A Tangle of Hearts

  Draven straightened his back and let go of my hand.

  I had a hard time taking my eyes off of her as she leered at him.

  Her hair was long and straight, its color a metallic shade of red. Her eyes were almond-shaped and twinkled like sapphires. Her lips were full and glossy red. She was dressed to seduce, and she seemed to fully embrace her nature, wearing a dazzling, self-assured smile.

  My throat closed when I realized that I was completely invisible to her. She ran her fingers down Draven’s arm.

  “You look too good to be true,” the succubus purred in his ear, making me flush and curse the effects of that spicy rose drink. My hearing was too good now.

  “Thank you,” Draven replied politely, his tone a little too low for my taste. I had a feeling he wasn’t immune to her charms.

  Slowly but surely, my blood began to simmer.

  “Would you like to share him with me?” She suddenly looked at me and put on that brilliant and seductive smile that almost made me say yes, until my heart twisted inside my chest, and I snapped.

  “Hell no!” I growled at her.

  I felt Draven’s knee subtly knock mine, but I was far too mad to pay him any attention. The succubus looked at me with shock, as if she hadn’t expected me to turn her down.

  Talk about entitlement!

  “I’m sorry, but we just want to finish eating and sleep tonight,” Draven interjected in a neutral tone. “Thank you, nonetheless.”

  I was relieved.

  The succubus looked at him, then at me again before she let a deep sigh roll out of her voluptuous chest and put on a polite smile.

  “Oh well,” she said and used her thumb to smudge a little bit of the red gloss from her lips on his forehead, right at the center above his eyebrows. “I understand and respect your decision. Contrary to popular belief, we succubi know to back down when a man is in love and loyal to his mate.”

  My face caught fire, my ears burned, and I had to take a few deep breaths to keep a straight face as the succubus dropped a kiss on Draven’s temple, threw me a wink, stood, and swayed to the other side of the bonfire.

  I looked back at Draven, and I couldn’t help but smile a little. He’d been taken by surprise as well. His lips were pressed together, his hands fumbled in his lap, and his frame was awkwardly stiff, like he’d been frozen in a defensive position. Judging by how his own heart was racing—thank you spicy rose potion—he was either aroused or flabbergasted.

  I prayed for the latter. I didn’t like the feeling I got from the succubus’s close proximity to Draven. I didn’t like the way she’d looked at him or the way she’d touched him. I didn’t like the way I’d reacted to her proposal either—so rash, so sharp!

  Most importantly, I didn’t like the way the other succubi were looking at him and me as if waiting for me to leave his side so they could pounce.

  In your dreams.

  We ate the rest of our meal in silence. Neither of us seemed willing to talk about what the succubus had said, not even to correct her assumption regarding love and mates. I would have addressed the issue if I’d had any courage left. But I had been sucked dry as the spicy rose potion really sank in and relaxed my every muscle.

  I stuffed another slice of fruit in my mouth and chewed, taking deep breaths in between and trying to tune out everything I was hearing except for his heartbeat.

  That I wanted to hear more of.

  Jovi

  [Victoria & Bastien’s son]

  Somehow I’d gotten separated from Bijarki and Serena during dinner preparations. I wasn’t too far from them where I had been seated, but I was still pretty much on my own. As the drums started playing, and the succubi brought out the food, however, I got busy eating and nearly forgot about my vulnerability as a male in the midst of all those warrior females.

  I feasted like a king, welcoming the taste of unknown but delicious food. The mansion food had been good for sustenance, but the taste had sucked the joy out of eating. Thanks to the succubi I had rediscovered the pleasure of sinking my teeth into something that didn’t taste like boiled, bland weeds.

  I’d noticed the same joy on Serena’s face as we both stuffed our faces with what the succubi offered fresh off the fire pit. My favorites were the plums—or whatever they were. They resembled plums, anyway, so soft and juicy that it felt like biting into little chunks of heaven.

  They brought out a special drink as well in gold pitchers. It tasted like liquid roses with spice accents that cooled me on the inside as I drank cup after cup. After another brief moment of silence to honor those killed in the jungle, the succubi started dancing. I found it interesting how they didn’t wail and cry over their fallen sisters.

  “We don’t shed tears for those of us who die. We celebrate their lives, and we celebrate life for ourselves instead,” Anjani had told me earlier.

  The rose drink made me feel funny. My fingers and toes tingled, and my senses were amplified. As a half-wolf, I already had a spectacular sense of sight and smell, but whatever was in that drink cranked everything up even more. I could see little animals rummaging through the dark red grass, catching crickets and swallowing them whole. They had to have been about a mile away toward the western edge of the meadow where another mountain rose.

  I could hear the exchange between Anjani and Hansa on the other side of the bonfire as if they were standing right next to me.

  “If you trust them, sister, I trust them as well,” Hansa was telling Anjani. I could hear her chewing on the roasted leg of some creature they’d hunted earlier in the day. I could smell the meat from where I sat.

  “I do, Hansa. I was ready to kill myself if they tried anything against me when they first brought me to their house,” Anjani replied.

  My stomach churned. I didn’t know she would’ve resorted to such final measures, had she considered us a threat, or me, particularly, after I’d saved her life.

  “They didn’t trust me either, and they were so fearful that they tied me down. But they treated my wounds. They fed me, gave me water, kept watch, and brought me back here in one piece. They’re good people, Hansa. And they are right. We are stronger together.”

  “The Oracles are something extraordinary to have against Azazel. We need to keep these people close. I know we don’t normally associate with outsiders but—”

  “Desperate times, right?”

  “Pretty much.” Hansa laughed. “I’m sorry our sisters won’t be able to see better days…”

  Hansa’s voice trailed off as she threw the bone into the fire and started working her way through another from her plate. I heard Anjani’s breath falter at the mention of her sisters.

  “I am sorry, Hansa. I tried so hard to keep them safe. Nayla was reckless and lost the poisons while jumping over the swamp. She lost her footing and fell in, and Shari and I fought hard to get her out of there alive. I guess the shape-shifters realized that we had run out of poison once they couldn’t smell it anymore and came at us. We didn’t stand a chance with so many of them.” Anjani's voice trembled.

  Hansa nodded and gnawed on the second bone. “I do not hold you solely responsible. The dead share the blame as well. Learn from these mistakes and be a better succubus, a stronger sister to your tribe. One day this will all be yours, and I’ll be damned if I’ll hand anything over to a doe-eyed weakling.” Hansa smirked and nudged Anjani with her elbow.

  I smiled, mostly to myself, thinking that this exchange was probably as close as succubi sisters were ever going to get, given their way of life.

  I’d been so busy listening to them that I didn’t notice the two voluptuous and absolutely gorgeous succubi who sat next to me on each side. They purred and smiled at me—perfect creatures with shimmering skin, long hair the color of an orange sunset, and luscious purple lips. Their eyes were hooded, but I could still see specks of silver and red swirling. They smelled incredible, a mesmerizing mixture of flowers and citrus leaves.

  I took deep breaths, allowing their scent
to fill my lungs and further expand my senses. I had very little control over what I was doing. Whether it had been my choice or the succubi’s effect, I wasn’t sure, but I was enjoying every moment, my mind numb and my mouth stretched into what I guessed was a goofy smile. I caught a glimpse of myself reflected on one of the golden pitchers. Yes. Goofy.

  “You’re so handsome,” one of the succubi hummed in my ear.

  My breath hitched as she bit the lobe with playful licks of her tongue. My skin fizzled, and a familiar heat spread through my body from the pit of my stomach.

  “Thank you, thank you very much,” I heard myself say.

  “We should enjoy the rest of the night together,” the other succubus whispered, her face less than an inch from mine.

  “There are so many things we could do until sunrise,” the first one said.

  “We’ve never met a creature like you, Jovi. Consider us fascinated and very, very attracted.”

  I didn’t know what to say.

  Well, I did know. The answer was supposed to be no. But my body wasn’t listening. My mouth gaped, but the word stuck somewhere in the back of my throat. My arousal was almost painful, sending shivers up my spine.

  Someone pulled me up with surprising force—or maybe I was so weak that I allowed myself to get hauled to my feet. I looked to my right and saw Anjani. She was fuming. Her eyes had narrowed to slits. Her soft lips were drawn into a thin line, and her nostrils flared. I’d never seen her so furious.

  “Keep your hands off him, sisters. I’ve claimed this one as mine, and I’m not sharing!” she barked at the succubi.

  My heart jumped.

  The gorgeous creatures frowned, then shrugged and stood up, pouting with disappointment. Anjani grabbed my arm and dragged me into one of the tents that had been raised for us. I was dazzled and didn’t register much along the way.

  She had proclaimed some sort of ownership over me. Even in my hazy state, I’d heard her loud and clear. As she pulled a heavy fur cover over the tent’s entrance, I found myself standing right behind her, smiling. My blood raced through my veins, and my eyes couldn’t leave the wonderful sight of her.

  Whatever had been in that drink, on top of whatever the succubi had been doing to me, it put me in a strangely euphoric state, in which I had little control over my actions and felt like the happiest and most valiant creature in Eritopia. Nothing could stop me.

  She tied the fur cover tight to keep everybody out.

  I heard myself chuckle like a boy as I ran my fingers through her hair, a cascade of jet black curls pouring down her back. My gesture startled her, and she turned to face me. She looked stunned, her golden-green eyes wide. Her skin almost glowed, as if infused with millions of diamonds. I’d never seen that before either. Her rapid pulse and thundering heartbeat banged in my eardrums.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Anjani hissed.

  “Why are you glowing like that?” I asked and reached out to touch her cheek.

  She is so beautiful.

  She pushed me hard, knocking the air out of my lungs. I fell backward and hit the soft blankets and pillows behind me with a muffled thud. I held my breath as she walked toward me.

  I looked up at her, towering and glowing, as if she’d been sculpted out of star stuff. Despite my hazy state, one thing was certain: I would have worshipped a goddess like her. I would have celebrated every inch of that perfect skin, every twinkle, and every breath that she took. I wanted her. Badly.

  But my body was getting numb.

  “You’re under the influence of sigala and pretty much the whole succubi tribe right now. You don’t know what you’re doing,” Anjani said to me, her voice like liquid ice.

  “Sigala?” I heard myself ask, my voice low and echoing in my head.

  “The drink you’ve been guzzling like water, you reckless boy! You’ve had too much of it! It’s supposed to enhance your senses, but if you drink an entire pitcher like you did, it has a very different effect. Especially if there are dozens of succubi projecting their attraction on you!”

  “You sound mad.”

  “Of course I’m mad! I didn’t claim you for myself! I claimed you so I could rescue you from my sisters without looking like a fool and without fighting them off!”

  I took a deep breath, the realization starting to sink in. The drink’s effect was becoming obvious, as was my subsiding arousal from my brief encounter with the two succubi outside.

  “You don’t want me,” I mumbled with disappointment.

  She let out a long, tortured sigh.

  “It’s not that, Jovi. I can’t control myself around you. I have a hard time keeping my nature from playing with your senses, so I can’t be sure of what you’re saying or feeling toward me. You have no idea how difficult it is to not know whether someone likes you for you or because your succubus features make them like you.”

  She crossed to the other side of the tent and sat down, bringing her knees to her chest. I watched her quietly as her diamond glow gradually dimmed.

  “I don’t know what it’s like for you,” she said slowly. “But for me it hasn’t been easy. I’m taught that feelings are for weaklings, that my succubus nature is designed for pleasure and procreation, not for emotions. And yes, Bijarki is right. I am young. I’m too young to understand a lot of things, too young to be as tough as Hansa and treat males like I’m supposed to.”

  My mind was moving in slow motion, but even so I noticed a gap between what had just happened outside and what she was telling me. And since my tongue was so loose under the perfect excuse of sigala and succubi effects, I decided to bridge the gap.

  “What does that have to do with you claiming me in front of your sisters?” I asked.

  “I didn’t claim you because I want you. If you’re ever to come to me, it will be because you want to. Not because I want to. And certainly not because it’s my succubus nature that draws you to me. It can’t be, because I try so hard to keep it from influencing you. And it’s so hard.”

  Her voice trailed off as she lowered her head, hiding her face behind her knees.

  I was speechless, still trying to untangle what she was telling me. My brain was so damn slow.

  “I’m not sure right now. I’m not sure if you touched my hair because you wanted to or because my nature is drawing you in. And I will never, ever claim you because I want you. Get that through your thick head,” she continued.

  I had no control over what came out of my mouth in that moment. Something deep inside of me had taken over. “I do like you.”

  Judging by how my stomach churned, my wolf instinct kicked in immediately afterward, slapping the human side of me silly as soon as I had said those words.

  Her head shot up, eyes wide open.

  “Whether it’s because of your succubus-whatever or because of you, I’m pretty sure it’s the same thing,” I mumbled. My eyes closed. My body felt like it weighed a ton. I struggled to open my eyes.

  A faint smile quickly passed over her face. It was the last thing I saw before my eyelids gave in.

  “Being a succubus is an integral part of you, Anjani. You should embrace that. I don’t care why I’m so attracted to you, but I can’t deny it. It’s a part of me…”

  Darkness enveloped me, along with a very sweet and familiar sensation, something I’d felt coming from her before when we’d been up in the tree and when we’d fallen asleep beneath it.

  My head spun while I drifted off into my dreams.

  I didn’t get to hear her reply.

  Serena

  [Hazel and Tejus’s daughter]

  Not long after Draven had rejected the succubi and wound up with a red smudge from her lips on his forehead, others tried to join us. They laughed and danced and poured more of the spicy rose drink in our goblets. At least six other succubi tried seducing Draven in front of me over the course of an hour.

  Some had been “gracious” enough to invite me to join them, while others had courteously suggested to Dr
aven that they go somewhere else more private. Each time, I had the urge to smack them. Each time, he had nudged my leg with his as they ran their fingers through his hair and whispered sweet nothings in his ear. He politely rejected all of them.

  I admired him for his patience, and he did have a point, given that we were still nurturing an alliance with the succubi. And it wasn’t like I had any claim over Draven, despite what the first succubus had said. Still, I didn’t feel comfortable leaving him in the company of horny warrior chicks.

  Nevertheless, as I watched a seventh—or eighth?—succubus approach us, swaying her hips to the beat of the drums, I decided enough was enough. Draven casually chewed on what looked like small purple berries, popping them into his mouth one at a time. A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth as his nostrils flared.

  “I think there’s another one coming our way,” he mused, sniffing the air. He seemed amused, which only added more wood to the fire of my internal struggle.

  “I think it’s time we take you to bed now,” I replied with a faux-friendly tone, as if announcing the weather during a news segment on TV.

  “I think you’re right.”

  I didn’t expect that. I’d figured he’d contradict me, purely by instinct. We’d become experts at butting heads. But I welcomed his approval and quickly stood up. I took his hand, and he rose to his feet with a wobble. My hands automatically gripped his arms, and he stilled, his body barely an inch from mine.

  My mind was fuzzy from all the amplified sounds and scents around me, but I managed to give the approaching succubus a sideways glance; she’d stopped and was watching us intently, her sapphire eyes narrowed into thin lines.

  “You smell good,” Draven muttered to me under his breath, his chest rising with each deep breath he took.

  My cheeks heated, but my mind tried to take a rational approach. He wasn’t very steady on his feet, and he was oversharing. The succubi were definitely having an effect on the Druid, and something told me the rose potion had played a part in this.