“You are crazy, you know that?” Sage asked, sitting down in front of Gemma in her office.

  “I spent too much time with you,” the blonde replied, still focused on the papers on her desk.

  “It just occurred to me, is Zoe Drazathis the first vampire born in Riveth’s Royal Family?”

  Gemma stopped whatever she was doing, raising her gaze to Sage. “She is.”

  “I’m not an expert in politics like you, but if vampires found out about her, wouldn’t she be important? Maybe even become something like a representative of them? Something like… a vampire princess?”

  “Why are you asking?” Gemma asked.

  “Well… I hired Tobias for a little job, and she got all possessive about him. You know how it is with them and their food.”

  “And?”

  “She told me that if I hurt her food, she will get back to Liraveth and apparently killing the food of someone from the Royal Family might be frowned upon. She mentioned something about a state attack, revenge, sinking her fangs in my neck, sucking me dry, and that we both would be succubi and vampires' enemies. She believes she could bring war to Torania and make it drown in blood. Typically I don't care about threats like that, but I realized that if she is really a vampire princess, then it actually might get messy.”

  “She bluffed, she’s not important enough for a war. At least not now. But just don’t hurt Tobias, and we will be fine,” Gemma said.

  “Funny that you say that,” Sage said.

  “Sage…” Gemma sighed.

  “Don’t worry, I’m not stupid. I’m pretty certain he’s safe.”

  “What did you want from him?”

  “To seduce the Dragon and help me find the pce where she keeps her sves.”

  Gemma groaned, closing her eyes.

  “Even if the Dragon hurts him, then it’s a conflict between vampires, and not my fault,” Sage said quickly. “But he should be safe, right?”

  “Are you asking me?”

  “Well, you are an expert in those things, but I’m pretty sure that a vampire won’t touch another vampire’s food. So he was like the best candidate for that mission.”

  “He should be safe,” Gemma said. “What went wrong?”

  “I gave him a locating stone, and they must have found it, because it stopped working. I was following them through a forest, and then they did some weird-ass illusions and I lost them. But I’m sure you put a locating enchantment on him. So tell me where he is and I will pick him up.”

  “I’m going with you,” Gemma replied, getting up and walking out of her office.

  “What are your pns for Zoe?” Sage asked, moving after her.

  “She can be useful in many ways,” Gemma replied.

  “You like holding cards in your hands,” Sage said with a nod. “You are crazy. And I love you for that.”

  ------

  Suddenly I was lying on the bed again, with a small dagger pressed against my neck, as the bck ninja was screaming at me. Panic washed over me, but I was in no position to do anything, any mana attack could trigger her to cut my throat.

  How was that even possible? That someone else would attack the pce at the same time. And they knew Sage… The answer was quite simple. It wasn’t.

  “Very funny, Sage,” I said, trying to rex, being almost certain it was her on top of me. Otherwise, the situation would be really bad.

  The ninja huffed before she pulled the dagger away, sitting her ass on my crotch. “You looked like you’re going to shit your pants,” she said, pulling off the mask, confirming I was right.

  She shook her head to free her brown hair, looking gorgeous. With her tall, lean body, well-shaped small breasts, and firm ass pressed against my cock, I got a bit distracted watching her, but when her gaze stopped on me with a smirk, I turned to look at Brisa.

  “What have you done to her?” I asked, watching as she was still spasming on the floor, unconscious, after just one hit from Sage.

  “Poison,” she replied, raising her fist. She wore a bck glove that, in pce of her knuckles, had small sharp points that must have left the cuts on Brisa’s cheeks and apparently were covered in some substance. “I might have fucked up the dose,” Sage added. “She shouldn’t shake like that.”

  “Shouldn’t you take care of the attack?” I asked. “Where’s Whitney?”

  “My people are taking care of that. I told you, handsome, my mission is to keep you safe,” she said with a smile, putting her hands, palms open, on my chest. “Someone’s getting excited,” she added, wiggling her ass against my half-hard shaft.

  “What are you doing?” I asked. As much as I would want it to stop, her wiggling was working on me, bringing my cock to life against my will. Though, I should probably just push her away if I really didn’t want her on top of me.

  “You know…” Sage murmured. “The mission, you beating those men. Watching you turn her into a moaning bitch. Fighting. I’m getting excited myself,” she whispered, leaning forward, her face hovering inches above me. “My people would take care of the Dragon, and in the meantime… Don’t you think it would be hot to fuck in her bed?”

  “Like with that guy during the event?” I asked.

  “Jealous?” Sage snorted with a grin.

  “We were in the middle of a mission and rather than keeping an eye on me, you started to kiss and grope with some random dude.”

  “You just fucked our main target,” Sage accused.

  “Which was part of the mission.”

  “I can do whatever I want,” Sage said, leaning even closer. “But I will admit that I underestimated you. If I knew that you could catch the Dragon’s interest on your own, I wouldn’t have convinced that random dude to resign from the tournament to make a spot for you.”

  “That’s why you seduced him,” I murmured, realizing that she wasn’t just having fun but tried to accomplish our mission.

  “Why fight in a tournament, when he could have me instead?” Sage asked.

  “Did you fuck him?”

  Sage snorted, shaking her head. “It’s even sweet that you are so jealous.”

  “I’m not jealous,” I protested.

  “I didn't fuck him, but I want to do it now,” Sage murmured, leaning down, her face getting closer to mine.

  The bitch was crazy, but as she rubbed her crotch against the bulge in my pants, with her amazing full lips inches from mine, her brown hair falling over my face, closing us away from the world, it was really hard to refuse.

  Just before our lips could touch, the window burst, gss shattered, a loud bang followed, and something big and dark rummaged through the room, darting over the bed. Suddenly Sage wasn’t on top of me anymore.

  Instead, she was pinned to the wall by a massive creature. It resembled a gargoyle, but far leaner and more twisted, its broad wings unfurled from its back, stretching across the room. Its dark gray skin was rough and uneven, studded with jagged, spike-like protrusions. It had short, powerful legs and a long, thick tail that coiled behind it.

  One of its cwed hands closed around Sage’s throat, lifting her off the ground. Its long tail shed as its gaping maw loomed inches from her face, roaring straight into her.

  But Sage wasn’t fighting, she didn't even flinch. She just hung, a foot over the ground, with a wide grin. “Ha! I knew you were jealous!” she gasped, with amusement contrasting the position she was in.

  The beast shook Sage left and right like a doll, letting out a roar, but she still didn't fight against it.

  “We just wanted to have some fun,” Sage said with a giggle.

  The monster pulled her away from the wall and smmed her against it with a loud crack. I wondered if I should help Sage, but her behavior and the fact that there probably wasn’t a lot I could do against that beast made me stop.

  “Harder, baby,” Sage moaned, tilting her head back, and the monster finally let go of her. She easily nded on the ground and fixed her clothes like nothing really happened.

  “Do you want to change your opinion now?” Sage asked, looking at me.

  “What the fuck is going on?” I asked, finally finding my voice.

  “You said she’s hotter,” Sage said, gesturing at the gargoyle. “I don't know what she told you, but that’s her true form. Isn’t she ugly?”

  The monster tried to punch her, but Sage just dodged to the side.

  “And those anger issues? Are you sure you want to choose her?” Sage asked.

  This time the beast swiped its tail, and Sage didn't manage to move out of its way in time, the long and thick tail spping her in the back, pushing her to the ground. But Sage quickly jumped to her feet, still looking unbothered by the whole situation.

  “That’s Gemma?” I asked, looking at the monster.

  “Yeah, ugly as fuck,” Sage said. This time the attack didn't come toward her, but the gargoyle jumped on the bed, hovering over my face and roaring, with its maw full of sharp fangs inches from my face.

  “What?” I asked, wondering what her problem was and if she was that angry that I helped Sage.

  “I will transte,” Sage offered. “She’s horny and wants you to fuck her.”

  Gemma again swung her tail toward Sage, but this time she moved back, dodging the tip barely.

  “Okay, okay,” Sage said. “It was probably something like, have you lost your fucking mind?”

  “What?” I asked.

  The gargoyle above me roared again.

  “Do you want to die?” Sage asked, and I wasn't sure if she was transting or just casually asking something like that.

  “It was just a mission, and Sage made sure that I’m safe,” I replied.

  “I did, and he didn’t really do anything dangerous, just standard stuff for him. He fucked the Dragon.”

  The monster jumped toward Sage, but she moved out of its way as the beast smmed its fists into the ground a few times in a furry attack, roaring.

  “It’s her skill,” Sage said, looking at me. “She can take control over monsters from dungeons, but when she’s in their minds she has trouble keeping her emotions at bay like she does typically, so it’s always funny to tease her when there’s an occasion,” she added, expining as if Gemma wasn’t in the room.

  The gargoyle let out a growl with its red eyes locked on Sage. She stopped smiling, for a moment looking like she was listening to something, while we sat there in silence. “We captured the Dragon,” she said, looking at the monster.

  The gargoyle nodded, shifting its gaze back to me.

  “Is that really you?” I asked, realizing that whatever Sage told me could be a lie or a joke.

  The monster nodded, which kind of confirmed it, but with Sage, I was starting to doubt everything.

  “Don’t you recognize her?” Sage asked. “I would say she’s quite simir to her human form right now.”

  The gargoyle stomped, making a step toward Sage.

  “Just joking,” Sage said, raising both her hands. “My people are with the sves in the basement and are finishing with the remaining enemies.”

  The gargoyle grunted shortly.

  “Oh thanks, you don't need to remind me how amazing I am,” Sage said with a smile. “It's all thanks to him. He did the hard job of fucking the Dragon.”

  The gargoyle smmed its tail against the floor, breaking the wooden panels.

  “You really are mad that he slept with her,” Sage said, clearly amused.

  Gemma ignored her this time and moved toward the hole in the wall she had made when she entered the room, but she stopped in it, looking at me, letting out a short grunt.

  “She wants you to hop on top of her,” Sage said. “She will take you back to Ortas. And hold tight, because when she’s mad, she likes to drop people by accident.”

  “Ugh… Can’t Rynessa take me back to Ortas?” I asked, looking at Sage, hoping I could return on the back of the centaur.

  “What? Are you scared of heights?” Sage asked.

  “No… but is this really Gemma?”

  “Do you think I would scheme this whole mission just so my tamed monster could kidnap you at the end?” Sage asked.

  “You know what’s the worst in you?” I asked. “That if someone would be crazy enough to do it, it would be you.”

  “Thank you,” Sage said, as if what I just said was a compliment.

  “What about the mission, is it finished?” I asked.

  “For you it is,” Sage replied.

  “You watched me have sex with Whitney?” I asked.

  “Yeah. Gave you time to have some fun,” Sage said.

  The gargoyle growled again.

  Sage stuck her tongue out at the monster before she rolled her eyes. “Perhaps I wanted to attack her mid-orgasm, and someone realized that attacking the Dragon in her room might not be the best idea, because there’s some defensive shit here.” Sage gestured around the room.

  “What?”

  “I don't know, it's hard to understand her when she’s like that,” Sage replied, waving her hand at Gemma. “And I don't really care. Ask her when you have a chance to talk. After she screams at you for how stupid you are,” Sage added with a giggle.

  The gargoyle spped its tail against the ground again with a growl at me.

  “She’s impatient,” Sage said.

  With a sigh, I got off the bed and approached the monster, slowly finding my way to straddle her back. I managed to grab onto some of the protrusions to keep myself from falling off when we headed back to Ortas.

  “See you tomorrow, handsome,” Sage said before she pulled the bck mask over her face and vanished inside the house.

  I wanted to turn toward her and answer, but the gargoyle moved out of the room, and with a single powerful swing of its wings, suddenly carried us high into the sky. I squeezed my arms tighter around the monster, clutching it firmly as I flew on its back, heading home.