Sweetpea : Sons of the Deveaux, page 5
Who’s the hatchling now, he thought sarcastically as he held a hand out to encourage him forward. The dragon understood what was wrong. Ruine had tricks and ways to escape almost everything. He had ways out of even the worst places, but when you had to write it down first?
Chalk was water soluble.
After a brief moment, the smaller demon fell into step behind him as they walked down flights of steps and through tunnel after whirling tunnel of water. Ruine’s hand stayed on his own almost the entire way. Ruine was smaller, but not in a feminine way. There was no softness in his hands or the hard muscles of his body but that didn't stop Hellion from running his thumb over the demon's knuckles slowly, reassuringly. Nothing would go wrong.
Hellion could keep them safe, it would be fine. He didnt have a wealth of magic at his fingertips but he had pure fucking strength and rows of serrated teeth to do that job.
Watching his feet on the last few steps, Hellion helped Ruine follow. The shelled flooring was slippery at the best of times and the swirling void around them might be held up by magic, but he could feel the weight of it.
Like the sea could come crashing down on them at any moment.
Releasing him, the dragon straightened his back, carried himself like the King he was and let that dangerous bravado he used fall into place as they reached a set of pearl and sea glass doors. The entrance to the throne room itself. Hellion could hear soft violin music drifting towards them from within, ethereal and fantastical. Music to put most at ease.
Above the huge arching wall of water, a giant whale floated by, unperturbed by the void below. Sea creatures floated around in their natural habitat. Something had the hairs at the back of his neck prickling and it wasn't the shark eyeballing them as it swam above either.
A slither of scales ran down his back, the creature within him flexing its awareness as if a threat were close by.
“Do you feel it?” Ruines voice was quiet, distant even as a Nimue guard strut formally from between the doors, his trident poised against his shoulder and navy armour buffed to a fine polish. Siren’s were all about their appearance, but there was something off. Something about the tension in the air.
Ignoring Ruine’s question, Hellion jerked his chin at the guard. “Take your fucking time lacky, you lot clearly think I have all day to waste on this visit.”
The no name guard looked at him and unless Hellion was fucking crazy, he swore he saw the fucker’s eyeball wobble in his head just a little.
“Her Highness was not expecting guests. She’s ready for you now.”
Gods his breath stank. Like fucking rotten fish.
“Well isn't that just perfect that she’s ready. Whatever she needs right? Not the guests.” Head and shoulders over the guard, Hellion walked on ahead of him, planting his hands on the heavy doors and shoving them wide open. He was a dragon. He didn't need to act like he was entirely high and mighty. He could instil a little bit of roughness into this place and Hellion let that be known as he scored his claws into the surface, little chips of pearl falling to their pristine flooring.
“There he is, King of the Mountain, above and below. Tell me Hellion, whatever are you doing down here in the water?”
Nadia was beautiful as ever, lounging on her lavish throne. If you asked Hellion, it looked more like a fucking therapy seat, but he never commented on it. Glittering fabrics that moved like water themselves were draped here and there, shimmering different colours. Huge white pillar’s made of coral that had her likeness carved into the surface loomed down at them as he approached her until he was a few feet away.
It didn't feel right. An entire throne room where she typically would have had it filled with adoring sirens and mermaids, where water shifters came to bring her gifts and rare stones were nowhere in sight.
It made his hackles rise in warning. He wasn't putting his claws away.
“I can't come and visit?” Hellion tilted his head a little at her. “I have a proposition for you. You like your pretty stones and the mountain has gifted us plenty of them. I figured we could arrange a trade of some sort.”
Nadia sat herself up from her relaxed pose, the siren Queen sweeping long blonde hair back over her shoulder. Like most of her kind, Nadia’s ears looked more like small fins that pointed out of her hair, too long to be considered elf, or fae. Her nails were sharp, elegant fingers webbed between and pearly pale skin shimmering like the stones themselves.
The top half of her body was as anyone would expect. Her skin glowing with health, several scales here and there, adorned with jewellery and glittering things a Queen would only have. Her breasts were covered with rows of gemstones layered like necklaces to form a top. It was all entirely normal– until his gaze reached her waist.
Her scales gathered in a low V below her belly button, her hips transforming into her other form. While they could choose when and where to lose their form to their sea creature status, Nadia was half and half for now. Her tentacles were like those of an octopus, moving, undulating with a mind of their own.
She was a gorgeous creature who knew it entirely too well - but that didnt mean shit to Hellion. “A trade?” Her interest clearly perked up.
“Why else would I come all this way? A deal is better sorted face to face isn't it? Rather than sending anyone to organise it and have wires crossed anywhere. I want to see if you’re amenable before bringing anything physically here. I wouldn't want to just assume. That would be rude.”
“So you came all this way just for a conversation? I love that about you, Hellion. Always so thorough about things. Come to me.” Holding her webbed hands out to him like a child would, wanting to be lifted.
Truth be told, his stomach curled at the thought of sitting with her like that. It wasn't that he had anything against sirens or their illustrious intentions. It was the way he knew those little suckers would go places he didn't want them to right now. Glancing at Ruine, his mouth pressed into a firm line. He was holding himself too tensely. Looking at the guard that had shown them inside too much and how many doors were in the room.
“My attendee could go for a walk while we discuss things, couldn't he? See the sights while me and you hash out some details.” Hellion didnt need a fucking show for this while he had to play horny dragon.
That demon was going to owe him big time for this and he would be cashing in on those answers along with plenty else.
“Of course. One of the guards can show him the grounds while we discuss our intentions.” Her eyes nearly shone at him as he approached her. Nadia reshuffled herself to press her body against Hellion’s side as he sat, her chin resting on his shoulder to stare up at him. “Now it’s just the two of us. How nice.”
Yet all he could focus on was the sound of Ruine’s footsteps being led away in the huge quiet hall.
RUINE
It wasn't like Ruine had a fantastic plan. In fact, this was pretty half cocked if the pair of them had put any more thought into things but so far it was still going well. Nobody had died. Nobody had landed themselves in a sea foam prison and with Hellion putting on his smooth dragon act, it let Ruine wander off.
It let him venture off to follow that pull. Hellion felt it too. Ruine saw how the dragon had reacted to it. There was no hiding the way the air around him thickened. That other nature within him woke up and Ruine didn't blame him. It was like an itch beneath his skin. A need to seek out where it was coming from.
Keeping his composure entirely relaxed, not at all too hyper fixated on the flirtatious laugh that drifted down to him, Ruine headed out of the main hall and into the depths of the castle that were lit by bioluminant fish in floating orbs like lanterns. Huge pillars were everywhere, strange shapes and mythical shifters carved into the surface while starfish and some kind of fucking water lettuce grew here and there.
He liked this place. It was fantastical and the stuff most only got to see if they knew the right connections. Nadia only ever wanted the best of the best stepping foot through her doors, though she seemed to be indulging in the quiet due to their arrival.
Behind him, another guard followed quietly. Not that Ruine minded, he was just trying to aimlessly get a snoop at everything he could, making any mental note for doorways and places that seemed questionable.
Every now and then, the guard would offer up a spot to find, a place to enjoy the scenery and take in their otherworldly royal home.
Shame none of them were where Ruine wanted to go. The deeper they got into depths, the more urgent Ruine found his steps becoming. His pace was picking up, the tug in the centre of his chest becoming more consistent. More urgent.
Danger.
The word was so gentle, he nearly missed it.
Danger. Close by. Careful.
It had been years since he’d been spoken to by his demon. Years since the soft voice came through to him. Always, it was a sensation. An inkling or drive. The voice had left him around the same time Hellion did to rule. The fact that it had drifted into nothingness watching the dragon walk away from him was something Ruine didn't look too closely to.
They had been kids. Just stupid kids messing around. Ruine didn't even have his demon form at the time. He wasn't a mature demon like now.
His throat dried, awareness fanning out into the space around him. They’d walked to a quiet area where pearly white railings and schools of fish swimming in the very walls yet all Ruine could feel was something not quite right.
A creeping, building, wrongness in the air.
“There’s not many visitors in the palace today?” His tone was light. Not paying any kind of special attention to the other guards they passed at the end of a hallway that were dressed in battle regalia. Not in their usual attire.
Danger.
I heard you.
He was staring too long at the others, so long that the palace lackey who had followed him stepped into his line of sight, blocking off what lay beyond.
“The Queen wanted there to be no other interruptions for your King’s visit.”
Ruine’s eyebrows rose in question for a second before he remembered he was even in disguise. Yeah. Sure. Hellion was his King right now. “How considerate of her.” His smile was strained, but still returned by the other. Fake fucker. “What's there to be guarded to carefully? Something fantastic I’ll bet.”
“The Queen’s most treasured pearl. She likes to make sure nobody can touch it. If you follow me, I can show you where we have others on display?”
Alarm bells started to ring. Pearls came in varying sizes and shapes. None of which needed an armed fucking guard.
The tug came again, invisible hands pulling at him, the yank of his intuition. The draw of his instincts. He wanted whatever was behind that door. Ruine needed to get whatever was behind that door.
A rush of prickling over his shoulders, down the line of his spine.
Danger.
Danger is worth it sometimes. Isn't that what we learned?
“Look, gentlemen, I don't want to fight. I don't like to do that kind of thing. Can’t I just take a sneak peak? Call it a dragon's curiosity for shiny things.” Ruine forced a little grin into place. He was good at this. Always so good at hiding his feelings. Hiding everything and shoving it down.
He was so fucking approachable. So gods-damn chill.
Come little spider, into my web of ruin.
Nearly laughing at his own dumb joke, Ruine bit his tongue waiting on the others answer. The air between all of them was tense. He was asking nicely after all - but Ruine was going in that room one way or another.
Reaching to the front of his suit, he undid the button of the blazer. It would let him move more freely when things went south.
When. Not if.
“Sir, I really think we should-”
Ruine sighed. “I really don't like to fight.” His hand came up to his face, rubbing at his eye and smudging the rune that had been written there.
He could see when it happened. When the magic started to dissipate from his disguise and reveal a stranger beneath. When they gripped their tridents and weapons a bit tighter. “Can’t I just have one peak?”
“Who are you?”
“You shouldn't be here.”
They were starting to yell at him, getting aggressive. Ruine wasn't lying when he said he didn't like to fight.
CHAPTER SIX
LENNOX
“On a scale of one to ten, if i set that on fire, how fast do you think it would burn.”
“Nox you’re not setting anything on fire here. It would be fucking pointless.”
Lucien was on his left, his adopted brother staring up at the Life Tree as his little mate worked her magic on the ancient shrub. Did shrub count? He needed to look at the book again. Since his fairy was balls deep in nature, it seemed only right that Nox start learning about what kind of flowers did what kind of things.
He had a whole plan to romance her with them. Sure, the demon could fuck her into a stupor until she forgot her own name, but romance? That was harder. Orian beat him in that area and Lennox just couldn't accept that.
He wanted to be number one.
“It would not be pointless. It would be the answer to a question in my head.”
“You’re a gods-damn idiot. No wonder your parents like Orian better.”
Lennox gasped, holding his hands to his chest. “I'm wounded. Wounded.”
Lilly opened an eye and looked over at him, the gorgeous lilac of her gaze pinning him in place. “And loud. A little bit of peace, please, while I concentrate.”
“Of course, my pretty flower. Whatever you want.” He made a show of zipping his mouth closed and throwing away the invisible key.
He could see his little mate fighting her smile and in turn, it made Lennox grin. Knowing he was the cause of her smile always put him in a wonderful mood, even if they were in the midst of dangerous territory.
Already Lucien was covered in the sludge of some ghoul’s insides. Could he smell himself? Standing so fucking close, Lennox certainly could. Thank the gods he didn't have a gentle gag reflex.
Lowering his voice to a quiet whisper, he sucked in all the clean air he could before leaning into Lucien more. “Not as many coming through today. You think it’s because they know she’s here?”
The ghouls had changed since his fairy awakened her abilities so intensely. Some kept their distance, a strange listlessness to their warped bodies while they stared at her. A child afraid to come closer, that's what they reminded Nox of. Could a ghoul have anxiety?
Others fumbled their way towards her, reaching for her like she had all the answers to their problems. He had the answers for them. With the end of his sword embedded between what used to be eyes. No fucking way was Nox going to let any of them get within several feet of his flower.
They should be grateful to even look at her. Grateful to burn in her presence.
You’re absolutely right there buddy.
“Where’s Orian?” Lucien asked, pulling a hair tie from his pocket and twisting his white strands into a high ponytail. Was he worried about getting shit in it?
“Why?”
“I have better conversations with him.”
“Who needs friends when I have family like you-”
Lucien continued on as if he hadn't heard him. “I have a theory though, as to why they don't just attack like they used to. The ghouls come from the roots of the tree right? They come from the rot and shit that’s corrupting the magic inside it. So what if with Lillith being here, the magic is changing too. She’s the first big change to revert things back. She’s basically the epicentre right?”
“Well yeah. She’s–”
“Mother Nature. It’s why they come to her looking for affection. I couldn't understand why they would come at her, calling for their mother. She’s their creator. She returns them to the thing they once were. Ghouls are nothing more than moss and sludge held together because Lilly’s power is in them. She’s in the ground we are standing on and now that power has somewhere to go again.”
Lennox stared over at his fairy, his little mate as she concentrated on connecting to the Life Tree. The bat wasn't wrong. The ghouls that would attack, that would rush towards her didn't look to be malicious anymore. They made pathetic noises and outstretched their hands like she would reach back if they could make it that close.
“The power is going back to its source. Finding her was the first of so fucking many dominos to fall I dont even want to think about it.”
She is peace and harmony. A goddess among filth. The purest flame.
Since when did you become a fucking poet?
From the second his demon had looked at her without the cage of Lennox’s control, he had been head over heels for his mate. Pathetically so to the point it had stopped even berating Nox. If it wasn't pining for more time with her, lavishing fancy words and adoration in his head when his hands were on her body, it was launching a verbal attack on anyone who was deemed unfit to be near her.
Did Orian have this issue too?
As if on que for the thoughts they were speaking out loud, Nox watched as a large moth floated through the air towards Lilly, the insect landing on her cheek to crawl up to the bridge of her nose, its wings flattening over the majority of her face they were so large.
The design on the soft surface was like eyes looking through a veil. Just like before, the rosettes blinked twice, its wings fluttering a little.
While Lilly sat at the base of her statue, finding the connection to the tree she always sought after in feeling only she could find, a buzz entered the air around them. Tingles that ran up from Nox’s mud covered boots. Taking a deep breath, the demon tried not to let himself get twitchy. Power was around him like a living, breathing thing that wouldn't be ignored.
