Chapter 25
Oryx
Istepped into the library. I have only been in here a few times in a hunt for books for my pet. I never lingered, not wanting to be caught by my Lord. I never left a book out of place, never left prints on the tables. I didn’t want to be seen, not when I had my pet to tend to.
I felt ashamed anyway, why would I be in this room? I could not read, write. No wonder my Lord didn’t care to talk with me. I was nothing but the monster that did his bidding outside these walls.
Too many questions would have been brought up.
It didn’t matter now.
I stepped inside, the blue fire crackling.
Its glow cast flickering shadows across the room, painting the walls in shades of sapphire and indigo.
The top of my Lord's head, crowned with silver strands, peeked over the tall-backed chair, silhouetted against the dim light.
The chair itself was an imposing structure, upholstered in rich, dark leather that gleamed subtly in the firelight.
Suddenly, darkness consumed my vision. When I shook my head my vision returned and my sight was restored, the once dim and musty room was now awash with brilliant light, illuminating every corner with a radiant glow.
My Lord remained seated in the grand chair, his hair cascading down his shoulders like a silver waterfall. He threw his head back, and a triumphant laugh erupted from his lips, resonating through the room with a booming, victorious sound.
Never had I seen him do this.
"Can you believe Osmond actually dared to ask me to assist in abducting a maiden for his hidden harem? He had the nerve to say, and I quote, 'Since you're with the Shadow Court, you do that sort of thing for a shiny coin, right?'"
Laughter, soft and bubbling, intertwined with the delicate tinkling of glass, drifted from somewhere just beyond sight. "And what was your reply, Lord of Darkness?" inquired a voice, its tone as smooth as silk and brimming with amusement.
My Lord rose and moved to the middle of the hearth. "I asked him, if he really believed the Shadow Court committed such sinful acts for other courts, then when would he begin behaving like the Light Court and bring other courts' sins to the light?"
Rather than observing the person approaching my Lord, my perspective changed to that of the individual facing my Lord. I am offering him a drink. My hand, instead of being black-clawed or gray-skinned, is a human one—golden bronze, with dress sleeves that sway and flutter with each motion.
My Lord lifted the glass he took from me and lifted it up to me. I do the same in return.
“To the revolution,” left my lips. “To finally being free and together.”
Our arms intertwined gracefully as we both lifted our glasses to our mouths. Our eyes remain locked, an unbreakable connection. The intensity in my Lord’s gaze is so profound and penetrating that it felt as though he could peer directly into the depths of my soul.
My hearts beat in my chest and when my vision blackens and comes back to the present, I am greeted with my Lord directly in front of my face.
Both of his hands are on my skull and I back away in the closeness.
The touch of his hands on my skull sent a jolt of electricity down my spine. I could feel the power emanating from him, swirling around us like a storm. His eyes bore into mine, a mix of intensity and tenderness that sent conflicting emotions coursing through me.
He hasn’t looked at me like that before, has he?
"I brought you here because I need to speak with you," he said, visibly swallowing. Though he didn't need to breathe or show any signs of life, his breath was coming in short gasps, and he was sweating.
I opened my maw. “Are you well? What is wrong, my—”
"Please!" he pleaded, almost collapsing to the ground. I caught him by the arms and helped him stand. "I implore you, call me Veylor."
This isn't the Lord Veylor I remember. The Lord I knew never pleaded with me.
He was aloof and indifferent. When I recall the times he cared for me when I was helpless.
Too animalistic to control my hunger. I remember his mouth set in a frown and his eyes devoid of warmth when he would chain me to a wall for me to sleep.
Still, I found myself acting against my will. The purr Vesper always talked about emerged, intended just for her, but I felt driven to comfort my Lor... Veylor. He did look after me, cleaning the blood from my body and handling me gently, even if he lacked the words to soothe me.
Somehow, deep within me I knew that is just how he was. He lacked comforting words, and he only spoke in action. I huffed and turned my head away.
Veylor’s forehead fell on my chest and I pulled him upright and went to the sitting area around the couch. I felt uncomfortable. My body was reacting to him like my pets. My cock was hardening and my mind was playing things in my head.
Could I possibly have someone’s memories in my brain? Could this brain be defective?
I grumbled in my chest more as I pulled him to his chair and had him sit. He appeared paler than usual so I sat below him and tilted my head for him to speak.
Veylor leaned his head on his hand. His eyes are glassy and I am unsure what to do.
I whined.
Veylor sighed and tilted his head back on the chair, his eyes stared off into the distance. “What if I told you that your spirit had a life before this one?”
I shook my head back and forth, not understanding. I remember nothing before this life.
“That you aren’t a random spirit from an animal that was given a fae brain. You were a person, Oryx. A wonderful, beautiful, special fae of the Light Court?”
I gazed down at my claws, then at my tail that curled around me. “I didn’t have a tail?” I thumped it on the floor.
Veylor chuckled and shook his head. “No, you did not. You were a fae. Long golden blonde hair, green eyes and you were my,” he took in a deep breath, “best friend.”
I opened and closed my maw with a click.
“No,” Veylor shook his head. “You were more than my best friend. We were lovers, Oryx.”
As my pet would say, what the fuck?
I clawed at my chest, torn between confusion and yearning.
Had the longing to be close to him all these years been my soul's desperate attempt to reach him?
But why would he push me away? Did he truly not want me, or was there something deeper I couldn't understand?
I whined, tugging on my horn. Was it because I was stupid to him now?
“Why don’t I remember?” I murmured and stood from my seated position. “Why didn’t you tell me?
Veylor stood and extended his hand toward me, and I allowed it. There was a twisted satisfaction in letting him touch me. The power shift fueled me. It was he who was reaching for me, not the other way around. He was pleading for me, and that desperation ignited hope.
"I sacrificed my own soul to retrieve yours.
Being new to these powers and the transition to becoming a lich, I feared your soul would be difficult to locate in the Under Shadows if I waited too long.
I hurriedly gathered whatever fragments I could find to bring you back.
" Veylor paced anxiously, tugging at his hair.
"I couldn't bear the thought of losing you, couldn't imagine life without you.
You got caught up in everything, just like everyone else.
In my haste to bring you back, somehow your memories vanished.
You were like a mindless creature for years.
" Veylor halted his pacing, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"During that time, I fed you, tried to soothe you, and understand how you functioned.
You didn't recognize me. When you finally calmed down enough to speak, it was difficult to explain what I'd done. I felt... ashamed.
“I hated myself. I hated what I made you look like. I hated that you were alone and so was I. I didn’t know how to cope. I’m trying to fix it, to get your memories back.”
Instead of sitting on the floor, I sat on the sofa. It creaked under my weight, but I didn’t care. I stared into the fire, unsure what to think. I never was good at thinking, but Vesper was trying to show me how to do that.
“You could have at least talked to me,” I muttered. “I wanted to be near you. You acted as if I annoyed you.”
Veylor gritted his teeth and rubbed his hand down his face. “I know. It was wrong. I’ve been spending years trying to find a way to bring your memory back.”
I growled. “I am not the fae Oryx anymore, I am the monster Oryx now. Can you not accept me as I am?”
Veylor’s lips parted, his hand went to his throat.
“Just talk to me. Once I was able to speak. That’s all I wanted. I didn’t like to be alone. Vesper doesn’t like to be alone either. She was alone a long time before me. She didn’t know she didn’t like to be alone until I made her be with me.” I snorted. “She likes me now. Loves me.”
Veylor pursed his lips and nodded. “That is kidnapping, Oryx. You have made her fall in love with her kidnapper. The humans call it Stockholm Syndrome. We call it the Fae Effect in this realm.” He pinched the bridge of his nose.
Yes, I knew what this Stockholm was. She told me.
“But she said she will stay; willingly stay.”
Not that I would ever give her a choice. I will do as I wish.
Veylor blew a harsh breath from his nose. “I understand you have feelings toward this female, but I need you to be aware.” Veylor stepped toward me and kneeled between my legs.
What is he doing?!
"You are mine, Oryx," he whispered, his voice like velvet. "You belong to me, body and soul."
I reared my head back, my horns hit the back of the sofa. The declaration caught me off guard.
The fur on my neck rose, my hearts pounded in my chest. Veylor's words echoed in my mind. Did I truly belong to him? Why come out with this now?
As he gazed up at me with a mix of determination and vulnerability in his eyes, I found myself unable to look away. His touch on my thigh sent a shiver down my spine, my cock hardened, awakening a primal urge within me that I didn't fully understand.
I thought I only cared for Vesper but now I was having feelings for Veylor too. Why? Is it because Vesper is here now?
As much as his words stirred something deep within me, a part of me rebelled against the idea. What would Vesper think? I don’t want to give her up, she was mine.
The pull, the desire to have them both was so strong.
Why should I have feelings for him?
A low growl rumbled in my chest as I gently pushed him away, rising from the ornate sofa.
The fire crackled and popped in the hearth, sending a warm, flickering glow across the room.
Shadows danced wildly on the walls, twisting and turning like restless spirits.
I faced Veylor, my eyes narrowing and another growl escaping my lips, echoing the tension between us.
I loved Vesper, my pet. I would never let her go, she was mine. I took her and she gave me her heart. I want to give her everything.
Veylor had memories of the past, but I did not. He provided me with care for a few years as I adapted to this animalistic body, but then I was left to fend for myself. He hasn't done anything else to prove he genuinely cares.
I needed time… I looked away from him and covered my enlarged cock. My body wanted him, but my mind could not.
Veylor remained on his knees, gazing up at me with a look of anguish. His hands were placed on his thighs, and his hair was messy.
“Can you be with monster Oryx or can you not stand the idea of someone else touching me?”
Veylor’s mouth opened and closed. Tears welling up in his eyes. “I—”
"I'm this monster now!" I retorted. "I'm happy with who I am. There was a time when I felt lonely and sad, but now I have my pet who takes care of me. She talks with me, loves me. We play games, read together, and she feeds with her body! What have you ever done?"
Veylor fell back on his ass and blew out a breath.
"You only wanted me because someone else saw me…
really saw me. She touched my soul, felt the warmth of my skin, and desired me for who I truly am, beyond my appearance!
Is that what's bothering you?" I lashed my tail in agitation, the sharp tip swiping through the air until it collided with a small wooden table, sending it crashing to the ground.
"Did you change my appearance out of jealousy?
To ensure that no one else could ever claim me as theirs?
But you made me so hideous that you couldn't look at me? "
Veylor gasped, “No! That isn’t at all how it is!” He stood and rushed toward me.
With a guttural growl, I sprang forward, muscles tense and eyes locked onto him.
His eyes widened in surprise as he stumbled backward, arms flailing, before crashing onto the ground.
Oddly, he made no attempt to summon his shadows for protection.
Instead, he allowed me to pin him down, the force of my momentum pinning him firmly to the earth.
I hovered over him, my breath hot and ragged, and let out a fierce roar that echoed through the air, vibrating between us.
“You say you care for me, that I am yours? I need proof.” I murmured. “No more lies, secrets, don’t hide things from me and you will tell Vesper things too. She deserves to know what place this is as much as I do.”
Veylor nodded and swallowed.
“Then we will figure out this thing between us.” I pushed my heavy cock against his and ground into him. We both groaned, but I pulled away before he gained any satisfaction from it.
I stood on two legs and stepped away and headed to the door.
I looked over my shoulder, one final glance at him.
“Whatever I choose, Vesper stays. She’s accepted me for who I am.
No memories, no beautiful fae body, but a monster.
” My ears drooped impossibly lower. “She accepts me as I am. Not who I was.”