Chapter 20

Lillian

I didn't sleep well. In fact, I'd been awake for a couple of hours before the twins woke up, even when Keir finally came home in the early morning hours. I almost went to him, but the energy shifted when he walked past my door, and I knew it was not a good time.

My mind was a garbled mess, and my back was on fire. It was like someone had slapped me over and over and then dragged their nails down my skin for good measure. I'd almost expected to be bleeding, but my hand was always clean after each check.

At one point, I'd snuck out of the bed without waking either of them and checked my back in the mirror. I was nearly in tears, but once the initial pain subsided, though it never fully went away, I returned to my warm, cozy spot between the twins, hoping to find some comfort.

I tossed and turned, trying to find a position that alleviated the pain in my back, but to no avail. It didn't help that I could hear my name whispered in my dreams when I did sleep, like someone was calling out to me. I couldn't tell who it was; they were too far away, and it was just a dream.

By the time the twins woke, I'd long given up on finding rest.

"Hey, baby," Nicholas said sleepily. I turned to find him looking at me with drowsy eyes and a lazy grin. "How long have you been up?"

I returned his smile and shifted to face him with my entire body, breathing in his cedarwood and citrus scent, along with a tiny note of my vanilla body soap he'd insisted on using because he said it reminded him of me. I wanted to lick up his torso until he bent me over his twin and turned me into the alarm. "Not long," I said nonchalantly as I tossed my leg over his, holding us together.

He nuzzled into my neck and took a big breath through his nose. "Fuck, baby, you smell so good in the morning." He kissed my sensitive skin and worked his way up until his lips found mine.

I welcomed him immediately, parting my lips and inviting him in. He didn't hesitate to accept, diving in and filling my mouth with his tongue and his groans. I let him sweep my mouth and claim it before I met his tongue with my own. His hand snaked into my hair and gripped hard enough to have control over me.

The kiss kept going and going, my mind spiraling with it. He kissed me like he was trying to crawl inside of me and hide there forever. Our hips moved together, and his other hand found its way to my inner thigh, giving it a squeeze.

"Damn," I heard whispered behind me. Aiden's hands clung to my hips as he pressed his morning hardness into my ass with an animalistic growl of sorts. "You are so fucking gorgeous in the morning, little one, especially like this."

I moaned, but it was swallowed by Nicholas's mouth over mine. I felt his hand slip down between us and tuck between my legs. His expert fingers found my clit instantly, circling it with the lightest pressure. My hips moved against him, seeking more.

Aiden's hands dug into the skin of my hips, halting my movements and making me gasp. "Tsk, tsk, little one. You'll get what we give you. No more, no less," he whispered into my ear. A whine of disappointment left my lips. "Such a greedy little pussy you've got there."

I whimpered as Aiden's fingers dug deeper, and I knew there would be bruises there later.

"Use your words, baby," Nicholas whispered, his breath hot on my lips. "Tell me what you want."

"I want to come," I told him.

The twins were upright in an instant, leaving me cold and alone in bed. Before I even had time to think, my arms and legs were bound to the bedposts. This time, ice was around my wrists and fire around my ankles.

"Rude," I huffed at them.

The twins stood at the foot of the bed, looking up and down my body like I was a damn buffet table.

"Just look at her," Nicholas said to Aiden. "Her pussy is begging to be feasted on."

Aiden made a sound of agreement before adding his own response. "Look at the way she tries to squeeze her thighs to hide herself." He tutted. "Doesn't she know she can never hide from us?"

Their hungry eyes drifted to mine, and I pressed my lips into a thin line of defiance. They were waiting for me to beg, implore them to use me.

Granted, they were right about my soaked pussy. No surprise there. She wanted to be treated with the utmost disrespect by these two men, to be wrecked and left quivering and begging for mercy. I couldn't deny the way she pulsed between my legs, caught under the devious gazes dancing along my body.

Aiden turned to his twin with a smirk on his face. "It seems she doesn't want it so badly after all." He shrugged and started to back away from the bed, from me.

"Seems so," Nicholas agreed, retreating with his brother, heading right for the door.

They were going to leave me? Did they really think they could scare me into begging? They had another thing coming.

"Stop," I shouted, and they froze. "At least release me first," I spoke smugly, licking across my lips.

"You little—" Aiden took a threatening step toward me, but I didn't feel threatened at all. If anything, I felt more aroused.

Nicholas stopped his brother with a hand on his shoulder. "She's baiting you," he warned him.

"I know," he blew out with a heavy breath.

He continued forward and crawled onto the bed between my spread legs, his eyes never leaving mine. Nicholas leaned against the wall, settling in to watch the show.

I tugged on my restraints, knowing I wasn't going anywhere, as Aiden's eyes trailed down my body.

"You want to pretend your pussy isn't screaming for my touch, little one?" he asked as he slid a single finger up the inside of one of my legs, stopping before he reached the spot I most desperately wanted him to touch.

I didn't trust myself to speak, knowing I would beg just as they wanted me to, so I bit down on my lip. Nicholas stormed over and grabbed my face in his hand, smooshing my mouth so my bottom lip popped free of my teeth. "If you keep biting your lip, I'll have to do it for you."

Before I could smart off to him, his mouth came crashing down on mine. Hard . His kiss was unforgiving. His tongue forced its way in, prying my mouth open. The grip he had on my face didn't relent, either. In fact, he squeezed harder, forcing my lips to protrude as he violated them.

I felt Aiden's fingers creep back up my inner thighs. I thought they'd stop before they reached my middle, but they didn't. I groaned into Nicholas's mouth.

Fuck. Finally.

Rather than plunging his fingers into me or toying with my sensitive clit, Aiden simply stroked the outside of my pussy with feather-like touches. His fingers never entered me, just teased me.

I tried to wrangle out of Nicholas's hold to shout at Aiden, to demand more, but I couldn't free myself. Nicholas continued exploring my mouth, the kiss quite literally stealing my breath. My lungs were screaming for oxygen; any amount would do.

In the same millisecond, Nicholas's kiss ended and Aiden's fingers pushed into me. I couldn't tell how many fingers he stuffed me with, but it was enough to elicit a loud half-groan, half-scream from me.

"You're clenching so tight around my fingers," Aiden growled. "All four of them."

"Taking so much at once, baby. You're such a good girl for us," Nicholas praised as his hand released my face and glided down to hover over my throat.

I expected him to apply pressure and take away my ability to breathe, but he didn't. He grinned as I gasped at Aiden's repetitive invasion and tried to push my neck into his hand. I wanted him to choke me within an inch of my life.

Nicholas opened his mouth to say something but was cut off when the door opened.

"What the actual fuck?" Keir barked from the doorway.

Everything halted at once, and I shot up in the bed, trying to cover myself with the blankets. It wasn't like the dark, broody prince hadn't seen me naked before, but it was the principle.

I gulped as my eyes met Keir's. He glowered at me, his jaw ticking, chest rising and falling dramatically.

Fuck , his sultry voice rang in my head.

My lips parted at his reaction. He was angry, fuming, even, but he was clearly no longer focused on that. He was focused on me, his eyes falling down to my—

I must've dropped the sheet a bit during all the commotion, baring most of my chest. Avoiding his gaze, I tried to recover quickly, pulling the sheet over my body again.

What was he doing here? He never came into the room, especially during these sorts of… times.

"Lillian!" Aiden startled me with his yell. His face was a mixture of shock and confusion.

"What?"

"How did you…" Nicholas piped in.

He wore an identical expression to his twin's. "How did I what?" Even Keir was looking at me like I was an oddity. "Can everyone please stop looking at me like that and tell me what the fuck has you all in a tizzy?"

How did she… Keir's voice once again sounded in my head.

I looked straight at him. "How did I what? What is everyone freaking out about?"

Nicholas cleared his throat before saying, "Lilly…" I nodded and gestured with my hands for him to proceed. "You were restrained ."

Holy fuckballs.

Thirty seconds ago, I'd been restrained courtesy of the twins' powers. I'd never been able to escape before, but this time, I had somehow.

My heartbeat was so loud, I was surprised no one else could hear it. My palms began to sweat, and I felt dizzy as I tried to find a reasonable explanation for what had occurred.

The twins must've released me in the craziness of Keir barging in and just didn't realize it. That had to be it.

"You," Keir said sternly as he pointed at Nicholas. "And you." He pointed at Aiden next. "Hallway. Now."

The twins scrambled to grab their shirts, since they were only wearing boxers.

"No."

All three of them stopped and turned to me.

"You're not going anywhere. No more secrets. I want to know what the hell is going on."

Keir sighed. "Very well," he clipped. He looked between the twins. "I'm guessing she was affected more than we thought she'd be by your essence exchanges."

What the fuck is that supposed to mean?

Parts of them are inside you, Lillian. You are walking around with pieces of them, powerful pieces.

My gaze floated to Keir, who was still not looking at me.

"I may have left something out about the day in the woods," Nicholas confessed.

"You're fucking joking." Keir looked pissed.

Don't be angry , I thought to him.

Hard, considering shit is hitting the fan, and I'm finding out you two kept something from us.

"I didn't think anything about it. Everything happened so fast with the demon attack…"

And his own attack .

I immediately blushed at Keir's thought, not missing the edge of jealousy that snuck through.

"When I got to her, she said something about the demon's skin burning. His hands. She said they were burning, and he was screaming like he was in pain." Nicholas ran his fingers through his hair, blowing out a breath.

"She has some of our powers," Aiden said quietly, as if the realization was hitting him. He turned to me with a grin. "Lilly! You have our powers!" He took three large steps, closing the distance between us, and pulled me into a tight embrace.

"Hail Satan…" Nicholas sounded dumbfounded. "Do you guys realize what this means?"

Aiden released me from his hold, and I had to scramble to keep the sheet in place. "She has an advantage," he answered his brother.

The last few minutes had given me whiplash.

I started to laugh, my emotions all over the place. "Oh my go…" I trailed off, my eyes meeting Nicholas's as I winced.

He smirked and reached out to squeeze my hand. "I'll let that one pass, baby. You're in shock. We're all in shock."

Keir gathered everyone's attention by clearing his throat. "Don't celebrate too soon. It's clear she doesn't have control of it, and if Father found out she had this in her arsenal, he'd kill her without a second thought." He looked straight at me. "We can't let you use this during the trials, Lillian. It's too dangerous. We can't take the risk. I'm sorry."

I nodded, completely agreeing with him for possibly the first time ever. "I understand." I shrugged. "It's probably for the best. That's why we've been training, right? We just need to keep doing what we're doing, and I'll beat the trials without anything special, like I would have in the first place."

Keir looked relieved that I was not putting up a fight. He didn't need to worry about this, though. I was actually with him on this one. If their father found out I had powers, he would take matters into his own hands, probably killing me on the spot. He was the king; he could do whatever he wanted. Especially to me, his current target.