Chapter 18 Zuko
zuko
. . .
My family’s estate was plastered in a bold black-and-red palette because it reminded my parents of where they met: at Apex Elite Academy in House of Torment.
The exterior was done in a deep charcoal stone, accented with muted red undertones that Mom insisted on.
Tall windows framed in black metal were in every room except the torture chamber in the basement.
Rune and I stood on the first step.
She adjusted her pretty black top and sniffed the air. “Smells like murder and burnt sugar.”
I coughed out a laugh. “Yeah. Mom’s baking for you.”
Her lips curled just as the doors flew open.
My mom stood framed in the warm red enchanted lantern glow. Her short yellow hair flared like sunlit silk, and her orange eyes were bright with excitement. “Zuko,” she breathed, clasping her hands together. “And this must be Rune.”
Rune smoothed her green, flowing skirt and nodded. “I am. I love your hair.”
Mom flushed. “Oh, sweetheart, welcome in. You’re even prettier than Zuko described. You can call me Zelle or Mom. Whatever you’re comfortable with.”
“I said she was more beautiful than words could describe,” I interrupted her. “Remember?”
She shushed me by pinching my cheek. “Yes, I remember. But she is truly a beauty.”
Rune giggled. “Thank you, Momma Zelle.”
“Aw. I love it.” She gasped.
Dad walked up behind Mom and inclined his head toward Rune. “Well,” he rumbled. “You’re the one who broke my son.”
Rune blinked. “I broke him?”
“Completely. When you bonded your first mate, he was in shambles. I’m glad the bond snapped between the two of you.” He grinned. He had his long orange hair braided down his back, and his blue eyes bounced between Rune and I.
I groaned. “I wasn’t in shambles…”
“He was, dear,” Mom insisted as they ushered us inside.
Rune’s golden eyes met mine, and a flutter of sadness flickered through our bond.
I leaned down and kissed her lips quickly. “I was jealous but determined to make the bond snap. It’s fine, pretty little poison,” I assured her.
Calm quelled through the bond again as she took in the black-and-red wallpaper, dark polished stone floors, and shelves full of glass jars that definitely held things that used to belong on or to supernaturals. They were a collection of the family’s collective trophies.
My mother looped her arm through Rune’s. “Come, sit and eat. I made stew and poisoned a batch for you specifically, but if you want extra spice, we can add deathcap flakes.”
Rune brightened. “Yes, please.”
I exhaled a tiny breath of relief.
Mom adored her. Dad…well, he adored anyone whom Mom adored. It was a safe bet he liked her, too.
Dinner was laid out across our long, black dining table. Steaming bowls of stew and a plate of blood sugar cakes my mother insisted weren’t creepy were splayed elegantly.
Rune sat between Mom and me.
“Please don’t be shy.” Mom scooted her bowl closer. “Dig in.”
We ate in mostly silence because of how delicious Mom’s cooking was. Mom kept poisoning Rune’s food as she ate, and Rune accepted every dose with glowing eyes.
Acceptance rang through our matebond. I couldn’t have been any happier than I was now.
“You’re so thoughtful,” she told Mom. “This is the best stew I’ve ever had, especially with the death cap flakes.”
Mom blushed. “You’re too sweet. I’m so glad you like it.”
Dad leaned forward, elbows on the table. “Rune. Tell me. Which torture methods do you prefer?”
Rune hummed thoughtfully. “Depends. Psychological? Venom-based? Or do you mean a little more gruesome, like extractions?”
Dad’s grin spread slow and wide. “Zuko,” he said, his voice glowing with what sounded like pride, “the Fates found you a good one.”
“Of course they did,” I scoffed. “She stabbed me the first day we met, and I fell in love then.”
Rune tapped her spoon in her bowl. “If I had to pick one out of all three, it’ll always be venom-based. I’m partial to it. I have a hallucinogenic venom that makes the victim doubt what’s real, and it causes stabbing sensations along internal organs. It’s always fun to watch them freak out.”
Dad slapped the table. “That is genius. Zuko can pull the truth from someone, but he also has learned that torture isn’t just about extracting the answer.”
“I know,” she murmured. “Zuko has used his power on me before.”
My spoon clattered as I stared at her in shock.
Dad and Mom turned to me in unison.
“You used it on her?” Mom gasped.
Dad raised a brow. “Why?”
“I was seeing if she was okay and checking if she had feelings for a weird ex-boyfriend,” I explained clearly, shooting a look at my mate.
I should’ve known she knew what I was doing back then.
Amusement funneled through her.
Rune coughed into her bowl. “It’s fine. It’s not like I was hiding anything.”
Mom squealed and hugged her. “You two are such a mated couple already.”
Dad wiped an emotional tear. “My boy is growing up.”
Rune patted their hands gently. “Don’t worry, I’ll teach him a lesson soon.”
“I’m sure you will,” I rumbled.
Desire lit up her eyes.
“Oh, Rune, did Zuko ever tell you about his first kill?” Mom cooed.
“His first kill was when he was sixteen,” Dad added. “It was ‘bring your child to work day’. I gave him his first live target.”
“He was a hardened war criminal, a firedrake I believe, who wouldn’t talk even after days of torment. Instead of following his father's methodical ‘1–20 List of Pain,’ Zuko deviated, and rolled two old dice and let the Fates guide him.” Mom sighed as if she’d been proud of me for it.
“It worked,” Dad chuckled. “The criminal screamed all their secrets without Zuko having to use his special power, and then, Zuko slit his throat.”
I smiled at the memory. “That night, Dad inked the first tattoo on my arm, and I created my torture game to include each number on the two dice to match an act that is now burned into my skin forever.”
“Aw, I love that your sexy sleeve has such a sentimental meaning,” Rune purred, her fingertips gliding over the tattoos.
Something in my chest cracked open. “I have one tattoo that’s even more sentimental than this.”
“Oh?” She curled her lips in a smirk that showed off one fang, and she got to her feet. “Excuse me for a moment, please. I need to use the restroom.”
My father elbowed me. “Show her where the bathroom is.”
“Of course I—”
Mom actually pushed me out of my chair.
I stumbled forward and guided Rune down the hall to the bathroom.
“Aw, are you nervous, toxin?” she teased.
We reached the bathroom, and I pushed her in, following her as I shut and locked the door behind us.
Her breath caught as I grabbed her thighs and hoisted her onto the sink. “Do I look nervous, pretty little poison?”
“Not particularly. At least not anymore,” she mumbled.
I leaned in and licked my mark on her neck.
“Rune,” I whispered, “if you tell me to stop, I will.”
“Why would I tell you to stop?” she countered.
“Good point. Let’s take these off, then.” I slipped my fingers under the crotch of her panties and ripped them off. The fabric tore easily, and I chuckled as I ran my knuckles over her soaked heat. “Damn, you’re wet.”
“Because I need you, Zuko,” she answered breathlessly.
“Spread your legs wider.” I dropped to my knees as she obeyed.
I leaned in and latched onto her clit, sucking hard.
She moaned, her fingers tangling in my hair and tugging sharply.
I slipped two fingers into her and pumped them slowly in and out. Her pussy gripped them, suctioning them and pulling them in.
“Zuko,” she whined as I pulled my fingers out.
“Patience.” I moved them to rub her clit, and my tongue pushed inside her.
I moaned as her flavor hit me. Fuck, I loved tasting her more than anything. I lapped at her core, playing with her clit as I savored every time her hips jerked against my face.
“Zuko, please,” she moaned, rolling her hips against my face.
I sliced my fangs on her folds and hissed. “Behave.”
She moaned louder as I shoved my tongue back inside her and curled it. I kept rubbing her clit, feeling my venom affect her through the bond.
“Come,” I breathed.
Her orgasm exploded, and she soaked my face more.
“Fuck me, please.” She tugged up on my head, guiding me up.
I pulled my cock out, and she bit her lip.
She reached out to trace her name on my shaft. “I want to taste you.”
“Later.” I spread her wide and plunged into her in one full thrust.
Her moan was strangled, but her eyes rolled back as she grasped my shoulders. “Definitely later.”
I snapped my hips against hers and moved my hands under her blouse, rolling her nipples between my fingers.
Pleasure shot through the bond as I felt her clench around me so tightly I thought I was about to lose control.
“Fuck,” I snarled, leaning in and biting her. My fangs sliced open my mark as I moaned.
She bit me, too.
Ecstasy exploded through the bond between both of us so hard that I had to remind myself to keep thrusting.
Her moans turned to screams as I plunged into her harder and harder until we both came.
When we pulled back from biting each other, our eyes met with exhaustion and something far more dangerous.
Love rippled through us.
I reached out slowly and brushed my thumb across her bottom lip. “Rune,” I murmured, “you undo me.”
She curled closer, resting her forehead against mine. “My entire body is thrumming.”
“Every time we touch, it’s like you destroy me,” I rasped. “You do things to me I never thought possible.”
“I love you.” She kissed me softly.
“I love you more,” I told her, pulling out of her and cleaning us both up.
“You destroyed my panties,” she grumbled cutely, fixing her skirt.
“My parents aren’t stupid.” I shrugged. “They know what happened.”
“We are all basilisks,” she complained. “Now my pussy is soaked with us both and bare for all to smell.”
I chuckled and pulled her in for another kiss. “They won’t judge.”
She huffed as we emerged from the bathroom, breathless and disheveled.
In the hallway, a figure limped up the basement stairs with chains dragging behind them.
The man froze when he saw us.
Rune blinked. “Oh.”
The escaped captive blinked back. “…oh no.”
Rune flashed her fangs, springing forward and brushing her fingertips over the man’s face.
He dropped like a stone at the top of the stairs.
Mom appeared behind us, delighted. “Aw, sweetheart, you finally noticed your gift!”
Rune blinked in confusion. “Was that what this is?”
Aw, she was still delirious from me fucking her.
Dad rubbed his hands together. “Of course. We thought you’d enjoy a torture session together to bring about passion.”
“Like they need that,” Mom muttered.
Rune’s eyes slid to me in accusation.
My heart thudded as I gave her a sheepish grin. “Want to torture with me?”
“I thought you’d never ask,” she huffed.
We dragged the prisoner down into the basement. It was all enchanted cold stone and reeked of blood.
My torture kit gleamed under the enchanted red lanterns. The dice lay in the center.
The man screamed, “No—no, please—”
Rune tapped the dice with her finger. “I want to roll.”
Fates.
My mother sniffled. “Zuko, you brought home the perfect girl.”
“I know.” I kissed Rune’s knuckles and handed her the dice. “Roll, pretty little poison.”
She rolled only one die, and it landed on one.
I grinned, rolling my sleeve up to show her the jar with an eye tatted on me. “Lucky roll. You get to take his eye and put it in a jar.”
“Brutal.” She tilted her head. “I like it.”
I handed her the spoon I use, but she pushed it back toward me. “I can just pluck it out.”
My brows raised, but she walked over, placed her bare foot between his legs and plunged her two fingers back behind his eye, pulling until it popped.
She jerked it out, the string behind it snapping as she walked toward me. “Jar?”
“Damn, pretty little poison.” I wordlessly held open the jar for her, and she plopped it in.
She giggled. “It’s more effective this way.”
“And more painful,” I praised.
The guy screamed, spewing the intel my parents needed easily. He’d been screaming the whole time, but I hadn’t noticed. I was too focused on my mate.
My father hummed happily as my mother fussed over Rune, wiping her hand clean.
Rune handled herself like she’d been made for this world, and I supposed she was.
“He’s of no use to us anymore,” Dad said. “Kill him.”
“Dibs!” Rune slapped the man across the face.
His body turned gray, sinking into itself and dissolving into ash.
Dad stumbled back. “Is that not Sabine’s—”
“Drecken, my other mate, helped me get my hands on it.” She grinned, looking at her palm.
“Drecken is your mate as well,” Dad muttered. “I forgot. That makes a lot of sense.”
“It does,” Rune said sweetly. “Good luck on the murder case. Hopefully, his confession leads to more accountability.”
“It will,” Mom assured her. “Thanks, dear.”
I took her less-bloody hand, now that Mom had cleaned it, and I kissed her palm. “I’m obsessed with you.”
Her eyes filled with love. “I’m obsessed with you, too.”
After that, my parents walked us to the door.
Mom hugged Rune before she hugged me. “Come back any time, sweetheart. I’ll make my venom-baked bread next time.”
Dad hugged her too. “You’re family now, don’t be shy.”
Rune giggled. “Thank you for making me feel so welcome in your home. I can see where Zuko got his nature from.”
When they let her go, I hugged them, then reached for Rune’s hand as we made our way back to HQ.
She twined her fingers with mine.
“I think your family is my favorite kind of insane,” she whispered.
I leaned down, brushing my nose against hers. “We think the same about you.”