“Ten years ago, he became very serious about freeing the slaves. I think it started in truth a few years before that, just little things here and there he would sit up and realize he hated, but he started to free the people within our kingdom first. It took years for us to get it right—to find what worked, how we could set them up for success in a free life.” Lilith continued the tale with a large sigh. Her green eyes bored into me like she wantedme to understand something. “He would lose himself in women to take the pressure off before that, but twenty-one years ago, that all stopped.”
I scrunched my brows, opening my mouth to ask why, when Harpina hurriedly began talking.
“That’s not the point.” She argued, glaring at Lilith for some reason. “The point is, five years ago or so, we expanded—working on freeing humans in other kingdoms. We’d finally managed to make our kingdom completely free, and all people were being treated equally. The Lords and Ladies enforce it throughout the kingdom on Calix’s behalf, and it helps us keep everything running smoothly.”
“I understand.” I nodded, knowing they were worried about my reaction to the years before Calix woke up to the truth, but I couldn’t harp on that when he was theonlyroyal who did care. He worried about humans now, and that was all I could ask for. “It’s honestly amazing he did all of this. Most Fae never bother to care.”
“It’s a shame, isn’t it?” Calix’s husky voice surprised me, and I whirled around—stopping short at the sight of him. Old Gods, I was in so much trouble. Black leather pants clung to him like a second skin, and I bit my lip as my eyes roved upwards, taking in the black half-tucked, long sleeve shirt that was buttoned scandalously low, exposing part of his pale, muscular chest, and the shimmering black and purple dragon scales tattooed across it. The iridescent tattoo made me want to rip those few buttons wide open and explore what lay beneath.
His sleeves were rolled up to show off his forearms, and by the Otherworld, I’d never been so attracted to forearms before, with tattooed bands of runes spun in gleaming silver around them. Purple stitching added a splash of color to his shirt—incidentally making us match as well—and crescent moons dotted each collar, which were splayed just enough to catch glimpses of thetattoo on his neck. His silvery white hair was down and fell past his shoulders, while those cheekbones I could cut a diamond on led my eyes right up to his own burning purple irises—he looked like a god come to Adamah.
Calix’s eyes devoured me in turn, the intensity between us ratcheting up with so much more skin on display. His eyes traced my chest, taking in my overflowing cleavage before plunging down to the dip of my waist and caressing over the curve of my hips, before brushing up and down my legs—his stare scorching me like a brand. I could practically hear my skin sizzle in want, and I bit my lip hard to distract myself from the charged atmosphere.
“You look…” Calix growled, his tone low and reverberating, full of a wind-swept darkness that trailed off as Ilta bounced up next to me, throwing an arm around my shoulders.
“Doesn’t she look fantastic? But we need to go—come on!” Ilta cheerfully redirected us both as she dragged me away, but I couldn’t help looking back. Calix was still watching me, shadows circling around him, his eyes swirling with color as they dipped to watch my ass as I walked away. At least until Eryx slapped him on the back of the head. I couldn’t contain my giggle as I turned forward.
I knew better. I truly did. I was supposed to be staying away from Fae men—but Calix, he made it utterly hopeless. He wasn’t just the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen; he was the one who gave me freedom, who sought to free my people from slavery. He gave me the tools I needed to let me take power over my own life, where Cyrus had sought to take and control it. He was a king, but he didn’t act like he was superior to anyone around him—treating me like anequal.
He was entirely too tempting for my mental health. Maybe my physical health as well, depending on if the bulge I saw in hispants was him hard or not—and if not…that could admittedly be a real danger—he might break me in half.
Since what happened with Cyrus, part of me worried I would think ofthatwhenever I next had sex. But I refused to let fear make my decisions for me, and I doubly refused to let Cyrus have any power over me. I’d spent too much of my life not following my desires due to outside forces. I was finally free. I could finally focus my rage on something—freeing humans and stopping Cyrus and King Astraeus from carrying out their horrid plans. I wouldn’t limit myself now—not when I had the chance to finally haveeverything.
And it seemed like Calix was interested—sometimes, anyway. He was hard to pin down, and Lilith had hinted at him no longer sleeping around. I was too curious as to why. Harpina had seemed set on steering away from that conversation, so I’d have to ask later. But it begged the question, did Calix want me? Or was he just being nice? Maybe he just liked the view? Tonight, I was determined to get answers.
Which left me with the question, wouldIwant to jump into something? With a Fae king no less? I wasn’t sure myself—maybe it wasn’t fair to Calix to need to know where he stands, when I couldn’t even answer that question.
The girls looped their arms with mine as we walked down the streets of Tairngire, the boys following behind. We walked through Shadowgleam into Moonglow District, and I was able to see the city up close for the first time on the ground. It was truly beautiful, with looping, curving, and swirling architecture that left the buildings feeling whimsical, especially with the materials used to make them—the brightly painted wood and stone, mixed with shining metals. Nymph trees and Darkelm trees lined the streets, and moonlillies, starbells, and goddess dahlias were planted in the ground or hung from baskets outside businesses and homes. They lent a colorful, quaint touch to the city, alongwith smelling amazing. The fragrance of flowers, and a unique scent I struggled to identify, filled the air instead of the smells of sweat, dust, and smoke—like Dusk had always smelled of.
I watched in wonder as we passed different businesses, the people using magic to serve food and drinks or just for entertainment. Magic was in abundance in Night—all of it coming from the gift of the gods imbued in the land around us. That unique smell—like darkness, stars, and the cosmos themselves, underlined with fruity and floral notes—I couldn’t truly describe how it smelled, only that I knew it must be the magic itself—it was how my dreams smelled when I floated in the night sky.
The girls pointed out places as we walked, showing me good spots for shopping, or eating. We turned the corner, approaching a building with a sign out front reading “Otherworld Bar” in bright, glowing letters that were white at the top and faded to black on the bottom. A bar named for the afterlife—interesting.
Inside, it was completely different from the gambling dens I’d seen in Dusk. A crescent moon shaped bar dominated one side and was lit up with a vivid glow. One side of the bar was dark, the other light, white walls contrasting against black ones—made to mimic the two halves of the Otherworld, Elysium and Tartarus.
The Elysium side contained the bar, with silver and pink sofas scattered around with low tables in front of them, and higher topped tables with standing room around them were positioned nearer the bar itself. Glowing balls of light hung from the ceiling over the tables, illuminating the space for those occupying them.
On the Tartarus side was a dance floor, where people lost themselves to the music. This wasn’t dancing like at the balls I’d attended before, and I watched with wide, shocked eyes as people danced pressed up against one another, grinding as if they were having sex on the dance floor. I barely even noticedthe red sections set up for more…private interactions. Instead of solid walls, alcoves were dotted around the Tartarus end of the bar. Some of them were lightly curtained for privacy, and others were completely open for the voyeurs to watch the couples inside. Each alcove was painted a deep red, and had burgundy padded benches set up for multiple…positions.
Tartarus, indeed.
“Old Gods!” Priscilla exclaimed, Ilta’s bright laughter merging with Delia’s as they entertained themselves watching us react to the shocking sight.
“Not like anything you’ve seen before, huh?” Delia giggled.
“Otherworld’s my favorite place. We come here all the time. It’s a place to let loose and not worry about any judgment.” Ilta added as she smiled widely, revealing her small, sharp canines and lending her excited smile a slightly more devious air in this setting—none of the adorable energy from earlier. “Let’s get you ladies a drink!”
I shook my head in bemusement, hearing the boys chuckle behind me. I turned around to see Calix, Eryx, and Baach watching us just as intently.
“Not what you expected?” Eryx raised his brow, a sly grin taking over his face. I shook my head, exasperated that he and Delia both felt the need to tease us, and narrowed my eyes at him.
Baach laughed, swinging an arm around my shoulders, while I tried to keep my eyes off Calix. I could feel the weight of his eyes on me, and I worried I wouldn’t be able to keep my distance right now—not with the people behind me practically having sex on the dance floor.
“Welcome to our world, Asteria! Stick with me, I’ll show you the ropes!” Baach cheerfully proclaimed, looked much too excited, so I gave in—laughing as I let him pull me along.
I saw Eryx elbow Calix from the corner of my eye. He was glaring at him for some reason, but I was distracted by Baach chattering at me about the different drink options. Ilta came up on my other side, handing me a drink.
“It’s called a Nebulita, it’s a specialty here.” Ilta smiled, and I took a sip of the strangely colored drink, the pink, purple, and blue swirls pouring into my mouth. It tasted fruity, with a sparkling aftertaste—it was delicious, and I downed it before I even realized, and immediately asked for another. Baach and Ilta laughed, and Baach raised his arm to the bartender, ordering more drinks for us.
