A Tangle of Hearts (A Shade of Vampire #44)(46)

I couldn’t really help it. They were all so beautiful. Chances were they were also letting their succubus nature loose on me. I felt a peculiar heat rising into the back of my head. I gripped Anjani’s forearm and squeezed tight in an attempt to anchor myself to reality.

She gave me an understanding look, and I realized then that the succubi were, indeed, having a deliberate effect on me.

“You saved her life?” Hansa asked, her gold-green eyes drilling into me.

I nodded, unable to utter a single word.

She walked toward me, and my heart stilled in my chest. I wasn’t sure what to expect. Her hand landed on my shoulder with considerable weight, and her face, crossed by two thick diagonal stripes of red paint, blossomed into a wide smile. Her teeth were perfect. Her canines and the two slight horns on her temples were equally sharp and white.

“Anjani is my younger sister,” Hansa said to me. “She will one day take my place as chief of the Red Tribe. Unless I am killed, it will not be for many centuries, but she is precious to me and to our clan. I thank you for rescuing her and for healing her wounds, young man. I—we—are all forever in your debt.”

She looked over to Draven while she spoke, as if recognizing him as the leader of our group. I really didn’t mind someone else getting the chief’s attention.

“Name your price,” she continued.

Draven took a deep breath and smiled, having heard what I knew he’d wanted to hear—the admission of a life debt from a succubus tribe.

The Druid didn’t waste a second. “We need your help.”

“What can I do?” Hansa didn’t seem surprised, her hand still heavy on my shoulder, while mine persistently clutched Anjani’s forearm.

“You know of Kristos, don’t you?” Draven asked.

“Yes, the little rebel from Arid’s clan. Couldn’t fight to save his own life,” Hansa said, her smirk denoting a seasoned warrior’s contempt. I could see the resemblance in Anjani.

“He’s dead. Show some respect,” Bijarki shot back from the side, his tone sharp.

“Life is cruel,” Hansa replied bluntly. “You’re on my turf now, so you show some respect, incubus. We’re not impressed by your kind here.”

“We’re the same species!” The incubus said with irritation.

“You and I are nothing alike!” Hansa didn’t back down. Her voice thundered over us. “Not one of you incubi can face my tribe in battle. We crush men like you between our thighs for fun. Don’t expect my sympathy when you’re all crawling under Azazel’s skirt!”

“Leave Bijarki out of this, please,” Draven interjected with a soothing voice of reason. “He has lost everyone and everything to Azazel, yet he stands with us here, today.”

A moment passed before Hansa and Bijarki curtly bowed their heads at each other to bury the hatchet. There was no room for pride in our situation.

“Kristos’s father is about to make a big mistake and pledge his allegiance to Azazel. That is roughly five thousand more incubi joining his ranks, and we can’t let that happen,” Draven continued.

“He’s weak. He probably thinks he’s securing the survival of his men if he joins Azazel,” Hansa replied, her voice laced with contempt. “I never liked him, even as a boy. He cried a lot and always ran after Neela’s skirt.”

Some confusion must have passed over our faces. Hansa’s expression lit up with a grin as she looked at us. “Oh, you don’t know!”

“Know what?” I asked.

Her hand finally left my shoulder, and I could breathe again. Her touch alone could cripple my senses entirely, I realized. I welcomed Anjani’s warmth seeping into my side.

“Arid was born here, into our tribe,” Anjani explained briefly.

“Arid?”

“Kristos’s father,” Bijarki further clarified, and I nodded.

“As I have told you before, we only use the incubi for pleasure and to ensure the survival of our tribe,” Anjani continued, prompting a chuckle from Bijarki. It was all he could do, given the death stare that Hansa gave him in response. “The girls that are born here, we keep and raise ourselves. The boys are sent to the surrounding citadels, to be taken into incubi clans that fail to have offspring of their own.”

I looked over to the mass of succubi still surrounding us, each eyeing us curiously. They were all strong, fierce, and seductive—from the youngest to the eldest. Their way of life sort of made sense. It kept things simple and helped them maintain their independence. But I still felt sorry for the little incubi, who never got to see their mothers and sisters again.

“So brothers stay with brothers and fathers, incubi with incubi, basically. And the succubi stay with the succubi, separate from the males in all aspects of life?” I asked, still absorbing the concept.

“Yes. It’s been this way for as long as we can remember. Arid was born here many centuries ago.” Hansa took over from Anjani and pulled her away from me, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

I suddenly felt cold and uncomfortable as more succubi turned their eyes to me. “We sent him away as soon as he learned to walk. Neela was his mother and my cousin.”

“His other son, Sverik, is trying to persuade him to join Azazel’s army to ensure their survival,” Draven explained, and Hansa rolled her eyes.