33 | Fabian
It’s chaos in the city square. The crowd surges closer and I wield my blood sword, trying desperately to scare them off, but the blank-eyed stares of the mob tell me that no one’s home. If the threat of getting stabbed by a three-foot sword made of blood isn’t enough to get them to pull back, nothing will.
Both Silver and Roscoe go flying as they’re tackled by members of the angry horde. Roscoe’s closer to me, so I check on him first, dropping to a crouch.
“You hurt, man?” I use my magic to check him over, still raw from the last time I had to inspect him like this—when he was bleeding out and a stone’s throw from death.
He shakes his long hair out of his eyes and sits up. “Fuck. No, I hit my shoulder. Bruised, but not too damaged.”
“Good.” I jump up and spin around, heading for Silver. But before I can get to her, the ring on my finger grows hotter and hotter until it’s burning not just my skin but it feels like it’s searing into the bone.
I’m about to tear it off my finger, but I’m distracted by Silver. She’s still on the ground, the crowd swarming closer to her while she rolls onto her back.
“Stop. Don’t move any closer,” she shouts.
And the crowd just... stop moving.
They fall silent, freezing in place.
“Holy shit, Silver. Did you do that?”
She pants, staring up at me with wide eyes. “Er, I think so. I’m not sure how long I can hold it, though.” Her hands are shaking already with the strain of holding so many of them at bay.
Ro’s fall has disrupted his illusion, which means Simpson’s no longer distracted by the chaos.
“That’s enough, pet,” he spits at Silver.
She’s vulnerable right now, her attention all focused on holding off the crowd. He’s faster than me and crazy strong.
He darts forward, heading straight for Silver.
I throw myself forward into his path and somehow I’m the one whose throat he clutches, not hers.
That’s all that matters. I won’t let this fucker touch her.
He squeezes my throat, lifting me fully off my feet like I weigh no more than a bag of sugar and I fight to claw him off.
I can’t breathe. My attention tunnels until all I can focus on is Simpson’s bared teeth as he glares up at me. He seems annoyed at my presence, as though I’m a bug he longs to smoosh.
“Fabian!” Silver yells my name, her voice breaking through the fog forming in my mind.
“It’s... fine,” I choke out.
It’s far from fucking fine, but she doesn’t need to know that. She needs to concentrate on the crowd or they’ll tear her apart.
I can sense Simpson’s about two seconds away from snapping my neck and black spots are starting to form in my vision. Never a good sign.
Pushing down the panic that wants to claw its way through me, I let my body go slack. I need to move fast or I’m not going to make it out of this. And as soon as he’s done with me, he’ll move on to Silver.
I can’t let that happen.
Things happen quickly after that. I focus my blood magic on Simpson’s arm, cutting off his blood supply so that his hand goes slack and I drop to the ground. Landing heavily on my knees, I’m sucking in oxygen desperately as I grasp at his legs and cling to him while he kicks me in the stomach and the kidneys.
Fuck. That hurts.
Ignoring the pain, I cling on like a barnacle and focus my magic into him. Heating his blood from the outside in, until it’s boiling.
He screams and tears me off him, flinging me five feet in the air until I crash down in a heap on the hard ground.
All the air is knocked out of my lungs and I desperately pant for breath. I’m not done yet. Not until this fucker goes down.
Stumbling to my feet, I summon my blood sword and charge at him, right as his back is turned, his attention on Silver.
The sword in my hand is gleaming and at least three inches wide.
“Close your eyes, Silver,” I yell out once I’m barely feet away from him.
She doesn’t need to see what happens next.
I swing my sword and slice it through Simpson’s neck, lopping his head clean off his body.
He had his back to me, which means it might not be the most valiant of moves against him. His death is certainly swifter than he deserves.
And then it’s done.
His head thuds as it rolls away from his body and I stumble to stand in front of it, trying my best to hide it from Silver.
“It’s done,” I say, propping my hands on my hips and trying to steady my racing heart. “He’s dead.”
Silver meets my eyes for a moment and nods. She then turns to the crowd and enunciates clearly. “Go home. There’s nothing you want more than to go home and forget this entire day ever happened.” Cocking her head to one side, she stands with her hands on her hips, controlling an entire crowd of at least fifty people. “Also, maybe start questioning your leaders. They have a track record of only being out for themselves. Now, go. Fuck off. Shoo.”
As though that’s the magic word, the crowd disperse, muttering amongst themselves. They look confused and more than a little frightened. I don’t blame them either.
“What the hell just happened?” Roscoe asks, staring around with wide eyes.
Silver chuckles, rubbing tiredly at her face. “Well, turns out I can do this thing with ghosts, send them to someplace and then it creates these weird orbs. If I let the orbs touch my skin, then I kind of... absorb some of the ghost’s power. When I fell, I guess my clothes ripped and the orbs in my pocket got absorbed, and then I could control an entire crowd. Freaky, right?”
“Or you just revealed your true goddess-level powers, sweetheart,” Roscoe says, wrapping himself around Silver’s body.
She shakes her head before tipping it back to lean against him. “Pretty sure I’m not gonna do that again in a while. There were a ton of ghosts in the cells, so it was a lot of power to have all at once. Felt kind of unwieldy and gross.”
“You’re amazing and we should all worship at your feet,” he continues.
“Fabian’s the one that... did that to Simpson.” Silver nods toward Simpson’s headless form.
“I can’t believe the fucker’s dead.” Ro shakes his head.
Nor can any of us, it seems. It’s kind of surreal to have been so close to getting torn apart by an angry mob and then—
The danger has passed.
We’re safe.
Roscoe spots Zeph and Dante coming toward us and dances over to them, slapping them on the back and filling them in on what happened.
I wrap an arm around Silver, unable to stop myself from touching her for another second. The feeling when she melts against me is like nothing else.
“Let’s get home,” I say.
We don’t hurry back since Silver checks in with Seb and the others as we go and he confirms he’s almost back at the apartment.
“I guess it’s over now,” Silver murmurs.
“For now, at least,” I say. “Who knows what’ll happen with the Archarcans next? They’re bound to be reactive after Simpson and his cronies have been influencing them for months.”
“And we did release a bunch of prisoners into the city,” Ro adds cheerfully. “Plus, Nexus has only just stopped being on fire.”
I chuckle. But my nose twitches the closer we get to The Spire and I wonder if maybe Nexus is still at least partly burning. There’s the scent of acrid smoke, although I can’t see anything obviously burning right now. Maybe the smell is now a hallmark of the city, or it’s been scarred into my nostrils.
Before we’re halfway home, Roscoe pulls me and Silver to one side and lowers his voice to a murmur. “So, Zeph’s gonna head back to his apartment for a few hours. Sounds like he needs to decompress.”
“I’ll go with him,” Dante offers.
“And I’ll head next door to check on the kids when we get back,” Ro says.
I’m aware that they’re offering an opportunity for me to spend some time alone with Silver, and I’m not about to turn that down.
She looks up at me a little shyly as soon as I unlock the door and gesture for her to head inside.
“You want to get a shower, Silver? Wash the last few days off you? I can wash your hair for you, if you like.” I feel like a pathetic schlub, practically begging for her to allow me to touch her.
Silver bites her lip and gives a little bemused laugh, like something I said surprised and amused her in equal measure.
“What?” I ask.
“Just, I appreciate you taking care of me. I, um, I did something similar when you were sick with the blood curse.”
I don’t remember that. There are huge, confusing gaps in my memory still, spanning entire months. Silver might have washed my hair for me, taken care of me. But did I ever do the same for her when we were first... falling in love?
“I have so much to make up for,” I tell her earnestly. “I swore I was going to do better. To stop hurting you, but it feels like I got lost in my head in a whole new way. Ro tried to tell me I was being an ass, did you know that? But it felt like the ship was sinking and I didn’t want to drag you along with it. But I swear to you, I’ll work every day for the rest of our lives to do better for you, Silver. If you’ll let me.” I pause, staring into her starburst eyes and taking a steadying breath. “And there are some things I don’t think I ever fully forgot.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Like how I feel about you,” I tell her seriously, using my thumb and index finger to tip her chin so we’re looking each other right in the eye. My breath catches and I have to swallow hard before I can continue.
“Even when I couldn’t remember you, I still knew something was missing. I couldn’t get my head around it. How I could feel like a piece of me had been surgically removed, and I had no idea what it could be.” I take her hand and tug her into the bathroom and then slowly undress her piece by piece, removing the dirty clothing she’s been stuck wearing for the past few days.
“You know, I couldn’t remember you—” She flinches, but I plow on, needing her to hear this, to understand. “—I couldn’t remember you. But I was still jealous of Zeph and Roscoe. The scent of your soap in the shower had me growing hard at the weirdest times, had me dreaming things that were confusing as all hell. I missed you. I obsessed over you. It was like you’d tattooed your name into the deepest part of me.”
I feel like I’ve said all of this to her before, but it needs repeating. I’ve fucked up so many chances with this witch. Her choosing to give me another chance is a true fucking miracle.
She blinks a few times, swallowing hard. “Keep going.”
“And then after we nearly lost Ro, then straight after, we got attacked and I felt like I was doing a shit job of protecting you. I got distracted. I was trying to fix things, to make things safe for us all. For you. But I know that was fucking dumb. I was an idiot. When I should have been spending all the time I could with you, I was—”
“Working yourself to death,” she says, tipping her head forward to bash her forehead on my chest.
I wrap my arms around her for a moment, relishing the sheer damn good fortune that’s got me here.
“Never again, though, love,” I vow to her. “If I ever lose myself like that again, I want you to punch me in the dick.”
“I can do that,” she tells me with a cheeky grin. “Now, are you gonna get naked, or am I expected to wash my own hair?”
I kick off my boots and jeans, tearing my t-shirt over my head until I’m standing in front of her naked. Twisting on the shower, I wait for it to warm up before gesturing for her to step under the warm spray.
“If I have my own way, you’ll never have to wash your own hair again, Silver. Now, close your eyes for me.”
She sticks her head under the spray until she’s soaked all over. I squeeze a palmful of shampoo into my hand and gently massage it into her hair. Once she’s good and lathered up, I gently tip her head back to wash off the shampoo. Conditioner follows before I soap up my hands and run them methodically over every inch of her skin.
I clean her all over before soaping up my hands again and running them over her once more. This time, I work even more slowly, cupping her tits and thumbing her nipples until they’re stiff peaks, relishing the little gasps she makes.
Those sounds, I etch them into my memory.
Every moan, every little gasp. I hoard them greedily and tuck them close inside my chest.
My hands move down over the soft swell of her stomach. Her hips. The perfect ass that I’d love to sink my teeth into.
“Can I open my eyes now?” she asks with a wide grin on her face.
“Not. Just. Yet.” I thumb her lower lip and lean in close.
“I’m going to kiss you now, Silver.”
“Please,” she moans softly.
I wrap my hands around her hips and kiss her hard. She opens her mouth, allowing my tongue to slip inside and taste her. Silver moans into my mouth and I’m almost ferocious with the intense need to brand her mouth with mine. To absorb her taste until it’s a part of me. I pull away only once my lungs scream, telling me I need to take a full breath.
“How about you?” she asks.
“I need to taste you, Silver. To bury my face in your pussy and eat you out until you’re screaming my name,” I tell her. “Not here, though. Don’t want to risk you losing your footing in the shower.”
Soaping myself up as quickly as I can, I then rinse off before stepping out of the shower and handing over a fluffy towel to wrap Silver up in. Gently drying her off and towel-drying her hair, next I scoop her up and place her on the counter.
Dropping to my knees in front of her, I pull her legs apart and press kisses up her thighs up to her clit. I run my tongue over her clit, relishing the gasping moan she lets out. Then I can’t hold back any longer and proceed to eat her out like a man starved. Because, essentially, that’s what I am. I’ve been starved of this, of Silver’s taste, of her sweet mewling sounds as she grips the counter with both hands and bucks her hips against me.
Slipping my fingers inside her drenched pussy, I groan and lap at her as she grows wetter.
“Fuck, you taste so damn good.”
I then bury my face in her pussy and squat down to hoist her up so her legs are around my shoulders.
“Holy shit, Fab, you’re strong.”
I don’t tell her that I’m pretty sure I’m demonstrating once-in-a-lifetime-super-pussy-eating strength I’ve developed. Even a month ago, I think I’d have struggled to toss Silver around like this. My strength has been slowly growing day by day. But right now, I’m jacked up on the need to make her come and to bury myself inside her.
Not removing my face from between her legs, I relocate us into my bedroom and lay her on my bed. I then have to take a fucking moment to marvel at how damn beautiful she looks splayed out on top of the covers.
“I need to be inside you, Silver. Please tell me I can bury myself deep in your pussy.”
“F-fuck, Fabian. Yes. I need you to fuck me hard.”
She doesn’t need to tell me twice. My dick is already dripping pre-cum as I slide it against her clit and then use all my control to bury my hard length inside her. She gasps as I slowly fuck into her, bit by bit.
I groan. “You are amazing.”
She grins at me, wrapping her legs firmly around my ass and tugging me closer until I sink deeper. We let out matching moans and my balls grow tight with the need to fuck into her.
To make her mine.
Her hand slips between us, and she massages her own wetness and lets out another moan. I have to pause in pulling my cock out of her to marvel at the sight of her getting herself off while my cock is buried inside her.
The picture in front of me is obscenely sexy.
“You are the hottest thing I’ve ever seen,” I tell her. “Sorry, Silver, but I don’t think I’m going to last long.”
Blinking up at me, she reveals a slow, sly smile. “Then take me hard Fabian, I want you to come deep inside me until I can feel your cum dripping out my pussy.”
Holy. Fucking. Shit.
I let out a strangled groan. “You can’t say things like that unless you want me to come in thirty seconds flat.”
She wraps her hand around my neck and pulls me to her lips and then speaks in between kisses. “I. Don’t. Care. Take me now, Fabian. Please.”
I’m entirely incapable of resisting. Pulling my cock slowly from the warm sheath of her pussy, I then fuck her in earnest until I’m pistoning my hips and her tits are jiggling right in front of me.
Ducking down to take one nipple into my mouth, she lets out a whimpering gasp.
“Yes.”
I fuck her hard and fast, replacing her fingers with my own and massaging her clit until she’s clenching around me, her eyes going wide as her mouth opens on a silent scream.
It’s only then that I allow myself to let go, feeling my balls tighten as I come deep inside her. Stars form in front of my eyes and I struggle to take a full breath as I come explosively inside her still-pulsing pussy.
Dropping my forehead to hers, we both struggle to catch our breath, staring deep into each other’s eyes.
That felt like something else. Something way more than simple fucking.
Something transcendent, like my very cells are altered now that I know exactly how it feels to connect with another person so deeply.
Not just any other person, either.
With Silver.
My Silver. The witch who has carved a piece into both my heart and soul where only she fits.
“Was that... was it always like that?” I ask, marveling at her. She’s glowing like a goddess, looking thoroughly debauched and... happy.
Surely sex between us couldn’t have been that good, or I don’t think we’d ever have left the bedroom.
She bites her lip, blinking up at me. “We, er, we never actually got as far as this... before.”
That settles something deep inside me. Feathers I didn’t know were ruffled smooth down as I realize that I’ve been jealous.
Of myself.
My past stupid self, who almost allowed us to lose this incredible witch.
Thank fuck this was our first time. He didn’t deserve to have her like this.
I’m not sure I do either, but I’m going to work at it. Every day for as long as she lets me.
I hope it’s forever.
We step out of the bedroom about an hour later, only surfacing after another round of mind-blowing sex and another quick shower. We’re greeted with the sight of a guilty-looking Seb and Hanna and the overwhelming scent of smoke.
Ro is reclining on the sofa, looking deceptively calm—but I can see from the look on his face that there’s something up.
“You look guilty as hell,” I tell Seb. “Are you only just getting back?”
“We may have had a brief stop off on the way,” Hanna says. The three of them shift guiltily, looking as though they’re little children caught with their chubby fingers inside the cookie jar.
“Where have you been, Hanna? You were supposed to get here as soon as you could,” Silver says, folding her arms and staring them down with a steely glare that confusingly has my dick twitching.
“We may have been down to Arcanum Heights and might have accidentally set some houses on fire and then wiped a bunch of memories of us,” Hanna says all in one breath.
“You did what?”