15. Carter
15
Carter
C ool spring air nipped at my cheeks while we walked through the crowd, contrasting the sharp bite of flames as they licked off the nearby fire. Bodies surrounded me, dancing and writhing on either side. Most had painted their faces in various shades of pinks and purples, and I narrowed my gaze on someone who had an epic snake twisting down their cheek and around their neck.
It reminded me of Midsummer on steroids, everyone so deeply entrenched in the party that they seemingly forgot about the rest of the world. The heavy stink of fairy magic coated my tongue in thick, euphoric waves, rushing down my throat every time I inhaled. Diana said to beware of that sensation, and Good Lord, she was right. It went straight to my brain, making me dizzy and hyper in all the right ways.
Clenching my eyes shut, I shook my head for a moment, hoping for a reprieve when I opened them again, but the revelry remained. Half-naked people surrounded me, laughing and roaring with joy. Drums beat loudly into the night, matching my pounding heart, and when a cool hand slipped into mine, I was thankful for the jolt back to reality.
“You okay?” Weeds asked, smiling at me.
I nodded and leaned down to kiss her, relishing in the soft feel of her mouth opening up to me. I could have stayed there and devoured her for the rest of my life, but we had a banshee, a lieutenant, and a commander to find.
“You think they already went ahead to Faerie?” I winced at the thought and continued to move through the crowd, meeting eyes with Lex and Miri a few yards away as they continued their search.
“No.” Ivy took a deep breath and ran a hand over her face. “They wouldn’t have left us behind. They would have come back for us.” She held up the ivy ring Siobhan had given her. “At the very least, she would have contacted me to let me know. They have to still be here.”
“If they came through the party, I can see why they would have gotten stuck.” Another wave of tantric power rushed through me, zinging my molecules awake. I suddenly wanted to grab Lex, Ivy, and Miri, find a private corner, and lick every inch of their skin until I had my fill. “It’s uh…overwhelming.”
A young woman wearing a thin white dress danced toward us, her hair braided back with flowers, her dark skin emanating warmth from the nearby fire. She smiled and placed a wreath of roses and ferns on my head before leaning in to kiss me on the cheek. I froze, knowing it was these same townspeople that had gotten us into trouble at Midsummer. They had shoved chalices and condoms in our hands, practically begging us to make bad life choices. It shouldn’t have been a surprise when we’d woken up two days later, married to each other, with no memory of how or why it happened.
She did the same to Ivy before handing us both a bundle of condoms, rose petals, and heather, bound together with twine. Then she smiled and pranced away.
“This place is so fucking weird.” Ivy laughed, squeezed my hand, and continued walking through the crowd.
According to the lore, Beltane was a fire festival marking the middle of spring and new life in all its variations. The world had survived the long death of winter, and now the people celebrated the return of the sun. Which, of course, came with all the joys of human procreation and massive orgies in every corner. A pile of bodies moved together on the grass a few yards to our right, barely visible behind the people in between. Their moans of ecstasy punctuated the drumming, and the light from the various fires cast them in terrible shadows. They had taken on a lifeform of their own, like some form of demented Beltane monster, here to devour everyone in its path.
“C’mon.” Ivy pulled my hand, diverting my attention back to the crowd, and led me through the center part of the valley, her bright gaze searching for our allies. I was taller than most of the people here, so I had an advantage. I saw Miri up ahead with Lex, pointing to the left, just past another group of people enjoying the fairy wine and lowered inhibitions.
A platinum blond head peered over the rest of the crowd, green eyes practically glowing in the moonlight.
Finn.
“Miri found him,” I said to Ivy, nodding toward the fairy’s towering form.
She gripped my palm and tugged us in that direction, and I nodded at Lex when we emerged from the crowd at the same time. Siobhan and Donnelly lay on the ground in a heap, kissing and rubbing against each other while Finn watched with rapt fascination. I winced, thanking whatever luck was on our side that we’d gotten here before things went X-rated.
“Finn,” I said, grabbing onto his arm, hoping to break him from this trance.
Big mistake.
The second my palm came into contact with his skin, a whoosh of relaxation went through me, like I’d swallowed a handful of Xanax with a fifth of Jack chaser. My knees melted, and comfortable happiness settled in my gut like warm cocoa. My worries faded away. Hell, I couldn’t even remember why we were so freaked out to begin with.
Finn turned to me, his green eyes even more beautiful than I remembered, and he cupped my cheek, leaning down to press his lips to mine. They were soft and inviting, and so damn delicious, I couldn’t stop consuming them. The commander swept his tongue out, wrestling with mine, tasting like wine and pure, undiluted sin.
I wanted more.
A hard shove at my side broke the kiss, and I narrowed my unfocused gaze on a glowering Lex, his hazel eyes angry and piercing.
“Stop that,” he snarled, clapping in front of my face. “Snap out of it.”
Snap out of what?
There was nothing to do, nowhere to be, not a damn care in the world.
A low giggle got my attention, where I found Ivy kneeling by Siobhan, leaning in to kiss the banshee. It looked so damned fun, I couldn’t resist. I dropped down next to them, connecting my lips with Donnelly’s. He was firmer and more solid than Finn, holding a silent dominance that spoke of the hunter inside him. But I loved it. His scent enveloped me, and when Ivy leaned back up to wrap her perfect fingers behind my neck, I let her pull me to her mouth so she could relish me any way she wanted.
Hands skated over my torso and down my waist, so many fingers touching and squeezing and taking. I couldn’t tell whose was whose, and at this point, I didn’t care. I hung my head back on my shoulders, focusing my attention on the way Finn captured Lex’s lips. The fairy commander held DC’s face in his massive palms, claiming his mouth the same way he’d done to mine. Miri fell to my side, wrapping an arm over my shoulders before leaning in to take my earlobe between her teeth.
Chills of rapture erupted down that side of my body as Siobhan kissed Ivy harder, deeper, and I ran my hands through Donnelly’s hair, reveling in how soft and shiny it was in the firelight. I couldn’t focus. Everything seemed so blurry around the edges, so drenched in dream light that I thought I would never wake up again.
And that was just finnneee.
Ivy curled her fingers against my scalp, drawing my face toward hers so she could lick my mouth, sucking the taste of Donnelly off my skin. Soft, feminine fingers traced down my shoulders before another tongue ghosted across the back of my neck, sending goose pimples down the center of my spine. My shirt floated over my head while someone else worked at my belt buckle, and I closed my eyes to languish in the sensation of skin against skin, pheromones mixing in the air, the bite of winter lingering as spring tried to take root.
I could have stayed there forever. I could have let Siobhan and her lovers have the four of us. Rolling my head to the side, I wished for this party to never end. No wonder the entire town had abandoned their lives for this. Who would ever want to leave?
Sensations coasted through me, more potent and vitalizing than the last time, and when I opened my eyes, I focused on a tall blond woman dancing around the closest fire. She looked vaguely familiar, wearing a long white dress that had seen better days and waving her arms above her head like she commanded the drums instead of the other way around. Beauty radiated off her in thick white tendrils, powerful and effervescent, and I soaked it up, willing more of it to collect inside me.
I rolled my head back farther to allow a mouth more access to my jawline, but narrowed my focus when something horrific came into view. Just beyond the fire pit, a group of people writhed against each other so desperately that they’d become a mass of limbs and skin…and blood. I squinted, not sure I was seeing what I thought I saw, but yes…they’d scratched each other so hard flesh hung from muscle and bone. Yet, they kept going, kept moaning, seemingly welcoming the agony.
Shock surged through me in a nauseating rush, and I shoved to my feet, digging my palms into my eyes to rub them before opening them again. But in that split moment, another crowd had moved in the way and I lost track of the scene that startled me.
What the fuck? Did I…Did I just see that?
The woman in white danced harder, waving her hands more forcefully, ghostly webs of energy shooting off them. I turned back to the sight in front of me, where Siobhan held on to Ivy’s face while she bit and sucked at her mouth, growing more demanding with each swipe. Lex and Miri rolled against each other while Donnelly kissed and licked at both of their necks, occasionally sinking his teeth in long enough to make Lex moan. Finn stood watch over it all, his attention rapt while he licked his lips and took long, slow inhales.
But just beyond us, over by the tree line, a group of people were fucking so hard, they had rubbed themselves raw, damn near as terrible as the others. Their mouths and teeth were covered in crimson liquid, dripping from their lips in a grotesque display of passion and lust. Their arms were painted ruby red, their chests streaked with dirt and grime and…
Fuck. We’re so fucked.
I shook my head harder, grimacing against the magic, taking long, deep inhales to try to clear it. None of it helped. The spell permeated the air, electrifying everything in its path. We were stuck in its web, and it looked like Diana was only feeding whatever psycho trip had ensnared the town.
We need to get out of here.
If the king stumbled upon us like this, we would be screwed.
Fighting the euphoria threatening to pull me under again, I grabbed Ivy and yanked her away from the group by her shirt.
“Nooooo,” she whined, trying to get back.
“Weeds,” I said, clapping two inches from her face in a desperate attempt to get her attention.
She started crying, tears streaking down her face as she physically fought me to get back to Siobhan. Miri and Donnelly grabbed her arms, tugging her down into the pile. But my disruption had gotten Finn’s attention, and he turned toward me, his emerald eyes glittering with anger, his brows furrowed at my insolence.
He stuck a hand out and tried to wrap his fingers around the back of my neck, but I lunged away from him, ducking out of his hold.
“Chicago,” Lex moaned. “Join us.”
“Join us, Romeo,” Miri said, holding a hand out to me. “Come back to me.”
Their siren calls hit me low in the gut, nearly bending me at the knees, but I had to stay strong. For whatever reason, luck or disgust or terror, I’d broken the fairy trance. I’d come to my senses and remembered why the hell we were here. We had no time to lose, and certainly not enough to get wasted and fuck an entire town in the woods.
And I definitely didn’t want to be here when the fairies decided we tasted good enough to consume or…whatever the fuck was going on over there.
Finn reached for me again, his massive palm nearly colliding with my face, but I spun away and picked up a nearby silver stein that had been forgotten on a log. I didn’t want to make contact with him again, since that was what seemingly pulled me under the last time, but I needed him to get a hint. I needed them to come back to themselves now, even Diana.
Instinct had my fairy gift taking over, and I swung the tankard at his face, slamming it hard against his cheek. He whipped his head to the side, grabbing at the assault before freezing.
“Finn!” I shouted. “Commander of the Fianna! Wake up!”
He rolled his jaw and shook his head before straightening to look back at me, shifting his shoulders as the muscles near his ears twitched. My heart throbbed while I waited to see what he would do next. If it didn’t work, he’d probably grab that big-ass hunting knife in his boot and ram the business-end into my heart. I took a step back, inhaling a long, deep breath and waiting for his reaction.
Finn narrowed his gaze on me before looking around, gaping when he realized where we were and what was happening around us. When he refocused on me, his eyes sparkled with relief. “Carter?”
I sighed, my shoulders deflating. Finally. “Finn. Help me. Please.”
He looked down at our entranced spouses, now in various states of nakedness as they grappled for each other.
“Fuck, I was worried this would happen.” He ran his hands back through his hair before swiping them down his face. “The king and queen stabilize the magic here. Without both of them, it’s gone off-balance.” He looked around, his grimace deepening when he saw the townspeople gone to violent madness.
“How do we fix it?”
He growled when his focus landed on Diana. “I’ll be right back.”
I watched as he walked over to the queen, dodging out of her touch when she tried to pull him into whatever magic she was creating. He pointed to us and her gaze caught mine, holding it for a moment while recognition dawned. But she only shook her head and said something that had him ducking his chin in defeat. They continued arguing, but I could tell the conversation wasn’t going the way he wanted.
I had broken out of this trance on my own. Perhaps we didn’t need the queen. Perhaps I could reach my lovers without having to hit them in the face. I kneeled next to Lex, grabbing his wrists when he brought his hands to my cheeks, trying to lean in to kiss me.
“DC,” I said, twisting out of the way. “Remember when I first met you.”
“You were so fucking hot,” he moaned, attempting to connect our mouths again, “and I wanted to fuck you so goddamned bad.”
I ignored his compliment and held him still while I continued. “I need you to come back to me now.”
He didn’t seem to know what I was talking about, and instead, leaned in to lick my neck, sliding his tongue down my windpipe before nibbling on that spot he could always find, the one that made my toes curl.
Trying again, I shifted his hands in mine, wrapping my fingers around the backs of them, my thumbs swiping over his palms.
The ridges of his scars bubbled against the rest of his smooth skin, and I caressed them, remembering the night they’d been made. How his eyes had shimmered in the Midsummer twilight sky, how he’d tasted like shame and devotion, how much I had envied him for getting to marry Ivy while being jealous of Ivy for getting to have him as well. I dug my thumbnail into those jagged lines.
Until the end.
The end hadn’t come yet. I still needed him.
“Wake up, DC.”
He grimaced, trying to pull his hand away from mine, and when I wouldn’t let him, he attempted to smack my cheek. I gripped his wrist millimeters away from my face to stop him, digging my nails into that skin, too.
“Ow, fuck!” Lex groaned and attempted to yank away from me again, but I pressed my thumb harder into his scars, my nail almost breaking the flesh.
“Come back to me, Alexei Fairfax. You promised me until the end, and I mean to hold you to that.” My voice grew darker as it went on, seeming to come from some despicable part of my soul. “Come back to me.”
Lex blinked, his jaw falling open, and he let out a sharp gasp.
“Fuck,” he said, looking around. “Fuck, how long have we been out?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “But we need to get the others and get out of here. Now.”