Chapter 15 Mari
Mari
After leaving the library, I had all but run back to the room I’d been assigned.
“What’s wrong?” Tulli reached for me.
“Nothing, just…we need to prepare to go to the interviews. Fifteen minutes.”
The moment I’d seen him standing with his back to me, outlined by the light, my body had reacted like he was the first…anything to me. The fire from the night before, the tension rolling between us heightened every sensation in me.
And his assertion that I might not be sleeping because I was thinking of him was…
fuck it was so true and there was no way I could say otherwise.
Bad enough that a single encounter had left me dripping wet with need, wanting a release so badly I’d stumbled back to the stunning blue and gold room, and kicked everyone out.
My own fingers were not enough, but thinking of him and his body against mine, his words…Were your legs wrapped around my waist, or my head, Marinnia?
Imagining his mouth where the hardness of his body had been, his tongue sliding between my lips, flicking against my clit.
I struggled to breathe as I arched against my own hand, wishing it was him…gods be damned I wanted a demon…after fighting against every part of this for so many years, why now?
But the thought of him burying his face between my legs…sucking, licking, stroking until I was writhing against him.
“I want to be inside you when you come,” he rasped in my mind, climbing up the bed and lifting me to sit astride him. His body was a furnace, his cock long and impossibly thick. I should’ve been afraid, but instead I strained toward it, wanting every steely inch.
“Please,” I whimpered as he worked the thick head in. “More.”
He let out a low snarl and surged up with one, smooth motion, filling me to the hilt. I gasped as he gripped my hips, lifting me up and then down again in one agonizing stroke.
Then another.
That was all I needed to push me over the edge, my body arching as I called his name.
“Gabriel!”
Light exploded behind my eyelids as I shook, every muscle tightening. Waves of pleasure washed over me, crashing again and again to the point that I had to bite my lip to keep from screaming. When it was finally over, I opened my eyes, hating myself for what I’d done.
Hating the fact that it hadn’t changed a thing even more.
Whatever flame he’d lit in me, it still burned. And I had to make it my number one priority to extinguish it as soon as possible, or it would ruin everything I’d worked for.
He may have taken my name, but I wouldn’t allow him to steal my future.
My mind instantly shifted to Tulli, Feather, and Jastani.
Our future.
I pulled myself together as best I could, gathered Tulli and Feather and left the castle, Harald following close behind as our escort.
By the time we slowed to a stop in town a short while later, I’d managed to push the demon king to the back of my mind. Not because I’d purged him properly, but because we were standing in front of Lotus House.
Kami’s place.
I’d been torn over whether to come here next or not because, on one hand, they were dealing with enough right now after Alethea’s death.
The last thing they needed was to have to sit through a bunch of questions on behalf of a king who had his own agenda and didn’t give two fucks about them, unless of course they had been at or near Stonehenge when the Veil fell.
On the other hand, I, too, had an agenda. And it was to make whoever was killing these Doves pay. I wasn’t breaking any oaths by achieving both goals at once. I’d ask some questions that Gabriel the Demon King needed answered.
And then I’d ask some of my own.
I could sense Feather stiffening beside me as I rapped firmly on the door.
“You don’t have to stay,” I whispered, pressing my shoulder against hers gently. “Harald can take you back—”
“No, ma’am!” Harald’s panicked voice sounded from behind me, and I shot him a glance over my shoulder. “Sorry, Briar Queen! I just…” he wet his lips and continued on. “His Royal Highness said I have to stay with you at all times.”
I bit back a snarl and gathered myself before replying.
“Does his Highness think that Tulli and I, plus the 15 Doves within are all going to get murdered by this twisted individual at once, Harald? Surely, interviewing all the girls will take far longer than running Feather to the castle and then coming back?”
“It’s okay. I want to stay.” Feather drew her shoulders back and put on a brave face. “I’ll be fine.”
The door swung open before I could argue, and Kami stood in the frame. I barely swallowed back a gasp at the sight of her. I’d never seen her without a full face of perfectly applied makeup, an elaborate hairdo, and a gown meant to turn heads.
But there she stood, dark smudges beneath red-rimmed eyes, still in a simple cotton nightgown covered by a threadbare robe that had clearly been in her closet for years.
She raked a hand through her messy hair and lifted both shoulders helplessly. “I don’t even…” She launched herself at me before finishing her sentence, holding on for dear life. “How can this have happened?” she demanded through broken sobs.
Tulli and I exchanged looks as I wrapped my arms around Kami and squeezed.
Not at all what I’d been expecting.
I’d heard that her House planned to stay open for business, like most of the others. Judging by the state of her, I was guessing something had changed.
“Come on inside,” she murmured as she pulled away, swiping at her wet face.
“Sorry for that little display. I know we’ve not seen each other at anything but our best, but only others in my position could understand how this feels…
to lose someone who trusted us to make sure they were taken care of. I failed her. I failed Alethea.”
We followed her inside and she led us to a beautifully decorated sitting room.
I hadn’t been inside the place for years, but her taste was still as impeccable as I remembered.
The room looked like something pulled from another century, all dark polished mahogany and rich jewel tones, with heavy velvet drapes framing the tall windows.
A marble fireplace took up one wall; its mantel packed with silver candleholders and porcelain figurines.
The furniture was elegant without feeling too stiff, and the three of us took a seat on a large sofa upholstered in deep green velvet while Harald stood posted by the front door like a stone gargoyle watching over us.
She rang a bell and a young woman rushed into the room.
“Ma’am?”
“Some iced tea for all, please, Racquel.”
The servant scurried away as Kami lowered herself to the loveseat nearby.
“We are so very sorry about Alethea,” Tulli said, shaking her head with a soft sigh. “She was one of the good ones.”
“The best,” Kami agreed, a smile playing about her cupid’s bow mouth. “That’s what I don’t understand. There are so many people in this place who deserve killing. Why her? Why any of us?”
Tulli winced. “Apparently, he’s a real sicko. I wouldn’t do what he did to those girls to my worst enemy.”
“I don’t think this has anything to do with the Doves themselves.
He might not even know them personally. They’re just vessels for his rage,” I said, crossing my legs as I tried to think of which questions to lead with.
“We’ve come for two reasons. One, I’d like to ask about Alethea’s last few days.
I need to be honest, though…” I paused as the servant girl came and delivered our drinks, taking a sip of mine before continuing, “We’d have come for Alethea no matter what, but we’re actually here on behalf of the new king. ”
Kami sat back against the seat, eyes narrowing. I could hardly blame her. One learned to be wary at all times around these parts.
“Alright, I’m listening.”
“He’s looking for a woman. He has reason to believe she is one of our Doves. All he knows about her is that she is around our age, has dark hair, or did as a child, and that she spent time in England. Near Stonehenge specifically.”
“And he needs this woman for what, exactly?”
This had been the rub with all the Doves so far.
“I’m not at liberty to say.”
She stared at me and then let out a very un-Kami-like snort.
“Well, you better get at liberty then, Briar Queen, because if not, I can’t help you.
For all we know…” she spared a glance towards Harald’s turned back and lowered her voice to a whisper, “for all we know, he’s the one doing the killing.
We don’t know this man from Adam. Coincidence that he shows up and all of a sudden, we’ve got murdered Doves left and right of us? ”
“Think it through, Kami,” I reasoned. “He could murder us all right now. Legally. And there would be no one to stand for us.” I set my glass down on the coffee table and swiped my damp hands on my skirts before continuing.
“I cannot say why he needs this information, but I can tell you that you have my word that the girl will come to no harm at his hands. She is…important to him and he wishes to protect her.”
It choked me to say it. While my gut told me it was likely true—as much as I hated him, the Demon King did have a conscience—I could be completely wrong, and I certainly wouldn’t be the first person deceived by a demon.
But the truth was, I needed Kami to trust me if I was ever getting out of here with my girls.
More than that, though, frankly, our lives—their lives—mattered more to me than a dozen other Doves. If I was speaking a lie, so be it.
And doesn’t that make you a real shit person?
Whatever the case, my explanation worked.
Kami frowned and squinted, looking off into the distance.
“Tyra, Charissa, Deana, and Fatima are all from America and were picked up by Sweepers very young. I don’t believe any of them had families with enough money to have travelled.
I can ask them, but none fit your description.
Then, I have a handful of older Doves who are long past 29.
That leaves five I can think of. I assume you’ll want to speak to them? ”
“Please.”
She gave me a long and considering look that had me wondering if she might toss us out on our asses. And then…
“Are you really going to try to find who hurt Alethea?”
“I am. And I will do anything in my power to bring them to justice. One way or another.”
No lies this time.
Her eyes narrowed as if she understood very clearly what I meant. I would kill the bastard myself if I could. “On your word, Briar. I’ll gather them up and bring them in, one at a time.”
The relief was shattered less than ten seconds later, a woman screaming had us all on our feet.
“Kami! Kami!”
The screams were followed by the front door being yanked open so hard, the hinges shrieked as loud as the woman.
A pretty young brunette I hadn’t met before sprinted into the room past a bewildered looking Harald, her eyes wide with shock, chest heaving like she’d run a marathon.
All four of us leapt toward her, and my heart blasted against my ribs as if I already knew what she was going to say before she said it.
“There’s been another murder!”
No.
“Who?” I demanded as Kami grabbed the girl’s arm to steady her. Poor thing was shaking from head to toe, though I could hardly blame her.
So was I.
“N-no one knows yet,” she stammered, still struggling to catch her breath.
“They found the body, didn’t they?” Kami demanded.
“Yes. And the entrails were strewn about this time too. But…” Her throat worked as she tried to get the words out. “Her face was gone. Like it had been eaten by an animal. Her arms and legs, torn to bits.”
Harald gasped and whispered something under his breath.
My mind raced as I tried to make sense of it.
The others were silent and looking to me to find an answer. I forced my body to calm, and with it, my mind caught up. “There are no real predators down here, unless you count the hell-hounds who are well controlled by their demon owners. What in the world could’ve, or would have done that?”
Demons were capable of all manners of atrocities, but they didn’t eat human flesh.
“I don’t see how it would be possible for one to get down here alive, but someone said—” the girl broke off and bit her trembling lip. “Someone said they saw a werewolf. Only massive. Larger than any they’d ever heard of. It ran off before they could do anything.”
Feather gripped my arm, her whole-body trembling. To the other side of me, Tulli had gone incredibly still, as if that would save her, should the werewolf find her. Fuck…fuck this was bad.
Werewolves hunted in packs. And they knew better than to come into The Spire.
If one had come, that meant it wasn’t alone.
And far more terrifying?
They were unafraid.
Demon hellfire.
Things had just gone from truly awful, to even fucking worse.