Three Parts Fey Read online

  After facing demons and murderers, their greatest task is in front of them—meeting the in-laws.

  With her binding to her partners, Benny feels safe and settled. She wants to start her career in the XIA and make a place in that organization. The past rears up and has other ideas.

  The binding has its own issues. Their group has to meet and greet each family they are attached to and try to gain approval for their union. A different technique is required for each species, and they have to be ready for anything.

  True love might win the day, but politics is a pain in the butt.

  The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Three Parts Fey

  Copyright © 2015 by Viola Grace

  ISBN: 978-1-987969-02-3

  Smashwords Edition

  ©Cover Design by Cora Graphics

  ©Cover photography by

  © BigStockPhotos.com/ leksandr Doodko

  © Depositphotos.com/ mppriv

  All rights reserved. With the exception of review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the express permission of the publisher.

  Published by Viola Grace

  Look for me online at violagrace.com, amazon, kobo, B&N and other ebook sellers.

  Three Parts Fey

  An Obscure Magic Book 3

  By

  Viola Grace

  Chapter One

  Benny laughed as they staggered into the dower house, leaving her parents the big house for the evening. Benny and Argyle supported Smith, who was distinctly limping from his fall while eluding a handsy gargoyle.

  He kept muttering. “She tried to take off with me.”

  Benny was still giggling, though it wasn’t helping. “You are just too adorable for words and probably the only one she felt she could subdue without calling attention to the struggle.”

  His black look was answer enough. The other two stayed wisely silent, but Benny could see them grinning at each other.

  The party had been a riot. Everyone had enjoyed themselves, and her parents were on their way to their house for an anniversary all alone.

  Dawn was staining the sky, and the dower house closed the drapes as Argyle made his way into the kitchen.

  He looked at her with suspicion. “Benny, was that you?”

  “Nope. It’s the house. It is structured for us now, and while the arrangement may be a little odd, we should be able to make it work.” They hadn’t been with her when she examined the new setup that the house had made with their specific union in mind.

  He looked around. “Is Jessamine here?”

  “Not quite yet, though I imagine she is holed up in her resting box. What my parents are engaging in, no one needs to witness.”

  Smith grumbled. “Where can I put my foot up?”

  “Up the stairs. When you find the bedroom, you will know it. I will make a poultice for that ankle.”

  Tremble helped Smith up the stairs, and Benny got to work.

  Argyle seemed content to keep her company.

  “I didn’t know you could make a poultice without a lab.”

  She grinned and got her mortar and pestle. “Folks have been grinding up herbs for healing purposes since they could mash any leaf with antiseptic properties with a rock.”

  He smiled. “My mom did that while I was growing up. Every bruise, bump and cut got the same treatment.”

  “How old were you when you were given your vampirism?”

  As she spoke, she flicked through the counter herbs and found the ones she needed. She plucked a few medicinal herbs and then bulked the rest of the mortar out with parsley.

  “I was twenty-six. Parsley?”

  “Sure. It improves just about everything.” She winked and started to grind the leaves together. “I will actually use magic to make this more effective, but Smith needs to learn to be lighter on his feet, and a few minutes of pain is a good teacher.”

  “Shifters heal quickly.” He watched her work at the process of making the equivalent of an herbal pressure pack.

  “Yes, and magic heals even faster. If he was able to tap into his demon side, he wouldn’t have even had to hop away from the party.”

  “Truly?”

  She looked at him and winked. “Yup. But, as he manifests as an incubus, the rest of my night would be shot.”

  “I am still getting used to that idea. We all have different aspects?”

  “Of course. Your demon form is not only dictated by its attachment to you, but also to your personal magic, to what you are at the core. That is why demons are so direct, they hide nothing.”

  He chuckled. “I gathered as much with the public nudity in the zone. Our clothing was a bit of a jarring note.”

  She wrinkled her nose and kept working. “Personal touch. You are bound to me, so I dressed myself as I wished to appear, and you and the others were dressed to flatter me.”

  “Because you are the high king.”

  She shrugged and checked the mix in the mortar. “Did you ever doubt it?”

  He chuckled. “Not for an instant. The first night you were guarded, but there was power behind your choices. You knew what each species would do and how they would do it. Knowledge is power, and you know a lot.”

  She scraped the contents of the mortar into a plastic container, and she inhaled the scents of mint and parsley. The other herbs were hidden underneath.

  Before she could get distracted, she washed her tools and set them on the draining board.

  “And now, we go and fix the lion.”

  She grinned and headed up the stairs. Argyle drew even with her and offered her his arm. She took the support and walked toward their bedroom.

  As their footfalls struck, a voice called out. “Argyle, you have to see this place.”

  The vampire grinned and entered the room; the gauzy curtains closed automatically and the synthetic lighting came on.

  Benny released him to let Argyle lead the way, and she trailed after him.

  Smith was on his back with his leg propped up on pillows at the edge of her bed. The huge expanse made him look tiny, but he was craning his neck to see everything in the room.

  She snorted. “Hike your trouser leg up, Smith.”

  He grimaced and showed her the swollen joint of his ankle. His shoe had been abandoned on the drive home. She cut his sock off and winced at the break that was visible through the purple skin and white bone pressing at it.

  Benny swallowed and carefully applied the paste she had created downstairs.

  He sighed and smiled. “It feels cool.”

  Benny finished covering him in the ground-up herb salad, and she held her hand over his ankle. The demon blood was minute, but still very much inside him. She put it to work and fixed the bones back into alignment before knitting them back into place.

  “How bad is the sprain?” He levered himself up on his elbows.

  “Hold still. It was a break, not a sprain. Your tendons just held everything in place. I am fixing it, but healing spells are tricky, so I am cheating.”

  She concentrated and muttered the spells that shaped her focus, and her focus fixed his bone and muscle.

  When the last cell clicked into place, she sat back and groaned. “I am way too tired to be doing this.”

  Argyle and Tremble were next to the bed, watching. Smith was flexing his foot and grinning. “It feels better and smells nice.”

  She snorted and crawled off the bed. “I am going to wash my hands. You go and wash your foot. I need to sleep.”

  Argyle asked. “May we join you?”


  “That’s what the bed is for.”

  She headed to the bathroom and scrubbed the green off her hands. She washed her face and brushed her hair, unzipping her cocktail dress as she returned to the bedroom.

  “If you guys don’t like the giant dorm room, I am sure that we can manage something else.”

  Her men were all in a state of undress. Argyle was wearing his customary shorts to bed; Smith was naked, as was Tremble.

  Benny appreciated the view, but she was too tired to do anything about it. “At the foot of each bed is a globe. That globe will create a privacy screen that extends for three feet on either side. You can walk through it, but while you are inside, no visual will enter or leave, the sound is the same.”

  The dress slid to her feet, and she shucked off her bra and panties, kicking free of her heels a moment before she crawled into bed. She moved until she was in the centre of the expanse, and she slid under the quilt that covered it.

  “Well, it has been a lovely evening and it’s turning into a bright day. I am getting some rest.”

  Smith sighed. “Nothing else?” He put his hand on her thigh above he quilt.

  She reached out and patted his hand. “Nothing else for eight hours.”

  Tremble chuckled and moved to lie against her left side.

  Argyle was already settling in for his deep rest on the far left edge of the bed. He didn’t need contact as he slept. He wouldn’t wake up looking for anyone.

  Smith eased her to her side and snuggled up against her back. Tremble wove his fingers around her hands and gave her a soft kiss.

  “Good night, Benny.”

  She ducked her head so she wasn’t yawning in his face, and she exhaled. “Good night, guys. When we wake up, I have a question to ask you.”

  Argyle said slowly, “Ask now.”

  She looked at Tremble and felt the slight squeeze of Smith’s arms. “Fine. Would you guys be willing to wear a mark of our bonding?”

  Argyle chuckled. “If you can get it to stick, I am in.”

  Tremble grinned. “Me, too.”

  Smith whispered in her ear, “Just tell me where you want it.”

  Benny sighed. “Good. A friend told me it would be a good idea.”

  Tremble smiled. “Which friend?”

  Benny snuggled into the sheets and enjoyed her sensation of being surrounded. “Giltine.”

  Her partners were awake for a while after that, but Benny slept like a log.

  Four hours later, Benny was up, Smith was on his back and Tremble was nowhere to be found. Argyle was still and silent on his corner of the bed.

  She eased up and out of the collection of tumbled bedding and headed for her wardrobe. A blue cotton robe with a bright and sprightly pattern on the back was waiting for her. She slipped it on and pattered downstairs.

  Tremble smiled at her over his shoulder as she entered the kitchen. “Have a seat. The fridge is fully stocked.”

  She paused for a moment to enjoy the view of him standing there chopping fruit wearing his shorts and his hair in a long braid. Nothing else. She sighed and rejoined the sane and smut-free world.

  “Of course it is.” She smirked and glanced around. Her small purse was still on the corner of the counter, and she opened it, fishing her phone out.

  The message light was flashing, and when she flicked her fingers across the screen, she noted the email waiting.

  The subject was Design Approval and the sender was Minerva. The image that opened made her laugh.

  “What is it?”

  “Minerva found someone to design our tattoo. It sums all of us up in the oddest way. Here. Take a look.”

  The base was a lion, the fangs and widow’s peak were obviously a reference to Argyle, the brilliant platinum mane and the vivid rainbow eyes were all Tremble. The deer horns that the lion sported were Benny’s contribution to the pattern.

  “How large will it be?”

  She wrinkled her nose. “It will be small. Less than one inch high and wide. If you approve this, we will have the artist here before dinner.”

  “What about the others?”

  She grinned. “They snooze, they lose.”

  He raised his eyebrows in surprise and then smiled. “I like it. If they can create something that will stick to all our flesh, I will gladly wear it.”

  Benny looked at what he had been preparing. “Can I have some fruit salad?”

  Tremble grinned and returned to his project. He served her a bowl of fruit with a dollop of thickened cream on top.

  “So, Benny, what is on the agenda today?”

  He sat on one of the chairs at the countertop and took one of her hands in his.

  “Today, my dear Tremble, we do nothing. We relax, and if all goes well, we get our tattoos.”

  “Did a goddess of death really tell you to do it?”

  “She said if I wanted to keep you all alive, you needed to be marked.”

  He paused and poured her a cup of coffee. “Then, I am pretty sure we should do it.”

  She answered the email with, Looks good, ready when you are.

  A few seconds later. Ink will be ready at 4. See you at five. Bringing Tomlin with me.

  Great. At the dower house.

  Benny smiled. “She will be here at five with the tattoo artist.”

  “I look forward to it. What shall we do about placement?” Tremble raised his brows.

  She patted her ribs on her left-hand side. “I want mine here. I can see it when I want to and hide it when it would be obvious.”

  “Would you want to hide it?”

  “When I go out for karaoke? Of course.”

  “Why do you enjoy it so much?” He propped his head up on his fist and smiled.

  “That is an awkward story.”

  “We are bound. Time to start leaking the secrets.”

  She sipped at her coffee and wondered where to start.

  Chapter Two

  “Demon blood is a funny thing. Each manifestation requires a different sort of food to keep the demon healthy. Succubi and incubi feed on sex, warrior demons feed on battle and, of course, scholar demons like you and my grandfather, feed on knowledge.” She sighed and stared into her coffee cup.

  “What about high kings?” Tremble had a wary look in his eyes.

  She sipped her coffee and mumbled into the cup.

  “What?”

  She enunciated. “Attention. We feed on attention and worship. It was one of the reasons I never considered myself to follow in my father’s or great-grandmother’s footsteps, they need physical contact. I don’t need much attention, but I do require some to stay healthy.”

  Tremble’s mouth was open. “You are not kidding.”

  “I am not. It isn’t a fun thing. I had to engage in every afterschool activity that involved public performance. I was a freaking cheerleader for pities sake!”

  She got up and poured another cup of coffee, resettling in her spot. “It doesn’t do anything to my audience, but it gives me what I need to keep the magical batteries charged.”

  “And the more you perform...”

  “I currently have enough of a charge going to last me for the next ten years. It is a mirror effect. The stronger the power of my audience members, the more energy I take in. Last night...”

  He caught on. “You were in the presence of some of the most powerful beings on the continent.”

  “Yup. It is why my parents always had family parties during the months and weeks that I wasn’t at school. I would be admired by the crowd and that would be enough.”

  “So, will we have to begin habits that feed our inner demon?”

  Benny dug into her fruit salad and laughed. “You already have them. Your demon tailored itself to match your existing inclinations. Argyle likes to fight though he holds back, Smith has an interest in sex that he has never let out and you just about orgasmed when you saw my parents’ library. Now that you have demon blood, you can read half of the tomes that were previous
ly off limits.”

  He perked up. “Really?”

  She snickered. “See? Just the thought of knowledge and you want to run over there.”

  Tremble blinked and rubbed the back of his neck. “Fair point.”

  “How long does it take you to braid your hair in the morning?” She smiled and propped her head on her fist.

  “Five minutes if it is cooperating. Lately, it has been slightly recalcitrant.” He grinned and flipped the braid to lie over his shoulder across his chest.

  She reached out and stroked her fingers over the thick rope of silk. “How difficult of it.”

  He leaned in to kiss her, and they had a moment to enjoy the contact before a low and persistent buzzing broke the mood.

  Tremble sighed and leaned back. “One of our phones. I will find it.”

  He got up and left her, so she worked on her second cup of coffee and enjoyed the noon sunlight coming through the glass.

  Jessamine floated up and fanned herself. “I thought that being with your parents was unpredictable. You have half-naked men all over this place.”

  “Get used to it, Jess.” Benny could hear Tremble talking, and she smiled at her ghostly friend. “Did you hide all night?”

  “Until the moaning and laughter stopped, then I snuck over here. I have to say, I expected more of the same, but it was blissfully quiet.”

  Benny laughed. “We are all tuckered out after our eventful evening. Mom and Dad were delighted, and the relatives had a great time.”

  Tremble came back in, and he was scowling at the phone in his hand. “We have been recalled to duty as of tomorrow.”

  “Did they say why?”

  He shook his head. “I warned the captain that we are all going to pop positive for demon blood, but he didn’t care. He said we needed to get back on the roster. The team with Tearago suffered an accident last night. They showed up at a scene and a group of beta wolves decided to attack. They are all in hospital.”