A Demon's Dark Embrace: An Elite Guards Novel (3 page)

Chapter Four

Ristan sat below the berm of the castle, his eyes watching the suns as they set in Faery. Sunset was always his favorite time of day here, as the memories of the greatest pain he’d ever experienced seemed to fade away with the arrival of night. As if those twin orbs of light had a way of reminding him of the horrors he had survived, and the moon awarded him with solace from his sins. His eyes wandered around the beauty of his home, and he took it in with an unfamiliar eye, something he liked to do.

It was as if he was someone seeing its rare beauty for the very first time.

Faery was indeed beautiful, but it was deadly, as most beautiful things often were.

He stood and walked a short way to a grassy field just outside of the keep. They’d placed rocks in a wide sprawling circular pattern, an area he’d often used when he needed release because of the power it held. There were more ways of getting fed and releasing tension, other than fucking. He waved his arms in a pattern and released the souls he’d taken over the centuries. Their glowing, colorful auras hovered and danced around his fingers as he released them. They would make a captivating light show, which would draw the Fairies closer, and with enough of his own people around him, he’d feed.

Emotions came in many shapes and forms, but the easiest was orgasm. It released an abundance of emotions, and the Fae could refill easier through it. This was another way to feed, and one he enjoyed when tensions were high because it helped others as well.

He watched as the auras from the souls shot from his fingers and entered the space around him. To the naked eye, they would mirror Human fireworks; to Demons it would show as auras. Prisms of color erupted and filled the darkening sky as he continued to bring them forth and allow them out. He’d learned long ago to curb his soul hunger; as a Demon it was his choice of food, but it was addictive. He only took enough to curb the hunger and take the edge off.

He’d learned his lesson the hard way, and in Transition, he’d killed four out of five of his bedmates. Dead. No coming back. Immortal fucking Fae and he’d held them mesmerized and slaughtered them with his uneducated hunger. Danu had watched it, and his mother had allowed it to happen. She didn’t even try to warn him or anyone else what was going to happen. She had wanted him to know who and what he was. What he was capable of.  That was why he was always careful to release the soul after he’d fed from part of it, instead of taking it all, which could easily lead to addiction, not to mention the demise of his dinner. And really, who wanted to dispose of a body after feeding?

He’d only taken the edge off his inner hunger since, and he’d done the impossible, surprising even his own mother by never killing another female since his Transition. He hated senseless killing, and worse than that, he hated wasting pussy. No female should die while giving them what they needed, and he had struggled to hide his Demon side from them all.

It was a weapon, one he’d come to terms with his brothers needing, but in all other parts of his life, he hid it like a dirty little secret and hunted some pretty evil fuckers in the Human world to get what he needed. Shit, he hated it when anyone outside of Synthia called him Demon. For some reason, her saying it had calmed a part of him. As if being one was okay, and not something he should hate.

Synthia had been a surprise altogether, one he’d planned on killing, right up until he’d figured out who she was and what part she would play. Even then, he had never planned on actually liking the brazen woman who had laid claim to the scariest beast in the Horde and made him purr like a sated kitty-cat.

His mind wandered for a few moments as he thought of what would be the best music to start with, and he smiled. Coldplay’s
Viva La Vida
.  The lyrics and beat pulsed through him and out of him as if he himself was the conductor. He watched silently as the music whispered through the hillside and fields nearby. The Fairies started to gather and dance in the light show that surrounded him. More and more of the lesser Fae worked their way to the dancing, shimmering lights, and as he continued, they joined in dancing with him.

He moved his arms to the beat, dancing stealthily and as if his life depended on it. Fuck Danu for leaving him hard as fuck! His balls were blue, and he needed release, and yet with every pound of the beat, and with each new partner who unknowingly joined in to feed him, he felt the ache being filled.

The armies of the Horde who camped on either side of the walls joined in from their places outside the stone walls, dancing to the music which poured from him, and the prisms of souls continued to fill the sky with a blinding beauty. Silvers, blues, reds, and other colors continued to explode from his body as the Fae laughed and danced in their enchanting colors.

The tinier of the Fairies looked like fireflies as they danced to the music, their small wings humming in tune with the beat. The energy in the air was thickening and became a feast of emotions as each creature released their own angst, tension, and emotions into the air. Nymphs joined in and Ristan had to remind himself that he was already feeding as they shed their clothing and danced around him.

Ristan let it all out. The anger he felt. The tension Danu had created with her cryptic bullshit. His fear of what was coming and what would become of his world if he failed to see the future in time to save it. The stress he felt with the impending birth of his brother’s children, and his inability to see their future. He allowed it all out while he could. He changed the song and enjoyed the Fairy ring, which was a continual circle that fed everyone.

It wasn’t until his brother Asrian moved closer and started to dance that Ristan really opened his eyes and looked around. He hadn’t realized he’d allowed them to see his inner turmoil, and as his brother stepped forward, he placed the mask back in place on his face. It was a simple smile that he didn’t feel, but still showed to everyone to maintain his place in this world.

He turned and found Synthia lounging on the grass, her hand absently rubbing her pregnant belly. His smile reached his eyes at the sight of her, and he made his way to her side. He collected the souls he’d allowed out to play as he did so. His fingers moved in the air as he fed Asrian his power to expel music from his soul for a brief time.

“You shouldn’t be out here, Flower. Not with such precious cargo stowed away in your blessed womb,” Ristan teased as he shook a single finger at her. She was a naughty little nymph if he’d ever met one. Which he had, and she would have tempted the saints with her sweet lips and even sweeter kiss, which he would know since he’d stolen a kiss from her long ago as he’d healed her with his own powers. The second one had also been stolen and had been sweet as sin. Pun intended.

“I had to mess with Zahruk a little, but he finally allowed me out to play with the grown-ups,” she said with a wicked smile as she peered back at Zahruk, who was alert and even now looking for any hidden threat to the Princess and her unborn offspring. “So, what’s up with the show?” she continued as she winced and her hand moved to another spot on her stomach.

“Fairy Ring—we will have a nice one going here by dawn. It’s a way of working things out. Some Humans work out, others go mad,” Ristan said, and shrugged as if it should answer her sufficiently. Ristan looked past Synthia to where Darynda silently glared and watched Zahruk. “Puzzles have a way of being solved when you least expect it,” he added softly. He watched the body language between the two, the tension in their stances was hesitant, and yet there was something there. Something deeper than just sex, which would eventually come to a boil, and that was something he wanted to be around to see.

“Which puzzles are you working through?” she asked softly as her eyes went alight with interest, even though her voice held a hint of caution.

“A shit storm of information with very little time to figure it out,” he replied easily. His eyes looked troubled, betraying his cheerful attitude even as he tried to contain it. Synthia had enough on her plate already; she didn’t need his bullshit on it too. “Danu has been fucking me over with no new visions for the past month, and can’t seem to leave me alone. The Guild is slick with traitors and your uncle is too stubborn and prideful to just walk away. Just trying to see where it all connects because it has to. Every puzzle has a starting piece,” Ristan said on a deep exhale.

“You, of all people,
would
like puzzles,” Synthia said with a naughty smirk on her lips. “Those first few weeks here, Ristan, I couldn’t have done it without you by my side. I’m pretty sure I would have killed at least a dozen Fae before I settled in without you guiding me,” she continued.

Ristan considered it and smiled at her. She was smart and blunt, which was one of the reasons he enjoyed her company. “You told me once that it’s what a true friend does, and you taught me a few unexpected things as well, Flower. Just tell me what is on your mind, weighing it down, and I will help you where I can. Even if you think it’s silly, sometimes it may be the most important thing,” he said as he watched her for a reaction. He was surprised that he genuinely liked this female when only months ago he’d considered killing her to keep his brother on task.

“So tell me, Demon, what’s bothering you at the Guild?” she asked, and he smiled. She was adept in all things Guild, as she should be since she was raised in it.

Ristan tilted his head slightly as he considered what he would actually say to her. He didn’t want her to worry about anything other than the upcoming birth of the twins she carried. “I want to pull your uncle out. It’s not safe in that place. Treachery is afoot and I’m watching a few of them, who I suspect of being spies. Even one of the librarians seems to be in with the Mages.” He decided on just being honest and failed in masking the growl in his voice.

“A librarian; which one?” she asked as her hand continued to rub her stomach.

“She has dark red hair, and she’s not very tall,” Ristan disclosed, and his tone once again changed. He was warring with his needs and his inner thoughts; he hated to bring her into it. He could handle one librarian; seriously, the little thing shouldn’t be weighing on his mind this much. “At least I believe she is working with the Mages, and she has access to Alden; it just doesn’t sit well with me. She’s a piece of this puzzle, I can feel it. Alden won’t listen to me where she’s concerned, though, says she’s a sweet girl who wouldn’t harm a fly.” It wasn’t exactly how the conversation had gone down between him and Alden, but he hoped Synthia might give more insight that he seemed to be missing.

“Olivia? Little mouse?” Synthia asked with a wide grin.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say she’s part Demon,” he growled in response.

“Olivia is sweet. She’s very timid, but still sweet, from what I know of her, anyway. She’s not a spy,” she continued. “Well, maybe…Tell me why you think she is a spy.”

Ristan considered his words and then discarded them. Instead of telling her his suspicions, or rather, speculations, he told her something that was simple and could be easily discarded by her fears. “She has red hair, and she’s always listening, always,” he whispered as his eyes once again dropped to her belly.

“So since she has red hair and pays attention, that makes you believe she’s a spy for the Mages?”

“That’s not all. I just have this gut feeling. I can’t
read
her. I can’t see her soul and mind.” He kicked himself for it. He couldn’t see her soul, and he couldn’t read her at all, however; he could sense her purity, which normally hinted of virginity. He probably could touch her and read her emotions perfectly, but with the way his body tended to react around her, it was better for him to keep his distance from her. “So far, those I can’t read have turned out to be Mages, as it is a powerful spell to block someone like me. Only you and the Dark Princeling have been exceptions to that rule,” he said as he rolled over and propped himself on his elbows at eye level with her stomach. “You’ve grown a lot this week; have you talked to Eliran about it?” he asked her carefully.

She smiled widely and spoke with a straight face. “Yes; we’ve come to the conclusion that I’ve had my womb invaded by aliens which have now decided to use it to start a colony of clones.”

“Ha-ha,” Ristan snapped as he rolled his eyes and tried to focus on her belly, which continued to wobble with the squirming babies. “I’m serious; you’re as big as a house.”

“Thanks for the confidence booster,” she said with a gentle shake of her head. “You think it’s managed to slip my notice that I have a wide load sticker on my ass?” she asked with an irritated tone. Ristan smiled; it probably wasn’t the brightest idea to call her fat, but it had worked to get her off the discussion of the Mages. “Sorry, it’s kind of a sore subject with me at the moment, Demon.”

Ouch,
now
he
felt like an asshole.
She
was apologizing to
him!
He almost snorted, but managed to hold it in.

“Has Eliran seen the genders yet?” Ristan asked, hating that he was missing out on a lot of the pregnancy; but he was doing so in order to keep his promise to her.

“No; they seem to prefer to hide it. Every time we try, it’s the same thing: Either baby will have his or her rear end in the way, or a leg is blocking us, or an entire fetus. I seriously don’t care what they are, though, Demon, as long as they are healthy.”

“And Ryder? How has he been these days?” he asked her, but took her sour look as answer enough. “Don’t give me that look, Flower. Must I remind you that he’s—”

“Fae, and love isn’t something you guys do a lot? No, I get it. Really, I do. The thing is, I wasn’t raised Fae and even if I had been, I’d still want love. Maybe it’s a female thing, but the Blood King and Queen, they have love. Actually, even Kier admitted he loves his wife, so that’s two couples that I know of that don’t follow the norm. Ryder’s turned me into a giant beached whale and lately, he barely sticks around to do more than feed me. He was making an effort before, and now, nothing. I get that’s he’s super busy, but I need him right now, too.”

He smiled serenely as he was given his own words back.

“You do know he’s preparing for war, right?” Ristan said as he placed his palm over her swollen stomach. His eyes lit up with wonder as one of the babes kicked him, and his heart melted. “That one must be female like her mother; she’s got spunk and an attitude behind that kick.”

“Well, at least we already know that I have one boy inside there,” she said with that spark of sassiness she was so fond of—and, honestly, he was too.

“Just because the vision showed you handing Adam a son doesn’t mean they will both be males. After all, I was wrong about who had sired them; I could be wrong about the sex of the child as well.”

Visions could be altered and changed, and he felt an ill foreboding when he thought of the future of the babes she was growing in her womb.

“True, since you didn’t see both of them in the vision,” she continued.

“Don’t go there,” Ristan said softly as he nodded to Zahruk, who had made an impatient noise indicating that he felt her playtime among the lesser Fae was over. “I haven’t seen them die,” he said.  His eyes tightened as he watched her, and she continued to do the same, as if she thought he’d give something away. His hand continued to stroke where the babe had yet to stop kicking him, and he was unwilling to stop feeling them, as if he wouldn’t get much time with them again. Something dark was coming, and it left him worried that he’d be unable to stop it.

“You haven’t seen them, though, Demon; at least, not through to their adulthood. You can see Ryder’s future as the King, but you’ve yet to see me or his children in it. I’m just worried that with the war coming, they will be born into a broken world which will be too damaged to accept them.”

“That’s good,” Ristan responded to her with a mischievous smile. “It means you’re thinking like a mother already. Now, back to what’s bothering me,” he said with a roguish wink. “The librarian… How well do you know her?”

It was a duck and dodge thing with Synthia. She was going dark, and quick, which forced Ristan to suck it up and change the subject back to what he’d ducked out of before by changing the subject.

“She’s a mouse. Why, you thinking of fucking the information out of her?” Synthia teased. She wasn’t stupid, though, and he sensed that she’d felt the switch and allowed it.

“I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t know what to do with a cock if it was staring her in the eye. She’s a little too prim and proper for my taste, which, as you know, I like the kinky fuckery.”