Dreaming of Darkness

Chapter Twelve

Traum

I had only been gone a moment, but when I returned with an extra blanket for my bed, Bailey was curled up, sleeping where I had just left her. My heart, still racing from the taste of her, almost hurt to see how perfect she looked there.

Because having her here was the best thing I’d ever experienced. Not because I didn’t love spending the time we’d had in the living world together, but because this made it seem more real. More permanent.

She had come to meet my family. And so far, had been completely unphased by nearly all of it. I couldn’t have loved her more. I moved to the bed, throwing the extra blanket over her and then carefully trying to climb back in to join her.

The mattress only moved a bit, but it was enough to wake her. She blinked up at me for a moment, then her cheeks turned that beautiful pink color. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

“I don’t think any male would be unhappy to find that he pleasured his mate so much that she fell straight to sleep,”

I wrapped my body around the back of her, fitting us together like spoons. “We should rest. The celebration will go late tonight.”

Her hand reached back, smoothing down my thigh. Noting the new trousers that I’d thrown on, her fingers stilled. “Did you change?”

I huffed, feeling embarrassed as I pressed my face to the back of her hair. “I did.”

She remained silent, but her hand on my thigh reminded me that she was listening, waiting. “I came, little dream, when you told me that you loved me.”

I sighed. “The taste of you, the feel of your hands in my hair, and then fuck, those three little words. I couldn’t stop myself.”

“You came because I told you I loved you?”

“Does that bother you?”

Her hand left my thigh, finding my hand and curling it close against the softness of her chest. “No, not at all. I love it actually.”

I laughed, “Well I’m glad then, because being around you, sharing pleasure, it not only feeds me, but fulfills something else I’d never known was missing.”

Her grip on my hand tightened. “Can I say it again?”

“As many times as possible,”

I answered, settling my head on the pillow beside hers. Her hair would no doubt be in my face soon, but I didn’t care.

“I love you.”

My body shivered, and then settled into the bed against her. “I love you too, little dream. Get some rest, I’ll be right here.”

Without fear, without reservation, my little human dozed right off. But as relaxed and content as I was, I couldn’t make my eyes shut.

I kept them open, watching her sleep in the quiet of my home, my mind a whirl of plans and possibilities. Because I had to find a way to make her happy, happier than she’d ever been before. I could not lose her.

I would not.

***

There were clusters of guests filling the center courtyard, the Core rising up behind us with a dramatic pushing into the Underworld sky. And every single incubus and quite a few succubi, was nearly as obsessed with talking to my mate than they were wanting to see my niece.

At first, I’d been worried that my brother or Rifa would be angry about the distraction from their daughter, but it had only begun a short time ago and they seemed relieved to have something else to talk about other than the same three questions that each and every relative asked about the youngling.

Even so, Rifa held her daughter close to her chest as the last of the tribe came by to lay a hand on the youngling’s back. This was the first blessing, given to the youngling, a tiny spark of power shared from the mature incubi to the youngling. A blessing, but also a strengthening gift. With parents like Albtraum and Rifa, there was no chance my niece would ever want for anything, but it was custom.

“When do they announce the name?”

Bailey was tucked into my side, her fingers gently interwoven with mine as we stood in a line between Antheia and my grandmother. Zaldi, my younger brother, was the end cap on one side, Albtraum on the other. Rifa and the infant were snug up against my side.

There was no real danger here, but I knew my brother had placed me by Rifa as a subtle show of strength. Other than Albtraum, my own abilities were one of the most powerful in the Underworld.

“At the end, my brother will begin the feast, the sharing of power and end with her new name. Then the music will begin, the power will swirl around us. It’s quite beautiful.”

“I can’t wait,”

Bailey said, leaning in. After our nap, we’d kissed and cuddled up in my bed until Antheia had shown up, pounding on the door. When we tumbled out shortly after, my siblings had all rolled their eyes good-naturedly.

“Blessings,”

a beautiful pale red succubus said, pressing her hand to the back of the infant for a moment before moving to stand in front of Bailey and me. “Traum, you look well.”

My brain stumbled briefly, searching her face for clues before Rifa’s elbow poked me gently in the side. Rifa’s family, she had to be. A cousin maybe. Fuck. “Kae…Kaela, right?”

We had met at the joining ceremony, and she had attempted to seduce me all night long. I had only refused her because I didn’t believe that Rifa would take kindly to the fact that I’d been uninterested in a serious relationship of any kind at that time.

The succubus practically purred, stepping closer, deliberately ignoring Bailey. “Yes, I’m so relieved you remembered me. It has been too long.”

I cocked my head sideways, planning on asking her to move down the line, when she spoke again, “I was hoping that you and I could spend some of the evening together.”

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible.”

Her deep red eyes widened in surprise. “Oh, are you,”

she looked at Bailey for a breath then back to me, “committed to this creature?”

Fury warmed my blood. Creature was not a negative word in my world, but the way she spoke it. I loathed the way it fell from her tongue. I wanted to force it back into her mouth, to take her judgement and disgust and shove it back where it came from. But this was my niece’s naming day. I would not ruin this, no matter how good it might feel. Instead, I raised “This woman is my mate, Bailey.”

Kaela blinked rapidly. “Your mate? You two are bonded?”

“We are courting,”

I said easily, brushing her knuckles across my lips before dropping my hand again, “And very content.”

Kaela observed us closely and to my surprise, Bailey only stepped forward a little. “Where I am from, we shake hands when we meet someone new.”

She extended a hand to the succubus. “I’m happy to meet you.”

I swallowed my surprise, but my heart squeezed at the gesture. The attempt at friendship. After a moment, Kaela’s slender red hand cut through the air, and landed in Bailey’s. Bailey shook it slowly, a small smile on her lips.

“I am,”

Kaela’s words were soft, confusion written across her face, “glad to meet you as well.”

Both females looked at me briefly, then dropped their hands. “Perhaps I will see you later, before our families split after the naming day celebration.”

Kaela raised her hands, “for a meal perhaps, nothing else.”

Bailey’s smile grew, “A meal. Great.”

Kaela nodded and moved onwards down the line, throwing a curious glance back at my mate as she did. I leaned down, brushing a kiss across the crown of her head. “You are very kind, little dream.”

Bailey huffed, then leaned back in, “You didn’t sleep with her, did you?”

“Never.”

“Oh good, I’m more than happy to make new friends. But I do not share.”

I growled, my grip tightening on her. “I do not either.”

“Good,”

Bailey turned her attention back to the last few that were coming through the line to provide blessings for my niece. “Glad we have that settled.”

I laughed softly, my chest light and relaxed through the end of the blessings. Afterwards, we followed my brothers and sister to the head table, directly stationed in front of the bridge to Core for the main meal. Bailey sat at my side, with Rifa and the infant at her elbow. As the rest of the crowd found seating, either at the large tables that had been brought out of everyone’s houses or against the well and stone walled edge of the square. Albtraum stood, clapping his hands together twice until the din of chatter dulled to silence.

“Greetings, friends and family from near and far, we are happy to have you here with us to celebrate my daughter’s naming day. As a people, we have struggled in the past. There have been questions, concerns about bringing new life into the Underworld. But now, the tide is turning. The future is looking brighter than ever.”

Albtraum took a breath, offering a hand to Rifa who stood by his side. “And with that in mind, my mate and I have decided to name my daughter Effyis, which means, in the old tongue, bright.”

He and Rifa both raised their bundled-up daughter between them. “Join us in welcoming her to our family.”

Cheers went up all around us, making my ears ring as I grinned up at my brother. That smug bastard was pleased as punch as he carefully held the tiny bundle up between them. After the cheers didn’t die down on their own, Grandmother rose from her seat at his side.

“Calm down,”

she said, her voice echoing around the clearing with practiced ease, “Calm down you lot, you’re making an old woman cranky.”

The noise began to quiet. “And if I’m cranky, I’ll just keep talking and keep you from the real celebration.”

That only made more laughter spring up. But Grandmother was smiling broadly now. Gently, her small hand moved across to lay on her granddaughter’s blankets. “Join me now, to the future,”

she raised her other hand high, at her fingertips a swirl of dark magic gathered, flickering like a dark flame.

“To the future,”

I echoed with my family. The rest of the crowd began to join in as we raised our fingertips, a small flicker of power gathering there as the darkness of the Underworld sky crawled across the land.

Bailey’s face was full of awe, her mouth gaping as she stared across the crowd, at the flickers of power, the vibrations of the ground under so many feet. Compelled to touch her, I leaned in, brushing my nose across her temple.

“Are you alright?”

“It’s beautiful.”

“You’re beautiful,”

I responded easily, earning a soft laugh from Bailey. All around us, hands began to lower, sine and other drinks were making their way around the tables. Food prepared early that day was delivered on heavy platters. All around us, conversations began once again.

Zaldi and a cousin from across the hilly terrain, Lukaeh immediately dragged me into conversation, leaving Bailey to chat with Rifa and some local friends who we had met at the school earlier today. She seemed content and I let the freedom of good drink and friends surround me.

When I looked back to Bailey, sometime later, I was shocked to find her eating a small plate of food, Effyis tucked snugly up against her elbow. Rifa, who seemed relieved to have both hands, was eagerly making her own plate, chatting animatedly with my mate.

My stomach tightened. Bailey looked relaxed like this. Her body cradling the tiny succubus as she chatted with my family. And I knew in an instant that I would never forget tonight.

The feasting began to slow, the sound around us escalating as the drink and magic grew thicker in our veins. I hummed softly at the scent of her, so close to me. Albtraum had long ago taken back his daughter, leaving me capable of pulling Bailey into my arms. We sat there, her body curling around mine as the warmth of the sine sang in my skin.

Sometime later, time blurred by the comfort of my magic and the feel of her in my arms, I looked up to find our performers moving to stand at the center of the celebration. One, a tall, curvaceous succubus and a thickly built powerhouse of an incubus came onto stage. Both held instruments and wore almost nothing. The tables were moved around us, making it possible for me to rotate my chair and face the crowd in front of us from the small rise we’d been on. Many couples below were already handsy, and I knew that Bailey saw them too. Her back was stiff, but her eyes were glued to the performers as they set up on stage.

“You should know, in advance, that these are not normal musicals. Our magic allows us certain ways to amplify the abilities we all have. Their music will be…. intoxicating.”

Bailey’s throat worked and I wanted to trace it with my tongue. I moaned, pulling her more firmly back onto my lap. My cock, already throbbing from the scent of her, relished in the pressure of her softness against it. To my pleasure, she didn’t move off of my cock, but let out a soft, strained noise.

“More than I already feel?”

I chuckled, “I did not give you any sine on purpose, mate. I want you to be as clear-headed as possible.”

“Consent king,”

Bailey said, but the words were ragged as she shifted a little on my lap.

I smiled into her hair, my hands smoothing down her sides to her thighs where I toyed with the hemline of her dress. “I am yours to command. Always.”

She nodded, jerkily. “I know.”

“Good, now,”

pressed my lips against the side of her throat, “Watch.”