ValiasVillain (7 page)

Rydin knocked and entered when Debol answered. The
Sempire
wasn’t at his side today and he wondered if Debol had punished her severely for
her mild disobedience yesterday.

“Come, sit,” the Incubus invited.

Rydin sat but his nerves were on edge. A muscle in his jaw
twitched. “Another assignment so soon?”

Debol leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk in
front of him. “Not officially. Not yet. I was thinking about our little chat
yesterday. I found it to be quite interesting. Yes, quite.”

Rydin simply said, “Okay.”

“You are keeping her for revenge, yes?” At Rydin’s tentative
nod, Debol scowled. “You know I don’t tolerate my employees lying to me.”

What the hell was Debol talking about? “I’m not lying.”

Debol slammed both fists on his desk, making pens bounce
inches above the desktop before clattering back down, some scattering on the
floor.

Rydin thought Debol was going to go ballistic like the crazy
demon he was, but after a moment he leaned back and clasped his hands behind
his head, no trace of the intense anger of only a second ago.

“I have an offer for you. What if I said I’d let you out of
your contract if you bring her to me?”

Rydin’s chest constricted as his heart slammed against his
rib cage. Freedom. Debol was offering him his freedom and all he had to do was
hand over Valia. Surely Debol was only fucking with his head. But what if he
wasn’t? Could he do it? Could he do that to her? Hand her over to this lunatic?

Yes, she’d stolen fifty years from him, but if he handed her
over to Debol, he knew it would cost her the rest of her life, however long or
short it would be at his hands. Picturing Valia at the Incubus’s mercy made his
blood burn. He imagined that feisty light in her eyes clouding over, being
replaced by hatred. Even worse, being replaced by despair. Subdued, nothing but
a shell of her lively self.

But he prized his freedom above all, didn’t he? He’d been
waiting for so long and had been one task away from achieving it. The one
hundred years he’d served Debol, done his bidding—all for nothing because of
her. He knew what he had to do.

Debol’s words cut into his thoughts. “Interesting indeed.”

“What?”

“Rydin, the only reason I’m not having you beaten for lying
is because I don’t think you know you are.”

Rydin started to lose his shit and ask the Incubus what the
fuck he was talking about, but Debol’s next words chilled him. “You realize I
can simply assign bringing her to me, right now, your next task and offer you
nothing in return.”

Yeah, Rydin damn well knew he could do just that and the
urge to smash Debol’s face in had never been greater than at this moment. He’d
considered hiring someone to kill him in the past but decided against it. It
was difficult to know who you could trust and if the attempt failed, he would
automatically be bound to this bastard indefinitely—terms of the contract. That
wasn’t an option.

Rydin’s hands curled into fists but he kept cool. He had to
keep cool. “I’m not finished with her yet.”

Debol sighed. “Oh yes, yes, I’m afraid you are. But, I’m a
reasonable male. The original offer still stands. Bring her to me now,
willingly, and I’ll remove ten years off your contract.”

Rydin pushed himself from the chair. “Fine. I’ll have her
here in an hour.”

“You have fifteen minutes,
Ferox
.”

* * * * *

Instead of porting directly back to his home, Rydin walked
for a couple minutes, a sinking, twisting sensation filling his gut. Neither
option pleased him but with so much at stake, he didn’t know what else to do.
The decision made, he quit stalling and ported home.

Valia was laid out on the bed looking sexy. Delicious. The
light-green lingerie he’d bought her was one of the best purchases he’d ever
made. He looked at her longingly, wishing they had more time. Wishing he could
touch her, taste her, thrust inside her once more. Their time together had been
too short. His need for revenge not satisfied, he told himself. It wasn’t fair
he’d waited so long to find her and he was already losing her.

“Whatcha starin’ at, Rydin?” Valia’s voice drifted through
his mind akin to a caress.

He moved to the bed and offered her his hand.

She pouted. “Was hoping you’d join me.”

He reached in his pocket and pulled out the handcuff key,
dangling it above her.

A frown crossed her face and was quickly replaced by
surprise. She jumped off the bed, obviously excited about being set free,
leaving him. It angered and hurt him that it was so easy for her.
Hurt?
He didn’t know why that word had entered his thoughts and quickly dismissed it.

“About time!” She held out her arm for him to remove the
cuffs. “You could have taken them off sooner. They’re marring my awesome skin.”

He removed the cuffs and was shocked when she jumped right
back on the bed. Why hadn’t she simply ported away? There was nothing stopping
her now. “What are you doing?”

She laughed and said, “I’m waiting for you to ravish me,
Ferox
.”

She was free and she still wanted him? Knowing that made
letting her go so much harder. “You must go,” he said.

Her brows drew together, the smile disappearing from her
face. “I must go? Thought ya wanted me here until midnight.”

He looked at his watch. “Female, you must go. There isn’t
much time.” He walked to the side of the bed where the clothes she wore the
night he found her in the club lay, and picked them up and tossed them to her.
She made no effort to catch them and they fell to the bed. The last thing he’d
expected was to have to
force
her to
leave
, but he couldn’t deny
it elated him.

She stood and rounded the bed to face off with him. He
didn’t understand why she was sticking around. He assumed she’d port away as
soon as the cuffs were off.

“What’s up, Rydin,” she demanded. “Your aura is all fucked
up.” She poked him in the chest and he realized he’d actually miss that
annoying habit of hers.

His aura? He didn’t have time to decipher that comment.
“Unless you want me to deliver you, in handcuffs, to Debol in five minutes,
grab your things and port away from here,” he said through gritted teeth.

Valia blanched as if he’d struck her and she took a step
back. “You wouldn’t.”

“Apparently not. Which is why you must go.”

“Stop saying that and tell me what the hell is going on,”
she demanded but kept her distance now.

“Because of your attempted escape, your first night here,
one of Debol’s spies saw you and reported your presence. Debol demanded I bring
you to him, for which, he will remove ten years off my contract. I let him
believe I’d accepted his offer.”

“Ten years? I’m worth way more than ten years,” she huffed.

He’d laugh at her truly offended look if the situation
wasn’t so dire.

“I’m surprised you aren’t taking it. That’d be the icing on
top of your revenge cake.”

“I don’t want
that
icing on
this
cake. You
deserved to be cuffed, fucked and spanked more than any female I’ve ever
encountered, but you do not deserve that fate. The way he treats his
Sempire
prisoner in front of me is disgusting. I cannot imagine what he does to her
privately.”

Valia paled. “He’s holding a
Sempire
prisoner? We
have to help her.”

“No!” Rydin hadn’t intended the word to burst out so
violently. “He has guards. Many guards and because I’m contracted to him, I
can’t help you.”

“You’d help me if you could? Wait. What’s he gonna do when
he finds out you let me go?”

“It won’t be pleasant to be sure, but I am
Ferox
and
I will survive.”

She gulped. “Will you be beaten?”

“At the very least.” He looked at his watch again. “You are
out of time. You must go.”

“But the
Sempire
…you…I haven’t told you—”

He pulled her into him as he crushed his lips to hers in a
quick, urgent, brutal kiss, then set her away from him. “Now!”

Rydin sank onto his bed as she disappeared. That internal
void returned as soon as she’d gone. He needed to put her out of his mind.
Saving her was probably the one and only noble thing he’d ever done in his life
and now he would pay for it. He wouldn’t die, but Debol would make sure he
suffered, although Rydin suspected that suffering would be nothing compared to
the torment of losing Valia.

Valia’s clothes lay on the bed. He picked them up, held them
to his nose and inhaled. He’d miss her scent. Hell, he’d miss everything about
her.

Valia appeared outside her family’s mansion, inside the veil
between the human realm and the demon realm. That odd discomfort, the longing
for something that overtook her when she was separated from Rydin, coated her
insides. She needed a moment to pull herself together.

He’d let her go. After what she’d done to him, he’d let her
go, and he was going to suffer immeasurable pain because of it. Because of her.
She couldn’t let that happen. He’d already suffered enough because of her. She
hadn’t even gotten around to explaining about the aura binding. She wondered if
he’d still have let her go if he’d known that. She just needed a plan. Sucking
in a deep breath, she twisted the knob, opening the elaborately carved, wooden
door and stepped inside.

“Valia! Where ya been?” Fin’s voice greeted her.

Fin was a dear friend who’d lived with her family and worked
as their chef since before Valia had been born. He was a stunning specimen of
male, but oddly she’d never been tempted to get freaky with him.

He grabbed her in a bear hug and kissed the top of her head
before stepping back to survey her appearance. “Nice outfit,” he said, smirking
at her lingerie.

“Isn’t it?” She did a little twirl.

“So, where ya been?” he repeated. “Araya went from mildly
annoyed, to frantic, to pissed off. She figured you were dodging her because of
all the wedding planning.”

Valia snorted and frowned.

“Whoa, a frown? Haven’t I heard you say how frowning gives
you wrinkles?” he joked.

“Fin, something seriously shiteous is going down. I’ve been
in the demon realm.”

“How? Why? Are you okay?” The look of shock on his face
spoke volumes.

“Do me a favor? Will you buzz Araya and let her know I’m
okay and it’s not what she thinks? I need to find my mother and I’ll fill ya in
later.”

Fin opened his mouth, but before any words come out, Araya
and Talith, their mother, came out of the game room and exclaimed “Valia” in
unison.

Valia threw up her hands. “Before you both start, listen.
I’ve been in the demon realm. I didn’t know it at first, but I was abducted.”
She laughed at that. “Anyhoo, I have to go back to help Rydin but I need a
plan. Oh and we need to have a chatty chat, Dear Mommy. You know, about my
transition.”

Talith’s eyes widened and Araya’s mouth dropped open. Before
they could recover from their shock, Valia motioned for them to follow her.
“You can grill me in the dining hall. I’m dying for some pineapple and kiwi.
You should see what they eat in the demon realm.” She scrunched up her face for
effect. “Crapnasty shit. Ick.” Yeah, she’d liked it once she’d gotten past the
appearance, but it was more fun to be dramatic about it.

Kean, Araya’s one-eighth-Incubus fiancé, sat at the large
table chatting with Darcon, Talith’s number-one guard. Valia liked to call him
Darcy because it annoyed him. Kiberry sat at Kean’s side. She giggled at that.
Kiberry was a baby
Tengur
demon. Araya and Valia had found him alone in
the orchard and they’d become his surrogate mothers. Four-inch legs, a
thirty-pound body covered in black-and-blue-tinged fur and large wings. Oh and
a mouth full of scary teeth. Kiberry had pounced on Kean the first time he’d
seen him because he thought Kean was trying to hurt Araya. Now he followed Kean
around as if he was a puppy.

Valia almost drooled at the array of fruit piled high on
platters. She rushed forward, grabbed a chunk of pineapple, and stuffed it in
her mouth. She closed her eyes as the sweet and tangy juice coated her mouth.
Yum. “Hey, Incubus,” she greeted Kean. “Hey, Darcy.” She laughed when his
narrowed eyes.

“Valia!” Araya exclaimed. “What the hell is going on? You
can stuff your face later. Talk.”

They all sat around the table and Valia explained the basics
of what had happened but left out the part about binding Rydin’s aura. She
wanted to talk to her mother alone about that.

Talith spoke first. “Valia dear, why would you want anything
to do with that demon, much less help him? He abducted and imprisoned you.”

Kean, Araya, and Valia all snorted at the same time. Talith
had abducted Kean and imprisoned him and she’d abducted Rydin and imprisoned
him. Hypocritical much?

Talith ran her fingers over her blonde hair as if to smooth
it even though there wasn’t a strand out of place, and she had the nerve to
look indignant at their collective snorting.

“He’s suffered enough because of me. You. Us. Whatever. And
we need to have a chat about that later but right now, I need a plan. The nasty
Incubus who holds his contract—”

It was Araya’s and Talith’s turn to mimic each other.
“Incubus!”

“A full-blooded Incubus?” Araya squeaked. Valia nodded and
Araya continued. “Oh no way! That is way too dangerous. You guys can hardly
bear to be around Kean,” her eyes went all dreamy, “because of his alluring
scent. You know the powerful draw of it.”

“I’m immune to your love-puppy’s scent now.” Valia turned to
Kean and winked. “As for Debol, he might smell delicious but I can handle it. I
want him dead. It’s the least I can do for Rydin.”

“I think Valia has a crush,” Fin joked. “I’ll help just
based on that. I’ve never seen you all gooey over a male before, only lusty.”

“I’m not gooey!”

He smirked at her. “Whatever you say.”

“If that doesn’t convince you, Mommy Dearest, maybe you’ll
want to help the
Sempire
he’s been holding captive.” She knew that would
infuriate her mother. Talith was a proud
Sempire
, proud of her species
and wouldn’t stand for that.

Talith sucked in a harsh breath. Araya followed suit. “How
do you know he’s holding a
Sempire
?” she demanded.

“Rydin told me and it doesn’t sound good.”

“Of course it’s not good. It’s probably already too late for
her. There is no cure for a
Sempire
addicted to Incubus semen.” A brief
expression of true sorrow crossed her features. “But better to get her out of
there than to let her continue suffering at the Incubus’s hands but Fin will
not be involved.”

“Talith—” Fin began.

“Fin,” Talith interrupted, “you can’t go to the demon
realm.”

“Why not?” Valia asked. “He’s a badass fighter even if he is
a little flabby from all the cooking he does.” Okay, there wasn’t any flab on
Fin, but that’d teach him to call her gooey.

“Absolutely not,” Talith said. “Darcon can spare you a few
guards if you insist on this ridiculous crusade, but Fin can’t go and you’re
not going either.”

“Oh but I am, Mother. I’m sixty-one years old, for fuck’s
sake. And Fin, hell, he’s been around a lot longer than me.” She looked at her
friend and asked, “How old are you anyway?”

“Old enough.”

“See, he’s old enough.”

Talith slammed her fist on the table and jumped out of her
seat. “Fin cannot go to the demon realm! I forbid it! He’ll be exposed!”

Everyone at the table jumped a little and Kiberry ducked his
head under Kean’s leg.

“Exposed?” Araya asked.

Fin scrubbed a hand through his hair. “I’m tired of this,
tired of hiding, of pretending. It’s bullshit. I want to help.”

“Fin,” Talith said, her voice low and ominous, “it’s too
dangerous. Don’t do this. It’s unnecessary. The guards are much better suited—”

“Araya is getting married. Valia is gooey over some
Ferox
demon.” He grunted as Valia’s punch connected with his arm. “I want to share
these experiences as family, not as the friendly cook. And, I want to help my
sister.”

Shocked silence coated the air. Had he just said sister?

Kean broke the silence. “Finally, the Incubus isn’t the one
getting all the weird looks. Awesome.”

“Sister?” Valia asked.

“Fin,” Talith’s tone warned.

“It’s time, Mother. It’s been time.” He turned his gaze to
Valia and then to Araya. “I’m your brother.”

“Brother? But it’s not possible.
Sempires
only have
females.” Araya said. “Unless one of our fathers…” Araya squinted as she tried
to figure it out.

“No, Araya, he called Talith ‘Mother’. Valia’s eyes widened.
“That means that Fin is a—”

Fin cut her off. “Yes, it means I’m a freak of nature. A
mutant. An abomination.”

Valia punched him in the shoulder and laughed her ass off as
she jumped out of her seat and into his lap giving him a kiss on the cheek.
“Holy shit biscuits! We have a
Sempire
brother. No wonder I never felt
the urge to jump your bones.”

Talith looked as if her head might explode and Araya’s face
was ashen.

“I thought,” Araya swallowed hard, “that male
Sempires
were… Well, the stories say the few male
Sempires
born throughout the
ages were—” Her eyes watered and her lips trembled.

“Killed at birth,” Talith finished Araya’s sentence, her
voice hard. “Male
Sempires
are considered an abomination and as far as I
know, Fin is the only one alive. I couldn’t…” Talith cleared her throat.

“Araya, quit blubbering and come give your abomination of a
brother a hug,” Valia teased as she moved off Fin’s lap and back to her seat.
Araya wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and made her way to Fin’s side.
Fin stood and they embraced as brother and sister for the first time.

Kiberry pulled his head out from under Kean’s leg and
lumbered over to Araya and Fin’s emotional embrace. He stood on his four-inch
back legs and spread his wings around Araya and Fin.

Valia wouldn’t have believed it if she hadn’t witnessed it
herself, but a tear actually rolled down Talith’s cheek. Wow. She’d always
considered Fin to be akin to a brother anyway. He’d tended her scrapes and
bruises when she was a young female and had done the same for Araya. He’d
always been protective of them and he’d been terribly distraught when Araya had
started weakening because she refused to do what was necessary to complete her
transition to full
Sempire
. Until Kean came along, that is.

Sure, a male
Sempire
was considered an abomination
but she wasn’t one for those types of stupid rules. She thought it was totally
cool and had a ton of questions for him but it would have to wait.

“Okay so what’s the deal with Fin being exposed?” Valia
asked.

Araya and Fin released each other—Araya still blubbering—and
sat.

“Talith—Mother,” he corrected with a dazzling smile, “found
a witch to cloak my essence. It’s why you’ve never been able to sense the
Sempire
in me.”

“And green eyes,” Valia said. “You didn’t get the gold like
the rest of us.”

Fin leaned toward her and opened his eyes wide. “Contacts.”

“Well, fuck me,” Valia said. “Sneaky!”

Talith took over. “Yes but the cloaking only works in the
human realm and in the veil. In the demon realm, he’ll be exposed. He cannot risk
it and this information cannot leave this room.” She eyed Kean.

Kean threw up his hands. “Hey, I wouldn’t do anything to
hurt Araya and being mostly human, I don’t understand all of your demon rules
and I really don’t give a shit what he is.” He grinned at Fin. “Dude makes a
great steak.”

“Fin, it’d be awesome to have my brother fight at my side,
but I don’t wanna put you in any extra danger so…” She shrugged and gave him a
slight wink. She hoped he’d see it and understand. His lips twitched and she
knew he did. Definitely her brother. Hell, Fin had taught her most of her
fighting moves, he was super strong and she’d seen him kick major ass.

“You are not going either Valia,” Talith said. “The guards
will rescue the
Sempire
.”

“And kill Debol so Rydin is freed,” Valia reminded her.
“Besides, I have to at least lead them there. I know where his lair is. They
don’t.”

Talith opened her mouth to speak, but Valia didn’t need to
hear any more. She knew the danger, but she was gonna do what she was gonna do
regardless. “It’ll be fine. And, I just came up with a plan. I’ll only need to
be there for a few minutes to get our guards past Debol’s guards. Then I can
pop out.”

Her mother seemed satisfied with that. Little did she know,
Valia was lying.

* * * * *

Darcy chose four guards to accompany Valia. There was no way
she could get them all past Debol’s guards. No, she let her mother believe that
so she’d get off her back but Valia knew what she’d really have to do. She’d
told the guards her fake plan and then ran to her room to change into something
more suitable for a fight. Tight green tank top, tight black pants and her
ass-kicking boots.

Araya sat with her as she changed. “Are you sure about this,
Valia? I mean, the
Ferox
demon did abduct you for revenge purposes.”

Valia pulled on a knee high boot and zipped it up, then sat
on the bed. “What’s it feel like to be in love?”

Araya’s eyes widened. “Love?
You
asking about
love
?”

“Forget it.” Valia looked away and pulled on her other boot.

“No! Sorry. I was just surprised by the question.”

“Well, then?”

Araya closed her eyes for a few seconds. “Well, it’s hard to
describe. I think about Kean all the time. Even though he is only downstairs
right now, I miss him. I don’t like to be away from him. When he touches me…”
Valia had to stifle a laugh when Araya’s face reddened. “Anyway. I’m happy and
feel complete with him.”

Complete with him
. Yeah, Valia experienced that with
Rydin, but she assured herself all those gooey feelings were because of the
aura binding. That had to be it. Valia had never desired to be with one male
for more than a couple of days. She didn’t do all that mushy squishy love crap.
She’d always thought it dumb and so very restricting.

She’d find a way to undo the aura binding and then she and
Rydin both would be free from the unwanted feelings.