78. Lyle

Chapter 78

Lyle

A urelia and Minnie practically run through the door of my classroom after my Saturday morning remedial class. They're both bright-eyed and bushy-tailed; the picture of giddy excitement. It makes me smile. It makes me want to grab my regina and hide her in our bed where I can covet her forever.

Minnie boldly slams an old book onto my table. It's more than a thousand pages long, the cover faded beyond recognition of the art, and the gold lettering chipped. It's also saturated with the scent of dragon.

"I found information on the Boneweavers," Minnie says proudly.

"Where did you get this, Miss Devi?"

Aurelia rolls her eyes at my propriety, but Minnie's cheeks turn pink. "Oh, at the back of the library near the…older texts. You know the ones no one ever goes looking at? All dusty and cobwebby?"

There is a strong likelihood that she's lying, but if she obtained it by nefarious means, in this case, I approve.

"Basically," Aurelia says, "I am required, under the advice of this book, to have plentiful sex."

"Really?" I arch a brow.

Minnie makes an amused sound. "For scientific purposes of course ," she says sagely. "The Boneweavers of old used their mates to help soften their magic, as it were. It's where our modern power sharing comes from."

"They used their mates as a vessel to help contain their substantial power." Aurelia nods.

She then whips out a stapled stack of papers, still warm from the printer, and presents it to me with a flourish. "Since you are my official legal advisor from my murder trial and all that, you will look over this for me and obtain the signatures from the relevant parties."

Both young ladies look very pleased with themselves, and there's an air of great satisfaction over them.

I accept the document and try not to raise my brows at the title. Instead, I frown over it like I'm uncertain. "Hm. I'm not sure if you can afford my legal fees, Miss Boneweaver. I charge a pretty penny these days."

"I'll pay a pretty penny and more," she growls at me.

Quick as a whip, I snatch up her chin between my fingers and lean us both forward, my lips brushing hers. "Did you just growl at me?"

Minnie grabs the book and bolts for the door, cackling mischievously.

"I take such matters seriously, Mr Pardalia," my regina replies.

I caress her under the chin with my thumb. "So I see." Abruptly, I release her and step back, flipping through the ten pages of the contract including the appendices. I wonder how long they worked on this. "I'll make the arrangements."

She gives me a sheepish smile before bolting out of the room—I presume to find Minnie and make her own arrangements.

It's after midnight by the time he graces us with his venomous presence on the roof of the animus dorms.

The night is freezing, and a frigid wind whips my hair as I glance at my bond-brothers. Savage stands with Eugene in his arms, obsessively checking his tiny, custom-made goggles are in place. Xander huffs and puffs, smoking a pipe like an old dragon aristocrat while Scythe is just rigid and quiet, as if he just barely tolerates the world around him. I, for my part, hold a manila folder containing Aurelia's ten-page long contract with four signatures on it.

The hand that must sign for the fifth signature appears as shadows first, wisps darker than the void itself, reaching out like a thing of nightmares. They coalesce to form an intimidating figure, a little taller than me, the same height as Xander.

"There he is," Xander drawls. "You're late to the party, Cinderella."

Two pinpricks of red light appear in the shadows where Ghoul's eyes should be. As his bond-brothers, we are the only ones who can withstand this lethal gaze. It would instantly kill any other person.

"What the fuck were you playing at, boogeyman?" Savage growls. "Sending your cursed shadows after our asses like that? You said you wouldn't be there!"

"It's none of your business if I want to test my regina, wolf. If you lose a cheek in the process, it's just collateral damage."

Xander laughs and Savage casts him a dirty look before glaring at the basilisk. "I sure have a problem, you cunt-faced worm ."

"Keep talking to me like that, princess, and you'll make me hard." Ghoul pats his groin like it's a favoured pet.

Savage makes a sound of deep disgust. "My regina never should have healed you in Halfeather's dungeon."

"Alright, alright," I say, stepping in to deescalate. "We're here because Aurelia wants us all to sign a contract regarding?—"

"Getting fucked," Ghoul finishes. "Hand it over, lion." He regally holds out his hand.

Instead of walking over to him, I shoot the folder right at him. He catches it in a fist, flashing grinning fangs, which tells me only his shadows cover his face. He's got no mask tonight.

I suspected it during our ill-fated run under Naga House, but Ghoul is likely the worst of us. The fact he serves his regina's enemy, while still obviously being drawn to her, could only make him one of two things: a sociopath, or completely and utterly unhinged. I was surprised when Scythe recommended we summon him, but that one fateful night in my apartment with all of us tangled in Aurelia proved our regina needed him just as much as she needed us. She is made for five beasts, and her body craves us all.

Danger or not, Savage was right. We get our regina what she wants.

Ghoul's laser beam eyes scan the document so fast his red lights are a blur. We don't know much about him, but I surmise he's astute and likely highly intelligent.

He reads the final page and closes the folder.

"Good," I say stiffly. "Do you have any issues with it?"

"She wants to be fucked that often?" he asks. "Well, who am I to argue?"

Aurelia had asked for daily intimacy with each of her mates if they were present at the academy. That left Ghoul to come and go as he pleased, but she'd stipulated her preferences clearly. Along with details about what she liked, what she wanted to try, and what she definitely didn't want to try, using codes of green, orange, and red.

It had made good reading practise for Savage.

"Her power needs a pressure valve," I explain. "She holds too much for her human body."

"Well, if we need to fuck it out of her, then so be it. And where is the winged-lizard in all of this?" Ghoul points a black-gloved finger at Xander, who scoffs.

"Jealous bastard."

I clear my throat. "He's refusing to sign, as is his right. But everyone else, including Aurelia has."

"None of us like this," Savage says, "just to be clear. You don't deserve it. But our regina insisted, and she gets what she wants."

Ghoul chuckles, and it's a dark, hollow sound. "Of course she insisted. I just bet she loves the taste of me better than you."

Savage can't help but take the bait, snarling in his throat. Ghoul opens his mouth with a hiss, his fangs elongating past his bottom lip. When the shadows pull completely away from his face, we all see that he's still grinning. All of his teeth are now needle-pointed, lethal instruments.

Xander snorts, "Say ‘she sells seashells by the seashore' five times fast."

"How about I say it with my fangs six inches deep in your eye sockets?"

"Just. Fucking. Try," comes the acrid reply.

"Ghoul." Scythe's voice cuts through the bickering, stopping Ghoul short of a reply. Those lasers consider our shark with an infinitesimal wariness more than my other brothers.

Scythe jerks his chin towards the contract still in Ghoul's hand. "Sign and be done with it."

I shoot a pen towards the basilisk. Ghoul catches it an inch before it buries itself in his eye. He turns his grin towards me.

Aurelia had just typed ‘Lord Jerk Basilisk' in Ghoul's signee spot. I don't think even Marduk knows his real name.

Ghoul considers the contract before brushing a soft finger over the paper—what I assume is the spot Aurelia signed in her flowing cursive.

He then signs the paper with a harsh flourish.