Flames of Fury
Chapter 41

Magnolia

After feeling Ro’s bond break away and being faced with the possibility of losing Varian too, I didn’t think anything would be able to mend the cracks in my soul. But simply being back in Ro’s and Varian’s arms makes me feel like I’m whole again, they make me feel safe.

But we’re not truly safe, not yet. Not while Ian still breathes. Much like the day I escaped, or the moment I was reunited with my mates, I have been imagining Ian’s death as well. As his treachery grew and his body count increased so did the cruelty of my imagination.

I pictured torturing his mind like he tortured mine, I fantasized about making him watch as I spooled his intestines out of his body, I even thought about tattooing his entire body with fey fire — the lines of which would burn eternally, subjecting him to a lifetime of ceaseless pain until my artwork eroded away his flesh and bones.

A girl can dream.

But I’ve since settled on something much more satisfying, and I want my men to watch me play. I want them to know beyond a doubt that their fears of having a mate they couldn’t protect don’t apply to me because I’m just as strong as them — stronger, actually, but we’ll let them pretend — and fully capable of protecting myself.

Before we head to the cells I need two things; Xander and a babysitter. Varian and Ro follow me out into the hallway where lo and behold I replace the two things I’m looking for, except they’re not how I expected to replace them.

I cock my head to the side in amusement at the scene before me. Ember has climbed up Xander like a spider monkey and their tongues are getting well acquainted with one another.

I’m not going to lie, I did not see that coming. Varian chuckles through our link.

Never pegged him for an exhibitionist. Ro chimes in, equally amused.

He certainly never kissed me like that. I think to myself but by the way Ro and Varian growl from behind me I surmise that they heard my thoughts too.

What I mean is he’s kissing her how you kiss me. Like they’re bound. I rest my head on Ro’s upper arm while Varian wraps his arms around me and rests his chin on my other shoulder.

Xander’s eyes blink open as he reluctantly comes up for air, noticing the three of us admiring the view before he can kiss her again.

“Enjoying the show, my Queen?” Xander quips and he releases a crimson Ember to her feet. She buries her face in his chest, too embarrassed to face us after being caught fornicating with my guardian in the middle of the infirmary hallway.

“Quite.” I challenge back with a raised brow. “Ember, could I beg you to watch the babies while I steal Xander for the night?”

Cock block. Ro and Varian speak in synchronicity.

They’ll get their play time…as soon as I get mine. I growl back. I’ve been itching for this moment for months and every additional second that I have to wait makes my teeth hurt.

“My Queen?” Xander says to me in an attempt to salvage his night.

“Ian is in the cells. I’d like to finish what we started once and for all.” It’s not a command but Xander won’t turn me down, even if it does mean postponing his plans.

Ember takes Cole and Calla from Ro’s arms. I hug my friend tightly, silently thanking her for saving quite literally my entire family — me from Drow Hollow, my babies, my mates. I owe this woman so much more than I can repay.

“I promise I’ll make it up to you.” I whisper sincerely and half conspiratorially to her, smiling to myself when I feel her flush scarlet once again.

The Alphas hold on to me while I take Xander’s outstretched hand. “If you happen to see Incandis, will you let him know we’re okay and I’ll replace him later?” I ask Ember. She nods her head and then we are sucked through the void down to the cells.

***

“You’re sure you’re okay doing this? It’s not going to haunt your dreams or anything?” I joke with Xander but there’s a strong undercurrent of sincerity to my question. I want to cause maximum pain to Ian but I don’t want to fuck Xander up in the process.

“Guard’s Honor,” he beams as he holds up his left hand and crosses his heart with the other.

“Alright, bring him in.” I order and Xander teleports out and comes back in with Ian.

We’ve moved to one of the rooms below the cells. It’s a spacious room, tiled entirely white with a graded floor that dips towards the center where there’s a small shower drain.

We’ve brought in a long red leather couch for the twins to sit on while they enjoy the show, and another arm chair for Xander to relax in until it’s his turn. Ian sits in a metal chair above the drain in the center of the room and behind him near the far wall is a metal table with all my toys — daggers, knives, axes, you name it, I’ve got it. They’re so sharp that a single touch of the blade to your skin will cut you.

And I’ve got all night.

I take off my boots so I’m barefoot and wearing only my black, leather pants and black vest. “Let the games begin.” I say to the room, then crouch down in front of Ian’s slumped body with a pair of bolt cutters and relieve him of his pinky.

He wakes up screaming which simmers down to growling when he tries unsuccessfully to move his arms and legs.

“Good morning, my little thorn. How was your nap?” I mock his way of calling me his flower. I’d have called him prick but I was worried he’d miss the analogy.

“I was worried your paralysis would affect the feeling in your arms and legs, but I’m happy to report you can still feel!” I take the bolt cutters and cut off the ring finger of the same hand, forcing another mangled scream from his lips. “See? Isn’t that great news?”

“You foolish, little girl. You’re making the biggest mistake of your life. By my side you could have been the most powerful Queen in existence, you would have wanted for nothing. You gave up all that power for what? To be the whore of two dogs?” He spits at my feet but I don’t flinch, I don’t even react to Ro’s and Varian’s heat flaring behind me.

“That’s where you’re wrong, Ian. Ironically, I never wanted anything until I met you.” I cut off his middle finger and wait for the screams to subside.

“After my centennial birthday party what I wanted was to never see you again. Even then I knew you were vile. Everything about you was caustic; your voice,” I cut off his pointer finger, “your touch,” I cut off his thumb, “even the feeling of your eyes on my skin burned me like acid.”

I walk behind him and grab an axe off the table. “Sleep now, we’ll talk more when you wake.” In one swift motion I bring the axe down on his wrist. It takes him a full four seconds to register the feeling — I counted. Then he wailed, threw up, and passed out.

He’s a bleeding mess. There are splatters all over my hands, legs, and feet, and there will be many more by the time this night is over. I’m going to paint these tiles red.

I cauterize the nub left behind where his hand used to be and leave his digits on the ground by his feet. Huffing smoke out of my nostrils like an angry, cartoon bull, I turn to Xander and declare, “you’re up, Xan.”

Ian is in and out of consciousness but I’m learning that Xander is very good at what he does. “Ian, let’s talk.” He says during a brief window of alertness, causing Ian to fall under his trance.

Varian comes up behind me and wraps his arms around me, nuzzling his mark on my neck and inhaling my scent. He’ll go on to do this during every “intermission” of the night, unable to stand not touching me for more than fifteen minutes.

“What’s he doing, Love?” His voice is as gentle as the kisses he places on my neck and shoulder.

“He’s wiping his memory of how he got here, our conversation, and his injuries. All he’s leaving is the panic and the pain.”

Varian purrs against my skin and pulls my backside against him. “Fuck, that’s hot. Remind me never to be on your bad side, hellion.”

He and Xander return to their seats while we wait a minute or two for Ian to reawaken.

When he finally begins to stir I flash him a wicked grin and greet him. “Good morning, my little thorn. How was your nap?”

***

A few hours go by in this fashion. I argue with Ian while I cut off pieces of his body inches at a time. I started with his left hand, then worked my way up inch by inch to his shoulder. Then I moved on to his right arm, and then his left and right legs, until all that currently remains is his head and torso.

Each time Ian woke up the pain and the panic doubled, but I’m impressed — it took a lot longer to break him than I expected. He was still holding on to the rage of losing his authority and his power. No matter how much pain he was in, no matter how tormented his mind was to wake up with no recollection of how he lost his limbs, only the memories of the pain, he never begged me to stop — he never begged for death.

That is… until now. I’ve got a very slim knife in one hand and his unimpressive, flaccid dick in the other. I slice a shallow cut all the way around his girth, then I do it again along the same line, a little bit harder. I slice into his skin millimeters at a time, getting closer and closer to the center until the first inch falls with a wet smack to the floor.

And Gods does his dick bleed. I have to cauterize the end almost immediately. He’s wailing like a banshee, thrashing his head back and forth. I begin to saw off the second inch when he finally breaks.

“Please! No more! Just kill me!” Ian sobs.

There’s a messy trail of bloody footprints on the floor from the number of times I’ve walked back and forth between Ian and the table. I step through it once more to place my knife down on the table, adding it to the other bloodied weapons scattered on the metal surface.

I won’t be needing any more weapons this evening.

“You don’t remember this but you told me numerous times tonight that you could have given me anything I wanted…but you are wrong Ian.” I say as I walk back towards him and then turn to face him.

“I want Ember to have a family to go home to, I want Griffin to be here to witness your destruction, I want back the five months you stole from my mates and me.” My voice is calm and even despite the fury that rages in my chest.

“You can’t give me those things Ian,” I crouch down in front of him again so I can see his face despite his hung head, “and what’s worse is that you’re the very reason they’re gone. For every colony you raided, for every life you took, for every mind you invaded…I, Queen Magnolia Brightscale of Twilight Grove, sentence you to death.”

With my talon I poke a hole through the charred cap on what’s left of his dick and then I gently blow a thin line of green flames into the hole. The wound glows like the end of a lit cigarette before the flames slowly make their way up through the rest of his body. Like watching paper burn, he is reduced to ash and smoke by a hungry line of green embers.

He thrashes and wails, feeling every organ, every vein, and every nerve being incinerated from the inside out by an unstoppable flame. His cries end after ten minutes, but it’s another thirty after that for my fire to fully cremate him.

I stare at the smoking pile of ash on the seat, with pieces of his extremities scattered around it like a halo, until the smoke ceases. Killing him didn’t bring back Ember’s family, or Griffin, or my lost time. But it does stop him from ever doing it to anyone else ever again. And for that, this was worth it.

Ro grabs my hand and coaxes me back towards the other side of the room where there is barely any blood and no body parts on the floor. Xander stands up and extends a hand to us, “you ready to go, Mags?”

I nod my head but Ro stops me from moving.

“Actually, Xander,” Ro turns me in his arms so I’m facing him and away from Xander. He backs me up until the back of my knees hit the coffee table in front of the couch and then he eases me down so I’m sitting on the end of the table. “I’d like to say thank you for saving my life today. I’ve given you no reason to want to help me, but you saved me anyway.”

Xander’s brows meet in the middle, a hesitant smile lifts his face. “All in a day’s work. It’s an honor to serve the Queen.”

“Yes, speaking of which…I wasn’t sure how to properly apologize and express my gratitude.” Ro says.

“What could a man who has everything possibly want?” Varian speaks next and now I know they have some kind of plan. When they tag team like this it always ends in fun.

“Then an idea struck me,” Ro kneels down between my legs and pulls off my blood soaked pants, tossing them unceremoniously to the side. “There is something we can give you that you don’t have.”

Ro pushes me down hard so I’m lying on the table as Varian says, “we’re going to let you hear what your Queen sounds like when she cums on our tongues.”

Ro doesn’t wait for a response, he sears my slit with his wide tongue eliciting a desperately needy moan from deep within my chest. My back arches off the table and I can see Xander’s face upside down behind me, mouth opening to speak and then closing repeatedly.

On his second pass, Ro dips his tongue between my folds and presses into my entrance. I unzip my vest and throw it to the side so I can paw at my breasts while Ro feasts on me. Varian kneels by my side, alternating between kissing my lips and sucking on my clit while Ro slides his fingers into my core.

I forget about everything around me. I block out Xander and the piles of Ian scattered on the floor. I block out the smell of blood and the sound of Xander’s increased heart rate and focus only on the smell of rain on fallen leaves, and the four hands and two tongues making love to my body.

Too soon I climax audibly and uninhibitedly, my core clenching tightly around Ro’s skilled fingers and my arousal dripping on to Varian’s tongue.

Varian stands up, removes his shirt, and tosses it to me to cover up as Ro grabs my hand and helps me to sit up on the table.

“You’re such a good girl, Princess.” Ro whispers to me so only Varian and I can hear it. He kisses my forehead and then sucks my arousal off of his fingers, humming appreciatively as he does.

Varian pulls me into his arms allowing Ro to move around us over to a shell shocked Xander.

“Water under the bridge?” Ro sticks his hand out to shake with Xander and after three heartbeats a salacious grin graces Xander’s face as he nods once and shakes Ro’s proffered hand.

I walk in step with Varian over to Ro and Xander, keeping my blush hidden by staring at the floor. Anything to keep from meeting Xander’s eye.

“Feel free to apologize to me anytime,” Xander teases the guys.

Varian and Ro simply scoff at his playful antics.

“What happened here tonight stays in this room.” Ro commands and with that Xander takes us through the void — home at last.