Chapter 5 #2
"I don't have time to play games anymore, Love. You've decided that we have irreconcilable differences, so I don't think you do either."
"These are good," she said, obviously trying to avoid a real conversation.
I was done beating around the bush. "Incubi and succubi are rare.
Our magic is a pain in the ass, for us even more than for the people who feed us.
None of us has ever made it as long as I have without taking a mate.
If not for my connection with you, I would've been mated a century ago.
I was engaged to Jazz. Neither of us wanted the mate bond, but the benefit outweighed the cost."
"The siren queen, Jazz?" Merrily's voice was suddenly low. "The one who’s in the penitentiary right now?"
"Yeah. The one I bargained with you to get another seat on the Cabinet for."
Merrily let out a slow breath. "You didn't mate with her."
"No. I wanted you, after that bargain. Jazz didn't particularly want me anyway.
We'd had an alliance for a century and a half before, and she wasn't offended when I ended our arrangement.
Jazz, Dante, and I became close over the years that followed.
Like family. Charity and Mia were already mated, so they weren't as involved, but they were part of it too. "
"But you fucked her. Jazz.”
Merrily had known her somewhat well, because Jazz funneled her the names of people who were targeting, hurting, or taking advantage of sirens.
"Before I met you. Haven't been with anyone else since our bargain.”
Merrily was silent for a long, drawn-out moment. "So..."
"Jazz and Dante went to prison eleven years ago.
They were my closest friends. Basically my family.
There was a coup, as you know. We trusted the wrong people, and it cost us their freedom.
The rebellion used the penitentiary as a weapon against us, and it worked.
I haven't found a way to get them out yet.
It's a miracle all four of us aren't locked up right now. "
"Have you asked Ophelia for help?”
"Who’s Ophelia?"
"The fallen angel in the city."
"I didn't know there was a fallen angel in Rumor. Why would I ask her?"
"She's the one who built the prison," Merrily said quietly.
I looked at the fae queen as she silently cut her pancakes, pointedly keeping her gaze away from me.
"How do you know that? I've searched all over the city for answers about who built that thing."
"I helped Ophelia with something once, and learned a little about her magic."
"Would she help me get them out?"
"Probably. If she knew someone had weaponized the prison, she'd be furious. And personally, I would never want to be on that woman's bad side."
I would have to ask Merrily to set up a meeting with her, and give her whatever she wanted in exchange for her help.
First, I had to deal with this fucking mess I was in with Leon.
"I'll figure it out," I said.
"We were talking about your engagement with Jazz."
"Right. I brought it up because demons have a hard time trusting an unmated incubus. They think I'm dangerous. I was going to mate with Jazz to keep the peace, and she was going to mate with me so she'd be protected."
"You are dangerous. No one has ever beaten you in a fight."
"They think I'm the insane kind of dangerous. The mansion has been a revolving door for siren and vampire royals since Jazz and Dante were locked up. Mia and I are struggling to hold the Cabinet seats. There have been dozens of attempts on both of our lives at this point."
Merrily's fork clattered to her plate.
I continued. "I need to take a mate to show the rest of the demons that I'm stable. If you're not willing to seal a bond with me, I have an agreement with a dragon shifter who's going to help me regain control of this place after we seal a bond."
"Who?" Merrily's voice was deadly. "You were engaged to Gwen."
"That engagement was a test. The wolf isn't powerful enough for the statement I need to make."
"Who?" she repeated.
"I know better than to give you their name."
She scowled. “Well, I can help you get this place into shape without sealing any bond."
"No, you can't. Not as a fae queen. You have your half of the city—if you try to take mine, the demons will move against you, and that fucking prison will be used against your family as well. You could power the city's wards just as effectively from a cell."
"Is that a threat?"
"No. It's a fact."
"So if I don't mate with you, you're going to mate with a dragon shifter?" Merrily's voice was tight. "What if I hadn't shown up here yesterday? You'd be fucking him or her right now?"
"I was going to abduct you, remember? I'd planned on taking you to the nearest person who knew the vows directly after stealing you away."
"Fantastic. You're really selling this."
"I know. It's a skill."
She grew quiet again, refocusing on her pancakes for a few minutes before she spoke. “If I'm not willing to mate with you, you do... what? Keep me prisoner here until you and your new mate feel like letting me go, I inevitably kill them, or my family shows up to get me?"
"If I can't mate with you, our fated mate bond will be broken when I seal myself to someone else." It took more effort than I would have admitted to her, to get the words out. "You'll be free of me. I'll get my shit here figured out so it doesn't affect your Cabinet."
"The Cabinet isn't mine. Callum runs it."
"Everyone knows you're the brain behind it all."
Merrily let out a long breath. "How long do I have to decide?"
"A few hours."
"What? No. That's fucking insane. You wouldn't have even had time to abduct me yet, if I hadn't come here."
"A few days, then. The vampire king has taken to challenging me every couple of hours, assuming he'll eventually take me down."
"Will he?" she demanded.
"Probably. He recovers faster than me. All he has to do is drink blood."
"All you have to do is fuck me in my dreams, and I..." She trailed off. "Make that pretty difficult sometimes."
Frequently.
I wasn't about to say that aloud, though.
"I don't sleep well even after visiting your dreams, so it's not all on you. Never have, even before I met you. It's pretty common for demons like me."
"Incubi can have insomnia?"
"Unfortunately." I stacked two pancakes on my plate. When I saw that Merrily's was bare, I stacked two more on hers.
She hesitated, looking between her plate and mine. "If he's challenging you that often, you need to eat."
"Rae forces food down my throat a few times a day," I lied.
It was bullshit. Rae thought everyone could survive on shadows and Chinese takeout food like she did.
"Rae?" The possessiveness in Merrily's voice was back.
"The Wraith. You met her."
"Have you fucked her too?"
"No. She's basically my sister, remember? And like I said, I haven't been with anyone but you since we met."
"I didn't think incubi and succubi were very loyal. With needing to feed on sexual energy..." she trailed off.
"Love, you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone more faithful than a satisfied incubus or succubus."
She scoffed. "You've never been satisfied with me. I starve you all the time."
"I'm going to let it slide this time, because you clearly don't know a damn thing about demon culture, but accusing one of us of being unsatisfied with the person who's sustaining us is just about the most offensive thing you can do.
Feeding on an immortal being is a privilege none of us take lightly.
You may not have always been in the mood to feed me, but you allowed me to have you regularly for a century.
I don't take that lightly. I never have. "
Merrily blinked.
Someone knocked loudly on the door.
I knew who it was immediately. Even his knock sounded fucking pompous. Leon, the vampire king, was a menace.
I slid my plate of pancakes to Merrily. "I'll eat later. Enjoy. If you leave, I'll track you down to get an answer about the mate bond."
"Where are you going?"
"My usual morning stroll."
"It's 1 PM, Darke. Who's at the door?"
“Leon. Don't touch anyone you don't want me to kill," I called over my shoulder.
"Right back at you," she called back.
I stepped out into the hallway, leaving the door unlocked. Anyone who tried to break in would find themselves face-to-face with a very pissed and very deadly fae queen.
At least, until she left me.