Page 9 of Within the Flames
Illustration: Daimon
Three
Together, they walked through the archway. Jared had been right, it tickled, like a thousand feathers were gently drawn over Macey's skin. She let go of Rónàn's hand and ran her fingers over her arms to get rid of whatever was tickling her, but there was nothing there.
Everything was black until suddenly - colour erupted all around them.
"What the fucking waves," Macey muttered as she took in the landscape around her. They'd stumbled into a party, a massive, loud party full of light strobes and burning fires. The noise was unbelievable and she was tempted to put her hands over her ears.
They were still in a cave, so huge that she couldn't see the ceiling, but instead of being empty as it seemed before, there were houses everywhere, dotted around the place like a child had played with its lego set and then kicked the pieces in random directions. Some of the houses looked like they were clearly not following the rules of gravity, with balconies larger than the actual house, and walls that were bending outwards. Fires were burning in iron baskets all over the place and lampoons were hanging from ropes spanned between buildings.
And then there were the people. Hundreds of them, dancing in the streets, clapping, stamping on the ground, jumping.
"I didn't expect this," Jared said dryly. He was waiting for them, his beautiful features illuminated by the fire. Was it his incubus or Macey's hormones that made her want to rip off his clothes?
She forced herself to look away from him. Some of the partygoers must have been having similar thoughts: they were in various stages of undress, with couples half-hidden in alleyways and others doing it openly in front of everybody else.
This was as hedonistic as anything Macey had ever seen.
"Now I know why he doesn't want incubi here," Jared chuckled, pointing at a couple who were busy plunging their tongues into each other's mouths. "I could feast off this for months."
His eyes were glowing slightly and a sharp tug went through Macey's lower belly. She really wanted to be close to him, to touch him, to kiss him, to...
Suddenly, Rónàn stepped past her and pressed his lips against Jared's. He wrapped his thick arms around the incubus and pulled him close, shielding him from view.
"What the..." Macey was speechless. Rónàn? And Jared? Kissing?
"Tune it down, Jared!" Cam shouted. "Even I want to jump your bones just now."
Jared pushed Rónàn away from him, struggling against the selkie who was clearly stronger than the incubus.
"I'm trying," Jared muttered, his teeth clenched and the little muscle in his forehead bulging.
Something warred within Macey, trying to counteract the lust she was feeling towards him. But then, why should she? He was hers, she could be with him, all it would take was...
"Jared! NOW!" Cam yelled, sounding angrier than Macey had ever heard him. It cut through her haze slightly, though she could still feel the urge to get to Jared. It wasn't letting up any time soon.
Rónàn struggled against Jared, trying to kiss him again. Jealousy welled up within her and the ends of her hair began to turn green. Jared washers.No one else would touch him.
The lust vanquished for a moment, she stepped forward and between the two men, grabbing each by their shirt and pushing them away from one another. Her nails sharpened and turned into claws, ripping the fabric.
"Hands off," she said sternly. She felt her nostrils flaring and her eyes hardening.
Without being fully aware of what she was doing, she threw Rónàn towards the wall. His back slammed against it and a grunt escaped him, but Macey was too gone to care. Lust and wrath coiled up inside her, controlling her every move.
She could hear the murmur of voices letting her know her men were still trying to get through to her, but she didn't pay them any heed. Macey stalked towards her selkie, determined to make him pay for what he'd done.
A booming laugh sounded, cutting through the rage.
"Well, well, that wasn't what I expected."
Macey turned to the source of the voice, looking the daimon up and down. He was certainly an attractive looking man, other than the wings. Though something about them was magnificent and powerful. Maybe it was their size. They could rival a normal man's height.
"Who are you?" she asked, her voice raspy through the anger.
"Lucian, but you can call me Luc," he replied, his smirk growing all the wider. "Would you like some help controlling your incubus?"
Macey nodded. She didn't like the idea of restraining Jared in any way, but given the circumstances, she needed to do something.
