Page 10 of Infernal Crown (Cursed Darkness (DarkHallow Academy) #3)

CHAPTER TEN

LYSITHEA

“We can’t give it what it wants,” I say. “We have to beat it at its own game.”

“Meaning?” Dathan asks.

“Forge the Crown and create a reality where it doesn’t exist.”

The silence in the bone-lined chamber is absolute. Three pairs of eyes stare at me like I’ve just suggested we knit the book a fucking tea cosy.

Verik is the first to break it. He laughs, a harsh, grating sound that echoes off the skulls. “Right. Simple. Just rewrite the fucking universe. Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Because you’re not as gloriously insane as she is,” Dathan mutters, but there’s a dangerous flicker in his silver eyes. A challenge accepted. “The paradox, though. How do we use its own spell against it? The second we try to twist its purpose, it’ll know.”

“It will do more than know,” Evren says. “It will retaliate. With everything it has. It will use us against each other.”

“It’s already tried,” I say. The Soul Scar on my back flares with warmth, a low, thrumming chord of shared purpose. The fractures are still there, but they’re mending. “Let it bring everything. It started this. We’re going to fucking finish it, on our terms.”

“How?” Verik asks, getting invested.

“Simple. We give it the new realm, the realm where I rule. Bring it with us and then destroy it. Wish it away.”

“We would need to be pretty fucking fast,” Dathan mutters, looking a bit like he doesn’t think we can do it.

“The Infernal Crown is the key. Get that and the rest should fall into place,” I point out. “It thinks it can control us, use us like chess pieces. It’s about to find out what happens when the pawns decide to take control of the fucking board.”

Evren squeezes my hand. “It’s a suicide mission.”

“Everything we do is a suicide mission,” Dathan counters, the doubt in his eyes replaced by a familiar, reckless light. “At least this one has a point.”

“Exactly.” I look at them, my monsters, my anchors. The Soul Scar on my back is a steady, reassuring warmth. “It wants a new world? We’ll give it one. A world where it gets exactly what it deserves. Nothing.”

Verik’s eyes sharpen. “A trap. We build the sub-realm, but we build it with a flaw. A self-destruct. We lure it into a cage of its own design.”

“Exactly,” I say. “It thinks it’s getting a kingdom. We give it a tomb.”

The idea is monstrous. It’s perfect.

“Right,” Dathan says, the doubt gone from his voice, replaced by a grim resolve. “Let’s go build a universe and then blow it the fuck up with the grimoire inside it.”

“Sounds suspiciously like a plan,” Verik says.

“We can do this. We just have to figure out what our plans are for after we commit deicide.”

“You mean after we blow up the sub realm? Create a new one,” Verik says. “We will have everything we need.”

“Except the spell Dathan saw is in the grimoire. I can’t imagine it’s just going to let us walk up to it and copy it in a separate notebook.”

“So, we make it a two-fer,” Evren says.

“Create two at the same time?” I ask with a frown. “That is some heavy lifting.”

“Maybe not,” Dathan says. “If we are already in the process of making one, simply split part of it off to make another before the spell is finished. It’s doable.”

“Doable,” I repeat. “Not a given.”

“Look, this Crown isn’t meant to be all that, right? We can’t do any of this without it. It’s the key to god-like power?—”

“Or in your case,” Veri interrupts, “actual god power. Remember, a god created you directly. You have that inside you, you just have to dig deep.”

The words hang in the air, a challenge and a promise. Dig deep. The power of a god is inside me, a dormant volcano waiting for the right kind of pressure.

“Right,” I murmur. “Dig deep into the unexplored abyss. Should be fun.”

Dathan grins. “Never a dull moment.”

“We should reconnect first,” I mutter. “This rift between us… we cannot have any cracks.”

“Are you asking us to fuck you senseless?” Verik asks.

I nod, my cheeks warming up. “Only if you want to.”

He scoffs and claps his hands. In an instant, we are in my bedroom. They surround me, and close in.

Dathan touches me first, tracing the lines of the Soul Scar through the fabric of my dress. A jolt, sharp and electric, shoots through me. The brand flares to life, a searing heat that chases away the last of the chill from the catacombs. It’s a possessive claim, a reminder.

Evren’s hand cups my cheek, his thumb brushing my lower lip. His eyes are a storm of silent need. I feel the raw, desperate ache to be whole again.

Verik crowds me from behind, his heat a solid wall against my back. His lips find the sensitive skin of my neck, just above the collar Blackgrove branded me with.

“Mine,” he growls, the word a vibration that resonates deep in my bones.

The separate, painful aches of our fractured bond merge into a single, overwhelming symphony of fire, ice, and nightmare. My song answers, a silent note of pure acceptance that weaves through their power.

My dress is torn from me, my boots and underwear are next.

I tremble between them as they strip me bare.

Dathan drops to his knees and pushes my legs apart before he buries his head between them, sucking my clit roughly before biting down gently.

I gasp, my hands going to Dathan’s head, fingers tangling in his dark hair.

Verik’s mouth is hot on my neck, teeth grazing the sensitive skin.

Evren captures my lips, his kiss cold and consuming, causing heat to build between my legs.

Their touches are desperate, hungry. The fractures in our bond have left us all raw, needing this reconnection.

Dathan’s tongue delves deeper, tasting me, claiming me.

I whimper, my hips bucking against his mouth.

Verik’s hands roam over my body, rough and possessive, leaving trails of fire in their wake.

Evren’s kiss is relentless, his cold seeping into me, numbing my lips in the most delicious way.

The pleasure builds quickly, a coiling tension in my core.

Dathan’s mouth is skilled, his tongue hitting all the right spots.

My breath hitches, caught between Evren’s cold kiss and the growing heat in my belly.

Verik’s hands find my breasts, pinching my nipples, sending sparks of pleasure shooting through me.

I come undone with a cry, my body shuddering as the orgasm rips through me.

Dathan drinks me in, his greedy mouth drawing out every last wave of pleasure.

My knees buckle, but Verik holds me up, his strong arms wrapped around me.

Evren breaks the kiss, his breath ragged, his eyes studying me intensely, but I know he sees the real me.

The raw, unfiltered version that only they get to witness.

Verik’s grip on me tightens, his breath hot on my neck.

I can feel his hellfire pulsing just beneath his skin, a contained inferno ready to burn everything in its wake.

Dathan rises from his knees and licks his lips, his silver eyes dark with lust and a profound need that makes me whimper.

“We need this,” I whisper. “All of us. Together.”

Verik’s hands move from my breasts, trailing down my sides, leaving a path of scorching heat. He lifts me effortlessly, carrying me to the bed. Evren follows, and Dathan strips off his clothes, revealing his hard body that makes me drool.

I reach out for him, pulling him closer as Verik settles behind me, his body moulding to mine. Evren climbs onto the bed, his ice-cold touch making my nipples ache with pleasure.

Dathan joins us. He intertwines our fingers, his grip tight and possessive. The Soul Scar on my back glows with warmth, a reminder of our shared bond, the fractures mending with each touch, each breath.

I look over my shoulder to meet Verik’s heated gaze, his hellfire eyes burning into me.

His lips crash onto mine, a brutal, claiming kiss that steals my breath.

Evren’s cold hands trail down my sides, leaving a path of ice that makes me shiver.

Dathan’s grip on my hands tightens, his thumb tracing circles on my wrist, a grounding touch that keeps me anchored.

Verik’s kiss deepens, his tongue invading my mouth, a dance of dominance and desperation. I moan into his mouth, my body arching towards Evren. Dathan’s eyes are filled with lust and longing, his presence a silent promise.

Evren’s hands move lower, cupping my arse, his cold seeping into my skin, a sharp contrast to the heat pooling in my core.

Verik’s mouth leaves mine, trailing hot, open-mouthed kisses down my neck, his teeth grazing my skin, leaving marks of possession.

Dathan leans in, capturing my lips in a fierce kiss, his tongue sweeping into my mouth, a dark, consuming claiming.

I’m caught between them, a maelstrom of sensation, cold and hot, fierce and possessive.

My breath hitches as Dathan’s kiss intensifies, his tongue exploring my mouth with hunger.

Verik’s mouth moves lower, his teeth grazing my collarbone, sending sparks of pleasure and pain shooting through me.

Evren’s cold hands move from my arse, trailing up my sides, leaving a path of ice that makes me shiver.

His cold hands then travel up to my breasts, his fingers circling my nipples, the cold making them harden into tight peaks.

I moan into Dathan’s mouth, my body quivering between the three of them. Dathan pulls away from my lips, his breath ragged. His eyes meet mine, and there’s a raw, unguarded emotion in them that makes my heart ache. “You’re ours,” he growls, his voice a low rumble. “Always fucking ours.”

I nod, unable to form words. I want them to be mine, and I will be what they need me to be.

Verik lifts me and pulls on my hips, forcing me to straddle him in a reverse cowgirl.

I lean back, spreading my legs wider for Evren to thrust two fingers inside me before he tugs on my clit.

Verik, despite Evren’s fingers buried inside me, rams his cock into me from behind, and I cry out, throwing my head back.

Verik’s hands grip my hips, holding me steady as he thrusts deeper.

The heat of his hellfire burns through my skin where he touches me.

“Fuck,” I breathe, my head falling back against his shoulder.

Evren keeps his fingers inside me, stretching me. His thumb lands on my clit, and I shiver with need.

“Look at her,” Dathan murmurs, gripping my throat roughly. “Look how perfect she is when she’s falling apart for us.”

I can’t speak, can barely think. The pleasure builds with each thrust of Verik’s hips, the increasing pressure of Evren’s thumb on my clit. My body is on fire, every nerve ending singing. The Soul Scar burns bright, a brand of ownership I would be lost without.

Verik’s pace increases, his grip on my hips bruising. “Mine,” he growls against my neck. “All fucking mine.”

Dathan’s hand tightens on my throat as Evren pulls his fingers free and guides his cock to my already full pussy.

“Yes,” I moan. “Harder. More.”

Evren’s cock pushes into me alongside Verik’s, stretching me impossibly wide. The sensation is overwhelming, bordering on too much, but I need it. Need them both fucking me.

Dathan’s grip on my throat tightens just enough to make breathing a conscious effort. “That’s it, beautiful. Take everything we give you.”

My vision blurs as pleasure builds to an unbearable peak. “I can’t—” I gasp, my body trembling between them.

“You can,” Verik growls against my ear. “You’re ours. You were made for this. Made for our cocks. Made for us.”

My orgasm hits like a tidal wave, ripping through me with violent intensity, as Dathan chokes off my scream with a wicked smirk.