Chapter Eight

Riot

"I 'm going to give Maureen the sigil of Erebus tonight." I thrust the dagger into the flame, sterilizing it for the ritual.

Atlas hovers by the fireplace, watching me work as he's done a thousand times before. "Val's sigil? That's a fucking dark one."

The Erebus sigil stems from shadows. It can bring nightmares, but it can also help one shift matter and energy to bend to their will. The three of us were marked with it a long time ago.

I lay the dagger on the altar and pull up the hood of my robe. "The longer Maureen is with us, the less light she'll need to see."

Atlas sets out three vials of poison next to my blade. "Where will you mark her?"

I press my fingers against the back of his neck. "Here. Her hair will hide it from Laurent. And she will have deeper access to its power with it being at the top of her spine."

I place the traditional Nocturnus mask on my face, a symbol of tricks and illusions. The bronze chills my nose and cheeks, reminding me of the ice that runs through my veins. I am not a good man. Never have been. I was raised in my father's likeness. Though I'm nothing like him, there isn't much good in me either.

Maureen is my salvation. But she's also my curse. I succeeded in capturing her, but now I have to make sure she stays. There is no me without her anymore. All my life, I felt that missing piece. My dark queen. The thought of carving another sigil into her flesh, marking her with more of our essence, makes me so fucking hard I can barely walk.

That's what she does to me. To all of us. Her pretty pink nipples and perfect pussy make each of us feral as fuck. And her mouth… fucking god, those full lips and sharp tongue wrapped around my cock are better than any poison I've ever tasted.

Atlas nods as if he can hear my thoughts. "Let me get you ready for her."

We lock eyes and the temperature in my body rises like a fucking inferno. I take off my pants and nestle back in an iron chair.

Atlas shoots back a vial of poison before stalking over to me. He hands me one too, which I knock back just as quickly. He kneels down between my legs and pushes my robe back, exposing my massive erection. "You're going to cum hard and fast for me so you can last longer with her later."

I let out a moan as he rolls his thumb and index finger around the tip of my cock. "You're so good to me, Atlas."

He chuckles, his blue-green eyes brightening, pupils dilated and pitch black. "Shh, close your eyes and relax."

I do as he says, allowing my body to unclench. I quiver as he takes the entire length of me in his mouth. "Oh, fuck."

He slides his thick lips all the way down to my base, coating my shaft with his hot saliva. Spasms tingle throughout every vein as he works his mouth up and down.

I dig my fingers into his scalp, yanking on his icy-blond strands. "Yeah, just like that."

A smirk pulls at his lips as he continues to choke on me. He moans as my cock twitches in his grasp. I white-knuckle the arms of the chair, panting as my climax builds. "Atlas… fuck. I'm gonna fucking burst."

He slips a finger in my ass, and I lose it. Stars dot the black behind my closed lids. "Fuck!" I roar.

My cum shoots out like a bullet, invading his mouth and throat. He laughs as I shake and tremble, clenching and unclenching my ass cheeks around his thick finger.

"Mmm," he moans as he drinks every drop of my essence.

The high is unlike any other. The poison mixed with sex in our sacred ritual room… it's not just an orgasm; it's transcendence.

I stroke his face as he licks his lips. "So fucking good."

He beams back at me, basking in my praise. "I can't wait to watch you mark our little firecracker. I want to lick her blood from your blade. It tastes so good."

My legs wobble as I stand up, my adrenaline still racing. "I want to watch you and Val fuck her at the same time."

Atlas arches an eyebrow. "You'll think she'll go for that? She's still pissed at me."

"I won't be asking."

"Asking what?" Maureen calls out. She's holding on to Val, her face flushed. My cock hardens again. I can smell the fresh cum on her thighs from here.

I stalk over to her and wrap my hand around her throat. "Laurent Erebus will be here soon. It's time, Firecracker."

"Take off your clothes," Val growls in her ear.

I hand her a robe to slip into. And a mask. Her eyes widen. "For me?"

"You are just as much Nocturnus as the rest of us. The mask is an honor. From now on, you will not enter a ritual without one." She's not the lamb anymore. Her power will eventually surpass ours. But even then, she will always belong to us.

The excitement in her breath is palpable as she wastes no time peeling off her shirt and jeans. She slides her panties down to her ankles, and I almost pin her to the wall and take her right then.

Patience, fucker .

She pauses as if seeing my composure crumble. I nod for her to continue, swallowing hard as every inch of me wants to ride her like a fucking animal.

"Before we begin, you need to make peace with Atlas." Her nostrils flare every time she glances in his direction.

Our fiery woman lets out an exasperated sigh. "We're fine. I'm cool. Let's just move on."

Val shakes his head. "No, you're not fine. You're still pissed."

Atlas winks at her and flashes his million-dollar smile. "What's it gonna take, pretty girl?"

The clash of wills between them is going to be the death of us if they don't rein it in.

Maureen slips on her robe and mask before prancing over to Atlas like a cat about to pounce. Without warning, she rips the buttons off his shirt, splitting the fabric wide open. Atlas looks both impressed and terrified as she drags a pointy pink fingernail down his chiseled chest.

She cocks her head to the side. "I want to give you a sigil. Something that makes you unhinged if anyone hurts me."

Atlas blows out a shivering breath, his smirk gone. "Oh, you are batshit crazy, and I'm here for it." He puffs out his chest. "Riot, give her the blade."

What the fuck?

I shake my head. "Maur, you don't know the first thing about carving sigils."

"So, teach me right now," she quips. "If you want us to be cool again, he needs to wear my mark."

"How is this going to solve anything?" I roar.

Her head jerks in my direction. Behind the mask, her eyes glow for the first time. "Because I want to fucking brand him. Just like your father did to me. That will make me feel better."

Atlas nods and licks his lips, excited. "I'm so fucking down. Riot, the knife. Now."

Val sighs and fetches it for him instead. But he keeps his hand on the hilt as she reaches for it. "This sigil will turn him into an even bigger monster than he already is. You know that, right?"

Maureen touches her mask to Val's cheek as if she's giving him a kiss. "We're all monsters now, Val. But this one needs to remember who feeds him."

Every cell in my body sparks with need for this woman. She's beating us at our own game. Claiming us the way we've claimed her. I would get down on my fucking knees right now and let her carve a thousand sigils into my flesh if she wanted me to.

And so I concede to her every chaotic whim.

My sigils flare as I stalk toward the three of them. I wait for Atlas and Val to put on their robes and masks before I gently clasp onto Maureen's wrist. She squeezes the hilt as I guide her hand over to Atlas's heart. His nipple pebbles as the tip of the blade grazes the skin below it.

Val places his hands on Atlas's shoulders, and a surge of adrenaline sparks through us, our eyes aglow. The connection is consuming, and I have to fight to keep my heart steady.

I hold up the palm of my hand, showing her the sigil. It's raised and swollen as it never fully healed. "I got this the night I first saw you in Wickford Hollow. When I got back to Tenebrose. After I murdered the creeps who defiled you. I was drunk off the scent of your wet pussy and their blood that was still on my hands."

She runs her slender fingers over it. It burns under her caress as if her hand is a torch. "Why did you get it? You didn't even know me then."

I squeeze my hand around hers. "Because I wanted to make sure that no matter who you were or where you went, that I would always kill for you. That I would never let anyone else outside this circle lay a hand on you."

She drops her head, her hand going limp in mine. "But you did… last night, you did nothing to stop them."

Fuck. I wasn't going to tell her . The last thing I want is for her to pity me or think I'm weak.

Atlas tilts her chin toward him. "They locked him up, Maur. Riot went on a psychotic rampage last night, so his father locked him away until they were done with you. I'm the only one who didn't put up a fight. I'm a narcissistic asshole. Now take it all out on me, pretty girl."

A painful sob lodges in my throat. My sigils dig into my flesh, coming alive as the memory of being ripped away from my firecracker surfaces again.

"Oh, Riot," she whimpers.

I clear my throat. "This is the mark you will give him. And then next time, he'll be locked up alongside me."

"After tonight, there's not going to be a next time," Val snarls.

She sniffles under her mask. I can't tell if she's crying or if it's just an allergic reaction to the thick layer of dust that has settled into every brick and stone. "I… I don't know if I should do this now ," she whispers.

Atlas grips her masked face. "I'm ready to bleed for you, Maur. Make me your fucking slave."