Chapter 31
LYK
“Not a chance in Hell,” Penn said, jumping to his feet. “The Crown Prince can go fuck himself with his own demon dick.”
“You kiss your wife with that mouth?” Calabez asked with a grin.
“I’m not in the mood for jokes,” Penn replied. “There is no way you’re exchanging Tess for anyone. I just got her back from Dazimin!”
“Two for one is quite a deal,” Calabez said, leaning back and crossing his feet while resting them on the table.
Penn’s hands balled into fists, but Tess stood and started to soothe him. “Your brother is only teasing,” she said, shaking her head at Calabez.
Cal winked back at her. “You’ve got a smart woman there.”
“I know! That’s one of the reasons I don’t want to trade her back to the damn Devil.”
There was a smattering of laughs around the table. Lyk looked on, content to let his brothers argue it out. He’d already made up his mind. He would do what Ally wanted, whether his brothers agreed or not.
She is my family, the one that stands up for me, the one that accepts me as I am. He did not relish turning his back on his real family again, but if Ally told him they were going to Dazimin to negotiate the release of her sister firsthand, he’d do it.
Although he’d warned her against that very tactic, he realized now what she’d been warning him of all along.
There are too many of us. Too many heads filled with stubborn knowledge and tactics.
We will never agree on a plan that suits us all, and so Evie will languish on Dazimin until she’s too weak to go on.
“So what does the Crown Prince expect us to do?” Juston asked, his arm around a female of breathtaking beauty. “How are we supposed to carry through this hypothetical prisoner exchange?” He raised a hand at Penn when he started to get angry again. “Just for the sake of discussion, brother.”
Dawn reached down to put Ladee on the table. The little creature scanned the room, blinking but saying nothing. “When I had my own run-in with the Seekers, they took Ladee with them, presumably back to Dazimin. The Crown Prince has sent him to be our mediator because we both ‘trust’ Ladee.”
“You don’t trust him?” Gemma asked, her hand resting on her palm and her head turned sideways as she studied the robot.
“The Ladee I knew I trusted implicitly. But something is different about him.”
“What?” Gemma said.
“I’m not exactly sure. It’s in his eyes, for one. Something’s not right. But I’d have to start poking around inside him if I’m going to figure out what that something is, and we thought it best to bring him here first before I dissected him.” She looked at Lyk as she said those final words.
“It would be foolish to take this offer at face value,” Nojan said. “The likelihood that he’s trying to set some trap for us is high.”
Gemma nodded. “I’m inclined to agree. Either he’s sabotaged this robot, or he’s intending to sabotage the exchange.”
“What if he never intended an exchange at all?” This was from Zelup. He leaned back, scratching his chin. “This whole thing stinks of a double-cross.”
Jazmine stood, and all eyes were drawn to the daughter of the Goddess of Light.
“When I came here over a year ago, you promised to aid me in my quest to recover my brother from the jaws of Hell. This is the closest we’ve ever gotten to that goal.
It can’t hurt to hear what the robot has to say.
Even if there is some trick, maybe we’ll be able to work it out from what he tells us. ”
Penn shook his head. “Listen all you want, but I will leave this planet and not return before I allow any of you to take Tess back to Dazimin.”
“I agree with Jazmine,” Mayra said. “We should let the fox talk. It won’t hurt to listen, will it?”
“Maybe so, maybe not,” Gemma said. Her eyes skimmed the demons in residence. “Midnight. Ruin. Nightmare. You know the Dark Lord best. What is your opinion of this recent development?”
Lyk shivered as the giant hulk of a man in the corner began to speak. In his lap sat a drowsy-eyed female with a purple blush to her skin and spots. He’d learned that she was Sleep, one of the Guardians, and the man she was wrapped around was Nightmare, a demon who had the power to control dreams.
“Never trust him. If he says he will do something, he will do the opposite.” He turned to the robot. “Kill that thing. Burn it.”
Dawn gasped, clutching her chest. “I just got him back!”
A short-haired beauty, another demon named Ruin, nodded along. “I agree with Nightmare, even if his brains are permanently addled. Whatever the prince says this is, it isn’t.”
“And do you agree with your compatriots?” Gemma asked the dark-haired female next to Juston. “Should we refuse to cooperate with the robot?”
Midnight leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. “While I agree that the robot is a liar, we may be able to glean something from it nonetheless. Even the Crown Prince of Hell makes mistakes sometimes. I vote to listen to it.”
They continued around the table, debating the pros and cons. Lyk felt Ally starting to fade, so he took her hand and led her out of the room.
“Shouldn’t we stay?” she asked, trying to stifle her yawn.
Lyk shook his head. “No point. They’ll be debating for hours, and I have nothing substantive to add to the argument. Do you?”
Ally frowned. “Nothing, other than I want my sister back.”
“We’ll get her back. I promise.” He knew he had no business promising her any such thing, but he would do everything he could not to break his vow.
She leaned her head against his shoulder, and he put his arm around her.
Together, they walked back to his quarters.
Once inside, he led her to a comfy sofa and turned on the fireplace.
“Wait here,” he said, then headed over to the kitchen.
He’d had the attendants stock him up on food, so he assembled a plate of tasty bites and brought it back to Ally, along with a bottle of summer wine.
Her eyes lit up when he arrived with the food. Then she insisted he also bring the fruit that she’d stashed earlier. They had a little picnic in front of the fire, and the feeling of contentment from before rose in him once again.
This felt right. She was supposed to be here, with him, in his space, a part of him. Although they hadn’t spoken about the future, he could not see one without her. The food seemed to revive her spirits, and soon, they were laughing and joking.
Ally convinced him to open his mouth so she could try to toss a grape inside.
Her aim was shoddy, however, so most ended up bouncing off his nose.
Then Lyk said he had a game that was more fun.
Always inquisitive, Ally asked what he meant, so he laid her down on the thick rug in front of the fire, peeling her out of the lab coat and then slowly removing the shirt of his she’d worn underneath.
“What kind of a game requires me to be naked?” she asked. “I’m beginning to suspect trickery.”
Lyk laughed. “This is a real game, one I’m pretty sure you’re going to lose.”
“Thanks,” she said sardonically. “I have faith in your failure too.”
Smiling, he pressed a finger to her lips to quiet her. “All you have to do is hold still. I’m going to pour some wine in your belly button. If I can sip it all out without you spilling a drop, you win. If you wiggle and spill, I win.”
“And I imagine there’s some prize being offered? Something momentous?” Her tone was playful.
“Oh yes,” he said, absolutely serious. “Are you ready?”
“Bring it on,” she said, steeling herself.
Lyk positioned the bottle over the little hole in her stomach, then began to pour. Ally giggled, but it wasn’t enough of a disturbance to cause the little lake of wine to spill.
“Very good,” he said. “But let’s see how you handle this.”
He positioned himself over her, lowering his mouth until it was hovering right about her bellybutton. Lyk could easily place his lips around the lake and sip it up with one good suck. But that wouldn’t be any fun at all.
Instead, he used his tongue to trace a circle around her navel. “Hey,” she stuttered, “that’s… that’s not fair!”
“Shh,” he said, looking up at her and winking.
“Cheater,” she grumbled.
His tongue dipped into her navel gently, gathering up a few drops before he repeated his circle.
Ally let out a groan, and he knew his game was having the effect he wanted.
Finally, he put his lips around her navel, but instead of slurping it all up in one go, he gently sipped the wine, creating a gentle buzzing against her skin.
“Godsdammit,” she moaned, then shifted, unable to help herself. Two drops of wine spilled over her bellybutton and ran down her stomach.
“Oh no,” he said in mock disappointment. “I’m afraid you’ve lost.” Then he pressed his mouth to her navel and sucked up the wine. Pulling her up into his arms, he kissed her, passing the sip of wine into her mouth.
She swallowed, then pouted. “I wanted that momentous prize. Now I’ll never have it.”
“That’s not true,” he said. “In fact, you’ve already won it a thousand times over.”
Ally gave a confused laugh. “What is it that I’ve won then?”
“My heart.”
Her eyes widened, and Lyk captured her lips in a torrid kiss. It was time to stop dancing around the subject of their relationship. Lyk needed her to know exactly where things stood. As he kissed her, he whispered against her lips. “I love you, Allandria, with all of my heart.”