“Andro isn’t Lysander, and Lysander isn’t his uncle.” It was only with Andro’s soft wings cocooned around me that I finally understood that truth.
I no longer blamed the prince for the mission through the Gateway, which had gone wrong and killed my friend, or the fact that his uncle, Titus, ran the academy from the shadows. After all, Lysander was stuck here the same as us and he fought to protect Willoughby and his whipping boy.
It wasn’t any of the Princes’ fault that we were forced to compete against each other.
“Imagine what the Princes do to your clones.” Fox cocked his head.
Sleipnir’s eyes opened wide with panic. “They don’t… I mean, you don’t think… They wouldn’t…?”
“Prince Willoughby pets Bask’s behind and then spanks it until Bask comes,” Andro supplied helpfully. Well, I do have a spankable arse. “And Prince Lysander banned Serenity from ever producing a clone of Sleipnir.”
Sleipnir’s expression became shuttered, before he stalked to the far side of the café. “Just get rid of him and fix our whipping boy.”
Sleipnir hadn’t had the same revelation as me. But then, he didn’t have the same advantages. Maybe I should advise him about the shiny hair?
“Someone’s sounding stressed,” Serenity chirped, “would you like to dance it out?”
When the joyful “Love Shack” by the B-52’s burst out like the café’s anthem, Sleipnir growled in defeat, turning to bang his head against the wall in time to the rhythm. I grasped Andro’s chin, tipping up his head. His eyes widened, before crinkling at the edges with happiness.
I kissed him, tenderly. “See you soon.”
When Andro faded in a twist of green mist, the loss speared through me. I turned to Fox, clutching his shoulders to be certain that he was still with me…and real. Yet wasn’t Andro real to himself, at least?
Fox’s smile was sad like he understood the way that I shook, as I kissed him with the same tenderness as I had Andro. His lips were warmer than the fae’s had been and plusher. I sighed, running my tongue across the seam of his lips to encourage them to open, and then I drew back, hovering just above the lush mouth that I’d already become addicted to kissing.
I could taste that he belonged to Ghost Immortal, just like I knew that we should all be together.
My magic bubbled up in a ruby stream, glittering out of my mouth and into Fox’s to heal him. He moaned at the sensation. The cuts on his hand closed up, until his skin was as perfect as before.
Then I sat back on my heels, shooting Sleipnir a smug grin. “Healed as good as new. Pet me.”
Sleipnir slouched with an indolent elegance to run his hand through my hair. The petting tribute was acceptable. “Now your pleasure’s sated, it’s time we all used the power of our dicks.”
“I knew all the Alpha posturing was just horniness.” Fox bounced up, snatching Sleipnir and swinging him around to “Love Shack” with wild abandon in the face of his outrage. “Feel the power of my dick, baby.”
“Valhalla! Did you just call me…?”
“Baby,” Serenity crowed. “Although, I prefer godling.”
“Co-co,” Sleipnir hollered.
I dived up from the sofa, catching Sleipnir around the waist, as Fox spun him to me tango style.
Fox’s eyes gleamed. “Is this another round of the Shout Out Inappropriate Words Game? Okay, my go: Cockmuppet!”
“Stop,” Sleipnir gritted out, twisting in my arms, “this is a round of Find the Witch.”
I sobered, letting go of him. He straightened his blazer, before holding out his hand, and a crystal goblet appeared, which sizzled. I peered at the brown liquid that could’ve been hot chocolate but it also smelled of sweet vanilla, hot ginger, and ancient magic.
“I’m allergic to drinking magic potions.” Fox grimaced. Ah, my cute little liar. “I come out in hives, my throat closes up, and then I turn into Ivan the Terrible. It’s truly an affliction.”
“It’s called Co-co because it makes you co-co-come.” Sleipnir smirked. “I assure you, I’ve never stopped thinking about the times that Magenta has appeared to us or become stronger. I take it you’ve noticed as well that she’s connected to us alclass="underline" our pleasure and emotions.” Sleipnir hesitated. Why did he look shifty all of a sudden? “Hey, I felt her out on the Discipline run, didn’t you?”
Fox and I both nodded. There’d been a pulsing ancient magic in the Dead Wood. It’d called to me, and I’d battled not to dive between the trees.
Sleipnir examined his nails. “Honestly, I have the feeling that Magenta’s power once fed from nature, but now she also feeds from us.”
Fox edged closer, until we stood around the goblet like it was a witch’s brew. I guessed that it was. I’d never willingly drunk one of those before.
“Why now? Why us?” Fox asked; his expression was brittle.
“You’re special to her,” I tilted my head, “you’re the reason that everything’s changed.”
Fox hugged his arms across his chest. His voice was small, “I don’t want to be special. I just want to be me.”
“You could ask why any of us.” Sleipnir’s eyes narrowed, as he studied me.
Fox stroked across the back of my hand. “You’re the one who makes me —”
“Hard? Wild with lust? Desperate to pet?” I bounced up and down on my toes.
I’d bet that it was one of those.
Fox smiled, fondly. I wasn’t used to that. “Feel safe and loved.”
My breath hitched, and my vision became dangerously blurry.
Sleipnir ducked his head. “Of course, the powerful son of Loki has nothing to do with this magic.”
Fox rolled his eyes. “My power’s screaming that you know you’re connected to the dead.”
Sleipnir raised his head. “My dad’s the one with that power. I can just see the places that the living and dead walk the line. It’s kind of obvious that Magenta needs all three of us, and that we all care about her. So, let’s enhance the pleasure.”
He raised the goblet and took a deep swig, before raising it to my lips.
I’d been taught about this by my ma: peer pressure. I was an incubus, which meant that I was already a walking aphrodisiac. I pressed my lips tightly together.
Sleipnir raised an imperious eyebrow. “Think how intense this will make the experience. Aren’t you a romantic, Bask? Don’t you want to rescue your lover?”
I only took a sip of the thick liquid, however, because an incubus didn’t truly need aphrodisiacs like a non-incubus, otherwise we’d end up with R.I.P Drowned in Cum carved on our headstones. The liquid tasted sweet like chocolate but then burned with the aftertaste of fiery ginger. As Fox downed it like it was beer, I choked at the searing hotness.
Instantly, my soft worn out dick twitched in my pants, before springing to attention. I groaned, scrambling to drop my pants and let my dick jump free like an angry throbbing pole.
I stared at Sleipnir and Fox who’d done the same next to me, but were bent over groaning in pain. Whoops…this looked less like pleasure and far more like the pain that the Duchess would train me with, and the others were less used to it than me.
Maybe Serenity had overdone the co-co?
“Orgasm coming up!” Serenity purred.
To our collective horror, the door to the Rebel Café crashed open, and Juni Crow, who was Damelza’s daughter, our professor, and the Prince’s tutor, stalked into the room. She was a slenderer version of Damelza with short sculptured hair that was bound underneath a woven cap of feathers, and sharp pointy features that would’ve been impish, if her eyes had danced with less malice.