CHAPTER NINE
LILLITH
“Where are we go-going?”
“It’s a secret, Stardust. Or are you nervous?” Orian’s hand was wrapped around the fairy’s as he led her through darkened hallways and further down into the depths of their home, his thumb stroking the back of her hand in comfort. They weaved through pathways in the castle that one would only know from years of exploring it. Secret doors twisted and warm cosy air turned chilly as they found a stairway.
Stepping closer to her mate, the fairy kept pace with him as best she could, her wings fluttering against her back in muted excitement, a soft blue glow emanating from them. Since waking after the battle, she had been training her muscles again, having to orient herself to be used to both once more. Her newly evolved wings were bigger than before, the ends almost able to trail the floor and create soft wings when they fluttered quickly. Several times she had smacked others in the face with them, much to her embarrassment.
“We aren’t supposed to be down here, Orian. I can feel it.” It felt off limits. There was a reason the King had so many locks around the castle, it kept secrets as exactly that. Secret. Lillith had no intention of getting on the bad side of her would-be father-in-law after what her sister had done.
“It’s our home, fairy, we can go anywhere in it that we want. Besides, you’ll want to see this.” For a moment, Orian twisted his head and gave her a smile that made something hot curl in her chest and flood her body with prickling excitement. Little flowers bloomed in her hair. No male should have that effect on her, he was so handsome she didn’t know what to do with herself other than stare.
Biting her lip as she was led to a huge wooden door, a familiar smell touched her nose. Something like moss and earth. Her heart beat faster, wonderment swirling with curiosity.
“This used to be a drake’s cave when my grandfather was King. The most grand creature in the whole realm and he had tamed one. They’re similar to dragons, but not exactly. Somewhere between person and creature, much like ourselves. But the one grandad had found was feral. He couldn’t turn back, too much beast inside him so he brought the creature here. Made a home in exchange for loyalty.” Pressing his hand to the grand wood, Orian pushed it open slowly, the creak echoing into a gigantic cavernous space.
The air in her lungs caught. The walls of the cave glittered with gems and diamonds. With sparkling stones that gave off their own light and swirling treasures that littered the stones like stars in the night sky. The ground was all soft earth, soil and charred ash mixed together that had grown its own version of black moss to soften the steps. A perfect bed for a dragon creature to lay on once upon a time, but now, there were petals scattered in a small path towards the centre of the cavern.
With Orian behind her, giving her a small nudge to follow the petals, Lilly was mindful of where she stepped, not wanting to crush anything too much. Emotion moved like a wave inside her once she realised where the petals were leading to. A soft warm light flickered from so many candles scattered in a circle, a little private garden of beautiful flowers everywhere, petals and life growing in a secret bubble while Lennox stood in the middle, watching her approach.
The grin on his face said all he needed to. The demon was clearly very pleased with this surprise as she felt her eyes prickle with tears. It was magical. Utterly beautiful. They had even created a fairy gate, a circle of stones as the backdrop, built together sturdy while small vines and blooming baby flowers came to life around it. Something of her home, of her culture to have as part of it as well as theirs. That this place was just as much as her own home as well.
The closer she got, the more she realised Lennox’s cheeks were an adorable shade of red. “We wanted it to be special for you. The arch thing took a bit to build but it looks good right?”
Her throat felt tight as Lilly nodded, pressing her hand against her chest to calm her hammering heart. “It looks wonderful.” Laughing at how overwhelmed she had become at their thoughtful treat.
“We don’t need a fancy wedding to know you are our mate, Stardust. We don’t need crowds cheering and fancy crowns on our heads. You belong to us. Our princess, our fairy. Ours.” Orian stroked his hand down the side of her face with such gentleness while a tear spilt over to leave a wet trail against her cheek.
“We can do the ceremony here. Just between us. There’s no doubt in my mind that I belong to you, flower. Every fibre of me, every version of me, is wholly yours. I don’t want to wait anymore. We almost lost you before, it won’t happen again.” Lennox’s yellow gaze glowed with conviction at her, sunflowers and sunlight, warmth and love.
“Okay.” There was never any other choice for her. She was theirs and they were hers. No separations, no need to worry or fret. The fairy felt it in her soul, the threads that reached out to the pair and wanted to latch onto them.
“Okay?” Orian asked. “Just like that?”
They were both staring at her with wide eyes as if they had expected any sort of push-back. Maybe over the amount of wedding planning that had taken place but she didn’t care. “Just like that. The public one can be just that. For the public.”
Orian and Lennox stood in front of her, shoulder to shoulder as they fished something out of their pockets, small velvet boxes of dark red and emerald green. She itched to open them already to see what little treasures lay inside.
“Okay. Here we go.” Lennox took a deep breath, rolling his shoulders as if getting ready for the fight of his life. The temperature around him rose, like standing too close to an open fire pit. “I don’t have anything I can say that can explain how I feel properly. It’s easier to show you, do things for you. But if I’m never doing enough, or if you ever feel as if you need to question my feelings, just know that I love you. With every bit of fire in my soul, I adore you. You’re the other half of me that I needed to find so badly. I’ll keep you warm for as long as I live.”
Taking her hand in his toasty palm, Nox held her fingers gently and slid the thin band into place. “Mother says this finger is the one fate ties your string to that leads to your soulmate. I suppose we’re just reinforcing that strand, right?”
A hiccuped breath left her chest as she nodded, her heart clogged with emotion. So much had happened in such a short time. They still had so many hurdles to overcome but would do it together. While Lennox leaned down to press kisses to her eyelids, soaking away the tears that had gathered over her lashes and tracked down her cheeks, Orian was fidgeting with his own little box.
When her green-eyed mate stepped closer, she felt the gentle touch of smokey tendrils against her skin, like caressing hands that soothed any possible anxiety she might have had.
“I’m not any better with this. Actually, I think I’m worse.” A nervous laugh escaped him and Lilly couldn’t help but grin. Since when did Orian get nervous about anything with her? He was a gentle giant most of the time. “I don’t have any kind of fancy speech ready. I just.. You’re my first. And you’re my forever too. No matter if you’re a goddess or just a little fairy asleep on a windowsill, I know we belong to each other.”
He took her the same hand, pushing the second slim band onto her finger to layer it together. A little twist fused the two rings together to make a tiny starred gem in the middle, the bands engraved with leaves in delicate beauty.
It was wonderful. It was perfect and it would never be broken between them. As Orian stole kisses from her, weepy laughter spilling out when he wouldn’t stop. Lilly stroked her hand over his scarred cheek. Flowers bloomed through the dark valley, pinpricks of pollen lighting into the air with their own glow, a special kind of flower that would never grow anywhere else.
A flower she felt her emotions sink into and bloom with wonderment. Like stardust and petals. Like the things that made her theirs.
“When the big wedding comes, with crowns and endless celebrations, nobody has to be told about this. Nobody has to know.”
“But we do.” Nox grinned at her. “Like a dirty little secret.” His fanged smile only grew in delight making her stomach twist hotly. Those dangerous teeth really shouldn’t inspire such arousal in her.
“You said to be properly mated, that your demons would want out as well. That they would need to .. t-take me as well.” Lillith swallowed a little tightly.
“We did say that, didn’t we.” Orian’s voice was deeper, rasping in his throat as it warped slightly as Lennox reached behind himself and pulled out two masks they’d been hiding. “You don’t have to do this right now. But the option is there if you want to complete it. We can handle the heat from our demons until you’re ready.”
Lilly smiled gently at her mates. Her husbands-to-be and the males that would protect her with their entire life.
“Personally and for entirely selfish reasons, I think it would be wildly fun if we did.” Lennox was grinning at her, full of wicked promise. “It won’t entirely be like before. We won’t be huge rage monsters intent on destroying everything around us. We’ll just be set on destroying your pus–”
“Do not finish that sentence.” Orian was grimacing. “Horrible fucking wording.”
“Pussy?” Lilly asked him innocently as little wisps of smoke began to rise up from Orian’s horns and his pupils grew rounded. “You don’t wha-want to destroy my pussy Orian?” She blinked rapidly at him, fluttering her lashes. It was ever so fun teasing him. Teasing both of them even in situations like this.
Nox laughed, handing her his unusual mask. “Whenever you’re ready, flower.”
Orian looked half pained as he glanced between Lilly and his own, concern warring with lust on his scarred features. “If it gets to be too much, just, grow a tree up blondie’s ass and we can stop.”
Lennox shuddered. “A shrub at best, I don’t need to spit pinecones, yeah?”
Lilly grinned at them, laughter bubbling within her. Placing their masks carefully on each handsome face the fairy stepped back, butterflies taking flight within her stomach and swirling as little petals bloomed through her hair and wings fluttered against her back.
“See you on the other side, flower.” Lennox's voice had dissolved into a growl as he stared at her, the heat of his body flowing towards her own, their bond thrumming to life. Orian never spoke, just watched her with those gorgeous eyes of his unable to look away from her.
Drawing in a deep breath, she could feel it starting. Could feel the tethers of her soul reaching out towards her males. Towards her mates who would love her for the rest of their lives. To the males, she still had so much more to experience with. “ Release .”
It happened slowly. The masked fusing bit by bit into their skin until they were one. While Lillith had thought it impossible, both of the twins grew in height and stature until they mimicked eachothers size. The monsters residing in her mates however, never took over fully.
Instead, Orian’s skull mask melted to his skin, small black tendrils sinking through until it became a webbing of veins. His horns grew sharper, twisting into the hair until they pointed upward where a smoking crown had taken place. Shiny black eyes stared at her through the skull-like holes, glossy and unblinking as before.
A clawed hand gripped the front of his shirt and yanked it, ripping the material free effortlessly and showing off a well defined torso that was not decorated in black runes etched into his skin and black scales flickering to life here and there.
Where there was smoke, the fire came next. Lennox had tipped his head back, a flurry of red and yellow flames moving over his face and head. The demon breathed out in a rush of fire, embers sparkling into the air as he stretched as if to get more comfortable in his host’s body.
Little flames flickered over his now cracked horns like lava beneath a volcano crust. His yellow eyes were brighter than ever, casting light over her own skin.
Lennox had burned the majority of his clothes in the shift, patches of them singed and smouldering. The middle of his shirt caught fire from the middle of his chest and fell in pieces from his body exposing the way his heart now glowed. A dim light beneath his skin where Lilly could even make out the thumping beat beneath the surface. He was a caged inferno and staring at her like she had the ability to hang the sun. Above his own head, mimicked a crown to match Orian’s, a blue flame that moved with invisible wind.
She wanted to touch it, to see how hot it burned.
They were her mates, but not her mates. Her demons, but not her demons. They were gods in their own right, monsters in the dark that could do untold damage and yet they hadn’t moved. A fine line of control running between the creatures and their counterparts.
Lennox moved first. Within two strides, he was stood directly in front of her, his gaze glowing over her face before he sank down onto his knees. Lilly’s brows rose in surprise, small sprouts of flowers clustering around her temples and falling from her hair. Sinking back on his haunches, his claws sat on his muscled thighs, digging into the skin slightly. And he waited. Patiently. Calmly. The fiery crown on top of his horns had dwindled into a low simmering of heat, a lovely hue of blue and flicker of green.
Orian came to her next, stepping forward. Rather than not touch her, he lowered his face to hers, the hard surface of the bone mask pressing against her cheek and rasping against delicate skin as he emitted a low, gentle sound at her.
Purring . He was purring at her and the sound went straight between her thighs, the vibrations running through her bones it was so deep. Seemingly satisfied with her reaction, he joined his brother to kneel at her feet, obedient and dutiful. Lilly said nothing, nervousness coiling in the pit of her stomach at not knowing exactly what was to come next.
Her wings fluttered, a slight movement that gave away her uncertainty. How did demons mate? How did she encourage them to do it when they hadn’t made the first move?
“Look at me.”
Their faces lifted in unison making her lips twitch. In their natural form, the pair of them were at odds with one another. Like this, they were entirely in tune it seemed.
CHAPTER TEN
ORIAN
My perfect mate in all her gorgeous glory. A goddess walking among demons and she had sought to bond with him. The demon sharing Orian’s consciousness was beyond pleased with the situation. The demon had intended to woo her himself, probably in its own disturbing way, but this was much better.
This was perfect.
She liked my purr. I must only ever make that sound for her.
His demon was a sap. Not that Orian could say shit, he was as well. They’d do anything for their mate. Anything she commanded of them. Anything she wanted, they would provide.
A sigh breathed through him, escaping the form his appearance had taken, wistful and more than a little obsessed with simply looking at her.
Lilith smiled at him, at them, and Orian’s chest puffed out a little more, tendrils of his smoke reaching out to slide around her ankle and pet at the delicate skin there. Leave his mate. Leave his stamp of ownership on her skin. On her body.
The same way she had left her mark on his entire soul already.