Page 67 of Killer of the Bells
As he fucked me with his mouth, my body began to tingle and my skin started to glow a soft, shimmery green. The sensation built in waves, getting stronger and stronger until it reached a crescendo, and I came helplessly while Vale swallowed with the same fervor he had while drinking my blood.
I fully planned to keel over and pass out for an undetermined amount of time, but I felt stronger and even more alive than I had before, and I was glowing like a firefly.
I gazed down at Vale as he licked his lips with satisfaction, eyes still glowing, but instead of the orange fire I’d seen earlier, it matched my own green glow.
“What…” I rasped, voice absolutely fucked after whatever the hell had just happened. “What did you do?”
Vale’s hazy expression of self-satisfaction faded, and he frowned. “You’re glowing.”
“No shit!” I snapped. “Did you just give me your fairy STD? Am I going to start eating people?”
“It’s not an STD, and this isn’t what happened when I was cursed.” Vale made a face and tucked my dick away for me. “The Cody has had enough of a show, I think.”
“I haven’t,” The Cody announced, stepping out from a tree. Like, literally. She moseyed right out of it like it was a door rather than a plant. “That didn’t count as fucking.”
“It really didn’t.” I agreed readily. “Even if you just gave me a fae STD, Vale, we’re still doing that again.”
“I didn’t give you an STD,” Vale said stiffly. “I can’t get sick or pass things along. My body is literally frozen in time.”
“So, what’s happening to me?” I demanded. My body was only glowing brighter, and Vale’s eyes were doing their best to keep up.
The Cody gave us a once over, walking around us in a circuit, makingoooandahhhnoises before announcing, “Congratulations on your marriage!”
“On our what?!” Vale shouted, and I echoed right on his heels.
Chapter
Seventeen
VALE
My brain struggled to keep up with what was happening, but it kept fumbling and slipping in and out of coherence. I hadn’t just cursed Echo, had I?
Over a century had passed since Wraith had accidentally changed me, and I’d assumed that whatever happened was localized to only the two of us, since nothing happened to anyone either of us fucked—other than dying. That happened a lot. And, until very recently, Wraith slept around constantly, so I had a massive test pool.
It couldn’t be the curse. When I was infected, it had been painful, bloody, and filled with howling madness. Wraith hadn’t fared any better, either.
As I watched Echo’s glow intensify, I realized there was a lightness inside me that I’d never felt before.
I was so out of my depth that I all but begged The Cody, “What’s happening to us?”
“I already told you. You two are married!” The Cody clapped her hands together, causing the frost clinging to her hands to flake away. “Not in some dumb human way either. You went the traditional route, too, which is rare these days with the younger crowd. I’m so proud of you, Vale, for keeping our traditionsalive.” The Cody laughed and danced around joyfully, and I couldn’t tell if it was from mockery or actual joy.
“Crazy old bat,” I muttered. “What do you mean bytraditional route?”
The Cody stopped twirling in the snow and cocked her head to look at me. “You’d know if you bothered to learn more about your own people, Vale.”
“I’m more inclined to be educated on the matter now, if you’d be so kind,” I bit out.
“I’m also inclined,” Echo said in a kinder tone, going up to The Cody with a mix of hesitant curiosity.
“You’re too good for him, dear,” The Cody said, and I dodged a tree branch before it swatted my head. I gave it and her a glare, but The Cody merely laughed. “It’s a shame you tied yourself to him so quickly, Echo. I could have found you someone far more suitable. What are your thoughts on the incorporeal folk? I have a sylph in mind that would be so good to you.”
“That’s not funny,” I said, grinding my teeth. If I wanted her to tell me what I wanted to know, I couldn’t be as horrible to her as I wanted, but I wasn’t going to let her take Echo from me, so I dragged Echo a safe distance from her evil clutches.
“Tied myself?” Echo asked.
“Yes, normally humans don’t mix easily with the fae, but you’ve had help.” The Cody squinted and gave Echo the once-over before saying, “You’ve got Cal’s signature brand of chaos all over you. I’m not certain if I can call you lucky to have caught the attention of his patrons, but it’s done now, so you’ll have to learn to live with it.”
