Death comes for her, p.15
Death Comes for Her, page 15
“Mhm.” I nodded as he traced his cool fingers over my swollen lips. Then he gripped my chin and tipped my head back. Golden waves of my hair tickled the length of my spine. Simon buried his face in the side of my neck, pressing his chest to my back as he stroked into my ass.
“This is exactly what our dirty fairy whore wanted—what she needed.” Dante thrusted faster into my soaked cunt. I heard the lewd sound of how wet I was with each shlick of his girth entering me, provoking wanton shivers through my body. And each thrust from either vampire drove the inferno higher and higher within me as it reached for the release of the heavens.
Receiving praise from one vampire and degradation from the other created a heady fog in my mind. The lords fulfilled a deranged need for intimacy that veered beyond the realm of sex. Pure primordial animalism that drove us into one another’s arms relentlessly.
Our trysts and moments of bliss had evolved into a physical and emotional intimacy that bordered on being spiritual—possibly even divine. They were inside of me, and I wanted to cut myself open, pull them into me and devour them. I needed Dante and Simon consumed by me, swallowed whole—bones and all—and nestled against my heart.
I choked on the depths of my longing. It flooded my tongue, cloying and bittersweet, a substance I couldn’t spit out. Forced to choke on it, swallow it, trembling from the efficacy of those feelings, I came undone as if the thread of my being had come loose and two deft hands had grabbed hold and pulled me apart.
The feeling of their cocks plunging inside me, separated by a thin wall inside me, drove me wild. In and out, over and over, wet and throbbing as my holes sucked them in and clenched with desperation. My shaking increased. I keened loudly, voice shrill and sharp as I quivered between them.
“That’s it, princess, come for us. Come on our cocks,” Simon whispered, almost pleading for me to relent.
“Be a good little slut and fucking come. I want to feel that hot, tight cunt drenching my cock,” Dante barked his command.
And my body bent to obey them as if it had no other choice—my traitorous flesh tingled, glowed, burned as an eruption of sensation swept through my core. A maelstrom of euphoria gripped me, shook me, threatened to topple the foundations of my sanity. Those sensations lifted me on a wave higher than the heavens before releasing me, and I fell back to the surface of the world, crashing back into my sweating, heaving, shaking body.
Dante and Simon had both groaned and fucked their cum deeper into me as I swam in the hysteria of my orgasm. Swaying, trapped between them, I floated mindlessly in a cloud of satisfaction as their combined cum dripped from my cunt and ass, mingling to coat my thighs.
“Good gods, you are utterly divine, you perfect, perfect whore.” Dante kissed my cheek as I collapsed on the bed beside him.
Simon laid on his side, taking the spot behind me so I remained sandwiched between them. His cool fingers caught a loose strand of hair stuck to my cheek and brushed it behind the pointed tip of my ear. “She’s a perfect princess. You are such a good girl, Sierra.” He kissed my temple, humming softly.
The undertones in his voice as he used that endearment snagged at my thoughts. Over the course of the past few days, it had slipped from both vampires at random intervals. I hated to admit that I preferred being referred to as pet over princess. Paired with their increasing questions and shared glances.
They knew. They knew.
I shot upright, gasping for breath. A set of hazel eyes and a swirling pool of blue snapped to me at the sudden movement. I shoved off their hands, disentangled our legs and scrambled down the bed as quickly as my weakened limbs allowed.
“Where’s the fire, pet?” Dante chortled. He watched me with the attentive stare of a hawk as I stumbled around for my dress.
I clutched the blue fabric to my chest, eyes flicking between the dark and pale vampires.
Simon regarded me coolly, face blank of any outward emotions. His lips thinned into a line, and the expression seemed to pull a string of words from me without my permission.
“Please, you can’t tell him. Don’t tell him who I am. I’m begging you.” My hands shook so aggressively they were nearly vibrating as I clumsily tugged on my dress. “He’ll kill me. Frankly, I don’t understand why either of you haven’t. But you can’t—”
“Tell who, Sierra?” Simon’s frigid voice set my teeth on edge.
“Please—Please don’t tell your Grandmaker.”
“Don’t tell him what?” Dante rose from the bed, leisurely stepping into his trousers as if he had all the time in the world. Simon rolled off the other end of the mattress, doing the same.
“You fucking know what,” I snapped.
“We figured it out not too long ago, but we said nothing, and had no intention of saying anything on the matter. At least not to Sanctus.” Simon carded his fingers through his hair, ensuring the white strands were out of his perfectly sharp face. He crossed the room, and I stepped away, keeping him in my line of sight. His pale fingers danced over a stack of books on the desk in the corner of the room before tapping on one. “I keep a collection of books from the Lorevain palace. Seemed a shame for all those ancient tomes to go to waste.”
My spine straightened as if I’d been electrocuted. The elevated beating of my heart almost choked me. It fluttered like a manic bird at the base of my throat, and my blood went cold under my skin.
I recognized the thick white and gold book in his hands. He didn’t break eye contact with me as he flipped open to a marked page toward the end. Simon recited the information on the page I knew by heart. “King Erridem Lorevain sired an heir, a daughter, Sierraphina Lorevain. Twenty-eight years ago. She would have been eighteen or nineteen on the Everdark Morning when we stormed the palace with Sanctus Ambrose.”
“That day we found King Erridem holding a dagger, the very one that you stole from me, already coated in fairy blood. Yet no wounded princess in sight. Nothing more than a pile of gold dust where, presumably, six golden wings had burned while their former owner fled the palace,” Dante added.
“Only Monarchs had six wings,” Simon continued. “You have six scars on your back. Your age matches that of the lost princess.”
“As does your name. Shortened only.”
“Not to mention the family resemblance. The lustrous golden hair, the vibrant golden eyes.” He set the book back down. “Your knowledge and impeccable manners and etiquette—well, when you choose to utilize them, you wild thing.”
“If you’d stayed hidden among humans, you might have gotten away for a long time. Your father granted you some assistance in keeping you hidden. It was a mercy to sever your wings, a cruel one, but it helped you hide. I have to respect the old fuck for that.”
“And when you burned the Queen’s wings in Dante’s office. Only family would endeavor to do such an act with potential consequences looming overhead. ‘Ashes to ashes and dust to dust’ is an important last rite for fair folk. A grieving daughter would want to grant her mother that blessing.”
The world cracked open beneath my feet, threatening to gobble me up into the darkest pits of anguish. Claws of dread raked down my spine as shadows rose in my chest.
“What are you going to do to me?” I raised a shaking hand as if to ward them off, taking shaking steps to the bedroom door.
Dante’s brows pinched together as he read the frightened prey's response trembling through my limbs. Any other time he might have used the opportunity to hunt me down and take me with vicious passion, but he sensed that real—very real—fear gripped me.
Even Simon’s calculated distance melted away. His lips parted into a worried frown that made my heart clench with something forbidden—something yearning.
“Sierra, we aren’t going to tell Sanctus.” The deep baritone of Dante’s voice eased the rattling bones bound in the confines of my muscles. I stopped shaking and swallowed the lump in my throat.
“Why not?” I asked meekly, eyes darting between hazel and ice blue.
Simon sighed, inching forward. Tentatively, he reached out with one hand, catching my wrist in the air. For some reason, I allowed him to pull me forward. He smoothed his palms over my arms before a hand landed on my cheek. His cooling thumb swiped a tear I hadn’t felt escape.
“I promised to take care of you, Sierra. That means Dante and I both. We’re going to keep you safe, lost princess to the Lorevain empire or not. Sanctus might be our Grandmaker, but I—we—both care for you most ardently as irrational as it is.”
Bodily shaking, knees buckling, I collapsed against Simon’s chest. The tears pricking at my eyes spilled over, carving tracks down my face. An errant sob built in my chest and burst free.
“One weekend with Sanctus Ambrose and a hundred other vampires under our roof with a missing fairy princess. How hard can it be?” Dante came up behind me, rubbing a hand down my spine as Simon held me. He kissed my head, proving the tenderness in their promise. “We are going to keep you safe, Sierra. For some gods-damned reason, you mean more to us than that old, undead bastard ever could.”
“You belong to us,” Simon stated.
“You’re ours,” Dante assured.
And for some reason, I trusted them. Perhaps it was the lingering effects of their venom in my blood, clouding my judgment. Or maybe it was whatever illogical connection we’d slowly built over my months in the manor.
Regardless of Dante's and Simon’s vows of protection and their understanding of my identity, I had a mission to avenge my family. Sanctus Ambrose stole the sun and led to the slaughter of the fairies. He’d be under the same roof as me, and I had my father’s dagger.
I fell into the comforting embrace of the vampire lords, silently swearing to get my revenge no matter what.
Chapter 16
Hatred, like all emotions, existed for a reason. It was a sensation the body was meant to feel, but regretfully rarely seen to fruition. A disastrous, poisonous, and often ruinous sentiment. It held the power to burn within the body with the strength of a thousand suns.
The vehemence of it coursed through my core, cascaded through my limbs, and rippled in my golden blood. So potent, so formidable, so overwhelming, and above all, irresistible.
Pair my rage with my simmering hunger for retribution and malevolent machinations blossomed in my mind. I’d had weeks to think, to dream, to imagine what the night of Sanctus’ arrival would hold. How would the night progress with the vampire bastard who devoured the sun under the same roof as the last heir of the Lorevain Monarchs?
I would be a tool in the hands of the dead—a vessel for revenge.
Imani fed me a light but filling dinner, encouraging me to eat despite my distracted nature. I spent hours sitting at the window, staring with wide eyes as carriages and odd motorcars periodically arrived. Half the bites I took missed my mouth entirely. Even as Imani dressed me for the grand event, my gaze darted to the windows and the guests arriving.
There was only one vampire I wanted to see.
The dress adorning my frame was a mockery of mortality and carnage. With a base of sheer material, red threads and gems splashed across my breasts, arms, and torso while leaving little to the imagination. Glittering crimson dripped down my body as if I’d been caught in the wake of bloodshed.
What surprised me was the backside of the gown. It dipped low enough to reveal my top set of gilded scars but went no further. Keeping the other sets of wing scars out of sight hid the true depth of my heritage. Overall, a beautifully haunting and stealthy design meant to draw attention, yet conceal what must never be disclosed.
Simon and Dante promised they would protect me. While the design of the dress would purposefully draw notice, they did their part in the alterations to ensure they maintained their vow. The world knew they had a fairy in their possession, and that would force their hands to show me off. That didn’t mean they must show all their cards and divulge I was the missing Lorevain heir.
I gulped down a glass of wine while Imani finished my hair. Golden waves trailed down my neck, the sides twisted up with pins to show off the uniquely fairy tips of my ears. Dark gold eye paint and kohl liner highlighted the magical aureate nature of my eyes.
Crim sat like an orange loaf of fur at the edge of the bed, watching us with crooked yellow eyes. The tip of his tail flicked in a pattern that matched my impatience and agitation. Imani’s voice drifted through my ears as lightning bristled along the edge of my nerves. I didn’t hear a word she said until I stood from my chair and faced the bedroom door.
Simon and Dante hovered in the frame, both dressed impeccably in black and gold.
Dante, as always, appeared more rugged, opting to forget the bowtie and leaving the top buttons of his black shirt undone. His dark hair remained disheveled, falling in intentionally messy waves to his shoulders. Not even the nasty scars slashed across his nose, eye, and jaw, distracted from his roguish charm.
Simon’s suit remained crisp and clean. His black and gold bowtie sat perfectly, matching the golden buttons on his waistcoat, his gold cufflinks and watch, down to the shining buckles on his leather shoes. Every inch the reserved, elegant lord. Refined and alluring in a way that would normally make my mouth water.
Their voices buzzed in my ears as they spoke. Words of possession and comfort, meant to soothe and encourage as we stepped forward into a doomed night.
Neither of them noticed the object strapped to my thigh, hidden beneath the red splatter of my dress. Both men would have raged and fought me on my reckless plan if they had. I held my breath during the long walk to the ballroom on the first floor, praying to the gods in the hopes neither vampire lord brushed against the unseen hilt of a dagger.
Sound returned, hitting me like a brick wall. Voices and music rushed into me with the force of a tidal wave heralding a maelstrom. The hairs on the back of my neck rose and my flesh prickled in warning. I swallowed down the lump in my throat that must have been my painfully beating heart.
On the other side of the double doors, my natural enemies would surround and outnumber me. The very situation my father sought to avoid when he cut my wings off. But a decade of hiding, wallowing in fear and pity hadn’t completely stolen the bundle of courage whispering in the crevices of my chest.
It burned through my frigid reservation, bolstering my determination. That white-hot golden light blossomed in my chest like a gilded lily, humming that I’d given enough of myself to the war and the vampires. It was time for me to make my last stand against the enemy.
Dante and Simon shared a glance before peering down at me. I lifted my chin, holding my head high as a sign, telling them I was ready for whatever came next. The adoration and pride reflected in their hazel and pale-blue depths sent a pang of guilt through the cracks in my heart where they’d wedged spaces for themselves.
I ignored it, steeling my resolve to do what my legacy required of me. As they opened the double doors, I blinked away the burning sensation in the corners of my eyes.
Muted lights from diamond chandeliers boasting electric bulbs greeted me first. Classical music swept through the room, and I dropped my gaze to the hundreds of eyes snapping in my direction. Heads twisted, sharp smiles curved up, and fangs glinted dangerously in the low light. Predatory fascination lurked in every hungry stare, sharpened by flashes of jealousy.
Dante’s grip on my arm increased. Simon placed his palm firmly on my lower back. Both bracketing me, towering over me as protective shields in my eyes, but a clear warning to their guests. Simon’s frigid aura and Dante’s domineering impression only held curious vampires at bay for so long.
Curiosity got the better of the monsters licking at their chops. Polite society warred with the undead bastard’s urges to feed on intoxicating golden blood.
“Lord Dante, Lord Simon,” a man with a smarmy smile and a shiny, large forehead breached first, “what an honor to join you here at the Ambrose Manor.”
A woman with a beehive of auburn hair on her head snarled, “Yes, it’s been ages since you last held an event. We did wonder why the silence after your Grandmaker’s victory over the sun.” Her lashes fluttered in a demure mockery. “Though I suppose we see what brought you into the metaphorical light once again.”
“Too right, Demelza.” A passably attractive young vampire with short black hair inserted himself. “The Ambrose lords couldn’t resist showing off their shiny new toy, isn’t that right?” he snickered.
“Especially since she might very well be the last fairy in existence.” A bulkier vampire with copper waves framing a square jaw licked his lips with salacious intent.
Dante swallowed the rising growl in the back of his throat.
Simon interjected, cold and suave. “It is an honor… for you.” He sneered down his nose. “If I wanted filth tramping over my marble floors, we would have hosted sooner. The noise alone keeps me from dreaming of visitors.” His opposite hand trailed a featherlight touch over my cheek. “But you all needed a reminder of your stations and who your betters are. Never forget it is by our grace that you enjoy your luxuries.”
Dante’s shadow fell over the horde of vampires, still practically salivating over my scent. A few of them flinched as his harsh warning snapped between them. “If any of you overzealous leeches even think about putting a hand on our golden little pet here, I’ll feed you to my fucking hounds.”
Fangs flashed, near silent hissed breaths whispered under the lilting music, and glowering eyes flashed with malice. A sickening shiver dripped down my spine as dozens of eyes clung to every visible inch of me. But the other undead heeded the warning despite their blatant bloodlust.
The weight of the dagger strapped to my thigh encouraged my confidence to rear its head. I reached deep, grasping and tugging at the long-forgotten frayed threads of a royal’s hubris. With a steadying breath, I leashed the self-importance to my heart and stomped down the claws of fear. The haughtiness of a princess I’d learned to wear in another life slipped into place, settling as if it never really left and had only lain dormant for the past decade.
