Devil Inside

by S. A. Price

  “You going to check it out?” Pristina asked. “Scur was grumbling about how it was giving him the goddamn heebie jeebies. Which of course made Puziel laugh his ass off.”

  “Soon,” she said to her lady. “Seeing the queen is a bit daunting. She wants to talk but it just gives me a major headache.”

  “Maybe that will change when you get your full guard?” Octavia said. “Oh, and Puziel said that he packed that weird telescope/spyglass you got in Cambodia. It’s safe and ready for transport when you need it.”

  “You think it has anything to do with this insane fucking quest?” Pristina asked.

  “It has to, in some way or another,” she said to Pristina. She had all but forgotten about the spyglass, but then again, she’d been inundated with more things than she normally took on. “So, everyone’s coming, right? All the houses?”

  Octavia nodded. “Everyone. All guards, princesses, kings, and fools.” She grinned. “As to the faeblins, some have chosen not to come, which is cool.”

  Alyx nodded. “I don’t want anyone to feel like they have to participate in this house.”

  “Which is why you are going to have a well-loved house,” Octavia said.

  Gods, she hoped so. She wanted to make her parents proud, wanted to usher in a new house that was not stifled by convention. Her house would be love incarnate, and she would defend that with everything she had.

  “There you are.”

  She looked up to see Abaxley and smiled. “Hey. Things okay?”

  He nodded. “Ladies, I wondered if I could borrow our lovely princess for a moment.”

  “Take her for as long as you want,” Pris said. “We are just finishing up party shit and then I have a wax I have to get to.”

  Abaxley frowned. “Graphic, and more than I ever wanted to know about you, Pristina.”

  “Tough.” Pristina leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. “It’s going to be awesome, so calm down, go ride this stud ‘til you pass out.”

  Octavia nodded. “What she said.”

  Laughing, Alyx shook her head and took the hand that Abaxley offered her, allowing herself to be led from the room.

  “Pristina is...spirited,” he said as they rounded the corner.

  “That’s nothing,” she said. “I don’t believe in sugar-coating anything either.”

  “Well yeah, I mean I kinda love that about you. You never hid your attraction to me, never once played coy. It’s refreshing. I just... Pris...”

  “Is a huntswoman,” she said. “And they live without borders.”

  “This is true.”

  “So, what did you want to talk to me about?”

  He grinned. “Well I was hoping to snag you for a small bite of lunch, maybe some relaxing well away from everyone else so we could connect some more.”

  She grinned. Her prince was too fucking cute, and too fucking proper to say what he meant. She figured she would do it for him. “You wanna eat, and then fuck ‘til we pass out.”

  He nodded, slight color in his cheeks. “You down?”

  “I could be...but are we eating first?”

  “That’s totally up to you.”

  “Well color me interested. Where is this happening?”

  “My room. Seeing as you have yet to see it.”

  “You cool with going from having a stronghold you could call your own to a bedroom?”

  He laughed. “That place was never mine, and only held memories and pain. Here? I like that I’m this close to you, though I don’t plan on sleeping there much.”

  “I’m going to need a bigger bed.”

  “Probably, yeah.”

  They entered his room and looked around the space. Done in navy, silver, and maroon, the decor was modern, but also with a cozy feel to it. His bed was swathed in blue cotton sheets and piled with pillows. Grinning, she turned to him and reached down, pulling her shirt over her head, then wiggled out of her jeans to stand in front of him in her black lace bra and thong that left nothing to the imagination.

  “I guess we eat later?” he said as he stepped up to her.

  She nodded and then went to her knees. “I did say I would be down...”

  Abaxley looked down at her and swallowed. “Jesus.”

  “He’s not here right now...” She reached up and unzipped his slacks. “But I am about to give you one hell of a religious experience.”

  5

  Alyx fluffed her breasts in the ball gown she had been zipped into and then moved the folds of the skirt, attempting to right the heavy satin and organza pleats. Lord, the slit went almost to the waist, and Scur had said, upon seeing the dress in the bag, she wasn’t wearing underwear, and curiously moments later all her underwear had gone missing. The top of the shimmery teal dress was strapless, with a beautiful fold of material over the bust, gathered to the top of her left breast, the material shot through with an orchid that showed off as she hit the light. It was minimal and understated, and screamed princess of the Arcane Court, which was its intent.

  She flexed her foot in the four-inch glittery heels she wore, thanking the gods that she could walk in them for hours at a time or she would be hurting. Looking over to the coyote that was lying on the chaise at the foot of her bed, she grinned. “And you, darling, no biting people or sniffing crotches, okay? If Scur can’t, neither can you.”

  “Princess,” Azrael said as he walked in with smile. “The party is underway. Everyone has arrived.” He looked her over. “You look beautiful.”

  The manifestation of her Sithen was tall, blue-black shaggy hair cut in a choppy style, dressed as a butler, with pale skin, perfectly coifed eyebrows, and sinful lips. Most of the Sithen visuals worked with their courts, Grodin being an older gentleman, Thanatos a non-descript entity, Alabaster a smoking hot chick that didn’t wear shirts or bras. Azrael looked too much like a certain demon butler from an anime she commented on once. Not that she minded. Certain demon butler was yum, and seeing him in the flesh in her house? Well that was just ducky. “Thank you, Az. Where are my men?”

  “Waiting on you to come out and show them what you look like. Lord Nordscov is almost vibrating where he’s standing,” he said, his voice cultured, smooth, with a hint of sexy to it.

  “Sure he doesn’t have something vibrating in his ass?” She wouldn’t put it past him.

  Azrael gave her a sardonic smile. “Lord Nordscov and I don’t have that kinda relationship, thank the dark gods.”

  “Well, I’ll have to let you know.”

  “Please don’t. Ever. There are things in this world that should forever remain a mystery.”

  “And Scur’s sexual proclivities fall in that column?”

  “You don’t think they should?” he countered. “Now, here...” he said and a box appeared in his hand. “You need to wear this.”

  The box opened and she saw a small black tiara, with little chips of milky blue stones, and a cerulean blue larger stone in the center. “It’s beautiful,” she said as he approached her with it.

  “I hope you don’t mind I took the liberty of creating a crown for you, seeing as the Court is so new. Well, it’s more a tiara. We will need some Faerie silver for a true crown.”

  “Azrael, it’s perfect. Thank you. Will you?”

  He shook his head. “No, that honor should belong to your captain, or your prince, or the lunatic vibrating out there.”

  She laughed. “Got it. Can you let them in?”

  “At once,” he said and turned, waving his hand as the doors to her room opened, and the guys filed in.

  They stopped just inside the doorway, Khalid standing in the middle. His eyes roamed over her before landing on her face, a smile curving at his lips. “You look absolutely stunning, Princess,” he said with a slight bow. “Way too good to be on the arm of any of us.”

  “Truth,” Scur said, but his eyes hadn’t made it to her face yet. His head was cocked to the side, gaze on the slit in her skirt. His smile wasn’t one of warmth, but pure animal lust. When he fin
ally looked up, his smile grew. “Hope you didn’t have any issues getting dressed, minx.”

  “My underwear is missing, asshole,” she said, trying not to squirm.

  “I had nothing to do with that,” Abaxley said. “But you are stunning, Alyx.” He grinned from the left of Khalid.

  “Lords, someone needs to place the crown on the princess’s head,” Azrael said. “Who is it going to be?”

  Scur looked around Khalid to Abaxley. “Ninety-nine percent of the time she’s talking about me when she says asshole.”

  “He ain’t lying,” Khalid said. “And Alyx, I believe the choice in that is yours. Any of us would be honored to do it.”

  “You should let your new pet do it,” Scur said, looking at the coyote as he hopped down from his perch. “Surprised you didn’t put a tie on the scoundrel.”

  “You plan on keeping him as a pet, don’t you?” Khalid said with a laugh. “You should at least give it a name.”

  “Of course, I’m talking about you, asshole,” she said to Scur. “You tell me I can’t wear underwear and then they go missing.”

  “I had nothing to do with it,” Azrael said, repeating Abaxley’s earlier words.

  “Exactly. It must have been you.” She walked toward them, the dress swaying as she did, cool air hitting her heated skin just peaking when she walked.

  “Jesus,” Abaxley swore.

  “As to our friend here...I’m not going to do him the indignity of calling him a pet. He seems to like it here so I’m going to let him be.”

  The coyote stepped up next to her, looked up, and then continued to walk out the door.

  “Totally a pet,” Scur said, smile still in place. “And you’re damn right I took them. I’m not trying to hide it. Though I do plan on making sure you aren’t wearing them when you least expect it.”

  “Princess,” Khalid said and cleared his throat, obviously trying to hide his laugh. “We should get going, but you need to be wearing your crown.”

  “Yes, I do. So, which one of you are going to do this?”

  Abaxley bowed. “I don’t believe the honor is mine.”

  “That leaves you two,” Azrael said. “Rock, paper, scissors?”

  Scur shook his head. “While that’s normally how we decide things, this honor should fall on the captain.”

  “It would be my pleasure,” Khalid said, taking the crown. He stepped up to her, lifting the crown to place it on her head. Just as he’d settled it over her hair, he leaned in. “No more saying you are anything other than Alyx Mayhem, Princess of the Arcane Court. Because you are truly a princess.” He kissed her and stepped back, offering her his arm. “If you’re ready.”

  She took a deep breath and took his arm. “I’m ready. And Scur...” she turned to look at him. “I want my underwear back.”

  “Tell you what,” her berserker said, “I’ll let you have them back if you can find them.”

  Rolling her eyes, she looked to Azrael. “Please have some new underwear delivered for me.”

  “Of course, Princess.”

  Abaxley grinned. “Now this seems like a good opportunity.”

  “For?”

  He winked. “Come on. Let’s go see this party.”

  ****

  Eliora stepped into the large ballroom of the Arcane Sithen and felt like she might have underdressed for the occasion. The room was full of beings dressed to the nines in tuxedos and formal gowns, though she didn’t particularly care if she wasn’t following the dress code. Instead of a long flowing dress, she’d chosen a form-fitting red one that stopped mid-thigh and dipped down to the curve of her ass in the back. It had long sleeves and completely covered her front, so she figured it was as appropriate as she was going to get for the occasion. Hell, Nymea’s dress was tighter than hers, but the statuesque princess could wear a burlap sack and still look like sex on a stick.

  “I still can’t figure out why you wanted to tag along to a ball,” Bechar said from next to her.

  “Because a girl likes to get dressed up and dance every once in a while,” she told her brother. “I’ve been topside for months and I’m no closer to finding a reason to stay. Thought I’d get in one more night of fun before tucking my tail between my legs and going home.”

  “I always knew you had a tail,” he said with a laugh and she jabbed her arm into his stomach. His grunt made her smile.

  “Do try not to injure my guard, Eli,” Nymea said as she stepped up next to them with Ryker at her side. “I happen to like this one.”

  Eli happened to like him, too. Bechar was the closest thing she had to a best friend, or any friend really. When he’d left Hell to go back home, her life had gotten seriously boring. One could only torture humans for so long before they wanted more out of life. “So, tell me about this party. Or do you royals just like to throw extravagant balls for no reason?” she asked.

  “Says the Princess of Hell,” Bechar said and she elbowed him again.

  “Alyx wanted to throw a party to welcome the faeblins to her court,” Mea said. “I commend her for taking on an entire species.”

  “It would be more of a task if she wasn’t boning their prince,” Ryker said. “That makes this a hell of a lot easier I would think.”

  “Such a way with words,” Eli said with a snort.

  “You’ll like Alyx,” Bechar said. “She’s more warrior than princess.”

  People were moving around them, seeming to all know each other. Eli tried to pick out any faces in the crowd she recognized, but truth was after you’d seen as many faces as she had in her life, everyone started to look the same. Except for the three who were approaching them.

  Aziz, Genevieve, and Kaelyn stopped in front of them and Mea instantly wrapped the prince in a hug. “Good to see you, cousin. I hope you’re still treating your wives well. I really would hate for one of them to kill you in your sleep,” Mea said.

  “Oh, I’d kill him when he was awake,” Gen said, leaning into Aziz when Mea let go.

  “You brought Eli!” Kaelyn said and pulled her into a hug. “I was hoping you hadn’t left yet.”

  “One final day in Faerie, then I’m heading back to a life of torture and madness,” she said with a grin, even though it was the last thing she wanted to do. Freedom had more perks than she’d ever imagined. Especially since her father had let her be. Seemed he finally decided to let her have a life, or at least the illusion of one.

  “My girls get everything they want,” Aziz said and wrapped his arm around Gen. “Now the question is where is Tripp, what is he wearing, and is he going to behave tonight?”

  Ryker scoffed. “He relented on the trash panda, but his cummerbund has little bunnies on it.” He shook his head. “As to behaving? We can only hope. If Scur and Quinn get into it you know who is going to throw himself in the mix just to make things worse.”

  “He needs a hobby,” Aziz said. “One that doesn’t include jumping out of shadows to scare people.” He grinned at Nymea. “Sorry about the black eye by the way.”

  “I told him not to try it when he dropped by but he doesn’t listen,” Ryker offered.

  Mea shrugged a shoulder. “Isn’t the first, won’t be the last.”

  “And he has bruised ribs to match it now,” Riven said, coming up behind Mea to wrap his arms around her waist.

  “You can see why I like visiting Blood Court,” Eli said. “Always entertaining.”

  Her eyes moved around the room again when everyone stopped talking, the crowd parting to show a female and three men walk in.

  “That’s Princess Alyx and her guard, Khalid, Scur, and Abaxley,” Bechar leaned in to whisper.

  “Sweet baby Jesus,” Eli said, her voice just as soft. “You didn’t tell me the woman was stunning.”

  Bechar laughed. “Sorry, she’s just Alyx to me.”

  “There they are!” Ryker said and whistled.

  Alyx shot him the finger and then leaned in to the tall man on her right and said something.

  �
�Well I would say princesshood has settled well on those hips,” Aziz said. “Anyone see Quinn? That dress is just this side of scandalous, he might have an aneurysm.”

  “Could we try not to start a fae war tonight,” Mea said. “I’m sure Alyx would prefer not to have to kill her brother tonight and get blood all over her dress.”

  “Come on,” Bechar said, taking her hand. “I’ll introduce you.”

  She said her goodbyes to the group and Bechar led her over to where Alyx and her men were talking to a very perky, pregnant woman and two other men. One who looked like he’d rather be anywhere but where he was.

  “That’s Princess Candiria and her guards Barden and Niko,” Bechar whispered to her, but she barely registered what he was saying.

  The closer they got to where Alyx was standing, the hotter her blood became. She could feel the temperature of her body rising, the need start pulling low in her belly and then even lower. Never in her life had she had such an immediate reaction to anyone. Never in her life had she wanted to strip anyone naked and feast until the craving subsided. For the sake of all that was unholy, she almost felt like she was losing her mind.

  “Alyx,” she heard Bechar say, “I want to introduce you to my sister, Eliora. Eli, this is Princess Alyx Mayhem.”

  Alyx turned with a smile. “I didn’t know you had a—” The princess’s words died as their eyes met. She watched the woman swallow, color rising in her cheeks a little. Their eyes held for long moments. She watched as they dilated, and her small tongue licked her bottom lip. “Hi, Eli,” she finally said, voice breathy.

  “Had a sister?” Bechar said, oblivious to whatever the hell it was that was happening. “Not by blood, but by life.”

  “It’s a pleasure,” she told the woman, releasing Bech’s hand to step closer to Alyx. It was like a damn magnet pulling her. “How is it we haven’t met before?”

  “Search me, where you been hiding?” she smirked and looked Eli over. “Where you been hiding her, Bech?”