“Wait.” Celise held up a hand. “Itwasn’tjust your sister.” She shook her head and pointed at him. “You’re way, way too protective of mommy dearest. You slept withbothof them? Damn, I thought I was messed up. Please, don’t hold out on us, Felspar.”
“I don’t have to tell you anything,” Felspar snapped. His face was an incredible shade of red. “You don’t know anything. You have no idea what it was like to be my father’s son. You have no idea how he treated my sister and my mother. Parading his whores around as if people didn’t know he was sleeping with other women. My mother was humiliated.”
Raja stepped closer. “So you comforted her? You met needs that her husband, your father, wouldn’t meet?” Raja chuckled. “Damn, you royals are always messed up. It’s why so many of you go farther south than my domain when you bite the dust.”
Felspar turned away, his jaw clenching so tightly it looked like it might break. “Fine,” he said through gritted teeth. “Yes. I was with my sister and my mother. They were mine. Mine to protect and provide for considering my father wouldn’t do it.”
Celise’s eyes widened, and her laughter turned downright gleeful. “No. Way.”
Raja leaned in and purred. “I think you took the wholeprovidefor out of context when it comes to family, Felspar. However, I am curious as to what these two females looked like, that they could ensnare a brother and son into their beds. Or did you manipulate your way between the sheets?”
Felspar’s eyes widened as ifthatwould somehow be what made him a disgusting monster. “I would never touch them without their consent. My sisterpursuedme. Sheneededme.” He slammed his fist against his chest. “And my mother, when she found out, instead of turning her back on us, she supported the relationship. My father kept my sister locked away, lonely, and my mother saw that I made her happy. My mother was lonely as well. I was there for them.”
“I just bet you made them happy.” Celise snickered. “Oh, gods, this just keeps getting better.” Celise leaned against the light post for support. “I’ve heard some weird crap in my long life but this?” She shook her head. “This seriously tops them all. You’re a walking tragedy, Felspar.”
Raja wiped an imaginary tear from his eye. “I’ve heard of keeping it in the family, but this? This is next level.”
“Are you finished?” Felspar snapped, his voice sharp as a blade. His hands were clenched into fists, his knuckles white.
“Not even close.” Raja grinned. “But I’ll save the rest for later.”
Eventually, Felspar straightened, his composure returning, though his cheeks were still faintly red. “I’ll make you a deal,” he said coolly, his tone clipped. “Help me kill Thalion, and I’ll serve you. My skills, my power—they’re yours.”
Raja considered him for a long moment. That would be a lot of souls, a lot of power. He wouldn’t even have to lift a finger. Felspar would hand them over like a present. He turned to Celise. “And you?”
“I can get you into the Sprite Realm,” she said quickly, her voice still tinged with amusement. “Andora’s realm is full of souls. You need them. I can get you in.”
Raja’s grin widened. “Perhaps I can keep you around. And you…” He looked back at the elf. “You amuse me. And I won’t lie. I’m looking forward to seeing your brother’s face when he sees you. I’m guessing it’s been quite a long time since he’s laid eyes on you. And I imagine he wasn’t any happier with you about your extracurricular activities than your father was.”
Felspar simply shrugged, as if the topic bored him.
With a flick of his wrist, Raja summoned a dagger, its blade gleaming in the dim light. “Let’s seal the deal, shall we?”
As the blood oath was made, Raja turned to Felspar one last time. “Oh, and by the way, elf? Working so closely with Celise might make her feel like family, so try to refrain. She’s a tad crazy. You don’t want crazy attached to you. Literally or figuratively.”
“I’m standing right here,” Celise snapped. She scrunched her face up in disgust as she eyed Felspar as if he might try and tackle her to the ground and take her right there.
Raja kind of wished he would. It would be funny as hell, and it had been a long time since he’d had any reason to laugh.
“I wouldn’t touch a sprite,” Felspar practically spat out.
Celise choked on a laugh. “But you’d screw your own mother and sister? Probably at the same time.” She looked at Raja. “And you thinkI’mcrazy?”
Raja shrugged. “I didn’t say hewasn’tcrazy. I was just trying to help the male out. He seems to lack good judgment.”
“Fair,” Celise huffed. “But that doesn’t mean I do.”
Raja’s brow rose. “Really? You sure you want to make that claim? Because I’m pretty sure your sisters were sucked into hell like an hour ago. And considering you’re the one who brought them back from the dead… I mean, I realize I haven’t been in the human realm in a while, but I’m pretty sure that every supernatural would agree that bringing people back from the dead is in poor judgment.”
“He’s not wrong.” Felspar pointed at Raja.
“Shut up, incest boy,” Celise growled. She looked back at Raja. “We’ve made the oath. Now what?”
Raja rubbed his hands together as he eyed the destruction of the city. “This looks like it was fun. Let’s do more of this.”
Chapter 15
“Even in the darkest moments in life, if you look hard enough, you can find the light or you can be the light.” ~ Finn
