Page 28 of Hellish Fae
He lifts his long fingers above him. As he starts to speak, thin smoky lines drawl out like a moving sketch for us to see.
“Three years ago, Aries was a member of the prestigious but secret group called the Shadow Guard.” His ink-stained fingers twirl with glittering magic, and the drawing portrays a beautiful girl with cascading hair climbing a graveyard fence of some kind. “The Shadow Guard stands against her father, King Gravier. Its sole purpose is to help demons within the fae realm. Equality and all that.”
“She helps demons?” Zaviar asks quietly, his cruel gaze assessing the man lying near his feet.
“She’s always helped demons. She’s always loved them. Except for me.” His words dwindle off into a quiet whisper, but he simply clears his throat and with a flick of his wrist, the whisking drawing changes to stream along with his story. “She stole something the crown wanted, though. Aries stole the essence of Hell Lord’s mate from the castle’s necropolis. She stole a Queen of Hell’s ashes.”
Hell Lord’s mate . . .
“Who’s Hell Lord?” I ask quietly.
“He’s a King of the Voren Empire. He’s one of the rulers beneath the Four Princes,” he explains. “Anyway, her brother caught her with the small urn of ashy remains that tie the demon world to this one. It’s a cursed token. The ruler of hell, Hell Lord was furious King Gravier stole his beloved. So he cursed her remains to allow his demons to live among us. We don’t have to wait for someone to summon us outside of our lands anymore. We’re free.In a way.” He shakes his head at that statement but continues. “Aries was caught stealing the hidden ashes her brother wanted so badly. Instead of handing the token over and allowing Prince Nathiale to control the portal piece between the two realms . . .” His lips sneer into a pleased smile. “She snorted it.”
My lips curl back hard with the visual his words are literally painting for us to see.
“What the fuck,” Ryke whispers, disgust clearly written all over his face.
“She’s possessed by the mate of Hell? She’s possessed by a fucking Queen of Hell?” Zav’s brows are so low his eyes look black with all the hard-glaring confusion he holds there.
“She is. The Queen of the Voren Empire to be exact.” Krave nods with that same proud smirk.
He likes her. Too much.
“So why doesn’t she have someone exorcise the queen of the damned out of her?” I ask with more impatience. Why the hell does this woman make such terrible decisions?
Krave’s smile pulls down at the corners, and his fingers close into his palm, wiping away the image of Aries and the shit choices she makes in life.
“Because as long as the essence haunts Aries, the token is safe. The demon’s portal piece is safe inside her. Her brother will never have it.”
Zaviar’s brooding look softens, and he looks to the fae woman with a bit more compassion. It’s a rare thing for my brother to find compassion for anyone.
“She’s protecting the demons by suffering through it,” he whispers.
Krave nods while crossing one black boot over the other.
The incubus is really making himself at home here. I don’t like it.
“Thanks for the information, but I think it’s about time for you to shove off,” I tell him. My arms cross. I wait for him to acknowledge me, but he never glances my way.
“Actually, I always wait until she wakes up before leaving.”
“Why?” I ask.
“Because it makes her subtly uncomfortable to face me after I make her cum. For a few short moments, she clung to me as if I was the only person in the world who could make her life better. And I like to know that she remembers that.”
“You like to guilt her for hating you, is what you mean.” My gaze narrows on him but he doesn’t look my way.
“Oh, very much,” he says flatly, his smile as taunting as ever.
“Okay.” I sigh, trying to get this over with as quickly as possible. “How long does she usually sleep for?”
“Three days,” he says without care.
Three. Days.
I hate this.
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