Spring's Vampires. Blooms of Blood: A Reverse Harem Fantasy Romance (Soulmates of Seasons Book 4)

by Eva Brandt

  The words almost sounded like a threat and a challenge. I couldn’t provide a real, vocal response, but once again, my magic did better. The vine inside Baltasar twisted and he snarled in a mix of arousal and anger. “Adrian.”

  He didn’t say anything else, but Adrian must’ve understood what Baltasar wanted because he rubbed his fingers over my crease. He zeroed in on my anus, sliding a single digit into my hole. It went in with ease. I was a half-nymph, built for sex, and now that I’d stopped questioning every single thing, my body had no trouble adjusting to the new experiences. Even so, Adrian had had the foresight to cast some kind of spell that provided him with lubrication, making the entry far smoother.

  “Did you know that living strigoi often keep the skills they had before they became half-undead?” Adrian asked almost idly. “Still, I haven’t used this particular spell in a while. I wonder what it’ll do to you.”

  I knew better than to believe Adrian would actually cast something that could harm me, but still, I shivered at the dark promise in his voice. He wasn’t being completely dishonest. Something about the spell did feel a little strange, his magic reaching into me at a level I hadn’t expected.

  Passion was like fire. It melted everything in its path, chasing away the ice of fear and confusion. That was what I’d always thought, and seeing Cassia with her dragons had confirmed this.

  My experience was different from hers. Adrian’s enchantment felt sharp, dark, and cold, and yet, it wasn’t scary. The underlining feeling of lust was still very present.

  The nymph inside me stirred even more, but so did the dark powers I’d tried so hard to suppress. Adrian’s magic strained against the seals the Grand Lich had placed inside me. Did he realize what he was doing? It didn’t seem like it, and I didn’t care enough to tell him to stop.

  Instead, I forced my body to relax further, and was rewarded when Adrian added another finger. “You’re so perfect, Eranthe. Look at you, opening up to me. A flower, yes. That’s what you are.”

  He was breathless, but still a little too coherent for my liking. As much as I appreciated the compliment, I had no further interest in metaphors. I willed the vine still on his cock to convey this message, and he hissed as a tiny thorn nudged his slit. It almost made him sound like Baltasar, although his following actions were quite different.

  Adrian pulled his fingers out of me and replaced them with his cock. When he slid inside me, he moved slowly, presumably to give me more time to adjust. If that was indeed his intention, the result wasn’t the desired one. As his dick penetrated me, the slow motion made me process the sensation even more intensely. It was a concentrated attack on my body, on every barrier I might have attempted to put up, on all our arguments and clashes.

  I was so full, my pussy, my mouth and my ass all stuffed with cock. My magic swirled around me almost angrily, lashing out against me and my soulmates, but also pulling us closer together. I felt so hot, but at the same time, so cold, the deadly energies I’d carried with me from Hades coming together with my nymph nature to reach out to my vampires.

  They reached back, each in their own individual way. Because of our position, Cezar couldn’t do much except rock in and out of me—or so it seemed at first. When one of my vines scratched his chest, he guided my head down, over the wound.

  I lapped at the blood, half-expecting to find the taste off-putting. I didn’t, and although the coppery flavor wasn’t something I specifically enjoyed, the essence hiding behind it made me crave more. With my soulmates setting a languorous, almost lazy pace, I could take whatever I wanted or needed.

  But Baltasar remembered my earlier request, even when I did not. He grabbed my hair, dragging me away from the cut.

  When I let out a cry of protest, he chuckled. “I thought you wanted pain, sweetheart. Have you changed your mind already?”

  “No, of course not.” I licked my lips, enjoying the last traces of Cezar’s blood and the look the simple gesture earned me from my soulmates. “But that doesn’t exclude blood-drinking, does it?”

  “Not really, no. Except you have to earn that, and you haven’t.”

  I opened my mouth to answer, but Adrian chose that exact moment to pull out of me and thrust back inside so hard my vision went white. Why were we having a conversation now of all times? I couldn’t remember.

  “F-Fuck,” I stammered. “Fuck me. Please.”

  “What a wicked thing you are,” Adrian whispered, his voice filled with gravel. “Wicked and wanton. So greedy for cock. And here we thought you were so innocent and pure. We should’ve known better.”

  I didn’t really think his assessment was fair, since I was coming off a period of family-induced chastity. It stood to reason that I’d need this. But pointing that out wouldn’t have made a difference, since none of them cared about fairness.

  “We’re going to use you, Eranthe, as our toy, our plaything, a vessel for our lust, our soulmate, our queen, our everything. And when we’re done with you, you’ll never again think that you’re an impostor or a replacement. You’re ours, and we are yours. No one can ever take your place.”

  Adrian’s words wouldn’t have made sense for anyone else. Logic stated that I couldn’t be both their plaything and their queen. But logic had never applied to us. Our relationship had always been filled with contrasts, and that wasn’t going to change now.

  I could be whatever they wanted me to be. I could command them and surrender to their strength. There was nothing easier, really. For a queen of life and death, the only bond that could ever work was one that defied all boundaries and expectations.

  I smirked and decided to up the stakes. “If that’s true, I think you’re my playthings as well. I can do whatever I want to you, including taking your blood. Your bodies, your flesh, your dicks... Everything about you is mine.”

  As I spoke, I forced myself to focus, to push back the dizziness in my mind and regain control of my abilities. The already existing cracks in Eiar’s seals started to widen, but I paid the danger no heed. I might not like my other self, but I had to admit that she was right. I couldn’t be afraid of my death magic, not when it was a part of me, a part of the person my soulmates wanted so much.

  With that decision came another surge of power, one that wiped away all traces of composure and restraint. In front of me, Baltasar snarled. Cezar dug his claws into my hip. Adrian’s magic responded to my own and something snapped. And that was when I knew. I could see the truth so clearly. Everything that hadn’t made sense turned into a clear image of a future painted in blood—a future of withered flowers, bloody blooms, thorns, life and death, wrapped into one. All the lies were torn asunder and vanished, taking my confusion and uncertainty with them. The real message Chronikos had been trying to send me shone like a beacon in my mind.

  I cried out and blindly made a grab for my soulmates. “Now! Take me now! Harder! Hurt me!”

  My vampires didn’t disappoint. Adrian started a punishing pace, and as he fucked me, his magic entwined with mine, just as savage as the death energies now running amok within me. Cezar easily fell into a matching rhythm, thrusting in and out of me with abandon.

  Baltasar grabbed my wrist and buried his fangs in my flesh, and it felt different than the first time he’d fed on me and from Adrian’s bite. My blood suddenly started boiling in my veins, the sensation contrasting with the chill caused by my own abilities and Adrian’s.

  Venom, a little voice at the back of my mind whispered. Lamia venom. A highly dangerous paralytic, it wasn’t something a half-breed often employed. It was the same substance that had led to the pollution of the lake in The Forest of Purity. It also shouldn’t have been an aphrodisiac. Apparently, my body had decided it didn’t agree.

  I embraced it, just as I embraced everything else my soulmates were giving me. I was afraid of many things, but not of this, never of this. An avalanche of pleasure-pain crashed into me, just as powerful as Chronikos itself, but I didn’t let it overwhelm me.

  My vi
sion was going blurry from the blood loss and the venom, but I was a demigoddess, a nymph, and the avatar of spring. I was my vampires’ soulmate, which meant that my body, my heart, and my mind suited them to perfection. Nothing they did would ever be able to harm me, not in a way I would dislike.

  Between the bite and the rough fucking, I was already so close to orgasm I could practically taste it. My skin buzzed with pleasure, my nipples hard and aching, my pussy and my ass throbbing as my soulmates claimed me in the most intimate way possible.

  I couldn’t have said what finally made me come. Maybe it was nothing in particular, just a natural build up of the ecstasy my vampires were stirring within me. Or maybe it was the moment Baltasar released his hold on my wrist and said my name. “Eranthe...”

  It was only one word, but it still held so much emotion, so much need, desire, and hunger. It flowed over me like a palpable caress, and I screamed as I fell over the edge, into an orgasm that both threatened my sanity and secured it.

  The knowledge of what I’d just learned still lingered there, at the back of my mind, like an ominous shadow. The icy fire of my vampires’ passion tamed it, chasing away the apprehension I felt. Cezar and Adrian thrust inside me one last time and followed me into climax, and I couldn’t focus on anything except them, on the amazing feeling I got when their spunk flooded my insides.

  The mere realization that I’d given my soulmates the same pleasure I experienced made everything better. All I could do was ride the wave of our shared orgasm, enjoying a closeness that went far beyond the physical and a passion that tasted like blood and hope.

  All too soon, my vampires pulled out of me. A sensation of emptiness assaulted my body and I opened my mouth to protest, to tell them to not leave me. I never got the chance to speak.

  Baltasar flipped me over on all fours, pinning me down with his larger body. Without a word of warning, he thrust his cock into my pussy. Due to his venom—and possibly my orgasm—I couldn’t maintain a proper position, but he didn’t seem to mind. I soon found myself with my ass up in the air, being pounded into the mattress by my lamia soulmate.

  By this time, Adrian and Cezar were hard again, so it was really no surprise when Cezar took position in front of me, gripped my hair, forced my head up, and shoved his dick into my mouth. He tasted like me, and I moaned, both at the sinful thought and at the sensations that assaulted my body.

  At one point—probably when I’d come—I’d lost control of my magic, of the plants I’d been using to touch my soulmates. As passion surged through me again, that greed and possessive desperation returned. The ground shook as more vines emerged from beneath us, black as night, with thorns as sharp as my vampires’ fangs.

  My soulmates didn’t flinch away from the imminent threat. They didn’t perceive it as such, which was ironic, considering the fact that my powers had hurt beings far stronger than vampires.

  But this wasn’t about brute magical strength. Our bond surpassed that, and my vampires knew it. My harsh caresses just encouraged them to take things to the next level, to give me everything I’d asked for and more.

  Responding to my first request, they hurt me, in the most delicious way possible. Their thrusts were a little too hard and fast to be comfortable. Baltasar’s hold on my hips was so tight I’d probably bruise. And when a wave of Adrian’s magic coursed over me, my over-sensitive nerve endings protested and reveled in the caress.

  One of my vines raked over my back, drawing blood and inviting my vampires to feed. The coppery scent alone was enough to drive them into a frenzy. Cezar snarled, burying his cock all the way into my throat. I didn’t choke again, but that was only because of my nymph nature. Baltasar increased the speed and pace of his thrusts, while Adrian leaned over me and took me up on my silent offer, licking the blood off my back.

  The touch of his tongue was enough to send me spiraling into yet another climax, this time even more intense than the first one. And what made it crazier was the fact that they didn’t stop. Oh, Baltasar came when my inner muscles tightened around his cock, but neither he nor my other two soulmates allowed that to get in the way.

  They didn’t give me even a moment to catch my breath. I was still caught in the throes of orgasm when Baltasar pulled out of me and handed me over to Adrian.

  I ended up riding Adrian’s cock, with Cezar feeding from my throat. It went on and on like that. Over and over, they changed my position, took turns on my body, keeping their earlier promise, using me as a vessel for their lust, as their plaything. They fucked my pussy, my mouth, and my ass. They filled me with their seed and their power. They drank my blood. But even as they branded me as their possession, I claimed them in turn. I dragged them closer and fucked them using my vines. They were my lovers, my soulmates, my guardians, my slaves. We were and would always be everything and anything to one another.

  I didn’t know how long it lasted, how many orgasms I had. I lost count at the fifth one. I finally blacked out after Baltasar decided to add another feeding session to the mix and buried his fangs in my femoral artery.

  It wasn’t the pain that drove me into unconsciousness. It wasn’t even Baltasar’s venom. My body simply couldn’t withstand the onslaught of pleasure any longer. Nymph or not, I had my limits and I’d reached them.

  It didn’t take me long to recover, though. When I came to, my soulmates were still in bed with me, leaning over me, looking concerned, but not overly so. I couldn’t have been out cold for more than a couple of seconds.

  “Wow,” I said. “That was quite an experience.”

  My surprising coherence made their tension fade away, and I relaxed against the pillows. The sheets were stained with a strange mix of my sweat and juices, their semen, our blood, and on top of everything else, tree sap. It was sticky and uncomfortable, but I couldn’t be bothered to get up and drag myself to the bathroom.

  Baltasar briefly left the bed and returned with a wet washcloth. Despite my earlier reassurance, he decided to look into my well-being again. “Are you all right?” he asked as he wiped me down. “We didn’t go too far, did we?”

  “I know you said to hurt you, but we lost control a little bit at the end,” Cezar said, obviously still a little worried.

  “I’m fine,” I replied. “In fact, I think I’ve never been better in my life.”

  It was true. Granted, I was still worried about my recent realization, but at the same time, my eyes had been opened, and I knew now what path I needed to follow.

  Were my soulmates aware of what I’d seen? It didn’t seem like it, and I didn’t have the heart to tell them, not yet.

  “You were right,” I added instead. “I’m not an impostor. I was foolish to think that, to deem Eiar your soulmate.”

  “Never again, petal,” Cezar replied. “Don’t doubt us again.”

  “We’re here for you,” Baltasar added.

  Adrian said nothing, but in his eyes, I saw the same knowledge that now burdened my soul. So one of them did know. Maybe Adrian’s magic had made the difference. Either way, I was thankful that he’d understood and had decided to keep it from Cezar and Baltasar.

  Soon, everything would be revealed. Soon, no one would be able to pretend any longer. But until then... Until then, I wanted to steal a few more moments with my vampires, a few moments while I could mourn what could’ve been and plan for what I’d get in its stead.

  Ten

  Diplomacy

  Eiar

  Living as the Grand Lich in The Immortuos Voievodat had long ago modified my sleep patterns into something very similar to those of the undead. It had also made me almost immune to disease and magic drain.

  As such, when I woke up in my quarters on the emperor’s frigate, I was understandably confused. I felt off in a way I hadn’t in centuries, probably since before I’d moved to The Voievodat.

  The surprise faded away into resignation when I saw Octavian seated by my bedside. “Easy,” he said. “You’re all right. Breathe. You’re safe.”

&nb
sp; He tried to reach for me, and I tried to not shy away. Neither of us was that successful, so we ended up awkwardly shuffling around.

  “What happened?” I asked, forcing myself to remain still.

  “We were in the nymph village in Tis Ánoixis and you collapsed. I believe you must’ve had some kind of vision of your... other self.”

  Now that he mentioned it, I vaguely remembered having an argument with Octavian in Lillia, then being hit by a wave of magic coming from an angry Eranthe. I supposed I’d deserved it for the way I’d lashed out at Adrian, but still, it was a little frustrating. She shouldn’t have been able to knock me out like that, especially not from the distance.

  “Wonderful.” I let out an exasperated sigh. “My powers must be going out of control faster than expected.”

  “You can’t be sure of that. You said we still have time.”

  “I said that when we were in The Voievodat. There’s no telling how being here affected me. Time is exactly the thing we most lack.”

  Also, the fact that I’d sealed my other self’s necromantic abilities hadn’t left me unscathed. How distasteful. I’d have to handle my affairs much faster and possibly with less delicacy than I’d hoped.

  I threw off the quilt and grimaced as I took in my nude state. “Who undressed me?”

  Octavian stared at the ceiling, visibly trying to not look at me. “It was the healer. Don’t worry. Everything was kept under wraps, as always.”

  “Forgive me if I’m a little less inclined to trust your dedication to keep my secret,” I said. “We have too many conflicting opinions for me to rely on past experiences.”

  Octavian didn’t try to defend himself. It would’ve been useless, since we both knew I was right. He also didn’t bother pretending he had any intention of changing his mind. “You’re very cruel, you know that, Eiar? You’re well aware that I have—”

  “A wife,” I cut him off. “Be silent now, Your Majesty. I’m not being cruel. I’m being practical. Now, if you would be so kind, I’d like to get dressed. I imagine my other self and my sisters will have probably arranged our meeting by now.”