by R. Scarlett
Molly peeked through the veil. Her vision wasn’t unclear, but she would have to get used to walking around with a veil covering her face.
“Let me introduce you to more ladies of the court.” Lilith took her hand, guiding her from the bedroom and into the grand hallway. Even the hallways of the High Court amazed her—the crown molding, tinted with specks of gold and a painted mural above them of gods battling in chariots in the skies—light and night, the sun god, the goddess of the darkness caught in his arms.
Lilith led her down another hallway, and she was shunned into silence by the sea of white gowns and veils—the giggles, the chatter, the excitement from beautiful, youthful girls.
Girls like her, but demon and highborn.
When they caught sight of Lilith, a few girls gasped and bowed.
“Lady Lilith,” a couple chimed off, and Molly watched as the sea of white curtsied and rose and their lacy veils covered their features.
Strange, Molly thought.
“Ladies,” Lilith spoke, her voice booming in the grand hallway. “This is my special guest. Guide her through the Solstice.”
Lilith presented Molly with a single hand, turning her to face the young women.
Silence, and then the giggles began, and the girls surrounded her, gushing over her dress, over her veil and dragging her away with them.
Molly glanced back at Lilith, who stood to watch her.
She swallowed thickly, taking deep breaths. Overwhelmed.
“My name’s Prim,” whispered one girl who held Molly’s elbow. “If it helps, none of us have done this before. You’re not alone,” she said, her voice shaking slightly with nervousness.
Molly stared at the girl, cloaked by her veil, but she realized Prim was trying to comfort her. “Molly.”
She patted her hand and clasped them. “Don’t be nervous. It’s part of the tradition.”
She barely heard her over the chatter.
Once they arrived at an open porch, the cool breeze cooled down her hot flesh, and she relaxed as they ventured down into the grassy lawn surrounded by a dark green forest and a colorful garden.
The grass was cold and wet between her toes, brushing along the soles of her feet like a kiss.
“My heart’s pounding,” Prim whispered, pressing a hand to her chest. She looked up at Molly, her face hidden by the veil and by shadows, but her voice was soft and sweet, like warm honey. “I’ve dreamt of this moment since I was a little girl, but it’s just bittersweet.”
Molly frowned at her. “Why though?”
Prim laughed, but it sounded sad. “I’ll be away from home, but it’s an honor to be chosen as one of Lilith’s ladies.” She paused, looking around at the dark sky and the glowing fireflies.
“Come this way,” the girls urged, and soon, she saw the full moon above, so bright, so breathtaking.
Both her hands were taken, and soon, the girls formed a large circle of white.
A low hum, soft and graceful began, and soon, more of the girls joined in. One girl began to dance, twirling her dress around, and lifting her arms above her head, singing to the full moon.
A fury of white dresses danced in a circle, swaying and chanting, and Molly’s heart pounded in her chest.
“Dance!” Prim called to her. “To appease the hunt.”
“The hunt?”
“Sonolios’s hunt,” another girl called to her.
But it was the war cry that stilled her raging heart.
She looked over her shoulder at the lawn and forest, searching for the sound.
Another war cry, and soon, it filled the night air, drowning out the girls’ chants.
The girls grew silent, and Molly eyed their still frames.
“What is that?” Molly whispered to Prim.
Prim beside her jolted as another war cry of anger and power filled the thick air. Their footfalls thudded against the earth, a finger of dread sliding down Molly’s spine.
“The hunt. They’re coming for us.”
Molly’s heart rebooted to a thunderous pound.
“Look!”
Molly spun to see figures emerging from the darkness, marching with determination.
Then the girls screamed and all at once, ran.
“Run!”
Molly gave one final look at the figures—and ran.
TENSLEY SIPPED at his the red wine, licking the residue off his teeth. He eyed the crowd, searching for his dolcezza, but he still hadn’t caught sight of her. His chest twisted in dire worry. He shouldn’t have let her go alone into the court.
Fuck.
“And this is Lord Remington,” Fallen said, gesturing to a man packed with muscles. When he grinned, the muscles constricted in his neck, bulging out. A demon on steroids or better yet, an excessive amount of belladonna, a drug of pleasure for demons. “Tensley Knight will be taking over for Commander Julius.”
Lord Remington kissed his thumb and made a cross on his chest, a respectful tribute to the fallen.
Commander Julius was dead, apparently, and Tensley wondered how…
“I heard you’re the Dux of Scorpios also,” Lord Remington said. Tensley noted one of his brows had been burnt off, an ugly scar in its place.
Tensley nodded. “Yes, that is correct.”
“So you will manage both our army and Scorpios?” He laughed bluntly and patted Tensley’s shoulder hard. “Good luck.”
“Be careful, Lord Remington,” Fallen said, flashing his sharp teeth in a smile. “He has a daemon powering him. Best not to anger him.”
Lord Remington’s smile dropped, scanning Tensley as if he’d see evidence of Molly, but he laughed it off. “Excuse me, Lord Fallen.”
He left them, and Tensley turned to face Fallen, a question piercing his mind. “Lord Fallen, when will I meet that daemon you spoke of?”
“Greedy to get your hands on another daemon, I see,” he said and laughed to himself. “Ah, all in due time, Mr. Knight. You and I both know how important it is to keep those precious creatures away from prying eyes. I’d rather keep her locked away and available at all times. I’m sure you understand,” he continued, his lips twisting into a cold smile. “I might have to do an exception for your little daemon, however, Mr. Knight. It does seem like she could learn a thing or two about behavior. Not very submissive, is she?”
Tensley gnashed his teeth, fighting the urge to retort. No one needed to teach Molly how to behave.
“Tonight, we celebrate the hunt,” Fallen continued, stealing an apple off a table of fruit and meat and trays of pastry.
Tensley had heard of the Solonios’ hunt. A ceremony held once a year for women of the High Court coming of age and unwed to have their first taste of intimacy by an incubus man, based on the myth of the sun and the darkness. The women dressed in white and raced in the forest while the men chased after them. Once a woman was captured by a male, they spent the night pleasuring each other. Of course, all women drank an herb that prevented pregnancy that night.
The thrill of the chase, the thickness of innocence in the air, and the pleasure of predators having finally sunken their teeth into fresh prey.
Tensley had already captured his prey.
He took an angel by the teeth.
A shout jolted him through his thoughts, and he turned to look out the balcony, the doors parting to give them a glimpse of the dark gleaming night.
“And so it begins,” Fallen said, a sinister glint in his dark eyes.
Then the sound of women screaming filled the air.
“Would you like to join the Sonolios’ hunt, Mr. Knight?” Tensley turned to see Lilith approaching him, a tiny smirk lining her full lips.
“No,” he said lowly.
Lilith took a sip of her wine and shrugged her shoulders. “Such a pity. A warrior like you would be a prize for one of our women.”
“Lilith,” Fallen said in a warning hiss.
Lilith’s nostrils flared, but she didn’t say a word back.
Tensley ignored
her comment and glanced around the room, searching for Molly. “Where’s Molly?”
“Molly?” Lilith took another sip of her wine, her ears turning red. “I don’t think I know who that is.”
“My daemon,” Tensley snapped, his chest burning at the thought of her alone in the sea of highborns.
Lilith bit back a wicked grin. “Oh, that lovely thing. She wanted to participate in the hunt. I couldn’t refuse, of course. It only happens once a year, after all.” Her words were slow and deliberate.
All nerve endings numbed as he dug his nails into his palm, aching to growl at the queen herself. He wanted to throttle her.
“You better run fast,” Lilith said, a challenging, sinister gleam to her pale eyes. “Before someone else captures your daemon. Marked or not, all morals are silenced when the beasts come out to play.”
Fallen stood beside his wife, a dark, satisfied smirk playing on his lips.
Tensley looked into the darkness outside, the screams and cries stirring the beast.
His daemon.
His dolcezza.
His bride.
He marched through the crowd, lips pulled back to show his elongating teeth, shoving past men too dazed to know a beast aching to destroy any man who touched her.
He’d rip their throats out with his teeth.
The predators out there had never met the real beast.
MOLLY’S LUNGS burned as she dashed through the lawn, her bare feet slipping on the cool, wet grass.
The screams of other girls made her legs stretch out further, trying to put as much distance between the men and her.
The veil swept over her shoulders, tangling behind her, her vision distorted.
She didn’t know which direction to run—the corset dug into her ribs as she glanced back, seeing tall, shirtless men not walking anymore, but jogging, their eye’s sight set on their desire.
Cloaked in the night sky, they moved like vipers, like shadows plaguing the realm.
One girl screamed, hands gripping her by the waist and lifting her off the ground, disappearing into the forest.
Scream after scream thickened the air, and Molly ran faster, huffing out shallow breaths.
Another girl was tackled to the ground, squealing.
Laughter and shouts of the men sent chills down her bare arms.
Someone snatched at her dress, yanking her back. She stumbled, hearing the tear of fabric, the cool breeze chilling her left upper thigh.
“You’re mine,” the man’s voice was raspy and deep.
When he gripped her arm, she shot back, shoving him hard enough he let go, stunned.
Now was her chance.
She eyed the forest, dark and thick, and switched directions, aiming to vanish into its vastness.
Through the forest, the cries echoed, distant, but still sending Molly’s heart racing. Branches cut at her bare skin, slicing open her forearms and thighs and the earth floor dirtied her feet.
She brushed back a branch, looking behind her when she heard something snap.
Nothing.
Only the darkness of the forest. She thought of the goddess of the night, of darkness.
She spun, rushing forward only to trip on an overgrown root, crashing to the ground hard.
She gasped at the impact, wheezing until she heard a groan.
She glanced up, catching movement through the leaves. She quietly stood, edging closer only to jerk back.
A man still partly dressed, with his trousers low on his rear, pounding into a girl still veiled who moaned at his power, whispering to him, egging him on to go harder, faster.
Molly tiptoed back, a fisted hand to her mouth, afraid they’d hear her.
She darted through the woods, searching for somewhere to hide. Now the air was filled, not only with screams but also with cries of pleasure.
She turned sharply, only for her heart to seize.
In a clearing in front of her stood the figure of a tall, powerful man.
His sharp features held weapons of beauty and promise. Rugged, light hair tied back by a leather thong. A pretty face. A deadly body.
She could taste his desire and see it on his features. The demon wanted her.
A cry rang so close to them that she shivered as she stepped back.
He shook his head once. A warning. “Don’t run from me again,” the man hissed—the same voice from before.
Molly panted hard, eyeing the tiny windows of escape nearby.
She glanced at his long, muscular legs, his trousers low, but tight to his skin. His bare chest gleamed with sweat. A familiar scent that she couldn’t place.
He was on the hunt, and he had decided she was his prey.
Oh, did she have news for him?
“Don’t chase me then,” Molly bit, the icy sensation behind her eyes a telling side of her powers raging forward, but the veil concealed that. “Better yet, I’d run from me if I were you.”
She’d show him her claws and venom.
She’d give him a grand show.
He laughed darkly, his head tilted to the side as he studied her. She knew that look—she had seen it before in Tensley’s features. He was looking for a weak spot.
“On your knees.”
She glared at him. “No.”
“Ah.” He laughed to himself. “A dame that needs to be tamed. My expertise.”
She blanched at his words.
“If you knew who I was, you would be on your fucking knees before I even ordered so. But you’re new here, aren’t you? I shall not punish you for it. For now, at least.” He unbuttoned his trousers, not dangerously low enough to reveal his manhood, but the top of his pubic bone visible. “I tasted your fierceness, your strength, and beauty. I can smell my own scent on your skin.”
Molly frowned, and then her hand shot her neck. The perfume…
He flashed his teeth, long and sharp as if to mark like Tensley had done. “Follow by scent, beauty hidden by a veil. Show me your face so I know the angel I bed tonight.”
“You’re insane,” she seethed and backed up.
Only that pissed him off, and she could see the moment his beast took control.
He moved too fast, so fast that she didn’t have time to scream. He clamped his hands around her arms and held her tight. She glared at his dark eyes—a sign of his arousal, and she wanted to puke. On his fucking bare feet.
“Are you ugly? Is that why?” He chuckled at his insult.
She wasn’t letting him touch her—let alone fuck her. She glared up at the man’s sharp features, even his eyes were sharp, staring down at her.
She’s had enough of this sick bastard. “Only on the inside.” Molly slashed her nails across his high cheekbones, and he hissed. She shoved him again and ran, the roaring of his anger shaking her body and the ground.
The chaos of the shadows and the cries and screams flooded Molly’s senses and mind, and she plunged deeper, deeper.
But she heard his footfalls pounding like a raging beast behind her.
He was angry.
He was aroused.
She was doomed.
A roar shook her to her core.
A roar she knew well.
And iron arms wrapped around her waist, lifting her off the ground and into his chest.
“I found her first,” the prince hissed.
TENSLEY GROWLED.
Found her first?
Fuck no.
“She’s been claimed,” Tensley fought, turning to face the demon that tried to take away his dolcezza.
Tensley’s eyes narrowed. He recognized that face, those pale eyes of ice, that fair skin of snow, and wavy golden hair.
The prince, Fallen’s only son, bared his teeth, elongated as if he had played with the idea of sinking his teeth deep into Molly’s flesh.
To claim her as his.
“Ah, my mistake,” the prince said lowly, but his eyes darkened when he sought Molly.
Thankfully, the veil concealed her face and eyes as Ten
sley felt her powerful, dainty hands clench his shaking biceps.
Tensley had smelled the scent of a male close to hers, but now she stood in front of him, and he realized she was covered in a male’s scent.
“She smells divine with my scent,” the prince added, a grin of a wolf. “I wanted to make sure other beasts stayed away.”
Tensley snarled.
The beast was living under the shallow surface. Hungry for blood, hungry for violence, and hungry for his mate.
The prince stepped closer, the shadows hiding his features. One more step and the moonlight streamed through the branches and revealed an ugly cut along his cheekbone.
He stared at Molly, bowing slightly. “I shall wear this mark as a token of your desire,” said the prince, darkly, softly, as if it were an intimate moment between lovers.
Tensley growled lowly in his throat.
She marked him.
His beast thrashed. Jealous, possessive, angry. The prince taunted him, knowing very well how pissed off it would make him. The prince knew he was playing Tensley into a fury, but his beast couldn’t calm down.
Not when another beast wore a mark of hers.
“Perhaps,” the prince licked at his sharp front tooth, his eyes raking over Molly longingly, “we can come to a compromise for a night between her ivory thighs.”
Cold rage filled Tensley’s muscles, his bones, and he struck—his iron fist slamming into the prince’s cheek, bones crushing, blood splattering from his mouth.
Molly’s hand gripped his bicep and pulled him back into her embrace, seething, panting for more blood.
The prince laughed, spitting out blood onto the dark grass and looked up at them.
“That crown upon your head, that gold blood inside of you means nothing to me,” Tensley hissed. “Touch her, look at her—and I will tear your insides out and force them down your greedy throat.”
“Tensely,” Molly warned, shaking her head