“Yes,” I announced, plastering a smile onto my lips. “I need to check something really quick. I’ll find you once I’ve wrapped up. Can you go make sure Ristan is allowing Orion to play with the other babes? He’s been nervous of allowing the little dangle to play since he disemboweled his nursemaid and ate her heart.” Her ink-colored eyebrows shot into her hairline, and her mouth formed a perfect O. I waved her shocked appearance away, elaborating on why the little urchin had done what he had. “She’d been trying to seduce Ristan and decided to try to drug him to secure a spot in his bed. We think Orion was aware of it and killed her to protect his daddy. I don’t actually think he’d try to hurt anyone other than the next woman to show interest in Ristan.”
She snickered before covering it with her palm, even though Phoenix giggled, peering at her mother with lavender-colored eyes, which swam with love. A pang of regret clenched in my chest, and I exhaled before running my finger over the babe’s cheek.
“I can almost agree with what Orion did.” Ciara snorted, drifting her gaze toward Fury, who was standing on a table, swinging his wooden sword. “I fear our children will only know war and strife. It’s been weird having normalcy around here, even with the freak storms. I can’t help feeling that it’s precarious, and we should not trust it yet.”
Staring at the boy, I said, “I feel that too. It’s as if there’s something creeping closer, hiding in the bushes surrounding us. There’s a pit in my stomach, slowly carving itself into a crater. I thought Ryder being back would help, but there is still a whisper of warning in my mind.”
“Icelyn tried to end the blizzard and couldn’t. I’m beginning to think it is what is causing the dread and unsettling feelings building around us.” Ciara paused, sliding her gaze to Lilith, who had a palm on her stomach. “Lilith is pregnant, but she’s not discovered that tidbit for herself yet. Asrian seems clueless too.”
I focused on Lilith and smiled when I heard the beating of tiny hearts. “Apparently, they’re in a rather big hurry to catch up to the rest of us.” I wouldn’t disclose their secrets yet, even though the tiny heartbeats sounded strong. Four strong heartbeats pounded from within Lilith’s slender form.
“You think they’re having multiples?”
I nodded. “Triplets.”
Ciara shook her head. “I wonder how they’ll balance it all. I only have two, and sometimes I feel like I’m missing out on Fury’s childhood while tending to Phoenix. He’s so active that I have allowed the nannies to help me more often with him. This little lady is much more mellow, and merely wants to cuddle and be held.”
“And that makes you feel guilty?” I guessed, sensing her true feelings from the frown tugging her lips down at the corners.
“Yes, immensely so. I feel like I am failing him, Synthia. Fury was barely a few months old when I got pregnant with his sister. It didn’t allow us time to coddle him or shower him with the attention he needed.” Fury let out a battle cry that had us both shooting our focus to him. Fury held his wooden sword up high in the air, and continued to chase one girl, who squealed and giggled while they rushed around the table. “Honestly, I’m not even sure how he hasn’t broken every bone in his body. That child is wild and houses no fear within him.”
“You have nothing to feel guilty about, Ciara. You and Blane love them unconditionally. Asking for help doesn’t make you a negligent mother. We all need help sometimes, and few will ask before it becomes too much. Look at your son and tell me he isn’t happy and loved by everyone around him. The other children and everyone within this palace adores that child. He’s the prince of dragons and doesn’t need to be coddled. Fury will become king someday, and that means he’s going to be taught by others to rule justly. You’re an amazing mother, and Blane has surprised us all by being an amazing king to his people, and father to his children. He’s also a loving husband, and worships the ground you walk on. I agree you should take time between pregnancies, but merely so you can heal properly. There’s not one person present who doesn’t think you’re an amazing mother. Considering the past and what you’ve accomplished for yourself? I think you’ve built the perfect life and have found the perfect husband to create it with.” A bubble of laughter escaped her chest, flooding her with relief that visibly drained from her worried expression.
Fury hooted with victory, which forced us to search through the crowded room to discover his location. He was sitting on the girl, pulling her hair while she fought to punch him in the nose. “He definitely gets that from his father. I need to handle that before he licks her or something worse. I’ll meet you in the storerooms above once I’ve put this little miss down for her nap.”
Ciara started across the room, and I drifted my attention toward the door to the feeder room, discovering it left open. Heading toward the open door, I merely intended to shut it, preventing any children from wandering in, I paused with my palm on the thick oak door.
Smothered cries were coming from the cracked doorway. Tilting my ear toward the noises, I creased my forehead with worry. It sounded more like someone was pleading for help, but being prevented from doing so. The muffled cries turned into moans, but it still didn’t sound pleasant. A shiver of unease raced down my spine as I pushed the door open and stepped inside.
The smell of sex and spices met my nose, forcing my nostrils to flare with awareness. Candlelight flickered with the breeze that the open doorway created in the dimly lit antechamber. No one sat on the couches or chairs that filled the room. Normally, it was filled with feeders who were waiting to be chosen by a male. The emptiness sent a warning shooting through me, churning my stomach.
Steeling my spine, I forced myself to move toward the muffled sounds of pain that reverberated through the room. Entering the long hallway, I peered through the darkened rooms, scanning the couples feeding brazenly within them. At the last doorway, I hesitated.
Once I’d talked myself into pushing the door open, I gaped at the sight within. Feeders sprawled on the ground, their bodies pulsing and gyrating as if they were still being handled by the male they’d fed.
One had her arms bound behind her lower back, her thighs pushed widely apart, and her inflamed core was stretched with an inky-colored substance, screwing her even though no one touched her. A hasty peek revealed the others were likewise being pleasured, but that wasn’t the alarming part.
Onyx-colored stripes pulsed beneath their alabaster flesh. The same shit that had tainted Alden and Zahruk was circulating through the girls inside the room. My focus slid to the male, pounding furiously into the woman’s body who he’d strapped to the table. The pillow obscured the woman, and Zahruk held her face against it, with the hair he fisted in his grip.
“Filthy little slut.” He snickered. “You like this sloppy, messy cunt being stretched out until it burns, don’t you? I can feel your pussy clenching, knowing that it isn’t me alone who is fucking your dirty, needy slit while our essence drips from it. You’re such a good slut taking my thick cock into your tight pussy until it can’t take any more, Flora. Your pussy’s wonderful and so fucking gluttonous. I think you can hold more, don’t you?” he inquired huskily, and her whimpering whine became louder even though he pressed her face harder into the cushion.