My heart skips a beat. “Do you know what you were looking for?”
She shakes her head. “No clue.” She takes a bite of her eggs, grimaces, and pushes the plate away again. “What were your dreams?”
I look around to make certain there are no listening ears hanging about. I lean closer and say quietly, “I dreamed about a spinning wheel at the top of a tower in Talia. Have you ever heard of such a thing?”
Sirena shakes her head. “Nope.”
Alice, though, frowns. “I think I heard something about it when I was in Underland.”
I’m intrigued, to say the least. “What did you hear?”
“That it’s a cursed item. The word they used was ‘relic.’”
It’s all I can do to stay in my seat.
“Relic?” I repeat calmly, despite the thrashing of my pulse.
She nods. “I don’t know what kind, or a relic of whom, but I know that it was considered a rare prize and people in Underland—especially the Mad Hatter—wanted to get their hands on it.”
Sirena leans forward, fascinated by the story. “What does it do?”
“Well,” Alice shrugs, “I guess it kills people or some such.”
“That’s unpleasant.”
“Most relics are. Either they make people dead, or they’re made from people who’ve already died.” Alice gives a wan little smile. “Not a lot of warm and fuzzy in that.”
The noise level in the room goes up considerably as the Poser Posse and their princes come in for breakfast. Erik is paying extremely close attention to Aurora, which is fine, because that means for once she’s not hanging on Gideon. Christopher is talking to his sister, because I suppose someone has to, but Rapunzel is more or less ignoring everything he says. Gideon is bringing up the rear, looking a little sleepy.
“There’s the Princess of Talia now,” Sirena says sourly. “You could ask her about it. I’m sure she’d tell you , since you’re so close and everything.”
I laugh, and Cuntzi and Aurora turn to glare in my direction. Cinder pretends that I’m not here, too busy scrubbing her hands with sanitizer, and that’s fine with me.
Erik, for some unknown reason, decides that now is a good time to come over and bother his intended. He stands right behind Sirena and puts his hand on her shoulder.
“Sirena,” he says, in a voice that indicates he’s not going to take no for an answer, “come sit with us.”
She glances up at him and I can see her warring with herself over what to do. She looks back at us and flashes an apologetic smile before she leaves our table to join him at his. The whole time she’s walking away, I fantasize about burying my knife between Erik’s shoulder blades. One day, my little pretty. One day.
“Hate hate hate,” Alice says under her breath.
I know exactly what she means.
We finish our food and leave the cafeteria. It’s a rainy morning, which suits me better than bright sunshine. Alice is quiet as we walk through the courtyard toward our morning classes, a little quiet even for her. I usually don’t like to pry, but I feel like I might be able to help her if I know a little about what she’s thinking.
“You don’t talk about your nightmares,” I start hesitantly.
“Nope.”
“Do you…”
“Nope.”
Well, this isn’t going at all according to plan. I decide to just be nosy.
“Are they about Underland?”
She stops short, and I stop, too. She turns her huge eyes up toward me and says, “Why do you want to know?”
I shrug and try to seem casual. “I was just thinking that maybe, if you talked about the nightmares, or even the things that caused them, you might feel better and maybe even get some sleep.”
She stares at me in annoyed disbelief. “What if I don’t want to talk about it?”
“Then you don’t have to,” I shrug. “I’m just offering…”
Alice closes her eyes for a heartbeat, then stares at me again. “There are things that I saw and things that I went through that I never want to think about again, and I really don’t want to talk about them.”
I feel horrible. I’ve really crossed a line here, and there’s no excuse. Shit. Way to go, Ravyn!
“I’m sorry, Alice. Honestly.”
She starts to walk away, but then she stops again and comes back. “I was looking for keys,” she tells me. “Because Esmeralda, the woman in Quasi’s stained glass window, asked me to help.”
I grab her hand. “Alice, that woman? Esmeralda? She’s my ancestor! And she came to me in my dream last night, too.”
Her mouth drops open. “Do you know what she’s talking about? Keys?”
“Yes!” I look around quickly. Nobody’s in ear shot, so I lay it on the line. “There are seven gates to hell, and someone stole the keys. They’re hidden somewhere in the Great Forest. I think one of them is the spinning wheel I dreamed about in Talia. If the wrong person finds them, they’ll unleash literal hell on the living. We have to find them first.”
Alice takes a breath. “The Mad Hatter has one.”
You could almost knock me over at this point. “The Mad Hatter? The Mad Hatter?”
She nods. “He has a cauldron on his tea table. He uses it to boil his tea and… other things.” She shudders. “He calls it his relic.”
A cauldron. The list mentioned the Cauldron of Hecate! I realize that I’m gripping her hand too hard, but I can’t let go. “Can you tell me how to get to his tea table?”
“I’ll go you one better,” she says, staring at scenes that only exist in her own head. “I’ll take you there.”
“Alice…”
She lifts her gaze, and for the first time, she is focused like a laser. “I’ll take you there, and we’ll get his cauldron, and then I’m going to kill him.”
Alice walks away, leaving me standing in stunned silence.
I have never seen her look that way before. I’ve never heard her make that kind of declaration of violence, and I don’t doubt that she meant every word. Whatever happened to her when she was in Underland, it had to have been horrible. My heart breaks for my friend, and I start to follow her toward class.
Behind me, I hear Gideon’s voice. “Nice of you to join us.”
I glance back at him and snarl, “Not the time or place, Piggy.” He’s alone, which is sort of unusual. “What’s the matter? Did you get lost?”
He looks back at the building, probably checking to make sure his friends aren’t coming out. When he turns back to me, his expression is surprising. It’s almost… open.
“I didn’t see you all week.”
My jaw drops. “What? Were you worried?”
He takes a deep breath and runs his hand over his blond hair. “Look…”
He’s struggling to find the words, and I don’t quite understand what’s happening here. It seems like everyone is acting uncharacteristically. First Alice threatens to kill someone, and here Gideon is talking to me without giving me attitude. There must be something in the water.
“Look at what?” I prompt.
Gideon sighs. “I shouldn’t say this, and the Storyteller knows I shouldn’t be thinking it, but… I was concerned. You were missing all week, and after that creep from Nevermore seemed to take such an interest in you…”
“Which creep? There’s hardly a shortage.”
He smiles, and it’s a real smile, not one filled with sarcasm or posturing. It looks good on him. “Cassim Salvador. The headmaster. When he took such an interest in you, I was afraid he’d found a way to, I don’t know, kidnap you or something.”
He looks away, genuinely embarrassed by the huge admission he’s making here. I close the distance between us until I’m less than arm’s length away. His blue eyes flicker to my face, and he offers an uneasy, almost shy smile.
What has gotten into him?
“I’m fine,” I tell him. “I had things I had to take care of, but now that’s over.”
He nods.
“Good. I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Wait… Seriously?”
“Seriously.” He can’t make eye contact, which I think is interesting. All of his cynicism has fallen away, and I think I’m seeing the real Gideon Kingsley for the first time. “I, uh… I didn’t expect this to be true either, and I didn’t expect to ever tell you, but I suppose you should know. And I didn’t really admit it to myself until you were gone and nobody knew where you were. I even went to Professor Lockwood and asked, and he just told me to mind my own business, which isn’t really the way to put me off, because that’ll just make me…”
I put a hand over his mouth to stop the babbling. “Shut up.”
He nods, and from under my palm, I hear a muffled, “Yes, Mistress.”
Damn if that didn’t just give me goosebumps.
I look into his eyes, and he looks back. There’s no pretense there, no games, no lies. I feel warm inside, and it’s such a pleasant and unexpected feeling that it gives me the creeps, but in a good way, if such a thing is possible. I drop my hand.
“You didn’t expect to tell me what?”
He blushes. Gideon Kingsley, self-possessed dickwad prince of everything, actually blushes.
“I missed you, because… well, I care about you and we have an arrangement, in case you’d forgotten.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “I haven’t forgotten, Piggy, but I thought I was just a filthy Darkblood,” I challenge. “How can someone like you possibly care about someone like me?”
He reaches out and puts a hand on the small of my back, pulling me to him. I open my mouth to upbraid him for the audacity, but he kisses me before I can say a word. It’s sweet and almost romantic, and though I can tell he wants me sexually, he’s not demanding anything like that. This is just about emotion, and I realize with a start that he cares for me.
Even more startling? I’m really happy about it.
I put my arms around him and kiss him back. We’re in the middle of the courtyard, where anybody and everybody could see this, and neither of us care. It’s magical.
He pulls away to breathe. His cheeks are flushed and his eyes are bright with affection and lust. I’m breathing faster, too, and I touch his cheek.
“This is…”
“Unexpected?” he finishes for me.
I nod.
He looks toward the classroom building, then back at me. “Do you have to go to class right now?”
I know what he’s suggesting, and it sounds amazing. “Do you?”
Gideon shakes his head. “There’s only one thing I want to study right now.”
I take his hand. “Let’s go.”
He takes me toward the boys’ dormitory, and for once Thornhart isn’t around to obsess over curfews and rules. We go up the stairs to his room and I’m pleasantly surprised to find that the place is relatively tidy. I’m guessing Christopher is the neatnik.
Gideon closes the door and locks it, then he’s kissing me like he’s hungry for my very soul and I’m giving as good as I get. Our tongues spar desperately, and he’s walking me backward toward one of the beds. It’s almost like we’re dancing.
Before we get to the bed, I turn us so he’s the first one to hit the mattress. He sits and looks up at me with red, kiss-swollen lips, and he looks so damn fuckable. I push him back onto the bed.
“Stay here.”
He obeys like a good little piggy, and I go to the wardrobe at the end of the bed. He watches with a little smile as I help myself to a handful of silk ties. When I turn around, his smile has turned into a grin.
“Strip,” I order him. “Now.”
Gideon obeys, disrobing and tossing his clothes aside in record time. I watch the show, enjoying the way his muscles move as he bends and stretches. Whoever made this boy made no mistakes.
When he’s fully nude, I nod and say, “Lie down. Spread-eagle.”
He does as he’s told, and I’m pleased by his obedience. He’s already fully erect and ready for me. I tie his wrists and ankles to the bed frame, then blindfold him and gag him with more silk ties. I have one tie left, and I put it around his cock and balls, isolating each testicle and making a do-it-myself cock ring. He’s hard as a rock, and the binding has pulled the skin taught so his balls are red. I rub them with my hand.
“Have you missed me?” I ask. He nods.
I confess, “I’ve sort of missed you, too. But I have a problem with you.”
His eyebrows rise, and I almost laugh at his startlement. I take off my clothes and join him on the bed, kneeling over him. His dick just barely brushes my lower lips, and I’d love to take him, but there’s something I need to address first.
I grab his nipples in my fingers and give them a hard pinch. He sucks air in through his nose. Still pinching, I twist them just a bit, enough to get my point across.
“I don’t like you playing with Aurora, or letting her hang on you,” I tell him. “I’m going to punish you every time I see you with her. Do you understand?”
He nods. I tweak his nipples again, and he groans. He lifts his hips and nudges me with his cock, and I move away. Not yet.
“She can’t touch you,” I tell him. “And you can’t touch her. You belong to me. Got it?” He nods again, and I release his nipples. “Good.”
I run my fingernails down his chest and over the defined muscles over his ribs. He shivers, and I chuckle.
“Do you like that, Piggy?”
He nods.
I move so I’m kneeling between his legs. I lightly scratch my nails over his abdomen, enjoying the way his body trembles. I skirt around his straining dick and run my fingers down the insides of his thighs, then back up.
“Look at you,” I purr. “My little piggy, all spread out and offering himself up to me, a Darkblood. Look at how I own you.”
I run a fingertip down the underside of his erection and over the tie that’s lifting and separating his balls. I keep going over his taint until I reach his little pucker. I stroke it gently, teasing, and he’s so eager that it winks at me. I smile.
“Too bad we don’t have a rake here.”
His cock bounces at the suggestion. He’s so easy.
“Are you going to be a good Piggy and leave Aurora and her little friends alone?”
He sucks a breath in through his teeth, and nods.
“Who do you belong to?”
It comes out garbled because of the gag, but he says, “You, Mistress.”
“Damn right.”
I lean down and lightly lick him from root to tip. He moans and tips his head back, his stomach trembling. A shiny drop of pre-cum leaks out of his slit, and I lick it away before I take pity on him and take him in my mouth. I hold him with my hand, stroking the throbbing vein with my thumb, and I suck the head like a lollipop. He’s panting, and I feel him stiffen in my hand. I pull off immediately.
“Not yet.” He groans, and I chuckle. “Patience.”
I crawl up his body until I’m straddling his waist. He’s beautiful, that’s for certain, especially now that he’s all trussed up and helpless, begging me to finish him off. I explore him with my hands, touching his shoulders and his chest, his sides and his hips.
“You’re a pretty little prince, aren’t you?” He smiles around the gag and nods.
Well, at least his ego’s still intact.
I back up until his weeping cockhead is against my pussy. He can feel how wet I am, and he groans as I push back to take him in. He fills me as I sink slowly down, and when he’s in me balls deep, I hold motionless, enjoying the feeling of his big cock stretching me.
“Mm, yes,” I say, and I start to rise and fall. I’m going too slow for him, but I like the tease of it, the almost painfully deliberate way he slides in and out of my body. He groans and tries to thrust up into me, and I grab his nipples and give them a good twist again.
“Hold still,” I warn. “You’re not in charge here.”
His cock twitches inside me when I say that, and I have to smile.
I wonder where he learned to be such an eager little sub.
It doesn’t matter who trained him. He’s my sub now.
I start moving a little more quickly, rocking on the glorious hot flesh that’s inside me. He groans, and I know he wants to fuck me, but he holds still despite his instincts telling him to thrust.
He wants it faster, and so do I. I move more quickly, my hands pressing into his pecs for balance. His hands ball into fists, and I’m getting close. He’s big and thick, and he feels like magic in my pussy. I speed up until I’m riding him hard, our bodies shaking with the effort of it. I can feel him hardening inside me, and he’s only a heartbeat away from coming. I don’t want to be left behind, so I reach down and finger my clit until orgasm overtakes me in a blinding rush. I cry out and slam down on him again, my inner muscles milking him, and he cums hard, letting out a strangled shout.
I collapse on top of him, my face against his neck. He turns his head and rubs his cheek against my hair. The show of affection surprises me. I slide my hands between his shoulders and the mattress and fall into a blissful afterglow.
Gideon and I miss all of our morning classes, but neither one of us cares. When it’s almost time for lunch, I untie him and we get cleaned up. Once we’re dressed, we head over to the cafeteria to get more food. We both worked up quite an appetite.
We walk in separately, and he goes to the table where his friends are sitting. Christopher looks up at him with a sweet smile, and when Gideon smiles back at him, I can see that they’re a little bit more than just buddies. Intriguing.
Sirena and Alice are already seated when I arrive, so I grab my food and join them. I’m feeling mellow, still carrying the tendrils of my afterglow, and they can see it in my face. My friends look at me, and Alice rolls her eyes.
“I’m not even going to ask,” Sirena says. “Oh, wait. I totally am. Did you spend this morning with somebody?”
My only answer is a shit-eating grin as I cut my sandwich into quarters.
“Who?” she demands, crossing her arms. “I need to know this.”
“We need to make sure he’s worthy of you,” Alice adds.
Once Upon A Devil: A Dark Academy Reverse Harem Bully Romance (Everafter Academy Book 3) Page 11