AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I freeze. That voice—how he says my name, drawing it out with a hushed “ah” at the end. My whole body melts, heart pulling to him like he’s my gravity. An enormous shadow besieges my body from where he’s landed directly before me, his iron boots shaking the ground beneath me. All the families scatter into tents before his towering force. Others freeze in fear. I tremble and hold my quivering form together. Sweating and panting, I slowly lift my eyes from the ground to stare at him, garbed in all his Court finery.
As soon as Neo gets his arms around me, as soon as he shoots his wings out, as soon as he charges with me out of the tent city, I rake my nails into his neck, scream, and release a tidal wave of Halo energy. Triggered by Neo’s presence, by the renewed strength and gusts of rebirthed air in my lungs, I ride the currents of surging adrenaline and torpedo my star fire. Like the day in his Court—the mushroom cloud. If he weren’t holding me within the fortress of his arms, I’d lurch so far back, I’d probably tip over and crash hundreds of feet to the ground.
Just before he passes over the Iron Walls, the mushroom cloud thunders out of me, raining down pure gold springs and showers that prompt roars of laughter and cheers.
With a soft smile, I use the last of my strength to lift my hand in a fluttering wave of a goodbye.
“What the fuck am I going to do with you?” Neo mutters against the side of my head.
Heart thudding, I yawn and snuggle against him, joking, “I can think of quite a few things,” and then pass out.
* * *
Wake up, Elysia…Thanatos’voice resounds in my mind, summoning me but not tethering me, not calling me into the Soul Plane.You must wake up now!His voice adds a layer of urgency, of desperation I’m not used to hearing from him. But when I feel tender, lithe fingers seeking the flesh between my thighs, penetrating deeper, I understand why.
In a split second of a trigger, I scramble away, clambering out from under Lux and backing up against the bed frame. Mouth falling open in horror from the invasion, I gather the bejeweled coverlet around my naked form and dart my eyes between her and Neo. He sits on the edge of the bed, patting her head, which she bows to him. Smiling at me, she holds up her fingers, the tips coated in hints of my blood.
“I’m sorry, Elysia, but the Prince is forbidden to touch you when you’re passed out according to your oath. He assumed you’d be more comfortable with me.”
Reining in my frenzied gasps, I jerk my chin to them, but my head still feels foggy…dizzy. All I remember are her lips, her fingers…
“What the hell?” I state through clenched teeth and snap my eyes to his. While Lux is barely clothed as usual, Neo is still donned in his Court clothes with tufts of ash clinging to those dark robes, so it can’t have been too long since he carried me over the Iron Walls.
Neo sneers at me. “You were in the tent city all day, bride. You looked near death, you were covered in stench, and your gown was beyond repair. What kind of Prince would I be if I didn’t have Lux check your pretty pussy to determine if any of those ruffians assaulted—”
“I am not your fuckingproperty, Neoptolemus!” I explode and dig my fingers through my scalp, flaring my nostrils as wrathful heat storms my blood. Lux’s fingers haunt my memory—tiny, warm, pillowy tips in my depths. “And while we’re on the subject, Lux, I’ll tell you a little secret about the magic ofmyvagina.” I lean in, pitting my eyes against hers, hoping the dark depths beyond my gold rings will swallow her irises as I finish, “It doubles as a Venus flytrap, so next time you’re concerned about something being assaulted…chomp, chomp.” I fold more blankets around myself for added layers of protection. My stomach hardens to rigid iron.
Lux whimpers against Neo, cowering into his arms, and I roll my eyes at her manipulative theatrics. She plays him like a harpist—has his heartstrings wrapped around her lithe fingers.
Just after he soothes her, Neo growls at me. I snap my teeth in a warning hiss, threatening a similar “chomp, chomp”. When he lunges and grips my wrist, I seethe and struggle against him, giving him no inch. He twists amidst my struggles, and a sob breaks from my throat his strong hand biting my flesh. Too weak after the day at the border, I tremble as Neo forces me down, pressing my cheek to the pillows before he thumbs his horned mark. “Secondwife, Elysia. I am your Prince. And I will protect and invest in what is mine.”
Grunting against the pillows, against that hand like an iron chain around my wrist, I refuse to be silent. I hurl out the words, spitting them, “If you want something to own and invest in, Neo, might I recommend a blow-up doll? Oh, you already have one.” I smile at Lux, who cups her hand over her mouth, eyes flying wide open. Some tiny part of me twinges in regret for unleashing my anger on her when she’s just a pawnandmy spangled ancestor. Who knows how the Father has poisoned her? And I can’t deny that she does love Neo in her disturbed and twisted way.
The Father may be ultimately responsible for all this, but some part of me also registers it’s mine…no, it’sours. Neo stood by me during the contract. More than anyone, the Prince of Destruction knows his Father and all the tricks he could pull. Could he have warned me? Neoptolemus is truly responsible—for spending centuries molding to these masks. I went through hell and high water to destroy every last one. Damn it all to hell, I’ll do it again.
In no time, sweat coats my skin in a thin layer. Hot, angry tears rage down my cheeks, but my muscles finally stop flailing, stop trying to battle Neo. He’s got me in an iron lock, and I hate the feeling of being forced down. No, it’s not the same position, but the Déjà vu of the longest night of my life, the night of my trauma, rears inside me, launching a throbbing pain into my body. My chest squeezes around its ache.
Lux urges Neo to release me. Hovering above me, she presses her lips to my cheeks, to the uncontrollable tears that have simmered there, I freeze, unable to move. “I understand the battle inside you, Elysia,” she whispers. “Women think they must lead men, but we don’t and shouldn’t. I learned that when I first met Neo during my time with the Knight’s Templar. If he can justly rule the whole Court O’ Nines, then I believe he can lead our hearts. Especially when I gave him a new one.” She kisses me one more time.
Somehow, I manage to rise. I set my teeth on edge. Like a predator of light, I channel what little strength I can, prey my eyes on hers, and lift my chin to respond, “Lux, with all due respect,fuckyou. I was leading Neo while you were still six feet under. And since I have thetrueHalo in my heart, I’d say I’m the only one well-equipped to lead anyone. But for now, I’ll lead myself right out of here.” I tug at the blanket to wrap it around myself and roll off the bed, getting my feet firmly on the floor and as much space between them as I can.
Neo cradles Lux’s face and kisses her eyes. She fawns over him so much, I expect her to throw her mouth at him, but she doesn’t. Instead, she stares at his eyes like she will find heaven in them when he utters, “Ignore her, my love. It’s obvious she’s still over-dramatic due to her red sun,” mocks Neo.
I spin around. I snap, ready to damn-well bite him. “And what’s your excuse for acting like a pretentious bastard all the time?”
Neo gets a wicked gleam in his quicksilver eyes before he fingers Lux’s sterling strands and alerts her, “Go sleep, my angel. She will learn her lesson soon.”
I huff, all my nerves on edge with the desire to teachhima lesson.
Lux purses her lips, touching his chest and toying with his shades that twirl around her and kiss her neck in smoky tresses. “Please don’t be so hard on her.”
Neo sighs and cups her chin, nodding. “I’ll have her on her knees eating out of the palm of my hand by the time we’re finished.”
“In your dreams.” I flip him off and tie the blanket as snug as a toga, promptly snorting.
Lux scampers away with white tresses fluttering behind her as if she can’t wait to leave the room. I wrinkle my nose, thankful her sparkly energy isn’t tainting the air like a shower of fake glitter.
Neo climbs off the bed and stalks toward me, circling like a feral predator. Jutting my chin out and refusing to be intimidated, I cross my arms over my chest, tap my finger against my opposite arm, crane my neck, and appraise that familiar, flamboyant side grin. Oh, I wish I could slink through our mental bond doorway and figure out what he’s up to. Especially when he coils his abundant silver waves into a knot on his head while meandering around me. His malevolent grin only spreads as he continues his circle.
