With our impeccable speed we arrive at Superno in record time, landing in a parking lot behind the building so we don’t attract too much attention on the side street. We shift back to our human forms and walk to the front of the building. As soon as the bouncer at the door takes a good look at his, his eyes zeroing in on ours, he immediately lifts the blue velvet rope and lets us pass, bowing his head respectfully as we enter. I admit I’ve kind of missed that.We enter to the sounds of music pumping, to the point I can feel it in my chest. We push through the throngs of people – supernaturals from every walk of life – and make our way over to the bar, the icy blue and red neon lights of the club contrasting making me unsure whether I should feel warm or cold.Aya leans across the bar to get the attention of one of the bartenders and I just know the first thing he’ll do is order a lemon drop. He goes crazy for them.The bartender walks over, freezes for a second staring at us in surpri
I turn off the tap, compose myself and step back into the club. I only manage to take a single step when I feel strong arms snake around my waist from behind, their contact burning my skin like salacious fire, making me gasp in pleasure. I don’t have to look to know whose arms are wrapped around me. I feel it in the core of my being as my essram rejoices to finally be in his arms. He pulls me close, my back firmly pressed against his chest, burning my skin with our contact and once again I don’t fight it; I relish it. I take in a deep breath, inhaling his scent like oxygen. The more chances I get to experience it the better I can describe it. He smells like frost on a cold winter’s night, the kind that chills you to the bone and turns your breath to fog. I never thought such a scent could be so alluring, but here we are.He leans down, his lips brushing against the shell of my ear making me shiver. “Is my little avifauna trying to fly away?” he whispers, his deep, bass of a voice sendi
I have become consumed by my consumption of Orenda.Bringing her body to pleasure has turned into an obsession that continues to rob me of my faculties. No longer am I satisfied to see her vulnerable, sleeping form writhe in ecstasy as her mind fills with dreams of me, now I crave to see the pleasure in her eyes. I sought her out like a shark seeks out chum in the water. I let her touch me and her touch became my undoing. The exquisite burn of her skin cast a blinding, primal haze over my mind and in that moment, it was no longer just her pleasure I craved but my own. I hungered to feel my pleasure through her, but I was not prepared for it.I never knew my body could experience such euphoria. It felt foreign and confusing. All I have ever known is malice and coldness, but I feel heat and desire when I am near that frustrating avifauna or even think of her. Giving into my desire left me sated and ravenous, all at the same time. I hunger for that feeling again, but do I hunger for it of
Before I know it, I’m teleporting and appearing in Orenda’s bedroom of all fucking places. I admit part of me thought about informing her of my discovery, so she doesn’t waste any more of her time – though I’m not sure why I give a crap – but I didn’t actively bring myself here! Is this how much control this bond has over me? All I have to do is have a fleeting thought of her and my subconscious drags me to her side? I had intended to toy with her and drive her as crazy as she has driven me until she begs me for rejection, but I fear that may be a losing battle if I can’t find a way to temper the agonising control she has over my fucking mind!I try to leave but I can’t. My eyes remain fixed on her tempting physique, veiled by a thin sheet, her chest rising and falling as her soft breaths and steady heartbeats fill the room with their music while her scent engulfs me. I step closer, and with a wave of my hand send her sheets flying off the bed. I stare down at her, growing displeased
I snap my fingers, her nightshirt vanishing from her body as she glances down at herself self-consciously. I bite my lip as I look upon those perfect breasts, her nipples hard and perky, begging to be sucked just like all those nights when I feasted upon them and brought her pleasure. She moves her arms to cover herself, and my eyes flare in anger. Instantly, ties form around her wrists and force her hands above her head as the ties attach to the headboard.She looks from the ties to me, her face a mix of panic and hunger. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!” she exclaims.I capture her face in my hand, forcing her lips into a purse as I hover over her. “Don’t ever try to hide what’s mine,” I snarl.She looks deep into my eyes with that penetrative stare that fills me with unease as she nods her head.“There’s a good girl,” I praise her, freeing her face as I straighten up.Grabbing a hold of her hips, I flip her onto her stomach causing her to yelp. She looks back at me as I
Without another word Azadou disappears, leaving me lying here naked and spent. Every nerve in my body is jolting with electricity and everywhere he touched me is burning in intoxication, but as the high begins to wane and the lustful fog begins to lift, shame starts to creep in.I force myself to sit up, my limbs feeling like jelly. I gingerly caress my wrists, feeling a sting as I look down at the marks the ties left around them. The more I stare at them the more ashamed I become. Why do I let him do whatever he wants to me? I know there is a powerful bond between us, but Zarseti’s magic doesn’t rob people of their free will. It only allows two people to feel and be aware that their souls – or essrams in our case – are two perfect pieces of an intricate, cosmic puzzle. Her magic doesn’t turn people into sex addicts with no conscience or morality, so what the fuck is wrong with me?Three times now, I have let him do what he wanted to me with barely any protest. We’ve never had a real
Sitting around letting my mind race was not getting me anywhere and I was not up for a chat with my brother. He’s either likely to make more jokes or say something that is going to earn him a bolt of lightning to his ass – though knowing him, he might enjoy that. So, after putting on a load of washing I decide to go on patrol.Flying above the clouds is where I feel the most peace. There is nothing more magical than being in the sky and experiencing a terminator with your very own eyes, or even better, flying right through it. No, I don’t mean the AI robots from the future, I mean the moving line where the planet is divided into day and night. Chasing it is one of my and Aya’s favourite pastimes. In the sky, there is no drama, pain or strife. Just vast space as far as the eye can see and boundless serenity. Down on land, however, is another story.While flying over Madagascar my feathers prickle as I detect the presence of eyti somewhere down below. I dive down closer to the Earth and
I laugh so hard I choke on my drink, forcing me to place it down as I catch my breath and smile at Invidia sitting beside me.“Why did you blow a hole in the Great Wall of China?” I laugh in bewilderment.Invidia laughs, swallowing the sip of her drink. “It was an accident, and I was like sixteen. There was some creepy bug crawling on me, and I went to flick it off and then the next thing I know there’s a huge-ass hole in one of the most historical landmarks in the world.”“And no one noticed?” I ask dubiously.“Oh, lots of people noticed, but my mother just erased their memories and repaired the wall like it never happened,” she shrugs.“Smart thinking on your mother’s part,” I praise, sipping my drink.“Smartest woman I know,” she says with a thoughtful smile.“I hope you don’t mind me asking, but what were you doing in the middle of nowhere in Madagascar of all places?” I ask curiously.“Hunting, I guess you could say,” she answers reticently.“Hunting what?” I quiz, my brows knitt
Something forceful shakes my body, pulling me from my slumber and sending shockwaves of pain through every nerve in my body.“You are not ruining everything I have worked so hard on,” I hear Invidia’s voice angrily hiss close to my ear.I struggle to open my eyes, only managing to catch glimpses of her through blurry slits. I see the dreaded syringe in her hand and begin to scream internally, pleading with my body to do something, anything. My vision repeatedly fades between darkness and Invidia’s small frame hovering over me as I struggle to keep my eyes open even a fraction. I can feel the life leaving my body bit by bit like water going down a drain. I want to scream, I want to cry, but I don’t even have the energy to produce tears anymore.The despair strangles me like a noose around my neck as I watch Invidia lift my shirt, ready to jam another needle inside me. Her eyes turn obsidian, her golden pupils glinting at me with disgust when suddenly a soft lilac-blue stone hanging aro
“Wh…what do you mean you can’t grant me a wish?!” Ayawamat stammers in confusion.Tituba sighs sympathetically. “Don’t you remember? You accidentally triggered a wish two centuries ago and I had no choice but to grant it.”Ayawamat’s face scrunches up as he thinks hard, followed by a look of realisation that confirms Tituba’s words to be the truth.“Fuck!” he shouts, clutching his head. “You’re right. I remember Orenda and I came to spend time with you; we were drinking, and I stupidly tripped and fell right into you,” he sighs lamentably.She nods solemnly. “I’m sorry, Aya. I really do want to help you, but you know I can only grant one wish per person,” she gently clarifies.“Then grant me the wish,” I instruct, walking over to them.Their heads snap to me as they both look taken aback.“I’ve never granted the wish of a God before…” she muses warily. “But if it will help find Orenda, I am more than willing to try,” she declares confidently, extending her hand to me.As I reach for he
With Ayawamat at my side, we appear on a cliffside high atop a mountain, standing at the entrance of some cave. The cliffside has a scenic view of the surrounding forest; a sea of lush colour that stretches on for miles until it reaches the ocean on the horizon.Orenda would love this view.I’m startled by the sudden thought that infiltrated my mind. Why did I just think that? How the fuck would I know what Orenda loves? I don’t know her any more than I know myself, and I’ve come to realise I am still a stranger to myself. I shake away the unruly thought and focus back on the cave, becoming aware of the magic exuding from within.“How exactly can this cave help find your sister?” I question sceptically.Ayawamat rolls his eyes and steps inside. I heave a sigh and follow in behind him. He raises his hand in the air and summons an electric charge to his hand, using its energy as a light source to guide his path.“This cave is home to a visum named Tituba. She has lived here in isolation
“You know, over these past weeks I decided to do a little extra research into your species,” she discloses like a teacher addressing a class as she slowly starts to pace in front of the bed, making me uneasy. “I knew you wouldn’t willingly answer my questions, so I went back to my old method of scouring magical libraries around the world only to realise I’d already exhausted that avenue the first time I started researching you,” she says with a dramatised sigh.She pauses, waiting for me to prompt her to continue with her monologue but I remain silent. I’m painfully accustomed to this performance by now and still refuse to feed into her need for an audience, though it’s obvious where the need stems from.She huffs with irritation at being denied her spotlight, but continues, turning to face me. “I was racking my brain when suddenly an idea hit me!” she exclaims. “I needed to expand my research parameters, after all, humans have tons and tons of lore on supernatural beings all over the
“Spare me the virtuous bullshit,” she rasps. “You think you have me all figured out, but you don’t have a fucking clue,” she ridicules.I force myself to sit up, pushing through the overwhelming ache in my body. “Then explain it to me,” I insist lethargically. “Because from my side of things, I see a promising young woman so hell-bent on accumulating power that she’d sacrifice her future and soul without a second thought.”“This isn’t about power!” she snaps in reproach. “Power is…it’s nothing!” she continues with contemptible disinterest. “This is about respect. This is about reclaiming everything that I was denied!” she declares forcefully, her eyes wild with determination. “That heartless bitch treated me like some dirty little secret, using me and my powers to make herself stronger, all while making sure no one ever knew I existed,” she reveals scornfully. “Oh, she wanted me to believe that it was for my own protection, claiming people would try to hurt me if they knew I existed,”
As I slowly wake up I am met with an unbearable soreness emanating from every part of my body. Within seconds I am pleading with my brain to let me go back to sleep so I might resume being blissfully ignorant of my suffering. I shift slightly, grimacing when the soreness intensifies only to then groan in pain when I feel the profound throbbing and swelling spreading throughout my right cheek.“About time you woke up,” grouses a voice I detest.I reluctantly open my eyes and see a distressingly familiar wooden vaulted ceiling. A glance at my surroundings confirms that I am back in the bedroom that doubles as my prison cell, with my warden sitting on a chair at the foot of the bed. Invidia's eyes are obsessively fixed on me as a glower fills her features. She’s leaning forward with her elbows on her knees, her muscles rigid with tension and her hands clasped tight in front of her. Her white hair is pushed back with a headband, allowing me to see the beads of sweat gathering on her brow.
“You said everyone believes the eyti surges were a trap to lure in you and your sister and that whoever was behind them has and is cloaking Orenda,” I repeat for clarification, trying to stay focused.He nods, looking intently at me. “That’s the current theory, but it hasn’t helped us figure out who it could be.”“I think you’re all right. I think this is related to the false surges and I believe I’ve come across the person behind them,” I announce.“What? When? Who?” he sputters with rapid fire.“I don’t know who, but I’m sure Orenda told you of the conversation we had on the matter,” I suggest gently.His brows knit together so tightly they almost become one as he thinks hard. “She did tell me how she told you we believed a makkari was behind everything and you confirmed that was true. That you had figured it out and just didn’t bother to say anything,” he recalls resentfully.The list of all the ways this is my fault is becoming exceedingly long. Not only is it my fault Orenda was
I stare at him in disbelief, the chasm of despair that formed inside me the moment I accepted Orenda’s rejection widening painfully in response to his words. Abducted? All this time Orenda has been held captive, left all alone while…“So why the fuck did you come here, Azadou?” he questions angrily, his voice congested as he fights back tears. “Why after all this time did you finally decide my sister was worth doing right by? If that’s even how you feel at all,” he adds cynically.I wade through the emotions that are drowning me from the inside, as I see the turmoil oozing from Ayawamat’s pores. His pain is so intense that I can barely detect the stench of malice. I have been suffering because I pushed Orenda away. I did this to myself and deserve every drop of pain that comes from it, but Orenda doesn’t deserve to suffer, and neither does her brother. I’m understanding this is what sympathy and compassion feel like. I know I have to tell him why I came here, but the compassion I now
I scrub my face and run my fingers through my hair, taking in a lungful of air as I stand up. I push down the pain and the fear and transport myself to Orenda’s home. I appear in Orenda’s room, expecting to see but all I see is an unmade bed. I take in a deep breath, seeking to inhale her scent and reprint its fading memory on my mind, but as I do a frown sets on my face. While I can detect traces of it lingering all over the room, giving me a relieving sense of comfort I haven’t felt in ages, I am confused by how weak it is. The scent is so faded it’s as though she hasn’t stepped foot in this room in weeks.Feeling perplexed and uneasy, I open the door and step into the hallway. Having only ever been in her bedroom, I wander the house in search of her. I’m detecting numerous scents, her brother’s being the most prominent, but not Orenda’s. I don’t hear her or smell her at all. As I look around the open layout of the ground floor, not finding any trace of her, I feel my heart deflate