While I was feeding off of him, I’d been in such a frenzy that I’d barely been able to sense the feel of his lips. Now, though, it’s all I can feel—how soft they are, the wonderful taste of him spilling down my throat. I reach forward and slip my fingers through his hair, causing him to groan and break the kiss.
His eyes remain shut for a flicker of a second before he opens them. “We have to stop, or else I’m not going to be able to, and unfortunately, we don’t have time for that.”
Time for what? I think then a vast amount of ideas flash through my mind, ones that make me blush. He totally notices, too, and a confused smile touches his lips.
Before he can comment, I ask, “Can I see what I look like?”
He sinks his teeth into his bottom lip and nods. “Before you do, just remember you’re a queen now.”
“Not quite,” I remind him as I start to lift my gaze to look at my reflection, but he stops me by fixing his finger under my chin.
“Your title may not have been declared to our kind yet, but you are the queen, and tonight, every creature that sees you will know that.” With that, he lets me go, and my gaze instinctively raises to the mirror.
And what I see … I don’t even know what to make of it.
My eyes are decorated with dark shadows, eyeliner, and mascara, but he’s added a splash of red glitter to the mix that matches my lips, my cheeks shimmer, and my hair … God, it’s beautiful, pulled up and woven in braids that are intertwined with black and red roses that form a crown on my head.
“Wow …” is the only word I can manage to get out of my mouth. While I’m not a fan of doing my makeup and hair, this is beautiful, to say the least. “This is amazing.”
“It’s only amazing because my canvas was so beautiful,” he says then stands and offers me his hand. “Now, how about you let me go show off my artwork to my brothers.”
I nod then place my hand in his, and he lifts me to my feet. Before we leave the room, I put on a pair of lace-up boots. He doesn’t have me use magic to tie them up, though. Instead, he gets on his knees again while I sit on the bed and work the laces until the boots are secured. I try not to shiver as he does it, but since the boots go up to my mid-thigh, I nearly come undone every time his knuckles graze my flesh. He doesn’t try to do anything else, though.
A few minutes later, we’re walking out into the living room with my arm looped with his. I feel weird, all dressed up like some gothic queen, like I’m going to a Halloween party or something.
When we enter the room, Alex, Blaise, and Rhyland are lounging around, chatting. Blaise has on the same nice outfit as he did the last time I saw him; however, Alex and Blaise have changed. Rhyland has on a black suit jacket over a button-down red shirt, along with black pinstripe pants and buckle boots. And Alex is sporting a black, short-sleeved button-down shirt with a chain dangling from the pocket that loops to his belt loop, and the pants he has on are the same shade as his shirt, but pockets and chains decorate the fabric, and the shoes he has on are clunky and thick.
Like I said, gothic boy band. Or, well, I guess this might be more of a steampunk boy band look.
“We should do a sealing spell before we leave,” Rhyland is saying as he lifts a glass to his lips, “so that we can still sense each other’s presence, even if we get separated.”
He’s standing near the French doors, night peeking in through the glass, and stars and moonlight can be seen in the sky. Alex and Blaise are sitting in the sofa, and Blaise is fiddling with a pocket watch while Alex has his arm stretched across the back of the sofa and is thrumming his fingertips against the fabric. I get the impression they’re restless and a bit uneasy, which makes me wonder if what we’re doing is dangerous.
And then I mentally roll my eyes at myself. Of course it’s dangerous. I’m here with them, and my very existence is dangerous.
“Are you okay?” Jaxon whispers, his lips close to my ear.
I nod, turning to face him. “I’m fine. I was just thinking.”
“About what?”
“About what I am and this new world I’m going to be going into tonight for like the very first time.”
Any confusion in his expression dissolves. “We won’t let anything happen to you. I know Alex promised you that the last time we went out, and then Rider showed up, but this time, we’re more prepared, and you won’t be alone ever. And that goes for past tonight.”
“Well, not ever,” I correct. “I’ll have to be alone sometimes.”
He doesn’t argue, but I can see something in his eyes that makes me believe that he doesn’t think what I said is true.
Before I can comment, he steps into the room and pulls me with him.
“My brothers are about to lose their minds,” he mutters under his breath. Then, much louder, he says, “Are we ready to go?”
And just like that, three sets of reaper eyes zero in on me. When Blaise looks at me, his eyes widen, and he drops the pocket watch. Rhyland doesn’t move or fumble, but his gaze is devouring me. And Alex, who has rotated around in the sofa, is staring at me. Then he rises his feet, and slowly makes his way around the sofa and to me, his gaze never wavering from mine.
“Sis tam pulcher est furor,” he murmurs, looking as if he wants to devour me.
“She is, isn’t she?” Jaxon agrees, unlooping my arm from his but only to thread our fingertips together.
“She’s stunning,” Rhyland says with his eyes still on me. He takes a slow sip from his drink then lowers the glass. “You may have gone overboard, brother. She’s going to drive everyone in the club mad.”
“Club?” I say. “We’re going to a club to get my crown?”
“It’s the starting point,” Rhyland explains as he ambles away the French doors and sets the now empty glass down on the countertop. “It’ll take a while for the process to happen, but the first step is going to The Devouring Souls so that we can schedule an appointment to meet with the Keeper of Crowns.”
“Who lives in the Withered Souls Realm,” Alex adds, still standing in front of me and looking me over with ravenous hunger in his eyes.
“The Withered Souls Realm?” I blink. “That sounds … ominous.”
“It’s not too bad there,” Rhyland explains as he makes his way over to us.
“Much better than going to the underworld where he used to live,” Jaxon adds with a frown.
“Oh,” is all I say, because what else am I supposed to say?
This is all so overwhelming.
“And, while we’re at the club, we can also look for anyone who might know where Indigo is,” Rhyland adds, sinking down onto the back of the sofa with his arms crossed. “But like I was saying before, I think we should do a sealing spell, just to be on the safe side.”
“Agreed,” Alex says, and Jaxon nods.
Blaise hasn’t spoken at all and is still sitting on the sofa with his arms resting on his knees and his gaze fixed on me. I’m not sure what he’s doing, but his consuming gaze is starting to make me squirm.
“More magic?” I ask, glancing at the four of them.
A smile curves at Alex’s lips. “Yes, little daredevil, more magic. And we all get to do it together.”