Son of a Succubus Series Collection

by Dorie, Sarina

  The walls of the room glittered from the light flickering across crystals embedded in the walls. It was the fanciest place Lucifer had ever stepped, far too clean for his liking. He would have preferred the hot springs outdoors to this pristine environment.

  Outside the bathroom, he heard the valet’s voice, quiet but unmistakable. “I beg your pardon, miss, but Prince Lucifer isn’t fit to be seen at the moment.”

  Prince Lucifer. That title might have meant something once when Queen Morgaine was alive, but now that she was dead and a new queen sat on the throne, Lucifer suspected the title was a nicety. He didn’t feel like a prince. No one had ever treated him as one. But perhaps that was because Baba made him scrub dishes, and Kelsie, the other apprentice, punched him in the shoulder when he annoyed her.

  Then again, the bath was nice enough for a prince.

  “No one told me he’d arrived,” Abigail said, her voice muffled. “I just want to say hello.”

  “It wouldn’t be appropriate for a lady of gentle breeding to be exposed to a naked young man as he’s bathing,” the valet said.

  Lucifer laughed out loud at that. Neither of them were of “gentle breeding,” but he supposed now that Clarissa was queen of the Red Court, there was royal etiquette to uphold.

  Abigail growled something in response. Lucifer glanced around for a bathrobe but didn’t see one.

  The valet said, “Return in two hours when he is dressed.”

  “Can I at least leave him these cookies?” Abigail asked.

  “It depends, miss. Did you poison these?” His indifferent tone gave no hint of amusement away.

  Lucifer suspected the man had to be serious.

  “No!” Abigail shouted. “Why would I poison him? I like Lucy.”

  “I beg your pardon.” The valet cleared his throat. “Did you cast any spells on them like you did the last time you brought someone cookies?”

  Her voice was almost inaudible. “I only did that once. Okay, well, twice.”

  “Try three times, miss.” He cleared his throat. “I shall check the cookies myself. You may return in two hours.”

  Lucifer didn’t care for the servant’s snooty tone, especially not with her. He could imagine how crestfallen she looked, not only denied of seeing him, but unable to give him her gift herself. It had to hurt that the staff distrusted her.

  The valet brought a plate of biscuits and set them on the edge of the bathtub. “Servants will arrive with other foods in but a moment. I have checked these myself, but the queens always insist their guests inspect their own food as a precaution. They believe it sets a precedent to show royalty should not take offense when guests do so in their presence.”

  Lucifer reached for a biscuit. “And it gives the royal family the excuse to inspect their own food in their guests’ presence.”

  Lucifer supposed it was spiteful, but he didn’t intend to inspect the food for spells in front of the servant. After the valet’s insults to Abigail’s honor, Lucifer didn’t want to give the man the satisfaction of thinking he agreed with him.

  Lucifer inhaled the aroma. Ginger and spices greeted his nose.

  The valet grimaced. “Or you may eat at your own risk if it pleases you.” He turned away to tidy a stack of towels.

  Lucifer didn’t appreciate the servant’s tone. “Has Abby ever poisoned anyone?”

  “Miss Abigail fancies herself a matchmaker. She placed a love potion in General Errol’s tea.”

  Lucifer had met the captain of Elric’s guard once, though he didn’t know if he would recognize the man now. “Who did Abby try to set him up with?”

  “I can assure you, I have no idea.” The man bowed and withdrew. “I have other preparations to make. If you’ll excuse me.”

  Now that the man was gone, Lucifer cast the spell for detecting hexes and poisons over the plate of food. He trusted Abigail not to poison him. He just didn’t know about anyone else. Lucifer used a simple spell, the magic flickering and flashing above the biscuits and turning purple to show it was safe.

  He nibbled on a gingersnap, finding it perfect, just as her cooking had always been.

  A short time later, three women came in wearing little besides leaves and moss. The wood nymphs carried trays, setting them out around the bathroom. One seated herself on the side of the tub and removed a lid from a tray. It was covered with slices of fruit and the juiciest bunch of grapes he’d ever seen. The colors were so bright they looked like they had to be a glamour. These Lucifer thoroughly tested for hexes, toxins, and Fae substances that might make him ill. The magic above the fruit shimmered violet, indicating the food was safe.

  The woman holding the fruit waited until he was done before plucking a grape from the bunch and offering it to him. Grapes were a treat, as he and Kelsie only foraged what they could find in the spring and summer before Baba moved the cottage to a different location, and grapes were harvested in the autumn. The woman smiled at him pleasantly as she placed a slice of strawberry on his tongue. He closed his eyes and savored the sweet and tart berry. Between the heat of the bath and the explosion of flavor, the small pleasures tingled into his core where his affinity dwelled. His magic thrummed inside him.

  “Can I offer you something to drink? Champagne? Meade? Wine?” the woman asked.

  Lucifer caught himself before he thanked her and risked owing her a boon. “That is kind, but no. I would prefer water or tea to alcohol.” He so rarely drank, and Baba had warned him to keep his wits about him.

  “Surely there is something that will tempt you?” she said sweetly.

  “I only drink for medicinal purposes.”

  The three attendants giggled.

  One batted her eyelashes at him. “If that’s the case, I should hope you’ll be ill tonight at the ball so that you might enjoy the hospitality of your hosts more fully.”

  Lucifer wondered what kind of bath this was supposed to be. This wasn’t like the forest where he knew the rules. He was out of his element here in a castle, with servants, guards, and formalities. On the occasions he was at home and encountered a siren at the stream, he met with them as equals. If they chose to engage in carnal passions, it was consensual. No one told those sirens or wood nymphs at home it was their job to cater to his every whim or to seduce him.

  Lucifer wanted to ask if these women were hired to bathe him or to make love to him, but he feared they would laugh. They might report directly to Clarissa and tell her how unfaithful he was to Abigail. Or they might tell her themselves. He couldn’t help but feel like he was in a trap no matter what he did.

  The two other women seated themselves around the tub. One took his hand and used the tools in her tray to manicure his fingers. Another fished his foot out of the tub and started a pedicure. It was relaxing in its way, but less so than when he’d been alone. If he’d been given the choice, he would have preferred Abigail’s company to theirs, even if she had simply been sitting on the floor outside the tub, and they’d been sharing a plate of ginger biscuits.

  One of the wood nymphs massaged his shoulders. “How is the temperature? Shall we add more hot water?”

  “I feel like I’m already in enough hot water,” he said.

  They laughed as though he were the funniest person in the world.

  “Are you enjoying these luxuries?” one asked.

  “Well, if this is what it’s like to be treated as a prince, I must confess, I don’t mind.” Except for the part about feeling completely lost and not knowing the rules of the palace.

  “These aren’t all the luxuries we’ve been asked to bestow upon you. Say the word, and we will shower you with even more attention than we are now.” The wood nymph flashed a coquettish smile at him.

  He laughed, feeling awkward. “I’m pretty sure this is as much attention as I can handle right now.”

  “Oh? I think that’s hardly the case.” The wood nymph stroked his hair out of his face. “According to King Elric, you’ve been de
nied attention for too long, and you’re entitled to extra care.”

  Baba had said to fuel his affinity, but she’d also warned him to be careful. He wondered whether it would be rude to tell them he preferred solitude to a back massage. The one behind him dug her fingers into his shoulder muscles. He closed his eyes and sank back. Perhaps he didn’t want solitude after all.

  She leaned in closer. “According to Queen Vega, you need pleasure for your affinity to work at its fullest for the party tonight. She’s going to require a demonstration from all the Red affinities in her household.”

  “Is she now?” He sat up straighter, his unease growing. “She expects me to perform some kind of public sex magic in front of everyone at a ball?” At a coming of age ball to showcase eligible maidens in her court? That sounded absolutely barbaric. And dangerous. He wasn’t used to people talking about his affinity so openly.

  One of the wood nymphs laughed so hard she dropped her nail file in the tub. Several grapes tumbled in as well.

  His face flushed with embarrassment as they cavalierly splashed bubbles aside to find items they’d lost.

  “It isn’t like that, honey,” the wood nymph massaging his shoulders said. “Queen Vega simply wants the Red affinities in her care to demonstrate their electrical magic. That’s why she requires you be given such . . . attentions now.”

  The wood nymph giving him the pedicure massaged his feet. “Some queens want their subjects to love them—”

  “Like Queen Clarissa!” The one massaging his hands said.

  “Some want their subjects to respect and fear them. Like Queen Vega.” Her cheerful expression turned somber. “It’s to her advantage to show her allies and any potential enemies what her army is capable of.”

  “Her army.” He wasn’t part of Vega’s anything. He didn’t live in this court, nor in his brother’s household. He was independent of them both. “And just when did Queen Vega plan on telling me about this demonstration?”

  One of them waved him off dismissively. “Probably she didn’t. It’s more of her way to make up the rules and pass them on to King Elric to see to it that they’re enforced.”

  The one massaging his feet tickled his toes. “He’s so much less demanding than she is. You can decline if you want to. So long as it’s him you tell and not Queen Vega, he’ll ensure she doesn’t make a fuss.”

  Lucifer supposed he had underestimated how much of a pawn he would play in Vega’s game. Baba had said he needed to gauge the growth of Abigail’s soul to ensure it wasn’t too late to return the rest to her. With all the royalty using him to their advantage, he didn’t know how he was going to get away from the ball to find time for that.

  The wood nymph massaging his feet stepped into the tub.

  Every muscle in his body tensed. “Does Queen Clarissa know about you coming to my room for such attentions?” She was the only royal figure he worried about. She was the one person in the castle who would keep Abigail from him if she thought it was in her fairy godmother’s best interests.

  They giggled but didn’t answer. He thought of Izzy and where her loyalty had lain.

  The wood nymph in the bath smoothed her hands up his chest. He remembered the one time he’d taken a hot bath with Abigail in the room. It had been immediately after Baba’s curse had been temporarily removed in the Morty Realm. He’d had no idea the spell was only partially broken. It hardly seemed fair that all they’d had was one short night together before he’d changed back into being a cat.

  The wood nymph leaned forward and kissed him. In his mind, he saw Abigail as she had been the night she’d given him a bath, the corners of her eyes crinkling with laugh lines. She’d been close to fifty and had felt self-conscious that he had looked like a man too young for her. Yet he hadn’t minded. He’d loved her for thirty long years as a cat.

  He kissed the wood nymph, wishing she were his Abby. Desire thrummed through him, setting his nerves on fire.

  Her fingers paused as they encountered the amulet. “Shall we take this off?”

  “No,” he said quickly. He grasped her hands, keeping her from taking the necklace with the vial.

  Baba had said not to remove the amulet no matter what. Perhaps she had seen treachery or an accident befalling Abigail’s soul. These wood nymphs had to be a trap set up by Clarissa. She probably still wanted to regrow Abigail’s soul instead of allowing him to fix it and give her the one that should be in her body. Somehow she must have figured out why he had truly come.

  “This bath has been relaxing. Very pleasant.” Lucifer forced a smile. “Now I would like you all to leave.”

  The wood nymph drew away, her expression hurt. “Have we done something to offend . . . His Highness?”

  Lucifer was tired of court formalities, and he wasn’t even at the ball yet. “No. I simply wish to spend some time alone for a few minutes. It has nothing to do with you.”

  He sank deeper into the warm water as they left. The last one out cast a flirtatious wink at him as she closed the door behind her, as if to say she knew what he intended. Only when they were gone did he relax against the stone tub and begin to fuel his affinity in the best way he knew how when he was alone.

  He hoped it would be enough for the magic he needed to cure Abigail later.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Prince of Pain in the Behind

  Lucifer wasn’t used to wearing so many layers or such decadent clothes. The pants and boots were too snug, and the cravat was like a noose around his neck. He couldn’t imagine shackles would feel more confining.

  The valet was meticulous in preparing Lucifer for the ball. Every inch of him had been tamed, even his unruly midnight hair was tied back into a neat tail at the nape of his neck. He didn’t feel like himself, more like an imposter pretending to be a noble for this ball.

  As uncomfortable as he felt in the ridiculously fine attire, it wasn’t the restriction of his clothes that distracted him as much as the valet’s discomfort. He sensed sharp bursts of pain shooting through the valet’s lower back. The man mopped perspiration from his forehead with a handkerchief, but his hands were clammy and cold as he dressed Lucifer.

  “Are you all right?” Lucifer asked. “Did you eat something that disagreed with you?” He hoped it wasn’t anything Abigail had done to spite the valet for his earlier treatment.

  “I’m quite fine, Your Highness.”

  Lucifer attempted to close himself off from the man’s pain, but the man kept powdering his body and fastening buttons. Had the contact been less constant, and Lucifer in greater control, he might have been able to maintain his distance from the valet’s suffering. It took Lucifer longer than it would have at home to separate the sensations in the other man’s body from his own.

  The valet poured tea when he was halfway done dressing Lucifer. He bowed. “I’ll be just a moment, Your Highness.”

  The valet shuffled away with tight little steps. Lucifer pretended he didn’t notice the burning shooting through the other man’s abdomen. The valet closed the door to the bathroom. Only a few seconds had passed before Lucifer heard the man vomit.

  Lucifer shifted from foot to foot uneasily, uncertain what he was supposed to do. Had some enemy poisoned the valet in order to get the man out of the way so they might get to Lucifer? Not that he thought he was that important, but he was related to important people.

  Lucifer stuck his head out the door of the quarters to call someone for assistance. Surely a castle like this had doctors and healers. No one was in sight.

  A muffled moan came from the bathroom. Lucifer returned to the room, hesitating outside the door. He was a healer. Mostly assisting Baba with deliveries and women’s ailments, but he could work other healing spells as well.

  He raised his hand to knock but decided not to disturb the man just yet. He didn’t want to use the spying technique Baba had taught him. Instead, he used his affinity to reach his awareness beyond the door and feel what might be happeni
ng inside the man’s body. Chills flashed over the valet as the burning in his bladder disabled him.

  Lucifer had encountered these symptoms once before, though not to this extreme. He knocked.

  The man’s voice came tight and strained, lacking the snootiness it had before. “I’ll be but a moment, Your Highness.”

  Lucifer opened the door. The valet sat on the floor in a puddle of bloody urine and vomit. The valet’s eyes went wide, and his face blanched paler than it already was.

  “You’re suffering from a kidney stone,” Lucifer said.

  The man held up his hands, shaking his head. “Please wait outside.”

  Lucifer tossed the stack of clean towels on the floor to sop up the mess. He crouched next to the valet. He wasn’t afraid of blood or getting dirty, though he could tell from the way the servant squirmed back despite his pain that he feared soiling Lucifer’s fine clothes.

  Lucifer removed his white gloves and set them on the counter. If he could have rolled up his sleeves he would have, but the fitted fabric was unyielding. He placed one hand behind the small of the man’s back and the other just above his pubic bone.

  The pain was almost as intolerable as birthing as it rushed into Lucifer. He sucked in a breath and fought to twist that burning into a more palatable energy. Without thinking, he wove it into fine threads of cooling energy. It wasn’t so different from the blanket he’d made for Abigail’s soul, but instead of working with plants, soil, and tears, he wove with pain.

  Lucifer eased the agony away. The man sighed in relief.

  With his awareness, he found the jagged edges of not one, but four separate stones in the man’s kidney, each fighting to exit his system. The largest one was the diameter of a coin, far too large to pass out of him. Lucifer was vaguely familiar with the way humans used ultrasound to break the stones, whereas Baba’s solution was to dissolve them using a tonic made from cider vinegar. Her process was too slow for what needed to be done now.

  The valet offered a weary smile. “I’m better. The moment has passed.”