Chapter 3

Three

~ Princess Blake ~

The next week passes quickly, and I’m no closer to finding out about the witches’ plans. When General Josek returned from the Fallon Blade clan house, he reported that it was empty, the rooms gutted and trashed, and even my crows can’t find any sign of the clan members in the city. It’s now the night before the ball, and the thought that I’ll have to attend a lavish party to find my mates while we’re still trying to figure this out has me feeling more irritable than usual.

I’m headed to the dining hall when an image pops into my head, a message from one of my crows spying in the city. While I can mentally speak to all of the crows in Seral, none of them are as conversational as Shade, and most of them prefer sending me images when we communicate. I hope the crow has found one of the Fallon Blade clan members, but I’m surprised when I recognize the image of the front of the Coilan clan housewith its massive palm trees and sprawling mansion that’s built four stories high. The first picture is followed by another more graphic one, glimpsed through one of the mansion windows, and I mentally share the image with Shade who’s perched on my shoulder.

“Great. That’s just what we need,” I grumble.

“Well, I have to give it to him. He does like to stay busy,” she comments, her voice on the verge of laughter.

“It’s only been three weeks since his last victim,” I reply dryly.

“Maybe it’s not what it looks like?”

Sighing, I turn around, heading away from the scent of roasted meat and caramelized vegetables. “Something tells me it’s exactly what it looks like.”

It’s not long before I land inside the high brick walls of the Coilan clan estate, and I crack my neck as I fold my wings behind my back. Trees bursting with apricots line the stone path on either side of me, and the floral scent of jasmine mixes with the fruity scent. I breathe in the night air, my chest loosening. I’ve always loved apricots, often asking the palace chefs to include the stone fruit in their cooking. Stealing a handful from the trees when I leave is the only good part of visiting the Coilan clan house. Later, I mentally tell the apricots like I’m agreeing to a date.

Shade settles onto my shoulder, tucking her wings in tight. “Do you think she’s still here?”

I cock my head, listening. “Going by those faint moans, I’m going to say ‘yes.’”

My gaze sweeps over the grand mansion at the end of the path. Gray tiles cover the wide gable roof, and on the higher floors, balconies stretch across the building, vines clinging to the painted stone balustrades. This is the fourth time Shade and I have been here in the past six months, and at this point, the mansion is starting to seem way too familiar. I stride between the fruit trees and past a wide stretch of grass.

“You know, you could have let General Josek handle this,” Shade jokes, and I’m surprised by how much the thought bothers me.

“We both know the general would have taken things too far. Especially after the other day.”And by that, I mean General Josek would probably cut Dante’s dick off to solve the issue here. As much as the Coilan clan leader is an ass with a knack for breaking the rules, he’s a lover not a fighter. Taking the one thing he cherishes, possibly more than anything else, seems a little… harsh.

“Besides, I’m trying not to upset clan dynamics,” I go on.

“Riiiight,” Shade says, dragging out the word, though I’m not sure what she’s implying. I ignore her, striding down the last section of the path and to the back door of the mansion. My stomach grumbles as I enter, the scent of apricots still strong, wafting through the open windows, and I chastise myself for not grabbing something from the palace kitchens to take with me. Ignoring the gnawing pain in my gut, I move along the carpeted hallway. We’re passing eerily lifelike portrait statues when the moans and sounds of slapping flesh grow louder, reaching an almost fevered pitch.

I continue through a stone archway and move into the main hall of the mansion before I stop. In the middle of the room, on an excessively plush red velvet lounge, is a naked human on her hands and knees. Her face is scrunched with pleasure and her cheeks are as red as cherries as a male demon pounds into her mouth while another takes her from behind.

“You called it,” Shade says with wry amusement.

The nearby armchair appears to be empty, but as I stare the clan alpha, Dante, materializes, his image solidifying until he’s completely visible. He’s dressed as he sits and watches the trio, but then his heated gaze slides my way. Warmth rushes over me at his stare, though I know the lust in his midnight blue eyes isn’t because I’m here. The tournament from years ago pushes back to the forefront of my mind, and I remember seeing Dante’s prone form, blood streaming from his ears. It had been a lucky hit, that one. When I’d tossed another demon he’d crashed into Dante, smashing the clan alpha against the stone wall of the arena, and hitting him in just the right spot that Dante was instantly rendered unconscious. In the nights that followed, the clan alpha of the Coilan clan wasn’t among the suitors who visited the palace. Not that I cared. He was an arrogant ass who bedded anything and anyone who showed him interest.

“Hmm well, she doesn’t exactly look like she’s in distress,”Shade comments, still staring at the trio in the middle and bringing my thoughts back to the present.

“Rules are rules,” I send back, though I have to agree. Honestly, none of the humans we’ve found here ever look like they’re in pain. If anything, I always feel a little bad for breaking it up. But of all the civilizations, the human realm is the most fragile. The humans are also the most volatile and surprisingly dangerous despite their lack of magical abilities. Because of this, visiting the realm is forbidden unless absolutely necessary, like when I’ve had to hunt down errant demons. It’s a rule that Dante has been ignoring of late.

“Our feared princess,” the Coilan clan alpha says, his voice a seductive drawl as he lifts from his chair and strides toward me like I’m a party guest who’s only just arrived. For a moment, I stare as I’m reminded of how beautiful he is. His midnight blue eyes and tall horns stand out against his jet-black hair, and the stubble on his face frames his chiseled jawline. He’s wearing black pants and a sleek black shirt that’s rolled up to his elbows, showing off the intricate tattoos on his muscled forearms, and his tail flicks behind him as he walks. I stay where I am, watching him carefully as he gives me a devilish smile, because unlike the human in the room I know exactly what he is. Like him I’m a predator, not the prey.

“Dante, I wish I could say it’s a pleasure to be back here again,” I say with a humorless smile and plant a hand on my hip, though my pulse is beating harder than it should be.

He stops a respectful distance away, but his gaze travels downward as he appreciates every curve of my body just as brazenly as I admired him. At his back, the two males pull away from the human and quickly stand to the side of the lounge. “P-princess,” one of them stutters as they bow their heads and cover themselves like they think I care if I see another naked demon. The female human lets out a noise of protest, but she quietens when she sees me, like she can sense something is wrong.

“Isn’t it?” Dante asks with a mischievous grin. “I was sure you’d enjoy the view.”

I narrow my eyes. “If you don’t stop abducting humans I’m going to have to make an example of you. It’s surprising word of your repeated transgressions with the humans hasn’t already gotten out.”

As always, he doesn’t look the least bit remorseful. “Abducted? Camila summoned me,” he defends.

“You know the humans aren’t fully aware of what they’re doing when they summon us. They don’t understand anything about our realm or our kind. You know better than to answer one of their calls.”

He waves his hand dismissively. “Oh, some of them know enough. When I appeared in her room, she practically pulled me to her bed mumbling something about a smut lover’s dream come true. I’m not entirely sure what that meant, but who am I to stop her from getting what she wants?”

I resist the urge to rub my temples.

“He’s not wrong, you know,” Shade chimes in. “Not all humans think demons are terrible. There are romance books where the demons are?—”

“Not helping,”I reply in a sing-song voice, cutting her off. It’s only when Dante grins that I realize I’ve said it out loud.

I sigh, turning my attention to the human girl who’s still staring at me from where she sits on the lounge. Her pupils are blown, and her cheeks are still flushed. Her gaze slides hungrily to the two naked males still standing to the side, one whom, I’m well aware is an incubus.

I tisk, clicking my tongue like I’m disappointed in him, though honestly, I’m not. It’s hard to be disappointed in someone when they do the very thing you knew they would. I mean, the human summoned them and it’s the equivalent of letting a fox into a henhouse and being angry at the fox for eating the hens. Occurrences like this happen more often than I like to think about, and as far as transgressions go, things could be worse.

The males flinch like they think I’m about to strike, and Dante steps to the side to block my view of them.

“Take her back, Dante, and make sure she remembers nothing of this,” I say, pinning him with a stare. He looks like he wants to protest, but I continue. “And the next time this happens, I won’t go easy on you. Honestly, I’m starting to wonder whether I should just kill you and get it over with.”

His smirks like I’ve just whispered something dirty in his ear rather than threatened his life. And this is what I have to deal with.

My hands move like a blur, and Dante grunts as two of my blades sink into his chest. The human gasps, but Dante only keeps his midnight blue gaze on me as blood trails down his abdomen. I give him a withering stare until his smile finally falls. The wounds aren’t fatal, and I know he’ll heal as soon as he removes my blades, but I feel somewhat satisfied knowing they must hurt.

He clears his throat. “I’ll return our guest,” he agrees, and the human pouts behind him but doesn’t speak.

“I mean it,” I tell him. “If I have to return, next time I won’t show mercy.”

His eyes darken, and I hope it means I’ve gotten through to him. I glance at the human girl and the other males one more time before I turn to leave. I’m at the doorway when he calls out, his voice like a seductive caress that reaches across the room. “I’ll see you at the ball, princess.”

I pause only for a heartbeat, and then another blade is in my hand. I twist, letting it fly toward Dante where it pierces into his chest, just beneath his heart. He grunts, but the playful smile gracing his lips doesn’t shift.

“I’ll be the only female there,” I remind him, not sure why he’d bother attending when it’s clear we’d be terrible for one another, and Lady Fate wouldn’t possibly match us.

He only continues to stare at me, those dark eyes fixed on my face. “I’m counting on it.”

I scowl and don’t say another word as I leave the room.