Page 36 of Blood Court (Cursed Darkness #2)

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

LYSITHEA

Professor Narcissus drones on in Supernatural Botany.

This is usually my favourite class, but instead of practical assignments, we are doing theory, and it bores the shit out of me.

Especially now. I want to know what Verik is discovering, if anything.

I scribble notes, only half listening, casting my gaze out of the greenhouse every few seconds, hoping one of the guys will come and rescue me from this horror.

My pen stills. My notes are a chaotic mess of half-formed carnivorous plants and jagged lines.

I can’t focus. The weight of our new ‘job’ is a pressure on my chest. Arbiters.

It’s a life sentence. A gilded cage forged from ancient law and our own stupid, heroic mistake.

Professor Narcissus taps his pointer on a diagram of a Shrieking Mandrake root system. “The auditory assault is a defence mechanism, of course. Designed to incapacitate any potential threats before they can inflict harm.”

Sounds familiar.

A flicker of movement outside the curved glass walls of the greenhouse catches my eye. It’s Dathan. He’s not trying to be subtle. He stands just beyond the enchanted trellises, his silver eyes fixed on me. He looks like a storm cloud waiting to break.

The bell finally chimes, a shrill, beautiful sound that cuts through the lecture. I’m out of my seat before the last echo fades, shoving my notebook into my bag. I escape the greenhouse and emerge into the Nightmare Gardens with the moon hanging high in the sky.

“Have you heard from Verik yet?” I ask, joining them.

Evren shakes his head, but takes my hand, holding it tightly as we move through the shrubbery.

Dathan is silent, which is more worrying than when he’s throwing his sarcasm around.

The path winds through pulsating flora that shrinks away from our footsteps.

Whisper-lilies curl their petals inward as we pass, their secrets kept to themselves for once.

He grabs my other hand and pulls me closer to him.

“I need you,” he murmurs into my hair.

“I’m right here,” I whisper.

He pulls back slightly, giving me a wicked grin “Oh?”

“Why not. I need you too. Both of you.”

His mouth crashes down on mine. It’s not gentle.

It’s a claim. A drowning man taking his last breath.

I kiss him back with the same desperation, my fingers tangling in the dark hair at the nape of his neck.

His nightmare magic coils around us, a possessive, protective shroud that tastes of ozone and fear.

Evren’s fingers tighten around mine. A cool, silent promise against the heat of Dathan’s kiss.

He doesn’t let go. He’s my anchor, a steady point of calm in the storm.

The garden holds its breath around us, the pulsating plants glowing a little brighter.

A pocket of sanity in the absolute fucking chaos of our lives.

Dathan breaks the kiss and pulls me over to a nearby bench, shaded by an ancient tree with black leaves.

He sits and drags me onto his lap. He is hard already.

His hands push my dress up my thighs, and I grind down on him, suddenly aroused beyond belief.

Evren stands at my back, his hand snaking around to grip my throat as Dathan gets his cock free.

Shoving my knickers to the side, he rams into me without another word.

He groans as I gasp. Evren’s hand tightens around my neck.

Dathan grips my hips, guiding my movements as I ride him.

The friction is exquisite torture, each thrust sending shockwaves through my already overwrought nerves.

Evren’s grip on my throat is possessive, a reminder that I’m theirs completely.

“Fuck, Thea,” Dathan groans against my neck, his teeth scraping my skin. “You’re perfect.”

The corruption that has been eating away at me feels distant now, burned away by their touch and the raw connection between us. This is what I need. Not the trials or the grimoire or the fucking Blood Court. Just them. Just this moment where nothing else exists.

Evren’s free hand slides down my body, cupping my breast through my dress before he pinches my nipple. I arch back against him with a strangled moan.

“You’re soaking me, princess,” Dathan murmurs, his silver eyes dark with lust. “Fuck, you feel good.”

My orgasm crashes over me like a tidal wave, stealing my breath and making my vision blur. I clench around Dathan, pulling his own release from him with a harsh groan. He holds me tight as we both shake through the aftershocks of our quick fuck.

Evren doesn’t let me catch my breath before he lifts me from Dathan’s cock and turns, slamming me into the tree trunk.

The leaves shake overhead as he pins me against the old bark.

He wastes no time either. We are all eager to feel each other, and there is no time or need for playing.

With one quick thrust, he is inside me, his hand going back around my throat and squeezing tightly.

I moan, making the tree tremble down to its roots.

The bark scrapes my back through my dress, aggravating the Soul Scar, but I don’t care.

I need to feel him burying himself inside me as deep as he can.

His cock throbs in my pussy, so ready to come.

His pace is relentless, each thrust driving me harder against the rough bark.

His ice-blue eyes burn into mine, the silence between us speaking volumes.

I can feel his desperation, his need to claim me after everything we’ve just learned.

The revelation that Blackgrove brought him back from the dead, that his entire second chance at life was orchestrated for this moment.

My second orgasm builds faster than the first. Evren’s brutal possession pushes me over the edge again. I shake uncontrollably in his arms, biting my lip to stifle my scream, tasting my own blood.

He comes, his body going rigid as he spills inside me.

“Well,” a familiar voice drawls from somewhere behind us. “This is cosy. Do I get a turn?”

I grin at Verik, panting harshly. “Show me what you’ve got,” I murmur.

Evren drops me lightly to my feet, and I feel their cum sliding down my inner thighs.

He tucks himself away as Verik moves into position.

He smiles down at me, cupping my face before he spins me to face the tree.

He lifts my dress and undoes his pants, gripping his cock, he drives into me from behind.

I’m their whore right now, and I fucking love it.

He grabs my wrists tightly, pulling my arms back as he slams into me so hard, my cheek catches on the bark, tearing my skin open.

But still, I don’t care.

“Fuck, hellcat,” Verik groans, his voice rough with need. “You feel incredible after being with them. So wet, filled with their cum.”

“Ah,” I cry out at his dirty words.

His grip on my wrists is iron, keeping me pinned against the bark as he pounds into me.

My third orgasm builds like a storm, crashing over me as Verik’s pace becomes erratic. He releases my wrists to grip my hips, driving deeper until he comes with a harsh growl against my neck.

I slump against the tree, my legs barely holding me up.

I grip the tree to steady myself as Verik snaps my knickers back into place.

Their cum instantly soaks them, and I smile to myself.

This is what it feels like to be wanted, to be worshipped, to be taken in a garden where anyone could see us, by three men who would burn this academy down for me.

I might be their whore to use whenever they please, but they are my everything.

“What did you find?” I turn to face Verik.

His expression shifts, the post-sex haze clearing to reveal something darker. “The Infernal Crown isn’t just some artefact that makes shit. It’s a god-maker. Whatever the wearer desires, becomes reality.”

My blood runs hot. A god-maker. “And we’re the ones who will forge it.”

He glances at the others. “The opposition isn’t trying to stop us from finishing the grimoire. They’re trying to stop us from making you a god.”

“Does anyone else wonder what Thane’s group and the second group’s purpose was?” Dathan asks into the silence.

“To pave the way for us,” Verik says quietly. “They made it easier.”

“Easier?” I scoff. “So, what was it like for them?”

He meets my gaze. “Precisely. But that is what I think.”

“Do you think they knew they weren’t the ones?” I whisper. “Do you think they know they went through all of that to gain nothing from it?”

“They will gain when we win this,” Dathan states.

“But where are the others? Where are the other Nox Sirens?”

His eyes lock with mine. “I don’t know, but if they are alive, we will find them.”

“Maybe the book got rid of them when their purpose was served,” I mutter. “Maybe it will try to get rid of me as well when it gets its full power back.”

The silence that follows my words tells me they are thinking it too.

“The book wouldn’t do that,” Dathan says finally, but there’s uncertainty in his voice. “It needs you.”

“It needs me to complete it. After that? Who knows what it considers necessary?”

Verik’s expression darkens. “Then we make sure we’re stronger than it when the time comes.”

“How do we fight a god?” I ask, the question hanging between us like a blade.

Evren’s hand finds mine, cold fingers intertwining with my warm ones. His touch is reassuring, but it can’t chase away the chill of dread settling in my bones.

“You become one first,” Verik says.

“With the Crown.”

He nods.

“What else did you find out?”

“Not much, to be honest. It’s time for fresh eyes.”

I nod. “I’ll go. I have some time. I’ll look for anything on this Warden gate thing.”

The library beckons. I leave the guys in the garden, their lingering touches still burning on my skin as I make my way to DarkHallow’s twisted structure that houses the library.