“I love you.”
“I love you too. So much.” And then he poured inside of me, his moans a beautiful sound. I sighed, trying to let my legs fall, but he grabbed my thighs again. “Tsk tsk, Little Void. What did I say? For every one of mine, I’ll be earning three of yours.”
“What? You already—“
He sunk down, my thighs settling on his shoulders.
“So pretty,” he mumbled, kissing my clit. I shivered, instincts urging my hips forward. “And you taste like us too.”
This time, he took my thighs and shoved them up, folding me in half and rubbing my bare back against the tree trunk. It would have hurt, but all I could feel washim. His tongue. His teeth. His fingers. His moans.Az was everywhere. And he earned two more orgasms out of me before he freed me, my mumbledI’m yoursmaking him smile victoriously as he carried me to the wards.
Chapter Forty-Two
Azazel
“Quinn says he’s in love again. Dove says he’s just obsessed with the idea of being happy. I think he’s stupid for even trying. We all know love isn’t real.”
-From the journal of Azazel Altair, 9247 AS
“Where have you two been?” Desi asked, her eyes wide as she paced across the cottage. I beamed at her, tickling the skin at the base of Nova’s neck. She squirmed under my touch, her cheeks reddening.
Caleb’s booming laughter filled the space, his hand covering his mouth as he sat up on the sofa. “Look at them, Desi. Curls is absolutely disheveled and actually smiling for once. Az fucked the shit out of her.”
“Shut up, Cal,” I mumbled, my smile not leaving my face. “We’re here now. Fill us in.”
“Fill you in?Fill you in?”Desi’s voice became shrill, her hands flying in the air.“Are you insane? Why would you volunteer to go to a protest? Rebels and civilians die for participating! What point are you trying to prove?”
At my side, Nova looked up, her eyes squinting. “Whatareyou plotting?”
Leaning down, I kissed her frown, earning a disgusted groan from Priya. “Not only do I think Maitoza wants more death,I’m positive she is hoping to make the eadi desperate enough to revolt with the rebellion. I want to catch her encouraging violence. I want to see how the eadi react to her egging.”
“You could have just asked me!” Desi yelled, walking towards me. “Do you know what she said, Az? She told me that under no circumstances are we to attempt to save any of you if need be. You’ll be afforded no protection or guidance. You’ll be on your own!”
“Seeing as we’re far stronger than probably anyone else you have in this entire rebellion, I wager we’ll be just fine,” Pri said, staring at her nails.
Desi turned on her, pointing a finger at her. “Drop the attitude! You’re not better than everyone else because of your last name. None of us are. We work for what we have here. We fight for something better. And tonight, when you go to this protest, you’ll be just as vulnerable as everyone else, especially if your parents make an appearance. So don’t patronize me!”
I’d never,everheard Desi raise her voice like that. Lifting my hands, I stepped closer to her. “Hold on, Des. Let’s just breathe for a second. I’m sorry, I should’ve run the idea by you first. I didn’t think you’d agree since you don’t see what I do. You can’t see past Commander Bullshit’s facade. Just like…you know.”
“Oh, I know? I know? Of course I know, Az! The reason I’m alone here is because of the faith people put in the commander—in this movement!” Desi’s normally cool composure fled her body all at once, her eyes watering. “We risk it all to bring peace and prosperity to Dajahim. So excuse me for believing in that. For seeing the best in people despite knowing they aren’t perfect.”
“We’re getting off track here,” Nova said, stepping into Desi. She grabbed her arms, squeezing gently as she looked into Desi’s eyes. In that moment, did Desi see Celeste? Was that why she seemed to deflate, nodding softly? “Can you help us prepare forthe protest? It’s too late to back out now, and I do like the idea of seeing it all for myself. I always ran from the protests before, but I would like to know first-hand what they’re like and how Commander Maitoza behaves during them.”
“Yeah, fine. I can help. Do you have enough of that shift stuff?”
“No. We’re going to have to disguise ourselves another way.”
“I can help with that.” We all looked over at Priya simultaneously, her face sagging with boredom. But I knew that, on the inside, she just wanted to feel like she meant something. It was what all of us wanted, deep down. To feel like we could somehow be more than what we were born for. “I’ve been told I’m quite fantastic at cosmetics.”
“I’m decent with braids. I can disguise Nova’s hair,” Zura added. Priya surprised us all by smiling towards the blonde, nodding.
“Fine.That should, theoretically, be enough,” Desi said with a sigh. “We try to keep the protests quick and uneventful. The goal is to recruit, not die fighting, despite what you all seem to think. We go, we chant, we hold signs, we speak to civilians, we run when officials come. The one issue is hiding that some of us have magic. You can’t fight back with anything but your fists, and you can’t shadow walk in front of anyone. It’s important to keep a very low profile here.”
“That we can manage,” Quinn said, his arm still draped around Zura’s shoulders. She looked nervous, but I could tell she was ready, if only for the way she straightened her back and nodded.
“I’ll have Jonah bring you all a few blank signs, but don’t be obvious or gross, please. They need to inspirerebellion,not violence or murder or laughter.” Her eyes wandered to Cal, brows raised.
“Me? I’d never,” he argued, the twitch of his lips making me think he was fighting back a smile.
