by Eva Chase
So that’s what he was up to here. I was about to say I’d appreciate the help, but Declan shook his head.
“I did some investigating into her background when Lillian first started coming to see you. There aren’t any Dusklands in the country other than her. She came over from the Netherlands when she was fifteen to attend Blood U, although I got the sense from the bits and pieces I dug up that she’d moved around quite a bit in Europe. Not sure why she decided to come here for school or to stay here. The Dusklands over there haven’t done anything notable enough that we’ve got records on them.”
Of course he’d already have the territory thoroughly researched. I gave him a fond if crooked smile. “Nothing startling since she arrived over here, I assume?”
“She’s kept a pretty low profile. Good but not exceptional performance in her classes, never appears to have aspired to a job beyond being an assistant to the blacksuits. She started out working for a middle-management type and then a year later—about three years ago—ended up under Lillian.”
She really shouldn’t have any personal stake in the Bloodstone barony, then. She hadn’t even been in the country while my mother or grandfather had been ruling.
“I’d bet the other barons got to her somehow.” Malcolm made a face at the shelves around us. “The more people they’ve got seeing you as the enemy, the easier it’d be for them to push you around. She’s just taking it to another level.”
“Maybe.” Maggie hadn’t said anything about the other barons talking to her—but then, they wouldn’t have wanted her to mention that, would they? “I’ll just have to do my best to avoid her.”
We fell into silence, each of us poised in our spots throughout the records room, focused on our own reading. No sound seeped through the narrow windows that let in streaks of dim sunlight, so there was nothing but the rustle of pages and Malcolm’s occasional disgruntled muttering to himself.
The baron meeting records didn’t exactly make for exciting entertainment. They were fairly dry notes on topics discussed and decisions arrived at, with only occasional mention of which specific barons had contributed what opinions. None of the rulings from the year when my mother had been taken mentioned anything to do with changes to how fearmancers interacted with Naries, at the university or anywhere else. They were mostly private concerns relating to one or another fearmancer’s business dealings or family conflicts.
I sifted back through the year before that, the accounts blurring together in their repetition, until one particular case made me pause. It looked like at least once there had been some disagreement between my mother and her usual allies. This case was a family matter, a marriage between a man from a prestigious family and a woman who was obviously much worse-regarded. The husband had died, and his parents had demanded custody over their two young grandchildren, arguing they were better equipped to provide a proper future for them than the mother.
The details of the debate weren’t recorded, but the vote was. The matter hadn’t required unanimous agreement. Barons Nightwood and Killbrook had voted in favor of the grandparents; the earlier Baron Stormhurst, Declan’s mom, and my own had sided with the mother. The children had stayed with her.
Baron Bloodstone didn’t always value status over all else. She was willing to defy her strongest ally and side with the baron she’d liked least when it came to keeping a family together.
My thumb dropped to rub over the band of the ring she’d given me, the silver smooth but warm against my skin. Another feeling that had been wriggling through me since I’d first heard her crying rose up to grip my chest.
“Do you think—” I paused, my voice sounding too loud in the quiet room. Declan and Malcolm lifted their heads. I swallowed and pushed on. “Do you think I am kind of betraying her? I mean, she has been through an awful lot, and she’s hardly had any time to recover. Maybe I jumped to seeing her as an enemy too quickly. Maybe there’s a way I could get through to her instead of going behind her back.”
“You tried telling her how you feel about the new policy, didn’t you?” Declan said. “She hasn’t budged at all. Everything she’s said about it during the baron meetings has been enthusiastic. Even if she’s had some doubts, I don’t think she’s willing to act on them.”
“Because everyone expects her to be a certain way, to be all powerful and authoritative.” But I didn’t have a clue how to convince her that she could open up more candidly with me, if there was even much she’d have wanted to say beyond what she’d revealed this afternoon. She’d still said these were plans she’d wanted. That didn’t dislodge the lump of guilt in my stomach, though. “I don’t like it, that’s all.”
“Of course you don’t. That’s why you’re you.” Malcolm set his current book aside. He flicked the glasses off his face and into his shirt pocket in a motion so smooth it was hard to believe he’d been wearing them a second before. I suspected he’d perfected the move just in case he was ever in danger of being interrupted by someone he’d rather not see them.
He sauntered over to me and slipped his fingers around my forearm with a gentle grasp. His head bent low, the nearness of him and the sharply aquatic scent of his cologne making my heart thump. I still wasn’t totally used to the fact that this guy and I had shifted from wary opponents to devoted lovers, and every demonstration he made of that devotion came with a little thrill.
Maybe it did for Malcolm too. His voice dropped, languidly smooth. “If there’s something worthy of your loyalty in your mother, you’ll find it and bring it out. If you could manage that with me, no one else could possibly stand a chance. But until you know for sure it’s there, you’ve got to look after yourself and the people you know can’t defend themselves. And if you don’t like going behind her back, you can blame it on me for telling you to.”
I had to roll my eyes at him. “Right. Because I’d definitely have no choice but to follow your orders.”
He chuckled. “I didn’t say you had to believe I’m to blame.” His hand shifted, tipping so the backs of his fingers rested against my skin. He trailed them up my arm. “But really, how much time have you been able to take to recover from the shit you’ve been put through in the last six months? Why the hell would your mother deserve more consideration and compassion than you do? You just never think about yourself and what you’d want.” He glanced over at Declan. “Does she?”
Declan had been watching us, his bright hazel eyes intent. He shut his book. “No,” he said. “She really doesn’t.”
“You’re one to talk,” I pointed out.
He shrugged, an amused smile curving his lips. “It takes one to know one.”
Malcolm’s fingers had traveled all the way up to the side of my neck. He unfurled them, teasing them into my hair and over my scalp. “So, clearly it’s up to us to make sure you’re looked after.”
He closed the last short distance between us and claimed my mouth. I’d been affected by the Nightwood scion’s kiss even when I’d wanted nothing to do with him in any other way, and it was only better now that we were on the same side. A tingle shot through me from head to toe. Malcolm eased closer, aligning his body with mine with a press of perfect, solid heat.
Declan cleared his throat. “I’m not sure this is the best place for that kind of ‘looking after.’ There are a couple of staff around.”
Malcolm kissed me again, stretching out the moment, and then looked over his shoulder at the Ashgrave scion. “They’re not allowed in every part of this building, are they? You’ve got your office.”
Declan’s gaze slid from him to me, an eager longing sparking inside it. There was a question in it too—whether this was what I wanted. But I hadn’t found anything useful about my mother, and damn it, I could use this incredibly potent reminder of how much some people in the world were willing to offer me. And the thought of hooking up here in the building that belonged to my fiercest enemies without them ever knowing made me a little giddy.
I tipped my head slightly in acknowle
dgement. Malcolm grinned. Declan shoved his book onto the shelf without any further prompting needed and motioned for us to follow him.
Malcolm let go of me as we stepped into the hall, but he stayed close enough that I could feel his presence behind me with rising anticipation. Declan pushed open his office door and ushered us inside. As he spoke the casting words to ensure the room’s security, I had a few moments to take in the space, which he’d made his own: practical but tasteful wooden furniture, books and pages of notes stacked on the desk. Then his voice fell away with a quiver of magic snapping into place, and Malcolm pulled me into another kiss.
His mouth devoured mine, his hands roaming down my sides, and Declan came up behind me, a more measured though no less passionate presence. The Ashgrave scion touched the small of my back with a subtle caress and lowered his mouth to my shoulder, just above the collar of my dress. A shaky breath escaped me.
Declan slid the zipper of my dress down, and Malcolm tugged the sleeves right off my shoulders. I reached for his shirt, fumbling with the buttons as he stroked my breasts. He sank down to capture one in his mouth and then the other, the flick of his tongue making me gasp with the jolts of pleasure.
Declan turned my head toward him and leaned over to capture my mouth for himself. His tongue tangled around mine as Malcolm’s drew my nipples to even stiffer peaks. Declan’s hands came to rest on my waist, my ass flush against his thighs, the solid length of his erection unmistakable even through the layers of fabric between us.
I couldn’t resist squirming against it until he groaned. His grip on my body tightened, his fingers working to ease up the skirt of the dress. With each whisper of the fabric up over my thighs, the desire pooling between my legs pulsed hotter.
Malcolm hummed approvingly. He raised his head and dropped his hand at the same time, cupping my sex just as Declan tugged my dress up to the level of my panties. I clutched the open sides of his shirt as bliss rushed up from my core. Malcolm gave me that familiar cocky grin and swiveled the heel of his hand against my clit until I trembled.
“Let’s see just how well we can look after our heir of Bloodstone,” he said, catching Declan’s eyes and then mine. “So many possibilities when there are two of us to join forces.”
A breathless laugh tumbled out of me. “You make it sound like warfare.”
“Not a battle. Only a challenge.” His eyebrows arched, and then he was dropping to his knees in front of me, but not at all like the one other time he’d knelt for me. My chest hitched at the heated flow of his breath down the front of my dress. He came to a stop at my bared panties and kissed me through them. Oh, God.
“Worth the wait,” he murmured, and yanked my panties down. As he brought his mouth to my clit, Declan teased a finger between my legs from behind. The tip traced over my slit. Two streams of pleasure collided with a resonance that made me moan.
“That’s right,” Malcolm said under his breath between kisses and skillful swipes of his tongue. “The best we can give you inside and out. But I want to be the one who prepares you. You shouldn’t have to worry about a thing, Glinda.”
With the fond nickname, his hand was already dipping to follow Declan’s. He spoke a casting word of his own invention, but the meaning was obvious in an instant. A shiver of energy flowed up into my channel, protecting me—but also tingling through my sex with a pleasure all its own. He’d added his own flourish on the usual spell.
He withdrew his fingers at the rasp of Declan’s zipper. I edged my feet farther apart instinctively as Malcolm returned his full attention to massaging every shred of pleasure he could from my mound with his mouth. A teasing brush of his teeth brought a gasp to my lips, and then Declan was aligning his cock with my slick entrance.
I dug my fingers into Malcolm’s shoulders, leaning forward, and Declan plunged into me. The heady friction of him filling me brought a fresh wave of magical stimulation alongside the physical. The tingles radiated all through me.
He peppered kisses across my shoulder blades as he found his pace. The rhythm of his thrusts rocked me against Malcolm’s mouth. The Nightwood scion ate me up, the Ashgrave scion filled me to the hilt, and between the two of them I couldn’t have felt more adored. Ecstasy swelled and swelled inside me until I felt as if I’d be swept beneath it, drowned in the undertow. But what a way to go.
“Please,” I mumbled, not totally sure what I was pleading for, but Declan gave it to me all the same. He bucked into me faster, deeper, and propelled me over the edge. I tumbled into bliss with a shudder and a cry, and his breath stuttered as he followed me.
Malcolm urged my pleasure higher with the swirl of his tongue until Declan withdrew. Then the Nightwood scion was standing, spinning us around together. He set me on the desk with a thud of toppled books, yanking his slacks open at the same time. His mouth crashed into mine as his cock rammed into me, my own musky flavor unexpected but not unpleasant on his lips.
I kissed him back hard, arcing into him, chasing the second release I could already sense on the horizon. Malcolm tugged me tight against him. Each thrust came with an aftershock of pleasure that radiated through me, building and building until my eyes rolled back with the final wave of it. Malcolm groaned with a jerk of his hips, and I knew he’d joined me.
He stayed bent over me for a few moments longer. His next kisses were tender, charting a path from my mouth along my jaw. Then he glanced down at the desk.
“Sorry,” he said to Declan. “I made a bit of a mess of your office.”
Declan laughed, slipping in beside me so he could steal another kiss for himself. “A minor sacrifice to see her looking this satisfied.”
I grasped the front of his shirt, pulling him closer as I leaned my head against Malcolm’s arm, wanting to include both of them in my embrace. I was satisfied… and yet somehow beneath the lingering ripples of bliss, a pang was echoing through me. Wanting more than I knew how to ask for.
Chapter Fourteen
Connar
I was just coming out of class when the prickling of a magical alert shot over my skin. I froze at the top of the stairs and found just enough wherewithal to move to the side, out of the way of my classmates.
Days ago, after my fellow scions had snapped me out of the spell my parents had placed on me, I’d cast a spell of my own at the far end of the road into the university to detect my mother’s presence. She had a habit of turning up on campus without warning, and I didn’t want to risk her catching me unaware. I’d known it would only be a matter of time before she came to check on me in person—and I’d been dreading the moment.
She was on her way to see me now. It’d been easy enough to avoid her when all I was faced with were texts and phone calls. Face-to-face…
I was still a scion. I had enough dignity not to run and hide, which would put my friends in the line of fire too. It was my job to deal with her. But that wasn’t likely to happen without a fight, and one I wasn’t sure I could win. Scion or not, she had just as much power as I did and decades more experience at using it.
Assuming she was driving, it wouldn’t take her long to make it to campus. I propelled myself into motion, hurrying down the stairs. As I went, I grabbed my phone from my pocket and sent a quick text to Rory. If this confrontation didn’t go well, I wanted her to at least be prepared for the outcome.
My mother’s on her way to see me. I’m going to do everything I can to make her back off.
Her reply was almost instant. Where are you meeting her? I’ll be there for backup.
My heart wrenched, both with affection for how quickly she’d offered her help and fear of what might happen if she gave it. My thumbs darted over the keypad.
No need. I’m the one who should handle it. I just wanted you to have some forewarning.
I’m not going to need forewarning for anything, she wrote back, so firmly I could practically hear her determined tone as I read the words. I’m not letting her mess with your head again. I’ll stay out of the way and simply be r
eady in case you need extra magical support. She’ll never know I was involved.
I hesitated, my fingers tightening around the phone as I came out into the cool autumn air on the green. I didn’t want Rory taking that risk, even if she could tip the balance in my favor.
In my silence, she sent another message. If you DON’T tell me where you’re meeting her, I’ll just have to race around campus until I find you, and I definitely won’t be able to stay out of sight that way.
Damn it. My lips twitched between a smile and a frown. Rory obviously wasn’t willing to accept any arguments.
I’m going over to the parking lot at the front of the school, I wrote back. That seems like a good place to make a stand. But whatever happens, please don’t make yourself a target. It’ll be easier for her to get to me if she can threaten you.
I understand. I won’t give her a chance to hurt me OR you.
My chest constricted as I strode around Killbrook Hall. My mother’s car was just emerging from the shadows of the trees where the road passed through the woods. I came to a halt on the grass in between the lot and the front steps of the hall. A series of hasty casting words tumbled from my mouth.
If we were going to face off, it might as well be here. We’d be in view of the junior dorms and the staff offices on this side of the building, and that might moderate my mother’s actions somewhat. She wouldn’t want to grapple with me too openly. And I had multiple avenues to retreat if I needed to. I tried not to think about where Rory might position herself and how well she’d actually stay concealed.
My mother parked to the side of the lot, in front of me. I spoke another casting word under my breath, testing and bolstering the protective walls I’d drawn up around me—to deflect any magic she threw at me, to prevent her from coming physically closer than I’d prefer. After the way she’d possessed my mind so completely last time, I wasn’t taking any chances.