“Stop,” she eventually whispered, somewhat regretfully. Mike and Apeo pulled back, both looking flushed with arousal. “I want to try something. Apeo, you come behind me, and Mike… can I feed from you? While Apeo takes me?”
Mike’s answering groan and his hand flying to his cock was answer enough. Melanie got up on her hands and knees, pushing back, slick and ready for Apeo. He didn’t start with his cock, but his fingers. It was good, so good, but still not enough. Melanie pushed back impatiently. “More. I need you.”
He nipped her ass lightly before pulling his fingers out, only to replace them with his cock moments later. Melanie made frantic gestures for Mike, who eagerly bared his neck. She bit into it, feeling the sweet rush of blood enter her mouth as Apeo pounded into her.
Mike thrust up against her, and Melanie grabbed his cock, stroking it roughly as she drank from him. With a strangled yell, he came all over her hand, going limp in her grip as she continued to suck the blood pumping from his neck.
Apeo came moments later, and Melanie followed a heartbeat after, wrenching away from Mike’s neck as she cried out loudly, coming harder than she ever had before. Waves of pleasure rippled through her and she collapsed on the bed, half-sprawled on top of Mike. Apeo fell beside them, panting hard.
Melanie didn’t think she’d ever be able to move again, melted into a pleasure puddle as she was. Apeo finally broke the silence. “You, Essa… are a genius. You must tell me what other ideas you have in that brilliant head of yours.”
“Oh, I want in on that conversation.” Mike lifted his head weakly. “That was… wow. Just, wow.”
“I have plenty of ideas to keep us occupied, but I think you two have fucked me right into next week. I doubt my legs could hold me right now, let alone withstand another orgasm like that.”
The three of them laughed breathlessly. Melanie drifted off in their arms, and only woke briefly to take a shower before crawling back into bed.
Oh yes, life as a vampire royal was hard.
If only her sleep could be as perfect as her waking life. Over the next few nights, Melanie was plagued by horrendous nightmares, like the ones she’d had before Evan had first possessed her. The difference was that instead of a single spirit, now she dreamed of armies of them.
She didn’t say anything to her mates, not wanting to worry them, but it was difficult to keep from them, considering that at least one of them, often more, shared her bed every night.
She suspected that Mike was also having nightmares, but his couldn’t be premonitions like she suspected hers were. Melanie knew she had to tell someone, but she was quickly falling prey to the rather illogical wish that if she just bore it stoically for long enough, it would pass. Perhaps, if they were normal nightmares, this would be the case, but she wasn’t convinced these dreams were normal.
Two weeks after they’d finally managed to get rid of Evan, Melanie found herself in bed with Mike alone. She was woken by his hand on her shoulder.
“Melanie?”
She jerked awake with a gasp, staring frantically around the room. The visions of spirit armies started to fade, and she breathed deeply. It was just a dream. Nothing more.
“You were having a nightmare.”
It was on the tip of her tongue to deny it, but something about Mike’s knowing gaze had her struck with the desire to confess. “I was. I’ve had them since we killed Evan. I guess it’s to be expected.”
“I’ve been having them too.”
Though she wasn’t happy that Mike was also suffering, it was a relief to get confirmation that her fears were unfounded. “Then they truly are just nightmares. Being possessed by a spirit was traumatic, and even if I can’t remember my experience, it’s not surprising we’re getting nightmares about it. I suppose they’ll fade with time.”
“If these were ordinary nightmares, you’d be right, but I’m not sure they are.”
Melanie reached over to turn on the bedside lamp. As a vampire, she could see fine in the dark, but she suddenly wanted the comfort of light more than the practicality of it. “You think they’re premonitions, like I was having before? But you can’t be having those. Yours, at least, must be normal dreams.”
“I’m not so sure.” Mike pulled himself up so that he was sitting, leaning back against the headboard. “These don’t feel like ordinary dreams to me. We’re in uncharted territory, here. No one really knows enough about spirits to give us certain answers, but what if the fact that I was possessed gives me some kind of link to their plans? Maybe it won’t last forever, but it could easily be a residue effect.”
“You think they’re planning something?” That was Melanie’s thought as well, if the dreams really were premonitions, but she had hoped to be contradicted.
Instead of answering, Mike asked a question. “What do you dream?”
Melanie closed her eyes as the images flooded her unwilling mind. “Armies of spirits, destroying everything in their path. They’re in the palace, killing and setting traps. They sweep through the world, growing in power with each kill. They destroy all life.”
She stopped talking when she realized Mike had gone white. “I was right, then.” He gripped her hand, his fingers trembling. “I’ve dreamed the same. It’s too much to be a coincidence.”
For several minutes, neither of them spoke, trying to absorb the weight of what they thought they’d discovered. Finally, Melanie broke the silence. “I’m going to send someone to fetch Jake, Apeo and Aris.” She wanted all her mates with her right now.
She quickly located the nearest guard and sent him running off. She’d call a meeting with Rachel in the morning, but for now, she just wanted to be with her guys.
They didn’t really all fit in Mike’s bed, but they made it work, with some contorting. Jake was horrified when she explained her and Mike’s theory, but Apeo and Aris didn’t seem all that surprised. Needless to say, they were all worried and afraid. They managed to curl up together in bed and get a few more hours of sleep before morning came.
Melanie woke with her neck slightly strained from the angle she’d twisted it at to give Jake space to stretch his legs. “We need a bigger bed,” she muttered.
Only Aris was awake, but he nodded at her words. “Assa has a custom made one, for her and all her mates. It’s huge, nearly the size of this entire room. I’m sure if you speak to her, she will get one installed in your chambers.”
“I’ll do that.” The work crews hadn’t yet taken down the iron around her room, which was probably a good thing, seeing as malevolent spirits may become a problem again soon. She wanted all her mates in there with her, protected.
She slipped out of bed to arrange the meeting. Breakfast was a quick affair, and barely an hour later, Melanie found herself seated in a large meeting room with her mates, as well as Rachel and her mates, Dasek, Gali and several councilors.
Rachel started off. “Is everything ok, Mel?”
“I don’t think so. I can’t be sure, but I believe that Mike and I are having premonitions. I don’t think our problems with spirits are over.”
The room was quiet as she explained. When she was done, Dasek was the first to speak. “I thought as much. As you know, the teams that we put on this originally are still investigating spirits, and they’ve warned me that Evan had ample opportunity to do damage during his time here. It’s possible that he has weakened the divide that holds spirits back from this world, at least the vengeful ones who would love to come back and wreak havoc.”
“How do we know for sure? How do we stop them?”
“Both good questions, Assa, ones we don’t have answers to yet.”
Jexin spoke quietly in Rachel’s ear, and she nodded. He hurried out. “Jexin has gone to alert the guards of possible trouble, though I suppose we don’t know when it’ll start – or even if it has already started. Dasek, you should notify all the other bloodlines, even the Bokir. I doubt they’ll listen to us, but we must try to warn them regardless. If there’s going to be a
widespread attack against vampires, everyone will have to mobilize.”
Melanie had never been so grateful to be the middle twin. She couldn’t imagine being queen in these circumstances, giving orders that would determine the course of so many lives. Still, she was part of the royal family, and thus had a responsibility to help in any way she could.
“Dasek, I want you to have the teams focus on finding weapons that can fight these spirits.” A couple of people nodded their approval at her words.
“Yes, Essa, I will see to it at once. I suggest asking other bloodlines to contribute researchers to this problem as well. As Assa said, we can use all the help we can get.”
“Do it,” Rachel agreed. “If there’s nothing else, I need to see to getting the palace ringed in iron. We’ll have to figure out a better system for the ventilation, I’ll need to get some scientists who specialize in air flow…”
She trailed off, gesturing vaguely to dismiss them. Jake took Melanie’s arm before she could get up. “Hang on a moment. Assa?”
“Yes, Jake?”
“I think Melanie should leave the palace, at least for the time being. The spirits will likely target us here, given that one of them has already been here, and Melanie is already vulnerable to possession.”
“Jake, I don’t need to leave –”
“No, Mel, he has a point. You should consider it. It won’t help anything if you get yourself possessed. I won’t order you to go, but I want you to at least think about it.”
Melanie didn’t need to think about it. She wasn’t going to run away like a coward. If having the palace ringed in iron was enough for everyone else, then it would be enough for her, too.
“Essa, they’re right.” It wasn’t surprising that Apeo took Jake’s side in this, but it was still irritating. “You’re too vulnerable.”
“I’ll be fine,” she snapped, turning her glare on Mike and Aris. Were they going to join in on ganging up on her, trying to force her to leave?
“I’m here with you,” Mike said quietly. “We’re in this together, whatever it may bring.”
She nodded her appreciation, and Aris squeezed her shoulder. “You are right, of course, Essa. Having members of the royal family leave at a time like this would only serve to weaken the courage of those left behind.”
“Preserving the royal line is more important than preserving morale!” Apeo glared at Aris; usually, the two of them were of like mind in issues like this.
“We’ll discuss it later.” Melanie was exhausted from not sleeping properly, and really didn’t want to get into an argument right now. Most of the rest of the room had cleared already. “If it’s alright with everyone, I think I’m going to try get a bit more sleep.”
“Of course.” Gali had hung back, and she came over to Melanie, looking into her eyes. “You haven’t been sleeping well, I can see. I will make you up something that should help you sleep deeper. If we’re lucky, it’ll keep away the premonitions, at least for a while.”
Melanie hoped it would. If not, she was in for a rough time.
Chapter 16
Jake
Jake bit back an angry retort. He knew that arguing with Aris, Apeo and Mike wasn’t going to do any good. It was Mel’s decision… but she took their advice into account, and he was sure that if all of them urged her to leave, she would do so.
“It’s her choice,” Mike repeated. “Trying to undermine her decision won’t do anything except create a rift between you.”
“Will those be your final words over her coffin?” Apeo spat. “You’ve been possessed by an evil spirit! You know how if feels. Would you allow that to happen to Essa again?”
Aris took an angry step forward. “We don’t own her! Our only job is to support her, just as she would support us if the situations were reversed.”
Again, Jake had to bite his tongue to stop himself from leaping back into the argument. He hated that this was causing a rift between him and his brothers. By vampire law, he would be a brother to Aris, Apeo and Mike when they were all mated to Mel, but he didn’t need the ceremony to make it official. It was already true, as far as he was concerned. He cared about them and hated fighting with them.
Fortunately, Mel chose that moment to enter, thus ending the argument. They did their best not to argue in front of her, knowing that it only upset her.
By the look she was giving them, she knew exactly what they’d been discussing, but Melanie didn’t call them out on it. “They’re almost done with the iron. The palace is going to look more like a dungeon than palace for the next while, but as long as we’re all safe, that’s what’s the most important. Aris, Mike, are you ready to go? Rachel said we can leave this afternoon, once Gali examines us.”
Jake winced. Of course, how could he forget? He tried once more. “It doesn’t have to be you who goes. The palace can send a messenger – or even an email.”
“This is a big thing we’re trying to get the other bloodlines to believe. It’ll be easier for them to accept when it comes from another royal in person. Besides, it’s probably safer out there than in here. We’re the ones who’ve had a spirit haunting our walls, after all.”
He might have argued further, but Jake’s response was interrupted by the door bursting open. Avlo had a sword in his hand, and a rough slab of iron that Rachel had commissioned for each guard, to serve as a shield against spirits. “Essa, there’s been an attack!”
They’d all been wondering when it would happen. Mike’s dreams had faded, but Melanie’s were getting worse by the day. No one knew how Evan had released a horde of angry spirits, but her premonitions were pretty clear on the fact that he had, and they were coming.
“Where?” Melanie quickly followed as Avlo led her through the halls. It went without saying that Jake, Aris, Apeo and Mike followed. Rachel and Dasek were deep in discussion, but they broke off when Mel arrived.
“One of the donors,” Dasek said gravely without being asked. “It’s worse than that, though. We have some contacts in the human police, and we had them cross check with the form of death. It appears that a number of humans have died the same way – all activists working toward a better relationship between humans and vampires.”
“H-how?” Mel leaned back on Mike, who stroked her hair gently.
“They appear to be frozen, like they were put in a freezer, but according to the medical examiners, it happened in moments. Probably when the spirits touched them – the freezing emanates from one point on the body, though it’s a different one with each victim.”
“Is the iron fully surrounding the palace?”
“Yes, but we still haven’t figured out a way to allow airflow without letting spirits in. We’ve installed air conditioners, which will pull air from outside, but there’s no way of knowing if spirits can get through the same vents the air does.”
Melanie bit her lip. They couldn’t count on spirits being subject to the same limitations as humans or vampires. For all she knew, they could squeeze through a hole the size of a pin head. “Have we considered bringing in oxygen canisters instead of the aircon?”
“We have, but we wouldn’t like to resort to that if at all avoidable. People would have to wear masks all the time, and those with pets would have to leave… Assa says we should try this first, see if it keeps us safe. If not, we’ll have to try something else.”
Melanie wasn’t sure if anything could keep them safe. If her dreams were indeed premonitions, then they were in for the fight of their lives.
Chapter 16
Jake
Jake tossed Apeo another book. “Check this one out, there’s some interesting stuff about spirit legends. I don’t know how much of it might be true, though. Judging by the dates, you’ve lived through at least some of it. Perhaps you’ll be a better judge than me.”
“I’ll take a look.” Apeo’s eyes were moving so fast that the pupils were slightly blurred. Jake had yet to master the art of speed reading. It was supposed to be easier for vampires than hum
ans, but it still took some practice. For now, he was slogging through books the normal way.
The Cherki library was huge, though he and Apeo were far from the only ones doing research on their current predicament. He wished he was with Melanie. She hadn’t wanted him and Apeo along on her mission, and he couldn’t blame her.
He still wished more than anything that she’d let him take her away somewhere, anywhere where it was safe. Aris and Mike supported her; they’d been invited along while she went to notify various other royal families. He and Apeo were left behind to help the spirit research teams in any way they could.
Almost as much as he hated not being by Mel’s side, Jake hated the rift that was growing between him and his brothers. Mel wasn’t happy that he didn’t support her, but they’d had disagreements before, and she could handle it. Mike and Aris, however, were furious at him and Apeo for not supporting her.
Recently, it wasn’t even a good idea for the four of them to be in the same room together. None of them wanted to argue, but it was so hard not to when everything inside him was urging him to snatch Mel and drag her away from his hell.
He checked his phone again, but there was nothing from her. He’d messaged her hours ago. No doubt she was busy, but Jake suspected she also didn’t want to talk to him. He did his best to focus on the book he was supposed to be reading. Any information on spirits they had was frustratingly patchy. For the most part, the research teams were reduced to wading through accounts of myths, never sure whether what they read was based in truth or merely a scary story told to children.
Two days passed before Melanie, Mike and Aris returned. They all looked exhausted and discouraged.
“Mel!” Jake ran up to her, pulling her into a kiss, which she returned only briefly. “You’re alright?”
“I’m fine, I guess, but things with the Fori didn’t go well. They were suspicious and didn’t believe us at first. We stayed, to try to convince them they needed to prepare. In the end, they believed.”
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