“You won’t have to do that anymore. The Court of Chains relies on volunteers for feeding. And all other things.”
“They can make you volunteer,” Evie said. “They can make you beg for it and then forget.”
“The vampires here can’t enthrall you. That’s a power afforded only the Court of Night.”
The comment gave Evie pause. She’d heard Varro complain of Courtless vampires leaving messes that he was tired of cleaning up. Was their lack of enthralling ability why?
“I want to thank you,” Natalya said, making Evie even more suspicious. “I don’t think any of us said that when we left Varro’s Court. You allowed us to get out in time. That was brave of you.”
It was stupid. It was stupid and useless, and she was reaping the consequences now.
“I’m not brave.”
“I disagree.” Natalya smiled. “We can only speculate what Varro had in store for us, though I doubt it was anything good. The guard shooting me proved that much. Had silver affected me any, we could have all died. Your warning saved us. Thank you for that.”
Evie didn’t like this. Natalya may look like a woman, save for her slitted violet eyes, but she wasn’t. She was a monster, and monsters didn’t thank humans. They didn’t save them, or give them clothes, or let them wake to a sunrise without expecting something in return.
Evie needed to show she was grateful, somehow. Over the past year, she’d been conditioned to know only one way to do that.
Thinking more of the consequences if she didn’t do it than what would happen if she did, Evie closed the gap between herself and Natalya and kissed her. Evie leaned in, quick and inelegant, pressing against this creature who had helped her when she didn’t have to.
Natalya froze. Then everything happened very fast.
At first instance, the kiss was just warm and soft. It was followed by a surge, like a flow of sparks, moving from Natalya’s lips through Evie’s body. It burned through her limbs, wonderfully so, rushing through her muscles as bright bliss that made her feel everything more keenly than before.
Evie gasped, surprised at her body’s response. Without thinking, she pressed her tongue against Natalya’s lips.
Natalya wrenched away from her, eyes bright and shining. She grabbed Evie’s face, inspecting her in a panic.
“Are you hurt? Evie, talk to me!”
Evie blinked in surprise. “I’m okay. I just…” She touched her lips. They tingled. “How did you do that?”
Natalya’s brows furrowed in confusion. “You really feel alright?”
“Shouldn’t I?”
“No. You shouldn’t.” Natalya sounded outright shocked. “Why did you kiss me?”
“You helped me. I wanted to thank you.” Evie lowered her eyes, afraid she’d done something wrong. “You kissed me before. I just thought…”
“That shouldn’t have happened, Evie.” Painful guilt flashed over Natalya’s face. “The Court of Chains is home to more than just vampires. You’ve seen some of the patrons we house in Flea, Diana, and Cassius. Flea is a fae. Diana and Cassius are lycanthropes. I am a fiend.”
Evie’s breathing quickened. This really was a Court of demons. Natalya continued before Evie could panic.
“I kissed you in the car because you were a danger to yourself. If we’d pulled over, you would have run off, and it would only have been a matter of time before Varro’s people found you. I couldn’t let that happen.” Natalya took a deep breath. “I am a succubus. When I kissed you, I drew out some of your life energy, and it made you fall asleep.”
Evie couldn’t quite comprehend what Natalya was saying. She’d heard of demons, fae, and everything in between only as tales and warnings in Varro’s Court. It was another thing to face it so directly.
“Y-you’re awhat?” Evie stammered.
“A Lust fiend. A greater one. Succubus is the term most familiar to people, inaccurate as it may be. It means ‘to lie beneath,’ and I don’t do much of that.” Natalya smiled in a way that would have been humorous if it wasn’t for the sad look in her eyes. “I don’t kiss people for fun.”
“Oh…” Evie said quietly. “So, right now, did you… take some of my life away?”
She didn’t understand. Vampires had fed on her before, excessively even. It had left her feeling weak and lethargic. In the car, she had been overcome with exhaustion. But right then, her body was buzzing with energy.
“It feels as though I did.” Natalya inspected her again, looking confused. “But you’re still standing. It doesn’t make sense.”
