Page 126 of Court of Lies and Deceit

My gaze flits across the forest ahead. Two people are lying dead on the ground a short distance to my right. Wind and rain and lightning crackles between the twisted trees, making the purple moss snap in the harsh wind, as Draven fights the remaining three. One of them is Oleander.

The Unseelie fae shoots a cluster of shadows at Draven. They snake through the air, aiming for Draven’s forearm while he is busy parrying a thrust from someone else.

Fury pulses through me.

Summoning another bone white flame of fear, I slam it into his chest right next to the first one.

Pleasure floods my soul again, and a soft moan slips from my lips. Oh Goddess.More.

Across the grass, Oleander’s shadows evaporate before they can trap Draven’s arm. Instead, the fae man reaches up and grabs at the leathers above his heart while choking noises come from his throat. Then his eyes roll back in his head and he collapses on the ground. My magic is cut off abruptly.

I study him. His chest doesn’t rise and fall. Either he died of a heart attack caused by too much fear, or he died because it’s not possible to shove two identical emotions into someone’s chest. Regardless, I can’t bring myself to care.

Because I want more. I want to feel that sparkling warm pleasure again.

Turning my gaze to the next Unseelie fae, I summon another flame of fear and shove it into her chest. She gasps, dropping her sword and staggering backwards.

Pleasure floods me again. Like a sparkling warm hug. Like the softest of clouds. Like a summer wave rolling over my body. Closing my eyes, I draw in a deep breath, relishing in the feeling.

The pleasure is abruptly cut off. I snap my eyes open again. Blinking, I find that Draven has run his sword through the woman’s chest, killing her before I could bathe in more of the pleasure.

Grinding my teeth, I focus back on Blondie instead, since no one can kill her before I’m done. Steel clashes and lightning cracks as Draven focuses on his final opponent.

On the ground before my feet, Blondie is still trembling with her arms over her head.

“Look at me,” I snap at her. “I want to see your eyes.”

Still shaking, she lifts her head to stare up at me. Fear pulses across her face.

“Please,” she begs.

I summon my magic and reach towards that flame of fear in her chest again. Then I start to increase it. But no pleasure follows this time. Anger rips at my chest. I want to feel it. But apparently, it only happens when I first create the emotion, before I disengage it.

Decreasing her fear slightly again, I instead summon another emotion. Panic. The harsh yellow flame of panic burns in my mind’s eye. I shove it into Blondie’s chest.

Pleasure floods my soul again.

She screams. Scrambling back across the ground, she tries to get away. I stalk after her.

“Please,” she presses out again. “Please, I’m begging you.”

Power washes over me. Oh Goddess, I could get drunk on that power alone. Because I am her goddess now. Her life is mine. I am finally in control. I finally have the power.

I create another emotion. Uncertainty. It floods her features, mixing with the fear and the panic already there, as I shove that beige flame of uncertainty into her chest.

Pleasure once more lights up my soul.

I do it again. And again. And again.

Shock and anger and jealousy and impatience. I shove them into her chest one after the other. Each time, I’m rewarded by that incredible sense of pleasure. It’s so all-consuming that I can barely breathe without it. There is nothing else around us. No forest. No ground. Just me and the woman who is now entirely at my mercy.

Summoning a burning black flame of despair, I slam it right into her already crowded chest.

She cries, tears rolling down her cheeks as she begs on her knees before me. “Please. I submit. I surrender. Please. I’m begging you.”

Power and pleasure thrum inside me like a storm.

I shove a violet flame of pain into her chest, and she screams. A moan slips from my lips as I drink in the sensation. More. More. More?—

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