Witch Darkness Follows (Maeren Series Book 3)

by Mercedes Jade

  They couldn’t be this timid when they fought!

  It was as if some of them had been hidden in the darkness of the caves too long and were wary that this trip outside was a terrible trick.

  Perhaps they expected another prison in the disguise of freedom. They took each step with such quiet reserve, like it might be the one that triggered a trap underfoot.

  The closer they got to their destination, the more nervous chatter that Pan engaged in with her.

  Elizabeth wanted to hug the girl, but she soon figured that a prickly dragoness didn’t need that in front of the soldiers.

  Elizabeth then tried to commiserate about their hangovers and told lame jokes instead.

  It felt like gallows humour.

  Their enterprise was turning out to be a dreary one. She supposed the dragons had every right to approach this planned assault with little enthusiasm.

  These were their friends and family, once.

  She felt . . . lonely.

  It was almost a relief when her lightning suddenly pinged against Daemon’s mind.

  He must have been purposefully hiding himself with magic for her not to notice until he got so close.

  In fact, he was—

  He was right in front of her.

  With the radius she had been actively monitoring for the light clan sentries, she should have picked him up sooner.

  Daemon grabbed one of her arms, his lightning wrapping around her limb like an armband.

  She couldn’t turn around to search for George. He had to be here, too.

  The Dogs wouldn’t really have hurt their master when she’d left them fighting in the Wastes under a misapprehension, right?

  “Hello, sweetheart.”

  Daemon’s deep, familiar voice shivered over her skin. He didn’t sound particularly upset with her. She’d been expecting a lecture off the bat for willingly let Pan kidnap her.

  “You caught up just in time,” she said, pretending that Daemon’s showing up had been all part of the plan. “Where’s George? How about the Dogs?”

  “Behind you,” George answered. “My Dogs are taking care of our little troublesome instigator.”

  Oh, no. Pan would likely react poorly to three strange vampire lords sneaking up on her.

  Hopefully, she didn’t transform and try taking a dragon-sized bite out of the Dogs for their trespass.

  “Pan really was more mischievous than troublesome. You both know she has good reason for her actions. How could she trust you with all of the rumours that dragons must hear? Tell the Dogs to leave her alone!” Elizabeth demanded, sticking up for her newest friend.

  “Why should we negotiate?” Daemon asked.

  “A witch and a dragoness under our protection are being marched toward a hostile clan. There are hundreds of dragon soldiers looking ready to go to battle. You are in the front of the line,” George said.

  Of course, they would have spied on their group before approaching. It wouldn’t have been too hard to figure out their purpose.

  She tried again to turn around, but George grabbed her other shoulder and kept her firmly fixed in place.

  “I’m using my lightning to search for light clan sentries, which is why I’m in the front. It’s temporary. Pan’s here because I’m the only other female, frankly,” Elizabeth explained, feeling frustrated.

  None of the other dark dragons had said anything or tried to intervene with the princes confronting her—but they had to hear her getting lectured.

  Her abilities were being challenged, her strength disparaged by every word out of the mouths of her mates.

  Speaking of mates, where was Geer? He’d been hanging close by, moments ago.

  “Should we punish Pan for kidnapping you?” George asked. “She forced you into a dangerous situation as her hostage.”

  Pan cried out as three earth-lords surrounded her.

  Elizabeth turned her neck sharply to see her fearful friend.

  The tallest Dog grabbed Pan’s wrist. His magic wrapped around her in a tight earth-shield, preventing the dragoness from transforming.

  “No, don’t!” Elizabeth shouted. “It was all my idea. Pan followed along. I’m not a hostage!”

  “I’m sure it was both of you and that very little planning was involved,” the young earth-lord holding onto Pan’s wrist said.

  His voice was deep enough to be past puberty, but still too young for a regular soldier.

  Elizabeth tried peering around Daemon to see him better.

  The Dogs was a derogatory name for the elite, earth-magic lords who were George’s private guard and spies.

  She’d only gotten a very quick, distracted glimpse at them when she’d escaped with Pan in the Wastes.

  “Heal any of Pan’s injuries that she has left while you explain the three new best friends she has acquired,” ordered George to the Dogs.

  Elizabeth sighed in relief. They weren’t going to hurt Pan. The dragoness was being offered protection—although, she might not want it.

  Would the Dogs accept a refusal?

  “Do you wish to receive the punishment for this reckless behaviour instead of Pan?” Daemon asked.

  His dark eyes sparked with anger that was made visible by his magic.

  She shivered. Of course, he was mad. He had to be tired of chasing after her.

  “I’m sorry,” Elizabeth apologized.

  Daemon shook his head. That wasn’t going to be good enough.

  “This isn’t the first time that you threw yourself in front of danger.”

  She sighed. “To be fair, the danger found me first. I just didn’t get out of the way.”

  Well, Pan had approached her. The plan to steal into the dark clan, however, was all on Elizabeth.

  George seemed to pick up the confession from her thoughts.

  “If you are with all of these dragons, then that means you approached them with only an injured dragoness and your half charged magic to protect you,” George said.

  Okay, true. She couldn’t say anything to defend herself. It had been stupid and dangerous.

  “This time, we’re lucky nothing was broken when you . . . blindly ran,” he added, reminding her of the leg she had broken when he caught her eavesdropping on a murder

  He had warned her then not to be caught by him again when recklessly endangering herself.

  Lesson about to be learned.

  “I—can we not . . . here?” Elizabeth asked.

  The soldiers with her were already getting an earful. She didn’t need her mates to add an eyeful of her being reprimanded.

  “Do you think the dragons behind you are going to interfere?” whispered Daemon.

  No. Geer had even made himself scarce. She was on her own with her angry mates.

  “It’s embarrassing,” she whispered.

  “Precisely the point,” Daemon said. “These dragons are going to wait and watch while we finish disciplining you. I believe that since the last spanking didn’t generate the response I wanted, a more public approach is warranted.”

  Whoa, wait!

  “It was my idea, so you can blame me if the humiliation is more than your ego can stand,” George told her. “You not only endangered yourself by thinking that you are powerful enough to take on the enemy on your own, you also allowed Pan to risk herself when you knew better.”

  They couldn’t do this to her! She was a grown witch, not a child to be turned over the knee and given a couple of embarrassing swats.

  Elizabeth awkwardly cleared her throat. She better make this explanation count.

  “Nothing bad happened. We were on our way to find you, so Daemon can bargain to gain the dragon reinforcements he needs to take back the castle,” she lied—a teensy bit.

  After they took the Light clan that was exactly the plan.

  “An entire battalion of dragons was helping you search the mountains for us?” George asked in disbelief.

  It probably would be better to keep on explaining, but not exactly answer Geo
rge’s question.

  “I-I knew that it would be easier for a nobody, like me, to approach the dark clan than the Maerenian princes they’ve been fighting. They’ve agreed to talk to you about it, now.”

  Daemon didn’t look pleased. He shook his head at her.

  “You do matter. That’s why you’re being punished,” Daemon said, a little of his irritation slipping out to toughen his silky tone. “You mistakenly thought that the ends justify the means no matter the risks to yourself. George is going to correct that misunderstanding by birching your bottom.”

  A birching? Was that getting hit with sticks?

  She tried to twist herself free from George at that revelation.

  Why George? He had the strength to pulverize boulders. Her bottom wasn’t a straw dummy to be pummelled.

  “This is ridiculous. I’m not a naughty child. I’m old enough to make my own decisions. There’s no claim that gives you the right to punish me anymore,” she insisted.

  “Grab her hands,” George ordered, resolute.

  Daemon did so and George put his own heavy hand on her back, forcing her to bend over.

  She sucked in a noisy breath, hyperventilating as she furiously tried to figure out how to escape this situation.

  The first time Daemon had spanked her had been shocking—and a little sexy.

  This was mostly embarrassing.

  She was turning a flustered red and George hadn’t even started yet. They’d guessed right that spanking her in public was a punishment she’d dread.

  Daemon squatted, so he was on eye level with her.

  “Look at me,” he demanded, meeting her glare. “Breathe slower, sweetheart. This is a common punishment in Maeren. We’re going to protect you—even without a claim. Technically, you’re George’s responsibility until he brings you back to court. He prefers traditional discipline.”

  “How is this protecting me?” she asked.

  “We’re protecting you from yourself,” George said. “This will sting more than the love taps that Daemon gave you. When you’re ready to promise to stop taking foolish risks, then your birching will end.”

  “Don’t be so stubborn. You can’t move an earth-lord once he has dug his toes in the sand. Give George your promise,” Daemon advised before the birching could begin.

  “I hate you both,” she said while looking Daemon in the eyes. He was equally to blame.

  Maeren was so backwards. Yes, it was dangerous. She’d definitely leapt into the fire without a good enough plan for getting out—which she’d recognized on her own.

  Invading the dark clan caves with only Pan had been terrifying.

  “You hate us? We’re your mates,” George said, sounding frustrated and hurt.

  “I didn’t grow up in this culture, George. I just—I can’t let you—not in public, okay? Please don’t,” Elizabeth said, voice catching as her throat tightened on the plea.

  “Oh, Maeren, sweetheart,” Daemon said, pulling her up into his arms.

  She hid her tearstained face against his chest as he told George that she’d had enough.

  George’s hard, strong arms wrapped around her hips from behind. His prickly chin found the sensitive spot between the back of her neck and her shoulder as he nipped her ear.

  “Kerashemeria, you’re too much trouble for one vampire to handle,” George whispered.

  Daemon gave her shoulders a reassuring squeeze. “You know I love you—”

  “We both care for you,” George interrupted his older brother.

  She hiccuped a sob, surprised by George’s sudden declaration.

  Why was he such an asshole about some things if he cared about her?

  She thought he was just feeding from her for convenience.

  When had George started feeling something more?

  He was confusing her.

  How could they both have planned this humiliating, hurtful punishment if they really were her mates?

  “Kiss Daemon,” George ordered, baffling her even more.

  Daemon didn’t wait to be told twice. He hooked his fingers under her chin and pulling her face up for a deep, soul binding kiss.

  She forgot about their audience and the risk of the light clan sentries spotting them. Even the burn of humiliation had started to fade from her cheeks.

  Her world centred on the firm lips demanding she open and let him drink from her mouth, their tongues and warm puffs of air tangled.

  George placed his hands on her bottom, the fiery warmth of his magic a reminder of what had almost happened to her—but they’d stopped because she’d asked.

  It was a start, something that was a step forward compared to the last time Daemon tried to force a spanking on her to teach her a lesson in traditional Maerenian fashion.

  She nipped Daemon’s tongue to steal a quick feed and offer him reinforcement of the blood-bond to soothe his worries.

  George could go next.

  The unintended feed was—strangely—powerless.

  “She knows,” Daemon said.

  He pulled away from their kiss with one last, lingering lick of her swollen lips, tracing over where she always nervously nibbled her bottom one.

  “Already?” George grumbled.

  Knew what?

  “She bit me and I didn’t account for it with magic,” he told George.

  Oh, they had tricked her good.

  This priming Daemon had started wasn’t going anywhere.

  He was in her head.

  Her nipples budded against Daemon’s chest, aching as George closed every inch of space between the three of them.

  George pushed and crowded her from behind, his unshaven chin rubbing that spot between her neck and shoulder.

  They made it feel so real.

  “You’re not here,” she whispered, closing her eyes.

  The two minds wrapped around hers were glowing like north stars—brighter than even the dragons walking though the mountain pass with her.

  “Open your eyes and walk on your own. I’m going to release your vision,” Daemon said.

  The disorientation of seeing two realities at once gave her a moment of vertigo that almost sent her stumbling, but she quickly recovered.

  "You controlled my mind!" she shouted.

  "We used an illusion on you to discuss matters I’m sure you would rather keep private, sweetheart. I kept an eye on your surroundings for your safety, but I didn’t interfere with your actions. You’re still marching towards the light clan without us by your sides,” Daemon explained.

  He didn’t sound happy about the fact.

  "If you don’t want me to put you over my knee in front of your new dragon friends for real, then you will call a halt until we catch up. We’re about twenty minutes behind you,” George said.

  Always with the threats.

  "Is spanking your solution to everything?" she asked.

  "Ignorance of the rules in Maeren doesn’t excuse disobeying them,” George replied.

  Where were they and how long did she have until they caught up?

  She pushed her lightning towards George’s mind.

  She suddenly got a quick glimpse of a far-away bottom to a cliff, then back to the wall being climbed.

  It made her dizzy.

  George’s mind wasn’t as practiced at illusion. The image she saw shook as he tried to focus on his own reality instead of hers.

  Vertigo assaulted her further, just like when her own illusions were failing.

  It was very dangerous if that happened to George while he was climbing a rock cliff.

  She pulled back from their shared vision.

  "Shouldn’t you be focusing on not falling?" she nervously asked.

  "It would be easier to focus if we knew you were safe and waiting for us,” Daemon said.

  Daemon was guilt-tripping her. He could scale a mountain and still play slap and tickle with her—in his head—without breaking a sweat.

  George wasn’t breakable, anyway. He only got harder when threa
tened.

  "Eat dirt,” she taunted.

  "George really did cut a birch switch,” Daemon warned her.

  Ugh, seriously?

  As unpleasant as the imaginary birching that had almost happened in her head had been, the reality promised to be worse.

  Perhaps it was time to take the prickly olive branch her mates were offering.

  “Halt!” Elizabeth ordered out loud.

  Freedom to Choose

  Her shout to ‘halt’ echoed around them.

  Elizabeth blushed, cursing herself in her head for being so loud.

  A dozen heads swivelled toward her, including Pan’s scarfed one.

  Pan was dressed like a bedouin boy again, courtesy of something Geer had scrounged up for her when the borrowed, oversized shirts proved impractical.

  Raphael stomped over to Elizabeth.

  “Do you think if you shouted louder, the light sentries could hear you? They are getting into their dotage.”

  Elizabeth blushed harder.

  She hadn’t been paying attention to her surroundings, intent on complying with George’s command to wait in order to avoid a real bottom baring punishment when her mates caught up.

  “What’s going on?” Pan asked, glancing around nervously.

  “The princes want us to wait for them. They’re about twenty minutes out,” Elizabeth explained. “We’re not near any light sentries,” she added, ensuring to take a quick ping for all of the surrounding minds.

  Raphael looked annoyed by the delay. His mouth was pinched and he was tapping his foot.

  Somebody was impatient.

  “We hardly need your princes to help us subdue the light clan. I’ve brought enough warriors to take care of this quickly, so you can fulfill your side of the bargain, witch,” Raphael said, turning towards the waiting battalion.

  “Do you really want to drag them into this?” Pan asked.

  Somebody else was having second thoughts.

  Elizabeth threw her hands up.

  “They didn’t make it optional. You’re the one that wanted to blackmail them into helping you,” she reminded Pan.

  She pointed to Raphael, who had turned back again.

  “You want their sister to give you a chance, so I don’t see how you’re going to avoid spending time with the family,” she told him, finger quoting ‘the family’ for emphasis.