Chapter 34

CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR

T he victory at Rifarn had sent the Skyforgers into a frenzy of celebrations - even though most of them hadn't been present and they openly sneered at the majority of the Sinfair who had been.

If it wasn't for the fact that I refused to let poor company ruin a good party, I would have bailed.

The Hall of Clouds, in the heart of the Vault of Sky had been decorated with golden flowers and shimmering swathes of gold fabric which clung to the white walls and gave the place an ethereal look as the light of the everflames flickered behind them.

Music rang through the wide space, the vaulted ceiling creating wonderful acoustics and making the entire place ring with the sounds of victory.

There was a feast laid out by one wall, a dance floor marked by a lack of furniture against the other, while the couches and chairs that were normally more spread out though the space had been clustered together to create a series of cosy seating arrangements.

We were late, which was of no surprise because I detested the small talk which took place at the beginning of such events.

Dalia and Moraine flanked me as always, and the sound of several thousand neophytes roaring their welcome to us made the walls vibrate as we were spotted.

We were war heroes yet again and though their distaste for our Sinfair legacy was apparent at most other times, all heroes were celebrated as if they were stars themselves when returning from a victorious battle. Tonight we would be beloved by all, tempted with pleasures and plied with gifts.

These affairs weren't like the formal balls held in the palaces and great houses of Stormfell by the aristocracy of the Wrathcourt. This would be a feast of debauchery and ruin, a celebration of our base nature and a host of sinful worship to thank the stars for their favour in our victory. No rules applied at a conquest reception and to make this night even more promising, there was going to be an eclipse tonight, when all Fae felt the sway of Venus in their veins and fell prey to their most base instincts. We were creatures at the beck and call of the heavens and the magic which swelled at such a prominent celestial event made the desires of our flesh more desperate than usual. The entire place would likely descend into something of an orgy before the night was out. My flesh was already heated with desire before I'd entered the hall and I was overwhelmed with the rush of lust that was gathering in all those around me as we headed deeper into the party.

The dress code for such a night was a far cry from the beautifully crafted suits and gowns of the formal affairs too – our bodies wrapped in slips of gossamer or silk, left vulnerable as a sign of our belief in our invincible nature. No blood could be shed at such an event unless you were willing to spit in the face of the stars who had blessed you with victory, but all other forms of debauchery were both expected and encouraged.

My dress was formed of two layers of fabric which were so thin that my flesh was almost visible beneath it, one swathe of gold, the other black, each starting at a shoulder then crossing over my breasts and falling into a skirt which held more slits than fabric. The rich bronze of my thighs peaked out between steps, revealing bare flesh then hiding it again with each movement of my body.

"By the stars, your company will be akin to hell tonight," Moraine groaned as heads turned our way, my lips lifting in amusement as, for once, I made no attempt to discourage the stares of my fellow Fae.

I was flaunting what I was tonight, my body exposed, my hair falling in a river of pale pink down my spine, my eyes lined in kohl and lips deepest red. The wall Dragor had erected still stood of course, but I planned on feasting on the sins of those around me and soaking myself in their magic as they offered it up for me to devour.

"I see no problem," Dalia disagreed, eyeing the hungry crowd as we moved into it. "V doesn't want to fuck any of them and there will be so much heat surrounding her that we can claim the fallout. I plan on drowning in the sin she attracts all night long."

I took a drink from the hand of a man whose mouth had fallen open as he stared, knocking it back and relishing the burn before thrusting it into his still raised palm while he blinked stupidly at me.

"I want to lick your-"

Moraine shoved him aside before he could complete that request and I grinned widely at Cassandra as she turned from her position on the dancefloor to see what had drawn everyone's attention.

Her eyes went cold as she found me before her, knowing she'd just lost her spotlight for the evening but she raised a glass in salute, even her hatred not enough to allow disrespect on a night such as this.

"To the victors!" she cried and her words were echoed all around.

I claimed another drink on my way to the dance floor, tossing the glass aside and causing a scuffle to ensue as three Fae fought over the honour of clearing it away for me.

Moraine and Dalia moved closer as the music twisted into a new rhythm and I tipped my head back and let it have me.

The three of us danced as one, their bodies shielding me from the cluster of Fae who were drawn closer with every move I made as I let my gifts unravel and began to stoke the desires of everyone around me.

The moon already had hearts pounding and lust mounting as it sank into its eclipse and the addition of my power had the entire Vault sinking into sin within minutes.

Gasps and soft moans filled the air as we danced, roaming hands sliding over half naked bodies, lips finding flesh, sighs of contentment and need punctuating our movements.

I let myself go in the midst of their pleasure, magic building in me as Fae all around gave in to their wants.

I spent so much of my time feeling the restrained desires of those surrounding me, feeding on needs which were stifled and unfulfilled, the rush of being surrounded by so many Fae finally claiming what they wanted made my head spin.

Hands found me between the masses, fingers trailing over my skin as the minutes turned into hours and the dancing descended into full debauchery.

Fae were pinned to walls by others, more still claiming couches and chairs together or finding questionable privacy in the shadows at the edges of the room.

I lost Moraine to a trio of Pegasus shifters who glittered with pleasure as their Order form crept up to the edges of their skin.

Sweat sheened my flesh, my hair clinging to my neck and spine as I danced within the writhing bodies, using the glut of magic I had stolen to push back any who got too close to me.

But my body was alive with need of its own, my skin burning, nipples tight and an ache between my thighs which cried out to be sated.

I blinked out of the fog of lust that surrounded me and as if I had known precisely where he would be, I found Cayde lurking in the darkness at the edge of the huge hall where swathes of decorative material created a layer of curtains fit for concealing wanting bodies.

I broke from Dalia, giving her a knowing smile as the two Minotaurs who had been vying for her attention gladly took my place dancing with her.

She mouthed the words thank you to me and I laughed as I slipped away.

Cayde was gone when I looked back across the room but the rampant pace of my heart and the ache in my flesh refused that answer.

I strode across the room, ignoring the eyes which hounded me and pushing aside a curtain of golden fabric, discovering nothing but a white wall behind it.

I pressed on, checking over my shoulder to make certain no one had followed me and grinning in satisfaction as I found myself alone.

I tugged another swathe of fabric aside, then another, frustration growing in me as I failed to find my prey.

I pushed a fifth curtain aside then a sixth, biting my lip in annoyance as I found an empty corner where I had expected to discover him.

I turned around to head back, gasping as I found him at my back, his eyes lit with hunger, hands falling to grasp my waist.

My spine hit the cold wall and his lips collided with mine in the next breath.

I moaned into his mouth, my burning skin a frenzy of wanton need where his hands dropped to the slits in my skirt and roamed up the edges of my thighs.

His chest was bare, the silk trousers he wore hanging low on his hips, making the strain of his cock all too obvious through the thin fabric.

"We'll be caught," I gasped as his hand pushed beneath my skirt, finding me bare.

Cayde groaned with need, his fingers sliding over my clit, discovering me wet and aching for him.

"Our chambers are too far away," he growled against my mouth, pushing two fingers inside me and making me moan for him. "And we're just as likely to be seen sneaking away to them."

"This is a bad idea," I panted, shoving his trousers down and moaning again as I took his cock into my hand.

"Then let's stop pretending we aren't acting on it and just focus on doing so before anyone finds us," Cayde growled.

I wanted to protest, wanted to warn him again of how dangerous this was for both of us but those words spilled away as his fingers tugged free of my core and I was left desperately aching with the need for release.

"Quickly," I agreed and with the feral lust that spiralled between us, I knew it would be that.

We were alone back here anyway and there were far more Fae bathing in their own sins than would be interested in discovering ours.

Cayde took hold of my hips and lifted me, my heels driving into his ass as I wrapped my legs around him and looked into his honey brown eyes, urging him closer as he pinned me to the wall. His gaze was dark with the intensity of his hunger and he speared me with his cock in a violent, desperate thrust.

I cried out as he drove into me, my body so tightly coiled that I almost fell apart with that single jerk of his hips.

My fingernails bit into his shoulder, my other hand finding one of the golden curtains above me and gripping it tightly to hold me up and he groaned as he relished the tight fit of his cock inside me.

Cayde ripped the sleeves of my dress down, revealing my breasts, my aching nipples peaked as I arched my spine against the cold stone at my back as he started to move.

He slammed his hips against mine, his cock driving into me at a furious pace as his mouth fell to claim my breast. The pull of the eclipse had my head spinning, the need in my flesh so rampant that I was almost undone already.

I met his thrusts with my own, our passion a messy, ruinous collision, our sounds of pleasure too loud, our hiding place too easily discovered, but my body demanded release and his clearly felt the same.

We were rabid in our claiming of each other, utterly reckless in our lust and the thrill of this stupidity had me falling even faster as we fucked like a pair of heathens in the dark, slaves to our desires, fools for the need of our flesh.

Faster, harder, my nails cutting into his skin, my spine bruising against the wall, his cock driving into me furiously, the two of us gasping for breath in the frenzy of it.

Cayde slammed into me in a clear demand and as a bellow of ecstasy fell from his lips, the intensity of his lust filling the air, I came apart with him, crying out with my own orgasm.

Movement caught my attention and I blinked through the heady release to the fluttering curtain behind Cayde, a chill racing down my spine as if someone had thrown cold water over me.

"Put me down," I hissed and Cayde released me, turning to look at the curtain too, following my focus to its movement.

I shoved past him, tugging the straps of my dress back up to conceal my flesh, following the fluttering trail through the curtains at a run until I stumbled out into the open again.

Fae moaned and sighed in the shadows surrounding me, all lost to their own lustful encounters on the sofas and tables which clustered in this part of the hall.

"Did you see anyone?" Cayde asked in a low tone, coming up behind me.

"No," I murmured, my eyes raking across the room, taking in Cassandra and her band of high born assholes, their eyes moving to me and making my skin prickle. But as I glanced away from them, I found more eyes on me, my power drawing attention just as it always did.

Fingers brushed my waist, a woman begging me to join her while a man feasted between her thighs and I slapped her hand away.

"No one saw," I said in a low voice, looking to Cayde.

He glanced around the hall once more, clearly as uncertain of that as I was, but there was little either of us could do about it now.

"Good," he replied softly, his fingers brushing against mine in the dark. And then he was gone.

I licked my lips slowly as I moved back towards the dancefloor, savouring the taste of him on them, relishing the rebellion against Dragor's leash. But even with the scent of Cayde clinging to my skin, the feel of his body a lingering impression against my own, I couldn't help but wonder how violently that rebellion might end. And whether I was sentencing him to death by giving him what I'd promised to none but a prince.