“You have combat with us tomorrow morning, right?” Jin asked me.

  I nodded.

  “You’ll need plenty of power for that,” Kain advised. “I’m at your disposal.”

  Rina rolled her eyes, even as Aeron launched a fork through the air at Kain, who deftly caught and returned it.

  “You’re only scared that if you leave her with me I’ll have enough power to wipe the floor with your pathetic carcass.” Aeron caught the fork again and gripped it so hard that the metal bent slightly.

  Jin raised his eyebrows. “I believe you were sharing her bed for a month before we even met Lilith. Surely, if you were going to use any power advantage sleeping with her gave you, you would have done it then.” He yawned, feeding a strip of roast beef to Onyx before he continued, “Besides, logically, Kain and I are the better choice. We have no problem working together to make our favourite succubus purr. You don’t share.”

  “I could share, I just won’t share her with you two reprobates,” Aeron retorted, with a haughty eye-roll. “And she won’t need loads of power, because no one in their right mind is going to harm a hair on her head with all of us there.”

  “You don’t know the meaning of the word ‘share’.” Kain smirked across the table. “You’re too scared that we’d show you up. You may be a Lust, but everyone knows Prides do it better.”

  Nelly cleared her throat. “Perhaps, instead of arguing like a group of dunderheaded neanderthals, Lilith should have the choice?” She raised a delicate eyebrow and Lulu nodded.

  “Lady’s choice,” she seconded.

  I rolled my eyes. “But I can’t choose any of them on principle, given how they’ve just been arguing over me, it would just reward the bad behaviour.”

  Lulu smirked. “Well, it’s not as if you don’t have other options.”

  Aeron frowned at both of us. “She has Healing afterwards, she’ll probably need all of the power she can get.”

  I raised an eyebrow at him. “What do you mean?”

  “Healing is a harder class than combat,” Jin said, his tone matter-of-fact. “They usually only have three or four students, and half of them fail because the standards are so tough.”

  I nervously realised that I had only really skimmed over the chapter titles of the Healing textbook before putting it to one side. “Maybe I should just spend the evening studying,” I suggested, getting up from my half-finished meal. “I haven’t even looked at most of the books.”

  I grabbed my bag, Ivory and Onyx hopping onto the leather satchel as I swung it over my shoulder. “See you all later.”

  I swept out of the hall, and I wasn’t surprised to find Blaze wasn’t there yet. I never usually left this early but hearing that I had fifty percent odds of passing one of my modules made my gut roil with nerves. I set off without him, Onyx and Ivory climbing up my bag strap as I walked.

  “I see you’ve made some new friends, Pretty Darling,” Enzo whispered in my ear when I was halfway across the darkening grounds.

  “Yes.” I turned, searching the gas lamp illuminated path for any sign of him. “I thought you said it would be Saturday before I saw you again.”

  “Predictability is the forte of men with no ambition.” He quirked a small grin at me as he appeared from the shadows beside me, picking up my hand and examining my newly marked finger. “Of course, you would find a way to bond both light and dark.”

  I huffed out a breath. “Did you need something?” I asked. “Only, I’m kind of stressed right now. I have a healing class tomorrow and I know nothing about the subject and a combat class where all of my mates will be growling at anyone who so much as glances at me.”

  Enzo cocked his head. “I was simply going to punish anyone who harmed you, but perhaps prevention would be a more effective method…” he mused, smirking as Onyx flew from my bag onto his shoulder.

  “Hello, little nightmare.”

  “His name is Onyx,” I told the assassin, choosing to ignore his words about punishing people.

  “Lilith!” Blaze’s voice rang out across the grounds and Enzo gently placed Onyx back on my shoulder before disappearing back into the darkness.

  I turned and waited, watching the fiery mop of Blaze’s hair approach down the gravel path.

  “There you are,” he said, eyes searching the empty space beside me. “I didn’t just see the bloody assassin, did I?”

  I nodded, continuing my hasty walk towards the tower. “Sorry I left without you, but the others told me I only have a fifty-fifty chance of passing Healing and I’m nervous,” I admitted.

  Blaze smiled, eyes full of easy reassurance as he looked at me. “You’ll do fine. You have a big heart.”

  “That’s not going to mean anything if Rezinax asks me to use my gifts. The only time I’ve ever used odynokinesis was because I was terrified. I accidentally put three people screaming in the infirmary for days. Not to mention the fact that I have no idea how to even access pathokinesis.”

  Blaze shrugged. “I can’t really help you with that,” he acknowledged. “My gifts are just pyrokinesis and fragokinesis. I’m good for setting things on fire or blowing them up, but useless when it comes to fixing the body.”

  I groaned in frustration. “I’m doomed.”

  “The point is to learn,” he reminded me, then paused. His eyes moved to my shoulder where Ivory had just gotten over his fascination with my companion and returned to his favourite task of unbraiding and re-braiding my hair. “Is your hair braiding itself?” he asked, eyes narrowed.

  I sighed, holding up my branded finger. “Accidentally bonded two imps – long story short, the Strange God took over my body in Maddox’s class and now Onyx and Ivory are just another new layer of stress and responsibility that I didn’t ask for.”

  Blaze looked at my finger, feeling the raised bonds there. “I don’t like this,” he admitted. “You have seven mates, and three handmaidens but the Strange God adds two more protectors as well?” He shook his head. “That is not a good sign.”

  I wasn’t sure how Rina, Nelly and Lulu would take being called handmaidens, but I shelved that point in favour of the more important question. “You think it’s a sign?”

  He shrugged. “It could be my foresight, or maybe it’s just my gut. Either way, I’d prefer to be by your side when you’re wandering at night, even if the assassin supposedly isn’t a threat.”

  I smiled, knowing that I was being told off, even if the tone of his words was mild. When we arrived at the door of the Tower, Blaze leaned down and kissed me softly, sending our mating bond thrumming with tenderness. “Be careful, Sweetness.”

  “I’ll try,” I promised.

  “You’re too low on power for someone with a combat class in the morning.” Blaze noted, proving once again that he was incapable of not checking on me down our bond.

  I scowled at him. “Blaze, it’s my problem.”

  “Everything about you is my problem,” he countered. “I don’t want you getting hurt because you didn’t have enough energy to put up a simple shield tomorrow.”

  I shook my head, beginning to regret not taking Jin, Kain or Aeron’s offers earlier. “I’ll figure it out. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  He gave me a look that said he knew exactly what I was doing. “If you try to leave this tower tomorrow morning without taking power from someone, you will be missing breakfast.”

  I flushed at the heat in his eyes and drew him down for a deep kiss, his taste filling my mouth like a brand as I revelled in the feeling of his brawny arms surrounding me, lifting me higher so that he could take what he wanted. My whole body vibrated softly with need, and I ground against the hard ridge of his cock, wishing he was inside of me.

  “Sweetness, if you don’t stop, I’m going to have you flat on your bed and screaming my name,” he promised against my lips, voice husky with the want that was riding us both. “You wanted to study.”

  I pouted, knowing he was right but hating the distance he put between us.

  “Till tomorrow then,” I murmured, my skin still flushed from that kiss.

  He smiled a secret smile. “Sweet dreams.”

  As soon as I closed the door, Enzo was right next to me once again. “I never thought I’d be into other men kissing my mate, but that was quite hot.”

  I was still grumpy from being left hanging by Blaze so, without thinking, I opened the door, grabbed Enzo’s arm and threw him out.

  The only reason I managed such a feat was because I took him completely by surprise. He went sailing out of the door and straight into the back of Blaze, toppling them both. I smiled wickedly as they quickly realised each other’s identities and jumped apart, putting a good five feet of distance between themselves.

  “Enzo meet Blaze. Blaze meet Enzo. Now I have studying to do, and it would make my life a lot easier if you would try and find some common ground.” I paused, debating the wisdom of the decision before adding: “Please don’t kill one another.” I aimed that bit at Enzo who was looking at me as if I was the insane one.

  I slammed the door in their faces. Then pressed my ear to the door because I really didn’t trust either of them not to start fighting.

  There was a loud sigh, probably Enzo, then the crunching of gravel. “Enzo Orfo, assassin. How do you do?”

  A moment’s pause. “Blaze Inferna, head of security.”

  There was a long silence.

  “Do you play chess, assassin?” Blaze grunted.

  “I most certainly do.”

  “Good.” Blaze’s footsteps crunched away down the path. “Because if I can’t beat you bloody for almost killing our girl, I can at least trounce you in chess.”

  “We shall see,” Enzo muttered, his voice also getting further away. “I do hope you are a better loser than I.”

  I sighed in relief, looking at Ivory and Onyx warily. “At least they didn’t murder each other on the spot,” I whispered.

  The imps just looked blankly at me for a second before they noticed the vending machine and zoomed straight for it. When they reached the glass they placed their hands on it, eyes zipping between the rows of brightly coloured snacks. I walked up to them, intending to buy a chocolate bar or two for them both, but before I could get there, they’d disappeared. They both reappeared inside the machine, but turned back toward me like they were looking for permission.

  I just grinned. “Go ahead,” I said. “These machines are overpriced anyway.”

  They popped in and out, depositing piles of chocolate and crisps in my bag before returning for more. They’d taken more than all of us could possibly eat in one night before they returned to my shoulders. The moment I started moving again, they took off towards the stairs, turning back every few feet to make sure I was following.

  When I unlocked my room, I looked to the pillow out of habit, expecting to see another of Enzo’s gifts. When I saw a piece of paper instead, I sighed and closed the door behind me, dumping my bag and slipping off my shoes. Ivory and Onyx took off, flying around my room, exploring as I used pyrokinesis to light the lamp and checked the paper.

  “Look under your window?” I read aloud.

  I did as the note commanded and stepped backwards in surprise. Beneath the window, a dollhouse decorated to look like an old Victorian townhouse was waiting. It looked brand new, with individual roof tiles and a working clock on the pediment. I carefully opened the front, pulling it open to reveal it only had two rooms, one on each floor, each set up with a bed, set of drawers and sofa. I picked up a miniature cup from one of the tables and smiled.

  “What do you guys think?” I asked as Onyx and Ivory glided down from where they had been investigating my dressing table.

  Ivory walked into the downstairs room, delicately investigating everything, whilst Onyx dove straight onto the upstairs bed, rumpling the tiny sheets and letting his head fall backwards onto the pillow.

  I got an intense sense of satisfaction from both of them, and I shut the door only to see two heads pop out of the windows, watching me.

  “I’m not going anywhere,” I reassured them, looking over my shoulder at the pile of textbooks. “I have work to do.”

  I shuffled over to my pile of books and plucked out the ones for combat and healing. Combat’s textbook was a thin thing and written in a large font with pictures. In contrast, there were no less than eight volumes on healing, not one of them less than an inch thick, and all printed in a tiny font with diagrams on every page.

  I groaned and settled in for the long haul, picking up an anatomy book and flicking to the first page.

  Chapter 7

  I woke to kisses on my neck, hands petting my hair and someone stroking my back. I mumbled something unintelligible and turned over, only for the kisses to keep travelling down the bare skin of my chest which was odd because I could have sworn I was wearing more than my bra and panties when I fell asleep.

  “Wake up, Sunshine,” Kain crooned as I stubbornly refused to open my eyes. “We’ve got a surprise for you.”

  My bra’s front clasp popped open and large hands stroked the heated flesh, teasing me, never applying the amount of pressure I craved. Another pair of hands started to caress the skin of my calves, stroking up and down and leaving tiny trails of fire in their wake.

  “We’ve decided on a fair way to overcome our differences.” Aeron’s voice startled me completely awake and my eyes fluttered open to stare directly into his yellow ones.

  The three men were surrounding me in just their boxers, their toned bodies highlighted by the warm illumination of the lamp, casting dramatic shadows across the room as they moved. I went to sit up, nerves fluttering in my stomach at the sight of Jin, Kain and Aeron all in my room together, but a strong hand pushed me back to the bed and ensured my cooperation with a drugging kiss that spread languor through my veins. Aeron kept possession of my mouth as his fingers traced a path along the line of my neck, spreading effervescent bubbles of desire racing through my bloodstream.

  “It’s a competition of sorts.” Jin’s breath fanned over the skin above my breasts and I arched toward him as thumbs flicked and tweaked at my nipples, each action sending bolts of desire to my core. “In the only area that really matters.”

  “It’s all very civilised.” Kain’s thumb brushed the skin underneath my knee, following with his lips. “You’ll approve.”

  “We’re going to settle our rivalry once and for all.” Aeron’s lips left my mouth and descended once more on the sensitive area between neck and shoulder, kissing and nipping the skin there making my body arch towards him for more.

  What were they saying? My mind was foggy with want and I reached out to pull his head towards my own for another kiss, only for my fingers to slip through his silky hair.

  “We’re going to see how quickly we can lick you to orgasm.” Kain smiled against the crease of my thigh, breathing softly over the thin fabric of my panties and making me clench. “Mouths only.”

  I blinked myopically, squirming under the attention of six hands and three mouths, all three mating bonds purring under my skin at the contact, pushing me to get closer.

  “Winner gets to be the first to take your ass,” Jin announced, drawing away when I reached for his cock and picking up a stopwatch from beside him on the bed. “With me as the impartial judge.”

  “Impartial, yeah right.” Aeron sucked my earlobe into his mouth and started nibbling gently against it, one hand reaching up to stroke lightly against my horn.

  My brain short circuited and I fisted my hand in his hair, panting and raising my chest towards where his other hand had finally gripped the flesh properly and started kneading.

  “My ass?” I panted and squirmed between them, equal parts terrified and tantalised by the idea. “Don’t I have to agree to this?”

  All three of them gave me indulgent smiles.

  “If you want to end the competition, you may do so.” Jin’s eyes raked across my body, lingering in places and darkening with desire. “But we all know you’re going to love everything we do to you, so why cut this short?”

  I was going to reply, but Kain’s fingers pulled down the fabric of my panties, exposing me fully to his warm breath over my most sensitive place. My thoughts fractured, and my nerves were replaced with the incredible feeling of three mating bonds purring between us.

  “To make things fair, you’re going to be blindfolded,” Jin continued. “And none of us get to fuck you till the experiment is complete.”

  My whole body disagreed. Every cell of me wanted one of them inside me right that instant, but Jin slipped the blindfold over my eyes and I knew they were serious about this.