Page 9

CHAPTER NINE

W hen Daion finally walks back in, both Torrin and I turn to him expectantly. I’m hoping for a really good explanation for why Rio blew up so suddenly, seeing as I can’t simply put it down to him being unhinged with the others also experiencing something.

Not to mention…what was that weird tingling sensation I felt just beforehand too?

“Eden.” Daion clears his throat and gives me a somewhat contemplative look as he reaches the couches, stopping to stand beside them. “I think we need to talk about what happened.”

I try not to bristle, to be patient and wait for him to continue, but it’s impossible to keep it all in. Not when both curiosity and anxiety are working in tandem against me. “What the hell was all of that?”

He sighs. The contemplation vanishes from his expression and is replaced with something else as he then asks, “You don’t have any idea what you just did, do you?”

I’d be more irritated by the suggestion I’ve done something wrong if it wasn’t for the empathetic lilt he gives to the question. It feels like there’s no judgement in it. No pity, either, despite the strange conviction I feel that from another there certainly would have been.

“Look, I didn’t do anything. Not on purpose, anyway,” I reply, maybe still a tiny little bit defensive, despite his fair attempt at approaching this conversation with tact. It’s probably because I managed to mess up somehow. Ugh. Everything was going great until I stupidly cried, then apparently did something so grievously wrong it pissed Rio off again without me even trying.

Just how every girl wants to spend her evening: making a total fucking embarrassment of herself.

“It’s…well, you already know how you’re low on vitav thanks to the pregnancy? That your body needs you to replenish it at a rate your witch biology can’t keep up with?” Daion replies. He almost makes it sound like a question, despite both of us being well aware he already knows the answer.

I nod anyway, not trusting my voice. His stalling of the explanation is only making me more nervous. How bad could it possibly be?

“The witches who survived this process in the past did so thanks to taking on some demonic traits, specifically their innate ability to syphon energy from outside sources. Since the child’s father is an incubus, it would follow that the method for regaining your lost energy would be…” Daion trails off, seemingly turning shy. Embarrassed, maybe, as his dark eyes are suddenly unable to meet mine. I think there’s even a tiny hint of redness visible in his warm-toned complexion. He clears his throat again, forcing himself to continue. “Sex. Lust. Feeding from the energy pool of their sexual partners and the vitav generated by the act itself. It’s also logical you’d instinctively seek out potential sources, luring them similarly to how actual incubi and succubi do.”

“Oh.” I frown at his explanation, but as the words and the full meaning behind them fully click into place in my mind a second later, I gasp. “Are you trying to say I was unknowingly sending out come-fuck-me vibes!?”

“I wouldn’t have phrased it like that, but pretty much,” Daion answers seriously, at complete odds with the insanity of what he’s said.

This has to be a mistake, right? I would have noticed doing something like that, wouldn’t I? I can’t have used some weird demonic ability without knowing. I glance over at Torrin, hoping he’ll contradict the other hunter and say it’s nothing close to what actually happened, but he stares back at me with wide eyes. The surprised expression holds for a moment before amusement abruptly replaces it, and he chuckles. He’s laughing, head shaking a little as if he can’t quite wrap his head around it, but it definitely isn’t the flat denial I’d hoped for.

“And here I thought I was getting excited because of the way you eat tacos or something,” he says, apparently deciding to let us in on the joke.

Sadly for him, I don’t find it particularly funny.

“Not helpful.” The words come out much snappier than I’d intended, but fuck, this is just so embarrassing. I’m subconsciously manipulating men into wanting to fuck me. Just fucking great. A real cherry on top of the shit-sundae my life has turned into since the night I met Ash.

“Uh…who’s still hungry?” Torrin asks quickly, slightly manic and not at all waiting for an answer before he continues, “I think I’ll go and grab the pie now.” He practically leaps out of his seat and dashes from the room like he’s on fire and the only extinguisher is on the other side of the damn building.

And now I’ve managed to scare off the friendly one too…

There’s a resigned sigh from Daion as he watches his friend —coworker?— leave; it matches the feeling weighing heavy in my chest. “I still need to do some more research, but I believe as the pregnancy progresses, you’ll need to refuel your vitav increasingly more frequently. I’m actually surprised you haven’t had to do it yet.”

“I had a healer friend give me some of her energy when I first found out,” I admit, carefully omitting Suvi’s name considering she recommended this place and therefore they might know her, and that strictly speaking, she’s not supposed to perform energy transference in the first place. The technique is reserved for master healers, which is a qualification she doesn't have yet, even if I’m sure she one day will.

“Your healer friend?” he asks, a strange frown twitching at his lips and furrowing his brow.

“Yes, my friend is a wonderful healer,” I say, almost as quickly as Torrin had fled, attempting to move on before he thinks to ask any questions about her. “I know it’s not ideal, but maybe she could?—”

“Unless you happen to have a very long list of healer friends, who you also trust to keep a secret like this quiet, it won’t work. Your energy needs are too high for transference like that to be sustainable,” Daion explains, cutting me off firmly but not unkindly. “All it’ll do is cause your friend severe vitav strain. Maybe even affect her ability to use her powers long-term. There’s also the general risks to her wellbeing from performing the task.”

“Well, shit,” I mutter. There goes that idea. Suvi did say she didn’t know how long it would last. Does the fact I’m already subconsciously seeking out sources to lure in mean it’s running low again already? Goddess, I’m so screwed. She’d made it sound like it wasn’t a huge deal for her to skirt the rules like that, but I should have known better. It’s not like I’m going to do anything that’ll hurt Suvi, especially not when it’s something that affects her ability to do her job.

Unlike me, Suvi’s always known exactly what she wanted career-wise. She once told me, with the strictest instructions to never repeat what she said, that at only six years old she would already pretend to be one. She would go around ‘curing’ her family and coven members of whatever insane shit she’d diagnose them with that day. Apparently she’d once diagnosed her aunt Ava with ‘frog cheeks.’ She had then informed the poor woman that if she wanted to avoid turning into a frog, she would need to copy her bizarre made-up dance, all while eating a sour lollipop. I bite back a grin at the memory of her retelling. Apparently her aunt had been a real team player about it, despite Suvi’s parents' insistence she didn’t have to go along with it.

Embarrassing childhood stories notwithstanding, I can’t help but envy her passion. Nothing ever truly called out to me the way healing did with her. I ended up selling potions and basic charms mostly out of not knowing what else I could do, simply falling back on something I was good at. Living in the middle of nowhere growing up doesn’t leave you with much to do when you’re not an outdoorsy person. I ended up with plenty of time to practice my skills at crafting them.

“We’ll step up the search,” Daion says, interrupting my thoughts. “It seems like we’re going to need to find the baby's father pretty soon. I’m not sure how much longer you can go without him being able to transfer energy to you, not without attempting to feed your levels the succubus way. It could be risky to try it, though. You have none of the control they would have trained for, and for you the ability is manifesting much faster than it would for them during their version of puberty.”

“No kidding,” I grumble dejectedly, barely resisting the urge to flinch away as Daion moves to take the new vacated spot on the sofa beside me. I don’t want him to get the wrong idea and think I’m afraid of him.

“Don’t worry yourself too much just yet. We still have time, and stress isn’t good for the baby, or so I’ve heard,” he teases gently with a smirk, a few black strands of hair falling into his face when he glances at me, his dark eyes lingering. The longest of the strands curls in the slightest bit at the end, kissing the outer corner of his lips. It’s a challenge to resist the urge to push it out of the way.

Are his lips as soft as they look?

I try to shake the thought out of my head, taking a deep breath, but it’s a mistake. This close, the scents of citrus and leather seem to cling to his skin. He honestly smells so fucking good I can’t help but lean closer to him. The sudden desire to climb right into his lap takes me completely by surprise, but the spell is broken when Daion pulls away from me, his eyes wide. He swallows thickly and then stands before taking several slow steps away, watching me the whole time like one would something dangerous.

“Myself and the others will start looking for a way to help you gain some control of the succubus lure while we continue searching for Ash. Hopefully he’ll have more answers on controlling it, though. While their subspecies charm ability is pretty much always in effect, they can turn off the direct lure you’re currently putting out.” Daion turns his head away, looking over at the back of the office like he’s about to leave again, when he pauses, almost unnaturally still. “Eden?”

“Yeah?”

“I want you to know that if you become too weak, or if something happens to put you in danger, I’ll do whatever I can to help you and your child. You have my word,” Daion promises, quickly stalking off before I can dig into whatever the hell that was.

“Pie!” Torrin announces loudly a few seconds later, leaving me no time to ponder over his words either. This time he brings a generous slice of the pie on a plate, clearly not wanting me to demolish the entire thing again. Not that I’m feeling up to an entire pie this time. Honestly, my appetite is feeling more than a little diminished by all the revelations.

“Thanks.” I still take the offering, forcing myself to nibble at it as I appreciate the thought behind him picking it up.

“I know Rio can come across as?—”

“A dick? An asshole? A grouchy baboon?” I offer, making him chuckle, relief spreading through me as I realise I haven’t managed to permanently scare him off quite yet.

“Don’t be so harsh.” Torrin shoots me a stern look, spoiling it with the amusement still obvious in his eyes, and so I shrug. “He’s no less dedicated to helping you find Ash than Daion and I am.”

“Only because he wants to get rid of me,” I grumble, unsure why it bothers me so much. Why should I care what some murder-happy asshole thinks about me? It’s not like I’ll see any of these guys again once this is over.

If I survive that long, anyway.

“If the end result is the same, does it matter what his motivations are?”

“I guess not,” I agree unhappily. It’s not what I really want to say. I want to tell him it matters because Rio hating me for something I have absolutely no say or control over hurts my stupid feelings. It’s so dumb seeing as Rio’s an assbadger, and I don’t give a shit what his opinion of me is. That's what I’ll keep telling myself until I believe it, anyway. It’ll take, eventually. I know from experience I can outstubborn my own emotions.

“There’s something else I’ve been thinking about,” I say after a few moments of silence. Indulging my curiosity has got to be better than continuing to push bits of pie around my plate without even trying to take another bite. “The first time I walked in here, Rio attacked me because he thought I was a demon. I’m not capable of sensing demons like that…not without casting some kind of detection spell, anyway. So how was Rio able to sense my…demon spawn?” I ask, awkwardly chuckling to myself at the choice of words.

Torrin thankfully also finds me entertaining because he snorts before explaining, “We have these.” He pulls out a glowing pink crystal pendant from under his shirt, holding it up by its leather cord for me to see. There are tiny little runes carved into the silver setting holding the crystal. “It heats up when demons are near. We’ve just had ours charmed to glow different colours now depending on the type of demon. See?”

“So pink is for succubi and incubi?”

“Yep. Not that Rio could have really known when he met you at first, they would only heat up before,” he answers. “Dai thought it would be a good addition to add the colour differential. I’m actually a little surprised it went straight to pink for you. I thought it might have a little more confusion, given you’re not actually a succubus.”

“I guess the energy is enough to trick it?” I say, my uncertainty making it come out as more of a question than a statement.

“Must be. It’s not like any of the luring effects could trick it the way they would with people.”

“Just how many ‘luring effects’ are there?” I ask, setting the plate down on the table when I realise how tightly I was gripping both it and the fork.

“The uhh…how did you put it again? Fuck-me-vibes?” Torrin questions, lips curling up into a grin when I nod. “Well, that’s the most intense one, as far as I’m aware. The others are more linked to the charm effect, I think. Like how people see succubi and incubi, them appearing as whatever the person desires. I guess that one doesn’t apply to you, though, unless you’re telling me you don’t have wavy, shoulder-length black hair and pretty blue eyes, and that I secretly have a type?”

“Sadly your type will remain unconfirmed as that’s how I’ve always looked,” I answer, trying very hard not to read anything he hadn’t meant into his words. Thankfully, my curiosity works as a perfect distraction. “Haven’t you hunted any succubi before?”

“A few incubi, but no succubi,” he answers, glancing off across the room, a strange expression crossing his face. It’s gone as he turns back to me. “There are some law-breaking succubi, just not as many as there are incubi or the other subspecies of demons. Not to paint all of a subspecies with the same brush, but we do get sent after a lot of iracaedi.”

“Like Lord Piehole,” I blurt, the inner thought escaping outward. Instantly, I feel my cheeks heating with embarrassment at the dumb nickname when Torrin laughs deeply.

“I’m sure the King of Wrath would love the nickname you’ve given him. Should I be jealous he got one first?”

“Absolutely not,” I retort. “I normally save nicknames for people I don’t like, but if you really want one, I can think of something. You’ll just have to be a little less likeable. More like a certain someone , who’s had, in the safety of my brain, at least ten insulting nicknames already.”

More like twenty, but who’s really counting?

I smirk to myself, feeling darkly satisfied as a thought then occurs to me. Rio may hate me, but he assumed I was a succubus the first time we met. Surely that means he felt the crystal’s warning about a demon approaching, took one look at me, then decided I must be a sex demon. Essentially confirming, he thinks I’m hot, seeing as they’re meant to appear as what you desire and all. I’ll need to find a way to remind him of that fact next time he’s a dick to me. Or maybe I should save it for the perfect moment?

My revenge will be sweet.

“I’m honestly a little afraid of the smile you’ve got going,” Torrin jokes. “Do I want to know what you're thinking about in that scary brain of yours?”

“The torment of men?” I reply in an innocent, questioning tone, all but batting my lashes as I turn my best guileless look on him.

“You’re terrible.” He huffs playfully, rolling his eyes.

“Who, me?” I press a hand to my chest, feigning shock.

“Yes, you,” Torrin insists with a laugh before his expression turns more sombre. “Look, I don’t like taking things too seriously. I wouldn't want to end up like Rio after all.” He smirks at that, bumping my shoulder with his. “But after what Daion said, I think this is important to mention. Baseline humans aren’t strong enough for you to even try feeding on, and other demons are obviously off the table as they’re too risky. Most witches will be too, thanks to how our people typically feel about this kind of hybrid child. Anyway, what I’m saying is, if you become dangerously low on vitav, and we still haven’t found Ash, I would…”

“You’ll what? Take a bullet for the team? Let me fuck your brains out and drain you dry?” I finish for him with a cold, derisive laugh. A part of me enjoys making his hazel eyes go wide with shock. They’re so round it’s almost comical. I’m surprised it takes so little to unsettle him and decide to take pity on the poor guy. “Relax, I’m kidding. Listen, I appreciate the offer and everything, but I’m sure I’ll be fine without your help. So maybe let’s focus on finding the father?”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. We should definitely prioritise that,” he agrees good-naturedly, still clearly taken aback by the quick switches in my mood.

I have to force a tight smile, my good humour having been evaporated by his obviously reluctant offer. Maybe it was a little bitchy of me to say it like that, but forgive a witch for wanting a man to fuck me because he likes me . Not pity-offering due to feeling some bizarre, misplaced sense of duty to keep me from dying.

“Definitely,” I echo a moment later, keeping the fake smile firmly in place.