by Eve Newton
Remiel takes my hand and smiles reassuringly at me. It doesn’t help and all I want is to sink into a nice little coma and wake up when it’s done. Hey, I could ask him to bite me again! That might work. I seriously consider this as an option as another contraction tears its way through my body, and forget any slice of dignity, but I scream my head off.
By the time, Aida has returned with the Dragon lady midwife, sometime much later than I am comfortable with, I am Vamped out, sweating and snarling and Remiel has completely lost his cool. He is pacing fretfully and rushes to the midwife saying, “Something’s not right.”
Oh great. Thanks for the reassurance there, Ghost Boy. I grip my nightgown tightly as I scream my way through another contraction and then the midwife gets to work. Poking and prodding and, oh the humiliation, peering up my nightgown and having a good old root around up there as well. Remiel fortunately looks away during this process and I can see him trembling slightly. That is when I really start to panic. Something isn’t right. I can feel it. This is confirmed by the worried look on the midwife’s face and she whispers quietly to Remiel, who goes paler. He grips the midwife by the arms, and she yelps in discomfort. “Do something,” he yells at her and she says fearfully, “I can’t.”
“What is going on?” I pant out as I struggle to sit up. “Remiel, tell me now.”
He looks at me, his expression very serious and he comes over to me and takes my hand. Oh, this is bad.
“Aefre, my dear,” he starts and then stops for a full ten seconds before he continues. “It appears that our fears have come true.”
What? “What fears?” I growl at him as I grab his shirtfront and pull him closer.
“Uh, it was suggested that perhaps your body isn’t capable of delivering this child, as technically it is impossible for you to be carrying a child as it is.”
I blink at him as I take that in. Because I am a Vampire with no child-bearing abilities? “But the prophecy stated…” I try to make sense of this. Somehow this child gets born. “A C-Section,” I say, landing on this grand idea, but he is shaking his head, as is the midwife.
“There is no way to cut you open for long enough to remove the child before you heal,” he says woefully.
Oh gods. I feel sick as I have a horrible image of them forcing my flesh apart to keep it from knitting itself together. As another contraction slices through me, there is only one option I can think of. I grab Remiel’s hand and say, “You can.”
He blanches further and says, “No! No, Aefre, I can’t do that to you.”
“Yes, you can,” I pant. I need this child out of me, like, yesterday.
“No, I can’t risk it,” he says.
“You can,” I say. “You have to. The pain won’t be any more than this,” I say and indicate my swollen stomach weakly.
“It’s not just that,” he says, squeezing my hand. “I can’t risk hurting the baby,” he adds quietly.
Oh. Of course. Silly me.
I close my eyes and wish for death then. He sees me give up and sighs. “I will try. I will have to go slowly, and it is going to be, well, like before, but far, far worse.”
I gulp. I remember the last time he clawed me to get to me. I somehow went numb, completely paralyzed, but I still felt the pain, and that was him just clawing my skin. He is going to have to go far deeper into my body and my sweat starts to sweat. It is going to be Hell on Earth. Something far worse than even Lance did to me for kicks.
“Just do it,” I say through gritted teeth.
The midwife starts to protest loudly, but in Dragon language so I have no idea what she is saying to him, but I can tell she isn’t happy about this plan. But then he does his mojo thing and she nods swiftly, and they position themselves at either side of my head. I look up at them in fear, but he says to me, “It’ll be okay, Aefre. We are going to knock you out. I can’t say for sure if it will work or for how long once I get started, but it’s something we can offer you.”
I swallow. I don’t really want to be knocked out. I joked before about the coma, but this is real now. They could do anything to my child, and me, if I am not conscious to prevent it from happening. He smiles at me and that’s all it takes. His mojo soothes me, and he whispers, “Do you trust me?” as he brushes the hair off my forehead.
“Yes,” I whisper back, and his smile saddens slightly. He knows he has coerced me with his special brand of magick, the midwife knows that and even I know that, but his way is too strong to fight, especially now, and I find it interesting that he doesn’t find it appealing to him.
“Close your eyes,” he murmurs, and I do. I hear chanting and feel a blinding pain in my head and then… nothing.
Chapter 4
The Underworld, March 2014 – Constantine, Xane, Devon & Cole
The months have rolled past in a drearily, exhaustingly, frustratingly, and worrisomely slow process. Constantine is at his wits’ end. He just doesn’t know if he can bear another second of not knowing if she is dead, or even worse, alive and well and happy with her child and that beast. What if she chose to stay? The not knowing is the worst part because he just doesn’t know if she chose to sacrifice him for her half-breed child. But if they ever find out what has happened to her it will be worse. A lot worse. He has been plotting for months now to find access to a portal to the Dragon Realms, but he just can’t find one. They are well and truly shut off.
A knock at the door makes him frown. He wanted a bit of privacy for what he came in here to do. He opens it and is surprised to see the girl standing in front of him, clad only in a slinky negligee that makes her look like a cheap whore.
“What?” he snaps at her.
“Uh, I was looking for Devon,” she says and peers around him into the bedroom.
“He isn’t here. Go and look somewhere else,” Constantine says and is about to slam the door in her face when she stops him.
“I know you must be missing her,” Jess whispers. “If you wanted, I could take care of you.”
He is somewhere between offended and amused. She must see the look on his face as she hesitates momentarily, but stands her ground and crosses her arms, waiting for an answer.
“No, thank you,” he says with a slight smirk. “I do not need your…services.”
She is insulted by his choice of words, but he doesn’t really care. What is she doing propositioning him in the middle of his bedroom doorway? But he is in a mood and decides to teach her a lesson in why you shouldn’t mess with him. He pulls her inside suddenly and presses her up against the door. It lights a fire of triumph in her eyes and he sees exactly what she is doing here. She wants a conquest and he is the ultimate prize, not only as an Initial Vampire, but also and most importantly, as Aefre’s husband. He extends his claws and she breathes in, waiting for his bite, but that isn’t going to happen. He has no desire to drink from her at all. He places his index finger to the base of her throat and then presses down. She yelps as his lethal claw slices into her skin and the fear in her eyes grows evident as she finally gets that he isn’t just any Vampire and trifling with him is a mistake, and her realization pleases him. He drags his claw down in between her breasts, slicing away the silky material of her negligee to expose her nipples. She fights the pain and pushes her chest out, wanting him to look at her, but he keeps his eyes fixed on hers. He slices all the way down until her nightgown is flapping openly around her and he can smell her desire. She is afraid, but she still wants him. She brings her hands up to rub over her breasts, but he has no interest in looking at her. Her body doesn’t please him, as it doesn’t belong to his wife. He reaches up to push the rag off her shoulders to the floor and her eyes dance with excitement. He spins her around and presses against her and she gasps in surprise as she feels that he isn’t the least bit aroused and that he doesn’t want her. He hears her heart start to pound then and he smiles wickedly as he leans into her neck, grazing her with his fangs.
“Do you know what I do to little girls like you?” he whi
spers in her ear and she whimpers. She struggles to get free, but he holds onto her wrists tightly. “Do you?” he asks again.
She shakes her head and he says, “I use them for my own pleasure until I am done with them. They scream as they beg me for mercy and then I drain them dry until they are nothing but empty husks and discard them.”
He enjoys her tears and the smell of her panic. “Do you want me to do that to you?” he asks.
She shakes her head again and breathes out in relief as he steps away from her and snakes his hand in between her and the door to twist the handle. He opens it and pushes her out with a rough shove. “Don’t ever try that again,” he says as he now slams the door and retracts. He straightens his shoulders and goes to the bathroom. He wants to get this over with and then take a long shower. He is exhausted, but he won’t sleep. Not until she returns to him and he can beat her into the ground, before he takes her in every hole her body has to offer him, before he beats her again. Then he will offer her comfort and she will be grateful for the solace and then she will once again be his wife. She owes him that much.
He strips off and stares at himself in the mirror. It makes him angry that she has made him resort to this, but he promised her and even though she has betrayed him with Remiel, he will keep his promise to her because he loves only her. And he must admit to a small part of himself that when she finds out she will feel overwhelming guilt that she screwed around while he remained true.
He closes his eyes and thinks of his beautiful wife. Her blonde hair, her green eyes, her lithe body, her small breasts, everything he loves in a woman and most especially about her. He sees her wicked smile in his mind’s eye, and it makes him start to grow. He takes himself in his hand and, with utter humiliation and shame that he has been brought to taking care of himself, he starts to masturbate slowly. His eyes fly open as he senses his charge behind him.
Sebastian. Not the one he had been thinking about.
He stops what he is doing but doesn’t remove his hand. He glares at Sebastian in the mirror as his charge says, “You know there are other ways to take care of that.”
“None that are acceptable to my wife,” Constantine says gruffly.
“Hm, you really give her too much power. I mean look at…”
“Finish that sentence and you will wish you had never been born,” he says as he turns around and crosses his arms.
“Fair enough,” Sebastian mutters, raking his eyes up and down. “However, you misunderstand. I never said anything about betraying her with a woman.”
Constantine gazes at his charge as he stalks closer to him. No, he didn’t. And that is what he promised his wife. No more women.
Sebastian drops to his knees in front of him and Constantine whispers lovingly, “You always know when I need you.”
Then he closes his eyes once again and drops his head back in bliss.
“Enough!” Xane shouts and drops a firebomb in between the two arguing families and they hastily step back.
“But, sir, they owe us,” Mika says accusingly, and the arguing starts again.
“You owe us a grandchild!” Peta shouts and Xane steps into the middle of this with a low growl that finally makes them shut up.
“Start at the beginning,” he says. His mind isn’t on this disagreement and he has lost track of where it was going.
“We gave our daughter to their son to wed and produce an heir. It has been six months and nothing. I refuse to pay them the rest of their dowry until a child is born.” Peta crosses his arms and Mika glares at him.
“Did you ever wonder if perhaps your daughter is barren?” Mika asks and Peta smashes his fist into Mika’s face.
“Another action like that and I will sentence you both to imprisonment for thirty days,” Xane says halfheartedly. “Give it another three months and then the dowry will become void.”
Mika starts to argue again, but Xane closes the discussion down. Both families agree and trudge off to let the next dispute in. He hates “dispute day.” It is the bane of his Overlord existence and one he sorely wishes he could pass off to Aster to deal with. He has had enough of bitching Demons for one day and wishes it was time to leave. Just one more on the docket and then he can go. He hopes it is short and to the point.
He sighs when he sees who walks in. “Cefalonia,” he says. “If you are here to cause trouble, you can turn around and leave or be escorted back to your cell. I am in no mood for histrionics.”
“No trouble, sir,” she murmurs with her eyes lowered, and he sees that perhaps her internment did her some good.
“What is it then?” he asks, knowing he can’t possibly have gotten off that easily.
“I am here to offer my services to you,” she says, keeping her eyes lowered.
He doesn’t get her meaning as he cannot see her face properly. “What do you mean? What can you do for me?” He isn’t aware of any special skills that she has.
She raises her eyes and boldly looks at him. “In the absence of your wife, I offer myself to you.”
Xane’s mouth drops open. She wants to what? “You want to be my mistress?” he splutters out, mostly in an attempt not to laugh. “You would debase yourself into such a role, why?”
“She has been gone for a long time, Xane,” CeeCee says carefully. “I know you have certain needs, and we all know she isn’t true to you, so why not give as good as you get? Take what I can give you.”
Xane’s incredulity is quickly replaced with anger. “How dare you come in here and proposition me. I am a married man,” he hisses at her. She quickly retreats, but she shakes her head.
“Are you really?” she says. “I have heard the rumors.”
He growls and she pales, but he sees the determination on her face and the penny drops. He relaxes his shoulders as he knows her endgame now. She is not out to defy him, per se; she is only looking out for herself. “You only want me to accept you to raise your own stature,” he says.
Her face becomes angry. “You owe me that much, you bastard!” she shouts at him. “I have been utterly shunned; no man will touch me after you threw me away. My family is in disgrace.”
“Your family shouldn’t have forced us together,” he replies, knowing his family is also to blame, but he still harbors resentment for her after she told Xerxei about their relationship.
“You know it wasn’t just them,” she says. “You owe me.”
“Very well,” he says patronizingly. “I will order someone to marry you. Take your pick, CeeCee. You can have anyone you want.”
Her horrified look at his outrageous declaration turns ferocious and she advances on him, ready to slap him.
“One more step and you will be going back to prison. Think carefully about your next move,” he says to her.
She stops and her eyes suddenly fill with tears.
Oh boy, he really isn’t in the mood for the crying thing. He crosses his arms impatiently and she sniffs and straightens up. “I only want you,” she says quietly. “I never stopped loving you.”
“I am in love with my Queen,” he says.
“But she is unfaithful. She doesn’t understand marriage between Demons. She is a filthy Vampire whore! I would treat you as my one true love. She doesn’t deserve you!” She has gone back to shrieking and now it is time to end this conversation.
“So, you call my wife a whore and then come here and offer to be a mistress to me?” he yells back. “Don’t you get that the thought of being with anyone else makes me sick? It twists my stomach into a knot because I am bound to her, CeeCee. She is my one and only.” He grabs her arms and he realizes he has blurted out far more than he wanted to, but by her shocked look he knows that his words have sunk in. She gets it. Now he just wishes that everyone else would.
“I see,” she says and pulls her arms out of his grip. “I apologize, my Lord. I hadn’t realized it was true for you.”
“Just leave,” he says, exhaling loudly.
She backs out and he turns away from h
er as his mother walks into the room.
“You did right, my son. The Underworld needs to learn that they cannot continue to mess with your marriage,” she says.
“And by tomorrow morning the whole of the Underworld will know I am a sap to have truly bound to a woman who isn’t bound to me,” he says bitterly.
“Not for much longer,” Xanthe says. “I have news.”
That gets his attention. “What is it?”
“Tiamat has sent word that Her daughter has gone into labor. She will be back any day now,” Xanthe says.
“How do you know this?” Xane asks.
“I just know,” she says.
“How do you know she will be back?” he asks then.
“I just know,” she says again, and he clenches his fists.
“She was given an ultimatum. To live in the Dragon Realms with her child or to come home to her ties,” she says.
“She will come home,” Xane says to himself, more in an effort to convince himself rather than stating a fact.
“I will start preparing for her return. The two of you must be seen together and happy once she is back,” Xanthe says.
“Of course,” he says, knowing it to be true.
He sees Aster hovering in the doorway and beckons him in. “What is it?” he asks.
“You have a visitor in your office, sir,” he says.
Xane nods and dismisses his mother. He isn’t in the mood for another confrontation, so he hopes it is someone he wishes to see.
As it turns out, it is Lord Falcor and Xane isn’t very pleased to see him.
“My Lord,” Falcor says with a bow.
“Lord Falcor. What can I do for you?” Xane says shortly.
Falcor looks uncomfortable, but then he says, “I trust that once your Lady has returned, you will be starting a family of your own?”
“Who wants to know?” Xane growls.
“It is something to take under advisement,” Falcor says lightly. “We all accept that she had a duty to her people to produce the heir, but now it is done you must convince her of her other duties.”