Demon's Artifice Book 3: Dream Lover

I found myself standing on the edge of the last place in the world I wanted to be. The fact that I was accompanied by my current lovers and a small team of six dream witches didn’t make it any easier. The night was beautiful, and I was about to spoil it.

Why were the other dream walkers with me? We had multiple targets to deal with. I knew I was procrastinating, but I had a legitimate question.

Two of the stars on my arm were throbbing. “Set, when your mother marked me, she said it would activate and hurt when I was near a target. It’s hurting now. Why hasn’t it before?”

Set flashed a grin. “So far, you’ve known who you were looking for. You found them easily and had plenty of time. This time, we’re looking for shifters in a large crowd, and you have no idea who they are.”

I exhaled heavily. “Shifters aren’t immortal. They have a mortal lifespan, just like humans.”

Leo chimed in. “True, but some species live much longer than others.”

Leo’s words caught my attention. “Your dad could give us names. Or at least better clues.”

Leo grinned. “He never would. You should ask him about how he met my mother. He almost lost her because he gave her too much information.”

Set made a small noise. “I hate to admit it, but I agree with Leo and Pai. Sometimes, too much information can do more harm than good.”

I frowned. “Why?”

Set looked at me. “If you walk into a situation thinking you know everything and something unexpected happens, you’re unprepared. We’re going in there expecting shit to hit the fan. We don’t know what, but we’re ready for the unexpected. If he told us everything, would we be prepared when someone’s free choice changes our path?”

My eyes widened. “So, you’re saying it could shift and mess us up?”

Set nodded.

I glanced at Leo. “And Pai wouldn’t be able to warn us in time.”

Leo nodded. “Exactly. He’d only know the moment the path changed.”

I let out a breath. “That must be incredibly frustrating.”

Set chuckled. “Yes.”

I looked at Set. “You trust him that much?”

Set nodded firmly. “I do. You’re still stalling.”

I exhaled. “Yes… But Pai has a power that could be considered more powerful than yours. Doesn’t that bother you?”

Set laughed. “You’ve met Nu. Do you really think I’m not used to others being more powerful than me? I don’t have to be the strongest or rule over everyone. I just have to be strong enough to do what I want and need.”

I was about to ask what he needed when Leo interrupted. “Sarah. We have to do this.”

Kana, from the group behind us, chimed in. “Oh no, let’s hear the rest of this drama. Just make us some popcorn first.”

I turned and saw I wasn’t the only one glaring at her.

Sai spoke up. “We all feel the mark’s ache. None of us want to be slaves to the Goddess. We all want the threat gone, both from her and those who would likely hunt and kill us again. We all want to be free from the prison we’ve been hidden in. Don’t take it all out on her.”

Kana turned on him. “We would have been fine if she hadn’t shown up! If Pai hadn’t brought her to us!”

Set interjected. “Pai knows everything. He would have foreseen this. He thought this was the better path. You might wonder what worse fate he’s preventing.”

Kana started to speak, but her twin cut her off. “Pai kept us safe, alive, and hidden. He’s the only reason we’re alive. He chose her, chose now.”

Kana stared at her twin. Her expression was filled with rage. “She’s not our savior!”

Esper spoke up. “We’re here to help save ourselves.”

She glanced at Esper before Reve spoke, diverting her attention. The frightened man loosened his tie. “You love Esper.”

The whole group tensed up as he voiced what I, for one, had been suspecting. Kana opened her mouth to speak, but Reve silenced her with a single glance. “You’re afraid that one of us will die, or we’ll all become slaves to the Goddess. That you’ll never get the chance to be with him.”

Kana’s fight seemed to evaporate. I saw the beginnings of tears in her eyes.

“I love your sister. I share your fear, but turning into a raging bitch who’s blind to the whole situation will only push everyone away. Including Esper.”

Bhranti was smiling at Reve. It seemed I’d missed a lot of the group’s dynamics. Bhranti gently took her sister’s hand, speaking in a soft voice. “We have the opportunity to eliminate two more targets here. Yes, we all want to finish this and go home to live the lives we want with the ones we love. But we need to remember that we might need to take a breather before tackling the next big challenge.”

Kana bristled. “If she wasn’t screwing them all the time, we’d have this curse lifted.” Her voice was filled with such venom. It got under my skin.

“I’m not stopping you from having your own sex life.”

Kana whipped her head around to glare at me, her temper flaring up again. “You’re just a slut, sleeping with any man you want! You don’t even care if you hurt them!”

“Why do you give a damn about my sex life? Or the men in it?”

Esper cleared his throat, glancing at Nehkaam, who was standing next to him. The blush on Esper’s face should have been a warning for what he was about to say. “That might be my fault. I um…I was talking to Kaam and might have mentioned how beautiful you were, and it was a shame you already had multiple men in your life.”

The blush hadn’t been warning enough. Set burst out laughing. Not a light chuckle, but a full-bodied, shaking laugh. Leo tried to hide a grin.

I buried my face in my hands. “I don’t have time for this shit. No offense, Esper, but I’m not interested.”

Kana, however, was still fuming. “What?! Your own kind aren’t good enough to sleep with now?”

I shook my head and laughed. “I’ve got a literal god and a prince of Hell. Immortal beings who’ve had centuries to perfect their skills in bed, and you expect me to go back to mortal men?” Her anger seemed to deflate a bit by the time I finished. “Okay, now that it’s clear I’ve no intention to add more men to my list, let’s get this over with.”

Set was still chuckling as we crossed the pack border. “If you ever do want to add a few more men to your list, I’d suggest we add a woman, maybe two, or make sure the men you pick are bisexual. You’ll run out of holes for us to use otherwise.”

I smacked his shoulder without even thinking about it. My hand just moved on its own. “Not funny!”

Set smiled. I’d seen him smile before, but this time it was different. I felt the warmth of that smile all the way down to my toes.

“I’ll have to disagree with you.”

The god grabbed the hand that had smacked him and intertwined his fingers with mine. I tried to pull away, but he held on tight, his smile never fading.

I frowned at him but stopped struggling; it seemed childish. However, I did take Leo’s hand with my free one.

Leo lifted my hand to his mouth and kissed it before letting it fall between us.

Finally, it was time to face what was coming next. I’d get to see Brent again, and the woman he’d mated with right after he thought I had died.

I had to admit to myself that it hurt that he hardly waited at all, and didn’t take real time to grieve.