Succubi Are Forever (3 page)

Which was just… weird.

Down the hall, she opened another door and led me into a bedroom. Remy slept on a huge king bed, curled up on one side, and the sight of her was jarring for me. I’d never seen her sleeping. It was actually rather unnerving. I looked over at my companion.

“Whose house is this?”

She shook her head at me. “Phryne wants to be the one to explain.”

“But—”

“I can say nothing until Phryne has assessed the situation, I’m afraid,” she said with a soft grimace. “Come, let’s wake Remy. It’s been forever since I’ve chatted with her.”

So she knew Remy? “Who are you?”

She smiled then, so genuinely and so warmly that I was taken aback. “My name is Yue. It’s so lovely to finally meet you, Jackie.”

And she hugged me.

I awkwardly hugged her back, utterly confused. What was going on? If she was so glad to see me, why had she kidnapped both of us and knocked us out? Better yet, how could this fragile woman have carried both of us? As I watched, she approached Remy and brushed her fingertips over the sleeping succubus’s forehead.

Remy struggled awake. Her eyes flicked open, and I noticed they were blue. The sight of them made the Itch pulse through me, reminding me of my own need, now due.

We’d been unconscious for quite some time, apparently. Alarm flared through my body. How long had we been out? And where was Zane?

“Wake, sister,” Yue said with a smile.

Remy stared up at Yue for a moment and then gave a girlish squeal of delight, jumping to her feet. “Yue, baby! How the hell are you?”

Yue opened her arms wide, and Remy fell into them, hugging and squealing as if seeing an old friend. Her arms went around Yue’s slender body and she tugged her close. As I watched the two hug, Remy’s gaze moved to me, making eye contact over Yue’s shoulder.

Not good,
she mouthed, and gave me a look of alarm.

Oh great. Not what I wanted to see. But Remy pulled away and gave Yue another bright smile as if everything were perfect. “Girl, look at you! You never change.”

“Very funny,” Yue said with affection, touching Remy’s cheek. “I should say the same for you, Remiza.”

“Where’s everyone else?” Remy asked, moving to my side and linking her arm through mine. “Have they met Jackie?”

Yue shook her head gently. “I’ve just awakened Jackie. She has not met the others yet.”

“They’ll be so thrilled to see her,” Remy gushed.

Yue smiled again, but I noticed she didn’t reply. She simply gestured at the door. “Please come with me, sisters.”

“Of course,” Remy said cheerily, and her fingernails dug into my arm, and she more or less dragged me forward.

Yue glided past us, her steps smooth. She smiled and began down the hall, and Remy and I followed. Remy’s steps were slow and deliberate, as if she were admiring our surroundings. When Yue was several feet ahead of us, she bent in and whispered. “We are
so
screwed, Jacks.”

“Who is she? What’s going on?”

“Nothing good,” Remy hissed back. “Just be careful and tell them nothing. I’ll explain later.”

Yue must have heard our furious whispers. She glanced back at us as we walked, her eyes narrowing. I smiled back at her, and pointed out a statue to Remy, as if admiring it.

We acted as if we were sightseeing at a museum instead of finding ourselves kidnapped by another freaking succubus.

Yue opened the door to a long, well-lit hall. She continued down it, strolling past beautifully decorated walls adorned with ornate picture frames, end tables set with fresh flowers, and small, delicate knickknacks that I didn’t have time to examine. The ceilings were arched, a faint peachy-pink that made me think of dawn and only added to the feeling that this place was owned by someone who had great taste and loved expensive things. It was not merely a home—it was a showcase. Yue led us down another hall, then another. Then another. I had no idea where we were, but the place was enormous and expensive. Still in Europe somewhere? How long had we been out? Was it daylight?

And where the hell was Zane? Fear prickled my skin, and I felt real panic claw through me despite Yue’s warm smiles. I wanted my vampire.

Yue glanced back at us again, then put her hand on the handle of a door. “You’re just in time for dinner.”

Just in time for dinner, my ass. They’d woken us up when it was convenient for them. Still, I pretended like this was thoughtful and not a bullshit move. “Great,” I said, my traitorous stomach growling to help my fake enthusiasm along.

Stupid supernatural metabolism didn’t care about the situation. It just wanted cake.

Yue led us into a long room, mostly taken up by a long mahogany dining table. Eight places were clustered at the far end of table, though only four women sat before the plates. A spread of food was laid out on the table, colorful and aromatic, and my mouth watered at the sight.

Just how long had they left us out?

But before I could ask, all four women at the table stood. A girlish squeal erupted and they rushed forward, arms outstretched to hug Remy.

“Hey, girl!” one cried, and Remy moved forward to hug them, seemingly equally thrilled at the prospect.

“Oh my God. Ashara! How the hell are you? And Nefer, and Marguerite. And Phryne! You wench, you,” Remy said, giving another pale redhead a playful punch in the arm before hugging her as if they were old friends that had been parted for far too long. “How have you been?”

The women finished with Remy and then enfolded me, too. The one called Phryne was the last one to embrace me, and I didn’t miss the assessing look she shot my way as she hugged me. Another redhead, like me.

Actually, nothing like me, I reassessed. My skin was milk-white and pale. Phryne’s was golden bronze, like a goddess. Her brows were low and winged above thickly lashed catlike eyes, and her nose was strong, her cheekbones prominent. My hair was fire-engine red and wavy, hanging to the middle of my back in a messy tumble. Not Phryne. Her hair was the delicate, rosy shade of sunrise, a red-gold that I’d never seen on anyone before, and it fell in a thick, straight waterfall to her waist. Phryne was golden and exotic and unique, even surrounded by beautiful succubi.

And sly. I couldn’t help but notice the calculating look in her pale silver eyes. “Greetings, sister,” she told me sweetly, and even her voice was husky and gorgeous. “We have waited so long to finally meet you.”

As she moved forward to hug me, I stammered in surprise. “You… you have?”

She drew back and smiled at me. “Of course. I have heard tales of Remy’s friend and knew that she was looking out for you. I’ve waited and watched over your progress from afar. But when I heard of your recent troubles, I decided it was time to step out of the shadows and introduce our little sisterhood.”

Phryne clasped my hand and pulled me toward the dinner table.

“My troubles?” I echoed, glancing back at Remy. She shook her head at me and raised a pinky, as if swearing she’d never told them anything. So I asked again. “What kind of troubles?”

“Why, master troubles,” Phryne said easily, moving back toward her place at the head of the table. “It seems that you have one master who’s gotten into quite a bit of trouble with the Serim, and the other keeps you under his thumb.” She tsked, giving me a sympathetic look. “Of course, you’ve been a very popular girl lately. My sources among the Serim told me that you’ve made an enemy out of Ariel. I’ve heard he tried to dispose of you.”

“That’s right,” I said weakly, sitting down at the place they’d left for me. I tried to digest all that Phryne was tossing at me. Noah was in trouble? I was under Zane’s thumb? I didn’t know if I should correct her or not. Judging from Remy’s wary look in my direction, it was best to let Phryne keep talking.

Yue moved to the corner of the room and pulled a rope, and a servant entered, refilling everyone’s wineglasses. The women were silent until the servant left and then they began to fill their plates. I stared at the food in front of us. Seasoned chicken; delicate, flaky fish; rolls; vegetables tossed in a colorful steamed medley, dessert pastries, soufflé—it was a tempting smorgasbord. The succubi began to fill their plates, chatting. I took a bit of food, watching them carefully.

This was weird. This was beyond weird. They’d kidnapped us so they could hug us and serve us dinner? It didn’t make sense. And where was Zane? I was afraid to ask. These women seemed to treat us like long-lost sisters, not enemies. So why the kidnapping?

Phryne leaned over to me again as I took a bite of chicken. “It’s not often that a succubus gathers the attention of a Serim council. You must have done something quite terrible to incur Ariel’s wrath.”

“Oh, uh—”

Remy coughed.

I glanced down at her and she waved a chicken wing in the air. “Bone,” she wheezed, then glanced over at me.

I looked over at Phryne’s beautiful face with the strong features that were somehow so gorgeous on her, the catlike eyes. She leaned on her hand, as if fascinated by what I had to say. And she wasn’t eating, if the few grapes on her plate were any indication.

A succubus with self-control? No such thing. I didn’t trust her a bit.

I took a bite out of a divine potato casserole. “Um, well, it’s a long story. I’m not sure that right now is the appropriate time to discuss it.”

Phryne’s eyes widened and she gave me a sympathetic look. “Of course.”

Well dang. That had been easier than I thought. I smiled.

She reached over and patted my hand. “We will discuss it privately later.”

My smile faded. Great. I took another bite, and someone made a blissful moan on the far side of the table. It immediately sent a jolt of lust through my body—and not lust for food. I was very Itch sensitive at the moment.

“It’s been a while since we’ve had a new sister,” Phryne was saying, but I barely heard her over the pulse pounding in my ears. I was suddenly acutely aware of my body… and how much I needed Zane. I forced myself to suppress it.

First, I needed some basic answers. Where we were. Where Zane was. And why we’d been dragged here. “Who are you? All of you?”

Phryne smiled at me, and I noticed for the first time that her smile never reached her eyes. They seemed cold—beautiful, but diamond hard. She looked to the other women with a little indulgent smile. “Shall we go around the table and introduce ourselves, ladies? Yue, darling, you go first.”

One by one, the women introduced themselves. Yue was our escort, of course, and she smiled and laughed merrily as she spoke, telling us of how she had grown up in China during the Qin Dynasty. She had been a concubine and after being turned, served her vampire master for many years before Phryne had liberated her. She ended her tale with a glance at the other succubus that was half admiration, half desire.

Kinda awkward for me, sitting between them.

Nefer was a small, rounded woman with thick black braids and equally dark skin, her pale eyes eerie in her face. She’d been born in Nubia and sent as a gift to the Pharaoh Hatshepsut, who had been served by Serim advisors during her reign.

At her side, Ashara clasped her hand. She had wildly thick, curling hair, strong features, and olive skin. She told us that she was Sumerian and was the oldest one at the table. That was met by a laugh from Nefer and a tight little smile from Phryne, who didn’t seem very pleased at the reminder. I noted that for later.

Marguerite was the melancholy blonde that sat at the end of the table. She didn’t seem to be paired up with one of the others, smiled when spoken to directly, and seemed lost in her own sad thoughts when no one was looking. She was beautiful—pale skin and even paler hair, but she didn’t seem happy in the slightest. When prompted by Phryne, she confessed to us that she’d been turned during the time of the French Revolution.

After Marguerite finished, Phryne looked back to me. “Do you have any questions, my dear?”

Oh, I had plenty of questions. I knew—I just knew—that if I asked about Zane, the conversation would die instantly. “Nope, I’m cool. Nice of you ladies to invite us over.”

Her smile was knowing. “Shall you tell us about you? We know all about Remy.”

“Not much to tell. I don’t have the fascinating history like the rest of you.”

She leaned forward, her expression fascinated. “But you are quite interesting. How was it that you were turned?”

I stammered through an abbreviated description of my turning—running into Zane in a dark alley, then meeting up with Noah and my subsequent turning.

“I see,” she said, and her voice was all sympathy. “That must have been hard for you. Have you struggled with the turning?”

“It’s been… challenging,” I said, smiling cheerfully despite feeling like my face would break. Where was she going with this?

“And is there one particular master that you feel has used you and taken away your free will more than the other?”

I shook my head quickly. “Oh no, not at all.”

“Ah,” Phryne said with a knowing nod. “They are both equally terrible. I understand.”

Uh… okay. I glanced down the table, looking for help. There was none to be found—Remy was chatting merrily with Yue, and Nefer and Ashara were feeding each other grapes and chatting quietly. Phryne kept watching me with those too-keen eyes, though she’d occasionally pop a grape to participate in the eating. I shoved a mouthful of fish into my mouth and began to eat like a woman starving.

“So how about you?” I asked, changing the subject. If there was one thing immortals liked to talk about, it was themselves. “Where are you from?”

Phryne leaned back in her chair, reclining in an elegant way that made my mouth go dry. She was incredibly beautiful. “You have not heard of me? Truly?”

I froze, fork halfway to my mouth. Was I supposed to have heard of her? “Um…”

She laughed softly. “I tease you, little sister. In my day, however, I was the most famous woman in all of Greece. My name was Phryne, and I was a hetaera without compare.”

“Hetaera?” I prompted.

“Courtesan, of course,” she said, inclining her head regally. The gesture must have been a rather practiced one, as her striking peach-gold hair slid over her shoulder in a sultry move. “Men paid fortunes for a night with me. And one could not get enough of me, so he turned me.” Her indulgent smile tightened a little. “I was forced to serve him for many, many years. Eventually, I broke free from him.”