Page 24

Lilith

“I didn’t expect there to be so many of them,” I say quietly.

“I told you, you have their full support,” Kael says.

“So do I just start talking?” I ask.

“Just stand up and wait for them to get quiet. They will listen to you,” he says. I nod before standing and taking a few steps forward towards the microphone. The guys and my family stand behind me. Vash keeps looking up at me as if asking permission to stand with Leli.

“Come stand with your mate, Vash,” I say. He smiles brightly and comes up to stand with us.

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” he says with a bow.

“Stop doing that,” I frown.

“Stop what, your…”

Daemon chuckles and says, “She isn’t used to being bowed to or called Your Majesty.” Everyone is staring at us, waiting for me to talk.

“Hey, guys. I’ve said it probably twenty times today, but thank you for being here,” I start, nervously. “I understand the risk you all are taking by standing here with me today. I promise that I will do my best to keep this short so you can get comfortable. I only have a few things to cover. First, is there anyone that can tell me what is going on out there?”

“They want you captured,” a man, a fox shifter, says.

“I figured. Is there anything else?” I ask.

“Everyone has been instructed to find you and bring you to Zypher Fallins and Brion Morwen alive. They don’t care what is done, as long as you are alive when you get to them,” he says.

“Wonderful,” I say, my tone remaining even. “Anything else?”

“There is a large group of fox shifters being held in a warehouse. We have tried to get to them, but they have a hell of a lot of firepower,” he says.

“How many and where?” I ask.

“We came up from Arcwatch. We flew over Estroria, and that is when we found out they were being held at a large warehouse near the northern border. I’d say there are probably three hundred, maybe more. It’s all the ones who live there,” he explains.

“Fuck,” I groan. Fucking bastards .

“What?” Dad asks.

“That’s where I grew up,” I say. “Those are the people who raised me.”

“It’s a trap,” Leli says.

“I know it is,” I say before turning back to the man. “Can you show me the exact location on a map?”

“Lilith,” Daemon says quietly.

“Stop,” I tell him as I take a map from Vash, who is holding one out for me.

The man comes up and looks at the map. “Ah. Right here,” he says, pointing to the map.

“Can I get a pen?” I ask. Leli comes over to hand me a red permanent marker. I circle the spot on the map that he pointed to. “What else is going on nearby?”

“Nothing that we saw. I know they are hiding in the building nearby, but I don’t know how many or where. I just know that we couldn’t get close enough without getting shot at,” he says.

“Can you get me close?” I ask.

“Lilith,” Daemon says in a grave tone. I ignore him and wait for him to answer me.

“I can,” Vash says.

“Perfect,” I say to Vash. “Give me some time to think this through, and I’ll let you know what my plan is. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he says and bows. Daemon, Kael, and Callum look angry. This is not a battle I want to have right here, so I decide to turn my back to them and address the crowd again.

“Now… anything else? Does anyone have questions?” I ask. A man, a panther shifter, steps forward and waits for me to address him before speaking.

“What’s your name?” I ask.

“Eldric,” he says simply.

“What is it, Eldric?” I ask.

“So… Zypher announced yesterday to warn us about you. He has declared you an enemy of the state.”

“An enemy of the state?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes,” Eldric says. “Basically, Zypher said that you pose a threat to the country and… well, the world.”

“Okay?” I say, confused. “Is there more to this story?”

“He said he saw you shift, but that you are also a witch,” he says.

“All witches can shift into a fox,” I explain. “I shifted because he had me cornered; it was that or use magic. Unfortunately, some magic had to be used because he was still trying to come after me, but I was not in a form that I was able to protect myself.”

The man is not looking at me. I have noticed he hasn’t been for the entire time that he has been talking. I realize that almost everyone who has talked to me isn’t actually looking at me; they are looking at the ground as if to avoid making eye contact with me. It is odd seeing this from people who are not witches or foxes. He is afraid of me. I turn to Daemon, Callum, and Kael when I realize why everyone came without hesitation.

“They are afraid of me,” I say.

“I was questioning that until I noticed that no one is making eye contact with you,” Daemon says. I sigh heavily and look at Dad.

“I don’t want people here because they are afraid of me. That is how Zypher and Morwen will get people to turn against me,” I say. “I don’t know what to do.”

“You need to find out why they are afraid,” Dad says.

“Well…” Vash starts to say.

“What?” I sigh.

“Zypher has been spreading rumors about you…” he says. “With you introducing Mazvyn as your father, everyone can clearly see that he is a demon…”

“Fuck,” I say. “Fuck, this is bad.”

“Just have them say it and be honest,” Dad says. “Honesty is the only way to gain their respect and trust. Zypher is trying to taint their view of you.” He further explains.

I turn back around to face Eldric, who is still looking down. “What exactly did Zypher say about me?”

“He… He said that you are a demon and you and your father want to take control of the country. He said that your being mated to the kings was fake and they were under a spell you did to get them on your side.”

“Dear God,” I sigh. “Look… I am technically half demon and half witch. My mother was a witch, and my father is an incubus, which makes me half-succubus. Now, I know that sounds frightening because of how Zypher is spinning this. I need to know why you all came here if he is saying this.”

“Because…” he starts to say but stops.

“Just say it, please,” I say, trying not to sound annoyed. I know it isn’t their fault that they fear me.

“Zypher said that you drain people’s lives and kill them,” he said. “It seemed more logical to be with you than against you. We are loyal to our kings, and they are loyal to you.”

“First, I am the mate to the Three Kings. I don’t even think there would be a spell strong enough to force a mate bond like that,” I say. “Second, I don’t drain lives, or whatever. I assure you if I had that ability… I would have killed him a long time ago instead of being raped by him and his pack repeatedly.”

I probably don’t need to be so blunt, but if I want them to see that I am not a threat, I need to be completely transparent. I can’t expect them to follow me blindly out of fear and expect them to not turn on me if given the chance.

“In short, a succubus draws from sexual energy. That’s it. My body reserves that energy, which I can, in turn, use to increase the effectiveness when I cast a spell, but otherwise… I’m just really pale with black hair. I am not the threat that he is making me out to be.”

“So, the kings are not being forced to submit to you?” he asks seriously. Daemon and Kael stifle laughter, and it makes me smile.

“They’re not being forced into anything,” I confirm with a smile. “They decided to make me queen. I told them about the things I faced when it was assumed that I was a fox shifter, but they were the ones who took that step to end the shift ban and bring equality to them.”

“Why would they go from hating witches to accepting one overnight?” he asks. “I don’t mean to be disrespectful… We are all just a bit confused.”

“I understand,” I say. “I am being open with you all because I want you all to be just as invested in this cause as I am. I don’t want to lead on lies and fear… But that is not my place to explain.”

“I can if you want me to,” Daemon says as he stands up.

“That’s up to you,” I say. “I’m not the one who was plagued with that nightmare.”

Kael and Callum step up to join us as Daemon cups my face. I am lost in his eyes so easily that I almost forget there are hundreds of people watching until Dad clears his throat and gets my attention.

“Focus, guys,” he says with humor in his tone, while a few people in the crowd chuckle.

“Sorry,” I laugh and pull myself out of the hold Daemon has on my mind.

“So… no… Lilith is not forcing us to do anything. In the beginning, none of us wanted to be mated. She was on the same page as us and even offered to reject us. We found out pretty quickly that she is a witch, and it was hard to accept, but ultimately what showed us that witches were not what we were led to believe was when she broke our family curse,” Daemon says.

“Curse?” Eldric asks.

“Yes… Everyone knows that three hundred years ago, when a group of rogue witches killed hundreds of our people. What they don’t know is it was to kill the last High Witch,” Daemon says. “She was mated to the Three Kings. This group wanted more power, and the High Witch being alive prevented that. Once the High Witch was killed, the Three Kings were cursed so that they couldn’t take a true queen. The fox shifters tried to help the three kings by warning them of the impending attack, but because witches could also shift into foxes, they were quickly deemed untrustworthy,” Daemon explains. “The curse was simple but awful. The kings, essentially, were forced to have a maiden in their bed or go insane. She would always end up dying an excruciating death. This continued to punish the foxes and the witches living among them because they were constantly having to send their own to replace the ones who died.”

“No matter what we did… We couldn’t prevent it. If we didn’t, it would drive us to insanity and kill us. If we had a maiden or our mate close and we tried to fight it, we would have been driven to kill her before still dying the same death they would have if we hadn’t tried to reject it,” Kael says.

“Exactly,” Daemon continues. “Our fathers waited until we were of age to take over before locking themselves away so that the curse could take over and kill them. Their fathers did the same when they were of age to rule.”

“So, while the three kings were earning a reputation for killing these maidens for fun, it was the exact opposite,” Callum says. “We always pushed the boundary as far as we could, and we made sure that whoever was with us understood everything. We never lied to them about what would happen. It wasn’t something they went into unwillingly. We took care of them to the best of our ability, and we stayed with them until the end. They were held in the highest respect possible because it was the only thing we could do to make sure the family line continued, but we were limiting how many women were hurt.”

“And Lilith broke that curse?” Eldric asks.

“Yes. I think the assumption was that because the High Witch was killed, she wouldn’t be able to produce an heir, but it doesn’t go by family line. It is random. The curse was that mating with the High Witch would end it, and it did. When the symptoms hit Lilith, she was able to heal herself. This showed us that not all witches were bad and that we had been misled. Just like not all wolf and lion shifters are bad because Zypher and Morwen are out there calling for the death of someone that wants peace.”

“I understand why you all are concerned,” I say. “When he tells you that I am a demon and you don’t know what that means, you can only base your opinion on what you are told. All I am asking is that you give me the chance to prove that I am not the monster that he is making me out to be. All I want is peace and equality for everyone, wolves and lions included. I know peace is not completely obtainable because neither of these groups are alike. We will have conflict even while we are fighting this war for peace, but we must move past this idea that someone is less than because of how they shift or if they practice magic.”

“Thank you for your honesty,” Eldric says.

“But let me be crystal fucking clear when I say that I will not tolerate the fox shifters, or the witches, being singled out or segregated against. You’re allowed to have your feelings, and you may disagree if you wish, but you will not attack someone in any way and not be made an example of. I very much want peace, but I will watch this world burn if it means that I continue to stand up for what is right. I will not tolerate innocent people being abused. If that is not something that you can stand up for, I’m sure Zypher and Morwen will happily take you in so that you can help take me down.”

Daemon, Kael, and Callum look at me and smirk at my aggressiveness, while everyone else claps and cheers.

“Damn, girl,” Daemon says before kissing me quickly.

“I didn’t think threatening people would make them clap, but okay,” I say with a nervous laugh.

“They respect your honesty,” Kael says with a smile.

“Okay, guys. One more thing,” I say to the crowd. “I will not require anyone to fight. If you want to stay here, the barrier will stay up and protect you. If you wish to fight with me, know that I will be with you every step of the way. I am not going to ask you to do something that I wouldn’t get out there and do myself. With that being said, I have every intention of going to Estroria, and rescuing those foxes. I am well aware of the fact that it is a ploy to get me closer because those are the people I grew up with, but I’m not going to just leave them there, knowing what Zypher and Morwen are capable of. I will need to talk with all of the representatives after I find out why I’m getting a death glare from my mates.”

“We will give you guys some time to talk,” Eldric laughs.

I turn to the guys, and they try not to show that they are mad, but I know why they are. “Why are you looking at me like that?” I ask as I walk over to Dad.

“You are insane if you think we are going to be okay with this. You know exactly what will happen if they get ahold of you,” Daemon says with annoyance in his voice.

“I know,” I say simply.

“Do you?” Kael asks. “You don’t seem to understand that he will hurt you. You are not invincible, no matter what powers you have.”

“I have to do this,” I say. “I don’t know why, but I do. I am not going to sit here while I am sending everyone else to fight a war that I am meant to end.”

“Lilith, honey,” Callum sighs. “You aren’t ready to fight. You can’t even access most of your power…”

“I may not be able to access that energy right now, but I can still do spells, just like any other witch,” I argue. “I am not looking for your blessing, Callum. I am doing this with or without you.”

“I understand you’ve learned spells, Lilith, but you have no real-world application. You’re going to storm in blindly and get yourself killed.” Callum says, his eyes brimming with emotion. “We…I don’t want to lose you… please”

“How about this?” Dad says. “Take a day with me, and we can work on those attacks, and defense spells. At the end of the day, you can show them what you know.”

“Fine,” Kael says. “You take a day with your dad. At the end of the day, you face all three of us shifted. If we can pin you, you do not leave this property. I don’t care if I have to tie you up somewhere and give you water from a bottle like a hamster. I won’t let you go out there and get yourself killed.”

I look at my three mates and consider what they have said. I know I need to go. If I am here when I am captured, it could easily cost everyone here their lives. I have to prove myself to them, or they are going to fight me every step of the way. “Alright,” I say after a moment. “But I am still planning with everyone.”

“Okay,” Kael says.

“I’m going to electrocute you again,” I say. “I hope you know that.”

“Looking forward to it, little witch,” he says, poking the tip of my nose.

“ Inpulsa ,” I say when I smack his hand away. He recoils, and Dad laughs heartily.

“Ow! You little shit,” he laughs as he grabs me in a hug and tickles my sides. I giggle and squirm in his arms. He stops tickling me and kisses my neck. “We won’t survive if we lose you, Lilith. We aren’t trying to be assholes, but we want to make sure you can handle yourself out there.”

“I know,” I say softly. “I’ll kick your ass, and then we can go kick ass together .”

“I know we are being a pain. We won’t go easy on you tomorrow, though. We love you too much to risk you dying trying to save everyone. I don’t…”

“You love me?” I pull away and ask. He just stares at me for a moment. I don’t think he realizes that he said it, and he is just as shocked.

“Yeah,” he says. “Yeah, I do. I love you. It doesn’t make much sense to me, but I know I do.”

I hug him to keep myself from crying. “I love you too,” I whisper. “More than I can comprehend right now.” Kael kisses the top of my head, and I pull away when Eldric and the others come over.

“Your Majesties,” Eldric says.

“Hey. So, first I need names and who your group is,” I say.

“Well, I’m Leli. I’ll be with the witches.”

“Smartass,” I say, giving her a deadpan expression.

“I’ll be reporting for the dragons,” Vash says, chuckling.

“I am Ulfric. I’ll be reporting for the bears,” he says.

“I am Fermin. I am reporting for the foxes,” he says.

“When they get here, I’ll handle the incubi and succubi. There will be a few imps as well,” Dad says.

“Okay,” I say.

“First, the lands are slowly coming together,” I say bluntly.

“What?” Ulfric asks. “Like… Literally?”

“Yeah. They should be damn near touching by now. My brother is leading a team in Voradia that will come up from the southern border. I need to get in contact with him so he knows we will be moving that way,” I say. “Tomorrow I will be with my dad working on some spells to make sure I am good to go. We will leave before the sun comes up on the following day.”

“Okay,” Eldric says. “How are we traveling?”

“Let’s get as far as we can on buses, but we need to be prepared to go on foot, so we need to pack light but have a way to eat,” I say.

“I’ll be honest, Lilith,” Vash says. “If we end up on foot, we will struggle with a group this size.”

“We can handle any hunting,” Fermin says. “We have become accustomed to scavenging.”

“That would be a huge help,” Ulfric says.

“It’s the least we can do,” Fermin says, waving him off. “You are fighting for our freedom and the witches. We can at least make sure you don’t starve to death.”

“So, tomorrow I need everyone to work on preparing to leave while I’m with Dad,” I say.

“I’ll need a few shifters to come help though,” Dad says.

“I am tempted to volunteer, but I have a feeling I’m going to get my ass kicked by a tiny witch,” Vash says.

“Aren’t you mated to a tiny witch now?” Ulfric asks him

“Yeah, and I think she could kick my ass too,” Vash laughs heartily. “I’ll come help. Just don’t shock me like you did Kael a minute ago.”

“It’s just a little shock,” I laugh. “Okay, guys. Thank you so much. Please, let everyone know what’s going on. I need to go talk to my brother. I will be in the house if anyone needs me.”

“Want us to just call one of the guys?” Ulfric asks.

“Just come in,” Daemon says. “Someone will always be up.”

“Okay. Go rest, and we will come get you all if anything happens,” Ulfric says.

“Are you coming?” I ask Vash.

“I hope so,” Leli laughs.

“I meant coming with us to the house, sicko,” I laugh.

“Yes,” Vash chuckles. “Is that okay?”

“I don’t know if I want to share a house with my two sisters,” Striker says as we walk to the house.

“You and Dad can be downstairs, and I’ll have them come upstairs,” I laugh.

“Thank you,” Dad says as we walk inside.

“Can I use your phone?” I ask Daemon.

“Baby, you have a phone now,” he says as he pulls it off the charger and hands it to me.

“Right,” I say. “I’m not used to that yet.”

I set up my phone to holo-dial Volis before setting it on the coffee table. Kael pulls me into his lap and wraps his arms around my waist.

Volis answers, and he appears as a hologram, projecting out from my phone. “Hey,” Volis says.

“Hey,” I say with a smile. “How are things?”

“Going okay. Lands are touching. The tide came in and pushed everyone north,” he says.

“Well… Zypher is holding hundreds of foxes captive, so we will be moving toward Estroria early the morning after tomorrow. I’ll send you a pinpoint on the map, but when you get there, just hold off and watch them until we get there, if you get there first.”

“Okay,” he says. “Otherwise, how are things?”

“We have all the dragons, bears, panthers, and foxes that could get here. There are still a few witches coming through the portals,” I say. “Oh, Leli found her mate.”

“I see that,” he says. I turn and see that Leli is sitting on Vash’s lap. They are talking quietly but smiling brightly at one another. “Who is he?”

“His name is Vash,” I say. “He is a dragon shifter. He’s one of the representatives and mayor of Woricsong.”

“He’s a good guy?” Volis asks.

“Yeah,” Daemon says. “He’s a good guy. He will treat her well.”

“He better,” Volis says simply. “Why are you all waiting?”

“Because Daemon, Kael, and Callum want to beat me up to prove that I can take it,” I say.

“Okay,” Daemon says. “That is not the right way to word that. You’re going to get us murdered by your brother.”

“They are just worried I can’t handle myself,” I laugh. “I’m going to work with Dad tomorrow, then they want me to take them on to see if I can hold my own. If they can pin me, then they’ll tie me up and forbid me from leaving the barrier.”

“Well… I’m in support of this. If you can’t handle your own, you have no business going head-on with those fuckers,” Volis says.

“How is Sylvie?” Striker asks.

“She’s good. She dropped her ice cream today and said fuck, but good,” he laughs

“Y’all are corrupting my child,” Striker sighs.

“Oh… Everyone knows I am a succubus,” I say. “Zypher is telling everyone that I’m a demon that can drain someone’s life.”

“I mean… It’s not entirely untrue,” Volis says. “You can definitely fuck someone to death.”

“Interesting,” I laugh. “But I was honest with everyone, and they were receptive to it.”

“That’s good,” he says. “I think you’ll be a great leader.”

“I hope so,” I say. “I feel like I was just locked in Zypher’s home getting assaulted by everything with a heartbeat.”

“That’s a morbid way of saying that,” Volis laughs.

“Fair, but true. Anyone who came into that house…” I say.

“Came in you too?” Leli says nonchalantly.

“Yeah,” I laugh.

“What?” Vash asks with a frown. “Weren’t you with him?”

“For a day, yeah,” Leli says.

“You have never said what happened,” I say. “Although I have a good idea.”

“Well… Right after you left, he fucked me for, like, six hours, I think. It was messy and… well… sticky,” she says, and Vash growls. She ignores him and continues to talk but looks at just me. I know she wants to get it off her chest, but I’m the only one who can relate. “After that, he called some guy and said he had a new maiden. The guy asked… And I quote… ‘If the pussy was as good as the other fox whore.’ Zypher said no, but I could take just as much. He told the guy what he did and said that it was time to break me in. I had no idea what that meant because it was my understanding that Zypher wasn’t allowed to let anyone else touch me. When everyone showed up…”

“What?” Vash says with a snarl.

“Vash,” I say softly. He nods and just holds her while she fights back tears. I glance at Dad, and his eyes are bright red. He’s given up on trying to hide his anger.

“Zypher told me to get naked. I made the mistake of telling him no because no one was allowed to touch me… so, he uhm… He ripped them off of me, and… Fuck, I hate this,” she says as she closes her eyes for a moment, as tears threaten to fall.

“You don’t have to say it, Leli,” I say. “Only say what you’re comfortable with us knowing.”

“No, I need to,” she says, opening her eyes. “He and some guy tied me to a table so that I was like… bent over it… Then one by one, they all raped me. Thirty-seven. He had thirty-seven of them take their turn with me. When they were done, they did it again. And again. And again. For a while, I tried to fight. I screamed at Zypher and begged him to make them stop. It didn’t hurt, luckily, but he just… he just laughed.” She shakes her head in disbelief as she continues. “Every time someone would finish, he would make some disgusting comment about how I took their come just like you did. He said I sounded just like you when I screamed at him. He never said your name, but some part of me knew it was you. I didn’t know you were my sister yet. Not until the next day but I realized how wrong I was about what the maidens went through. Especially when he would force himself down my throat and violently get himself off using my mouth as if I were just an object. He did that at least ten times over the evening. If he didn’t force me to swallow, he’d just get it all over me. And I do mean all over me. All of them did that. If it wasn’t in me, it was on me. It just went on forever. I knew shifters could go multiple times and for ridiculously long periods, but it was an awful way to get first-hand experience. Even once they left, though, Zypher just kept going. He didn’t sleep, nor did I. He just wouldn’t stop. When he finally did, he made me clean everything up. I took a shower, and when I went back to the room to get dressed, he came into the room. He caught me off guard, and when he pinned me down on my stomach… it actually hurt me that time. It’s like my screaming in pain fueled him more. He didn’t take nearly as long because I guess he liked that I was screaming. I cleaned up and got dressed, and that was when you showed up with the guys,” she says.

When she gets done explaining, everyone is in tears but me. It’s something that I am all too familiar with. Everything she said he did, I experienced and was brainwashed into seeing as normal. “I’m sorry he did that to you,” I say. “As morbid and twisted as this is… I am honestly not surprised.”

“Oh, I know,” she says, sniffing back tears. “It’s fucked up, but when I found out that you were who I was looking for, I was legitimately happy. After having gone through that, I was so fucking relieved to know that I would have someone to talk to about it, and that they would actually understand just how fucking awful that house was. I would take getting raped by Morwen ten times over than to ever be alone with Zypher again. He is sadistic and cruel.”

“Yeah, I agree,” I say. “Morwen is nothing compared to Zypher. I think it hurt me emotionally more with Morwen because…” I stop when I realize I’ve never actually said it out loud.

“What?” she asks.

“I’ve never said it before,” I say.

“Do you want to say it?” she asks.

“I feel like I should, but it will make me feel fucking stupid,” I frown.

“I doubt that,” she says. “Just say it to me, not them.”

“So… When Morwen raped me… I, uhm… I ended up having an orgasm from it. Even at the time, it felt… gross. Like… It was an orgasm, but it didn’t feel like one. If that makes sense.”

“Yeah, he did the same to me,” she says. “I think he does it intentionally as a form of humiliation.”

“It was definitely humiliating,” I say. “The worst part is I didn’t see it or the guy on the train as rape at the time. It seemed just like any other day to me. How fucked up was my life that being randomly raped by someone is normal to me?”

“It just goes to show what you went through,” she says simply. “But… by the time all of this is done with… They’ll be dead.”

“Yeah,” I say with a smile. “I shouldn’t be this excited about murder, but I am.”

I look over at Dad, and he has tears in his eyes, but they are still bright red. He looks far past angry at this point. “Well, damn,” Volis says.

“Sorry. That got really dark,” Leli says to Volis.

“Please don’t apologize,” Volis says softly. “Thank you for trusting us enough to say that.”

“I wanted you all to know, and I wanted to get it off my chest I just didn’t know how to bring it up without anyone thinking I was trying to take away from what Lilith went through. One day is nothing compared to five years with that monster.”

“Your trauma is just as valid as mine, no matter the timeframe or severity,” I say.

“Okay,” she smiles. “Thank you, guys, for listening to it, though.”

“I’m going to fucking kill him if you don’t,” Vash says simply to me.

“Oh, I will,” I say. “I will be the last thing he sees before he dies.”