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forty-seven

Dove

B ehind the velvet curtain, I find a curved, half-moon-shaped bathroom with a large clawfoot bath steaming with hot water and floor-to-ceiling mirrors surrounding it. A red chaise sits against the opposite wall, waiting for me with a fluffy towel, and beside that, a roll of buttered bread and a cup filled with a reddish liquid.

Looking towards the ceiling, I thank the Goddess for small miracles and dive into the food before luxuriating in the warm bath and sipping the strange, fruity liquid. I wash every inch of my sore and worn body with a charcoal and sandalwood soap, reminding me of a certain wolf.

The small luxuries surprise me, but Fury seems to be more powerful than I ever expected.

Once I am out of the bath, I slip on the silk dress. It glides on effortlessly, pooling against my curves—or lack of—and inching to dust the tops of my feet, with a long slit hitting the top half of my thigh. It is truly the most opulent thing I have ever worn.

My gaze turns towards the many mirrors surrounding me, and I make eyes with the dumbfounded creature before me. A grimace graces my face, and I continue my perusal down. It’s been an age since I’ve taken the time to look at myself, the picture often leaving me queasy.

The dress hugs in at the waist and cowls at the bust, making my chest look larger than it actually is. The small straps somehow manage to hold the whole thing in place.

My fingers instantly go to the harsh patchwork of scars on my neck and chest. Ones I often feel, but rarely ever see in such clarity. My breath stills at the vision of the raised flesh that stretches down my face, past my neck and sprinkles over my breasts. The dress highlights everything I want hidden from the world. I want to roar at the injustice of this life—at the circumstances I was born into, the hand I have been dealt. What if I was born a fae, like Rivern? Would I have been spared the injustices of my people?

Cardinal is right. I am not worthy of being a priestess. I am not pretty enough. My past made sure of that.

Pulling at my sodden hair, extending well below my chest, I twist to walk away from the drowned rat dressed up in the mirror, only to come face to face with Gideon.

I jerk to a halt, and suddenly, I am very aware of the fact that I have no underwear on as I stand in front of a striking wolf shifter who looks good enough to eat.

Without warning, the beast has me spun and once again facing the mirror.

I look up and see how my head barely grazes Gideon’s chest, and continuing my perusal upwards I find amber eyes taking their fill of my body.

Slowly, his hands trace up from my waist, where he moves them beyond my breasts and towards my neck.

A rough humming shocks my senses as Gideon says, “Do you see what I see?”

Stumbling over my words, I ask, “Wh-at do you see?”

“Hmm…” he continues to hum as I watch his fingers in the mirror trace the skin just above the cowl of my dress.

Melting at the strength behind me, I go blissfully blank. The utter safety I feel within Gideon’s arms at this moment feels unparalleled.

“I see passion,” he continues as he moves my hair to one side. “I see strength.” His fingers graze the side of my scar as he emphasises, “ I see beauty .”

Gulping down a breath, I close my mouth tightly, afraid to say something I cannot take back.

Gideon gives me a warm smile that never leaves my face and grasps my hand in a tight, warm hold. “Come. Fury is likely to burst through that doorway if we are alone for even a movement longer.”

Lazily nodding my head in agreement, I lace my fingers through his and hold tightly as he manoeuvres me out of the suddenly small space. Or maybe it only got small because of the large shifter within it. Goddess, he truly is massive, I gasp inwardly as he pushes through the curtain.

We find Fury overlooking the desolate ground beneath the tower.

Enormous windows create a wide, arched pocket against the opposite side of the room to where the stairs are located. In my tired and heart-worn state, I did not notice it before, but upon closer inspection, the window depicts a huge wolf leaping with exposed fangs, a dragon spewing fire from above and a massive, tentacled creature emerging from the water. And in the centre stands one being. I almost expect it to be Fury himself, but as my feet draw closer and Gideon loosens his grasp on me, I find myself stepping beside Fury without hesitation, noticing the difference in the male and the picture.

“This person—this being. Who is it?” My voice is quiet, but I am sure he hears every syllable, every breath I expel.

A chuckle leaves him, but not in a way that tells me my question is in any way funny. No. He exudes disgust and anger. “That is the object of my destruction.”

Looking up at him, I can see a smoulder blow through his blackened eyes as if he is reliving a long-forgotten memory.

Suddenly, the air around me stills, and iron fists grab hold of my shoulders and push me against the window I was admiring. I expect it to shatter, but it holds under the force Fury is raining down on me. “I know you have the key, little pet.”

Experiencing a new kind of whiplash, I try to edge my eyes around Fury’s frame to catch sight of Gideon, but every part of Fury overshadows my own .

Grabbing my chin, he angles my head upwards and hisses. “He cannot save you. Gideon is mine, and he follows my orders. Just like you will become mine.”

“I—what?” My body starts to tremble with the ice seeping through my veins. What key is he talking about?

I do not have any keys. I am here for Saff and, in a long-drawn-out, convoluted way, my kingdom. Haven is going to die if I don’t find help. I thought that help would come from the Goddess, but instead, she bonded me to a fae. A fae, of all creatures, and I believed they could help. Maybe Rivern still can, but I promised Saff we would find her egg first, so here I am, standing in front of this ominous-looking winged male from my dreams. Not the good dreams, either. Not that I had any of those . No, this daemon standing before me oozes darkness in a way that makes my body both shiver and blister. An unforgiving contradiction.

“You see, I have a proposition for you, Pet. One you will not be able to pass up.” My mouth gapes open at the audacity of this male, but colour me intrigued because my body does not inch a muscle out of his grasp.

“You will bond with me…” I boil at the beginning of his proposition. Ashen salt lingers on my tongue.

“I will do no—” His hands move to take mine, pinning them on either side of my head. His forehead leans in, and he pushes his nose gently across the edge of my smaller one, which only makes me more furious.

“Let me finish, pet,” he growls out, his breath whispering over my cheek.

“I am not your pet,” I equally growl underneath him .

Fury moves like lightning, hoisting me up into the air releasing my arms and moving us face to face, chest to chest and groin to rigid, naked torso. The shivers begin to turn southwards within my body, creating a strange but alluring feeling within my lower half as I dig my fingers into the toughened muscles of his biceps.

My bare feet dangle as Fury holds me around the waist. “You will hold your tongue until I am finished,” he grinds out. Then, like a completely new person overtakes his body, a snide snicker moves from his lips as he says, “Pet.”

“Argh.” I squirm in the daemon brute’s arms, thrashing my legs and hitting his broad, cold chest, but not making a dent.

Fury doesn’t hide his amusement from his body as I pummel him with my soft fists. “Are you quite done so I can finish what I am saying?”

Tiring from my assault on the frustrating monster holding me, I give one last open-palmed face slap, which barely makes the damned asshole move, and I give up, slackening in his grip. “Now I’m done, you big brute.”

“I must admit, pet, that fiery side of yours is a huge turn on, so feel free to expose the claws more often.” His smirk widens, and I huff “ bastard” under my breath.

“Now, now, I may be a bastard, but at least you understand where we stand.” Goddess, he is right about that . Fury pushes all of my buttons, but I don’t feel the need to hide from him in any way. It is disconcerting.

“As I was trying to say,” he continues with his wide, shit-eating grin that I want to slap off his face again.

Instead, I interrupt, “If it wasn’t for Saff’s egg—that you seem to be holding hostage—I would throttle your overgrown neck, you pretentious dickwad.”

“Well, you are definitely a wild one this turn, my pet.” He strokes my cheek, and I flinch. “Don’t tell me you don’t feel what I feel,” he whispers in my ear.

Breathing in deeply, he continues, “Delicious.”

I feel what he is talking about, but I am choosing to ignore how my fighting Fury has somehow resulted in a slight leak from my lower half. The liquid drips down my inner thigh, and I clench my legs as tightly as I can to get a hold of my traitorous body.

Going to whack Fury another time for good measure, he loosens one of his arms from around my waist and catches the offending hand before it contacts his infuriatingly appealing face. Placing the hand behind my back, he goes for the other one, and I succumb to his manipulations. He is obviously going to say what he is going to say, and even though I may not want to do it, I don’t really have a choice. This male pinning me to his body is my only way out of this mess.

“As I was saying…” I give him my best “don’t fuck with me” stare, and he chuckles. Feeling the up-and-down movement of his chest causes my breasts to rub through the silk. “I have a plan, and it requires Gideon’s and your cooperation. Gideon has agreed to my terms. I only hope you find this a suitable transaction for yourself.” At least this time, he isn’t talking about bondings. I already have one of those, and that is already one too many.

“You have something I want. Something I need a bit of help with. And that’s not easy for me to admit, Dove.” He is using my name . He must be getting serious .

I continue my death glare. “I need you and Gideon to find the other parts of the key.” My brow ruffles at his use of the word “key” again. I have no idea what this key he keeps referring to is.

“You see, I am stuck on this island, my prison, by the other Gods of this land. And in all her joviality, Oona left a key with multiple parts that can release me. She only left these parts knowing there is less than a one percent chance of any of them finding their way to my door. Especially with my powers significantly lowered in this physical plane. But here you are, my chance. My once-in-a-lifetime shot. And I’m not giving it up.” I swear, I hear the words,“ not giving you up ”as he stares deeply into my eyes, not a single ounce of trepidation in his voice.

“What do you mean by key?” I reply sceptically. Can I even believe this daemon?

Releasing one of his hands from around my waist, he continues to hold me pinned to his body while his free hand traces over my scar, starting from just under my ear and circling down to my throat, where he lingers. My body involuntarily pushes into him.

Even though everything about this male is cold and calculating, my body seems to trust him in a way my mind does not. “Behind this tantalising piece of skin holds a song, sung by Oona’s people. After all, the best clues are hidden in plain sight, are they not?”

The question throws me, and I angle my head, causing his touch to fall down my chest.

“Mmm,” Fury dips his head to brush against my forehead and angles his eyes downward, having a perfect view of my cleavage.

“Excuse you,” I wiggle around in his hold.

Giving off a lush chuckle, Fury eyes me again, black pools meeting green fire. “Shall I tell you the next time I wish to appreciate your beauty? Because I must warn you that it will become quite tiresome for you.”

Snorting, I push my chest out. “And why would that be?”

Leaning his head down, soft lips touch the arch of my ear, leaving tingles to run down my spine, all the way to the maddening wetness continuing to drip from my core. “Because, my dear sweet pet, you are the only thing worth gazing upon on this godforsaken planet. And I will take my fill frequently.”

At his hushed, velvety tone, my figure melts further into his. Traitor, I internally berate my body. Fury is not good for you. He will chew you up and spit you out. Plus, his words are not true. From the moment I stepped into the one Goddess’s temple as a child, I knew I was not as perfect as the priestesses. They have beauty with their flawless skin, tall, lithe figures and full breasts.

I used to look at those priestesses with their perfect bodies and pray the Goddess would at least give me a figure that could be desired. Especially desired by a certain prince. However, the priestesses food scraps and hard labour do not produce the makings of beauty. I still hold some hope for my body that some turn, my bones will no longer poke out from my sides.

And now I have this ethereal being spouting out declarations of my beauty. I want to hide.

My body loves the attention. Goddess, it craves it. It has been starved for affection for most of its life, but my mind… Fuck, my mind is a wreck.

It shuts down.

I shut down.

“Put me down, Fury.” My pained whisper echoes around us.

As if sensing the change in my mood, he does just that, and once my feet are firmly on the ground, he takes a wide step back. “Contrary to my brash behaviour, I do not wish to hurt you, Dove.”

The use of my name again startles me, and I look up. “What were you saying about the song?”

Giving me a long, hard stare, Fury continues his earlier story. “You see, Oona and the others thought it would be quite funny to provide a way to get off this island through the means of the bloodlines they created. Oona and the other Gods, Oriel and Osear.”

“And why is it so funny?” I ask.

“Because it requires all three bloodlines to grace my shores at the exact same time and sing her song.” He stretches his arms out wide. “Do you see any other people living here?” I answer with a no. “If I cannot leave the island and no one else is here, how am I to get three bloodline heirs to this island?”

I see his point. “Sounds like that’s one hell of a joke.”

“Oona acts like she is the purest of them all, but deep down, her heart is as dark as the rest of us.” A frenzy washes over his face. Fury does not like the Goddess, but truthfully, I cannot blame him if she and the other Gods locked him up here.

“But why did they leave you here?”

The laugh spirals upwards from the murky depths of Fury’s heart. “I did not love her the way she wanted me to.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Life doesn’t make sense, pet. You know that especially the life of a God.” He is right. I do know that. Out of all the people within this plain of existence, I know that. Life has landed me blow after blow, and most of the time, I feel like I am drowning. The only thing that has held me together for so long is the voice in my head and the creature in my heart.

Not willing to take all this information at face value, I ask, “What’s your plan, then? What do you need from me?”

Forgetting our distance, Fury strides forward in his leather pants, smooth chest in full view. I close my eyes to collect my peace as he begins to speak.

“You see, I have a deal for you. You give me a little something, and I give you a little something.” His jovial voice adds lightness to the atmosphere.

Regardless of his proposition, I must take it. Leaving Saff’s egg behind is not an option, and if he can help me wipe out the king, I will give this daemon anything he wants—including myself.