Page 27

Lilith

I slip my phone back into my pocket before laying my head back on the seat. I could hardly sleep last night because of the anxiety. I was going to leave and just sit in the living room, but Kael refused to let go of me so I could. I think he knew I was trying to ditch them instead of sleep. It’s nice to just lie in bed and listen to the silence of the house, though.

The witches enchanted everything they could so we could pack what we needed but not be bogged down by the weight of the camping equipment and other supplies. I know there is no way we are going to get far on the buses with the whole country in complete chaos. We will take them as far as we can before ending up on foot. We are going in waves. There are thirty of us in the first group. The second is being led by Ulfric, the third by Eldric, and final waves led by their second in command. The Hellhounds have not made their alliances known. I don’t blame them, to be honest.

We’ve been on the road for a few hours now, the sun has set, and the road is getting bumpy. All of a sudden, we hear a loud POP!! Hissssssss . Striker groans as he parks the bus. I sigh as I send a text to Ulfric.

On foot now. Will be in touch.

Ulfric

Understood. We will wait for your command.

Someone will let you know when to move.

Here we fucking go . We get out of the bus to take a look at the damage. Not just one of the tires has been shredded, but all of them are.

“What the hell?” I ask.

“What the fuck is this?” Striker asks.

I am about to tell everyone that something feels off when a swarm of people come out of trees on either side of the bus and charge at us. Everyone shifts, but before they can close in around me or I can make an attempt to cast a spell, a blast flings me away from everyone.

I smack down on the hard ground a few hundred feet away, knocking the wind out of me. My entire body aches, and I groan in pain from the impact. When I can finally take a breath in, I try to roll to my side in an attempt to get up. A black boot comes from behind me and kicks my shoulder. I am knocked flat on my back. I scream as I try to pull myself away from the man smirking down at me.

“Aht. Where do you think you are going, High Witch ?” He says as he grabs my ankle and yanks me closer.

“Stop it,” I scream and kick at him. “Inpul-”

I try to cast out to shock him, but vines shoot up from the ground and wrap around me. I scream and thrash against their tight vice-like grip. They coil around my face, covering my mouth and body. I can feel the thorns as they start to shred my clothing. The thorns drag along my skin as blood surfaces. They keep me restrained to the damp ground. My legs are forcibly spread far apart, in a spread-eagle pose. The more I try to move, the more they tighten around me. I am screaming in pain from what feels like broken ribs and the tight grip of the vine forcing its thorns into every part of my body.

The man, who is clearly a witch, tuts as he walks in circles around me. I can hear others near me screaming and slamming into the side of the barrier he has up. To be doing all of this with minimal effort, he has to be powerful.

“Lilith Deverell,” he says in a feigned sweet voice. “The famous High Witch … You’ve finally revealed yourself. I thought they said that the High Witch was supposed to be all-powerful and someone to be feared. You look like a sniveling little bitch to me.”

The man kneels beside me, looking over my body. I am furious, but there is nothing I can do about it. Not until he physically touches me, at least. I can finally try one of the more deadly spells, but he has to make contact with my skin, which he hasn’t done yet. When he grabbed my ankle, it was on top of my jeans. I have my teeth clenched, in part because it’s keeping my mind off of my full-body pain but mostly it’s rage.

“You know, Zypher told us you are the perfect little fuck,” he says. “I wonder how many times I can fuck you before your mates break through my barrier?” I growl in anger as he chuckles at me.

“ I’m going to fucking kill you, ” I hear Daemon scream at the man taunting me. His voice is low, rough and more angry than I’ve ever heard him.

The man looks up and smirks before turning his attention back to me. He looks me over once more before grabbing ahold of my tattered jeans and ripping them more, completely exposing me. I scream again as the vines twist, digging into me. I try to thrash in hopes of somehow slipping free. I try to fight him as he ignores me. My eyes widen as he positions himself above me and hovers. I know exactly what he is about to do. My screams are muffled as he undoes his belt and pulls his already erect dick out. I can’t pull myself out of my anger enough to mind link the guys. Surely there has to be some weakness they can exploit to get past the barrier. I can hear everyone trying hard to get to me. The other witches that ambushed us must be dead.

The man plants his hand beside my head and leans into me slightly. Hot, acidic tears sting my eyes when I feel him press against me. I am tensed up, trying to fight through the hold the vines have on me, so when he rams himself inside of me, intense and excruciating pain shoots through my abdomen. I let out a blood-curdling scream as he thrusts into me over and over again. The pain is consuming almost every rational thought, but I am still desperately grasping at that reservoir of magia.

Infernus vitae . My mind clears suddenly as I realize that I will have to boil this man from the inside out because my regular powers alone aren’t enough to cause him pain.

“Hottest little pussy I’ve ever had,” he grunts in my ear. I am screaming at myself internally but grunting through the pain of his assault outwardly.

A surge of energy floods every cell in my body suddenly, and it’s fucking euphoric when I finally grab hold of that reserve. I don’t know how to control the flow of magia, but my ultimate goal is to get him off of me and to make him hurt. I can figure the rest out when his barrier comes down.

At first, he just starts to sweat, and it drips off of him. His thrusts start to slow down as he heats up. I can’t tell if it’s his heat that I am feeling or my own. My skin feels like it’s on fire when he abruptly stops and starts trying to rip his clothes off. The vines begin to loosen, and I thrash against them until they slip away. I am covered in blood and tiny scratches from where the thorns dug into me, and my skin is glowing a bright red.

The man drops to his knees, screaming in agony, as he begins to tear chunks of his skin off. His pain fuels me even more, and all of my attention is focused on his misery and watching him burn.

I see a flash of black behind me at the same time as I feel something sprout from my back. Despite the flames rapidly spreading under my own skin, I feel incredible. My magia begins flooding out of me in a way that is unlike anything I have ever felt before.

He drops to the ground; only slight whimpers leave him as his skin turns to a charred husk color. I notice the barrier is gone as soon as ice-cold water is suddenly dumped on me. I gasp loudly as it breaks my concentration, pulling me away from the reserve of energy and my spell.

“You’re okay,” Dad says as he grabs me in a tight hug. I groan in pain from what I definitely know are broken ribs now. “You’re overheating.”

Kael pulls me away from Dad, and all three of my mates surround me in a hug. I let myself relax, but I am still angry. All of that magia is within reach, and it brings me a semblance of comfort to know that I can get to it now.

“I’m so fucking proud of you,” Kael says as he cups my face.

“I did it,” I say before looking at Dad, who is beaming with pride. “I did it.”

“You did it,” he confirms. Kael and Callum part slightly so Dad can get closer. “You did amazing, Lilith.”

“I was so fucking angry,” I frown. “Who the fuck is that?” I look at the now charred remains of the witch that just raped me in front of everyone.

“I think… We still have an issue with rogue witches,” Dad says.

“I thought they disappeared?” I ask.

“Well, apparently not,” he sighs. “You’ve reached that reserve, but you need to learn how to control the flow of magia or you’ll end up killing yourself.”

“Yeah. I felt like I was on fire,” I say. “Is that why someone dumped water on me?”

“Yes. It was the easiest and fastest way to cool you down and pull you away from that spell. Also, he was already dead anyhow,” Dad says.

“Are the others dead?” I ask Vash, who looks stunned as he stands close by.

“Uhm… Yeah. We took them out fast,” he says.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” I ask, frowning.

“Did you…” he starts to say but stops.

“Spit it out,” I demand.

“Where the fuck did the wings come from?” he asks bluntly, making Leli laugh.

“Wait. Really?” I ask, looking at Dad.

“Yeah,” he chuckles and looks at everyone, who all look absolutely horrified. “As a succubus, she has access to all of the energy she draws. She was finally able to access all of that, and it made her spell stronger. It also comes with some little qualities that most demons have, and wings are one of those things. It works just like shifting with you all.”

“Her skin was red, Mazvyn,” Vash says.

“Yes, that was just her losing control, letting too much out at one time. She will get control with time and practice. She will be able to control the flow of energy,” Dad says. “Her eyes turning red was just her anger. Intense emotion will bring different colors. I know you weren’t expecting it, but I assure you it is normal for her.”

A few fox shifters, including Fermin, come out of the bus and walk over to us. “Here’s some clothes,” Fermin says as he hands me a stack. “Leli told me what bag to get them out of.”

“Thanks,” I say. I move off to the other side of the bus with Daemon, Kael, Callum, and Leli so I can change.

“How is your side?” Leli asks. “You’re acting like you are in pain.”

“Yeah, I think I broke a rib from that landing,” I say. “That wasn’t pleasant, nor were the fucking vines I got wrapped up in.”

“I bet not,” she says. “I can heal you,” she says. “I may get Striker to help me, so it doesn’t take as long. You are pretty cut up.”

“We need to get off this road soon, though,” Daemon says. “We are just sitting targets right now.”

“With them helping, it won’t take long,” she says before looking back at me. “I’m proud of you.”

“I appreciate that,” I say as I pull a new shirt on.

We walk around to where everyone is standing. “I’m glad you’re okay,” Ulfric says with a smile.

“Me too,” I laugh. “I heard you all trying to get to me, so I just want to thank you guys. I knew something was bound to happen to get us on foot and away from the bus, but I didn’t expect us to have any issues with the rogue witches. That guy was incredibly powerful. They would be known if they were from Voradia, and there is no way a witch from here could get that powerful and go undiscovered.”

“It looks like he was set on fire,” Fermin says with a frown.

“He was from the inside out,” I say. “It’s called Infernus vitae. It just boils them from the inside out.”

“Enough talk,” Leli says. “I need to heal you before we start walking.

“Come on,” Striker says, putting his arm around me for support.

“Can you do something about the bodies?” I ask Daemon.

“Yeah,” he says. “You go let them heal you, and we will get everything ready to move.”

“Thanks,” I say before Striker leads me off the path so we can sit on a fallen tree. Leli sits on one side with Dad in front of me and Striker on my other side.

“How do you feel?” Dad asks.

“Like someone kicked me in the ribs,” I say. Striker and Leli take my hands and start on their healing spell.

“Otherwise? You were overheating,” he says.

“I’m okay, Dad,” I say reassuringly.

“I just worry,” he says.

“I know you do… and for good reason. I won’t lie to you, though. If I’m not okay, I’ll tell you.”

“I wish your mother was here to see how amazing you are,” he says.

“She knows,” I say. “She came to me in my dream, and I saw her when I got to Voradia. She knows who I am, and she knows how hard you worked to get me back. She’s just as proud of you as she is of Striker, Volis, Leli, and me. Leli wasn’t her kid, but I sense that wouldn’t stop her from loving her as her own.”

“She adored Leli,” Dad says.

“What happened to Leli’s mom?” I ask.

“She died in childbirth having Leli,” Dad says.

“Did you cheat on Mom or something? Not that it’s any of my business,” I say.

“No,” he laughs. “Leli’s mom was a friend of your mom’s. She desperately wanted a baby but didn’t have a mate. Your mother… volunteered my services… and I agreed. Everything was going fine when she was in labor, but she ended up hemorrhaging faster than anyone could heal her. She made your mom swear that she’d raise Leli as her own but to make sure she knew who she was.”

“She must have really trusted you two to let her husband fuck her best friend,” I say, and he laughs.

“Yeah, she trusted us,” Dad says.

“You’ve lost a lot of people,” I say.

“I have,” he agrees. “But I have my kids all together now,” he says.

“How does that feel?” Striker asks.

“Much better. Thank you.” Instead of saying anything, he hugs me tightly. “You’re going to break my ribs again, Striker,” I wheeze.

“I’ll heal you again,” he murmurs. I hug him back and let him hold onto me. He is desperately trying to hide his emotion from me, but I can feel it move through him as he sniffles.

“I’m okay,” I say softly.

“I don’t ever want to hear you scream like that again,” he says as he pulls back and wipes his face.

“Well, I boiled him… So, it’s all good now,” I say with a smile.

“We should get going so we can set up camp,” Dad says.

We go back over to everyone, and the bodies are gone. Once we have all of our stuff, Callum finds a forest service trail for us to get on. It should take us all of the way there, and we will only be on the main road for the last two miles. Daemon has me walk in the middle of everyone, which is admittedly annoying, but I understand his reasoning. I won’t argue because I get the feeling I would be arguing with everyone after they watched me get attacked.

Once it starts getting dark, we find a clearing just inside the woods and set up camp for the night. With everything being enchanted, it’s a quick setup process. Once we’ve all eaten, I lay down in our tent and snuggle close to Callum when the temperature starts to drop. He and Kael turn to face me and sandwich me between them. Their warmth quickly lulls me to sleep.