Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
Eadric fed me the last bite of stew, and Daemon stole me from Darian’s lap.
“Come see what we’ve done in your room,” he said. “I think you’ll like it.”
I thanked Eadric and Darian for feeding me and allowed Daemon to lead me up the stairs. In my room, I found a roughly made bed big enough for three to sleep comfortably. The mattress was thinner than those in the glade, but I didn’t mind.
A washbasin waited beside the bed, and near the chimney sat a small copper tub.
“We can heat water downstairs and bring it up here,” Daemon said.
I tipped my head to look back at him as he wrapped his arms around me from behind.
“You wouldn’t mind the work?”
“To see you naked? Never.”
Darian laughed behind us. “Would you like a bath now?”
I turned in Daemon’s arms and looked up at him. Then, I leaned to the side and glanced at Darian. I could feel their desire. It teased me…called to me in a way that made me want to agree to a bath. But Pogwid’s comment about consuming Garron’s desire left me questioning why I felt what I did toward these men. Was it because I’d committed myself to them fully or because, after a long afternoon of casting, I needed their desire to replenish what I’d used casting?
“What’s wrong, Lamb?” Daemon asked.
“That woman said something I’m not sure I care for.”
“Tell us,” Darian said.
“I was exploring her memories—with her permission—and she told Garron to stop me. His way to interrupt was to kiss me. When I’m touching my well like that, everything you feel for me is more potent. It feeds what I feel.”
“I like the sound of that,” Darian said with a grin.
“It might not be as simple as influencing what I feel, though. Pogwid said she didn’t know emotions were energy that we could take and that I’d been consuming Garron’s desire for me.”
“Would you like some of mine?” Daemon asked.
He dipped his head to kiss me, but I turned away.
“Why did consuming Garron’s desire upset you, Princess?” Darian asked.
“I didn’t know I was taking it. What if what I feel for all of you is?—”
Daemon captured my chin, and his mouth covered mine, swallowing the rest of my fears as he kissed me slowly. Sweetly. I felt his desire, but more than that, I felt his love for me. His concern. When he pulled back, he kissed my forehead, my nose, then my chin.
“Never doubt what we feel for you. It’s real. It’s not because of some spell. You are witty, exciting, challenging, and sweet.”
“So sweet,” Darian said, kissing the back of my neck. “The looks you give can stop my heart and melt my insides. It’s you, Princess—just you—that is enthralling, not your magic.”
“And we know what you feel for us is love. If it weren’t, the spell would have never broken.”
Daemon’s words soothed a very concerned part of me. When he kissed me again, I answered the kiss, meeting his tongue with my own. Darian’s fingers plucked at my lacings and slowly freed me of my dress and shift so he could trail kisses over my shoulders and down my back.
Their desire wrapped around me, tingling under my skin. This time, I felt the subtle way I consumed it. It wasn’t that I pulled it in; it melted into me.
Darian kissed the sway of my spine and nudged my legs apart. When his fingers parted my folds, I groaned into Daemon’s mouth.
Daemon’s lips left mine, and I panted as he kissed my neck and palmed my breast.
“The bed,” he said against my skin.
I nodded and found myself swept up into his arms. Darian swore as I was taken away from him, and I turned my head to watch him lick his fingers. It ignited me from the inside, and my hunger for them consumed me. I needed them. Their desire. I needed them mindless with it.
Daemon lay me on the bed, and I threaded my fingers in his hair as he leaned over me to bring his mouth to mine. The hunger with which I kissed him drew another groan from his lips and he palmed one of my breasts.
Darian’s hand closed over my knee, guiding it to the side. I tore my mouth from Daemon’s, and meeting his gaze, I said, “Taste me as it pleases you, Darian.”
They both swore under their breaths, and Daemon’s mouth closed over mine at the same time his brother’s tongue laved my folds. I took what they gave. Each moan and caress. Their desire filled me. Fed me. Inflamed me.
I shattered at the feel of Darian's tongue delving deep inside of me, and Daemon swallowed my scream. The sensation was still rippling through me when Darian’s mouth left my skin and he joined us on the bed. Daemon rolled me toward him as his brother held me from behind.
“Tell me if this is too much,” Darian said, lifting my leg back over his and slowly entering me from behind.
I groaned at the sensation and opened my eyes to look at Daemon.
Naked, he stood beside the bed, watching his brother slowly thrust into me. My gaze dipped to his hard length, and I felt myself flush. He held out a hand. I slipped mine into his and let him draw my top half away from Darian and closer to the edge of the bed.
Darian groaned and thrust deeper with the new angle, his fingers gripping my hips tightly.
“Do you like it?” Daemon asked.
“Yes,” I breathed.
“Do you need more?”
“Yes.”
I tugged him toward me, my gaze locked on his hard length. Their desire tripled, filling the room. I couldn’t draw a breath without tasting it. And when my mouth closed over Daemon, I feasted. The taste of him on my tongue seemed to unleash something within me. It hungered in a way that should have terrified me. Yet, with Daemon gently caressing my cheek and holding my braid, it didn’t.
Finding my release for the second time, I shattered around Darian, and Daemon withdrew from my mouth despite my weak protest. A moment later, I felt Darian’s release. He groaned and kissed my neck.
“You are everything to us, Princess.”
I felt him withdraw while the hunger still clawed at me. I struggled to push it back, but it wouldn’t listen. It needed. I needed.
I looked at Daemon, letting my gaze convey what I couldn’t say aloud.
“Do you need more, Lamb?” he asked.
I nodded. He fetched a cloth from the washbasin and gently cleaned me. The rough texture of the cloth over my sensitive skin sent shivers through me.
“There,” he said, tossing it aside. “Tell me what you want.”
My flush deepened. I wanted more of what Darian had done. It had felt so good to be bedded from behind.
He saw my flush and grinned. “Will you tell me if I do something you don’t like?”
I nodded and squeaked when he suddenly flipped me onto my stomach.
“Be a Lamb and get to your knees.”
On my hands and knees, I glanced at Darian beside me. He grinned lazily and reached out to trail a finger over my breast as Daemon knelt behind me.
“I hope we tied these ropes well,” Daemon said a second before he entered me. We both moaned at the sensation, and I felt my center clench around him.
He grunted and withdrew only to thrust in once more. The snap of his hips was fast and forceful, and his length surged deep within me. I cried out at the pleasure and gripped the bedding.
“She liked it,” Darian said softly.
“I could tell,” Daemon said roughly, withdrawing and snapping forward once more.
After that, he set a grueling pace. I gasped and panted as the pleasure danced just out of my reach until Darian’s hand shifted from my breast to that little bud in my folds. He circled it twice then gently plucked at it.
I came apart with a scream that echoed in the room and would have collapsed into the mattress if not for Daemon’s firm grip on my hips. His rhythm faltered after a few more thrusts, and I felt his pulsing release wash my insides.
He pulled me upright against his chest and kissed my cheek and neck.
“Beautiful,” Darian said, watching me. “Simply beautiful.”
Smiling weakly, I closed my eyes and leaned into Daemon, who guided us to the mattress.
Sleep tugged at me as they trailed their hands over my skin, soothing me. I felt their love—and the love of the other brothers in the house.
“Think the neighbors heard her?” Daemon asked softly.
“Wipe that smirk from your face. You can bet that Edmund’s already planning how to make her scream louder. How are we going to explain what’s happening here if they do hear?”
“We’ll need to find a way to keep her quiet when it’s his turn again.”
I shivered at how they might keep me quiet and at the thought that they were taking turns. Though I knew they meant spending intimate time with me, I thought of how Daemon had taken me immediately after his brother. He hadn’t been repulsed. No, he’d been eager. Very eager.
Wrapping my arms around his torso, I cuddled his chest and fell asleep to the feel of Darian gently washing me.
* * *
“How much longer do you think she will sleep?” Garron asked softly.
“Go away,” Daemon mumbled.
“I’m worried.”
Darian sighed behind me and kissed my bare shoulder, reminding me I hadn’t bothered dressing before falling asleep.
Any embarrassment I would have felt was impossible with their ever-present desire teasing me.
“Are you worried we exhausted her or that her casting did?” Daemon asked from beneath me.
“Both, but mostly the casting.”
“Or perhaps I’m simply too lazy to leave this warm nest,” I said, lifting my hand to tweak Daemon’s nipple. He jolted underneath me, and I grinned before opening my eyes.
Garron was in the doorway with Edmund behind him.
“They’re going to be late for work,” Edmund said. Everything about him radiated annoyance, but I knew better. I could feel what he was feeling. Lust, pure and simple.
“Have you decided how you’ll make me scream louder?” I asked, smirking at him.
“Trouble,” he said softly. I knew he wasn’t saying my pet name but acknowledging what I was doing.
I grinned unrepentantly and rolled off of Daemon.
“Out of bed, both of you,” I said. “I won’t be responsible for your tardiness.”
They made sounds of protest but collected their discarded clothes and left the room. Edmund left with them. Garron lingered.
“Speak your mind, Garron,” I said as I motioned for him to turn around.
With his back to me, he said, “You fell asleep before the sun set and woke after it rose. That’s not like you.”
I left the bed, quickly slipped into my shift, and shook out my dress.
“You ask for answers I don’t have, Garron. I slept because I was tired. Whether due to your brothers or the casting, I cannot say. What I can say is that I feel fine now. However, I know that does not put your mind at ease, and I’m sorry for that. Would you like to help me finish dressing? You can look for signs of fatigue.”
While I was serious, I could feel his hurt that I might be teasing him for his concern.
I crossed to the doorway and wrapped my arms around him from behind.
“Thank you for caring about me enough to worry. I have no one else in the world to care for me now except for the seven of you.”
“And Eloise,” he said.
“Yes, and my sister. But I know I won’t be spending the rest of my life with her, now, will I?”
He pried my arms loose and turned to hug me close.
“No, you’ll spend it with us. Are you truly well?”
“I truly feel well,” I said. “Irritated and frustrated, but not tired.” I tipped my head to look up at him. “I’ve been taking your desire for me without realizing it. It’s frustrating to be so uneducated in a skill that could potentially hurt those I love. Why hadn’t your amulets stopped me? Pogwid’s surprise at what I can do is unsettling, considering her experience and abilities.
“Am I so odd? It’s upsetting to be different. It feels as if I will go my entire life set apart from others, never truly belonging.”
He kissed my forehead. “You belong. Here. With us. Always. What you can or cannot do won’t ever change that.”
“Until the neighbors hear me having my way with all of you.”
He flushed and looked away as he cleared his throat.
“I dare any of them to speak against us,” Edmund said from the hallway. “Dress quickly, or you won’t leave the house today. Breakfast is waiting.”
His footfalls retreated, and Garron gave me a sheepish smile.
Once he finished lacing my gown, he led me downstairs where Eadric and Edmund waited for me with a breakfast of boiled oats.
“Where are Brandle and Liam?” I asked.
“Errands,” Edmund said as he drew me to sit on his lap. Eadric fed me as Edmund gently fondled my person. I didn’t mind either.
“What will the two of you do today?” I asked after I ate my last bite.
“We’re to go to the sheep market to shear for coin,” Eadric said. “We’ve helped Andrew with it before, so someone should be willing to pay us. We will see you at dinner.”
The pair kissed me goodbye and sent me off with Garron.
I set my hand on his arm and walked away from the house. Although he’d been concerned that I’d slept so long, we were still leaving much earlier than the prior day. No patrol crossed our paths as I carefully navigated us around them.
When we turned onto Pogwid’s lane, I felt the same tingle of warning as the day prior. Rather than dismiss it, I tried to explore it. The sensation radiated from her home—a dark warning to turn away. Yet, it didn’t grow stronger when I knocked on her door as a typical warning would.
As the door unlatched, I opened myself to the energy around me and searched for a spell I knew had to be present. It wasn’t in the home but in the ground along the entire street. As I would expect from a caster of her knowledge, it was well hidden within the soil and not directly tied to her home.
She was hiding.
“Are you going to stand out there all day?” she called.
I entered and saw through her spell right away.
She cocked her head at me.
“Something’s changed,” she said.
“Yes. My understanding. Why are you hiding yourself here?”
She made an annoyed sound. “Because I’m not yet ready to meet my end, of course. And I doubt the change I sense is your understanding, but you can amuse me with what you think you’ve gained. Come now. Tell me.”
“I now understand how different I am from most casters. You’re experienced enough that you mentored Henry. I’ve read his vast collection of notes. Energy is in everything in a finite amount. It was stressed several times. I’ve experienced it when I consume the energy from an object until the point it disappears. Yet, my ability to take energy from emotions surprised you. That means it’s not common. It’s also very powerful since emotions are not finite. The life tied to the person is, but not the emotions. They ebb and flow, depending on the circumstance, but never truly end.
“What does it mean that I unknowingly consumed them? What does it mean that I cannot sense the capacity of my well when I could yours? How did I instinctively know to hide myself? And why do I never need to pull energy into me? Why does it flood me if I am not closed off?”
She nodded slowly.
“When we discover the answer to one thing, it always creates more questions, does it not?”
“That is not an answer.”
“You seem upset with the questions you have. I didn’t want to add to them.”
“Has anyone ever told you that you are exasperating?”
She laughed loudly and rocked back into her chair to stand.
“Henry often said that to me. But the more irritating I was, the more determined he was to learn more than me.”
“And did he?”
“He was my equal when he died. That will not hold true for you and me, though.”
“Why not?”
“You already surpass me, child. As you’ve guessed, your capacity for casting exceeds mine. By how much, I cannot say. Now, are you ready to learn?”
I nodded.
Garron took a seat and patiently listened to the knowledge Pogwid imparted. I transfigured objects with increasing ease and learned to what limit I could perform a direct cast without detection. Then she taught me how to ward our house.
“Think of it as putting a lid on a pot. What is inside will be unknown to everyone from the outside. But some of the magic can seep out if you’re not careful.”
Then, Pogwid surprised me by asking me to cast a memory spell on her.
“Why?”
“Some things are best forgotten. If I’m taken by a patrol for questioning, I want any memory of you to vanish. Do you understand?”
I slowly nodded. While I understood her request, I didn’t understand why it was necessary. She saw my hesitation and motioned for me to sit.
“They’ve told you little about the queen, haven’t they?”
“Just what they call her and that she was responsible for their curse.” I chose not to mention the bit about her killing small children.
Pogwid nodded. “They were very young when they were cursed. Henry brought them here, hoping that I could lift it, but I knew, at their ages, they wouldn’t be able to withstand the pain. Liam was still a suckling babe.” She shook her head. “They are not the only ones whose lives have been ruined by the queen. So many have lost their lives for one simple reason. The queen fears being overthrown as the previous King and Queen were—may their energy find peace. Any caster who comes close to matching her power is a threat and will quickly die.”
“That’s why you’re hidden while other casters are not? So she doesn’t kill you as well?”
“It is.”
The pieces settled in my mind. Pogwid was powerful enough to be a threat to the queen, and my well had more capacity than Pogwid’s. A spell to forget me wasn’t to keep Pogwid safe but me.
“Am I more powerful than the queen?”
She glanced at Garron then sighed and shook her head. “Power isn’t ability.”
“Knowledge is power,” I said, understanding. Pogwid had the knowledge, but with her cracked well, she would never be able to face the queen, who liked to kill small children.
She nodded. “And you are woefully uneducated.”
“Then educate me.”
She chuckled and shook her head. “I think we’ve covered enough today. Cast your spell to ensure I forget you if I’m ever questioned; then go home and cast your protection spell there.”
She crossed the room and stood before me.
Rather than speaking the words aloud to clarify my intent, I touched my energy to hers and said them in my mind.
For the people she lost, let her light continue to shine. Mend her well with the energy I confine. Let her continue with grace and gratitude, to protect those who need protection and keep her from the queen’s detection. If she’s taken at the queen’s behest, she will lose all memory of me at my request.
I sent my energy into her well as I clasped both her hands. Her eyes went wide, and her mouth opened in a silent scream. Her pain reverberated through me, but I held tight, focused on mending what her desperation had destroyed.
Crack by crack, I used my energy to repair the well from the bottom. Like distant war drums, my pulse pounded in my ears, growing louder as I worked upward.
“Kellen!”
Garron’s hands gripped mine, trying to tear them from Pogwid’s. My magic held firm.
Light flickered just beyond my peripheral as I reached midway. My lungs grew tight. Each breath hurt. But I refused to quit when the energy in my well remained unchanged.
A glint of blue sparked in Pogwid’s brown gaze, and I flew backward.
Darkness closed around me before I hit the wall.