Macabre Melody: Reverse Harem Siren Romance (Spellsinger Book 7)

by Amy Sumida

  The third morning, I disentangled myself from my men and crept to the bathroom. Without my rapid healing, I knew I would have felt broken, swollen, and bruised, but instead, I felt incredible. I felt alive and loved and... guilty. I hadn't thought about Slate once. I'd been completely consumed by my lovers.

  After seeing to my morning needs and splashing water on my face, I slid my contact charm in my ear and whispered Slate's name.

  “Elaria?” Slate's voice was brusque; rough.

  “Did I wake you?” I whispered.

  “No.”

  “Slate, I... how are you?”

  A pause. It stretched out and made me start fidgeting with the gold chain.

  “I'm adjusting,” he finally said. “We didn't get...”

  “A chance to say goodbye,” I finished. “And they've kept me busy since I've returned. I'm sorry that I didn't contact you sooner.”

  A mirthless chuckle. “I'll bet they have.”

  “I don't know when I'll be able to—”

  “I'm a grown man, Elaria; I know what I've gotten myself into,” Slate's voice was hard; it made my stomach clench. “I know you have responsibilities; as do I. Return when you're able.”

  Gotten myself into. Wow; how romantic.

  “Slate, I... Slate?”

  He had cut the contact.

  “Son of a bitch!” I hissed and yanked the charm out of my ear.

  “Elaria?” Gage's voice came through the bathroom door. “You taking a shower? I'd like to join you if that's all right.”

  “Sure, honey.” I dropped the chain with its two charms into a bathroom drawer and opened the door.

  Gage stood there in all of his nude glory. No matter how many times I saw him like this, I never got used to it. Golden skin with the velvet softness of down stretched over an expanse of muscles that might have looked too bulky on any other man. But on Gage, it looked magnificent. I stared down the rippled plane of his abs to the thick rod rising only for me. I nearly dropped to my knees to worship it.

  “Fuck me,” I whispered; this time, I meant it.

  Gage grinned and stepped forward. He was the thickest of my men; a step away from being Binx, but it was an important step. The thought froze me; made me blink. Slate. I needed to fix things—

  “Yes, Ma'am,” Gage's voice distracted me.

  I tumbled back into delirium again.

  Chapter Forty

  “Enough!” I rolled away from the men who reached for me and scrambled out of bed on my hands and knees. “You are all very naughty boys!”

  Five gorgeous men looked at me with varying degrees of wickedness. They had known exactly what they were doing, and they weren't done yet. As I watched, they all shifted slightly; muscles stretching, expressions softening, and flesh hardening. A feast of male flesh laid out before me. All of that delicious male beauty was mine and it took every ounce of my willpower to walk away from it.

  “I'm not looking!” I cried as I hurried to my wardrobe.

  I yanked out a pair of jeans—the harder to get off me, the better—underwear, and a thick sweater. I heard them grumbling and shifting behind me as I dressed.

  “I want to check on Tessa today,” I called over my shoulder. “And I still need to go back to the Zone and—”

  “Don't you dare speak his name.” Torin stood behind me; his hands sliding over my shoulders. He hadn't said it with anger, only a light warning. “We need more time, little bird. Will you give it to us?”

  If he had said as a command or without that faint, undercurrent of anxiety, I may not have given in. But the look on his face cut me to the heart, and I knew I'd give Torin anything he needed to make it go away.

  “All right,” I whispered; the fight seeping out of me as I went into his embrace.

  Torin's arms clenched around me as if I might fly away; his little bird seeking another cage. That would never happen. No matter how much I wanted Slate, I had history with these men—with Torin—that no one could touch. Torin had been the first man that I had deeply, eternally fallen in love with. If he needed time, that's what he'd get.

  “I love you, Tor, and I'll give you everything you need,” I said it into his chest; he still hadn't released me. “But I really do want to check on Tessa.” I pushed out of his grip and looked at all of them. “If you wanted me to stay away from the Zone for awhile, all you had to do was ask. You didn't have to turn me into a nymphomaniac.”

  Most of the men looked sheepish, but Declan groaned in disappointment.

  “Does that mean that you're not a nymphomaniac?” Declan pouted.

  I ignored him and went into the bathroom to fetch my necklace. I hoped that Slate hadn't been trying to call me while I'd been busy having wild sex with five men. With it in the drawer, and with me in the state they'd kept me in, I wouldn't have heard it chiming. And contact charms didn't have voicemail. I rubbed the barite cone absently after I slipped the chain over my head. It was the first time that I was anxious about a man calling. I felt like an idiot teenager.

  “Why are you all just standing there? Get dressed,” I said to my naked lovers. “And put on something warm.”

  They groaned and started pulling on their clothes.

  Chapter Forty-One

  The Sasq'et Community was overjoyed to see me. Cerberus had already been by to present them with the naga's skin and regale them with stories of our time in the Zone. The Sasq'et hadn't wanted the skin—not surprising—but they were grateful to Cerberus for bringing it to them. There was justice in that skin, and they deserved to see it; to hold it in their hands, even if only briefly. Cerberus took the naga skin home with him and had it made into a pair of boots; just as Slate suggested. I didn't tell the Sasq'ets about Cer's new shoes when I saw them. They were far too kind-hearted to savor the righteous satisfaction of knowing that the Hound of Hades was using the Shedder's skin to walk through the mud and muck.

  They gave me a hero's welcome; putting on a huge party for my men and me. Not only had the murderer been killed, but Tessa had also been sent home safe and sound. They were beyond grateful.

  “I thought we'd never see you again,” Fred murmured as he walked us through the village; toward Tessa's house. “When Cerberus went down.” He shook his head.

  “Did you see the gargoyles take him?” I knew Slate's men had been the ones who grabbed us, but he hadn't gone into details and I was curious.

  “Not exactly.” Fred grimaced. “Cerberus was running toward us with Tessa. You were watching the sky. Then Cerberus suddenly dropped to his knees. Tessa screamed, but then she fell forward too. It was only seconds before they were taken up into the sky by an invisible force. We know now that it was gargoyles, but at the time, we had no idea what had taken them.”

  “And me.”

  “And you.” He nodded. “We tried to warn you, but then you started to fall and before you hit the ground, you were surging up into the air. We could only watch helplessly.”

  His hands clenched into fists, and I laid my hand over one of them.

  “There are times to be peaceful and times to fight, Fred,” I said gently. “Perhaps the time has come for your people to learn about the latter.”

  Fred's hand unclenched, and he sighed deeply. “You may be right. We need to know how to better defend ourselves. Ah, here we are.”

  Fred gestured to a cute house; half brick and half wood. The wood was painted white and there were rosebushes in the garden. A couple of Sasq'ets opened the door and waved to us. But they were pushed apart by a little Sasq'et girl who ran down the steps, shrieking in delight.

  “Ms. Elaria!” Tessa shouted as she hugged me.

  “Hi, honey.” I hugged her tightly. “I'm glad to see you too. You doing okay?”

  “I'm doing so good!” She beamed up at me. “Wanna see my room?”

  “Sure.” I gave my men a shrug as I was pulled up the steps. “Hello,” I said to her parents in passing.

  “Welcome to our home, Spellsinger,” Tessa's father said wi
th deep sincerity.

  “Thank you! Nice to meet you,” I called back over my shoulder as I was yanked along.

  Tessa's parents chuckled.

  “This is my room!” Tessa's hand squeezed mine eagerly just before she released it to push open a door.

  Her bedroom was painted sunrise pink and a white, canopied bed sat in the center of it. A pink television was on a white desk across from the bed. Monster High dolls perched on a shelf to the right. Werewolf fur, snakeskin, and tentacled limbs were just some of the creature features the dolls boasted, but they also had beautiful faces with dramatic makeup. I smiled at that; what perfect playthings for a little Sasq'et.

  Tessa pulled me over to a low window seat strewn with pillows and children's books. Beneath it was shelves full of board games. She let go of my hand to plop down on the fluffy, sheepskin rug and pull out all of them.

  “Do you want to play a game?” She looked up at me hopefully.

  I glanced back over my shoulder where my men were crowded around the open doorway. They smiled and nodded; they were up for whatever I wanted to do.

  “Sure.” I sat down. “Which one do you want to play?”

  The men chuckled and hurried away to have some hot cider with Tessa's parents and Fred, the Sasq'et elder. They may have thought it was cute that I was willing to play with Tessa, but that didn't mean they wanted to crowd around her fluffy rug and roll plastic dice.

  “This is my favorite.” Tessa lifted a worn box. “Wait! No; this one!”

  Tessa shoved aside the other boxes and opened the chosen one. It was shinier than the others; a brand new Candy Land game. I wasn't surprised; even I knew that children loved this game. I had never played myself—having grown up in a time before such things—and I was hoping that I might actually enjoy it. I watched as Tessa set up the plastic gingerbread figures and then placed the cards on the board with its bright pictures of gumdrops, lollipops, and ice cream.

  “Mr. Jago bought this for me,” Tessa said proudly. “We played every day.”

  “What?” I whispered in shock.

  “Mr. Slate came a couple of times too.” She looked up with a wide smile; her eyes full of hero worship. I wasn't sure if it was for me or the gargoyles.

  “Slate did?” I asked in shock. “The Zone Lord?”

  “Oh, yeah!” Tessa jumped up and went to her bed where a pile of dolls laid. “He gave me this. Look at her; she's just like me!”

  Tessa picked up a porcelain doll that had been designed to look like a Sasq'et. Golden brown fur—real fur from the look of it—was laid carefully over the doll's body and a crown of fake flowers perched on its head. Purple flowers, no less. Just like the kind she'd been wearing when we were captured. The doll's hands only had fur on top, with delicate claws tipping each finger, and the glass eyes matched Tessa's; a pale shade of blue. Tessa stroked the fur lovingly as she brought the doll over to me to inspect.

  “I didn't know they made dollies like me,” she whispered in awe. “Humans think we're monsters.” She nodded up at the Monster High dolls. “But Mr. Slate bought this for me in the Zone. He said that Beneathers know beauty takes many forms. He said I'm a pretty girl and one day, I'll be a beautiful Sasq'et woman.”

  She handed me the doll.

  I gaped from Tessa to her doll and then to the shelf. I'd thought—as I'm sure her parents had—that the monster dolls had been perfect for her. But seen through the eyes of a child, they were a badge of shame. Tessa didn't play with them but instead kept them on a shelf to remind her that she was just like them; a monster who could never go down into the human world. She had to hide among her own kind; high up in the Blue Mountains.

  Slate had known exactly what would make a little Sasq'et girl happy. Tessa's own parents hadn't known, but he had. How? Why had he even tried? Sweet stones; I'd thought I'd seen the true man beneath the mask, but I'd only glimpsed a portion of him. The hard-faced Zone Lord—a man of business and war, blood and money—had gone through the trouble of picking out a doll, perhaps even having one custom made, that would make a little girl happy. Something that would make her dismal stay in his jail brighter. Make it seem like an adventure instead of an ordeal. Slate had fucking played Candy Land with her!

  Slate and Jago. Damn, how—

  “I miss them,” Tessa said softly as she took the doll back. “Mr. Slate and Mr. Jago. They were fun. They took me to the park too; there was a lake that we went swimming in.”

  A lake? A park? Gargoyles could swim? What the hell had been happening right beneath my nose?

  “I miss them too.” I hugged her to me tightly so she wouldn't see the tears in my eyes.

  I was shaken. Deeply touched. I wanted to pull out my traveling stone and take Tessa to the Zone with me that very instant. But I couldn't. I owed my lovers more than that. I had betrayed them. Maybe not on my own, but I'd done it. I needed to make amends. So, I blinked away my tears, sat back, and pasted on a glorious smile.

  “Mr. Slate is wrong.” I swept back a soft tendril of Tessa's fur that had fallen over her eye. “You're not going to be beautiful.”

  Her dark chocolate eyes went wide.

  I hurried on before she was hurt, “You're beautiful now, Tessa. That beauty will grow as you do.”

  Tessa's eyes gleamed with hope. Not pride, but hope. She hoped that I was telling her the truth. My throat constricted. I couldn't leave it like that.

  “Humans find you beautiful too, you know? That's what those dolls are about.” I pointed at the shelf. “Little human girls adore them because they are a dangerous beauty; a shining power they can never have. It's like dreaming about being a princess. The word 'monster' is the new 'princess.' They want to be like you, Tessa.”

  Tessa's eyes widened as she looked at the Monster High dolls. She gaped at them—her little fangs showing—as her perceptions shifted. With her arms firmly around her Sasq'et doll, she folded herself back on the floor and continued to stare.

  “I'm a princess?” She whispered.

  “Absolutely,” I said. “And I should know; I'm a queen.”

  Tessa's smile was worth spending the next hour playing the most tedious game ever invented.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Weeks flew by filled with dress fittings and court business. My men started to relax. Torin and Declan returned to their kingdoms to prepare for our weddings and see to their people. Banning returned to Kansas and his gura, and Gage even went home to visit his griffin family. Only Darc remained with me. Kyanite was his kingdom now too.

  We'd received word that a new Howlite king had been chosen by the jewel... and a new queen. They were currently courting; trying to decide whether to marry or kill each other. Ah, royal romance. I'd made the Howlite Court human, but not the entire kingdom. So, not only were the new royals “born” but so were their nobles. A fresh crop of Howlite Shining Ones was rising in power to fill the abandoned Howlite Castle.

  That's how it works in Tír na nÓg; nature abhors a vacuum, and so do the Jewels.

  A chiming alerted me to a call on my contact charm. I pulled it out eagerly. I'd called Slate a few times, but he'd been as brief and curt as our initial contact. He would talk to me long enough to determine that I wasn't coming to see him anytime soon and then cut me off. He never called me. Not once. I was starting to get annoyed. And maybe a little worried.

  “Hello?”

  “Ellie-phant, do you have plans for today?” It was my father. My heart sank, and I flushed; feeling guilty for being disappointed.

  “Not yet. Why?”

  “The Coven is meeting to discuss the Gods,” he said crisply. “They'd like for you and the others to be there.”

  “When?”

  “Two hours.”

  “We'll be there.”

  We made our goodbyes, and I hurried off to find Darc. We spent the next hour and a half contacting my other lovers and letting our court know that we'd be gone for awhile. I contacted Slate and asked him to join us, but he immediately refused; sa
ying that he was too busy with zone business. I fumed. Was I wrong about him? Was our love one-sided? Out of sight, out of mind?

  I went to the Coven meeting with a heavy heart and a distracted mind. But the rest of my lovers were with me so I tried to focus on them. No; not the rest. My lovers; period. Slate and I hadn't consummated our relationship. We weren't lovers. The thought was sobering. Had I made a mistake? If I had, I'd have to find someone to take his place. And I had no idea how long I'd have to do that. The RS remained silent on the subject. In fact, she'd only popped up a few times since I'd left the Zone. Mainly, she just took the power she needed when I made love to my men and gave us strength in return. If I hadn't been so worried about Slate, I would have been pleased with the arrangement. As it was; it was annoying. And frightening. Every time the RS fed, the power she gave us in return lessened. I knew she was weakening. The Rooster was right; she needed another source of fuel. Why wasn't she complaining?