27. A Welcomed Punishment
27
A WELCOMED PUNISHMENT
G olden dust coated Luella’s arms and the backs of her hands, mingling with her golden curls and the freckles on her cheeks. The throne room glittered, filled with so much life that she felt listless and near-empty in the face of it.
Her breath hitched as she looked up. Somehow, it was all even more breathtaking than usual.
Swaths of red and gold adorned the area, tapestries and fluttering drapes pulled half-shut to let in scant amounts of starlight from outside the walls of the castle. The light of the moon was muted, a waning crescent with sharp points. A thin sliver in the inky sky.
"Don’t dawdle, pet," Bastian called from ahead of her. The long, silver earrings dangling from his ears caught the light as the vampire turned his head. His black hair was styled away from his forehead as usual, exposing the refined and almost delicate features of his face.
Swirls of small, black ink filled his pale skin like he was a canvas. It made him alluring and deadly—and everyone in the room knew it. Hungry eyes trailed after him, almost as much as they did her.
The vampire’s grip tightened on her chains, and he pulled her across the dusted marble floors. Her bare toes scraped against the corner of the lush carpet that led to the throne. With a lowered head, Luella scanned the length of it, all the way to the very end.
King Vale was already seated tonight. His crown sat perfectly upon his golden hair, and his green eyes shone like beacons from across the room, boring into her. He reclined against the high back of his throne with a casually regal mien—he never had to try hard to don the persona of a feared and cruel being. It seemed to come easy to the King. And this ease was evident in the way in which he commanded the room without even saying or doing anything.
King Vale inclined his head toward her, and Luella gulped.
What if he knew about her late-night foray into the library and the book that was currently burning a hole under the mattress in her room where she had hidden it?
Ever since Luella had woken up from an evening nap to find Ina and Osa sweeping into her room to dress her, Tharen trailing lazily behind Bastian, who led a chained Az into her room, fear had gripped her. As Bastian had looped the chain around her wrist, she had watched Tharen with bated breath, waiting for him to punish her—or say something, at the very least. Even her nap had been haunted by nightmares of the mage storming into her gilded cage, dragging her from bed, and throwing her back down into the dungeons. For good, this time.
But it seemed Nyx hadn’t said anything. Luella could kiss the sprite’s tiny feet in thanks for it. She vowed to follow through on her end of their bargain and read the sprite’s favorite romance—which had conveniently been on her bedside table when she had woken up earlier that day from her nap.
A warm touch made her focus on the present. On the King awaiting her. And the demon by her side.
Az settled his shackled hands above her hips, her back exposed almost completely by the sweeping, low cut of her gown. A beautiful and simple thing, tonight’s gown was a ruby red shade, almost identical to Bastian’s unbuttoned coat or the faded swirls on the sides of Az’s pants.
The dress was thin, with a slit only up her right thigh this time, and her bare arms pebbled with bumps from the chill of the room. Flickers of shimmery dust fell to her arms and coated them with a faint sheen of iridescence, only adding to the ethereal fashion of her look, offset by the deep shade of her gown and her lips rouged to match.
Her hair was simple, sweeping down her back in golden curls. The ends of which Az brushed with the tips of his fingers, making Luella shiver with awareness.
Bastian tugged once more on the delicate chain that tethered her to him. He had a teasing lilt to his voice as he said, "Come, don’t make me say it again. Or better yet, do. I can’t be held responsible for how I punish you… I think it would be a welcomed punishment."
The shiver that wracked her frame this time wasn’t from the soft brush of a wanted touch but unadulterated desire mixed with the sharpest tang of the unknown. An emotion she had never experienced before, and Luella didn’t know how she felt about it.
She had the craziest urge to dig her heels into the ground and see what Bastian would do. Shoving that wild, intrusive urge from her head, Luella picked up her pace, gliding through the parted bodies of the court, Az trailing behind her like an indomitable guard.
"I’ve got you, Lu," Az murmured behind her.
She melted at the quiet promise laced within his words.
"I know," she replied. And she did.
Intrinsically, Luella knew. Even without the blood oath binding him, she knew the demon would give his life for hers without a second thought.
Bastian huffed a sigh, and without seeing his face, she could tell he would be rolling his eyes at their exchange. Fine. Let him underestimate their bond. It would only serve her all the better when she escaped and took the demon with her. They would never expect it.
When Bastian made his way to the shadowed alcoves of the room, Luella grew perplexed. The vampire had surprised her by taking her to a place where she would be kept out of sight, as opposed to showing her off blatantly as she had expected. It was wholly at odds with his ostentatious manner. She had speculated Bastian to be front and center, lounging on some couch with her kneeling at his feet.
Stopping at one of the alcoves, Bastian held back the fluttering canopy that closed off the space, keeping it even more intimate.
"After you," he said, standing to the side to allow Luella to go before him. Her shoulder brushed against his side as she entered.
Sconces lined the walls, candles lit with warm flames casting an amber hue over the small space. Az entered closely behind her, and she tried not to cower as Bastian let the curtains fall, closing off the room entirely save for the tiniest sliver where the two pieces of fabric met in the middle. Long, plush benches lined the walls, covered with many pillows and a few blankets. She watched as Bastian lifted a pillow and propped it up on one of the seats, fluffing it until he seemed satisfied.
The air was thick with tension and grew thicker still when Bastian stood before her and settled a cool, heavy palm on her bare shoulder.
"For you." The vampire gestured to the cozy spot he had made, nestled against the wall, pillows and a soft blanket draped over the bench.
"T-thank you." Luella’s cheeks warmed at the gesture.
He nudged her to sit, and she sank into the plushness of the pillows, pulling her knees up to tuck under her. Hands fidgeting in her lap, her chains clinking, she looked up at the two males towering over her. Az—with the thick collar around his throat, bare chest gleaming in the warm light, and shackles around his wrist, looked the part of a prisoner.
But Bastian… The vampire was sinful and wicked, plush lips red and black hair mussed, like someone had run their fingers through it. She wouldn’t be surprised if it were true, he seemed to love his trysts.
The vampire almost threw himself back on the plush pillows, his thighs spread and arms stretched out, the collar of his shirt revealing alluring hints of the swirling floral tattoos etched into his pale skin. The fingers of one of his hands tickled against her bare shoulder, and his clothed thigh pressed firmly against hers. Luella held her breath and attempted to scoot away but didn’t have much room with how her other side was nestled against the wall.
"Az?" Luella questioned with a shy look up at the demon from under her lashes. With how much space Bastian took up, Az had nowhere to sit.
Bastian sighed, curling his fingers firmly around her shoulder and pulling her into his unnaturally cool body. With his other hand, he gestured to the few pillows that had been knocked to the ground and said, "Kneel, Azgorath. Be grateful I’m kinder than Tharen and allow you a cushion."
The demon let out a growl, lips curving up, even as he obeyed and knelt, knees dimpling against a plush, maroon cushion. His shackled hands loosely gripped Luella’s ankles, and he curled his body toward her as close as he could get.
Luella didn’t mind the demon being so close, but she hated him having to kneel. His head was nearly in her lap. And his scent of burnt sugar and melted sweetness made her mouth water. The end of his horn poked her thigh, and she stroked a gentle finger down the side of it, feeling the ridges and bumps under her fingertip. Az grumbled and pressed himself closer to her, insistent. She hesitantly lifted a small curl of his dark brown hair between her fingers, her mouth parting as she luxuriated in the softness, in his nearness.
"That feels nice." Az rumbled a deep sigh of satisfaction, and Luella felt her stomach flutter with the beat of a thousand butterfly wings. She tucked her thighs closer to her, a strange desire kindling low in her belly.
With a soft exhale, she tilted her head back against the wall, watching Bastian from the corner of her eyes as she tangled her fingers completely in the kneeling demon’s silky curls.
Bergamot on one side and rich, sugary cocoa on the other. Luella breathed in deeply, the tension in her limbs unraveling like she had drank and smoked herself into a narcotized stupor with the many wines or cigars filled with heady Rys the courtiers were indulging in.
"You like this," Bastian breathed from her side. He moved closer, his nose pressing into the top of her hair as he breathed her in, just as she was doing.
"No," Luella replied breathily. "I’m not one of the courtiers that trip over their feet to fall into your bed chambers, Bastian."
This small space was making her words flow free, unfettered with confidence. She was drunk off of them both.
The vampire smirked. He knew all too well the words Luella spoke were a fragile lie—both to him and to herself. She barrelled on, a vomitous spill that did nothing to assuage her inward worries or tamp down the male pride curving up his sensuous lips.
"I feel for Az. But not you. You will never have me."
At the sound of his name, the demon nuzzled against her lap, careful of his curling horns. She elegantly skimmed over his forehead, smoothing away errant locks, before trailing touches across his forehead and over his temple. His eyes closed, and a sound akin to a purr rumbled from his chest.
Bastian tugged on the ends of her golden hair. The action was a mockery of the way she reverently carded her fingers through Az’s locks.
The vampire was not gentle as he leaned in and whispered, "We’ve already had this discussion, pet, and it was I who came out on top." His words made a secret smile play upon his lips as if he made a joke. "I’ll have you. That is a fact you can bet your life, my life, and even his life"—Bastian jerked his head to Az—"on. If I’m not the first… the second, third, or even the fourth, I will have you. Make no mistake, you’ll have no choice but to give in to me. But do not rush because the chase is part of the fun."
His tenor was like silk against her heated skin, juxtaposed with his cool breath and even colder touches against her shoulder and nape. A tantalizing combination that did nothing to rid her of that strange warmth simmering deep inside her.
Without taking his eyes off of her, Bastian reached for a decanter of wine and poured two glasses. One so full, the purple liquid threatened to spill over, and the other he filled less than halfway—that one, he pressed into her hands and forced up to her lips, making her drink with a long, pale finger tipping the bottom up.
The liquid cascaded past her lips in a fuzzy, heady warmth. Coating her tongue with splashes of grape and rich notes of pomegranate.
She was drunk off the wine and him. Both of them.
Bastian and Az.
Soft touches. Charged promises. Bergamot thick, like spiced blood; buttery cocoa, melting on her tongue; fermented sweet wine, like honeyed nectar.
Luella could drown in it.
Bastian groaned, deep and throaty. It was a wholly sensual sound, one she had never heard before, and it made her thighs clench instinctively as he drew the now-empty glass back and wiped her soft lip clean with the pad of his finger.
Az gave another soft grumble—in protest or appreciation, she wasn’t sure. His fingers gripped her ankles so fiercely she feared he might leave a bruise. The touches stopped right below her knee, and he acted like he wanted to go higher, touch more, but the way his hands were chained stopped him from doing so, and he let out a growl of frustration.
Bastian chuckled. "Hmm, beasty, doesn’t feel so good to be kept from what you’re owed, now does it?"
"Cease your taunts, parasitic bastard," Az snarled.
She bristled from the ire within his tone, but her mind snagged on one word Bastian had said.
"You’re not owed me. Neither of you." The intoxication loosened her lips.
Even if she wanted to give herself over to the demon, she wouldn’t admit that weakness aloud in front of Bastian. Not to the King’s Advisor. No telling what Bastian had been sharing with King Vale. And Luella didn’t want the King to realize just how much she had come to treasure her demon.
Az tensed below her fingertips, and she soothed him. Without words, she implored him to read what she wasn’t saying. That she didn’t think she could live without him in this cruel, violent world she had been forced into.
But he would have to remain a secret.
Luella wasn’t strong like him; she wasn’t a fighter. So she would protect him the only way she knew how. Silence.
With the prying eyes and constant watching, Luella hadn’t had a chance to speak with Az in private. She hoped she would get a chance soon. There were so many things she yearned to share, and she sensed Az felt the same.
Bastian delicately swept Luella’s hair to the side, draping her curls over one shoulder to completely expose the other side of her neck. She gulped as he lowered his head, cold breath puffing against her skin as his nose ghosted along her fluttering pulse point. His tongue darted out, and he flicked it along a blueish vein. She shuddered at the feel of it.
Couldn’t decide if it was revolting or appealing.
No, not at all revolting, Luella thought.
Her head tipped back, unbidden, and thunked against the wall of the small, private space—a space that seemed that much smaller with how thick the tension had grown. She was coated in their scents. Every time she inhaled, it wrapped around her like a heavy, woolen blanket, nearly smothering her. Her muscles grew weak, and she was thankful she was sitting because if she were standing, Luella feared she would have fallen to the ground from how heady their combined scents were.
Bastian tsked under his breath before releasing a long-suffering sigh, drawing away from her neck with reluctance as his legs stretched out and his eyes shuttered close.
Relieved disappointment knocked against her, and she took a shaky breath to diffuse the tension.
"Godsdamn it. I can’t do this anymore," Bastian cursed, pinching the bridge of his nose. His eyes were a gleaming red, the brown nonexistent.
The cushions jostled as he stood, and Luella braced her unchained hand under her to stop herself from tilting to the side. Az peered up at her, and she couldn’t read his expression. His amber eyes were dark from the dim light or the cloud of… desire hanging about the room.
The demon rested his chin on her thigh as he gazed up at her. Gently, her fingers still trailed through his soft curls, sweeping them away from his face to expose his rugged features—a nose that was slightly crooked, as if it had been broken and not set right; half-lidded eyes, the natural tan of his skin, and a jawline that seemed a bit more pronounced than she remembered.
Luella vowed to make sure the demon ate before they were forced to leave each other.
Bastian parted the curtains, peeking his head out as he waved over a servant, voice too low for her to make out as he spoke.
"I’ve missed you, my angel," Az said, stealing her attention away from her vampire captor.
Luella looked at him and smiled a soft, pure thing—far too soft for this place. "I’ve missed you."
She bit her lip, contemplating sharing her plans to escape. Peering over at Bastian, she saw he was still occupied, her tethered hand outstretched uncomfortably as the length between them grew taut from their distance.
The thick, unforgiving band of the collar was tugging at Az’s neck, leaving red abrasions from how it was rubbing against his skin. Her lower lip jutted out in a pout at the sight, and she moved her free hand down to skim along his neck, his Adam’s apple bobbing from her featherlight touches as she traced over his hot skin and along the edges of the collar.
Sensing her silence, the fingers along her ankles stretched out, spanning as far upward as he could reach.
"Lu?" he questioned, amber eyes piercing into her golden ones.
Her breath caught at the intensity on his face. Careful of the vampire’s listening ears, she kept her voice low. "Last night, I?—"
She couldn’t find it in herself to continue. It was too selfish to tell Az and make him a target. She already had one loose end in Nyxila, and Luella couldn’t stand for the sprite to be put in danger. Or her demon. Az had vowed to keep her safe with his life, but she wouldn’t allow him to become endangered by her findings.
Not to mention Bastian. She watched the vampire’s lithe back move as he seemed to gesture to the servant, his feet pointed to the side, as if he was still with her, even though he was busy with someone else. Angled like he was listening to her every word, just waiting for a slip-up.
But Az was persistent, sensing something was amiss in her.
Chains clinked as his shackled hands rose, a finger tipping her face down, only for her to be ensnared by his bewitching eyes.
"Tell me," he implored.
She licked her lower lip, mouth dry from the scorching heat radiating from him. He followed the motion, and a blush overtook her, her heart pitter-pattering in that maddening beat that always happened around him.
"Last night…"
Az nodded, patient.
But she just couldn’t.
"I miss you when I sleep at night," she said, words tripping over each other as they burst from her lips.
It wasn’t a lie, but a truth. A diversion from the real truth she wanted to share with him.
With a look of pure satisfaction and pride, Az smiled. His hand moved to cup her cheek. The motion was awkward with how the manacles forced his wrists together. He was careful to keep the rough chains from touching her skin as he enveloped her.
She leaned into the touch.
"I miss you always. I miss you even when I’m with you because I know soon, you will be taken away from me," Az uttered.
"Gods, beast, you’ve gone soft," Tharen intoned, holding one side of the curtains away from him as he entered the room.
He only wore one braid in his white hair tonight, and a simple golden chain was threaded through it. With heavy clomps from his worn, dirty boots, he strode closer, the thick tattoos on his neck and chest standing starkly on his skin from how his shirt was entirely unbuttoned.
Tharen fingered the taut length of the chain that stretched from her wrist to the end held in Bastian’s grip. The vampire cast a curious look over his shoulder at them before turning away again. With a rough pull, Luella fell forward, catching herself on Az’s shoulders before she toppled off the cushions and onto the floor. Her hands brushed against the enchanted iron of Az’s manacles, and it made her skin tingle.
"Hey!" Luella protested, glaring up at the ice-hearted mage.
He merely smirked in reply.
A hand was still stroking over the taut length with wicked glee. Tharen gave another harsh tug on it, and she jolted forward. It appeared he didn’t like how cozy she and Az were becoming.
Luella was loathe to admit it, but she was thankful for the interruption because she had no idea how she would have responded to the demon’s admission. The tension in the room simmered and popped like softly roiling water but did not grow hotter, allowing her to finally take a full breath.
"Take off these chains, and we’ll see how soft I’ve gone," Az growled, lips curving up in a smile, not at all like the soft thing he had given Luella only moments prior, but a menacing threat.
"In your dreams, beast."
Tharen moved then, leaning down to notch his hands under her arms. She bit back a noise of protest, flushing from his proximity—that crisp scent that radiated off of him, all things wintery, freezing the heat in her veins and turning it into a flurry of snow. He bodily lifted her and sat her on the cushions, forcing her to make space as he wedged his large frame down beside her, causing her to sit flush against him, her bare arms pressed into his side. He stole her untethered hand from where it had been on her lap, lifting it to lay over one of his legs as he toyed with her fingers, stretching them out and bending a few so far back she winced.
"Miss me, little lamb?" Tharen drawled. "Those two wouldn’t know how to handle a creature like you. I sense things, know things. I can tell from the light in your eyes that you’re intrigued by me. Even more than that, my magic can read you like a book."
At the word book , she jolted.
Did he know?
Her fingers trembled in his grasp.
Tharen pressed a flat palm to her exposed chest. Right over her thumping heart. "Your lips may weave lies, but this never will. And neither will my magic of Body. I could hear your heart and stuttered breaths from across the throne room, and as soon as I drew back that curtain and walked in, this"—he pressed his palm firmer to her chest, his nose almost touching hers—"grew to one, long murmur of a beat. The sweetest music to my ears."
He drew back, and Luella shuddered, her traitorous heart pumping a staccato in her chest, saying all the things she never would admit: he affected her.
A new flush overtook her at the reminder of his heightened senses, the Body magic from his demon ancestry. It was obvious. Of course, it was. But admitting he could hear her heart from so far away…
The Prima was so powerful. Perhaps the most powerful male she had ever encountered. How did King Vale earn his loyalty?
Az bared his teeth. "I’ll never let you harm her, Prima. I know what kind of company you keep and what thrills you. Never her," he vowed.
Luella worried her bottom lip. Az wouldn’t be able to hold his own against Tharen. Not in his current state, chained with magic. She wondered if anyone could even win against the mage. Tharen’s magic of Spirit and Body must be diluted; whereas, Az would have it in force as a full-blooded demon. But the Prima’s elemental magic from his fae side… He had such control over it that she feared her demon would not stand a chance.
A murmur of voices broke up the males, both poised to attack. Like the curtains falling back around Bastian as he entered and cast the room in quiet candlelight once more, their ire dispersed. Not gone, but quelled.
For now.
Behind Bastian trailed a female. She was rather pretty, but in a severe way. Not of the rugged sharpness like Az or even Tharen. But this newcomer held a delicate sort of beauty just like Bastian’s, cut with a lethal edge. Her eyes were green, pupils slit, and faint scales shimmered on the backs of her hands. As she walked inside, a faint trail of wispy smoke wafted from her nostrils as she breathed—a dragon shifter.
With a short head of dusky blonde curls lining her forehead like a muted halo, the stranger had the look of a warrior angel, tall and toned with lean muscles. Jealousy roiled in Luella’s gut at the sight of Bastian’s hands settled low on the female’s hips, clothed in pure white pants with a matching billowy, snow-white blouse. Luella swallowed the feeling down. She had no claim to the vampire and wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing she felt something for him other than resentment.
Reclaiming his spot beside Luella, Bastian patted a muscled thigh, silently instructing the female to sit. She did so without preamble, almost jumping to obey as she perched on the vampire’s lap, a tanned hand tangling in Bastian’s black hair as she leaned back against him, shoulders stiff like she feared to disrupt his mercurial nature.
From the way the female shifter was sitting, Luella could see clearly as Bastian nosed along the female’s lithe neck, not at all gentle like he had been with her. One of Bastian’s hands batted the shifter’s touch away, forcing her hands back to her lap as Bastian held them with an iron-clad grip, keeping the shifter on his lap from touching him.
Bastian’s fingers roughly tugged on the dark blonde curls, forcing the shifter’s neck to be completely exposed to the predator with gleaming fangs, just waiting to tear into the awaiting meal.
Luella averted her gaze to the demon kneeling at her feet, something uncomfortable and thick tugging at her gut. Az looked up at her with a set jaw, his anger making her brow furrow in confusion. It was as though he was angry on her behalf. Angry at Bastian’s actions.
Tharen wrapped an arm around Luella’s waist, pulling her further from the pair and into his lap. He still had a tight grip on her wrists, and he roughly settled a hand on her chest, forcing her even closer. His fingers tickled against her collarbone; light touches that distracted her from the strange possessiveness welling inside her.
The intimate position made her head swim.
The scents swirling about the room would have been nice. If not for the interloper currently sitting quietly on Bastian’s lap.
"Do I smell good?" The female asked, back arching as much as she could from how tightly Bastian kept her pinned. The vampire acted like he just wanted it to be over, as though he was merely going through the motions.
The shifter’s voice was steady, not at all like Luella’s. And she felt jealous of her confidence.
Bastian removed his face from where it had been buried in her neck. "No," he murmured without inflection before diving back in.
But this time, with an open mouth, fangs poised to bite as the two points slid into the female’s neck with ease. Blood dribbled over her skin, and Bastian collected it with the tip of his finger, bringing it to the female’s lips and roughly coating them in a scarlet sheen.
It was erotic and angry, and Luella took a shaky breath, jolting as Tharen rubbed a firm hand over her bare thigh, revealed by the slit in her gown.
The mage leaned down, breathing over Luella’s flushed cheeks. "You like to watch?"
"N-no," Luella stuttered.
"I think you do. Remember, lamb, I can read every shift in your body. I know when you’re scared, content, pleased…" He nipped at her neck. "Excited."
Luella pushed him away with weak hands, and he let go of her reluctantly.
"Leave," Bastian ordered, pushing the female off his lap. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, seeming disgusted.
She staggered away, looking at Luella with a lascivious grin as she licked a drop of maroon blood from her lips.
"Next time, let the Princess join." The shifter’s voice was throaty and filled with intent; she parted the curtains and disappeared into the crowd of revelers.
Az and Bastian’s twin growls followed her from the alcove, and the stranger’s laughs echoed after her.
Tharen’s grip grew possessive on Luella’s hips.
"Why did you have to do that in front of her? Couldn’t you have taken it back to your room?" Tharen spat with disgust.
Az gripped her ankles tightly, thumb smoothing over her skin. He was quiet.
Bastian wiped his lips with the back of his hand again as if he couldn’t stand to taste the female on his lips any longer, smearing drops of blood over his cheek and staining the cuff of his shirt with red. "Couldn’t make it. I needed to feed." His words were stilted, the red in his eyes calmer now as they pierced right into Luella’s soul. "Her godsdamn scent is like an aphrodisiac."
"Fae blood is supposed to be sweet. Sweeter than most," Tharen taunted, fingers tapping on her thigh with agitation.
Az curled his manacled hands into Luella’s calves, fingers tangling with the skirts of her gown. "You won’t drink from her."
"I can drink from whomever I desire." Bastian growled and reached for a pitcher of wine, pouring a tall glass and taking a long sip before speaking again, "And I will drink from her, just not today. Not right now. My body hasn’t caught on yet, so I’m stuck half-satisfied until I can taste her."
"I don’t have a… say in this?" Luella said, exasperated as they talked circles around her.
Two resounding negatives from Tharen and Bastian and a quiet hum from Az was her only reply.
Luella groaned and wiggled off of the mage’s lap and onto the floor, where she knelt right beside Az, who pulled her into him. Her chain tugged at her wrist, and she grimaced from the ache.
Her body curled into Az’s warm embrace like a flower turning to the sun, and she rested her cheek on his bare chest, blowing a breath out between her teeth as she willed it all to stop, if only for a moment.