51. Spirited Away
Alistair
Come to me, pet!––An eerie voice whispers in my dream, and I startle awake, sweating profusely, heart pounding furiously inside my chest.
Raine's malevolent presence clings to me like tar. I want to scrub my mind off her vile touch. Somehow she keeps breaking through the spell barriers I've erected. A broken growl escapes my throat in frustration.
These nightmarish calls have become too frequent. Ever since I came back from the Nephilim kingdom I've been terrorized by these dreams that feel too real to be the figment of my exhausted mind.
Archie and Ifrinn used to occasionally knock me out at my behest while we were staying on the Nephilim lands.
If I was unconscious, her commands wouldn't work.
But eventually she'd compel me to wake up, so it was only a temporary solution. Sleeping potions didn’t stand a chance against her strong magic.
Still, after returning home, they refused to beat me unconscious, tying me to the bed instead. But I knew spells to untie myself. And Raine knew that too.
Raine's command is reaching me more effectively now that the protective talisman has weakened. But I refuse to ask Aleiraah to strengthen it with her heart's blood. I'm not that selfish.
I don't deserve her protection or love. But I need to do something before that cunning fae-bitch gets the upper hand. If the natural fae laws didn't exist, I'd have set her on fire a thousand times over then resurrected her only to feed her to maggots after dismembering her.
We have been gutted since that bastard Herouk showed up. We’d never give up on Aleiraah, but the odds of winning her back have never felt this bleak. Seeing her willingly kiss that incubus was like a dagger slipping between the ribs. But I gritted my teeth and held on.
It felt like someone was pouring lava into my veins, watching them sit like lovers beneath the cherry trees. The visions of her with Malakai had been bad, but this…this was a different kind of torture.
We understood the circumstances were vastly different and didn’t interfere. Even though it shredded us, no one reacted like a jealous bastard. She deserved control over her own body––after what we did, denying her that again would have been unforgivable.
We're possessive assholes but we lost the right to stop or question her. She deserved to take the power back. Unpalatable as it was, I could relate to it the most.
Rinn mused later that she wanted to push us away, maybe even test us. It hurt like hell, but it reaffirmed how much we've truly hurt her. That too seven times over.
Jealousy and grief aside, I was terrified when she vomited. For a moment we all thought it was a ploy of the goblins to poison her. But the incubus was innocent. Still, ripping his head off was a tempting thought.
Only, Delight protected him. Like she had shielded us from Baz's mother. And that sliced our hearts to pieces.
So we’re licking our wounds and giving her space to make her happy, wooing her quietly from a distance, hoping that with time she’d give us another chance.
Aleiraah
I’m feeling tired with my back aching a little. My belly grew again overnight. I can't see my feet anymore!
Maybe Anput’s presence affected the pregnancy again? Talking to Anput gave me some much needed clarity.
I realized I've been subconsciously resenting the babies, but they are innocent in all this. They didn't ask to be born. I’ve sucked as a prospective parent, yet Ammit said they already love me. So, for the past couple of days, I’ve been talking to them.
I told them about my childhood, about Mother, who’d have spoiled them rotten as an amazing grandmother, and about their fathers.
Males I terribly miss when I allow myself to remember.
It wasn’t always bad. I used to bask in their attention and adoration.
I thought I had found my forever with them. For a while I was truly happy.
Now the sight of the separation decree on a nearby low table taunts me. I planned to confront them, but now I want to talk to Baz first. I need answers on how I could possibly be carrying a dragonling.
The way they reacted to Herouk as opposed to Malakai was also unexpected. I intentionally kissed another male, and my husbands didn't lose their shit. Only when I got sick did they panic but didn't turn into raging assholes, rather they were worried about my wellbeing.
It made me wonder...if maybe there's still something worth salvaging between us.
About to break one of Anput's capsules, I startle as Alistair bursts through the door like the hounds of hell are chasing him. His chest heaves, his light brown hair a tangled mess from running his fingers through the thick strands. Eyes wild and desperate lock with mine the moment he spots me.
"Aleiraah––" His voice cracks, raw and frantic.
He grabs my arms, fingers trembling. "She's compelling me. It’s non-stop––Raine––she's forcing me to go to her.
" He swallows hard, jaw clenching violently as the tendons in his neck strain, as if fighting off an invisible leash.
"If I go, she'll...she'll force me. I can't––" His voice shatters in a gasp of pure agony, the terror in his eyes slicing straight into me.
A red film coats my vision. My blood boils with a rage so sharp it could've cut through steel. That vile, bottom-feeding maggot thinks she can sink her claws into what's mine?
"Over my dead body," I hiss, prying his hands off my arms only to cup his face. "Look at me, Alistair. You're not going anywhere. I'll rip that compulsion right out of her along with her cursed tongue!"
"Aleiraah––Delight––" His voice is pleading, almost a warning, but he chokes, falling to his knees. Holding his head between his hands he starts keening, rocking in place and something snaps inside me.
"Stay here. Let me do what I should've done a long time ago." I sift my fingers through his hair reassuringly and head outside. Alistair doesn't follow, probably fighting the compulsion, but I'm more than enough to take down that filthy whore.
The wards shimmer at the edge of our lands, almost invisible but humming as if attuned to my fury.
I spot the rotten cunt standing just beyond the boundary of the wards in an ice blue gown wearing a crown, smirking at me.
My claws curl at the thought of ripping off her face right along with that smirk.
Nearing her, I stop at the border of the ward, and her lips curve in a mockery of a smile. "Where's my darling Alistair? Are you hiding him?"
"Fuck off, bitch! Else I'll chop you down right where you're standing." My lethal tone makes her smile disappear.
Her expression turns hard. "Really, Aleiraah? Are you Alistair's keeper now? You can’t come between us. He loves it when I fuck him." Her salacious grin makes my skin crawl. I curl my claws into my palms, imagining digging them into her face.
"Don't fucking take his name from your diseased mouth." I spit at her.
"I can do whatever I want! I've made him moan my name countless times. More than you have fucked him. He’s always in such a frenzy when he’s plunging his long cock inside me." She purrs and I growl at the sheer gall. The image of her forcing Alistair stirs a bone-deep rage.
"You're a serial rapist! A predator who can't get her rocks off unless violating someone against their will.
A pathetic monarch who's no better than a shit-stain.
The fae would be happy to see die." I snarl, baring my teeth and she hisses at me, "Shut the fuck up!
My people adore me." She takes a step forward.
"Sure, whatever delusion makes your life palatable. Tell me, Raine, have you had any difficulty climaxing in the recent past?" I ask with a razor-edged sweetness and her face changes, realization followed by rage rippling across her features.
"You fucking cunt! You’ll pay. Because of you I’ve remained unsatisfied for months!" She snarls and I smirk.
Her gaze drops to my huge belly and a sense of foreboding washes over me. "I'll snatch Alistair right before your eyes and make you watch as he makes love to me. Then I'll kill you and your bastards."
"Are you stupid? How do you reign over the fae with shit for brains?
Oh wait, you terrorize and compel them with your rapey fat-ass!
Get your facts right. I'm married to Alistair, my babies are legitimate and I’ll rip out your spine before you even try.
" I retort in a voice full of disdain but the sense of unease only increases.
"You can sing about your so-called marriage all you want, but what will you do when I compel him?" She smiles menacingly, calling his name in a sing-song voice as I feel her magic ripple through the air.
Fearing for Alistair's safety, I step past the wards without hesitation. "You manipulative, soiled cunt! You'll regret compelling my husband."
The cold air tastes like iron. Raine's beauty is all sharp edges and poisoned brew, the space around her crackling with malevolent magic. "You dare summon him against his will on my land?" My horns and tail snap out, the rings on my body start glowing, casting a halo around me.
Fear flickers across her face and she looks around, as if searching for something.
"No one's coming to save you, viperous bitch. It's you and me." I bite out with a chilling smile.
"He wouldn't have resisted me forever, little succubus." She puts up a brave front. "It’s me who he truly wants. He owes me so many orgasms. And I'll force twice as many out of him because you cock-blocked me for months!"
"You're a fucking abomination! Be thankful that the fae laws protect your pathetic life." I wave my hand and fiery serpents wrap around her body, covering her in red welts.
"Fucking bitch!" She screeches, coating the serpents with ice, making them crumble and fall off.
Her expression turns ugly, and a sword appears in her hand made of black-ice. In a swift move she charges at me. In a blink I forge a pair of flaming battle axes and swing at her. Our weapons clash and the blow reverberates through my arms.
"I'll kill you, and then fuck Alistair while your corpse rots before us." She screams and I kick her in the stomach while slicing the blade of an axe over her chest.
A bloody gash blooms over her sternum as she lands on her ass and I chuckle darkly, "I'll slice off your itty-bitty-titties if you even think about my husband, rotten twat!"
She tries to get up but I throw one of my battle axes at her that cuts into her thigh.
She screams in agony and uses ice magic to turn the flaming axe into ice.
"Fucking slut! You deserve what’s coming for you!" She screeches like a banshee and limps up, throwing an ice-dagger at me which I easily deflect.
Brushing off her empty threat, I peer deeper within and my power surges. I open my mouth to summon Mooncleaver, ready to slice her spine in half––but something moves at the edge of my vision. Too fast. Wrong.
Pain blooms at the back of my head. The world spins then tilts. My knees buckle as rough hands yank me upright. There’s a reek of stench making me gag and I catch a glimpse of greenish armor, jagged teeth grinning under dull yellow eyes.
Goblins!
"Got her," one of them rasps, his voice low and oily.
"What the fuck took you so long?" Raine complains angrily and I belatedly realize she's been in cahoots with the scums.
They growl something while snapping cold shackles around my wrists and I rapidly start losing energy. My vision turns blurry.
"You can't harm her. We have orders to bring..." Another voice fades in and out, sounding like crushed glass.
The last thing I see is Raine's ire fading into a calculating smirk as Alistair’s scream echoes, right before darkness swallows me whole.