Page 17 of The Last Wish (Lost Legacy #1)
CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN
SHEENA
W hen we near the gargoyle statue, I remember Gideon’s silly impersonation and some of my stress from dinner melts away. My lips tick up in amusement as I spot the claw mark he accidentally left behind while trying to make me laugh. I shed layers of tension with each step I take.
I must not be the only one because as soon as we cross into the winding corridor, Callum tugs me away from Gideon and into his arms. He kisses me with desperation, his tongue slipping in and dominating my mouth like he can’t help himself. There’s a new urgency in the way he holds me as though the things we’ve learned have shaken his control.
“It’s okay,” I whisper, trying to reassure him between kisses. He groans in my mouth, clinging to me tightly. Gideon crowds my back, dropping a warm kiss to my exposed neck.
“This is really fucking hot, but can we do it back in my room?” Gideon grumbles in my ear. “I still feel like that creepy statue is watching us.”
I look over my shoulder. Even though the gargoyle is out of sight now, I do feel something. I chuckle, a little unnerved, then put my imagination to better use.
With one hand still buried in Callum’s dark hair, I stretch my other arm up, winding it around Gideon’s neck, and arch back to whisper in his ear. “Better hurry and take me back to your room before it comes alive and you have to protect my virtue from a hungry demon.”
My words impact him exactly how I hoped. Gideon’s brown eyes melt into a rich gold, shining in the dark hallway. I push my lower body further into Callum, who is holding me so tightly I can feel exactly how excited he is. After years of haunting loneliness, seeing them burn for me thaws some of the ice around my heart.
“You don’t get to leave us,” Callum hisses, speaking for the first time since we left dinner. His words are raw and ragged.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I reassure him, feeling a sting of regret over how my flight down the mountain damaged our fragile trust.
“That’s not what I mean,” Callum says, shaking his head. He presses his forehead against mine. “You don’t get to die. No wasting away, no slit throats or cages. If your magic starts to drain you, I’ll tie you to the bed and feed you my blood for the rest of time.”
Callum presses another kiss to my mouth, swallowing my gasp.
“Unfortunately, that will make you unbearably horny, so Gideon will have to fuck you nonstop.”
I groan and chase his mouth.
“As far as backup plans go, I’m a big fan,” Gideon says, chuckling. “But let’s try to actually get our hands on one of these talisman things before we commit to a lifetime of kinky hospice care.”
Callum and I grimace.
“Kinky hospice care?” I snicker. “That’s the least sexy way you could have described that.”
“Yeah, I hope all your dirty talk isn’t that bad.” Callum frowns up at him.
Gideon bends down to rest his chin on top of my head and looks directly into Callum’s dark, bottomless eyes. “If you help me get our girl out of this creepy hallway right now, you can grade my dirty talk firsthand.”
I don’t even have time to blink before Callum swings me up onto his back and takes off. He’s moving so quickly I’m forced to hang on for dear life. I grab his shoulders to steady myself as Callum twists around a corner. His fingers grip the bottom of my thighs, tugging my legs forward. I take the hint and lock my legs around his waist.
When I look back to make sure Gideon is behind us, his eyes are glowing like beacons in the dark.
“Is he watching you?” Callum asks, panting slightly as he slows to a jog.
“He’s watching us,” I correct him. Instead of going in for the quick kill, Gideon is leisurely stalking his prey with the confidence of a seasoned hunter.
Callum chuckles. The sound is dark and raspy; it tickles the sensitive hollows of my skin.
Homey living room furniture passes in a blur, and I find myself in an unfamiliar room that smells like Gideon. I don’t get much of a chance to take it in before Callum tosses me unceremoniously on top of a massive four-poster bed. He follows me down on the plush mattress, sliding his knee between my legs and grinding it against me with delicious friction. Moonlight from the big bay window bathes us in a moody grayscale.
When the door closes with a click and Gideon prowls toward the bed, I moan. He’s never looked so feral.
Gideon’s molten eyes slide over my body, stopping when he gets to where Callum is laying between my legs. For a minute, I worry he’s mad. He’s seen us fool around before, but not since all the mate stuff was out in the open. I know he said it was okay, but what if?—
“Taste her,” Gideon demands.
Callum grins and reaches for my shirt, but he waits to take it off until I nod my consent. Gideon stops at the foot of the bed, leaning against the post and hovering over us both where we lay sprawled together.
“I want to see her come apart on your tongue,” Gideon says.
“I can make that happen,” Callum assures him.
He slides my pants down, taking my underwear right along with them. My pulse races with excitement. If the fae is right, I might be dying, but at least I’m making the memories of a lifetime on my way out.
Callum parts my legs slowly, unmasked delight on his face as he looks over my naked body. I know he’s feeding on my lust, but seeing his hunger and desire for me makes me feel like a goddess. I’m so turned on I can’t even think about the fact that I’m spread out naked like a buffet in front of two men.
I don’t want to miss a second of this.
I watch with rapt attention as Callum reaches for me. He rubs his thumb from my entrance to my clit, spreading my wetness all around before slipping one, then two fingers inside me, giving me time to adjust to the stretch. With no fumbling or guesswork, he curls them confidently, finding that spot I can never seem to reach on my own.
Callum pumps his fingers in and out at a languid, rhythmic pace, adding his tongue to the mix and bringing me to the breaking point in less than a minute. Before I can hurdle over the edge, he stops. I brace myself on my elbows. I’m preparing to voice my frustration when I see Callum offer his fingers, shiny with my arousal, to Gideon.
“I thought you might want a taste,” he says, a devious glint in his eyes. Gideon doesn’t hesitate, grabbing his best friend’s wrist and bringing both of Callum’s fingers into his mouth. He sucks them thoroughly, growling low in his throat as he licks them clean.
When Gideon releases his wrist, Callum turns his frenzied eyes on me.
I’m in for a ride.
He dives down again, sucking and licking enthusiastically, until I’m squirming in his grip, reaching for release. Then he changes up his moves. Again and again this happens. Every time I’m about to come, Callum eases me back from the edge. By the time I realize he’s doing it on purpose, I’m desperate and frustrated, my hands fisted in his hair. When I buck my hips to get some relief, he stops completely, looking up at me from where he’s laying between my legs.
“Remember, sweetheart, I can feel your lust.” Callum kisses my thigh. “I can keep you hanging here all night if I want to.” It’s a threat if I’ve ever heard one. My hands clench viciously in his hair. He just chuckles. “If you want to come on my face, you’re going to have to be good for us.”
“Lay still, baby,” Gideon purrs. “We’ll give you what you want.”
The moment I look up at Gideon’s handsome face, Callum slides back into position. At the first swipe of his tongue, I flinch. I’m so sensitive. I don’t know if I can handle any more teasing. Callum backs off, bringing me right back to the edge while avoiding any direct, over stimulating contact. When I’m floating once again, Gideon kisses my mouth softly. At the same time, Callum sucks my clit into his mouth. Hard.
I go off like a rocket. Writhing and screaming on the bed, I’m shocked to realize tears are streaming down my face.
I try to sit up. I feel boneless, but I’m eager to touch them.
“Not tonight.” Gideon joins us on the bed and gathers me in his arms. He drops three kisses to the sensitive skin behind my ear.
“Are you okay?” Callum asks. He looks like a fallen angel hovering over me in the moonlight. He just conducted my body like an orchestra, but now he’s clearly worried he took it too far.
“C’mere,” I whisper, pulling him down to lie against my other side. “That was...” I kiss his cheek. “Life altering.”
I feel him exhale and relax against my rapidly cooling body.
“That wasn’t the only life altering event of the night,” Gideon grunts. “Some of the stuff Idris said...”
“Ah, I get it now.” I yawn, fighting sleep. My eyelids feel heavy. “That was my ‘I’m sorry about the extinction and death diagnosis’ orgasm.” Both of their bodies shake with laughter, and I feel safe and warm sandwiched between them.
“That was really dark, Sheena,” Callum hums. “I feel like we should probably unpack that.”
“Tomorrow. After I return the favor,” I say, my eyes drifting shut.
“Deal,” he agrees.
I fall asleep to the warm rumble of their voices.
CALLUM
I revel in the way Sheena’s body presses against mine, our legs tangling together beneath the sheets. I feel each of her deep, even breaths as she sleeps. Each puff is proof of life.
She’s the last of her kind.
Hunted to extinction.
Living on borrowed time.
Despite all the body heat in this bed, a shiver runs through me. The legacy of the djinn is proof the supernatural world can be brutal. We may all look mostly human, but when you mix greed and magic with animal instincts and brutality—well, what happened to the djinn isn’t the only horror story lurking in our history.
I won’t let her story end in blood... How can I save her?
Her hair is spread across my pillow as she lays here, perfectly peaceful despite the magical kill code embedded in her DNA. Sheena has been forced to carve out a life in a world that wants her controlled or eliminated. My ribs constrict as my brain provides an endless supply of horrible what if scenarios.
How can I help her when I can’t even make my family love me?
Watching my parents through her eyes tonight was painful. From my mother talking down to the staff to my father’s scheming, Sheena took it all in, peeling back the numbness I’ve sheltered behind for a decade.
Shame clogs my throat, making it hard for me to lay still.
“Deep breaths,” Gideon whispers. I turn my head and find him watching me with concern.
“I’m fine,” I protest. We both know it’s a lie.
“Talk to me,” he urges. “It sounds like your heart is trying to escape your chest.”
“I’m scared.” I look at the woman between us. “What if I can’t keep her safe? What if I’m not enough?”
“Enough to protect her or enough to make her happy?”
“I don’t know. Is there a difference?”
“Yeah, Callum, there is. Sheena is not your parents. You don’t need to be different for her to care about you.” His words hit me hard. They aren’t enough to heal the wound, but they stop the bleeding for now.
When I sigh, the sound is heavy.
“You know how they’re ashamed of me?” I ask. Gideon dips his chin, but I can’t look at him anymore, so I focus instead on the shadows the moonlight casts across the ceiling. “Tonight, I was ashamed of them for a change.”
There’s a beat of silence as he considers that.
“You don’t want her to think you’re like them,” he says. It’s not a question, but I nod anyway. Gideon groans. “Only an idiot would think you’re anything like them, and our girl is smart.” I look back at him then, needing to see the conviction behind what he’s saying as well.
“Do you feel better now?” Gideon asks.
I nod without thinking. After a pause, I realize it’s actually true. My breathing is steadier, and the pressure in my chest has eased up.
“Good, I’m glad,” Gideon says. “But I’m pissed at you now.”
“What the fuck for?” I whisper-yell, propping myself up on one elbow to see him more clearly.
“For saying ‘I’ so godsdamn much. We keep her safe. We keep her happy. We are a team.” Gideon’s eyes glitter in the darkness. “No matter what anyone’s parents say, no matter how many libraries we have to tear apart for answers, and no matter how many fae fuckers lust after our girl.”
“I knew he was checking her out,” I hiss, lowering my voice when Sheena stirs between us.
“Yeah, he was.” Gideon’s tone is dark. “We can’t kill him either. Even if we could pull it off, it would be too messy.”
“Typical. I was over here about to have a panic attack while you were plotting the murder of an ally.” I chuckle softly. “Although we could stage an accident. They are doing construction on his wing.”
“We don’t have time to organize that.” Gideon groans, looking up at the ceiling. “We’ve got to find the silly talisman thing, and I’m a slow reader. Plus, fae anarchy would be a political disaster.”
He’s right about that. The folk are notoriously tricky. Idris himself says they don’t trust anyone, and it’s a miracle he keeps them as reined in as he does.
“Do you think he was telling the truth?” Gideon asks.
I consider how Idris crashed dinner and stared at Sheena. What an asshole.
“Some of the truth, yes,” I admit. “The whole truth, hell no. He’s either holding information back or he has some other motive.”
“So we’re on the same page—trust only each other?”
“Like always,” I agree.
Gideon reaches over Sheena, and I grip his hand in mine. The movement triggers an instant replay in my mind of the moment he tasted Sheena on my fingers. Godsdammit... now is hardly the time to be thinking about that.
“For the record, I’m scared too,” Gideon whispers, his voice a deep rumble.
I squeeze his hand a little tighter.
When I wake up, the sun is shining through the window, and I feel better. Gideon’s hand is still loosely clasped in mine, resting in the dip above Sheena’s hips.
“Are you two holding hands?”
I turn my head and see her green eyes sparkling with mischief.
“Is that a problem?” My question surprises me, but Sheena doesn’t miss a beat.
“Not for me.” She grins, batting her eyelashes at me. “I think it’s super adorable.”
“We aren’t adorable,” Gideon grumbles. “We are sexy, strong, powerful.”
Sheena giggles but doesn’t agree with him. To get her back, Gideon tightens his hold on my hand and scoots up against her, rubbing his stubble against the sensitive skin of her neck. She shrieks with laughter, wiggling away from him.
“Take it back,” Gideon demands, blowing a raspberry against her neck.
“Never.” Sheena barely gets the word out as she buries her face in my chest.
Their laughter echoes around the room, and my heart swells. If I could wake up to this sound for the rest of my life, I’d do anything to make that happen. I’m so consumed by the thought that I lose my grip on my powers. Not much leaks out, but it’s enough to raise the temperature in the room and make both of them pant.
“Fuck, Callum,” Gideon groans, eyes flashing to gold.
“Sorry, it just slipped out,” I say, unable to focus. The sight of Sheena’s pebbled nipple, exposed now because of Gideon’s tickling, has me mesmerized.
“Don’t be.” Sheena’s voice is husky.
She shifts deliberately, knocking the sheet to her waist. Like a man in a trance, I reach for the nipple closest to me while Gideon does the same on his side, gently rolling it between his fingers. Sheena’s eyes drift closed and her lips part, her breath coming out ragged.
“Do you think we could make you come just like this?” I pinch the tip sharply, loving the way her back arches, bringing her even closer to my hand. “Look at me, Sheena.”
“Callum,” she moans, then meets my eyes.
“Yes, sweetheart.”
“Do you remember when you said you wouldn’t use your powers on me unless I asked for it?”
Immediately, I release her nipple and pull back, horrified. “Of course.” My voice is stiff. “I’m so sorry. I promise, I didn’t mean to.”
“No, shit, that’s not what I meant.” She cradles my jaw in her hand. “I’m asking... Right now.” A blush appears on her cheeks.
I pray to every god I can think of that she really means what I think she means. Still, I’ve got to be sure. “Asking for what, exactly?”
Her blush spreads, coloring her pale cheeks and neck a beautiful, kissable pink. She runs her thumb over my bottom lip, and I can sense how much she wants me.
It’s addictive.
“Use your magic on me, please, Callum.” The green of her eyes morphs to purple. “I want to feel what it’s like.”
I try not to freak out. I’ve never done this with anyone before, but I can’t deny how much I want to. No matter what, I’m determined to make it good for her.
Returning my now shaking hand to her breast, I use my powers to gradually ratchet up her sensitivity. When I brush my finger over the tip, she shudders.
“If you want me to stop at any point, just tell me,” I insist. She moans, nodding her head enthusiastically.
Her pleasure rushes into me, a loop of lust that takes us both apart bit by bit. Gritting my teeth, I feed her more and watch her writhe.
“Close your eyes,” I rasp the words, and her eyelids flutter. “I bet you’re dripping wet, clenching around nothing, desperate to be filled.”
My powers take shape as shadows, a few degrees colder than the air around us. I make them dance across her body, watching her skin pebble in waves as my shadows discover new patches of unexplored skin. When I feel her hovering on the edge, I send the shadows to each nipple and push liquid heat into herhard.
“Come for me, now,” I demand.
Her body obeys. Sheena bows under the force of the pleasure, wailing. Gideon swallows her cries with a deep kiss to keep her from waking the entire compound.
I don’t give her a chance to come down. She’s still riding the aftershocks of the orgasm when my shadows dip into the sensitive hollows behind her knees, brushing slow trails up her soft inner thighs. I stop them an inch away from her pussy and watch her face as she pants.
Gideon yanks the sheet off of all of us so he can see.
In chasing her pleasure, Sheena loses all inhibition. When I dip my shadows inside her, she draws both knees up, spreading herself open as wide as possible. Gods above and below, she’s fucking perfect. Her trust, her passion... I could feed my incubus for years with memories of this moment alone.
Sheena’s hips rock into my magic hungrily. Gideon groans as he watches her, licking his lips and clenching his jaw until something in him snaps. When he wraps his big hand around his thick cock, I feel his arousal sizzling against my skin. Overcome by the tsunami of lust I’m riding, I bring another shadow to life, letting it stroke up Gideon’s thigh, pausing in an obvious question.
He looks over at me. His golden gaze is liquid with lust, but I don’t see any worry or hesitation. He nods, letting his hand fall away from his length, and for once, I don’t let myself overthink things. I direct the new shadow to wrap itself around his dick, pumping and vibrating it in time with the shadows inside of Sheena.
“Oh fuck, Callum,” Gideon moans my name.
Sheena’s molten purple eyes shoot open. As soon as she makes sense of what she’s seeing, I feel her gush around my shadows. If any blood was still circulating in my body, it abandons that mission now and rushes to my hard cock instead.
“You like that, Sheena?” I double the pace inside her. “Seeing Gideon at my mercy... just like you?”
Sheena whimpers, Gideon hisses, and a rush of power floods my body. Before I know it, I’m trembling right alongside them. I’m used to absorbing lust in trickles here and there, so the deluge I’m feeling right now is overwhelming. I’m on fire with it, hovering on the edge of total ecstasy.
When Sheena slides her hand into my boxer briefs and curls it around me, I know I won’t last. But I’m determined not to come before her, so I ratchet my power up another notch and let it grow into a steady crescendo before I slam them both with a sharp surge.
They aren’t expecting it and both of them explode. Absorbing the pleasure of their orgasms sends me hurtling over the edge so hard I see spots. It’s like nothing I’ve ever felt before.
For several minutes, the only sound in the room is our combined heavy breathing. Sheena lets her legs fall back flat against the mattress, wincing at the soggy aftermath she encounters on the sheets. Gideon chuckles and kisses her cheek.
“Dude. That was insane,” he says, looking at me with a dimpled grin. He inspects our hands one at a time, and then laughs out loud.
“What’s so funny?” I ask, shocked by how hoarse I am.
“It’s just—our hands are completely clean, but we’re laying in the biggest wet spot of all time.” I shake my head, and Sheena turns cherry red, burying her face in my chest.
“Did you like it?” I ask, feeling a surge of worry.
What if it wasn’t as good for her as it seemed ? She might never want to give up control like that again.
“It was incredible,” Sheena says, smiling against my skin. “The only way it could have been better was if you were actually inside of me.”
My confidence comes roaring back, and I puff out my chest.
“Oh, I will be, sweetheart,” I tell her. “I intend to fuck you every way I can think of for the next century or so. When I run out of ideas, I’ll start over and try them all again.”
She shivers, a drop of sweat dripping from her temple down to my chest. I nudge her chin up and press a gentle kiss to her lips.
“Sheena, I will have all of you, and you’ll have all of me, but the first time won’t be while I’m using my powers or with an audience,” I reassure her, and she smiles.
“Aw. That was sweet, man, but I don’t like being called an audience,” Gideon complains. “I may not have been headlining the show, but I was at least part of the band.”
Climbing out of the soggy bed, we continue to laugh and joke as we strip the linens off. Sheena is deeply disturbed by the idea of anyone on the staff finding out what we’ve been up to. Neither Gideon nor I have the heart to tell her they definitely already know. Even if she wasn’t incredibly loud, everyone in the place has supernatural hearing. I don’t want her to be embarrassed, so I keep my mouth shut and toss the sheets into the hamper.
I follow her and Gideon into his big bathroom. Gideon heads to the walk-in shower, its frosted glass doing little to block our view of his tight ass. Sheena and I take up spots at the counter and begin our own morning routine.
After a few minutes, Sheena pauses while brushing her teeth and makes eye contact with me in the bathroom mirror. “We have to talk about it,” she says.
“Talk about what?” Gideon asks.
I laugh at her exasperated look. “With all the shit going on, you could literally mean like seventeen different things.” I drag my razor down my jaw, being careful not to knick the skin.
“I mean,” Sheena starts, rolling her eyes at me. “Are we staying here or going home?”
I’m so delighted to hear her refer to the cabin as home I can’t even get worked up about an extended stay at the compound.
“It’s definitely safer here,” I admit. “It’s practically a fortress.”
I finish up the right side of my face and start in on the left. Gideon steps out of the shower, wandering naked around the room in search of a towel.
“I would rather go home too, baby, but honestly, story time with Mallory freaked me out,” Gideon says. He towels off his hair, then wraps the cloth around his waist. “I don’t want you to end up with your throat cut in some ditch.”
“Fuck, dude.” I splash my face with water, hurriedly rinsing the shaving cream off so I can check on Sheena. I’m relieved to see she isn’t upset by his bluntness.
“Yeah, I would like to avoid wasting away, slaughter, and captivity.” Sheena’s words are garbled by toothpaste as she ticks through the grisly options on her fingers. Once she's done, she spits into the sink.
The ease at which we’re playing house with her should be weird, but it feels completely natural. I like this.
“Maybe we play it by ear and see how today goes,” I say. Sheena glances at me then, worry in her eyes. I know why she’s concerned. “Don’t worry about me,” I assure her. “I survived living with my parents for sixteen years just fine, and it would be nice to spend some time with Joshua and Sarah.”
I don’t mention my brother and neither does she, but I can tell she wants to bring him up. If Sheena had her way, we’d be hugging it out in no time. It’s unlikely as hell, but who am I to crush her dreams?
“Okay, so what are we going to do today?” She scrapes her hair back into a high ponytail and secures it with a black band.
“I was thinking we could have a supernatural boot camp and teach you some self-defense, since you’re new to all of this.” I broach the topic carefully, unsure how she’ll react.
“That sounds like a great idea.” Sheena’s face lights up in excitement. She drops into a boxing stance and holds up her fists. “I’m picturing a movie fight montage, except more awesome.” She throws a jab, followed by a cross and a hook. I crowd her against the counter, sparring playfully with her.
Sheena and I are still going at it when Gideon’s phone goes off. He saunters into the bedroom to get it, and I don’t think anything of it until his ferocious growl rattles the door frame. Sheena and I rush in and find Gideon staring at the screen, trembling with rage.
“What’s wrong?” I demand.
Instead of answering, Gideon angles the phone to show us both. Through our security app, we watch live as a masked figure ransacks our kitchen. The cheap skull mask is familiar. It looks just like the ones we found on the traffickers at the barn. To the side, I notice Sheena’s worn duffle bag. I searched high and low for it in the woods the day after she ran, but couldn’t find it anywhere. Now I know why, and I don’t like it one bit.
Who the fuck is this, and how did he find our house?
Sheena shudders and covers her mouth with one hand. Gideon shoves the phone into my chest, rushing over to wrap her in his arms. It’s only then that I notice she’s completely frozen. That’s not good. She can’t shut down—not now, not ever. If she can’t overcome this fear response, it could get her killed.
“Do you recognize this guy?” I ask.
I hold the phone where she can see it, ignoring Gideon’s glare. The masked fucker looks directly at the camera. His eyes glow yellow. Sheena takes half a step back and blinks a couple of times, then nods slowly, her eyes fixed on the tiny screen.
“I can’t be sure. I never saw his face, but I think he’s the guy who took me,” she says, her eyes wide and glassy. “Over the years, his guys have come close to catching me again. I don’t understand how they keep finding me. Gideon, that’s my bag. He must have been in the woods that night?—”
“He can’t get to you here, baby.” Gideon tightens his arms around her, and she nods woodenly.
I harden my heart and focus on what needs to be done. The time for playing things by ear has passed.
IDRIS
I need to decide which side I’m on. Her existence alters the status quo. Sitting at my desk, I drum my fingers on the polished cedar as I consider my options. The little djinn seems moderately stable for now, but without a talisman, she could deteriorate at any moment.
Something heavy hits the floor above me. The whine of drilling starts up again, snagging the threads of my thoughts into a hopelessly mangled snarl.
Insufferable construction.
It can’t be helped, I suppose. The alternative is to live indefinitely in this lifeless, stone mausoleum. But the volume of these improvements is grating in the extreme.
Studying the thick walls, I feel them closing in around me. Would it be too much to ask for a window or two? If the djinn harnesses her powers, she could bring light to this wing with a snap of her delicate fingers.
I close my eyes and imagine the large glass panels I would wish for.
The eastern windows would overlook a lush, garden paradise to watch the sun rise each morning. A riot of wildflowers grows nearby, guarded by honeybees and worshiped by exotic, dancing butterflies. Mother nature’s divine magic nurtures her children’s growth, blanketing my oasis in a thick carpet of grass. The sunshine is warm. The breeze is cool. The babbling brook sings a melodic song as I lay the djinn down on its banks and make love to her until the sun sets.
My eyes snap open and the vivid images fade to mist.
These thoughts are dangerous. My attraction—useless. I have displaced fae to lead and protect in this realm. They choose each day to follow me and pursue a future as a diaspora, instead of fighting over the bloody remnants of our homeland. I owe the folk my fealty, not some diminutive djinn.
If I can use her in my plans, that’s fine, marvelous even. If not, well, the best course of action may be to eliminate her entirely. My conscience stirs from its long hibernation, disgusted by the idea. But I bury it. Much like I did the full extent of my knowledge of her kind last night.
Human lore—while fascinating—rarely portrays supernaturals accurately, and in many ways, djinn are just like any other enhanced species. Far from omnipotent, they have strengths and weaknesses just like the rest of us. According to legend, some djinn could birth civilizations, but many were limited to only granting wishes amounting to mere parlor tricks.
Until I know which category she falls into, it’s too soon to play my hand. All I know for certain is that I cannot allow myself to become another of the besotted fools following in her wake.
A blood-curdling scream echoes through the thick walls of this fortress.
I jump to my feet, sprinting toward the courtyard where the wailing and shouting increases in volume the closer I get. Are we under attack?
When I skid to a stop by the space used for training and sparring, I’m confused by what I see. The djinn is clinging to the big shifter, weeping without restraint as she holds her hands over his throat. She’s not choking him. Rather, it looks as if she’s trying to staunch the flow of blood.
It’s an action I’ve seen a thousand times during battle triage. But there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with Joshua’s heir, besides his inability to comfort a distressed female. The buffoon grows increasingly frantic as he tries and fails to soothe her. As for the djinn, she seems to be trapped in a waking... nightmare.
“Ciprian, turn it off. Right fucking now.” The shifter roars at the mouthy, blonde demon. “Her heart rate is way too high.”
“Shit, I’m sorry.” The nightmare is almost as devoid of color as the djinn. “Callum said to show her some stuff so she could practice mental walls. I just went with it. I didn’t realize she’d take it so hard.”
He stops the illusion, but the djinn continues to search for an imaginary wound.
“Blood. There was so much blood,” she hiccups. “Gideon, your throat—it was torn out. I couldn’t hold the blood in.” She pats at the shifter’s unblemished neck in confusion.
“I’m fine, baby,” he tells her, his voice surprisingly gentle. “It was just an illusion. Ciprian was trying to see if you could force him out of your mind.”
“You’re okay?” She asks, the cloud of fear fading from her eyes.
“Yes, I’m healthy as a horse. I can turn into one and you can ride me around if you want more proof.” He presses a kiss to her forehead, and she cracks a small smile, combing her fingers through his hair in a gesture so tender it makes even my heart ache.
“Weird kink, but okay, man.”
I wince as the nightmare demon chooses that moment to open his mouth. The little djinn doesn’t take it well either, her head snapping in his direction like a whip. She leaves the shifter sitting on the ground, stomping over to the blonde. He raises his hands to ward her off.
“Sheena, I’m really sorry. I took it too far,” he admits, but she’s not listening.
Her eyes are a luminescent purple as she glares at him, and I’m not sure who is more stunned when she hauls back and slaps him in the face.
“You ripped out his throat,” she screams. Her hands are shaking and several strands of her long dark hair begin to float. “You made me stand by and watch my mate bleed out with no warning. For what, Ciprian?”
Her mate? Surely she’s talking about the silly human concept of soul mates and not referencing the matchmaking machinations of the gods.
“I thought you weren’t telling people about the mate thing yet,” the demon whispers. He glances around nervously at the audience that formed after hearing the yelling.
Rightly so. It’s incredibly foolish to speak so openly about information that could be used against you.
The djinn’s hair falls back down around her shoulders. Her bottom lip trembles as she realizes they are no longer alone. She looks back at the shifter.
“It’s okay. I don’t care if everyone knows,” he reassures her. It’s a gallant but foolish thing to do in the face of a bombshell of this magnitude. “Everyone, go away,” he snaps at the bystanders. “There’s nothing to see here.”
His demanding tone is enough to scare people off. Instead of following suit, I cast a glamour that shows me walking away with the rest of the crowd, and then I turn myself as close to invisible as I can get. I bide my time, eager to see how this plays out.
“I’m really and truly sorry, Sheena. Callum said to check your mental barriers.” The nightmare demon rushes to explain. His pale cheek burns red from her slap. “I should have talked with you first, but I was hung over. I just went with the first thing I thought of.”
“Callum told you to do this to me?” Her face falls.
“I’m sure he didn’t mean for Ciprian to show you... that.” The shifter puts his hand on her shoulder. He’s quick to back up his friend, but the djinn isn’t having it.
“Don’t protect him from this,” she snaps and turns back to the demon. “What exactly did he say to you, Ciprian?”
The troublemaker looks uncharacteristically miserable—torn, no doubt, between throwing his brother to the wolves and covering for him.
“I’m really not sure I remember. I hadn’t finished my coffee yet.”
He avoids eye contact, and the djinn taps her foot impatiently.
“It was something like ‘we’re working on Sheena’s self-defense skills. Make yourself useful and show her something to block.’” He takes a step toward her, arms outstretched. “Bestie, I apologize. It was a misunderstanding, a mistake.”
“You know, I’m new to the whole adult friend thing,” she says, considering him. “But whenever I imagined my future best friend, they were someone who’d watch my back, not attack my mind.”
The blonde’s face crumbles, but he doesn’t argue. When the shifter reaches for the djinn again, she takes a step back.
“Look, I just need a minute. This kind of thing may be normal to you two, but I just watched you die.” Her voice cracks. “I know this world is brutal and maybe I’m naive and useless, but surely there are better ways to teach me than whatever that was.”
She takes one last look at the training ground then strides off, her spine rigid.
“I’m such a fuck up.” The demon moans, his shoulders slumping as she leaves. “Everyone else already thought so. Now she does too.”
“It’s not just you she’s upset with. And she’s got a point,” the shifter says, scraping a hand over his face. “If you’d shown me that, I would have been freaked out at first, but I would’ve known pretty quickly it wasn’t real. Did she even know you could do that?”
The demon thinks for a moment, then shakes his head with a grimace. “I guess I never mentioned it. I just kind of assumed she knew.”
“Ciprian, I heard your conversation this morning. Callum told you to scare her and see what happened. You could have blamed it on him when she asked.”
“Yeah, sure, so you could tell him I’m a snitch the first chance you get? I already fucked up one relationship beyond repair today. I didn’t want to make it two instead,” he spits the words, then storms off.
I watch the shifter curse and kick a rock across the courtyard. It pings off something metal in the distance.
“I know you’re there,” he says, flaring his nostrils. “I can smell you, fae.”
Damnation. I hadn’t considered that.
I remove my glamour and shrug. “You can hardly blame me for my curiosity,” I murmur. “And you must admit the training grounds are an odd place to hold an expectation of privacy.”
My words earn a glare in response, but he hasn’t tried to take my head off yet, which is mildly surprising given his reputation.
“I assume you’ve got some opinions,” he says.
I raise my brow. While I have many thoughts about what I just witnessed, I’m shocked he’s asking what they are. This opening is too tempting to resist.
“Are you asking for my advice?”
“Get fucked,” he growls. “I don’t know why I even bothered?—”
“You’re all actually correct,” I say, before I can think better of it.
“We can’t all be right. What kind of candy-ass, fairy bullshit is that?” He takes a menacing step toward me, but I refuse to be cowed by his brutish intimidation tactics.
“I’m not avoiding your question. I’m saying you’re all correct. The djinn will need to toughen up if she has any hope of survival. As for the rest of you—you cannot simply treat her like you would each other. She’s missing a lifetime of background information. You’re going to have to communicate.”
“My specialty,” he groans, staring at the sky. I wonder which god he’s bringing his case to, or if he even bothers with the old ways.
“I would think a fated mate bond would make it easier.” I prod for details.
“Keep your mouth shut about that,” he snarls.
I nod. The look on his face is genuinely terrifying. I’ve pushed my luck far enough for today. I have no need to share the information right now anyway. Part of me is even rooting for them.
“The road ahead will be fraught,” I warn him. “If you want to keep her, you can never forget that.”
“Thanks for the advice,” he says, lowering his voice. “I’ll give you some as well: Sheena is taken. Remember that.”
His eyes flair golden, but he doesn’t attack. I smile at the familiarity of male posturing. It’s the same no matter what realm you’re in. Instead of responding to his threat, I dip my chin and return to my wing.
Gideon can have the last word for now.