“Or! And hear me out here… You all swear your allegiance, and we promise to kill you all fast, instead of feeding on you slowly, over the course of millennia,” Emilian retorted with a grin.
“Or my friends and I just walk out of here and let the outsiders get their hands on the swamp witch. Seeing how inclined you Maras are toward arrogant stupidity, they might actually stand a chance against you, after all,” Nevis said with a straight face.
Emilian shook his head slowly. “Why should I trust you? You’ve already tried to screw with Shaytan. And that alone will cost you dearly.”
“If I were you, I wouldn’t get too lovey-dovey with Shaytan,” Nevis replied. “The daemon king won’t let your friend, Darius, come back to Azure Heights. He’s afraid you’ll find out about his phenomenal failure to capture the outsiders.”
Rewa shot to her feet. She was furious. “Excuse me?!”
“Darius is no longer staying in Infernis voluntarily,” Nevis said. “I have eyes and ears all over Neraka, little Mara. Infernis has taken a serious hit and will take a while to recover. Draconis has fallen. The surviving pacifists and Druid delegation are on the loose. Ragnar Peak was destroyed, as well. Shaytan and his daemons aren’t as strong as you think. My guess is they fooled you with their numbers, not their brains.”
“Had you not given them swamp witch magic, you would’ve been the dominant species on Neraka, not them,” Colton said, the shadow of a smile crossing his face.
Emilian, Rowan, Farrah, and Rewa looked at each other over the course of a few seconds. Then Emilian smirked at Nevis.
“What are you trying to say?” he asked.
“As long as you bloodsuckers have the swamp witch, the outsiders will never prevail. And neither will the daemons,” Nevis replied. “Cut off Shaytan’s access to swamp witch magic. Get her to give you some serious warfare spells. Then watch the daemons fall. All you need to do is get the outsiders first.”
Rewa cursed under her breath, losing her composure slightly. I was thoroughly enjoying the view.
“How dare Shaytan keep my father hostage? That’s unacceptable! Emilian, we need to do something!” she snarled.
“I just gave you a good idea,” Nevis interjected, playing the facilitator.
“Hold on, hold on,” Emilian replied, trying to get his thoughts organized into a coherent response, but Rewa didn’t give him time. She wasn’t just infuriated; she was downright infuriating to everyone in the room, judging by the other Lords’ rolling eyes.
“No! No, we need to get my father back!” Rewa growled, then pointed a furious finger at Nevis. “And you need to prove your loyalty! You’ve screwed Shaytan over already. We can’t have that here!”
A moment passed in absolute silence. Nevis put on a half-smile, his hands casually resting behind his back.
“Harper Hellswan is on her way to snatch the swamp witch as we speak,” he said. “I don’t know if she’s already in the city, but I know for a fact it’s happening tonight. If I were you, I’d double the security around your witch.”
A gasp escaped Rowan’s throat as she looked at Nevis in disbelief. “How do you know?”
“I told you, I’m resourceful,” Nevis replied with a shrug, then snapped his fingers and defrosted one of Emilian’s Correction Officers. The guard fell to his knees, coughing and wheezing as he regained his consciousness and staggered back to his feet.
Emilian let out a subtle grunt, then motioned for the CO to leave. “Go warn the Palisade,” he said. “Harper Hellswan is somewhere in the city, looking for our prime asset. Double… No, triple security.”
The CO nodded and rushed out of the mansion. Emilian sneered at Nevis.
“This had better not be a ruse,” Rewa hissed.
Nevis sighed. “Forgive me, I don’t speak ‘imbecile’, so please refrain from addressing me,” he replied dryly. “As far as I’m concerned, Darius still rules over House Xunn. I don’t recognize your authority.”
Rewa scoffed and opened her mouth to respond, but Emilian raised his hand, motioning for her to keep quiet. He then raised an eyebrow at Nevis.
“Fine,” the Mara Lord said. “Now what?”
“Oh, I’m not done yet.” Nevis chuckled softly, prompting both Neha and Colton to frown at him, somewhat confused. My stomach suddenly tightened. Something was off. “We have company,” he added, then snapped his fingers.
Before either Blaze or I could do anything, we found ourselves immersed in Dhaxanian frost. I froze, almost instantly, up to my neck.
“No!” Blaze cried out, grunting and struggling against the ice, to no avail.
The Mara Lords were stunned. Rewa grabbed a pitcher of water and spilled it over our heads, revealing Blaze and me. She squealed at the sight of him, prompting me to groan and struggle even harder against my restraints.
Neha and Colton were livid but said nothing.
I glowered at Nevis, my heart breaking into a thousand little pieces as the concept of our doom crept up on me. “Why? Why would you do this? Why?!”
“There you have it, Emilian,” Nevis said, ignoring me completely. “A fae and a dragon. I imagine that’s enough for you to start drafting a truce with us.”
He then gave me a brief glance, and I suddenly stilled. He winked.
Oh, crap. He changed the script. He’s going off script, but… Wait, he’s not exactly throwing us to the wolves here. He hasn’t told them about our anti-mind-bending lenses.
As it all fell into place, I got a better idea of what he was planning. That smirk I’d seen on him earlier in the morning, when the Druids presented the lenses, finally made sense.
I looked at Blaze and nodded briefly, while Rewa jumped around us, giddy like a little girl at Christmas. She’d gotten one hell of a present this time.
“My frost will keep them both in place,” Nevis added. “Your dragon can’t… go dragon while in it. You’re welcome.”
Blaze stared at me, in genuine disbelief, as he listened to their exchange.
“Whatever you do, pretend they can mind-bend you,” I whispered to him.
“What?” He was utterly shocked.
When Rewa came and caressed his face, however, he instantly understood what I’d meant. We were in for a rough ride, but under no circumstances could we let them figure out we’d found a way to bypass their mind-bending.
Nevis, as devious as he was for not telling us, had a plan. Whatever it was, Blaze and I were going to make it happen. I ignored the pang in my stomach when Rewa took off his red garnet lens, which he no longer needed anyway, since we were both visible.
“You’ve come back to me, Blaze!” She giggled, then covered his face with short kisses.
I rolled my eyes, fighting to keep my gag reflex under control. The part about Harper’s presence in the city had been part of our plan from the beginning. It had taken a lot of effort to convince Caspian to agree to it, too. But giving our presence away had not been discussed at all.
It made me angry, but not as much as watching Rewa slobbering all over Blaze.
Nevis snapped his fingers and removed the frost from the Correction Officers. One by one, they got back up, coughing and recovering their breaths.
“Go fetch a pair of charmed cuffs from my study,” Emilian ordered one of them, then pointed at another CO. “And you, prepare one of the rooms for our new guests.”
The Correction Officers dispersed, and Emilian continued to give orders for our accommodation. Rewa came in front of me, grinning like the vicious banshee that she was.
“Thank you so much for bringing Blaze over,” she sneered. “I guess you realized he’s better off with me. Don’t worry, he’s my plaything now. I’ll take care of him from now on.”
“You are sick,” I muttered. “In the head, I mean. Sick in the head.”
“Oh, and I promise I’ll make you watch,” she replied, then moved back in front of Blaze.
“No, what are you doing?” I breathed, my eyes widening as she gripped his chin betwe
en her index finger and thumb.
She used her mind-bending ability on him. “Blaze, darling, how about you kiss me?”
It took a lot of self-control for Blaze to pretend he was under her influence. It took a lot more for me not to scream when he pressed his lips against her. She opened her mouth and deepened the kiss, gripping his head as she moaned with delight. Rewa had her tongue stuck down my dragon’s throat, and I had to put up with it.
“Your gesture of goodwill has been duly noted,” Emilian said to Nevis. “I’ll draw up the papers and have them ready for you to sign tomorrow.”
Nevis smirked, while Colton and Neha were forced to keep playing along, though both of them were visibly disgusted by the unexpected turn of events. Nevis had kept all this to himself, and it made me extremely mad. At the same time, I had to keep my head clear and stay on high alert. Had he truly aimed to betray us, he would’ve definitely mentioned the contact lenses.
“Like I said, you’re welcome,” Nevis replied. “Just make sure you keep your end of the deal,” he added, then turned to Rewa, who was still busy making out with Blaze, much to my dismay. “Oh, and make sure the dragon stays in one piece. Shaytan has plans for him.”
“Shaytan can find himself another dragon,” Rewa spat.
“Agreed. Shaytan won’t be getting anywhere near Blaze,” Emilian replied. “He’s done enough, and he will not prevail. I will have a talk with him about Darius, too. I won’t stand for any of this nonsense. Besides, you have a point. The swamp witch is ours.”
Emilian grinned, while Rowan and Farrah came closer to get a better look at Blaze and me, unable to move and unable to burn them to a crisp.
“We’ll be on our way then,” Nevis said. “And return tomorrow to sign the treaty.”
“Just keep your distance from the outsiders,” Emilian commanded. “I’ll handle them once and for all.”
Nevis shrugged, then left through the back door, accompanied by Neha and Colton.
“Fine by me,” he muttered as he left Blaze and me behind, snapping his fingers just at the CO’s came back with the charmed cuffs. As soon as the Dhaxanian frost shattered, they restrained us—the charms made it impossible for us to use our fire abilities, and we were already too outnumbered to initiate close combat.
Emilian smiled as soon as his gaze settled on me. He looked as though he’d just been reunited with an old friend, in a way. He wore none of the psycho allure that Rewa so proudly displayed.
“Good to have you back, Caia, Blaze,” he said softly. “We’ll take good care of you from now on.”
I scoffed. “You’ll drain our blood and eat our souls, you mean.”
Rewa chuckled, then kissed Blaze again, just to spite me. My dragon was seething, but his self-control was truly something incredible to behold. Guess that celibacy oath really does work to keep him emotionally and physically restrained.
“Well, yes, that too,” Emilian replied.
There was no return from this point forward. Whatever lay ahead, Blaze and I had to be ready for it. As long as they couldn’t mind-bend us, we stood a chance. Whatever Nevis had planned, it had to be good. All Blaze and I had to do was act.
One look at Rewa, and bile threatened to burn through my throat.
Gah, this is going to be so, so difficult.
Fiona
The Palisade was a beautiful building, designed like most of Azure Heights’s landmarks, with a sumptuous marble façade, pale beige roof tiles, and an abundance of floral accents on every French-style window. Had it not been for the heavily armed Correction Officers guarding the main entrance, I would’ve said this was the place where all the great parties happened—the kind that offered expensive drinks and weirdly named hors d’oeuvres.
We snuck around the back, then spent a few minutes waiting for the service entrance to clear. Iman servants buzzed around, emptying metal bins into the large trashcans at the far end of the backyard. There were two Correction Officers stationed by the door, busy conversing. They occasionally sneered at the Imen, who avoided eye contact with the Maras, their expressions pale and fearful.
It broke my heart to see them like this.
“The Palisade is a luxury hotel of sorts,” Caspian explained. “The rooms are used by Maras for romantic encounters of all kinds, in and outside official relationships.”
Zane scoffed. “They’re also used as a prime feeding ground,” he muttered. “They bring up young Imen, both male and female, for the noble Maras willing to pay higher prices in gold. Caspian can’t tell you anything about that, unfortunately.”
I looked at Caspian, who shook his head in disgust. “The Maras running this establishment specialize and trade in seduction… and secrets. They know most of the inner workings of the Lords, and they’re paid very well to keep their mouths shut and eavesdrop whenever there’s a special guest visiting.”
“And by ‘special’ he means daemons,” Zane added with a faint smirk. “My species isn’t immune to the Maras’ charms, as you’ve already seen.”
He meant Tobiah and Sienna. It didn’t strike me as odd or unexpected. Harper was a hybrid, too, the fruit of love between different species. The laws of physical attraction transcended natural boundaries—not to mention love. Love was unstoppable. It took one look at Zane for me to reinforce that belief.
“What do you see?” I asked Harper.
She used her True Sight to scan the entire building, from top to bottom. “I can’t see beneath the ground floor or in several of the upper-level rooms,” she murmured. “I’m guessing meranium and swamp witch charms for protection and concealment, but—wait.” She frowned, narrowing her eyes as if to get a better look. A grin slit her face as she turned her head to look at me. “Found your old friend, Vincent.”
My blood instantly simmered. Zane and I exchanged glances before he shifted his focus to the two Exiled Maras at the back door.
“Okay then, let’s speed this along,” he said, then took out his crossbow and loaded it with a poisoned arrow. I did the same with mine, as we needed to strike fast and disable both guards before either could make a sound and alert the others.
We shot them simultaneously. The short arrows, laced with Pheng-Pheng’s venom, got lodged in the Correction Officers’ necks. They both stilled, clutching their throats, then collapsed as the poison worked its way through their bloodstreams.
The coast was clear. We shot out from our hiding place on the edge of the backyard and rushed inside. We slipped between Imen servants along the corridor. They were almost catatonic, mind-bent into absolute submission as they went about their chores, without even noticing the air ripples around them.
We followed Harper up to the first floor, sneaking past several Correction Officers. I breathed a sigh of relief when we got out of sight again, since some of the Maras were wearing red lenses. It took extra work and planning to move from one area to another without detection, but we managed to infiltrate the western corridor in the end.
Harper stopped in front of a door—one of the many on that level, all luxury bedrooms used for carnal pleasure and other, more heinous activities, according to Zane. Harper motioned for us to move behind her. Once we were on that side, we were able to eavesdrop on Vincent and what sounded like a female Mara with a sensual, husky voice.
“Come on, Mel, you know you want to.” Vincent’s voice could be heard coming from the room.
Mel’s mocking laughter rippled through the corridor. “Oh, darling, you think too highly of yourself,” she replied dryly.
“What, my money isn’t good enough for you?” Vincent spat. “You’re the best of all the ladies working tonight, and I only play with the best.”
I resisted the urge to puke, realizing what the conversation was about. I squirmed instead, mouthing an “Ew!” at Zane, who stifled a grin as we kept listening. Harper shook her head slowly, while Caspian, Pheng-Pheng, and Arrah rolled their eyes.
“That’s just so… lame,” Harper whispered.
“Vincent
, there isn’t enough gold on this planet to get you in my bed,” Mel retorted. I heard the subtle jingle of jewelry tossed on a soft surface—perhaps the bed.
“Not even these beauties?” Vincent asked, sounding a little too needy for anyone’s taste. Mel laughed again. “Come on, Mel, I need some stress relief, and you’re the only one who can give it to me.”
“No, darling, I’m not the only one who can give it to you. I’m the only one who won’t waste a single minute of my time in your company. I’ve made my feelings about you clear many times before. What part of ‘Never in a thousand years’ did you not understand?”
Harper and I looked at each other and covered our mouths, struggling not to laugh out loud.
“I’ll take what I want then!” Vincent growled. “I’m done being nice! I’m a Roho, dammit!”
Mel gasped, and something made of glass broke, followed by the muffled sounds of a struggle and muttered curses. Zane groaned, and I squeezed his arm, understanding his urge to storm in there.
We all jumped back and froze when the door burst open and Vincent stumbled out of the room, his lip split and bleeding, his dapper velvet suit ruffled and torn at the seams.
“Seriously?” he cried out, scowling at the female Mara still inside the room.
A purse filled with gold coins and jewels was thrown out, smacking Vincent right in the face.
“And stay out!” Mel shouted, and slammed the door shut.
Vincent scoffed, then licked the blood from the corner of his mouth and collected the purse and its spilled contents from the floor.
“Ungrateful fiend,” he muttered.
With pride utterly shredded and a bag full of gold and jewels that the Palisade’s best Mara lady rejected, Vincent sighed and made his way downstairs. Only then did I realize that we were all grinning.
We followed him to the ground floor, keeping a safe distance and staying behind potted trees, unsuspecting Imen servants, and whatever pieces of lobby furniture we could use to avoid detection. Vincent made a sharp turn left after the reception desk and went all the way to the end of a narrow corridor. We stopped on the corner, watching him quietly as he looked around, making sure no one saw him, then lifted the corner of a picture frame.