Wicked Abyss (Immortals After Dark #17) - Kresley Cole Page 0,20
shared too much demon brew, Sian had asked his friend, “What is it like to spill seed?”
After eons of waiting, Rune had recently lost his own demon seal to his mate, a phantom/vampire halfling named Josephine. “There is no describing it,” Rune had said. “Before I met Josie, I had total control over myself for thousands of years, could fuck for hours on end, days even.” He’d leaned in to admit, “I lasted two thrusts inside her before I exploded. Came so hard my vision blurred. It’s . . . mind-altering.”
Sian must know what this felt like! Snapping his fangs, he threw Kari’s shift across his room.
Now that she’d returned, the intensity of all his emotions made him realize he’d been sleepwalking through his eternal life.
If he hadn’t had the M?ri?r . . .
He redressed, then used magic to repair the mirror. He would have to deal with the gathered legions sometime today. But for now, he watched his prisoner go about her futile labor.
At the last moment, Sian might let her complete her task—but only so he could see how she reacted to new stimuli. . . .
ELEVEN
Lila had just finished gathering the last of the webs when the first spider crawled in from a hole in the roof.
Early. It wasn’t dawn yet.
The size of a punch bowl, the arachnid had red and silver splotches across its bulbous body and long bushy legs. Yes, demon, I do fear spiders.
Seeming to focus all of its eyes on her, the spider skittered along the ceiling, then paused. It’s waiting for me to fail.
She’d read about the mystical labors in hell; was she now immersed in one?
Keeping the new threat in sight—and inwardly screaming—she continued her chore. Focus, Lila. But she was even more unnerved than before because she’d heard a roar from somewhere across the castle.
Abyssian’s roar. It had to have been. And for some reason, it’d sounded . . . sexual.
Despite her overstimulation, she shuddered to think of the demon as a sexual being. He was too big, too violent, and apparently he lost all control in the throes, roaring like a beast.
So much for insta-love toward his long-lost mate. While torturing Lila, he was screwing someone else—probably some lusty, big-boned demoness with claws and ponderous breasts. Had that roar scared the female?
Or delighted her?
Lila supposed Abyssian’s body as a whole wasn’t unattractive. But she still couldn’t comprehend why females would pursue him.
The subject was forgotten when another spider crawled in to join the first. Then another. And another, until a dozen had gathered. Did they plan to wrap her in their silk at dawn?
Focus. Time moved at a sluggish pace here. She could finish before daybreak if she kept her eye on the ball—
They began scuttling back and forth. It took her a few panicked moments to realize they were creating new webs. “No, no, no!” She would have to outrace them, then somehow harvest the additional webs!
The faster she spun, the faster they did—until they’d cloaked nearly every chamber entrance.
She was failing. Already, blood dripped from her fingers and sweat from her skin. Her head pounded. Each time she coughed on ash, the tower seemed to spin. That devil had told her she would sicken from the vine burns.
A hazy light grew outside. Dawn? She wasn’t through! Would those creatures attack as one—
Abyssian appeared. Or two of him did. Her vision had turned double.
“You barely finished in time.”
I . . . did? She glanced up. The spiders and the new cobwebs receded into the walls, only the wheel and thread remaining.
“You’ve earned your breakfast.” He conjured a tray of food, setting it on the edge of the broken-down fountain. “To merit a respite, you’ll complete another task.” With a wave of his hand, he produced a broom and a mop.
Or as she liked to call them, the beginning of my arsenal.
“Clean each of these rooms by nightfall,” he ordered. “Or the spiders will return.” He vanished.
Prick! She cursed him in multiple languages.
The king intended these tools to be a part of her punishment? Mistake, demon. I’ll repurpose them to strike back in some way.
She would finish this chore; then during her respite, she’d plot.
A desperate need for energy made her investigate the food. Demon food. The contents of one bowl were merrily swimming around. Nausea churned.
She’d have to get through the day on nothing but sheer will. Knotting her hair atop her head, she squared her shoulders, then started sweeping.