12. Heat

12

HEAT

E lation fills me as Quinn and I drive away from the Palace of Light in our manticore carriage, victorious. I’m not sure if it’s my elation or his pouring through me, though, as we travel through the cobbled streets of Florence back towards the Red Letter Hotel. Before we can enter the Hotel’s marble courtyard where vehicles drop guests off, however, Quinn frowns. He slaps the carriage roof, sending a quick mind-communique to his Vampire driver.

To take us past the Hotel and out of the city entirely.

I glance at him, blinking—and am astonished to see an amused smile on Quinn’s lips. It’s enigmatic; as I cock my head at him, he glances over, still smiling. “I believe someone wishes to speak with us after that show just now at the palace.”

“Who? Where are we going?” His elevated mood is making me smile now, but Quinn says no more, his dark eyes glittering with an amused secret as he shakes his head. He is tapping a finger against his thigh in the way he does when he’s deep in thought, passing mind-directions to our driver as we roll out into the beautiful summer countryside. As we turn off the main road, though, down lane after lane of rutted tracks, moving into a deep silver forest in the Florentine countryside as evening overtakes the day, I know he still hasn’t given our driver a proper destination.

As we leave civilization behind, I stare at Quinn, wondering where we’re going. But then we pull into a grassy field and I see the towering reaches of Lucca’s Livingtree, Valorhome, rising before us. I blink in astonishment, amazed at our destination and that Quinn knows of it.

But Quinn only sets a hand to the roof of the carriage, sending a hypnotic mind-communique to his driver. Take the carriage home to the Hotel. Then forget this place. Tell Devi I will return with Ariana anon.

Quinn and I step from the carriage, but the driver doesn’t even look at us, so swayed is he under Quinn’s mind-spell. As soon as Quinn shuts the door, the driver cracks his whip over the manticore team and the carriage lurches away. It rounds the trees and disappears into the forest, as the beautiful mesh of flowering vines that keeps the arched entrance into the treehouse’s massive trunk flows back.

And there is Lucca, striding from the treehouse with Alleno—his blue eyes bright.

Lucca moves to Quinn, gripping his shoulders with an incredulous shake of his head and a robust laugh, then slaps Quinn’s chest heartily. Reaching up in a tender gesture next, Lucca grips Quinn’s nape, gentler now as he sets their foreheads together.

“You are mad, Valerio! Utterly mad…!” Lucca says as he shakes Quinn. I take a moment to remember Quinn’s original Fae name was Valerio Incendari, back when he was the Summer Fae Prince before Lucca.

“Glad to see someone still appreciates my talents,” Quinn smiles back, though like Lucca, he’s tender now in a way that’s rare for him.

As the two men stand with their foreheads touching, I feel a deep peace move between Lucca and Quinn. It’s so strong, I set a hand to my heart as it moves through me, broad and lovely as the endless summer sky. Quinn and Lucca still share a deep connection, almost deeper than the bond of our trio, as I realize Quinn felt Lucca leave the palace and come here .

Even as I wonder how Quinn knows this place, however, he cocks an eyebrow and chuckles, moving to me and taking up my hands.

“This was my Livingtree before it was Lucca’s, Ariana. It has long been a secret place between us. A Livingtree raised by the Incendari family, it had been forgotten when Lucca and I discovered it in our teens, before I was turned Vampire. A lost relic of elder times, we restored it together so we could come here to be alone. Away from the eyes of the Court.”

“So neither of you would be punished for your love.” I blink, understanding.

“Our fathers didn’t approve of our relationship, Ariana,” Lucca says now, as he and Quinn share a knowing look. “They were warlords and didn’t tolerate our bisexuality, though it’s common among the Fae. They wanted us to have heirs, and didn’t want our primary chosen lover to be male.”

It’s a complex look Quinn and Lucca share, borne of too many centuries and too much hardship between them. It still holds their love, however, as I feel their emotions flow through me now from our bond. With a deep sigh and a smile, Quinn looks back at me, squeezing my hands.

“We should talk about what comes next, now that our Revenant demonstration has been successful. Twice.” Quinn nods us up towards the massive treehouse.

“Take a moment to celebrate, Quinn!” Lucca beckons us to the ingress and we go, followed by the watchful Alleno with his wealth of knives.

I notice Alleno has said nothing about Lucca’s and Quinn’s familiarity; as we all enter the treehouse and I glance at Alleno now, he gives me a nod. It’s almost sad; as I smile back at Alleno, I realize he knows all about Lucca’s and Quinn’s centuries-old problems. Alleno is Lucca’s cousin, after all, and probably saw the whole debacle unfold long ago. He says nothing, though, as we move up the corkscrewing white wood staircase, grown right out of the heartwood of the tree, up into the vaulted reaches of the trunk .

Valorhome is just as I remember it, the ornately grown living and dining area in the main part of the trunk spiraling up to further levels through vaulted doorways of silver-white wood—up to studies and storerooms, bedrooms, and more. Grown with furniture styled from the last many centuries but done with an ornate Fae twist, I see the dining table in the main area has already been set with a meal of antipasto and wine, though delicious scents issue from deep below the tree’s roots, down where the kitchens are.

As Alleno peels away, trotting down a staircase that burrows into the trunk to tend the meal he’s cooking, Lucca beckons to the spread upon the table. The red wine is already open, and he pours three glasses.

He hands them around in a toast, shaking his head at Quinn.

“To insanity,” Lucca says with a soft smile now. “Because I don’t know how you dreamt up that scheme today, and how it could work in our favor. But it did.”

“Not entirely,” Quinn says, as we clink glasses and sip. “I didn’t know the Revenant we captured was quite that strong, nor so unique. If you had asked me, I might have thought she was Dark Fae, demonstrating power like that when she was returned.”

“Iris.” I think back over everything that happened at the palace. “Her aura was tremendous… full of rainbows. Was she once a Summer Fae? Do you think she’s the goddess Iris that humans talk about in Greek lore?”

“I’m fairly certain she was.” Quinn glances at me, smiling now with intrigue. “Even Fae and Vampires talk about long-lost members of our kind, who had tremendous powers and achieved notoriety. The Iris legend I’ve heard concerned a powerful and rare kind of Fae called a Luminari Fae who was once turned Vampire but kept the full powers of both Lineages. She was so beautiful and luminous that she was considered a Dark Angelic.”

“Because Vampires and Fae are originally descended from the Ascendant Archangels.” I understand as we take seats at the table, with Lucca at the head and Quinn across from me. As Quinn serves our plates with antipasto and cured items, I continue. “Why was she classified as a Dark Angelic rather than a Dark Fae, though?”

“The lines between Angelics, Fae, and Vampires often blur, Ariana, especially back when our ancestral powers were far stronger.” Lucca cuts in now, his gaze thoughtful as he glances at Quinn. “Once upon a time, our people did not make hard and fast distinctions between Vampire, Angel, Demon, or Fae—not like we do now. The magics were more intertwined, and the Lineages also; children were classified based on the direction their magics took and how they could be used—reveling in the Light, drawing on the Night, or some combination of both. If one was excessively powerful with a deep talent for universal magics—called etheric magic —one was considered an Angelic. Of Dark, Light, or Fallen persuasion.”

“Convoluted.” I lift an eyebrow as I dig into my meal, famished after our demonstration at the palace.

“You have no idea.” Quinn chuckles as he eats also, with an appetite nearly as hale as mine, rare for him. It’s Lucca who eats sparingly now, though he pours himself a second wine, sipping it with a long look at Quinn.

“How did you know how things would go down today, Quinn?” Lucca asks.

“I didn’t.” Quinn takes up his wine and gazes at Lucca as he sits back in his chair. “I’d think after all these years, however, I would know your tells, Lucca. You were furious these past few days at my machinations, but you weren’t mad at Ariana and would never put her in harm’s way. I gambled on that when we engaged our demonstration today. I had a feeling you would pout to piss me off and show me your dissent, but when push came to shove, you wouldn’t abandon her to your father. Or to a mad Revenant.”

“Right on all counts.” Lucca’s lips curl up in a wry smile as he takes a swig of wine. He sets it down now and pins Quinn with his deep blue eyes. “You’re wrong about one thing, however. It’s not just Ariana I couldn’t let come to harm.”

As a pause stretches between the two men now, I both see and feel their deep connection swirl between their auras. It’s as if the bright-darkness of one and the dark-brightness of the other meld, in that perfect way I saw when they fought together on the ravine-ridge all those weeks ago, against the Summer Fae Brightwatch.

As if Lucca’s and Quinn’s energies are far more than bound by their ancient promise to one another, their energies are one in a way I don’t understand. I gaze at it as a fire-bright shimmer of smoke and rainbows curls through the Livingtree. My magic isn’t in it, as I draw a deep breath, staring at them both.

Quinn and Lucca gaze at each other a moment more. I think one or the other might say something profound then; some admission of love, perhaps. But neither says anything. As the moment stretches, I can stand it no longer. I set down my wine firmly, lifting an eyebrow at Lucca, then Quinn.

“Just… fuck it out, already, you two!”

I flush hard—as I realize how my truth-telling magic just hijacked my mouth.

“Fuck it out?” Quinn gives a soft laugh, though he looks back to Lucca with tenderness in his fire-dark gaze. As Quinn and Lucca both heave a deep breath, as if steadying themselves for battle, it’s like watching an estranged married couple come to some agreement. Quinn breaks their tension as he slides a hand out, whispering his fingers over Lucca’s.

Lucca’s breath catches, his eyes shining two shades brighter.

And their hands clasp upon the table.

Rightness blazes through me as Quinn and Lucca touch each other. As they caress their fingers over and through one another’s, it’s as if Quinn and Lucca become two sides of the same magic. As if one can not live without the other, when they’re together, power roars. And it does now, as each come to a silent agreement with the other. Both men’s lips quirk as Lucca shakes his head and Quinn chuckles.

“You’re going to kill us, Dark Fae.” Lucca reaches out with his free hand, taking up mine also now. “You know that Quinn and I are more than likely to tear each other apart if we try this again. There’s a lot more at stake now that we’re both leaders for our people.”

“But isn’t it worth it?” I push, feeling something lock home inside our magics as we hold hands. As it does, Quinn slides his other hand out also, taking my free hand so we form a trio at the table.

“We’re such a disaster,” Lucca says. He is soft now as he gazes at Quinn.

“But aren’t some things worth fighting for?” An aching tenderness fills Quinn as he holds Lucca’s gaze. His dark eyes burn as he stares his old lover down.

As he does, Lucca’s eyes blaze. And then he’s just up from the table, moving to Quinn as Quinn rises as well. The two men seize each other, kissing hard right in front of me. Heat erupts from Quinn and Lucca as they kiss in the Livingtree’s dining room.

I gape at it—surging with my own passionate fire as I watch them.

The two men devour each other, rough at first and then with an aching tenderness as it goes on and on. As Quinn and Lucca express their deep love for each other at last, everything inside me sings. I both want and need them to be whole—as much as I want and need to be a part of it. As my magic washes out around them both now, curling around them like dark-bright wings, Lucca and Quinn gasp. They break from their hot kiss, and both men glance my way.

A thousand colors shining in their eyes as they stare me down.

And pull me in with their magics.

“I think we’re missing someone, don’t you, Lucca?” Quinn says as he stares me down with a glorious fire in his crimson-dark eyes.

“Definitely.” Lucca reaches out towards me, making a gesture with his hand as if reeling me in. Lucca’s powerfully bright-dark magic pours around me like a rip-tide now.

Wrapping me in a cocoon of light I can’t escape.

I’m hauled around the table towards my men by our magics; it’s the best sensation in the world as I’m drawn into their arms. Quinn and Lucca make room for me; as I arrive, I’m nestled between them with Quinn before me and Lucca moulded to my back. As Quinn kisses my lips, dark and decadent, Lucca kisses my neck. Heat careens between us as a dark-bright passion surges through the Livingtree. I see Alleno rush up the stairs as if he thinks a fight may break out.

Then blink at us all and retreat back down.

“Gods, I want you…!” Lucca kisses my neck, growling, though his fingers slip past me to stroke Quinn. He’s speaking to us both as Quinn gives an answering growl and reaches out, trapping a hand behind Lucca’s neck to pull him hard against me.

“Patience.” Quinn purrs with beautiful menace now as his dark eyes flash in the bright day. He kisses my lips, then Lucca’s, drawing it out as he presses into our trio, wrapping an arm around Lucca’s waist and gently crushing me between them. “We have all the time in the world to become reacquainted. There is no need to rush this.”

“But what if we don’t?” Lucca grinds hard into me now, pressing me to Quinn as his bright passion floods him, urgent. “What if everything we did today just started a war with my father, and now he’s making plans to come after us? Like he did long ago…”

“Our fathers have no hold over us anymore, Lucca,” Quinn says. He is dark and beautiful as he kisses Lucca’s lips over my shoulder. I reach up and touch Lucca’s cheek. “Mine is dead and gone, and yours is falling from this throne. Our little demonstration today showed that Archivolio Bellari is not long for his monarchy… and it is your time to rise. I will make sure of it.”

As Lucca gasps now, I feel how he rises firmly against my ass. Quinn blazes with passion as he locks eyes with Lucca, seizing Lucca behind the head and corralling him sweetly but with strength. He dives in, kissing Lucca with abandon over my shoulder as Lucca kisses him back.

Their intense ardor moves to me as Quinn breaks from Lucca’s kiss and seizes me with his lips now, pressing hard against me and making me feel how aroused he is at this reconciliation. Lucca kisses my neck and shoulders, adding a sweet, bright-dark intensity to the mix. I’m a sea of heat as our trio’s power blazes, the Music beginning to rise now with a shimmer of diabolically angelic sound all around us.

And then a thought knifes through all our minds—from Devi back at the Hotel.

Quinn! Devi’s thought is desperate as her mind-sending blazes through our entire trio. You are needed back at the Hotel, urgently!

With a gasp, Quinn breaks from me. His full lips fall open as he shakes his head, getting control of himself. He closes his eyes, sending a quick thought back along his connection to Devi. I am indisposed, Devina. It can wait.

No, it can’t! Devi gives a frantic shudder now, as I feel her turn to glance back at someone, afraid. You need to get here right now. Someone’s here… waiting for you.

“ Merda. ”

Heat flashes in Quinn’s dark onyx eyes—and not the sexy kind now. His gaze flicks at me, then Lucca as he inhales deeply. I feel his intense ardor war inside him with his strong desire to protect his people and deal with whatever has Devi frightened back at the Hotel, so very unlike her. Even I know that Devina Scarlotti doesn’t scare easily.

She is usually the one doing the scaring when others need a lesson.

As Quinn cusses floridly now in a language I don’t know, but which sounds like an amalgam of French, Italian, and Latin, I know he’s made his choice. With a harsh sigh, he looks at us both.

“I must go. Devi’s fear and crypticness in our mind-sending is not like her, and it is not a good sign. I wish I could stay here with everything that is happening… but I am afraid something awaits at the Dark Haven that mu st be dealt with at once. Ariana, you would be safer to remain here with Lucca until we know what the issue is.”

As I stand between Lucca and Quinn, heaving hard breaths from the hot and heavy that just began between us all, a deep frustration growls through me. But it’s not just me who’s frustrated by everything that amped up between us, only to be curtailed. Lucca gives an actual growl, reaching past me and seizing Quinn’s wrist, holding him from rushing off.

Quinn’s lips fall open as Lucca waylays him. A dark fire burns in his eyes as Lucca grinds into me while holding Quinn tight.

“We will continue this,” Lucca says, sexy and dark. “Promise me.”

“We will. I promise,” Quinn says back as he reaches out, seizing Lucca’s nape. “Just not now. Ariana, please stay with Lucca; I will contact you both when it is safe to return to the Dark Haven or for me to come back here to you. I want you both to know I am committed to what’s happening here, though. It is long past due.”

“Hurry.” I am breathless, still pinned between both men and loving it, though Quinn has pulled away slightly. I’ve never been in a threesome before and even just feeling the start of what could happen between me, Lucca, and Quinn is making my body riot sky-high.

That’s not even the best part; the best part is that I see in both Quinn’s and Lucca’s eyes they are committed to working this out. Their love failed when their big egos and even bigger tempers got the best of them in the past. I’m between them now, though, shoving the truth of how much they still love each other in their faces.

And they’re looking, finally.

Realizing just how good a second chance might be.

With a wry smile, Quinn leans in, pulling Lucca close and giving him a soft kiss on the lips. He lingers as they kiss; both men’s magics swirl with a loving heat, though they’re still spiced with their regular contentiousness.

That only drives the passion higher as Quinn pulls away now, pinning Lucca with his sun-dark eyes and making both men’s hearts beat hard. I’m caught in the middle of that as Quinn turns to me, mesmerizing me with his eyes.

“Stay here and stay safe. I will call you when we’re ready.”

“Ready for what?” I ask, still breathless.

“For whatever comes next.” Quinn’s smile is deviant now as he lifts my hand and kisses it, then pins Lucca with his gaze. Fire-bright rainbows and glorious darkness swirl through the Livingtree as their connection scorches. Then Quinn is pulling away.

Moving down the stairs at a quick trot, to find out what’s happening at his Dark Haven in Florence.