“Exactly.”
“Fucking fantastic.” Jason took a deep breath. “You need to help me. You have magical objects from every corner of the earth in here. There must be something that can extract a dragon fae curse.”
He rubbed the smooth skin of his chin. There was a rumor that incubus demons were completely hairless aside from their eyebrows and the tops of their heads. Jason tried not to think too much about it or about how the man survived as an incubus.
“There is something…,” Ryker said, eyes darting around the shop.
“Please.”
“I have procured a demonic object with promising capabilities, but there is no record of a werewolf ever using it. Your kind is more human than my kind. There could be side effects.”
“Tell me more.”
Ryker coupled his hands behind his back and made his way through the stacks toward the office behind the counter. Once inside, he fished something out of a case on the desk.
“A long time ago, there was a demon who fell in love with a human. She wanted exclusivity. Silly. My kind is incapable of monogamy. But the desperate demon commissioned this ring from a witch.” He held out a box with a carving of a serpent eating its own tail on the lid.
Jason flipped the box open, revealing a shiny platinum snake, body straight as a pin. “What does it do?”
“It mutates sexual desire into another form. For this male, sex became hunger. It worked for a while. He took sexual nourishment only from his mate and filled his lust for others with food.”
Jason reached for the box. “So then why is it here and not on some incubus living happily ever after?”
“The female left him. The demon, in his grief, refused to take off the ring. He ate himself to death. At least that’s the rumor. I can’t be responsible for verifying the stories of every treasure in this place.”
“But if I wear this, I can avoid having sex. And if I avoid having sex, I avoid Nickelova.”
“Nickelova! Youarein deep. I was not aware it was the princess of the Siberian dragon fae who was gracing us with her presence.”
Jason sighed. “How much for the ring?”
“You’d do better to visit a witch familiar with your kind. This might not be safe for you.”
“How much?”
The demon considered him for a moment. “Forgiveness of my remaining debt to you should do it.”
Jason did a quick calculation in his head. It wasn’t much by his standards, and the royalties on his investment far exceeded the investment itself. “Only relief of debt. No change in ownership percentage.”
Ryker bowed his head slightly in agreement.
“How do I use it?”
“Put it on your finger.”
Instead of asking how he was supposed to wear a straight piece of jewelry like a ring, Jason poked the silver serpent. The snake came alive, inched over his knuckle, and coiled itself around his pointer finger. Immediately the dull ache he constantly carried between his legs eased. Or maybe it just changed into something else. A stomach rolling nausea moved in on its heels.
“I think it’s working,” he said.
“Good.” Ryker narrowed his eyes at Jason, a cross between concern and self-preservation coming through his features. “As a precaution, don’t leave it on all the time. Have you heard of Maison des Étoilles?”
Jason snorted. He knew Maison des Étoilles well. His brother, Silas, had dated the madam of the famed bordello. “I’ve heard of it.”
“It’s run by celestial fae. If there were a group as powerful as dragon fae, the celestial variety would be it. Not only are they resistant to another fae’s possession, they have protections on the building that may prevent the activation of Nickelova’s curse. Think of their magic as antivirus software.” He pointed at Jason’s phone again. “Go regularly. Take the ring off and feed your wolf.”
“Thanks for the advice, but I’m done indulging this vice. Besides, I’ve never had to pay for sex before, and I don’t intend to start now.” He’d also rather not frequent a bordello run by his brother’s ex—who still occasionally chatted with his big bro. The farther he could keep this problem from Silas and Laina, the better.
Ryker shook his head. “Jason, about this ring…” He trailed off as if considering whether to share more.
