Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13

I was flagging by the time dinner rolled around. We'd barely had any sleep between the elite trial and getting back to the academy. And although goyles didn't require much shut-eye, we weren't machines. It was worse for me. Being part human meant I needed more sleep than the others.

So while Touron and the twins regaled us with tales from training, I sat beside Serath, elbows on the table, hands propping up my head, eyes at half-mast.

"Then Hawke was like, ‘I'll shove the damn sword up your ass,'" Touron said.

Everyone laughed, but I'd missed the story, so I laughed a little too late, sounding a little too forced.

Touron's brows came together in concern. "Cameron, you look like you're about to pass out."

I sat up straighter. "I'm fine. I just need coffee and?—"

Derek placed a cup of coffee in front of me before claiming his spot next to Shar. Wait…Was that a pink headband in her hair?

"We should definitely discuss it," Orix said.

Discuss what? Shit, what did I miss? Focus, Cameron.

Serath shuffled his chair closer to mine and put his arm around me so I could lean against him. The contact somehow sharpened my focus. I took a sip of my coffee. "What are we discussing? Sorry, I zoned out for a moment."

"Who the faction might be," Curi replied. "They could be gargoyles or humans. Or a mixture of both."

"Halfbloods?" Ginia suggested.

"Someone opened the rift, right?" Palia said. "That's what Ivor said, correct?"

We all murmured a confirmation.

"Okay, so that someone wanted the relics. They wanted power. So they would have known about the existence of this other world and the relics, right? And the rift was opened mystically, using magic because it took magic to close it?"

"You think the witches did it?" Shar asked.

"I doubt it. They lost too much closing it. And they aren't the only magic wielders. We have mageri—who cloistered themselves in the city after the whole debacle—and we also have alchemists."

"Alchemists don't use magic," Orix said. "Some of them have abilities, but it's not magic, it's a chemical anomaly in their brains that allows them to use telepathy. They're just human."

"Humans who crave magic," Palia said. "Who used science to get to it. Science that centuries ago may have seemed like magic. Science that could fake a mating and activate a curse maybe?"

Silence fell, heavy and pregnant.

"But how would they have known about the other world?" Ginia asked.

"Alchemists are renowned for their knowledge," Shar said. "Knowledge of what they call the multiverse."

Palia shot her an approving look. "Correct. It makes sense."

"And if you're right, and the alchemists are the ones behind all of this, then we're screwed," Orix said.

"Why?" Derek asked.

"Because gargoyles can't harm a human."

Another wave of silence pressed down on us, but I'd finished my coffee, my brain working overtime, and the answer came to me sudden and bright.

"Gargoyles can't harm humans, but halfbloods can."

Everyone stared at me for several beats before Serath spoke. "We need halfbloods as a backup."

"And how do we access the registers?" Sharniza asked.

"Even if we could, someone higher up would find out," Curi said.

"We're probably being watched." Palia looked around the room as if she expected an alchemist to jump out and shout "Boo!" at any moment.

"We might be being watched…" Orix agreed, "but Willowman isn't. I can get a message to Calista without anyone knowing. I'll do it from one of the bases. And if he's?—"

"Hello."

We all jumped and looked down the table at Melanie's ghostly form.

She looked around the room. "I always wondered what it looked like in here."

Most everyone in the room had met Melanie at some point, but just in case… "Everyone, this is Melanie…my mother."

"You told her?" Shar looked stunned.

Crap, I hadn't filled everyone in on that yet.

"I encouraged her to," Curi said. "And Melanie can help us."

Melanie lifted her chin. "I can and I will."

"Why don't you join us?" Orix said. He pulled out a seat then winced. "Sorry."

"No, don't be," Melanie said. "It's nice to be treated…normally. I can hold a solid form for a little while, if need be, but it takes energy. I don't want to siphon from anyone unless I need to." Her gaze settled on Serath. "You must be Serath. It is so nice to meet you…to meet you all." She beamed at everyone. "My daughter's family."

"We're your family now too," Derek said.

Melanie's smile wobbled. "Thank you."

"You'll stay here in the tower," Orix said. "This is your home for as long as you want it."

She locked gazes with me. "I'm here for as long as it takes to bring down the faction. And as long as it takes to know my daughter."

I'd found my family; now all I needed to do was keep them.

It was strange getting into Serath's bed. With only an hour till dawn, I'd gone almost two days without a full five hours sleep, and my body felt like lead. I ran my hands over Serath's pecs and down his taut abdomen, delighting in the way his muscles jumped beneath my fingers.

I groaned. "I want you so bad, but I don't think I can move."

He chuckled low and sexy. "Maybe you don't have to."

"What?"

He kissed my neck, my collarbone, and the tops of my breasts, hands cupping me, squeezing gently before slipping beneath my sleep tee to find my flushed skin. I arched as his mouth caged my nipple, wet and hot, drawing a line to the apex of my thighs with each draw and rasp of his tongue.

"Serath…God, yes."

He teased me until I was squeezing my thighs closed against the desperate need gathering there before slowly raising his head to look down at my face. "You need this, Cameron. You need to come. To feed."

"Yes. Please. Make me come. I want you inside me."

"You'll have me." His fingers tangled in my hair, and he tugged my head to one side and licked the column of my neck with the flat of his long tongue. "You'll have me inside you." He licked up my breastbone. "My tongue…deep inside you."

My pussy throbbed harder.

He slid down my body, hooked his fingers into the top of my panties, and peeled them off. "I want you bare. Knees up, Cameron. That's it. Open for me. Let me see what I'm getting."

My heart was a drum, my blood gushing hot, gathering in all the right places. "Serath…"

Cool air kissed my pussy, followed by his hot breath, then his tongue, rough and quick, as he circled my clit. My hips bucked, and he pinned me with one huge hand, flicking his tongue over the bundle of nerves until I was sobbing and panting and hurtling toward release.

"Please. Oh god, Serath, please. I need…I need?—"

He filled me with his tongue, thick and deep, pushing up against that hidden spot inside me that filled my head with stars and tore a guttural cry from my lips. I came hard, the edges of my vision darkening as he hummed against me. Our bond vibrated and snapped tight, tearing another orgasm from my body, then another, until I was begging him to stop, to just please stop.

He released me with a final sip and looked up at me with eyes like cold fire, his mouth glistening with my arousal. I was no longer tired. I was hungry. Ravenous. I hauled him up my body and claimed his mouth, urging him to roll onto his back so I could straddle him.

He tensed beneath me, and something dark, almost akin to fear crossed his features—at least, I thought it did, but it was so fleeting I must have imagined it.

He reached for my hips, misconstruing what I needed, and I gently gripped his wrist.

"My turn."

His pupils flared dark, and he nodded, releasing me, giving himself to me.

It was my turn to taste his body, to run my tongue over the valley of his muscled torso, to nip, suck, and graze his skin with my nails, moving down, down to his thick, ridged cock.

I'd never wanted to pleasure a male this badly. Never wanted to take it this deep, but with Serath it was a visceral need, and I owned it. His moans made me wetter, hotter. The ridges on his cock massaged my throat in a way that sent tingles across my breasts and down to my pussy.

"Fuck, Cam, fuck!" He fisted my hair, holding me steady as he thrust deep. I felt him swell, knew he was close…ready. "Fuck…" He tried to pull out, but I grabbed his hips and held him to me. "Cameron, oh fuck…" He came with a groan and a curse, and as his heat filled me, a wave of warmth swept over my body, shooting down to the apex of my thighs, pushing me over the edge once more.

Pulse racing, head reeling, I climbed up his body and into his arms. We lay entwined for long minutes, silence speaking volumes.

"Are you still hungry?" he asked, his voice gravelly and low.

"No. You fed me well."

He stroked up and down my back. "Then sleep, beautiful."

"You too, gorgeous."

He kissed my temple then adjusted us so he was wrapped around me as big spoon.

"You did good today," he whispered.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it."

He laughed softly. "I was referring to Melanie and…everything else."

"Thank you." I snuggled closer, eyelids growing heavy. "Never leave me, okay?"

"I won't. I promise."

And I believed him.