes tried to confirm what my body was doing. “How? I don’t understand.” Like a fool, I kept twisting and contorting my body. They were there, even larger than before. They were no longer black but a beautiful charcoal color like Az’s wings. Unable to stop myself, I reached up and stroked a feather. They were real. It was real.

My eyes immediately went to Az. There was a huge grin on his face, and I’d be damned, but I was certain there were tears in his eyes, too. “This shouldn’t happen. How is this happening?” Somewhere across the room, Marchand’s lavender wings unfurled and expanded. The piece of fluff just couldn’t be outdone.

“No, that certainly shouldn’t be happening,” Jarsan remarked dryly. “Your brothers would be deeply…disturbedby this turn of events. They’ve been behind the scenes, planning everything so perfectly. Your wings returning will most certainly fuck up their plans.”

While Julian had flattened him against the door, I grabbed him and flung him across the room. The walls cracked with the impact. I was on him before he could stand on his own. Furious and threatened, I felt my fangs and claws release. “I’ll kill you, Jarsan. I’ll fucking kill you if you open your fucking mouth and put my family in danger.”

Even though he was in a very precarious position, he laughed. “Kill me and you kill Sacha, Ariel. You’re the only one putting your family in danger.” I felt Az’s hand touch my shoulder.

“Why are you here?” I hissed. “Was this all part of their great plan?”

“I have no fucking clue how your wings grew back,” he answered. “Trust me, that was never factored in. Did I betray Tantrumonious? Yes, he was a bastard and deserved to die. Was I supposed to be a guard to the royal family after they ascended the throne? Yep, I worked damn hard for that spot. I listened to them bitch, moan, and groan for hours upon hours.” His eyes darkened and his own fangs grew. “Why am I here? I’m here for the boy. He needs me or he won’t survive.”

“Like you give a fuck. You’ve lived centuries and never cared about anybody but yourself. I seriously doubt that’s changed in the past few hours.”

He shrugged or did the best shrug he could with my body holding him flat to the ground. “Perhaps, I have. Perhaps, I haven’t. I guess we’ll never know if you don’t let me up and tend to my boy.”

I opened my mouth to continue arguing, but a scream of agony from Sacha caused me to slam it shut again. Jarsan was right. I wouldn’t allow Julian and Valen’s vampire child to suffer—regardless of how I felt about the Incubus and what he’d done. It dawned on me then…what Jarsanhaddone. “You fucking asshole.” I hissed. “You came here earlier, smelled him, and decided you wanted him for yourself, didn’t you? You lured him into biting you during the battle.”

Jarsan smirked. “I told you his scent was delicious. The old Ariel, the one I knew in the underworld, would have known immediately that I intended to have him.” He glanced upward, toward Azazel. “Love is making you soft, old one. Be careful. Who knows what your family will do if they hear that you’ve grown a new set…of wings, that is?”

“Please, Ariel,” Valen whispered, suddenly beside me. “Let the demon help Sacha. We raised him like a child. His suffering is killing me.”

“Of course,” I answered and climbed off Jarsan. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have delayed Sacha’s relief.”

“No apology necessary,” Valen answered and snatched Jarsan from the floor and literally threw him to the other side of the room where Julian held Sacha. The demon slammed into another one of my walls, leaving more cracks. It made me smile.

“I guess it’s safe to assume we can’t trust him,” Az said as he pulled me against him.

“No. Never,” I answered. “I have wings again. How do I have wings? It shouldn’t be possible. I know I’ve already said that, but I’m amazed. I don’t know what else to say or how to even act. I. Have. Wings.”

“I know you do, baby. They are even more gorgeous than before.”

His hand caressed the length of one and I felt my body shudder with delight. Hell, yeah, just as sensitive, if not more, than before. “But how?”

“I believe you have my beloved to thank for that,” Marchand said proudly, interrupting us and sporting one of his mischievous smirks. He turned to Az. “And look at you—playing with your lover’s wings. Don’t I remember you getting all grouchy at Gabriel and me for doing the same thing?”

“I’m a different angel now,” Az answered with a smile. “Wings are weapons, but they are definitely meant to be played with, too.”

“We’ll get back to that, I promise,” I told Az. To Marchand, I asked, “Gabriel? What did he do?”

“Well, Nic was really exhausted from the battle and then transporting all of us back to the loft, so Gabriel and I did a bit of potion concocting on our own. A bit of this, a bit of that…add a feather that had been willingly gifted from the old set and voila. You’ve grown yourself a new set of wings. I’m assuming you’ll be forever in our debt, right, Mermaid?”

“Run along, fluff. We’ll just call everything even now,” I answered, all my attention now back on Azazel. “You gave them the feather I gave you? You really had kept it. I thought…well, I thought you were just saying that because I’d told you what I’d done. I’m sorry. I should have believed you.”

He smiled. “Yes, you should have.”

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