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“Yeah, I don’t capture them, babe. I consume them. They are, so I’ve found, essential to my survival. I need to consume souls to live, ever since I reached my first transition. I’ve always taken the souls of those I’ve instinctively felt were irredeemable. Except the first time . . . We didn’t know what to expect, and I couldn’t control it. Leraie came the next day and talked me through it.” At the shocked faces before her, she went quiet.
“Is that what happened out there? You ate the monster’s soul?” Roth asked incredulously.
“Yes. Which shouldn’t be possible, because the monsters here don’t have souls. The ghouls make sure of it. And these weren’t just any monsters, at least not the one I fed from. No, he was worse. He was a male of standing, trusted by many. He was a torturer of children and an evil piece of shit. If I could kill him again, I’d take more time, and I’d make him relive the moments of abject terror as he slipped through the portal to this place. He delighted in the torment and agony he’d created. The other may have been his wife, and if so, she deserves the same fate.” Jezzie shuddered, glimpses of what she’d seen and felt slipped back into her brain and made her skin crawl.
“They were prisoners? How did they change into those things?” Nithe softly coaxed.
“No, they weren’t. Not in the traditional sense. The Praesidium had no part in their banishment here. Nonetheless, justice was served, even if it felt more like vengeance. Sometimes, I guess, they can be one in the same. As to the how, I’d guess their true nature took over and they became what they always truly were. The monsters of their victims nightmares.” Kind of fitting in Jezzie’s opinion for the outside to finally match the monster within.
“But what were they before, if not prisoners? And how did they portal in if not the Praesidium, assuming Leraie didn’t send them here?” Roth looked serious, like he was pondering the ramifications it could cause. “And how long have they been here for this to happen and still have gone undetected by the Guardians of Nestradia, or have the princes gone soft after all these years?”
“Seriously? The Guardians of Nestradia? That’s what they’re known as?” Jezzie grinned.
“That, or the Forsaken Spares,” added Athon.
“Damn, so many lost opportunities. Tana needs to know this. Hooked on a Feeling by Blue Swede just became their theme song for the rest of time!” Jezzie said as she devolved into giggles. “Or she can just add it to the playlist she already has. Anyway, back on topic, the worst part is he wasn’t just some human who slipped through the cracks, or some random OtherRealmer either. No, this fucker was an angel, his wife too. Somehow they were never suspected, never caught, never sentenced or punished, and were able to hide the evidence of their true nature without becoming openly . . . Fallen. All while remaining well regarded in your society.”
“Yours too now, babe.” When she glared over at Athon he swallowed hard and hurried on, “Not the point, right. So, how the fuck is that even possible? Holding off the degeneration that taints a fallen? Not to mention hiding their true self? Surely Leraie and the Almighty would have known and put a stop to it. Right?”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t count on it. Not lately, or for a long time, I think. From what I can tell, the Almighty is playing the long game, and either their control is slipping, or we’re all just dominoes waiting to fall into whatever grand pattern was laid out eons ago.” Nithe shook his head and Jezzie felt his annoyance at the possibility of being at the mercy of the Almighty or those feckless bitches known as the Fates.
She snuggled in closer, rubbing her nose into the bare skin peeking through his open collar.
“Ni? I love you. We’ll be okay,” she murmured softly.
“I know we will, Jez. I’m okay. Doesn’t mean I don’t want to rip out their black hearts, but I’ll refrain from doing so stupid a thing for your sake.” His smile was a thing of wonder, and it transformed his whole face. Damn, his eyes even twinkled.
Jezzie looked up, her eyes widened as a gasp escaped her, and she bolted upright as she caught sight of the clock on the wall. Time was flying by and Leraie would be back in less than seven hours. She wanted to spend more time with Tana, unsure when she’d get to see her again, what with how time worked between Nestradia and everywhere else. Nithe smiled and nodded at her next thought, and she realized she’d sent it through the link. Paradise. She still hadn’t shown Roth and Athon the wonders of Paradise. And with Nithe now back they could take them there together.
Chapter 39
Jezzie was clearly super excited. Roth watched her butt as she bounced and skipped her way down the long corridor, her hair flying out around her as she held onto Athon’s hand. She’d left it loose, and he had to admit he liked it that way. The glow from the lanterns danced with the shades of red in her hair and gave her the appearance of a fire nymph. He could, if he didn’t hold himself back, just reach out and run his fingers through it, or wrap the luxurious strands around his hand and pull her close enough for him to take her luscious lips with his.
He’d push her up against the wall and press his thigh between her legs. He’d watch her body submit to him and the heat of her lust, even as fire sparked in her eyes. The battle between her fighting spirit and the power of the passion they shared would be explosive.
Damn it, he needed to stop thinking such things, his cock needed to calm the fuck down for five fucking minutes so he could get his head on straight, without imagining her other lips and what could be parting them instead.
She was such a surprise. He knew she was gorgeous, but she was also funny, kind, and intelligent, yet lethal and fierce when needed. Full of energy, and an endless wit so sharp he had no doubt it could cut to the quick when she wished. She was so open with her feelings, and yet he still felt uneasy. She’d said there were things she couldn’t reveal, and sure, he understood it. No one wanted to cross the Almighty, or Leraie—mostly Leraie. Hellfire, knowing those two she probably literally couldn’t tell them despite wanting to. But damned if he didn’t despise being kept in the dark. How the fuck was he supposed to overcome his past trauma and trust her if things, important things, were being kept from him?
Jezzie reached back and grabbed his hand with a big beaming smile. Pulling him along, she swung their arms as she skipped and twirled herself around.
Nithe poked him in the side with his elbow and winked. Though his green and gold eyes remained serious.
“Don’t think too hard right now, just enjoy it. Jez on a happy high isn’t an everyday thing, so don’t take it away from her.” The ‘or I’ll punch your face in’ was left unsaid, but the message came through regardless.
Jezzie had said Nithe was the quiet one. Maybe he was, but he damn well got his opinions across loud and clear. Roth sensed a kindred spirit in the male. One with his own demons rattling their cages in a past that hung around to torment him long after the tormentors slithered away.
Roth refocused on his surroundings, tearing his eyes from Nithe’s intense gaze, and was surprised to find the corridor had closed in. The walls were no longer stone blocks, but rather the rough look of a tunnel dug from the earth with little finesse or skill. The ground beneath his feet was uneven dirt and crumbled rocks, and the lanterns appeared further and further apart as they went, dimly lighting the way forward.
“Where are we going, Jez?” Athon queried as he hunched his shoulders and pressed up against her side.
“You’ll see,” she said. “It’s so beautiful. Leraie made it to provide all we need here. The princes don’t know about it and aren’t allowed entrance . . . at least not yet. Maybe once Tana puts the past behind her, but not before then. Leraie sends them all they need, so they’re not starving or anything. We’re almost there,” she finished excitedly.
She picked up the pace and raced forward, dragging Athon along behind her. Nithe laughed, the sound was rich and warm, but with a roughness that implied he didn’t do so very often, or it was something he’d only recently started doing. The thought shocked him, until he remembered the passage of time worked differently here. While he and Athon had been dreaming of them all together for years, mere months had passed since Jezzie and Nithe had found each other.
Suddenly, just as he thought he wouldn’t fit through the tunnel if they went much further, they rounded a corner and came face to face with a dead end. But Jezzie just reached out her palm to touch a smooth section of stone on the wall in front of her and smiled back at him. What was she doing? he thought to himself. Before he could even part his lips to ask, the wall slid open, parting like curtains, and allowing them to enter.
The moment he stepped through the opening his eyes widened and a gasp left his mouth at the view which lay before him. Unbidden tears welled in his eyes suddenly, and he fought a silent battle to hold them at bay. He hadn’t seen it in so long he’d forgotten the splendor and perfection that was the Garden of Eden, or as Jezzie called it, Paradise.
