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  It's his claws, I realize. They look fucking sharp and I certainly don't want them to do anything down there, so I suppose I appreciate the care he's taking. But I really want to just buck wildly on his hand, and I can't do that with five things that are basically knives running over my flesh.

  But I feel painfully empty, and I wonder if his cock is hard again. I'm not expecting him to take my hand in his, and I'm definitely not expecting him to push my fingers into myself. But he does, two of them, and then grips my wrist to make me fuck myself.

  He lets go after a minute of studying my reactions closely, but I keep my fingers moving inside of me. He moves down my body, until his head is even with my hips, and he watches intently as my hand moves in and out.

  "Good girl," he breathes against my skin, and then he licks me.

  His tongue is actually cool against my super-heated flesh, and it lets me wind down and relax into the feeling. He sweeps it through my folds and runs it around my clit, and even moves down to lick my fingers as I still thrust them inside of me.

  And then his tongue flicks against my clit and his lips close around it, and I wind up again so quickly that I don't know what hit me. I'm flooded with heat and crazy with need and I don't even realize that I took my fingers out, but somehow I have both of my hands on his horns while he completely devours me. He sucks on my clit and dips a knuckle into my entrance, and I clench and shake and completely come undone, right on his face.

  I'm shuddering and coming for so long that I don't know what's happening, and the next thing I know, he's next to me again, in the same position he was when I first laid down. He lifts my hand from where it's splayed across my belly and brings it to his mouth. He sucks one finger into his mouth, his tongue swirling around it, and then the others.

  He's licking me off of myself, and it's so fucking hot that if I weren't so exhausted I would climb on top of him right now.

  He finishes with my thumb, but I want to see his fangs. I pull his lips back to look, and he indulges me. His front teeth are mostly straight and look normal like mine, but the others are all pointed and look positively dangerous. I move my thumb across the front of one, and then down to touch the tip of it.

  It's so sharp that I'm bleeding before I realize it, and then Az closes his lips around the pad of my thumb and sucks. It's weirdly erotic. I'm bone-meltingly tired, so I just flash a sleepy smile at him.

  When he releases my thumb, I'm no longer bleeding. He laces his fingers through mine and lays our hands against my chest, and before I have a chance to think that I should definitely not be this comfortable, I'm asleep.

  Chapter 10

  Eve

  I'm incredibly sore when I wake up, and it takes me a minute to remember why that might be.

  There's all sorts of reasons, really. In the last day and a half, I've fallen into the freezing ocean, been tied to a bed for hours, eaten a mushroom that made me feel boneless, and--oh, yeah--masturbated furiously alongside Az. That last one is my favorite reason to be sore and tired.

  I'm unfortunately alone, but otherwise it's kind of nice. The bed is comfortable and massive, the air is cool but I'm under warm blankets, and I just feel safe. I don't think he would have left me alone if I weren't.

  I'm probably being stupid, trusting him as much as I already do. I just can't help it. Something about Az feels right. He ate the stupid mushrooms with me and he showed me Poremi and I can't help but feel like there's nothing to be suspicious about. I just like him.

  Which is really crazy after only a day. But fighting this is exhausting and if I'm going to be here for the time being anyway, is there any reason to protest? I like his company and I like to touch him and I really, really like what we did last night.

  I climb out of bed and realize that my toga dress thing is not really covering anything that it's supposed to. I try to remember how he tied it yesterday--some kind of loop around my neck, I think, that resulted in it looking like an actual dress. I tie the ends around my neck, attempting to copy what Az did, and...my entire back and butt is open to the world.

  I wrap it around myself like a towel with a sigh, and head out of the bedroom. I obviously need help.

  Az'ralon is in the kitchen, frowning at something across the room, but turns to me as I open the door.

  "I'm bad at this," I say, pointing to my wrap. "But I can turn it into a hospital gown, so I guess that's a neat trick."

  He waves me over, and I grin at him as I approach. I'm feeling really good this morning.

  And I'm feeling even better when his serious face turns gentler, and I even get a smile back.

  I turn around, pulling my hair over my shoulder and exposing the back of my neck to him. His fingers move gently over the top of my spine, and it feels so nice that I shut my eyes for a second. He puts one pointed claw against my skin, and drags it up into the short curls on the back of my head, and I suck in a shaky breath--

  "Don't forget that I'm here, please," says a voice, and it's definitely not Az and it's definitely not from behind me.

  I open my eyes and there's someone sprawled across the couch. He's devastatingly handsome. That's the only thing that springs to mind, and I have no other thoughts than how perfect he is. His hair is light brown and falls across his forehead in a tousled way, and his eyes are a brilliant blue that I can see from across the room. He's wearing the same toga looking skirt that Az'ralon does, and his body is basically a Greek statue. He's not quite as bulky as Az, but then again, Az'ralon is a giant purple monster and this guy looks remarkably human.

  And then I notice his horns, which curve back and down toward his ears. Even they're attractive somehow, and his cocky, lopsided grin that makes his face slightly less perfect just adds to his charm.

  It's really unsettling, and I take a step back until my back's against Az.

  "I don't mind watching," the guy continues, looking amused, "but I don't want you to try to kill me, Az."

  Az puts his arm across my chest, holding me there, and I relax back against him. And I know that it's really really stupid and it's really really fast, but he's so comfortable and I just feel so secure here.

  "Stop what you're doing to her, Nox," he says.

  The man--Nox--looks confused for a second, and then his eyebrows raise in understanding. "Oh, right. Sorry."

  And then a moment later, he's not the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. He looks exactly the same still, and yeah, he's still totally hot, but all of the awe that I felt looking at him before is gone. He's just...a hot guy. Which to one-week-ago-Eve is pretty fucking terrifying, but all of my awkwardness and lust is pretty laser focused on Az right now.

  He stands and approaches me and reaches for my hand with an easy grin. "Nox," he says, and shakes my hand enthusiastically. "I haven't been around a human in so long that I forget how I affect you guys."

  I just nod and mumble my name, relieved that I can focus on anything other than how pretty he is. "What are you?" I ask, and maybe it's rude of me, but it's unsettling that a minute ago I wanted to climb all over his bones, when I know that the guy whose bones I actually want to climb all over is behind me.

  "Incubus," he says. "You know, feed off of sex and all that. The attraction can be a little potent for humans."

  I nod, still standing against Az.

  Az'ralon's voice rumbles behind me. "Nox is going to be working on your going home problem. He's who usually deals with the Council when it's necessary. He's good at negotiating."

  He says negotiating so weirdly that I turn my head to look up at him.

  "Seducing and fucking the members of the council until they see my perspective," Nox clarifies.

  "Ah," I say, and then feel Az's finger on the back of my neck again and realize my dress is tied. "Thanks," I turn to tell him, and step away.

  He lets me, and I immediately wish I had stayed there. Touching him and being touched by him is so right, but I feel way too weird to step back against him again. One day, I remind myself. I've known him
one day.

  "Hungry?" he asks me, and I nod. I'm starving, but other than that, I feel great. I slept amazingly well and I'm in a good mood. Basically, as soon as Az tries to touch me again, I'm going to jump him.

  But not really, because the next time he touches me is when we leave the house and are on the endless stairs. He asks if I'm ready but then scoops me off and we drop off the edge before I answer. I guess it's kind of a warning, but we'll have to work on that one.

  I'm less taken aback this time, and I get a chance to study his wings. They match his skin and are like a thin membrane stretched over bone, and it's hard to see how they could possibly support him in flight. They look kind of tattered which doesn't help the impression, but since we're not plummeting to our deaths, my impression is thankfully wrong.

  Nox finds us at the bottom and doesn't look pleased. In fact, for all of his easy smiles upstairs, the more time he spends with us, the crankier he seems. I'm not sure why, and I don't think it's entirely my fault, but it makes me uneasy anyway.

  Which is fine, because then I just move closer to Az's side and enjoy the feeling of him next to me. I still don't understand this, because I'm never like this with someone I hardly know, but there's just such a feeling of security when his arm brushes against mine.

  I think he likes it too, because he keeps making it happen.

  We wander down the opposite direction from yesterday, passing stalls of people selling rugs and children's toys and even farm animals, and when the farm animal smell finally leaves my nose, I begin to smell something delicious. I'm so hungry and the smell is so delicious that I'm eventually the one leading our small group, following my nose the whole time.

  It's a small little stall that's producing the smell, with only one person running it. She's smaller than me, which seems like a feat here, where everyone towers over me, and at first I think that she's a child. But then she looks up at me with a deeply lined face and a smile full of black fangs, and I have to restrain myself from taking a step backwards.

  She stares at me in an unsettling way, and my bowl is full of some kind of questionable meat, and I'm trapped away from home, possibly forever.

  But Az'ralon's hand on my back somehow makes all of that feel negligible, and there's a vague sense of unease that runs through me when I acknowledge that fact.

  Chapter 11

  Az'ralon

  On the outskirts of Namesti Square are the food stalls. There are dozens of them, lining the street and scenting the air for blocks in every direction. At the end of the street is a small park, with long wooden tables and benches lining them. It's here that I guide Eve with Nox following behind us, and although it's fairly crowded when we arrive, it clears out quickly when we're noticed.

  Watching Eve eat is an experience. Apparently what she got was too spicy, but for some reason she refuses to go get anything else, even when I push a gold coin into her hand and encourage her to go get one of everything to try.

  But she refuses, so I just watch her as she wrinkles her nose with every bite. Her eyes are red and watering and she's sniffing repeatedly, and I want to fix it and watch it forever at the same time.

  "--Malachi is who I'm most worried about," says Nox, and I only half hear him, "but I think that I can temper his expectations if I go through Angela first--"

  I nod, watching as Eve takes another bite and actually winces.

  "You're not even remotely listening, are you?" asks Nox.

  "I'm listening," says Eve. "I only understand like a tenth of what you're saying, but I--"

  He interrupts her. "Not you."

  She frowns and then looks at me, her mouth a circle of understanding. I want to pull her onto me and taste her skin, and I want to drag her back home and strip her dress off of her and--

  "Fuck, Az, are you really this far gone?"

  I pull my attention from Eve, finally, and it's significantly harder than it should be. I've gotten to the position I'm in by never behaving as I am now--letting foolish wants distract me from what's important. What is important right now is trying to figure out why Eve is here, and how to stop them from using her against me. Because they wouldn't just send her without a plan.

  "I don't know," I say, looking at Nox and pointedly ignoring Eve's questioning gaze. "You can see why I thought she was a witch."

  "I'm not," she says, and I nod but avoid looking her way. I believe her, and I know that this isn't her fault. I just don't understand it at all, and I don't know how to avoid the fact that looking at her or even being near her makes me forget everything else.

  Nox frowns at me. "Come back to the palace," he says. "She'll be fine in the house, but come back so I can keep an eye on you."

  A red haze clouds my vision, and it's the same haze that comes over me when I've gone too long without violence. I don't mean to lift Eve from her seat and crush her against me, but I do. I don't mean to growl and bare my teeth at Nox, but I do. "You will not separate her from me. You will never separate her from me."

  Nox just watches me, his haughty eyebrows raised, and I want to leap across the table and open his throat with my claws. I take him in, assessing him as a threat, trying to take my Eve from me.

  His posture is relaxed and open, and he looks bored. But I know that he's not. I can see the slight tension in his jaw, I can see the way his feet are angled, and I can see the way his hand has crept toward the knife on his belt. His pitiful knife isn't a threat to me, but it is to Eve, and I'll destroy him for--

  "Um, Az?" says a small voice from my chest. "It's kind of hard to breathe when you're squeezing me like that."

  And just like that, I'm back in my right mind. No one is trying to take her, no one will hurt her, and Nox was only making what was probably a good suggestion. I let go of her all at once and she scrambles back to her seat, watching me with wide eyes. Nox still has his hand over the hilt of his knife, and he's studying me to see if I've returned to myself.

  "I'm sorry," I say finally. "I don't know what this is."

  "That was battle lust," he says, after a silent minute passes.

  "Yes."

  "This is a fucking disaster," he says.

  "Yes," I agree again.

  Nox stands from his seat and steels his jaw. "You're coming back to the castle with me right now. And before you rip my head off, Eve should come too."

  Eve nods and stands, and when I stand too, I can't help but notice the careful distance she keeps between us.

  Chapter 12

  Eve

  So I don't know when some guy being super possessive became the hottest thing ever, but holy shit do I want to just rub myself on Az'ralon right now. That seems like a bad idea for two reasons: the first is that he looked like he was going to kill Nox like twenty minutes ago, and the second is that I'm never ever like this, and feeling like I'm out of my own head is really bothering me.

  Because it's not hot for someone I've known a day to flip out like that. It's creepy and weird. Intellectually, I know that. But my lust addled brain and my girl parts are all rebelling against me and begging for Az'ralon to push them against a wall and have his way with them. With me.

  So yeah, I agree with Nox's assessment that this is a fucking disaster, even if he means it for a different reason.

  And now apparently we're heading to a castle, which seems impossible in an underground cave, but they have glowing mushrooms and wings and stuff so I guess we'll see. No one's really explained anything to me since Az's little freak out, which is fine because Nox and Az are having some conversation of their own and I don't understand most of the things that they're saying. Still though, I'm curious about this castle, and about why Az needs to be there.

  We walk through the square-that's-not-a-square again, and through a small passageway that's even narrower than the one down to the mushrooms. It's dark here, and I press an experimental hand to the wall. I'm delighted to see that it lights up under my touch, and then I amuse myself by pressing my fingers into it and watching my fingerprints
grow and join each other as I walk by.

  It's fun, but more importantly, it lights the passage well enough that I'm not in danger of tripping. Because if I did, I think Az would touch me, and if Az touches me right now, I really don't know what I'll do. Probably something that's not fit for public consumption, and we are still technically in public.

  But god do I want him to touch me.

  So I hang back a little, studying him from behind as he talks to Nox. His back looks like it's carved out of granite, and his calves are ridiculously sculpted under the hem of his skirt-thing. It takes quite a physique to pull off a skirt, but good fucking lord, he does it well.

  And then something by his bare feet catches my attention. Something hanging from his clothing, maybe, but it matches his gray-purple color, and it looks like it's moving on its own...

  He has a tail. Holy shit, he has a tail, and I somehow haven't noticed that. More importantly, I'm fantasizing about shacking up with him and I've known him a day and I didn't even know that holy shit, he has a tail.

  We walk a long time, until I'm eventually just bouncing my hand off of the wall like a bored toddler. Az glances back at me occasionally, and in case it wasn't obvious enough, the look in his eyes is further evidence that his thoughts are running in the same vein as mine.

  I want to be alone with him like right now.

  But then the passage opens up, and I'm thoroughly distracted from my naughty, naughty thoughts. Because there is a castle down here, and it's probably the most amazing thing I've ever seen.

  We're in a huge open cavern, about half the size of Namesti Square. There's a lake in front of us, and maybe the water is full of these spores, because it's glowing a faint blue that makes me want to bend over and look closer. Several bridges cross the water, all leading to a real, live castle.

  It seems to be built into the rock, but the front face of it is dazzling. It's white and gleaming, and there are turrets and bridges and windows, all in a sweeping, graceful style that looks like it was stolen from some fantasy movie.