Order of scorpions, p.48
Order of Scorpions, page 48
“You’re too good to us, Sum, I’d kill for a—”
“It’ll have to wait,” Scorpius interrupts Bones. “There’s been an issue with the informant,” he announces, holding up the opened parchment. “The quad is requesting we meet with them right away.”
Chapter
Forty-One
“Who is the quad?” I inquire as we step out of a block of shadows that takes up almost an entire alley.
Skull steps away from me now that we’re at the desired destination, and I take a moment to register the unique things about the shadow we’re standing in so I can add it to my ever-growing network of shadow walking options. No one immediately answers, either because they’re scanning our surroundings or enforcing the keep your thoughts to yourself decree.
I roll my eyes. I understand the need to mind my manners when the Scorpions are interacting with other fae or realm contacts, but there’s no one here except us, and I can’t hold in the curiosity anymore. I’m not the greatest at following orders on my best day, which is something the Scorpions should know given what happened when we met at the ludere. Really, they should be proud as fuck that I’ve managed to stay quiet for this long. I’d call it progress.
Scorpius sighs and I take that as permission to pepper him with every question that I’ve been obediently storing.
“You’ve actually met them. Well, more like you’ve seen them,” Scorpius corrects as we move out of the alley and down a placid street.
Dim light from sporadic street lamps spills over the cobbled road, and closed shops border the walkways on either side of us. I can just make out the dark tipped roofs of the turrets that crown the Dawn Court castle over the tall buildings lining this street, and the rows of even taller houses hide the horizon beyond that. I get the sense that this city must be colossal, and I’m grateful that we’re wandering its depths while it’s still quiet and sleepy.
“At the ludere?” I ask as I rack my brain for any talk of the quad, not that it could have possibly been anywhere else. I’ve only met Eacon, her mate, and the Scorpions since I’ve left Tilleo’s sand pits.
“They’re the heads of the Order of Vulpi,” Skull supplies, and I stop.
“Oh,” I utter, the images of the four female fae who sat with Tilleo on the first feast night of the Bidding, the night I killed Crit in the wine cellar, solidifying in my mind.
I don’t know why I thought I’d never see any of the attending Order members ever again, but I did. I realize now how stupid that was. They’re Order members. There are alliances and assemblies and protocols between them. Running with the Order of Scorpions means I’m now woven into the fabric of all of it, like it or not.
Skull and Bones observe me, a glint of concern stewing in their black glamoured gazes. I couldn’t say if the concern stems from my reaction or who it is we were going to meet. Either way, I don’t like it. I start to walk again, and each of the Scorpions falls into step around me.
“Enay is the Scorpius of the Vulpi,” Skull tells me as we round a corner and make our way down another dusky street. “Mayden and Myrka are usually the muscle, and Kiffin is the astute tactician.”
“Of all the Orders, we cooperate with the Vulpi the most, but it doesn’t mean they’re not a threat, so stay alert and cautious,” Scorpius advises, stopping at a tall metal gate.
He reaches for the handle and pulls it open. Moonlight catches on the metal designs of the entryway, and I discover images of foxes running and wrestling and napping on the borders and bars of the gate door. The details of the playful metallic art are captivating. I can practically smell the steel wildflowers that have been welded to the bottom half of the gate, little fox heads and ears peeking up through the blooms.
A steep set of stairs leads us down below street level, and almost immediately I sense a change in the atmosphere. It morphs from the tranquil early hours of the morning to something heavy, something seedier. It’s as though the air has a taint to it, and I’m all at once alert and wary. Skull knocks on a towering metal door that waits at the bottom of the stairs. A peephole opens up high on the door with a clunk, and a hint of red light spills out. One large eye peeks out and takes us in. The iris inspecting us is a soft purple surrounding a pupil that looks more like a cut gem with all of its rainbow-like facets and angles.
“If you dare dine on fox, beware the fangs,” Skull intones, and after a slow blink of the eye at the door, the peephole shuts and the large door opens.
Thick treacly incense practically slaps me across the face as I step into the grand entry. Soft reddish-orange firelight blankets the room, but there are no hearths or flames in sight. Sultry music winds its way around the space with no identifiable source. The floors are black and buffed to shine, making them look more akin to the surface of a glassy lake than whatever stone they might be. The walls surrounding us are a creamy, soft tangerine with thick black molding at the ceiling and floor and around the various doorways that lead elsewhere. But none of that is the reason why my stomach drops and my muscles tense.
No.
It’s the fae that are draped on the fox-orange settees dotted around the entrance hall. The ones wearing scraps of fabric or nothing at all. Males and females alike, sitting, waiting, and some playing with one another, tells me exactly where I am…a flesh house.
Dozens of eyes take us in, assessing, calculating, anticipating what we might want, what we might need. Unease climbs up my back as a male rises and sensually strides toward us. Silky garnet-hued hair falls down his back, undulating behind him as he moves closer, like a well-fed cat appraising its next meal. Steel bars run through both of the male’s nipples, and I notice the same treatment in a line down the shaft of his flaccid dick.
“Is it business or pleasure that brings the Order of Scorpions into the Den on this fine fortuitous morning?” the male asks, his velvety rich tone slipping out of his mouth like some unspoken promise of debauchery and licentiousness.
“We seek the quad, Nero,” Scorpius answers, and the male nods, a salacious smile spreading swiftly over his face.
“Very well. Follow me, Scorpions,” he invites, his rich brown eyes falling on me for a half a beat longer than anyone else, before he turns and saunters toward a dark doorway.
A fox tail catches my eye as it swishes behind the fae as he strolls ahead of us. I study the movement, unable to help myself, wondering what it would be like to have a tail. Then I realize what it is and feel daft as fuck. It’s not a limb. It’s not a part of him at all. It’s a fury accessory that’s attached to the plug that’s seated in his ass. I look away quickly, only to land on a room draped in dark orange light. There’s plush seating edging the small space, offering observers the perfect view of the female dangling from the ceiling by the chains at her wrists. She’s bare and breathing hard as she squirms to get away from a male who has his hand working between her thighs.
A dagger is in my palm and I’m stepping toward the room when a strong hand grips my shoulder.
“It’s pleasure, not pain,” Bones tells me as he points back toward the room while holding me in place. “The Vulpi aren’t slavers; the fae that live here do it of their own free will,” he explains as I turn back to the chained female.
Her face is still scrunched up like she’s suffering, but just as I start to doubt Bones’s assessment, she throws her head back and starts a steady chant of yes. I can’t hear her, only read her lips, the room must be warded, but her obvious exclamations morph into what looks like a euphoric scream, and then release surges out of her in a deluge that sprays around the room. The spectators cheer, rubbing her shower all over themselves or licking it off one another, and I turn away, shocked.
My dagger slips back into its sheath, and I train my eyes on the knot of hair at the back of Skull’s head as we’re led deeper into the Den. Lurid sounds dare me to peek, but I hold strong. The guards back at the ludere talked incessantly about their favorite flesh houses and what went on in them. It’s how Leto came up with half of the things he wanted to try, but none of the crass conversations I’ve overheard prepared me for something like this. Especially not Bones’s comment about how no one here is being forced to do anything. That should make me feel better, but I mostly feel like I did with Eacon walking through a crowd for the first time. I’m out of place and being bombarded by smells, sounds, and sights that I don’t know what to do with.
My body is reacting to the stimulation, which has me feeling even more on edge because I don’t want anything to cloud my judgment while we’re in here. I don’t want to think about the reasons that Scorpius knows the name of the male in front of us. Or why Nero asked if they were here for business or pleasure as though it could be either. I’m not bothered by their sexual history or that a place like this might be appealing. The stars know that Bones watched Leto devour my cunt that night in the wine cellar and has never uttered a complaint about it, but I can’t stop wondering what they do here when the answer is pleasure and not business.
Would they do it to me?
Are they intimately familiar with the piercings in Nero’s dick? Do they enjoy squirted showers of desire? Do they watch, like to be watched, fuck as a group, or go off on their own? I want to know, but that’s not what we’re here for. I’m distracted, and I don’t do distracted. If this were the ludere, my back would be in raw strips right now. The masters had no tolerance for wandering thoughts. I don’t either, and yet here I am struggling. I’ve crossed a line with these Scorpions, and now I’m wondering how they like to have their cocks sucked instead of watching the shadows for potential threats.
What is wrong with me?
A small growl of disapproval snakes out of me. It’s loud enough to have both Skull and Scorpius glancing back at me. I ignore them as I do my best to shake off the lusty cloud of this place and sink into a hunting frame of mind.
Nero pushes open a set of double doors and guides us into a large room. Chairs and sofas take up the middle, a large desk occupies a corner, and a bed and open washroom comprise the rest of the space.
“Kiffin and Enay will be with you shortly. Is there anything I can do for you until then?” Nero asks suggestively, his gaze flicking between the Scorpions before once again landing on me.
Bemusement flashes in his eyes while he catalogs me in a skilled way that makes it look as though he’s interested when really he’s counting daggers and evaluating just how dangerous I might be.
“Very,” I tell him, not answering his spoken question but the one floating in his silent perusal.
The suggestive smile that slinks across Nero’s face makes me realize that this fact serves more as an enticement than a deterrent. He reaches down and strokes himself once, his decadent and depraved brown eyes never leaving mine.
“Would you make it hurt so good, Slayer?” he purrs at me.
His length hardens in his hand as he arches an eyebrow in both challenge and invitation. It’s all I can do not to gawk at how large he’s getting.
“Because I know I can,” Nero promises wickedly, running his palm down a shaft that’s easily three times longer and thicker than it was before.
The male has dick thura, no question.
“Out!” Scorpius barks, and now it’s Nero’s grin that grows even wider. “Now!” he commands once more, and Nero offers him a conciliatory half bow.
“Come play, Slayer,” Nero urges as he starts to back up toward the double doors. “Let me unwind that tight coil of need at your center. Your Order can watch if you’d like,” he taunts, finally looking away from me and back to the others. “I don’t mind showing them how it’s done.”
A cacophony of snarls fills the room just as Nero backs out all of the way and shuts the doors behind him. I can make out a low chuckle from the other side of the wood barriers before the fae with an obvious death wish moves on.
“Fucking prick,” Bones grumbles, staring at the doors as though he’s debating whether it’s worth it to go chase Nero down.
“You okay?” Scorpius asks me, his black eyes filled with agitation.
I laugh. “If all it takes is some pierced enchanted dick to unsettle me, then we might have bigger problems than you think.”
“Nothing about that was enchanting,” Skull grunts.
I offer him my best smirk. “Agree to disagree,” I counter, and he glares at me.
Bones chuckles and plops down in the middle of a sofa, content to make himself right at home. I try not to think too hard about why he might be comfortable here as he throws his hands behind his head and stretches.
“What do you think the problem is?” Skull asks as he wanders over to the desk and takes in the things on display there.
“We’ll find out soon enough,” Scorpius states, moving closer to me as though he’s not sure if he wants me to sit or stay right where I am.
It dawns on me that I’m not the only one trying to figure out how I fit in the dynamic they’ve honed for so long now. I know they want me here, but it’s clear it’s going to take time to adjust for all of us. Scorpius looks me over as though he’s confirming for himself that I’m good. The pad of his thumb brushes down my bottom lip, and I’m taken aback. Maybe this place is affecting him too. As much as I like the small show of affection, I don’t know if it’s wise. He’s the one who said we need to be vigilant, and yet here he is seemingly more worried about me than what we’re here for.
I step back from him, and his brow furrows as his hand drops to his side. Before he can question me, the doors to the room fly open and my head snaps in that direction. A buxom and completely naked woman strides in dramatically, her face alight with welcome and her voice practically singing, “Scorpions!”
Her full tits bounce and her nipples tighten as she moves closer. Her crystal blue eyes and long black hair are the same as what I remember from the ludere. She either didn’t wear a glamour to the Bidding or she’s wearing the same one now.
“Kiffin,” Scorpius greets, stepping closer to her, and I get the sudden urge to step between them.
Whether it’s because I don’t want him near her or her near him, I can’t say.
When all they do is grip each other’s forearms in the formal way of the fae, I let loose a relieved breath. Only to instantaneously suck it back in, when Kiffin shoves her ample bosom in Bones’s face as she leans over to hug him on the sofa. It doesn’t help that the gesture gives me a clear view of the jewel-encrusted butt plug shining like a beacon between her very round ass cheeks.
Looking around at the opulence of this room and the Den in general, I think it’s safe to say that whatever the orange jewel is that’s decorating the depths of her derriere, it’s more than likely real. Which means the tool she uses to stretch her ass for pleasure probably costs more than I did at the ludere.
Great, just great. If I didn’t want to stab her before, I sure as fuck do now.
Kiffin pulls Skull in for a quick hug, and then ignoring me altogether, she bounces toward the washroom.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, I had to finish up with Count Gerrin and Count Zhao, and neither one of them are happy until they’ve come at least three times in every hole and then licked it all up,” Kiffin announces casually as she steps into a tiled area in the corner and pulls a lever.
Water sprinkles down from above her, and she steps into it, squealing and then moaning after a moment when steam starts to waft off the water. The tactician of the Vulpi, as Skull previously described her, turns so that her front is on full display as she tilts her head back and wets her hair. Then the show truly begins when she grabs a bottle of soap and starts to work it all over her body.
“Enay will be right in and we can get started. Hope you don’t mind me cleaning up while we wait,” Kiffin declares, and I’m tempted to offer an objection, but I keep my mouth shut.
I glance at the Scorpions, but each of them is focused on something that isn’t her, and my hackles lower slightly. Skull is very focused on the dagger in his hands, Scorpius is scanning titles on the spines of books that fill up a shelf over by the desk, and Bones is watching me. I can’t read the look in his eyes but decide it doesn’t matter when not even Kiffin’s soft moans entice a glance in her direction.
I never knew that one’s cunt requires several minutes of fingering in order to ensure that it’s properly clean, but Kiffin’s apparently does. Then again, I haven’t personally played with the counts, so what do I know? I study the Vulpi, trying to garner the purpose of this erotic display, but not knowing her or the history between her and the Scorpions makes it hard to say. This could simply be something she does because she’s comfortable. Or she could be trying to make them uncomfortable, and then there’s always the message that she could be trying to send to me.
When she pulls the plug from her ass and then bends over in search of something, I have to keep myself from snickering. I also have to keep myself from informing her that her counts missed a spot when cum drips out of her now unstoppered hole. I shake my head at the ridiculousness of it all and move to sit on the arm of a chair. If Kiffin is trying to make me jealous or encouraging me to make some sort of scene, she’s going about it in the wrong way. If anyone in this room was truly interested in her, she wouldn’t be trying so hard. If she’s simply trying to make me uncomfortable, then she should spend more time in the sleeping quarters of blade slaves. There isn’t a thing about what can be done with or to someone’s body that makes me uncomfortable, just so long as it’s consensual.
I relax, and a small chuckle pulls my attention to Bones. He’s still looking at me, but now the mysterious glint in his eyes has made way for amusement. The water turns off, and I’m ready to leave before this meeting has even started. I’m not even sure if these females have legitimate information for us or if the summons here was all about…whatever Kiffin is trying to do.
