Dirty Deeds: A Reverse Harem Bully Romance (Bonds of Blood Book 3)

by Cate Corvin

  By the same token, I didn’t want to miss a single minute of it. I had Mom back, which was so much more than I’d expected.

  “You can help me by staying safe,” I said fiercely, grabbing her in a hug and resting my head on her shoulder. “We’ve got time to make up for. I don’t want you in Thraustila’s path, I just want you to be happy and well.”

  “I don’t like the idea of sending you into danger alone,” she said, more than a touch of that old Mom worriedness in her tone, but I squeezed her a little tighter.

  “Who said anything about being alone? My singers will help me, and when we have the court, you can come visit anytime you want.” I pressed a kiss on her cheek. “I’ll even keep real food around, just for you. Or… if you wanted, you could come live there.”

  “Oh, we’ll see, baby,” she said, that worry creasing her brow now, and I forced myself to chill. She wasn’t completely better yet. I was pushing my luck a bit. “I feel better than I have in ages, but I don’t know if I’m cut out for a court. Sometimes it’s too late to teach an old slayer new tricks.” Mom smiled, but there was sadness there, too. “Sometimes it’s better to allow the baby bird to leave the nest and let her fly on her own.”

  Some of my own sadness brightened. She wasn’t saying she didn’t want to live with me, or that she was afraid of what I was.

  She just wanted what she’d always wanted for me: an independent life, where I became the best me I could be.

  “Well, no matter where you want to be, no matter what I am, I’m still your daughter first. Don’t be upset about Rhianwen, okay? She’s my Maker, but you’re my mother. Nothing can change that.”

  Mom buried her face in my hair and kissed my head. “It was a shock, I’ll admit, but I’m not afraid, Tori.”

  Relief unspooled in me. “You might really like her. She’s super nice for a vampire.”

  “I’m sure I will.” Mom held me at arm’s length and looked me over again, like she was reassuring herself for the twentieth time that I was alive and well. “After all, she brought you back.”

  She ate a few more cookies and declared herself stuffed just as Will came to fetch us on the Paladin’s orders. Mom brightened when she saw Will, patting his face and telling him how glad she was to see him as we walked out.

  My spine prickled, and I glanced around the library before I closed the doors. A dark weight pressed down on my mind, reaching out to me just as I felt for it.

  It felt very, very old.

  A dark, hulking shape stood in a far corner, shrouded in shadows. I caught only the faintest hint of pale eyes, a brush of black feathers, and the shape faded, leaving only glimmering stars behind that quickly died out.

  I was pretty sure I’d just seen my first angel. That single glimpse was more than enough.

  I suddenly couldn’t wait to leave Heartfall. I wanted to be back to New York, the place I felt at home, not in a castle where angels hid in shadows.

  I shivered and shut the doors firmly behind me.

  “We know where the alternate substance is coming from,” Morgrainne announced to the room. We’d all gathered in a cozy parlor that looked like it’d been ripped from a Victorian period drama, all red velvet and tobacco scent. A portrait of a young girl with long blonde hair and clear blue eyes hung over the fireplace, staring down at us with a secretive smile.

  I was cushioned between Càel and Will, and Suraziel had taken up residence on Will’s other side on a long couch. Mom sat across from the Paladin and Rhianwen, and Arko leaned against the wall, watching as Morgrainne paced in front of us all.

  “Incubi.” Suraziel lifted one shoulder when Morgrainne glared at him. “Sorry, not sorry.”

  “Thank you for ruining the big reveal. Yes, incubi. Thraustila’s usual go-between is a Fae dealer who goes by the name Gwendoline. She’s organized the trafficking of your kind through a Cerberian Gate.” Morgrainne paused in her pacing for a moment. “And here’s the important news: we’ve also found the location of this gate. They were smart not to set it up near the surface. It’s several levels below the warehouse where our Maker keeps the dust.”

  Ugh. Going down to the warehouse level had been bad enough.

  “Prince Sitri has clearly thrown himself in with Thraustila, but we have no reason to believe he’ll back our Maker if we kill him.” Morgrainne threw a look at Suraziel. “Now is the time for your input.”

  “He won’t,” Suraziel said, comfortable despite the Morrígna’s glare. “The Princes are greedy, but not stupid. If his accomplice is dead, Sitri will regroup without interfering.”

  I nodded, my thoughts zipping ahead. Shut down the Cerberian Gate, find and apprehend Gwendoline, destroy a metric fuck-load of pixie dust, release the remaining Fae to their realm, stake an elder vampire.

  No problem.

  “He’s already suffered a blow,” Will interjected quietly. “He knows he can be defeated, and he’s lost one of his sons.”

  “More than that,” Rhianwen put in. “Some of your kind haven’t survived. They’ve been wrung dry. The Prince put his seal on this measure, but as soon as Korso discovered what was happening, he began stealing the incubi away one by one and freeing them. Some of them are currently living in the Fae realm.”

  Suraziel’s face darkened. I knew how much he hated that people treated them as nothing more than sources of aphrodisiac ichor, like walking disposable sponges. “All the better reason to kill Thraustila, then,” he said.

  “It means that Thraustila has already used up much of Sitri’s goodwill.” Rhianwen tossed a lock of strawberry-blonde hair over her shoulder. “Once the financial aspect of their relationship is decimated, there’ll be no reason for the Prince to aid him.”

  I glanced at the Paladin, waiting for his professional input. I’d expected him to be hanging on the Morrígna’s every word, adding to his already-uncanny knowledge of current events, but he was offering Mom a cookie on a tray.

  How dare he try to win her heart with cookies? Besides, there was no way she’d fall for something like that-

  Mom took the cookie happily with whispered thanks. Goddamnit. The last thing I needed was a new stepfather, not even one unironically wearing suspenders. We’d just beheaded her last husband.

  I realized I was staring and tore my eyes away, focusing on Morgrainne again. “So. Do we kill Thraustila first, or shut down the Gate?”

  My Maker tapped her nails against her teacup. “It’d be better if you killed him in front of the court,” she said, and Càel snarled.

  “Victoria will not be allowed to step foot near Thraustila.” His entire body had gone hard as stone as he scowled at his sister. “We’ve tried to murder him and failed. A fledgling won’t stand a chance.”

  “Nobody else saw her with Eluned,” Rhianwen pointed out. “Murdering Thraustila in front of the court will cement her status beyond a shadow of a doubt.”

  “There is no shadow of a doubt. She is the rightful queen. Even the Fae know and acknowledge this.”

  “Oh?” Rhianwen perked up, placing her cup on the table. “Do tell.”

  I swallowed my nervousness. The last thing I wanted was to drive a wedge between siblings. “The kelpies swore a debt to me. They were the first to call me the ‘One Crowned in Blood.’”

  She’d gone still, staring at me in the eerily still way my kind have. “Ah. They have acknowledged you. Well. That explains Lula’s insistence on accompanying me.”

  Oh, shit. I’d almost forgotten Lula Fray, and how she just about passed out when I gave her what I thought might be the pixie equivalent of a high-five. How she’d stared at me adoringly from Suraziel’s horns. It made a lot more sense now.

  “Why would a Faerie declare fealty to a vampire?” I asked. “And speaking of Lula, where is she?”

  “She’s ransacking a box of Frosted Flakes. The Solitary Fae sometimes choose to leave their home and find protection elsewhere.” Morgrainne smiled grimly. “Faeries aren’t kind, sister. It isn’t the first time the vul
nerable Fae have looked for safety outside their own kind.”

  I remembered the first time I’d ever seen blood sports play out in Thraustila’s arena. A Fae had taken one of the pixies and bitten her head clean off. I shuddered despite myself. “True enough. So, even if I kill Thraustila outside combat, why not have the Fae vouch for me? I don’t need to draw his blood. If I’m understanding the Law right, the throne is already mine.”

  The words felt alien coming out of my mouth. I almost couldn’t believe I was claiming ownership over something I didn’t want.

  “It’s more for everyone else’s peace of mind,” Morgrainne said. “Some of the court has been with Thraustila for a very, very long time. It’s better to begin your reign without some ass-wipe crying foul.”

  Rhianwen nodded in agreement, but Càel was still tense. I slid my hand over his and locked our fingers together. “I won’t go near him without you,” I said quietly. “I promise.”

  He relaxed the tiniest bit. Sometimes a protective guy’s gotta protect.

  It wasn’t going to stop me from trying my best to put a brick through Thraustila’s face, though.

  I watched Arko glide out of the room from the corner of my eye. For such a huge demon, he moved like a cat.

  “Okay, so… we kill Thraustila in front of the entire court. Somehow. Then we shut down the Gate.” Was this going to be the rest of my life? Making war-plans in parlors and hotel rooms? Maybe we could have our next conference at a blood drive. “We’re going to need more people.”

  “That’s where your Faeries come in,” Morgrainne said. “The kelpies have claimed you as their protector. Lula is spreading the word among the pixies. And you have us.”

  “Won’t you be a danger to us? He’s still your Maker.”

  Morgrainne and Rhianwen met each other’s gazes, silently exchanging thoughts. It was impossible to read the minute details of their expressions, though they’d clearly had centuries to perfect this method of communication.

  “Yes,” Rhianwen said slowly. “We could be. Which is why it’s in your best interest to treat with the Fae. If worse comes to worse and Thraustila invokes the blood in us, they should be enough to keep us back for as long as it takes to kill him.”

  “Which is why Victoria shouldn’t be the one to confront him.” Càel draped his arm over my shoulder, but the sensation was anything casual. “We are her most loyal knights, and we’re still a danger to her.”

  “Are you guys forgetting a few someones?” Suraziel cleared his throat.

  Morgrainne looked at him. “No.”

  “Incubi are good at more than just-” He cut himself off, catching my mom’s expression. “We’re worth something in a fight, and Will is a full-blooded slayer. Tori’s not alone in this.”

  “Do you want Victoria to die?” Càel’s voice was deceptively calm. I sensed his temper boiling just under the surface, his bloodsong growing agitated.

  “We do not.” Rhianwen met his gaze squarely, her jaw set. “But she is the queen now. We can’t wrap her in bubbles and keep her hidden away. Sometimes she will have to do things that frighten us all. After all, she is our sister, and my daughter by shared blood. I fear for her as much as you do, Càel.”

  “I agree with- with Càel,” Mom said, stuttering for a second when several pairs of eyes flashed to her. “No offense to you, Rhianwen, but I know what damage an elder vampire can do.” Her mouth twisted. “I would do anything to keep her away from that.”

  “She needs to establish her claim in full.” Morgrainne crossed muscular arms over her chest. “Her court needs to respect her prowess in battle, or they’ll never respect her. You’ll need to choose your name, Victoria. Like we did. Babd will bring you a sign of who you are, the same as She did for us. The Moonfawn and Crowfoot need one more to complete the trio, as our Lady intended.”

  I was beginning to feel a bit like a porcelain doll, everyone fighting over me but unwilling to let me walk on my own. A chess piece batted to and fro in a hurricane.

  Will touched me, the lightest brush of fingers against my thigh. I realized as everyone argued that two people in the room were still silent: Will, offering me silent support, and the Paladin, who smiled at me, round glasses flashing.

  “Allow me to interject,” he said, and everyone stopped mid-sentence. “What do you feel you need to do, Victoria Holmwood?”

  I took Will’s hand, and he rubbed his thumb over my palm.

  There was only one path that was clear to me, as much as it frightened me. I didn’t want to give up this life, where I had my bloodsingers for eternity. I didn’t want to throw away years I could spend mending my relationship with Mom.

  But if I was the One Crowned in Blood, I couldn’t just be content with being Podunk Princess anymore. My aspirations had to be higher than a plaque on an academy wall.

  “I need to be the one to kill Thraustila,” I said, my throat threatening to close up on itself. “But… I won’t be doing it alone. I have a plan.”

  Before I could get the next words out, Arko came back into the room. “There’s been an interesting development. Our contact in Libra Academy sent notice that a slayer named Apolline Moreau, known for her close contact with Thraustila, has returned and is under arrest.”

  Chaos erupted again.

  Apolline was back. She was the key, Thraustila’s sole weakness.

  “We need to return before they call a Mater Vincula,” Will said. “We need to question her.”

  I squeezed his hand and released him. “Let’s get ready to go, then.”

  We’d have to go tonight, before the Headmaster called in one of the Dread Mothers dedicated to binding rogue slayers. If they got their hands on her first, we’d never see her again.

  Càel kissed my forehead when I stood up. “I need to confer with my sisters, shíorghrá.” He was scowling, which meant that ‘confer’ probably meant ‘argue’.

  The Morrígna and White Wolf vanished to take that confrontation elsewhere, and Will and Suraziel left to gather the remains of our belongings.

  I was left alone with Mom, the Paladin, and Arko.

  The Legionnaire pounded my shoulder, almost knocking me over. “Look at you, taking initiative,” he said fondly. “Now, that’s the kind of moxie I like to see in a reluctant monarch.”

  “You can’t go alone, Tori,” Mom said pleadingly.

  “I won’t be alone, Mom. I have them. And they’ve all taught me a few things about myself.” I couldn’t stop the smile spreading across my lips. “I don’t think Thraustila will be ready for what we have.”

  The Paladin offered me a hand. “The path is never easy,” he said, kindness in his eyes. “But then, the hardest paths are often the most rewarding.”

  I was starting to like this guy, suspenders and all.

  But he’d better lay off the cookies.

  Fourteen

  Tori

  I found Mom shortly before twilight, once again roaming the library. After her initial clarity this morning, she suddenly seemed unsure again, running her fingers over the book spines and pacing back and forth.

  “Mom?” She whirled around, and I remembered that she wouldn’t have heard me walking, quiet as I was now. “What are you doing?”

  Even though it was like having the sun rise to see her smiling and lucid, her expression wobbled a little this time. “I’m… I’m wondering where my place is in all this. I’m not a young slayer anymore, Tori, and to be frank, I was never much of one to begin with. It wasn’t my training skills that your father loved.”

  “Don’t be so hard on yourself.” I crossed the room and gathered her into a hug, careful of my new strength. “So you never liked fighting. No big deal.”

  “You say that, Tori, but you and James were like your father in miniature.” She took a deep breath and stroked my hair like she had when I was little. “I’ve never liked fighting the Shadowed World. In fact, I hated it more than anything. All I ever wanted was to stay home and raise my wonderful children, and i
t made me sick to my stomach when you were old enough to go out and train. I knew then that neither you nor your brother would be like me. You were both born with swords in your hands. I spent every day fearing the worst.”

  I said nothing, letting Mom gather her thoughts.

  “And then the worst happened,” she finally continued. “But you’re still here, and I feel utterly useless to you.”

  I hugged her a little tighter. “You don’t need to be useful to me. You just need to get better and be my mom. I don’t care that you don’t like to fight. We all have different strengths, and besides, I wouldn’t allow you near the court right now anyways. So don’t feel useless, because I’m ordering you to stay here.”

  I meant it as a joke, but Mom looked up at me, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. “I spoke to the Paladin today,” she said slowly. “He offered me sanctuary for as long as I might want it.”

  Damn him and his cookies and kindness… but Heartfall was probably the safest place on the planet for Mom. “Are you going to stay? Are you happy with this plan?”

  She paused, then nodded her head with a sharp jerk. “Yes. I think I will. I don’t want to be responsible for hindering you, Tori baby, and besides, that demon of his is abominable at cleaning. I’ve never seen so much dust in my life.”

  I raised an eyebrow, but it was so nice seeing her make jokes again. She’d be happier here, with someone who wasn’t kind to her just because they were trying to use her, and as soon as Thraustila was dead I’d be able to come back for her whenever I wanted. Maybe she would eventually agree to come to New York, but for now, this was a good compromise.

  “God forbid they have a dusty library.”

  “You know what I’ve always been like, Tori,” she said. “That is what makes me happy. Making a comfortable home. My first chance was taken from me, but there’s still time to live. He made it quite clear that you would always be welcome, too.”