That’s never happened before. Always, I can at least grasp the vibrations that every being emits. It lets me understand them, catch hints of what they’re feeling and thinking. Even with him once before, I knew he was angry when he approached in the forest. Not tonight. He’s an enigma. Impenetrable.
Reeling my mind back in, I take another deep breath and wait. He’s coming this way. He’ll find me.
Once again, his gaze lands on mine almost immediately. I can see his smirk from across the room. He’s amused by my solitary presence in a corner. The room parts for him as he strides directly toward me. And I struggle to control my beating heart, the breathing that grows faster with every step he takes.
He seems to feel it too. Even from here, I can see his pupils dilate as he approaches me. But he can’t avoid the elixir any more than the others. He slows as he gets closer, drawing to a complete stop a few feet away. The arrogance in his face drops away, replaced by confusion.
“Why do you,” he pauses as his nose wrinkles, his lips twisting into a look of disgust, “stink?”
“Girl problems,” I tell him with the most saccharine smile I can muster. “You wouldn’t understand.”
He watches me for a moment, his eyes watering a bit from the aroma he can’t avoid. Finally, he speaks again. “I told you to leave.”
“It may have slipped your notice, but we do not stand in a forest. Or a library. I left. But not because you told me to.”
“You know what I meant. You shouldn’t be in the Nest.”
“Next time, be more precise. Or better yet, don’t say anything. I’m not yours to command.”
He snarls at me—literally snarls—his eyes somehow growing even more narrow. Still, I can see the fire in them. I incite the same emotions in him that he does in me.
“You’d be wise to listen to me, but maybe you’re as foolish as you seem.” He takes one step toward me, lowering his voice. “You don’t belong here. They’ll catch you if you stay.”
I sigh, forcing my tongue to drip boredom. “Perhaps you could use a distraction.” Lifting my arm, I wave toward a few of the couches. “They may be able to give you the attention you seem to need. Go bother one of them.” And then I smile, my eyes twinkling. “But they go by rank here. You could be waiting a while for your turn.”
His hands clench as his jaw tightens. I can almost hear teeth grinding. “So fucking dangerous,” he breathes, almost to himself. He inhales again and then exhales slowly before biting out his next words. “I will not tell you again. The Dróttning comes. She’ll detect your presence, and she’ll kill all of you. The others will die for bringing you here. If you somehow manage to escape, you’ll never know peace again. Once she realizes you live in Revalle, she won’t rest until you’re found and captured.”
The strange man snarls one more time, as if for good measure, and then turns on his heel. He stalks out, a handful of soldiers gathering behind him to follow.
I ignore the intense emotions vibrating through me—a heady desire combined with an aversion so deep it seems unnatural. As if fate is fucking with me.
None of that matters. The Dróttning is coming. We can’t be here when she arrives.
It takes nearly ten minutes to find Frida. She’s in the furthest room, entertaining a woman whose squeals should have drawn me here in the first place. I don’t bother knocking—nobody cares who sees what—and almost laugh out loud at the scene.
Frida’s partner is thin as a reed. I can’t see a bit of fat on her body. Even her tits are tiny, as if the gods had little material left when they made her. It’s good she isn’t standing, I think, because her legs appear incapable of holding her up.
But her pussy has swallowed the biggest dildo I’ve ever seen.
It’s fully inserted when the door swings open and—because they’re too distracted to notice me—I watch in amazement as Frida pulls it out, her tongue reaching in to take its place for a few seconds, and then shoves it back in. The woman squeals again, legs that are thinner than the beast in Frida’s hand lifting her ass as she tries to take in more of it.
This girl is very happy with her chosen bedmate. I hate to interrupt her pleasure, but we need to go.
“Frida,” I whisper as I stride forward.
The woman’s eyes widen, but she doesn’t move at all. Her butt is still suspended a foot above the bed, the dildo stuck in place. “Oooh, a surprise.” She licks her lips as she looks down at Frida, who’s gone still. “You don’t need to stop. She can join us. Maybe I can watch you two when we’re done.”
“I’m not here to play,” I respond with a smile, “although it looks like you’re having fun.”
“So, so much fun,” she agrees, wiggling her hips a little to get Frida’s attention, or maybe just to restore the friction she was enjoying a moment ago. “And we’re not done. If you’re not here to strip naked and drop onto this bed, go away.” Now I can see the soldier in her. She’s accustomed to people following her commands.
“She needs to come with me,” I explain as I stride forward and reach out for Frida.
Before I can touch her, a hand snakes out and takes my wrist. And then she smells me.
Her lips twist, the ends dropping like rocks, as her eyes start to water. She spins her head to glare at Frida and then turns that haughty, hateful stare on me.
“You’re making a mistake. I’ve taken lives for less. Get the fuck out of this room, or your scent will be the least repulsive thing about you.”
