Smoldered Flames: Part I of the Edonia Series
Chapter 29

Valeri

I exhaustedly attended the rest of my classes like normal. I was walking back to the Keep when someone yanked my shirt. I yelped before a hand clamps around my mouth. I elbowed the person behind me. I heard a feminal grunt. I whirl around to see Jillian doubled over in pain.

“You fucking bitch!” she screeched, her face beet red.

I cackled. “I’m not the one grabbing people around. Now, where’s the rest of your pod?” I turn around and see Gisele and Bianka coming around the corner.

Gisele raises her hands and my body is flung to a nearby wall. Before I could gather myself, invisible bands seized my arms and legs. Fucking witches.

My head snaps to the side as Jillian pimp slaps my right cheek. Blood wells from my mouth and I spit it at her. She shrieks and raises her hand to repeat the offense, but a pale hand grabs her wrist.

“We do not waste our precious energy on l’ordure.” Bianka says, her nasally voice crawling under my skin.

“Well, if I’m not mistaken, you’re precious witch here is expending a little bit of her “precious” energy. Come on, what do you guys want?”

“We want you to stay away from our mates.”

“What?”

“You heard me, you imbecile.”

“Kinda hard to do when I’m a part of their pod. What are you going to do, get rid of me?” I smirked. “And if what I’ve witnessed so far is true, then Adeyemi would rather be in the presence of a dozen waddellians than to be within 10 feet of you.” I sneered.

Bianka’s pupils constricted and the green orbs darkened. She closes her eyes slowly, and takes a deep breath. Bianka snatches my cheeks and squeezes them together.

“Listen here, petit ravageur. You love those little rascals, eh? Then outside of pod duties, you will stay far away from my precious Kamau. I won’t have a lowborn métis stand in my way.”

Bianka releases my cheeks and stomps off, with Jillian right after her. Gisele releases the invisible bonds and follows soon after. I drop to the ground, gasping. I hear a small whimper and whip my head up, preparing to defend myself.

Mystique clings to the corner, with pain filling her dark siren eyes. She glanced behind her before running over to me. Mystique helps me to my feet and dusts my clothes off. The gesture was oddly touching.

“Thanks, but it’s best if you head back with your pod.”

“They aren’t my father. I’m with them because it’s expected of me. That is all.” her lilting voice says. It was strongly balcanic and I realized that it’s the first time I’ve heard Mystique’s voice.

“I have a feeling you know me. You look at me like a lost puppy. Who was I to you?” I queried lightly.

Mystique’s eyes widened slightly. “You were somebody that I used to know.”

“And what does that mean?”

She giggles softly. “Meaning, Lady Helena, we were lovers once.”

I arch an eyebrow. “We were?”

“Yes. It was a short but an explosive relationship. Sadly, you can’t remember much… If not at all.”

“Can you tell me more about our, uh, relationship? Perhaps it’ll jog my memory.”

“Another time. I’ve got to go.” she runs towards the direction of the others before turning back to me. “Also, I’d follow Bianka’s advice and steer clear of the men. I personally don’t care what you do with Daxter.”

So the old me played both teams? Wow, that was something I least expected. Mystique is a beautiful female, but I felt no attraction towards her. Hearing her refer to me as “Lady Helena” among other evidence, further proves my real identity. I need to stop denying it… I was a badass.

***********************

I walked back to the Keep, ruminating on the conversation between Mystique and I. I wondered what she was like back then? How far back did it occur? Why did we split?

My mind rewinds back to Bianka’s threat. Surely she wouldn’t harm children if I continued to “stay around her mates” she wouldn’t harm them? What would she do? Does she have a part to play in the disappearances of the hybrids?

I ran into a wall that came out of nowhere. “Oof,”

“You should be more careful, Miss Valeri.” a voice purred. Eros.

So much for steering clear. “I should really watch where I’m going,” I chuckle awkwardly.

“Yes you should.”

“Well… excuse me.” I say as I move around him.

Eros grabs my bicep gently. My heart beats like a hummingbird’s wings. I look into his eyes and they are aglow with a bright vermillion. He pulls me close to his chest. I inhale the scent of honeyed roses and shiver. He leans close to smell my hair, and he sighs in content.

“I want to take you to a place in Sanomalis.”

“Where?”

He offers a wink and a small smirk. “It’s a surprise. Don’t worry about wasting your leathers, I have something ordered for tonight. Be ready when the crescent moon is at its highest.”

He releases my arm and saunters out of the door with hands in his pockets. I tilt my head to the side trying to figure him out. Eros was definitely a puzzle I wanted to figure out. I head back to my room and I don’t see Stanley. I checked the bathroom and even underneath the bed, and he wasn’t there. Now where could my little pet be?

I shut the door behind me and remove my necklace. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Upon my next inhale my subconscious leaked out like a flaming trace. It flashes outward, zooming across the Keep and onto the grounds of the university. From then on it flares across the sea and to new land. Land I’ve never set foot on. This must be Edonia. I couldn’t take in the wintry beauty of it all, because my subconscious turned abruptly to the west, Faelios. A dark hooded figure sits at the front of a carriage. I hear cries of confusion and fear from within it. A large white embroidered gate comes into view before I’m mentally sent back to my room. I lurch for and almost throw up bile.

No… it couldn’t be. He wouldn’t do something like this.. Could he? How did he escape my grasp?

A sudden thought hit me.

I don’t remove my necklace, avoiding his monotonous voice. “No need to wait for me, you are free to leave my room.”

His eyes are questioning, not quite believing me.

I sigh heavily and hold the door wide open for him. I didn’t want to be disturbed. “You may leave. Sleep on the couch. You know where the food is.”

Free… By saying “you are free…”, did I just free a kidnapper? Is this what my alter ego warned me about?! The pit of my stomach drops at this thought. How could I be so careless? Now dozens -if not hundreds- of people are possibly hurt because of me. Stanley isn’t working alone though. I thought about the way the Bitch Squad were outraged when seeing him. They could all be working together. But for what reason? What do they have to gain from this?

I had about a few hours before I needed to get ready for tonight, but my mind couldn’t escape the whimpering and tears from the children. I have to do something. What could I do? Where could I start looking? How would I get there? And where was this place located? It was somewhere in the west, near Faelios. The Elven Fae were notorious for their secrets. I could always ask Nerissa.

I restlessly paced back and forth in my room. I couldn’t relax. Time passed by achingly slowly. A knock sounds at my door, and I rush towards it. A magnificent red box is placed outside my door and the faint scent of honeyed roses hits my nose. I smile at the grand gesture and pick it up.

The box was soft and velvety to the touch. A large black bow was seductively wrapped it’s way around the large package. A small note sits underneath the bow. The handwriting was extravagant. It was written in longhand and read:

May my eyes devour you in this dress. Meet me at the courtyard just before moonhigh.

My eye widened at the abrupt, but bold way he was. Excitement thrummed through my veins. We rarely interact, but each time there is an occurrence, it is intense. A sudden hunger pang hit my stomach and I doubled over in pain. I heard the soft chink as my fangs came out. How long has it been since I’ve last fed?

I try to take deep breaths to maintain my composure. It was a challenge though. Daxter hasn’t spoken to me since my immediate departure, and Eros hasn’t given me my routinely Blood N’Fused drink. Whatever I drink doesn’t work. Frustration soars through me suddenly. What is a vampire who cannot survive on any other source of food?

Once I feel my fangs retract, I remove the lid of the box. Setting the box down, I pull out the most stunning dress I’ve ever laid eyes on. It was a long black sheer minidress bejeweled with red rhinestones. No.. these were rubies. They glow with a deep, vivid red. They were fashioned in spider web patterns, with it being abundant at the breast and private area. I set that gently to the side and pulled out a pair of stilettos, embroidered with an ombre of red-to-black gems.

Just where on earth was Eros taking me? Curiosity sparks through me as I rush to the bathroom and vigorously scrub my body. I step out of the shower and do my normal hygienic routine before exiting the bathroom. I dug through my magical drawstring bag to see if there was anything I could use for my hair. Low and behold, there was a makeup bag, a long curly hair ponytail, a brush and a comb, and lastly some gel.

After styling my hair, I quickly slip on the alluring dress and race to the bathroom to see what it looks like on my body. It wraps around nicely and contours to my curves like a second skin. The neckline covered my neck-and there for the mating scar. The web design covered my full breasts and cunt nicely. They spread out enticingly throughout the dress like pathways towards an undefined destination. The dress had a high split that would compliment the stilettos nicely.

Finally content with my look, I walk out of the Keep with no interruptions. It was eerily quiet tonight. No one stops to ask where I was going. Actually, there weren’t any students or professors wandering the halls.

A dark carriage sits in the middle of the courtyard. Two gigantic pegasi neigh silently and the coachman holds the door open for me.

“My lady,” the coachman says.

“Thank you,”

“My pleasure.” he responds before closing the small door.

We lift from the ground and into the sky. A wave of tranquility enters my body as I watch the rising crescent moon over the darkened sea. The mysteriousness of the ocean left me entranced, and I temporarily forgot my own personal mission.

I’m jolted out of my trance from the sudden movement of the carriage. The door opens and the sight of Eros takes my breath away. He’s dressed to the nines in a blood red and black floral blazer suit. His long slender fingers were covered in heirloom rings. His hair hung loosely at the sides of his face, accenting his strong jaw line.

Eros holds out a hand. “You look stunning, Miss Valeri.”

I take his hand and he helps me down. “You don’t look so bad yourself, Eros.”

His deep laughter sends tingles down my spine. Eros leads me towards a rather loud and bustling metropolitan city. Industry buildings were sky high. Transit trains wove in between buildings, the metal on metal screeching in my ears. Crowds of people slow down our fast progress.

“How can anyone live in a place like this?!” I practically yell in his ear.

He looks at me and smiles. “One gets used to it. We follow where the prey leads.”

“I thought we drank from the Blood N’Fused company?” I queried

Eros nods. “We do, but that doesn’t stop live donors from offering themselves to us.”

We traverse the enormous city in silence. Soon, we come across a rather small and quaint building. The building was located to the edge of the city and could pass for one of those hole in the wall restaurants. There were a couple of humans wining and dining in the window. Eros leads us towards the back of the minute building. A tall and broad shouldered man stood at a metal door entrance.

The large man swings his head our way. “Password?”

“Sangostium.” Eros whispers. The small hairs on the back of my neck flare to life. That word soared throughout my body like water giving life to verdure.

I turned to Eros. He glanced my way and gave a minute shake of his head. The guard nods once before opening the door.

The interior layout was extraordinarily different from the exterior. The walls were red flecked with onyx. Round tables were even spaced at the center of the floors. Dark wooden booths lined the walls to give customers their desired privacy. A few grand crystal chandeliers hang high from the ceiling that cast an immoral and sensual ambience.

A long-legged female appears in front of us. She wore a feathery two piece that accented curves, heels that could kill, and glimmer that would make a male beg to feel her supple skin. The female was enticing. I didn’t like the way she eyed Eros though. A growl is released from my lips and she cuts a look my way before looking back at him.

Eros leans into my ear. “Easy, tigress.” he whispers loudly.

I snort in unladylike fashion.

“I didn’t know you were into mutts now, Mr. Lamius.” her voice was heavily accented.

“Long time, no see Katya. Show us our seats.” Eros says, ignoring the female’s comment.

I tilt my head in confusion, but let the minute interaction go. I had a goal to complete and I didn’t have time for distractions.

The female -Katya- humphs before seating us at a round booth at the back of the place, out of the way of prying eyes. Eros holds his hand out in indication to my seat and he sits across from me.

Katya takes out a small notepad. “Do you want your usual, Mr. Lamius?.”’

He doesn’t take his eyes off of me.“Yes, that will be fine. The same for my lady friend here.” he shoos her away.

She stomps off, and I chuckle silently. Eros’ steady gaze sends shivers down my spine. It’s as if he was trying to replace an answer that I couldn’t give him.

“So…. what’s the special occasion?” I asked.

He smirks a little. “I can’t treat a beautiful female to dinner?”

“Would vampires even consider drinking blood as dinner?”

“Doesn’t a wolf consider deer prey?”

“True. So what is your “usual”?”

“Sanguis Virginum.” The blood of Virgins.

I lean forward. “And you think I’d enjoy such a drink, because?”

Eros copies my movement, his eyes twinkling. “Because, virgins are the closest thing to heaven. They are unblemished. Untouched by the world. Some are even bold to compare it to the ichor of the gods.”

That was fascinating and all, but my stomach clenches at the prospect of it going down my throat.

“Interesting.” is all I say.

“Indeed.”

I thrum my fingers against the table lightly. I’ve learned that I hate awkward silences. I should ask straight out about…

Eros places his hand at the side of his head. “What’s on your mind?”

“Tell me about the Demon King, Asmodeus.”

His eyes narrow slightly. “What do you want to know?”

“How did he become the demon king?”