37. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Calista
“ T his is… different.” Fog plumed with every dithering word after we exited the portal into the southern corner. Snow drifts piled along the bare walls and walkway, leaving a few bricks uncovered. “Has this always been this way?”
I pulled my arms inside my t-shirt and hugged myself to keep warm. I’d never felt arctic winds, but I bet they seeped through clothes straight into your bones like these. My joints screamed from the aching cold, and even my goosebumps had goosebumps. The pinpricks felt like cactus needles pushing through my skin.
“No,” Astaroth raised his voice to be heard over the wind.
As much as I wanted distance after last night’s encounter, I remained on his heels as we walked the narrowed path and used him as a shield to buffet the gale-like gusts. Strands of hair blew loose from my scrunchie and whipped at my cheeks. I hooked the neck of my shirt over my nose to protect my chapping face and blew into my hands. We were not dressed for this climate. The weather didn’t seem to bother Astaroth, but it tore through me and took my breath away.
“What are we looking for anyway?”
“I have not a clue.”
I peeked around his lean form and regretted it instantly. My foot slipped on a patch of black ice. With my arms tucked into my shirt I couldn’t keep balanced and did a slippery dance to remain upright. Astaroth swooped me up before I could hit the ground.
Cradled in his arms, he looked down at me, but there was no trace of his emotions coming through. They disappeared yesterday, not long after I saw him in the courtyard. After days of being connected, his absence left a hole in me I couldn’t fill. Being without him was as bad as being with him. It was tearing me in two. Apparently, it was doing the same to him. I was too much for him, just as he was too much for me. He had me all confused, and I didn’t know what to do with it yet.
He pulled me tighter and tucked my head beneath his chin. “You’re shivering.”
I burrowed against him, burying my face into the crook of his neck. His scent invaded my senses. The haunting feeling of his hands groping me made heat coil in my belly and ebb through my body. The tips of his fingers dug a little deeper as I rubbed my cold nose against the side of his throat. He hummed in contentment, and I stopped.
Astaroth’s grip loosened when we reached the corner. He set me on my feet but wrapped himself around me to block the wind. Snow accumulated in the corner halfway up the wall. If there was anything there, we would have to dig through the icy snow to find it. My fingers hurt thinking about it. I leaned forward and peered down the connecting corridor. Everything was the same, but further down it looked like the snow thinned out.
A gust whipped through, kicking up loose snow, and Astaroth turned his back to it to protect me.
“Maybe we should check out the other corners. If we find something there, we’ll know what to look for here and can return better prepared.”
He nodded and blipped us to the next corner. My stomach spun from the movement. It was like having my own amusement park ride. The muggy air was so thick I could cut it with a knife, but at least I wasn’t freezing anymore. I slid my arms through the sleeves of my shirt and rubbed them to get the goosebumps to go away while I thawed. Where the last corner was frigid and uninhabitable, this corner was tropical and teaming with life. Tiny creatures crawled and hopped about, and I heard the buzzing of the first insects I’d ever heard in the labyrinth. The vines even appeared lusher and livelier, with more vibrant, colorful blooms. This corner was beautiful. I also feared it was deadly.
I stood still as Astaroth moved forward with purpose. He did a doubletake when he realized I wasn’t following. “What’s wrong?”
“At home, we learned that all the pretty things in the rain forest and jungles are poisonous. Are these things going to kill me?”
He cocked his head at a weird angle. “Not that we have experienced.”
Trepidation filled me with every tiptoed step toward Astaroth. He seemed amused by it and even laughed when I rushed the final steps to his side.
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t think my untimely demise is funny but keep laughing.”
I bumped him with my shoulder when I passed, and his laugh became throatier. “You’re stitched to my life source now, Calista. It would take more than a sting or bite to take you down.”
My bravado faltered. I didn’t think about that. We hadn’t discussed the ways my life would change yet. Was I still human, albeit with an infinite lifespan? Would I become fae? Did he even know, or was he playing all this by ear?
His warm breath caressed the shell of my ear. “I could carry you again if it makes you feel safer.”
I fought the urge to shiver and told myself it was the remaining cold leaching out of me. “You just want another excuse to touch me.”
“Always.” His lips brushed my ear, and I swear I could feel his hands where they roamed last night. Next thing I knew, he was in front of me with a knowing curl on those delicious lips. “It will be night soon. Keep up.”
Astaroth took two steps backward, spun around, and strutted down the pathway. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. It took me a moment before I realized I was following him as if he were the Pied Piper. As intangible as it was, I could sense the string that bound us together. It tugged at me, reeling me in to be near him. But I couldn’t reconcile the many different faces Astaroth wore, and that kept me at bay. I shook myself out of it and started paying attention to my surroundings. The ones that could potentially kill me.
Dense foliage covered the length of the wall. Every time a leaf quivered, I went on the defensive, tensing to move in a split second. The plants thinned out the closer I got to Astaroth, leaving only vines thicker than others found through the labyrinth. I kept my eye on them while they slithered along the wall, as if they followed us, too. One reached out, and I slowed to watch it.
The tip of the vine wiggled, reminding me of a childlike wave. I looked back at Astaroth who made it farther with his long strides. I waved back, then smiled, feeling foolish. It couldn’t see me, could it? The vine stretched within a foot of me and wiggled happily. Not as nervous as I was, I stepped forward and stroked it. It nestled against my hand like the ones at the castle garden.
“I gotta go.” It drooped. “But I’ll come back and say goodbye.”
The vine perked up and lifted from my palm. Astaroth was so far ahead, I started to jog to catch up. An opening in a wall caught my attention along with the sound of water. I stopped and backed up. Tucked into a closed off area was a beautiful overgrown oasis. Awestruck, I followed the sound inside. A gently flowing waterfall cascaded into a concrete pond in the corner. Frothy bubbles floated over the surface before bumping into floating flowers and popping.
I sat on the edge and peered into the murky, rippling water. I didn’t recognize myself anymore, and it wasn’t only my physical appearance. The person staring back wasn’t the one I grew to be. So much had changed in a short period of time, and I wondered if I would ever recognize myself again.
I startled when the face moved, drifting closer to the surface and morphing into someone else. Hair floated around her face, and she studied me with large doe eyes before her full lips turned up in a small smile. She was beautiful.
Anxious worry trickled through our connection before Astaroth yelled, “Where are you?”
“Over here,” I called out and faced the opening. It was no longer there.
As I went to stand, something sharp wrapped around my arm and jerked me down. The woman launched out of the water, wrapped her arms around me, trapping my arms at my sides, and bared jagged, pointy, and broken teeth. They sank into my collarbone as she sucked me beneath the surface with her. The water muffled my screams and trapped them in the bubbles rising above me as she dragged us lower. I wriggled and fought within her iron grip while she tore into my flesh. Every time I knocked her mouth loose, she’d strike again, until suddenly it felt like I was being constricted and bitten all over.
Something jerked me from her hold, and I reached down to find vines around half my body. They reeled me to the top with intense speed. A piercing shrill rent the water as she gave chase, claws out and a large billowy tale pumping behind her. It reminded me of the hideous fish Ziggy tried to serve me. When she went to strike again, bloodsuckles reached out and attacked her instead. Their little mouths opened, with teeth sharper than hers, trying to find skin to latch onto, but she was quick.
I shot out of the pool, high above the walls, and gasped for air. The water broke beneath me, and I tried to curl my legs closer to my chest to keep her from reaching me. Several bloodsuckles were latched onto the tender flesh of my stomach and back and along my arms and legs. I struggled against the tightening of the vines as their teeth sunk deeper with every tug I gave, drawing my blood out with desperate, thirsty pulls. The searing burn made me grit my teeth, but it quickly turned numb, and I couldn’t feel anything but the pressure. As suddenly as it all happened, they stopped and cocooned me.
That ear-piercing shriek came again from below. Astaroth held the creature by her throat, his fingers digging into the gills on her neck as he fished her out of the water. Her body rolled and wiggled like a snake that didn’t want to be held. And with one swift jerk, his arms flew out to his sides ripping her throat wide open. She hit the ground with a wet slap, bouncing on the bricks until she jumped back into the pool.
Astaroth tilted his back, waiting for the vines to lower. “Bring her to me.”
One second, I was in the air. The next, I stood in front of Astaroth on shaky legs.
He went to untangle me, and a bloodsuckle hissed in his face. The vines writhed wildly on the walls around us, and I feared they would attack him next. Astaroth squished it in his fist. “She belongs to me, not you! Know your place.”
Shocked, I looked between him and his bloody fist as the vines unwound themselves and retreated.
“Are you okay?”
My voice cracked. “I think so. What was that thing?”
“That,” he checked the bite on my neck with a gentle touch, “was your precious mermaid.”
He cupped my face with worry when I laughed nervously. I think I really was in shock. Astaroth ripped a fish’s throat out and screamed at a plant that I belonged to him. The last few days became crystal clear in my mind, along with his earlier comment. He said I was tied to his life source. I thought he tied me to his magic. That meant… we were one.
I belong to the Goblin King.
Fuck.
How do I get out of this now?
“Breathe. I have you now.”
I gasped for air. That he did. In more ways than this.
Astaroth raised the hem of my shirt, and I hissed as he inspected the bites there. “The bloodsuckles ridded you of the mer’s toxin. Your wounds are healing.”
I flipped my hands over and back, and sure enough, the small cuts had already knitted together in angry red welts. I pulled my shirt up. Those would take a bit longer, but they had stopped bleeding. I looked up at Astaroth as I touched the massive wound on my shoulder. What the hell did I agree to?
“Don’t look at me that way,” he growled.
My voice quivered from the energy pouring off him. “What way?”
“Like I turned you into a monster.”
The image of him stalking me in that bloody skull prowled through my mind. He was terrifying. I hated to admit I’d never felt more alive, but that didn’t mean I wanted to be like him.
“Didn’t you?”
His jaw ticked.
“Am…” I rubbed the tender skin on my collarbone and there was barely any pain. “Am I still human?”
“Yes. With benefits.”
My hands balled into fists, and my nostrils flared as I battled the forming tears. He would not see me cry. “You tricked me. Again!”
“I did what I had to do.”
“Well, undo it!”
Astaroth grabbed the front of my shirt and pulled me against him. “I will do no such thing. I have made all your wishes come true, waited to claim you, dealt with your tantrums, saved your life—twice now—tasted your essence, and been inside you. I did it all with kindness and patience, which you didn’t afford me. But that is thinning.” He cupped the sides of my head and wove his fingers through my hair. Voice softening, he said, “You are mine. And as much as you despise me, I am yours. We are eternally bound. There is no undoing that.”
I shook my head. “There has to be a way.”
“Death. That is your only escape.”
The tears I refused to shed rebelled and trickled down my cheeks. I could never go home. I was trapped. Tethered to him with an invisible leash.
“Is being with me so horrible you’d want to die?”
The version of me I knew was already dying. The part of me that thrived wasn’t happy about it but was relieved that I didn’t have to live on eggshells any longer. And the part that was already dying wanted to explore what Astaroth offered. How many times did a person get presented with immortality?
“The jury’s still out,” I answered weakly.
Astaroth pressed a soft, beseeching kiss to my lips. It spoke of promises I couldn’t fathom, and that part of me that wanted to explore our connection roared to life. I gripped the front of his shirt as his lips got stronger and harder. I would never find another as passionate and who set me afire like he did. Could I live without that? I wasn’t sure.
With a lightning-fast maneuver, he gripped the outsides of my thighs and lifted me. I squeaked when my back thumped against the wall and wrapped my legs around him, but he swallowed it down and ground his pelvis against me. The bricks and vines dug into my spine when he pressed me into the wall, hands roaming up my shirt and squeezing my breasts.
I tore my lips away and panted. “What are you doing?”
Astaroth kissed up my jaw to my ear. He nipped my lobe and pinched my nipples. “Persuading the jury.”
My back arched into his touch. “This won’t work.”
I whimpered when he slipped his hands from my shirt and pinned my wrists to the wall. “Won’t it?”
Vines wrapped around my arms holding me tight. “Astaroth,” I drew out, panicking and struggling to get free from the ravenous plants.
The look he gave sent tremors through me. “What did I tell you?” he asked as he unbuttoned my pants.
Brow furrowed, I shook my head as I watched the creepy crawlies entangling me. An excited bloodsuckle sneaked out and kissed my arm. I shook it off, and it disappeared. “You say a lot.”
“You will call me Roth.”
I jerked my attention back to him. “In the bedroom,” I iterated.
He paused, fingers pinching my zipper. “Consider anywhere I take you to be our bedroom.”
“Roth,” I gritted out, checking the vines again to make sure they wouldn’t bleed me dry.
He pressed a finger to my lips. “If you’re not wet with need, I will let you down.”
My eyes widened as I did a mental pat down of my body. It was a traitor. I tightened my inner walls begging my body to hide any evidence and suck it back up. What did guys think about? Sports? Weather? Their mom? Ugh. That should do it.
Astaroth flattened his hand on my stomach and slid it ever so slowly down the front of my pants. The bastard. He knew that would help him get what he wanted. His brow raised when he brushed the damp fabric.
“Sweat,” I said quickly. “It’s sweat.”
His fingers slipped along my seam, and a devious smile spread over his face. I sucked air between my clenched teeth to keep from gasping when he swirled around my sensitive clit. But when he pushed inside, my lips formed an O, and I moaned when he rubbed the spot that pushed me over the edge.
Astaroth gripped my jaw with one hand while working me toward orgasm with the other, watching every expression that came over my face. Sweat beaded on my brow and ran down my temple in the humid corridor. Just when I thought the weight of my clothes was too much and I would implode from the heat, he pulled his hand free and yanked my jeans down my legs. The warm breeze felt cool compared to the inferno between my thighs. He pushed my knees to my chest and fumbled with the tie on his pants. A moment later the tip of his cock slipped through my wetness. He thrust his hips, stretching my swollen and tender flesh, and I came undone, writhing with the vines on the wall.
Astaroth groaned as he pumped inside me, drawing out my orgasm. His mouth met mine, teeth clacking, as I peaked again. “Who do you belong to, Cali?” he asked between painfully delicious kisses.
Lost in the moment and barely coherent, I responded when he finally let me up for air. “No one.”
He half laughed against my lips, but he wasn’t amused. His fingertips dug into the flesh of my bottom with the first of many determined thrusts to pound the answer out of me. Over and over, he bumped my cervix to the point of pain until it turned into pleasure, and I shook from the head-to-toe wave of euphoria that washed over me. I didn’t need the everberries. He was a drug.
Astaroth roared his release and fell against me, panting in my ear. “No one else can do for you what I can. Make you feel the way that I do. Worship you the way you deserve.”
My inner walls spasmed around him, almost in rhythm with his words as if agreeing to everything he said. I didn’t want to admit he was right. I was too pissed at him for manipulating me again.
He pushed a little deeper and kissed the skin beneath my ear. “I love when you milk me for every last drop.”
And that was enough to push me over the edge one final time. My cursed mouth breathed his name as I trembled in his arms.
A moment of clarity washed over me. I couldn’t count the number of times he came inside me the past couple of days. The number of sperm searching for an egg to fertilize had to be in the bazillions. A legion out to conquer and impregnate me and create little Astaroth’s.
He took a step back and slid out of me. I could feel his release drip from my body. It wasn’t much relief, but that took care of tens of thousands of would-be children I didn’t want to conceive. If I hadn’t already. Did human birth control stand a chance against fae sperm? The remnants trickled down my leg when he set me on my feet. His possessive gaze followed it before gently pulling my underwear up and then my jeans. I wiggled my sore legs together to dry the damp trail with the inside of my pant leg.
The vines released me, and my heavy arms fell to my sides. They tingled as the feeling came back over them. I rubbed at the red marks around my wrists and noticed the bites on my hands were almost gone. The ones on my stomach wouldn’t be far behind. I pulled my shirt down then quickly buttoned and zipped my pants before Astaroth got any more grandiose ideas.
His fingers wove with mine and lifted my hand to his lips. It was a beautiful, tender sentiment. I turned my head toward the corridor to keep from looking at him. The vulnerability on his face and his imploring gaze made me want to run to save myself. I didn’t want it to sway my decision. Instantly, a fervent wave of adoration crashed against the walls I built to protect what was left of myself. He didn’t need to destroy them. He’d wait until I dropped my defenses and sneak right in. Astaroth’s love was a lethal, cunning creature intent on sinking its teeth into my tender heart and sucking it dry. Just like the bloodsuckles.
I pulled my hand from his and started walking. “We should get going before the beasts come out to feast.”
He locked down his frustration, but not before it nearly swept me off my feet. “Indeed,” he grumbled.
Boots clomping behind me made me feel even more like the prey I was here in the labyrinth. Only the biggest, baddest beast of them all was the one stalking me. Again. It took all my effort not to speed up or run. How often did he get drunk and roam these walls to kill? Would last night happen a lot as the days went on? I hoped not.
Astaroth remained behind me the entire way to the corner. I took a deep breath and let out the building anxiety when he finally came to a stop by my side.
A lush growth of leafy vines with blooms cascaded down the corner and thinned as they ebbed out along the walls.
“Is it safe to move them?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said and approached the plants, parting them to give us a view of the bricks.
I followed his lead. He checked high, and I checked low. We started in the corner and worked our way along one wall, then along the other.
“I don’t see symbols, etchings, loose bricks or anything,” I huffed.
Astaroth stepped back and crossed his arms, fingers digging into his biceps. It was such a human gesture that the pose looked odd on him. “Neither did I.”
“Do you think we’ll find anything at the other corners?”
“Doubtful.”
“Maybe you should talk to Mergle.”
“Perhaps.”
I stood up and brushed the dirt off my hands. “What’s up with you two?”
His gaze flicked my way as if confused.
“Are you fighting?”
Astaroth looked away. “No. Why do you ask?”
“Because he’s not up your butt sniffing your farts.”
A sneer of disgust twisted his lips.
“And you’re very closed lip about him and look… guilty when his name is mentioned.”
His eyes flicked my way before focusing on the bloodsuckles stretching out to us.
I patted his arm. “Friends fight. It’s what they do best.”
I walked back the way we came to give him a moment to digest that little morsel. A howl ricocheted through the corridors, ending it quickly. A portal appeared in front of me, and this time, I walked through it without hesitating before waiting to see if Astaroth followed.