Chapter 33
Chapter Thirty-Three
Hack
There’s a perfectly good reason why I haven’t brought up the subject until now. First, because once Sage hears the plan, she’ll wish I never spoke of it. Second, this isn’t the kind of decision I can make without my brothers. If it were solely up to me, I’d take the risk, but it’s not.
Sage is right, the Moirai’s existence is based upon balance, so to receive, one must first give. The higher the stakes, the greater the sacrifice. In this case, the stakes couldn’t be any higher.
“No. It’s never been done before and the Thirteen won’t agree to it. Especially not Samhain.” I scoff at the Grandei’s characterization of Samhain. He won’t care what needs to be done as long as he gets his liege back. All four of them.
“Wait a second. What hasn’t been done before? Zelos Hack Adofo Conquest, spill.” Shit, all of my names in one breath is a scary sound coming from Sage’s mouth. Even scarier is the way her skin is glowing brighter and brighter.
“For every gift from the Moirai, a proportional sacrifice is expected.” Atlantis speaks before I can, with zero emotions…only facts. “Restoring a life comes at a hefty price.” He stops here then gives me a pointed look.
Fuck, she’s going to go nuclear. But in my defense, she was the one demanding a solution.
Sage turns to me and for the first time, with them both staring me down like I’ve kicked their puppy, I see the resemblance.
It’s not outwardly obvious, but it’s there.
The slant of the nose and shape of the eyes are definitely traits she inherited from the Grandei.
Although, her stubbornness is a close third.
“What’s the sacrifice, Hack?” With her hands on her hips and her head cocked to the side, I give her what she wants.
“Each of us must give a piece of ourselves in order to restore Slash’s body. A soul cannot reenter a body that’s not whole.” Which is exactly what Hekate meant when she asked the right question…what is a soul without a body?”
“Okay, that doesn’t sound so bad…” Sage is wary as she says this, and her hesitation is on point.
“In normal circumstances, the Four Horsemen are immortal. They are immune to all things with the exception of two, and that is for the purpose of balance only. The severing of a head is the only true death. In order to reunite the demon’s body to his head, a piece of each of the Horsemen must be given.
That would allow the reconstruction. However, that missing piece will become a permanent weakness for the remaining three.
Achilles had the same with his heel.” Atlantis lays out the gist of it all and, as he speaks, I watch Sage.
With every word, her skin pales, her brows crease, and her mouth presses tighter and tighter.
She’s not liking the option, but I think a small part of her is willing to take the risk, knowing that the four of us together—even with weak spots—will always be stronger than just the three of us, whole or not.
Well, at least that’s the story I’m telling myself.
“I don’t like it.” I chuckle at her response, but when her eyes soften, I know shit’s about to get real. “But this is your brother, your best friend. I won’t make the choice for you, but I won’t lie to you either. I really, really, don’t like it.”
“The decision belongs not to you, Sage, but to the Horsemen and the Thirteen, for it will take the power of all to accomplish. Although, I’m not convinced it is possible.
” Atlantis, who I’m guessing has given up on seeing Sage’s power up close and personal today, returns to his desk.
As he sits, he adds, “But if all are in agreement, I will give my permission.”
“Thank you.” I bow to the Grandei, knowing I’ve been less than one hundred percent polite these last few days when it comes to the greatest in command below the Moirai. “We will send word when our decision has been made.”
“Yes, you do that,” he says, his tone like a bored monarch who hasn’t had his way. “But do not take too long, there are more pressing problems than a dead demon.”
Our first stop when we leave the Grandei’s chambers is the great hall where Slash lies. As we arrive, our steps are heavy against the marble floors, and our voices quiet with the heavy burden of choices to be made.
Those steps are quickly halted when we hear Danika’s voice as though she were speaking to Slash. Which is impossible.
“I’m sure we’ll find a solution,” Danika says, and my gaze goes immediately to Slash, who hasn’t moved. His body is still lying in the transparent coffin, his head slightly offset from his body.
Danika, however, is sitting up against the coffin, her head back and her eyes red all over, no pupil in sight. She’s in some sort of trance, talking, chuckling.
“What is she doing?” Sage whispers, but before I answer that I have no fucking clue because this is all new for me, too, she gasps. “Oh my goddess.”
Pulling me away from the room, she leads me to the nearest alcove with old, leatherbound books on one side and a wood paneled wall on the other.
The first batch of souls is just feet away from us and she pushes my back to the wall, her chest rising and falling.
Am I turned on right now? Abso-fucking-lutely, but I’m pretty sure this is one of those times when Sage would slap me back to reality if I tried to distract her.
“When I was in the cave, Saffron said she’d spoken to Danika.
At the time, I didn’t really understand what she was saying but I think…
" She looks back over her shoulder to where we were and where Danika is still talking to no apparent person. “She can communicate with, like, anyone, I guess? Saffron said something about vampyre’s dreams?” Sage groans and I hate that she’s blaming herself for not listening more.
“This is actually great news. If she has that kind of power—and to be clear, it’s really fucking rare—then this will help us.” I don’t know how or why, but Sage needs good news and I’ll be damned if I’m not the one giving it to her.
“Guess there’s only one way to find out.” Before she can walk away, I slide my hands on either side of her face and wish time would just stop.
“I wish I could put the world on pause, just for an hour, so I could love you the way you deserve it. So we could forget about decisions to be made and lives to be saved. I wish we could just be in our own little world where time has no consequence.” Just as her eyes soften at my words, our mouths crash together in a frenzy of tongues and lips battling for control.
I’ve got one eye on the main hall while our bodies navigate around each other.
“We should stop, but I don’t want to.” Her words are broken between kisses and bites while her leg hitches up my thigh, digging her heel into my ass. I have to hold her up because our height difference isn’t to her advantage.
“Then let’s not.” It’s a bad idea. Unheard of, to be exact. Having sex in the Great Library is bad enough, but fucking my chosen in the Dei’s quarters? Fucking hell, I doubt even they would know what the appropriate punishment is for that kind of disrespect.
Just as Sage puts her hand inside my leather pants, a hooded soulkeeper walks by with his hands cupped around a globe holding a new soul glowing inside.
“Fuck, sorry,” I call out to the soulkeeper, Sage not even taking a second to slow down. Her other hand is unbuckling my belt, her little heated breaths coating my lips.
Thankfully, the soulkeeper—whose face I don’t even see—ignores us and passes by like we weren’t even there.
“We should go somewhere more discreet, Satapti. Killing a soulkeeper for inadvertently seeing you naked will be a definite death sentence.”
“Shut up and fuck me.” Well, damn. Who am I to say no to that? If my chosen needs a good fucking to forget the shitshow we’re living, then that’s exactly what she’ll get, consequences be damned.
With her fingers wrapped around my cock, she squeezes harder than she ever has before. Her movements are frantic, her need so great it’s palpable. I can taste it on my tongue as she devours my mouth.
There’s nothing sexier than having my soul mate take exactly what she wants from me.
Another soulkeeper shuffles by, head raised and his hood slightly tilted back so I can see his face this time.
I don’t know him, never met him before, but I freeze when his gaze sweeps right over us and lands on the Sage.
Somehow, her clothes have fallen off and I know for a damn fact that it wasn’t at the direction of her hands since they were on me the whole time.
My growl is long and guttural, a sure sign that I’m about to lose my fucking cool.
“Shh, my sexy demon. No one can see us.” What did she just say?
“How is that possible? He’s looking straight at you.” As if on cue, the soulkeeper walks by and heads straight to a point beyond Sage and dusts off an old book.
“I’ve created an invisibility dome.” Well, this is a game changer.
“So anything we do is ours alone?” My vines are excited and my cock is harder than fucking concrete.
“Anything at all. I can scream as loud as I want, too, so you better bring your A-game.”
I admit, I love this confident side of Sage. It’s always been a turn on.
“I’ll bring all twenty-six letters of the Latin alphabet and a few from others as well.”
Sage laughs at my expense as I try to kick off my pants and toe off my boots. The table on the other side of the hall is looking a lot more comfortable than where we are, and if we’re going to fuck in the Great Library, we may as well use a solid surface for it.
With both of my hands cupping her ass, Sage keeps her arms and legs wrapped around me, her mouth assaulting mine in all the best ways.
The tiny moans that escape from between her lips only fuel my fire and as soon as I have her splayed out on the table, I break away.
I love feasting on her mouth but I will never pass up an opportunity to eat her pussy like it’s a three-star Michelin dining experience.
Using my vines, I pin Sage down to the table like a starfish and take a moment to admire the sheer beauty of her. Small but strong, confident but vulnerable, she’s everything I’ve ever wanted, no matter what lifetime.
“Are you just going to stare at me?” She wiggles her ass and raises her hips to entice me and I’m done.
My arms wrapped around her thighs, I raise her up until only the top of her shoulders are touching the wooden surface. Her pussy is at my mouth, her scent intoxicating, and my eyes are on her. Only ever on her.
She smiles and I bite my bottom lip at the sight of her.
Right before I plunge my tongue inside her pussy, another soulkeeper passes by, and it should be strange and off-putting to have that kind of distraction.
Instead, I like that we’re doing whatever we want right under the noses of the most influential and important kyn in our world.
I think I’m going to love this fucking bubble thing. We’ll have to see where else we can fuck without the risk of being seen.
My mouth latches onto her pussy lips and devours every inch of her. Tongue lapping, teeth nipping, I taste everything she has to give. Her hips are thrashing and she tries to get free from my vines but her magic is all caught up in this bubble, I’m sure, because she’s completely at my mercy.
These are rare moments, where her vulnerability is clear and her trust in me is all encompassing.
“Have I ever told you how delicious you are?” I make a show of licking her from the back straight up to her clit, then sucking on that little nub of pleasure until she’s yelling and cursing at me.
“Fuck fuck fuck! Just make me come, will you?” I grin, my mouth drenched from her cum and my tongue tingling with her taste.
“Is that an order, Satapti?” I slow everything down and I swear my cock is about to start a revolution.
“Yes!” It’s one word, but coming from between her clenched teeth, it’s more powerful than ever.
My vines keep her splayed out but they leave me enough leeway to pull her closer to me so that I can fuck her exactly the way she wants me to as soon as she comes all over my tongue.
Two fingers slide inside, hooking at the back in search of that magical kickstart as my lips wrap around her clit and I suck…hard.
Her orgasm is instant, her body shaking and her head thrown back like she’s been possessed by the Moirai themselves. It’s not a thing, but the way she looks right now, it fucking should be.
When her last breath leaves her lungs, I impale her with my cock in a hard, quick drive straight to the hilt. She screams and the satisfaction I feel for it travels straight down my spine and tickles my balls. I fucking love watching her fall apart.
I’m about to fuck the breath out of her when a soulkeeper sits at the fucking table. I know he can’t see us or hear us, but fuck, it’s distracting.
“Ignore him, Zelos. It’s just you and me.” My eyes find Sage and everything else falls away.
I’m driving straight into her, watching her shoulders move with every thrust in and out of her.
My hips are pistoning, in and out, in and out, I pummel her sweet little cunt until all I can hear or see is my chosen.
All of our problems and all of our heartbreaks are set away in a place that can’t ever touch us.
The next couple of days may be our undoing, depending on how things go with the sacrifice, but one thing will never change.
She is mine and I am hers, and no amount of imbalance in our world can ever take that away from us.
She comes on my dick like the queen she is, soaking it with her pleasure. As soon as I feel her cunt squeezing my shaft, I lose it. Closing my eyes, I throw my head back and groan until every ounce of breath has left my lungs.
“Oh my Goddess. That was…” She’s right. There are no words for what happens between us. It’s magical in a whole different realm.
“Yeah, it was.” My vines retract and pull my chosen up for a deep, soul scorching kiss. “It always is.”
“Sage!” Her name, screamed out from the next room, bursts her invisibility bubble.
I know it does because all of a sudden we’re both dressed as if nothing happened.
Besides scaring the fuck out of the soulkeeper sitting at the table with our unexpected appearance, we just look like we’re talking in private.
Albeit sitting on the wooden surface which is, in and of itself, a faux-pas.
“That was Danika.” We both look at the entrance to the Dei’s chamber and Sage is right, Danika is calling out to her. “She needs me.”
“Don’t we all, Satapti.”