azazele

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-79

Geneva is first. Unfortunately, she finishes preparing breakfast before my two lovers can progress further than a little heavy petting. The time to push aside and ignore my problems has passed. I don’t like it, but I rouse the two women and esco...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-78

It’s incredible how much the act of making love changes depending on who is involved.

Most people that view Kierra and I’s relationship from a distance are horrified, seeing affection tainted by blood and violence. The violence and confl...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-77

Alana’s sword is leaning against a wall when we return to the room hand-in-hand, my lovely knight having progressed to the stretches she does at the end of her workouts. I’m surprised. Normally, she swings her sword for at least an hour but me...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-76

“Punish? You wish to cause them pain?”

“If pain’s what it takes.” The problem is, I don’t think it will matter. The worst I can imagine might amuse the succubus at best. Geneva can feel pain. She can suffer. But she has existed f...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-75

His name is Winter, unimaginatively named for the season he was born in, and his story is rather unremarkable. Like many other hunters, he is a boy from a simple family that wanted more than a legacy of hard work and minimal opportunities. Growing...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-74

He doesn’t look like an assassin.

It’s not just the ropes binding him to the chair and his lack of clothes, Alana insisting on stripping him to find hidden weapons, never mind said weapons aren’t a danger to anyone with me and Geneva i...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-73

To Marcella’s credit, I’m not the only one she bothers. Once she determines that there may be killers hiding amongst her guests, no one’s night goes undisturbed. The Guiness daughter is usually soft but with her territory having been infring...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-72

The hotel is in an uproar when I return.

Crashing into people’s rooms in the middle of the night is sure to rouse the floor. A servant screaming after finding dead bodies on the stairwell is sure to rouse everyone. I can hear the panicked ...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-71

As I run after them, Geneva’s magic touches my mind, sharing her awareness with me. I can hear the pounding hearts of the fleeing assassins but now I also have a general sense of their location, the information flowing into me. Along with it is ...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-70

Every sense is hyper-focused as I walk through the dark hallways. Normally, instinct allows me to ignore most of what my sensitive ears tell me, the noise an easily ignored jumble unless it catches my attention. Now, everything is carefully parsed...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-69

Dinner is a short and awkward affair. Alana and Yulia are too worried about the unexpected news to enjoy the meal, which was subpar as expected. Marcella does her best to be a charming hostess but no one’s in the mood. After filling our bellies,...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-68

“Over here, Lou.”

As promised, Marcella is waiting for us in the hotel’s dining room. We aren’t the only ones making use of the room and several gazes turn to us as we walk toward the large table in the back. I look at the crowd, tak...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-67

“I’m glad that you’ve returned from your journey safely.”

As expected, a Guiness daughter is waiting in the lobby of the hotel when we enter, though only one, which is a bit of a surprise. Especially because it’s Marcella, the olde...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-66

Fen returned from the market fairly late. I was almost ready to think she was avoiding me but there was a good explanation. Spring brings the start of another academic year at the Hall. The market is full of acolytes and even new initiates prepari...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-65

Aurelius tries to fight me as I drag him through the house and into the welcoming room but with his weakness and my strength, I don’t notice besides his indignant mutters. I throw him onto one of the couches before undoing the restraints around ...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-64

Between the two of us, we manage to bring down the trees and make them “manageable” in a matter of hours. By the end, the axe is the worst off of us, the blade dull and dented. Kierra is completely disgusted, having expected more from the qual...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-63

“What are you doing in the cold?”

“Hm?” I look up to find that the sun has sprinted toward the horizon and Kierra is standing over me. I remember sitting down after sending Geneva away, not wanting to have our next conversation under...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-62 (Geneva)

As Geneva walked away from her brooding summoner, her blank expression changed, a smirk turning up the corner of her lips. One filled with humor, but not the kind of humor most would appreciate. Fate and its workings always amused her, even when i...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-61

“I want to know how he died.”

It might be a mistake to hear the story out of order, but this is something I can’t ignore for even a moment longer. Perhaps it’s because he died during a summoning, the least likely way I expected my fa...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-60

Several hours later, we’re still in our respective positions, Alana spooning me while Kierra watches over us from a distance. I have no idea what’s going on with the house and can’t bring myself to care. Crying is exhausting. “How did you ...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-59

“I’m fine,” I say, but it doesn’t help. In fact, it has the opposite effect that I want. Kierra looks even more distressed while Alana’s already grim expression darkens further. “You two. It’s alright.”

“Tell that to your f...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-58

Dead?

I don’t understand. The words, yes. Individually, I can parse their meanings but together, they make no sense. My father died in a summoning?

“Are you sure?”

Fen briefly raises her head, spearing me with eyes as dark ...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-57

At the table, with Jac watching, Fen played the part of the obedient elemental strictly bound by her contract, standing quietly behind Junior’s chair. I trust my cousin, now more than ever, but I still won’t share my more important secrets wit...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-56

“What do you mean he’s missing?”

“I mean he’s—wait. This is going to be confusing if I don’t start at the beginning.” Jac grabs her cup and takes a long drink. Water from the smell, or rather the lack of one. Then she clears ...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-55

While the servants see to the guests and get them out of the house, not our house anymore, dammit, I take a very much needed bath. My body is a little sore, a testament to how, er, demanding last night was, and I’m covered in all manners of drie...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-54

Overwhelming. I could describe my time with the women from the Temple with many words but that one is the most appropriate.

Too many sights. Too many smells. Too many hands and lips, touching and kissing too many places. There’s no room fo...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-53

With arms like hers and the desire in her eyes, I expect her to start tearing off my clothes in a sexual frenzy, like Kierra when she’s particularly eager. Instead, Shake handles me with the same care she’s shown all night, carefully peeling m...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-52

Not all the Templetees follow me inside the house. The guy with the snake scales lies down beneath one of the colorful standing torches, eyes hooded as a hand distractedly rubs his stomach. I’m not surprised he doesn’t want to move when he pra...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-51

“Saints preserve him,” I mutter. After Lane’s dramatic exit, the room goes about its business, but tension lingers. Watching a tragedy unfold is uncomfortable, even if it has no bearing on my life. I hate that he had his heart crushed, I fee...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-50

If the confrontation between the two sisters is a road accident, the sudden exclamation is like a giant ball of fire launched into a village in the middle of the night. A surprise assault that catches people off-guard, the explosion and bright lig...