Page 22

It evaporates so abruptly that it feels as if someone forcibly ripped the emotion out of me.

The experience is so jarring that I just sit there, still on my knees with Draven’s cock in my mouth, and stare up at him. He stares back down at me, his eyes wide, looking just as shocked as I feel.

A smug chuckle cuts through the strange ringing in my ears. “And that’s how you create an emotion. Lust, in this case.”

The sound of Jocasta’s voice jolts me out of my stupor. I quickly release my grip on Draven’s cock and slide it out of my mouth. That seems to snap him back to reality too, because he blinks several times and gives his head a hard shake.

“Girl, have you ever even sucked a cock before?” Jocasta says from where she is still standing a couple of steps away. Amusement laces her voice. “You’re supposed to suck it. Not lick it like an icicle.”

Embarrassment crashes over me like a tidal wave.

My entire face flushes bright red. It’s so intense that I feel like I’m going to catch fire any second.

Whipping my head around, I stare at Jocasta with my cheeks burning with mortification.

She just grins down at me, her eyes sparkling with satisfaction.

And that’s when my stunned mind finally catches up with what happened these past couple of minutes.

Jocasta created lust in my chest. In Draven’s too.

Since I can’t manipulate my own emotions, I have never known what it feels like from the other side.

And since I know that I’m changing someone’s emotions, I’ve always thought that there was something about it that would feel artificial.

I had no idea that it felt this… organic.

When she created the lust inside me, I had no idea that it wasn’t my own emotion. I truly believed that it was all me.

That thought sends another shockwave through me, because it leads me to the most mind-blowing realization of all.

Jocasta created lust inside me.

If it had happened when I turned and looked at Draven, I would have doubted her word.

I would have thought she just manipulated the spark of lust that is always present when I look at Draven.

But it began before that. That all-consuming sense of lust began before I even laid eyes on him.

Which means that it was created out of nothing.

And that should not be possible.

“Uhm… What’s going on here?” Galen’s voice suddenly echoes through the room.

I whip my head towards the door to find Galen, Lyra, Isera, and Alistair standing there frozen on the sand, staring at the three of us in stunned silence. The practice dummies they have brought stand motionlessly beside them.

Draven quickly pulls his pants all the way back up and fastens his belt again while I scramble off my knees and take a few steps back. Heat once more sears my cheeks.

“No need to hide it,” Jocasta says, her eyes sparkling with amusement as she nods towards Draven’s crotch. “It’s a very impressive cock.”

In a heartbeat, Draven has closed the distance between them. Lightning crackles down his arms and storm clouds churn around him as he grips her by the collar and yanks her up on her toes.

“If you ever do something like that again, I will fucking kill you,” Draven growls in her face.

“Oh, come now,” Jocasta replies, smirking back at him. “It was very educational. Or at least, it will be. Because now you can start teaching her how to suck cock properly.”

“Watch your mouth.” His fist tightens in her black shirt. “And for your information, her technique is fucking excellent.”

Heat once again flushes my entire face, turning it bright red, and I send a desperate prayer to Mabona that the ground will open up and swallow me.

Jocasta just gives Draven a knowing smirk. “Uh-huh.”

He shoves her backwards and releases her shirt.

Our four companions, who have now reached us, come to a halt on the sand two steps away while glancing between the three of us.

“Did we… miss something?” Lyra asks, looking genuinely bewildered.

“Yeah, what’s going on?” Alistair adds as he meets my gaze.

I drawn my eyebrows down into a scowl, desperately trying to force the searing heat out of my cheeks. “Don’t ask.”

A few steps away, Jocasta chuckles and brushes her hands down her shirt to smoothen it after Draven’s manhandling. Amusement glitters in her eyes and she wiggles her eyebrows at us. I shoot her a glare.

“And what even is this court’s obsession with sucking cock?” I huff, remembering how Orion threatened Isera earlier.

Alistair raises his eyebrows. “You sucked his cock?”

“I said, don’t ask,” I mutter, embarrassment heating my cheeks once more.

“It’s the ultimate power exchange,” Jocasta replies with a hungry look in her eyes.

At first, I think that hunger in her eyes is directed at Draven, and the urge to ram a knife through her ribs hits me like a landslide.

That violent urge to kill her just for thinking about Draven shocks me a little, which in turn dampens the murderous rage enough for me to see that her eyes aren’t focused on Draven at all.

Quite the opposite. She’s staring out across the room, as if looking through the wall and towards whoever she’s fantasizing about.

“One person is kneeling at the other’s feet, sucking his cock,” she says, her tone laced with deep craving.

“An act of absolute submission.” Her gaze remains on the pale stone wall across the room as she slides her tongue along her teeth.

“While at the same time, she has the most vulnerable part of his body in her mouth. Right between her teeth.” Her eyes gleam and a sigh escapes her chest as she repeats, “The ultimate power exchange.”

The six of us just stare at her in silence, unsure of how to reply to that. My question had been more a comment of frustration. I hadn’t expected her to actually answer it.

At last, she tears her gaze from the wall and shifts her attention back to us. “That’s why it’s so hot.” She lets out a small chuckle and gives us all a knowing look. “Just imagine how hot it would be to do that with someone as powerful as the Unseelie King.”

Isera’s gaze sharpens. “He likes that?”

“Of course. Complete submission, especially from someone powerful, is what he craves most.”

“I see.”

I glance at her, trying to meet her gaze. But her calculating eyes are focused on Jocasta.

For a few seconds, the room is dead silent. Somewhere outside the door, the distant sounds of clashing swords and rushing magic fill the warm air inside the arena. Gray light from the overcast sky filters in through the windows, painting lighter patches on the pale stone wall on the other side.

“Uhm…” Galen begins, looking distinctly uncomfortable.

Jocasta yet again claps her hands. “Anyway.” She shifts her gaze to me. “You can’t create emotions yet. That’s fine. We have a week to work on that before the first game. For now, at least show me how you manipulate emotions.”

Yet . Can’t create emotions yet . I stifle a scoff.

I don’t know what kind of extra power the fae have here in the Unseelie Court, but it is not possible to create emotions.

I know. I have been practicing with my magic for over one hundred and fifty years.

I know that it’s not possible to create emotions.

There needs to be a spark there first. That’s just how it works. At least for us.

I glance at Jocasta. Maybe she was right. Maybe the Unseelie Court has always been stronger than us and that’s why she can create emotions while I can’t.

“Well, get to it,” Jocasta says, and raises her eyebrows at me.

Since I don’t want to manipulate my friends’ emotions, I walk over to the window instead.

Below, people are strolling through a large market square.

Colorful awnings flutter in the breeze and bright flowers rustle in the wooden planters that have been placed in strategic places throughout the square.

Carts and booths full of wares line it in neat rows.

I crack the window open so that I can hear their chatter and laughter.

Jocasta comes to stand next to me. “The city instead of your friends, huh? Smart.”

“Yeah.” I keep my eyes on the people outside. “But I can’t do the whole city. Well, technically, I can. But only for about ten seconds.”

She laughs. “The whole city. Right. Good one.” A wistful smile blows across her lips. “Wouldn’t that be something, though? An entire city.”

Confusion pulses through me, and I turn to look at her properly. She just looks back at me, seeming equally confused.

“What?” she says at last.

“I wasn’t kidding.” I frown at her, now completely bewildered. “I can manipulate an entire city. But only for about ten seconds. I did it back in Frostfell right before we came here.”

Dead silence falls over the training room. Standing there by the open window, she stares at me for several seconds, as if trying to figure out whether I’m messing with her or not. Color drains from her face when she realizes that I am indeed being serious.

“That’s not possible,” she says.

Turning back to the window, I push it open wider.

Then I summon my magic. After a deep breath, I throw it across the entire city in search of the glittering silver sparks of excitement.

Not everyone feels it, of course. But with the Great Games on the horizon, the majority of them seem to possess at least a tiny spark of that emotion. I blow it into a wildfire.

The people in the market square below, and on all the streets that we can see from here, suddenly seem to lighten up.

Laughter becomes louder. Joy infectious.

People get a spring in their steps. Anticipation seems to vibrate from the whole city.

And not the tense kind that hung over the city before. Just simple, pure excitement this time.

I quickly cut off my magic after only three seconds so that I won’t drain all of my energy.

Then I turn back to Jocasta.

For a while, she just continues staring out the window, where everyone has now started to return to a more normal state. Then she turns to me. And when her wide eyes meet mine, I can’t tell if she’s shocked or terrified or impressed.

“It’s not possible,” she blurts out. But it sounds more like a desperate attempt to hold on to her worldview rather than a declaration of fact. Her pink and gold eyes are still wide as she shakes her head at me. “It shouldn’t be possible.”

“But it is,” I reply gently. Then I nod in the direction of the city while I close the window again. “You saw.”

She works her mouth a few times, but no sound makes it out. Then she suddenly whirls around to face the others. Her stunned eyes lock on Alistair. “You. Fire wielder, right?”

“Yeah,” Alistair confirms.

“Show me.”

He drags a hand through his hair and then jerks his chin towards the short wall where the door is located. “You’re gonna wanna stand over there.”

When only Jocasta starts towards the wall, he flicks a glance at the rest of us. “You too.”

We all lurch into motion and hurry towards the indicated wall. Alistair follows at a more leisurely pace. Once we have reached it, we all stand so that we are looking at the short wall on the other side of the rectangular room.

Alistair draws in a breath, and his eyes begin to glow. Then he shoves outwards with his hands.

Yellow and orange flames roar across the sand, reaching two thirds of the room.

Jocasta’s jaw drops.

Heat washes over us as Alistair keeps the fire going for another few seconds. Then he releases the grip on his magic and his eyes stop glowing again.

“Malachi’s balls,” Jocasta blurts out as she turns to gape at him. “That’s your full power?”

He blinks in surprise and then frowns at her. “Full? That wasn’t even half.”

She just stares at him, her mouth still open. Then she spins towards Isera, her eyes wild. “And you?”

Isera gives her a cool look for a moment. Then she calls up her magic and flicks her wrist.

A rushing, clinking, crackling sound echoes between the pale stone walls as she fills the entire room before us with ice. Then with another flick of her wrist, she makes it disappear. Crossing her arms, she leans back against the wall and just holds Jocasta’s gaze with impassive eyes.

Jocasta drags in a shuddering breath. Raising her hands, she rakes them through her long white hair while she turns to stare at the now once more empty room before us. The rest of us exchange a glance.

Then a wide smile spreads across her face, and she lets out a laugh so genuine that I can feel it all the way into my soul. Turning to look at us, she grins.

“I’m going to be so fucking rich.”