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DRAGAN

Mercenary Stronghold

The king invites us to share in his feast, and Eilish thinks it’s rude to deny him even though I’ve let it be known that I want to retire to our tent so I can fuck the ever loving shit out of her.

Now in a crap mood, I remain at her side as we partake in our evening meal, both of us seated around the king’s large table. Eilish’s smiles at me as she samples a bite of fresh greens. My gaze remains locked on her subtle movements and I find it difficult to look away from her.

“You enjoy teasing me,” I whisper.

Her smile broadens. “I do.”

She then turns her head and talks with the clan leaders. I can already see they’re all fascinated with her. The lycan, Hemoteph, seems the most enamored because he won’t take his fucking eyes off her and he’s worn a smile during the entirety of their conversation. I clench my fists at my sides because I don’t appreciate this show of interest in her. All these assholes know she’s with me—it’s obvious and, yet, none of them seem to care. Kolvar sees my reaction and laughs at my expense.

“This will be a problem that follows you,” the goat says.

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Her,” he says and motions to Eilish. “A beautiful woman will attract male attention wherever she goes.”

“Yeah, thanks for pointing out the obvious, asshole.”

Kolvar just laughs as I down my irritation in a glass of red wine.

Eilish, meanwhile, pretends to be oblivious as she coyly flirts with the man-beast before her. I can smell her arousal and I know the others can, too. She tosses her hair over her shoulder and reaches below the table to graze her fingers against my throbbing erection. I grab her hand and hold it there, rubbing her fingers over my prick which only causes it to throb even more.

At the same time that the other men’s interest in her infuriates me, it also excites me. More than it should.

“Someone seems exceptionally… excited,” she whispers into my ear as she squeezes my heavy cock.

“And someone else won’t stop fucking flirting with every cock in here,” I respond.

She giggles. “Is the big, dangerous gargoyle jealous?”

I reach over and grip her thigh above her leather pants, squeezing it. “The big, dangerous gargoyle can think of nothing more than bending the little angel over and shoving his big, dangerous cock into her.”

I can smell her need increase tenfold and realize I could be causing a major problem for myself because if I can scent her desire, so can all these other assholes.

Lifting up a little in her chair, she whispers into my ear, “Galmer was unable to find us a room. We’ll be lodging in a tent, near Kolvar’s men. Make sure we’re far enough away so they won’t hear us.”

Once we finish our meal, I follow Eilish into the desert. Her seduction wraps around me, but I’m willing to be her victim. The succulent fragrance of her nectar mingles with the air and I breathe in deeply.

“This way,” she calls out in the dark.

I’ve lost sight of her but I follow her voice around a large outcropping of rocks. When I see the naked silhouette of her body beneath the crimson glow of the sky, I stop dead in my tracks. Her curves beckon me closer and I hurry my steps until I close the distance between us.

My knees hit the dirt in the blink of an eye as she reaches for me. I dip my head low and slide my tongue across her lips. She moans, reaching for my belt without hesitation. The desire burning in her eyes nearly takes my breath away. Her fingers wrap around my pulsating cock and I bite down on her bottom lip just to hear her gasp.

We’re far out of hearing distance of anyone at the stronghold, but I wouldn’t care if we were in the center of the whole fucking town. All that matters now is Eilish. And getting inside her as quickly as I fucking can.

I buck against the palm of her hand as she begins to stroke me in long, languid motions. “You push me, Eilish.”

“Push you?”

“You enjoy teasing me… I know you do... was that male at dinner desirable to you, or were you just trying to fuck with me?” I ask thickly. The muscles in her thighs flex and I lean forward to bite the mark left behind by Baron’s last feeding. Baron…

I’m visited with images of Baron and Pyre inside her and my anger grows.

She clings to my shoulders and nods.

“That’s not an answer,” I say as I wrap my hand around her throat. I’m feeling dominant tonight.

“I... wanted to... provoke you.”

My fingers slide inside her soft pink tunnel and a trickle of wetness covers my palm as I grind it against her mound. She rides my hand to her first climax, and I watch her beautiful face as she loses herself in the pleasure I bring. She shimmies and tries to plant herself in my lap, but I roll onto my back. My fingers slide free as I position the engorged head of my prick at her entrance. She hisses, sinking down on my length. I feel her stretching to accommodate my girth and it’s delicious.

Her hips still and I slap her bottom to get her moving. “Ride me. Hard. Don’t stop.”

Bracing her hands on my chest, she pushes herself up before slamming back down.

“Tell me about Baron and Pyre,” I demand.

She slows and I can see the concern on her face. “Dragan,” she starts.

“I want to hear what they did to you while you ride my cock,” I say in a tone of voice that brooks no arguments.

She nods and finds her rhythm again. “I was on my hands and knees and Baron was below me,” she starts, before losing herself to my dick as she grinds against it. I reach out and smack her ass as hard as I can and she yelps.

“Keep going,” I growl at her.

“And Pyre came up behind me,” she says. “I could feel the head of his cock at my opening.”

She slows and I smack her ass again. “Tell me about Pyre’s cock,” I demand.

Her breathing comes faster. “It’s so big, Dragan,” she says. “I could feel it stretching me.”

I grip her by the hips and flip her over, needing to assert my dominance over her. I push her legs up beside her head as I slam into her. She cries out but I’m relentless. All I can think about is Pyre’s cock sinking into her. I suddenly wish I had been there—wish I could have witnessed the desire on her face as the enormous necromancer fucked her.

“Don’t stop,” I groan.

“Pyre fucked me for a while and then Baron pushed himself into me.”

“Into your pussy?” I start.

She nods. “They both fucked me…together. I could feel them pushing against each other and… it was like nothing I’ve ever felt before,” she finishes and then realizes her mistake. Her eyes go wide as she looks up at me but I’m not offended. I’m so turned on, I’m about to cum.

“Dragan, I,” she starts.

“Shh,” I interrupt her. “Tell me how much you loved feeling them both inside you.”

“I loved it,” she admits.

“Tell me you want to feel me with them.”

Her eyes go wide again. “I want that so badly. I want to feel all three of you… together,” she says and I flip her over so she’s on all fours as I imagine Pyre taking her in the same hole where Baron fucks her from below. She starts to tremble beneath me as an orgasm seizes her and I’m not far behind.

My spine tingles with my impending release and I toy with her nipples. I grab her hips with both hands and thrust inside her until I reach her depths. A loud moan tears itself from her chest.

Her body clenches around my shaft and thick spurts of seed coat her insides until it trickles down her thighs.

***

Twenty minutes later, we spar in the dunes without any weapons and she’s unusually quiet. A few moments later, she reveals what’s been bothering her.

“I know the last of my memories will return soon,” she starts.

“How do you know?”

“It’s just this… feeling I have,” she answers with a shrug.

“Isn’t that good?”

“I don’t know,” she replies. “I know the missing memories have something to do with my mother’s and sister’s deaths, but... part of me doesn’t want those memories to resurface. They might break me.”

“I don’t think so. You’re much stronger than you were then, Eilish. Nothing can break you unless you let it,” I reply.

“There’s still so much I don’t know. So many questions I still have.” She takes a breath. “I still don’t understand why I am the way I am—how I have two sets of wings.”

“Do you think those answers will come to light as well?”

“I hope so,” she says. “I already know my father was an incubus. His wings were like mine, from what I remember. Pyre and Noni both know of him, and so does Theren. I know very little, but I want to learn more.”

I pause as I consider telling her what I know. I’m just worried it might open a can of worms I’m not ready to face. “I knew your father, Eilish.”

“What?”

“Theren and Cambion did, as well.”

“Why didn’t you ever tell me?” she demands, angry.

“I didn’t piece it together until I learned who your father was. And that was only recent.”

“How did you know him?”

“Cambion and I went to him to ask for his aid during the war, before Theren sided with Variant.” I pause as I take in her stunned expression. “Your father refused us.”

***

EILISH

Mercenary Stronghold

The light inside the tent is barely glowing when I return. I can’t believe Dragan knew my father, that all of them knew my father and yet none of them ever told me! My mind is a minefield at the moment, and I can’t seem to settle my thoughts no matter how hard I try. Nights like this usually come with dreams, dreams I’ve been dreading since my memories started to return. I need to know who erased my memories, but I fear the answer might not be something I can handle.

Why didn’t Dragan tell me sooner? Why didn’t any of them tell me sooner? I guess I can understand why Baron wouldn’t have mentioned it—he probably doesn’t remember the fact that he knew my father. And Cambion has never gone out of his way to tell me anything so I guess that makes sense as well. But Dragan…

Dragan owed me more than this.

Yes, he might have only recently found out who my father was but as soon as he knew, he should have come to me! He should have told me!

I lay my head down in an attempt to rest and find myself hurtling through a seemingly endless vortex of images from my past and present. And then, there’s nothing but darkness…

“Mother!” I shout, bursting through the door as the remnants of my home crackle like embers in the hearth. I can’t find her! Panic begins to bloom in my chest.

He was supposed to protect them!

My hands burn as I sift through the ash, looking for any trace of my mother and sister. “Solya!”

A man stands over me.

Silvanus.

He helps me to my feet and his eyes are just as hard as they always are. He’s a god—he doesn’t understand the pain of losing someone.

“Don’t let him take you, Eilish,” he whispers. Suddenly, he’s gone, blown away with the snow that hovers on the wind.

Crimson catches my eye, stark against the white snow. A trail of blood leads to the mangled bodies of my family—their heads severed, displayed on pillars of ice like macabre statues. Chunks of flesh litter the ground, and I fall to my knees…

“I’m too late,” Cambion says as he appears above me.

I peer up at him from over my shoulder, not caring if the snow and blood have begun to soak through my breeches. His eyes are full of emotion even as his expression remains impassive.

I gave this... cold, heartless being my body, and he failed to keep his promise. My foot slips as I lunge for him, brandishing my dagger dangerously close to his heart. He takes advantage of my slip by overpowering me, then slamming me to the ground. The blade goes flying.

“You killed them! This is your fault!” I scream at him.

“I didn’t kill them.”

“You didn’t keep your promise! You might as well have killed them!”

I struggle to free myself from his grip but he’s strong. He keeps me pinned as I glare at him.

“Calm down,” he orders and I spit in his face.

“As soon as you release me, I’ll just try to kill you.”

“I know you’re upset, Eilish,” he starts.

“Upset?” I scream and wrestle against him but he keeps me pinned in place. “If you value your life then kill me now because if you don’t, I won’t stop hunting you until I slit your throat from ear to ear.”

“I don’t want to do this to you, Eilish, but you’re leaving me no choice.”

He narrows his eyes and repeats something in a language I don’t understand. All of a sudden, coldness descends over me and I can’t move. My entire body is as frozen as the tundra surrounding us.

Cambion releases me and sits up, removing a small black book from his breast pocket. He opens the book and begins to read in a hissing voice that crawls across my skin and sinks into my bones. My vision fades over and over again until there’s nothing but sounds and shapes as I float through oblivion…

***

Bright light burns my eyes and I roll onto my belly. A chilling breeze flows through the building and encompasses me in its cold embrace. I take a deep breath and roll onto my back before I push to my knees and then stand. I walk towards the window and that’s when I realize I don’t recognize my surroundings.

And I’m the only one here.

Something is wrong, but I don’t understand what or why.

The door opens and a handsome elven man with golden hair and skin approaches me.

I feel my expression contort into one of bewilderment. “What happened? Where am I and who are you?”

He approaches me and then reaches forward, tilting my head from one side to the other with a scowl on his face. “I’m sorry,” he whispers.

“Sorry? For what?”

“What do you remember?”

“I... don’t know,” I answer as I look at him and wonder why he acts as though he knows me. “I don’t know you.”

He snatches his hand back and glares at me. “Impossible. I’m…” Then he stops speaking and stares at me for a few seconds. “Do you know who you are?”

I shake my head before my mind can catch up with his question. The man leaves, but he returns again and again and again. Each time he returns, his face isn’t familiar to me.

But he brings me something that numbs the frustration and the pain, that allows me to escape the fact that I don’t know who I am or where I came from or where I am. He brings me a syringe and teaches me how to medicate myself. And I inject the bright green liquid and it thrums through my veins and causes me to lose myself.

“I’m sorry, Eilish,” the beautiful man whispers. “I’m sorry I have to do this to you but it’s the only way to ensure no one knows the truth of my mistakes.”

For two months, I remember nothing of the man, even as he continuously returns and brings me food, treats, clothing, and the glowing green liquid he calls Atacomite. I eat and I sleep, wandering aimlessly through the halls of this immense palace that means nothing to me. But this morning the man doesn’t come. This morning, I let myself out of my room and I follow the hallway down the stairs to the large double doors that lead outside. And once outside, I follow the pathway through the courtyard, beyond the flowing fountains and the sculpted rose bushes and into the forest.

And I lose myself within the trees as a horrible growl fills my ears.

A man—no, not a man, but something man-like—stands tall in the distance. He turns to me and I scream. The head of a beast rests on his shoulders, and he transforms into a hideous monster.

I run as quickly as I can until I can’t run anymore.

A voice calls behind me, but it’s muffled by the trees. Deep bellows mix with the roar of the terrifying beast that chases after me. I know that voice… at least, I think I do... but nothing is certain and I can hardly see in front of my face.

Suddenly, another voice enters the chaos.

This one is a woman…

I shoot up from the pillows and pull mouthfuls of air into my lungs as the dream begins to fade. Silvanus was there, but... it was Cambion who erased my memories! And it was Cambion who drugged me!

Seething anger blinds me for a moment and I nearly knock over the lantern beside me.

Dragan rolls over and places his arm on my chest; the weight of him helps to calm me.

“Eilish?” he asks.

“I had a nightmare,” I pant.

“Another memory?” he asks as he sits up and collects me in his arms.

“It was…” I’m so flabbergasted by the vision dream that I forget I’m still upset with Dragan for withholding information about my father. But none of that seems important any longer. Not now—not when I know the truth.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“I know who took my memories,” I tell him. He sits up even straighter and faces me with concern.

“Eilish, you just woke up from a dream…”

“It was Cambion,” I interrupt. “He took my memories after my mother and sister were killed. I went to him, asking that he protect them, and in return I had sex with him. And he failed to keep his word. It was his fault they died.”

I push away from him and stand up, needing some distance as the thoughts race through my mind. I’m still so much in shock. I can’t believe Cambion would deceive me like this! And to have covered it up all this time!

“He had the fucking gall to pretend to make that Transmutation Stone when all along he knew it wouldn’t return my memories!” I yell at Dragan.

Dragan frowns slightly. “I know Cambion can be more than a little cruel, but I don’t think he would purposely erase your memories.”

“He did this to me, Dragan,” I insist. “I know it.” I take a deep breath. “And he took me back to his palace but he was afraid it would get out that he took my memories so he… he doped me up with Atacomite,” I continue as my voice cracks. “He… he made me addicted to it!”

“Cambion wouldn’t,” Dragan starts.

“He did!” I yell at him. “ I know the truth, Dragan!”

Dragan inhales deeply. “If he did this, there has to be more to it.”

My anger is far too fresh to allow for any other alternative. I’m convinced the vision I saw was the truth. It was a memory. It was real. And Cambion is the reason for my memory loss and he’s the reason I no longer have any family. And he’s the reason I got addicted to Atacomite.

“If Cambion took your memories, it must be because he wanted to shield you from the pain of losing your family in such a brutal manner,” Dragan offers, his voice soft.

I don’t know what to think but I really don’t want to believe Cambion’s capable of such evil.