Emmy spent the next couple of days in a whirlwind of activity, the days blurring into the never-ending rhythm of the silo.
She spent hours a day on her thesis work, noise-cancelling headphones on while she worked in an alcove in the Flock’s common area with a convenient desk. Sometimes she worked in bed, but always, when she couldn’t sit still any longer, she found solace in the gym, pushing her muscles to their limits, the burn of exertion a welcome distraction from a life alternating in leisure and decadence.
During the scant hour of daylight they were down to, most of the daywalkers climbed aboveground to the Aurora Ballroom, which echoed with laughter and the thud of basketballs hitting flesh. Soon, there’d be no daylight at all, so they were all making the most of it while they could.
When the chill of the silo got to her, she’d roast herself in the sauna, and she encouraged Toby and Felix to go in with her, in the hopes they could sweat the rest of the poison out faster. She didn’t want them going in without someone to watch them carefully, to listen to their heartbeats and their respiration, in case the heat was too much for their weakened systems. They were both on the mend, but neither was bouncing back as quickly as they had the first time. Whether that was because the poison was a heavier dose, or whether back-to-back incidents was the problem, she couldn’t say for certain. Most likely, it was a combination of the two.
Chapter 26
Emmy wanted to keep Toby close, but he desperately wanted to get back to the outpost to make some changes to his equipment. She didn’t want him walking the half-mile in the sub-freezing cold, so on a day the temperatures clawed their way a few degrees above zero, she changed to her dragon so she could fly him there. She explained how to climb her side, what to hold onto once he was on her neck, and then the two went outside, where she dropped her coat, stepped out of her boots, and released the grip that kept her in human form.
Once Toby was in place and holding on, she leapt skyward, her massive wings beating against the dense arctic air. Seconds later, she lit at the outpost, talked him through coming down, and watched security welcome him into the outpost before she took off again. She had a nearly hour-long window without camera-laden satellites overhead, but she wouldn’t stay out anywhere near that long in this cold.
She aimed for the ocean this time, flying over the vast expanse of open water rather than going inland. The sun hung low on the horizon, painting the sky in hues of gold and pink, and those colors reflecting in the shimmering tapestry of blues and greens in the vast ocean.
The ice had begun to form, delicate tendrils reaching out from the shore like shattered glass, a preview of the frozen world to come. Seals bobbed in the water, their sleek bodies breaking the surface, and far in the distance, her sharp eyes caught a pod of orcas breaching, their powerful forms arcing through the air. In another direction, she spotted belugas, flashing white, while walruses clustered on shore, tusks glinting in the low light.
The sun skimmed lower, and the colors changed to fiery smears of oranges and pinks that painted the ice edges in molten gold, the light stretching long and oblique, turning the sea into a canvas of twilight fire before it dipped away in a fleeting moment of beauty in the harsh Alaskan landscape.
Mealtimes were a boon, a chance to catch up with her friends and revel in the simple joy of shared company. Felix, his cheeks still gaunt but his spirit unbroken, sat with them, his laughter a balm to their worried hearts. He was better, his strength returning with each passing day, even if he couldn’t yet feed the vampires. Emmy felt a surge of protectiveness, a fierce mama-dragon instinct that made her want to shield him from the world.
Eventually, he’d return to his level-three status and she’d have to be okay with it. Felix didn’t belong to her, he belonged to himself, but he was still her friend.
Today’s meal was a hearty reindeer stew with lots of root veggies along with thyme and juniper berries, and it warmed her all the way to her toes. She got a small bowl of the vegetarian offering just to try it out, full of beans, egg, and she had no idea what else, but it was pretty yummy, too. Didn’t compare to the stew, but watching Felix eat his fill of it made her happy.
He hadn’t even been able to hold egg drop soup down a few days earlier without puking his guts out, and now he was eating like a starving man who could finally find sustenance again.
He even used the flatbread to sop up the last of it, that he couldn’t get with his spoon, and she couldn’t help but smile.
Hours later, she went to the Lupanar on schedule — a vampire had purchased her for a quick thirty-minute feed-and-fuck, but it turned into a huge exercise in frustration.
The bastard injected the orgasm denial cocktail at the very beginning, make herneedto come in the worst kind of way, but unable to edge over the pinnacle to find release.
And so, strapped to the bondage table, she screamed her frustration while her hips writhed under the pounding he gave her, brutally edging her toward madness, her insides a conflagration she couldn’t put out, her clit throbbing away, swollen and screaming, denial coiling tight throughout, with nowhere to go. No hope of release.
He drank from her in the final moments of his time, rose off the table, dressed, and left without releasing her bonds. Security came in seconds later, disconnected the attachments, told her she had three minutes to vacate the room, and left.
She quickly dressed and made her way to the showers, where she tried to get herself off while she was in there alone, but the venom was still blocking her, leaving her aching and unfulfilled.
Hours later, her body still trembling with tightly coiled need, she stood in a cramped toilet stall andfinallybrought herself to a silent release with frantic fingers, her breath ragged.
The Robber Bridegroom night arrived, her costume a delicate blend of lace and silk that clung to her curves, the fabric a soft caress against her skin. She applied her makeup with careful precision, au-naturel except for a tiny bit of eyeliner and a touch of color on her lips and cheeks. She did Rhea’s bun first, and then her own, both adorned with jewels she had a feeling were real.
She was on a table in the audience tonight since the stage performance called for a level three, but still, dark excitement vibrated through her in anticipation of what was to come.
The stage was set as a forest, with a few fake trees in the audience, and flickering lanterns all around them.
The vampires came in single file, walking to their tables without nearing others, and she looked at yet another vampire she hadn’t had sex with yet.
He met her gaze and spoke with a thick, eastern European accent. “A level one; how disappointing. I will keep the rules, but you vill fight me, and you vill scream.”
She gave him a brief nod, and then he was on her, ripping her clothing away, exposing her. Her heart pounded in her chest and she fought him — not because he’d told her to, but because it was instinct.
Still, she didn’t use her full strength. She was being paid quite well to play the part of the damsel in distress, not the damsel who can free herself and easily kill the bad guy.
But twenty seconds in, this was no longer a performance, it turned into a brutal, visceral experience, the vampire’s movements savage and unrelenting. He drove into her with a force that stole her breath, each thrust a violent claim, a conquest that scorched her from the inside. Emmy’s body responded with a wild, primal fire, the pain and pleasure intertwined in a dance as old as time. She gasped and arched her back, the intensity of his thrusts pinning her down. She screamed, legs kicking, but the pain twisted into a dark, forbidden fire, her body arching into him despite the violence.
And then without warning, he came out of her pussy and drove into her ass, the invasion brutal and unyielding, stretching her wide as she clawed the table and begged him to give her a moment, but her pleas only increased his savagery. Her asshole burned and her guts twisted — the pain both excruciating and exquisite.
