Chapter 37 #2
Leaning back, absolutely stuffed and satisfied, she caught Alkimos’s pleased look. A satisfied smile curled his lips as he listened to Raz. Even though he had his eyes on him, she got the feeling Alkimos had been watching her the whole time.
Soraya didn’t care that he was pleased as long as they got a move on. She was—
Exhaustion hit her out of nowhere, causing her body to sag under the weight.
“You should get some sleep,” Alkimos rumbled, his gaze drifting her way and noting how her eyes drooped.
Makoto tacked on, “We were all out here watching over you as you slept, and more guards are posted around the building in case anything returned. You’re safe, Soraya.”
Tariq vowed, “We won’t let anything happen to you as long as we’re here.”
“Yes, you didn’t get nearly as much sleep as you needed,” Sorenth pushed.
“Alright, alright,” Soraya grumbled to stop any more of them from hounding her.
She knew they were trying to make her feel safe—which she somewhat appreciated—but their vigilance only served to heighten her unease.
Guards. Monsters returning. It only reminded her that Jesmine wasn’t safe—and Ahvi was missing.
She considered mentioning Ahvi, but Jesmine’s warning in the garden stuck with her.
The reaction some of the…fae had toward her—a human in their world—was bad.
Soraya wondered if she would only be getting Ahvi into trouble by mentioning her name.
She didn’t want that for her friend. Especially if what Jesmine said was true and Ahvi had come to help.
An even worse thought crossed her mind. What if Ahvi was already in trouble for helping me?
She’d need to learn more about her saviors until she can trust them enough to bring up Ahvi. But there is no doubt in her mind that their help will prove useful in the future.
Fighting a spell of drowsiness, Soraya forced herself to ask, “Can you tell me at least why you’re doing this?
Why are you doing this for me?” It didn’t make any sense to her.
None of it did. “I don’t even know any of you.
I mean, at most, all we did was…” Her cheeks turned red, suddenly remembering that she had meant to keep their sexual relations a secret for as long as possible.
Memories surged—the ghost of their touches, the way her body remembered how most of them had been inside her at some point. Completely spread open, she had enjoyed being taken by them just as she took from them.
On top of it all, she had slept with them over the course of a week.
Most men would have found that disgusting or shameful.
They would have called her a whore, not wine and dine her in her own apartment.
But none of them seemed to be offended by her nighttime proclivities with their friends…
and apparent enemies. Unless…they didn’t know about each other.
This wasn’t normal. None of it was even remotely normal.
A flash of monstrous hell-spawns and a winged demon came and went from her mind. None of it was normal or in the realm of possibility.
In the end, trusting that they had her best interests in mind was all she had.
“You guys don’t seem very fond of each other either,” she pointed out. “So why are you here?”
Raz piped up, “I think we’ve been getting along splendidly.” He beamed a knowing look across the room. “It’s been centuries since we’ve all been in the shared space, and it’s still in one piece. I would call that progress.”
Centuries? Soraya’s throat tightened. Clearing her throat, she asked, “When you say…centuries, you don’t actually mean that you’ve all lived—I don’t know, hundreds of years, right?”
“Being fae means living a considerably long life compared to humans, Soraya. I told you—my age is 334. Everyone in this room, except you, was born around the same era. And leave no doubt, you are fae. Which means you will have an equally long life,” Lestis informed.
And that was enough for Soraya. She stood and fixed the borrowed shirt—which clearly belonged to one of them—to ensure she wasn’t flashing her breast. “Thanks for the food, but you’re right about getting some sleep.
I feel like I’m about to drop dead at any second.
” She faked a yawn that turned into a real one, her jaw cracking with its force.
“We can talk more when you’ve had some rest, love,” Makoto said, his gaze piercing. “But know, none of us would harm you. And we won’t allow any harm to befall you, including harm from one another. You’re safe.”
The other echoed their agreement.
Soraya nodded shallowly, barely able to keep her eyes open. Retreating awkwardly, she made her way back to the safety of the room and paused at the threshold.
Quietly, she departed with two words, “Thank you.” She didn’t wait to hear their response as she slipped inside and closed the door behind her with a soft click.
She made her way to her bed and paused, staring down at the nest of piled jackets and cloaks that were giving off those wonderful scents she awoke with.
She debated giving it back to them because they clearly belonged to the males outside in her living room.
But the intoxicating scents had her crawling into bed and wrapping herself in them.
Sleep claimed her like a thief.
And as darkness greeted her, she promised herself only a couple of hours before she kicked their asses through the magic door herself to begin the search for Jesmine.
No matter what, she will find her friend at any cost.