Covet the Night, page 14
Liv shrugged as best she could. Droplets of sweat raced down her neck to her cleavage. Gwen looked away as the buxom French woman wiped the droplets away. "If it wasn't the bartender, then who?"
"The shifters," Becca said at the exact same time Antonia replied with "The sorcerers."
The two glared at each other.
"The shifters were stirring up trouble on purpose," Becca reasoned.
"It was magic that caused the trouble in the first place."
Becca's mouth tilted farther down. "Just because the shifters can't produce magic doesn't mean they aren't capable of wielding it. Sometimes they get paid in magical items."
Antonia scoffed. "Your theory is as sound as Olivia's." Both Liv and Becca made affronted noises, even as Antonia barreled on. "The sorcerers are the most logical explanation."
"Yes, but…." Becca paused to look again at the sisterhood. Gwen's eyes followed naturally and widened when they found only one remained. She looked to be asleep. "The shifters have been stirring up trouble a lot recently. They've been vocal about their dislike for how things are run."
"Indigo says the shifters are always stirring up trouble. Besides, how does starting a murderous rampage in a bar solve anything?" Antonia questioned.
Becca slumped to rest her cheek on her folded arms. "I don't know."
"What about you?" Liv looked to Gwen. "Who do you think did it?"
Gwen reached for the end of a thick tendril that had fallen loose from her ponytail to twirl. "I don't know. Maybe the sorcerers? Maybe the shifters or the bartender? I'm not sure who matters as much as the why or what. Why did they do it? What purpose did it serve?"
The group paused to reflect on Gwen's answer before Antonia snorted.
"Why?" she parroted, sliding off the marble platform. Her entire body flushed red as she stood and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "The answer is always blood. Welcome to the Dark Court."
The three watched Antonia saunter away with varying degrees of consideration on their rosy features.
"Allons-y." Liv gave the order with a small smile. "Come on, let's go."
Antonia, along with the rest of the sisterhood, was in the next room. They were exfoliating their bodies leisurely and happily chatting with each other beneath the waterfall cascading from the middle of the ceiling. The three initiates joined the gathering with small, easy smiles on their faces.
Gwen wanted to continue the conversation but knew better with the close company they now kept. She surreptitiously eyed the sisterhood as she began to scrub her body. Was it really so easy for them to shrug off what had happened? Were these kinds of incidents that common? She didn't think the attack was motivated by blood alone, but Becca's talk of revolution rang false. The first was too easy to brush aside, the other a product of fearmongering.
Which continued to beg the question: Why? And why did it have to be Brit?
"Are you okay?" Becca asked as they rinsed the exfoliant from their bodies.
Gwen waited to answer until the sisterhood had left, save a pair who waited at the mouth of the next hallway.
"I just can't stop thinking about their eyes. Or how much tension was in the air before it all started. The magic was so… potent."
Becca's forehead crinkled in reply. "What do you mean?"
Before Gwen could explain, Liv tugged on her wrist.
"Let me guess. Allons-y?"
Liv laughed at Gwen's playful eye roll. "Oui."
They dashed off after Antonia, who'd taken the lead again. She stood at the public pool's edge and turned at the splashing pad of their footsteps. Her smile was contagious.
Tendrils of steam rose from the rippling water's surface, enticing onlookers to indulge in its turquoise depths. A large smattering of vampyrés populated the pool. They clustered together in small groups, chatting idly, or draped themselves along the pool's edge, silently observing the goings-on of the bathhouse.
Gwen crossed her arms over her breasts to hide the puckering of her nipples. The air was brisk here. Without waiting for the others, she entered the pool. A bawdy moan escaped her as delicious heat enveloped her.
"This is heaven," she uttered as docile waves lapped at her.
"It's too sinful to be heaven," Antonia quipped, her accent thickening the slightest bit. "Must be hell."
Someone laughed, the rich notes sounding suspiciously like Liv. When Gwen peeked over, she saw Liv wearing a wide smile. "My vote is for heaven."
Becca shook her head, sinking down in the semi-shallow end until the water reached the tops of her shoulders. "Sinful. I think I could spend every night here for the rest of eternity."
"Isn't that the goal?" Gwen joked.
"It just became mine," Becca volleyed back.
The two laughed softly as they entered deeper waters with the others.
Liv commented on the room and water's fragrance, a mix of sweet amber and pine. Antonia pointed out the many decorative vases and urns, which cleverly held small bundles of incense. Becca lit up with an appreciative smile and inhaled deeply.
"Liv?"
"Yes, ma chérie?"
Liv waded up to Gwen, her arms encircling her as she neared. A laugh caught in Gwen's throat at the easy familiarity she took. Gwen spared Liv a cheeky grin.
"You came here for our first test, right?"
Liv's hum affirmed Gwen's question.
She rested her rounded chin on Gwen's shoulder, her top knot careening sideways. With her rosy cheeks and damp lashes, Liv looked like she'd been recently ravished. Gwen's gaze quickly skimmed the other two. While Becca's rapidly curling hair gave her an aura of innocence, Antonia looked ethereal, and every bit the picture of the siren their household was imaged after.
"Why do you ask?" Liv tucked a few loose strands of hair behind Gwen's ear, swimming back a foot once she finished.
"You weren't wet."
Liv pouted, amusement coloring her voice as she responded, "So?"
"If Br—" Gwen stopped herself short, the lightheartedness she'd scantly gotten to enjoy evaporating.
Liv's brows rushed forward in immediate understanding.
"One might assume that if someone were to obtain their prize from the bathhouse, they'd come back soaking wet. Just as one might assume if they obtained their prize from the fighting pits, they'd be injured or covered in blood."
"Precisely," Gwen said as she struggled to push darker thoughts away. "But you weren't."
An impish smile painted itself across Liv's mouth. "How very observant of you." She narrowed her eyes playfully at Gwen. "I hope you're not going to ask me what secret I shared or how I got it. Madame herself said we did not have to tell… though I'm dying of curiosity as to how you obtained a sunlight ring. That was very impressive, Gwendolyn."
Chewing on the inside of her cheek as she paused to consider her words, Gwen narrowed her eyes playfully back at Liv. "Since neither of us will be sharing our own secrets, maybe you might indulge us with any other secret you heard here that night?"
Liv grinned, opening her mouth to answer only to shut it in contemplation. After a minute passed, she dipped her chin and gestured for Becca and Antonia to come closer.
"It was only by chance that I heard, but there may be a sanguinare here at court." Becca's face went ashen. "Oh, do not worry, Rebecca. It was only a rumor passed by Minor Household lips. They hardly matter at all, which is why I didn't spare their pointless talk to Madame."
"It's not that. I just don't like that there's no way of knowing if you'll become one or not once you're turned," Becca replied defensively, folding her arms over her chest.
"My sire seemed to know." Liv shrugged at the astonished gasps from her fellow initiates, sinking slightly deeper into the water until it lapped high on her neck and tasted her jaw. "She told me of the one she scouted before choosing me. She said she thought they had the potential to be a Roux—they had fire and grit, and that certain je ne sais quoi—but it became apparent after watching her for some time that the girl was too impulsive and… something else." Liv's face scrunched as she tried to remember her sire's word, but coming up short, she shook her head and continued on with a sigh. "Lavender said it was something in her eyes, a gluttonous gleam she did not trust."
Becca swallowed thickly and cast her regard to the water's surface.
"Surely Cassia wouldn't have chosen you if she thought you'd become a sanguinare, though the success of her sister line might suggest otherwise." Becca's gaze snapped up. Her glower was impressive in the face of Antonia's droll expression. "If you really detest the thought so much, perhaps you should just quit. Some of us are willing to do whatever it takes to receive death's kiss, no matter the cost. I think spots should be reserved for those willing to put their trust in the sisterhood completely, not in half measures."
Splotches of red covered Becca's face. "I trust Cassia with my life, as well as all her decisions, including her choice of me." She pinned Antonia with a hardened stare. "And I'd be careful what you say about her sister line. It boasts the fiercest women the Roux have ever seen. I'd remember that if I were you."
Antonia's cool facade wavered. "Well, at least you're willing to defend your soon-to-be sire. I'm sure Cassia would lay down her life to protect you, even if you should fall ill to the sanguine heart."
Becca scoffed and shook her head. "Whatever."
Catching the appalled and disapproving stares from Liv and Gwen, Antonia bristled. "Don't expect me to apologize. I believe the Roux should take only the best. If I sense anyone's loyalty or love is compromised, I won't hesitate to question them. It's important to cull those who would only weaken the sisterhood." She sniffed delicately, averting her eyes. "Besides, I'm not afraid of the possibility of becoming a sanguinare."
Liv arched one eyebrow expertly at the false notes lining Antonia's declaration. Gwen's lips thinned.
Antonia ignored them both and gave a lofty shrug.
"I've come too far. Nothing can be said or done here that will change my mind or heart."
"Nothing?" Liv exclaimed, her other eyebrow peaking.
"Nothing," Antonia repeated more firmly.
"Me too."
Gwen's answer received stunned silence. She blushed but kept her eyes fixed on Antonia. She didn't like the girl's standoffish attitude—it was clear none of them did—but she didn't want their eternity together to start off on the wrong foot. And with Liv's age still a mystery, Gwen was taking it upon herself to take the higher ground and extend an olive branch of sorts to Antonia. The sisterhood would be stronger for it if they all found common ground. However, Gwen wondered if the animosity between Becca and Antonia was a product of their sister line rather than a clash of personalities.
Antonia's defensive posture relaxed inch by inch as Gwen held her gaze. Finally, she dipped her chin in acknowledgment, which Gwen returned.
Tearing their regard away from one another, Gwen immediately noted a mixture of anticipation and consternation running through the air. She quickly took stock of the tense shoulders and smoldering looks aimed at the main entrance of the public pool and frowned. Her skin prickled as she slowly turned to see what had cultivated such a response.
Demons: a pair of females and three males.
They sauntered to the long sloping runway leading into the pool's shallows, radiating a sinister confidence that promised wicked delight.
Gwen couldn't take her eyes off them and gasped audibly as one casually glanced in their direction.
All eyes fell on the initiates. They dug into her skin along with their silent accusations: innocent, foolish, easy prey. But all she could focus on was their pitch-black eyes. Black eyes like Brit. Black eyes like the vampyré who attacked her.
Ice ran through her veins. Could the demons have been responsible for the attack in the Cellar Bar? Her face screwed up in thought. She couldn't recall seeing any demons there, but she also knew little of their powers or origin. Laurel had spared no detail when it came to the vampyré culture and protocol among the Dark Court but breezed over the other supernaturals who occupied it. And when it came to the demons, she'd vehemently refused to go into any detail at all, her only instruction being to avoid them at all costs.
"We should go," Antonia whispered.
Gwen's head bobbed obediently, the world around her coming back into focus in time for her to realize that one of the demons was angling straight toward them. Her pulse jumped as she took him in. His physique was the closest to William's she'd seen yet in the Dark Court. Well over six feet tall and stacked with muscles defined by prominent veins, he stalked toward their foursome.
Someone whimpered. Gwen wasn't sure if it was her or another of the initiates, but her fright gave way to shock when a wild spray of water came out of thin air. Spitting and sputtering, she wiped at her face. Once her view was unobstructed, she saw what had caused the abrupt disturbance.
The Roux sisters.
Several formed a kind of barricade in front of the initiates to block the demon male. Someone tugged at Gwen's wrist. She followed without hesitation, and the room came alive around them. Voices stirred and water splashed. Gwen chanced one last look at the scene behind her. The demon was frowning, a sneer teetering on his perfect full lips. And the sisters were in fine form dealing out a verbal assault that was slowly but surely pressuring the demon.
Another tug on her arm. Gwen hastened her steps and shifted her sight forward once more.
They were closing in on the side entrance they'd used to enter when the two demonesses emerged. Gwen's mouth ran dry. She hadn't noticed their sly pursuit, and apparently, neither had the sisterhood. The initiates stopped short as the females blocked the stairs out. Up close, their black eyes were even more discerning and strangely mesmerizing. Gwen was trapped in the bottomless gaze of the Grecian beauty standing on the left. Her dark chestnut hair fell to her navel and rested artfully over her breasts. Gwen was vaguely aware that strange markings trailed down her sternum, but beyond that, there was only anger.
The emotion seized her without mercy, stirring an unexpected fire in her gut. Gwen wrenched her wrist from Becca and lunged toward the demoness. Antonia blocked her, using both hands to subdue her. The Grecian demon smirked at Gwen behind Antonia's back.
"Get a hold of yourself," Antonia hissed.
Gwen only saw red. "Fuck you."
Before she could launch another heedless attack, hands covered her eyes. Somewhere between being pedaled backward and clawing at the hands covering her eyes, the surge of anger left her. And with its loss came an aching hollowness.
Gwen groaned. Her stomach was cramping painfully, and she was nearly breathless. Whatever dark magic the demon used had negated the bathhouse's comforting touch.
"Is she okay now?" Becca asked from behind.
"She better be," Antonia growled back.
"I am," Gwen insisted, going lax in their control. She panted lightly. The hands over her eyes retreated. Antonia glared back at her. "I'm sorry."
"You can't engage with them like that," Antonia scolded.
"I didn't. I only looked at her."
"Yes, and directly in the eyes," Antonia reprimanded sharply.
"So? I—"
"Don't look them in the eyes. Didn't your sire-to-be teach you anything? A demon's power is wholly persuasive. With a single look, they can manipulate your baser emotions until all you feel is the one thing they personify."
Gwen swallowed, her eyes darting around Antonia to Liv, who was fearlessly conversing with the demons. There was an unmistakable haughtiness to Liv's voice and a cool composure about her body language that left Gwen feeling second-rate. Why was it that the other initiates were so well-informed on the ins and outs of the court? Laurel had said it was a testament to her faith and trust in Gwen, but didn't she realize the danger her ignorance was putting her in? She cursed under her breath.
Antonia's hand cupped her jaw, pulling her focus back.
"Don't. Look."
"I'm not," Gwen protested with heat that worked against her. "I'm not," she repeated more sincerely. "I'm just frustrated." Becca waded past them to stand side by side with Liv and join the battle of wits. "I don't know nearly as much as the rest of you, and it's going to get me killed."
A brash laugh sounded from one of the demonesses. It was too gleeful for Gwen's liking.
"Nothing stops us from our purpose," Antonia said, looking Gwen dead in the eye. "Nothing. You'll die by Laurel's hand and be reborn with the other. Now stop being a baby and pull yourself together. You're stronger than this. You wouldn't be here if Laurel didn't believe it so."
Pep talk over, Antonia spun around, the wet ends of her hair swinging and slapping against her neck and shoulders as she strode over to Liv and Becca.
Rolling back her shoulders with a distinctive crack, Gwen followed and stood behind Becca.
The second demoness had snuggled up to the Grecian. She was young—fifteen, maybe even fourteen—with a pixie haircut and doe-like eyes that were not black for some unfathomable reason. Gwen made a mental note to ask one of the initiates about it later, among other things, like the dos and don'ts of demon interactions.
"You don't like me," the doleful young demoness said with a pout. "Nobody likes me." She slid her hand, which had been resting on the Grecian's shoulder, across her collarbone and then down her sternum, her fingers idly tracing the markings there before wandering to the Grecian's breast. Gwen's eyes widened as she hastily looked away. "You haven't even had a taste of me yet. Tell them, Kat. Tell them how good I taste."
"Oh my God, aren't you like ten?" Gwen blurted, her voice filled with horror and revulsion. She snuck a quick peek at the demons and regretted it instantly. The younger one was touching herself now. "No one here wants a taste of you, I assure you."
Becca snorted and slapped a hand over her mouth.
"They're no fun, Kat." The friction between them took an insidious turn. "You said they'd be fun."
"Oh, we're quite fun," Liv purred with a savage lilt. "We just won't waste our efforts on the likes of you. Follow me, girls. The time has long since passed for us to go."
