CHAPTER 2
“D’you think they’re awake now?” Isabel smiled against Oz’s mouth.
“I think so,” he whispered. “You go first. We probably don’t have much time before they snap out of it; I’ll sneak up behind you.”
“Okay,” Isabel said, unlocking the cabinet door and popping her head outside. She caught a glimpse of one of the flight attendants pacing the aisle, looking as though she had just woken up from a coma. The rest of the passengers looked disoriented as hell, and a part of Isabel felt guilty for what they had done. “Have we caused harm to any of those people?” she asked.
“Nah,” Oz said. “Just some temporary memory loss, they should be okay.”
Isabel felt her heart drop to her knees. “What do you mean?” she asked, blinking repeatedly. As soon as the sunlight seeped into the cabinet, Isabel winced, feeling a blind spot floating in her vision. “Oz, what do you mean?” she asked again.
“Ah, Isabel, stop being silly, nothing is going to happen to anybody,” Oz chuckled. “They were just put to sleep, nothing more,” he said.
Isabel breathed a sigh of relief. “I can’t believe you did that to me,” she said, shaking her head. She slowly slid out of the bathroom, making her way back to her window seat. Oz looked left and right, and then he followed her, the two of them sneaking back to their seats. They leaned back, panting, Isabel gasping as a drop of fluid trickled down her leg.
***
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Charles De Gaulle airport. Local time is 10 pm, and the temperature is 1 degrees Celsius.”
“Yikes, it’s cold,” Isabel said, wrapping her arms around herself. Outside she could see the city lights come into view, and the truth was, Isabel was pretty excited. All that apprehension she had been feeling was starting to fade away, and all she could think about right now was where Oz was taking her. The thought excited her, especially after their little episode inside the plane bathroom. Right now, Isabel felt ready to conquer: she felt ready to thrive and to be introduced to this whole new world ahead of her.
“Alright, let’s go,” Oz said, reaching his hand out to her. The two of them pushed their way down the aisle, and as soon as Isabel stepped out of the plane, she felt her lungs inflate with cold night air.
“Who’s waiting for us here?” Isabel asked, holding onto Oz’s arm as the two of them made their way through the terminal entrance. Isabel stood there for a second, utterly bewildered by what was going on around her: hundreds of people running around, dragging their suitcases behind them, people reuniting with their families, and their loved ones. Suddenly Isabel felt sorry for herself. There she was, having landed in a totally foreign country, standing amidst a sea of strangers, not knowing what her next step would be.
Oz looked distracted. It was like he was being bombarded with so many stimuli all at once, that he felt like he was all over the place. “Wait,” he said, tilting his head to the side. Suddenly he pointed to an obscure point ahead of them, and Isabel found herself being dragged towards the exit. “Analise!” Oz yelled, raising one hand up in the air.
“Oz!” the woman said, standing on her tiptoes. She had some sort of French accent, which Isabel found endearing. “Oz!” she said again, meeting the two of them halfway.
“Analise, how are you?” Oz said, raising his eyebrows at the blonde, scantily clad woman. Isabel could recognize a fellow succubus when she saw one. She eyed her up and down, and, realizing she was being a bit too invasive, looked away.
“I’m alright, what about you? Ah! I see you brought her with you,” Analise said, her green eyes boring into Isabel.
Isabel opened her mouth but no words came out. The truth was, she was star-struck by Analise. She was probably the most beautiful succubus she had ever laid eyes on, not that she’d seen many of them, but either way she was enchanted by Analise’s flawless porcelain skin, short, choppy platinum blonde hair, icy green eyes, and pearly teeth. Isabel wondered how long she’d been around and how many men she fed on each day? It must be a lot. And they must all worship her. “Hello,” Isabel said finally, feeling the insides of her cheeks dry up like prunes.
“She’s beautiful,” Analise said, flashing Oz a smirk. “It’s a good thing you’ve brought her to us.”
“She is,” Oz nodded in agreement, wrapping an arm around Isabel’s waist. She jumped at the sensation, but then settled down again, smiling at Analise.
“Hungry?” Analise asked, flashing Isabel a coy smile.
“Not at all,” she lied, feeling Oz’s fingers play at the very tips of her hair and down the length of her back. She thought back to what Moira had said about her loyalties being tested in Paris, and the truth was, she didn’t even feel like feeding on anyone else but Oz. Her mind kept wandering, though. What about all those people— specifically men— she was going to meet? What if they end up starving her? What if they couldn’t be trusted? A million thoughts were racing through her mind, but one thing was for sure; whether she liked it or not, she was going with this Analise.
“Well, I doubt you’ll feel hungry ever again when you come with us,” Analise said with a sincere grin. Oz didn’t say anything. He just took Isabel’s hand and squeezed it, as if to reassure her. “Well, then, I think we should get going,” Analise said again. “There’s a limo waiting for us outside.”
Isabel had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. The car ride seemed to extend for an eternity. She couldn’t keep her eyes off the road, following it ever so attentively, taking in all the details. The car took them up to the countryside, where Isabel would be staying. In the distance she caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a mansion, towering on top of a flowery hill. Even in the darkness, Isabel could make out the details of the forest-like landscape. One of the things she liked most about being a succubus was the night vision. She shifted in her seat and smiled to herself, thinking about how wild of a ride this was.
“So, Isabel, we’re going to take you up to your room, in the tower,” Analise said, pointing to the dome-like roof. The mansion was hidden largely in trees, their flowery vines dangling off the balcony of Isabel’s assigned room.
“We’re giving you the royal treatment,” Oz said, flashing Isabel a coy smile. She smiled back, but the truth was, she really didn’t get it. She had heard both Oz and Gavin talking time and time again about how special she was, how she was one of the best of her kind. But she couldn’t really wrap her head around the reason behind it all. Soon enough, the limo pulled over in front of a big iron gate, and a bunch of guards opened it up to let them pass through. Isabel was growing more apprehensive by the second, but every time she looked over at Oz for reassurance, he always made her feel safe.
“You’re awfully quiet, Isabel,” Analise said in one of the sultriest tones Isabel had ever heard. She wondered if this was her normal way of talking, or if there was something more, something suggestive, about her tone of voice.
“Can you really blame me?” she asked, looking over at Oz. “I literally just landed in the most beautiful city in the world.”
“Pretty fitting for a woman like you,” Oz smiled. He and Analise exchanged brief glances, which Isabel could only interpret as consensus over her beauty. She basked in that for a moment before realizing they were pulling over again. “Alright, well, let’s take you up to your room,” Oz said, popping his door open and stepping out of the limo. Isabel looked up, star-struck by the architecture of the place; this place she would be staying for the unforeseeable future. She followed Analise up a marble set of stairs and just stood there while the blonde beeped away at a security monitor at the front door. Suddenly, the doors parted, inviting Isabel to step inside.
“Don’t be afraid,” Analise said, her pearly teeth showing through her smile. “Follow me.” Isabel’s feet moved in the direction of the entrance, her heels clicking against the hardwood floor. “Aden!” Analise said, her voice echoing all over the place. A young man stepped outside, looking Isabel up and down before his lips curved to a smile. He was broad across the shoulders, with short curly hair cascading down his forehead and freckles spread out over his face and nose. “Hello,” he said, not taking his eyes off Isabel. “I’m Aden.”
“Hi,” she said, her eyes darting from Oz, to Aden, and then to Oz again.
“You go ahead, Aden’s going to show you your room,” he said, flashing Isabel a coy smile. Instantly, she could feel her feet taking her to where Aden was, the two of them starting up the stairs.
“So, Isabel, I’ve heard a lot about you,” Aden said, glancing at her briefly in between steps. The tower was so high up Isabel could tell they still had a long way to go.
“What have you heard about me?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at him. Suddenly she could feel the hunger tugging at her insides. No, now’s not the right time, she thought to herself. As they made their way up, Isabel caught glimpses of incubi going from door to door, rushing down the hallways, making beelines for each other’s rooms. Wow, this is totally the definition of torture, she thought to herself, because the truth was, they were all gorgeous. Isabel let out a sigh, thinking about how hard living here was bound to be. She wasn’t allowed to feed on anyone but Gavin and Oz, and that thought scared her, let alone the reasons behind it. She had grown used to not questioning them, to obeying their orders without much thought, but when something like this popped up, it messed with her head, nipping away at the logic she had structured in her brain. All these men were taking away her sanity. Isabel was going crazy just by the sight of them. Some of them were scurrying about the hallways naked, and she could swear she was this close to turning around and going in for the kill.
“I’ve heard you’re one of the freshest, most beautiful succubi of our time,” Aden said, turning to Isabel. He dropped her suitcases for a moment, dusted himself off and then picked them up again, gesturing for her to follow him down a red-carpeted hall. “You’re also one of the most powerful ones of our time, too.”
Isabel let out a polite giggle. “I don’t know what to say,” she admitted. “I don’t feel all that powerful.”
“Oh, but you are,” Aden said with an all-knowing grin. He stopped at the end of the hall and climbed up another, smaller set of stairs. “We’re almost there,” he said. “Just hold on a little bit more.”
Isabel sighed loudly. “Am I going to have to climb up and down all those stairs every time I need something?” she asked, her head cocked to the side.
“You’re going to have everyone— including me— to serve you,” Aden said. Finally, he stopped at a gold-plated door framed with velvet, and he unlocked it, letting Isabel into her room. She couldn’t help but shiver. The room was beyond what she had expected. The furniture was all gold-plated, and she could’ve sworn she caught a glimpse of some rhinestones glittering somewhere on the walls. Aden turned to her, motioning for her to step inside. “Come on in,” he said.
Although Isabel was utterly blown away by the setup, she still couldn’t take her eyes off Aden. Her stomach was growling, and the hunger was taking over her, in all its forms. “Thanks,” she said, pretending to fumble with her luggage. “You can go now, I need to change.”
“Since when do succubi need to worry about that?” he asked, taking a step closer to Isabel. Slowly, he wrapped both arms around her waist. “Honey, with us, there’s no such thing as overexposure.” Suddenly, Isabel bounced back.
“No, I don’t think I can do this,” she said, despite the heat that was building up inside of her. It was like she had been programmed, made to believe that she belonged to no one else but her creators, and in a way, she was okay with that. “You’re free to go now.”
“Excellent,” she heard a voice say. Isabel jumped when she saw Oz appear from behind Aden, a wide grin on his face. “You’ve passed the first test,” he said, raising an eyebrow at Isabel. She shook her head in confusion, and then Analise appeared at the doorway, a cheesy smile patched to her face.
“I’d like to congratulate you, Isabel,” she said. “I think you’re probably stronger than you thought you were.”
Isabel’s eyes jumped from person to person, watching them as they watched her. “What was the point of this?” she asked, averting her gaze to Oz. He was pretty much the only person she trusted out of everyone.
“It’s all a part of your training,” he said. “I don’t want you to worry.”
Isabel nodded. But deep down, the hunger was still tugging at her. “Can I have something to eat?” she asked, almost robotically.
“Of course,” Aden said, making a beeline for the bar they had set up for her. He stared at it for a second then started fumbling with the liquor bottles, picking up a small piece of crimson red satin cloth and polishing them clean. “Would you like a drink, Isabel?”
She shook her head. She didn’t know what it was about alcohol that repulsed her. She never used to be like that, but maybe, Isabel figured, it was because alcohol had always been her number one go-to for when she wanted to charm someone. And now she didn’t need to do that anymore. It took some getting used to, she admitted, but at the end of the day, she was living a whole new life, and with that, came a whole lot of changes. “I just really need to eat,” she said in a low voice. But deep down, she knew it wasn’t food she was craving. Isabel didn’t need food to survive.
“Don’t be ashamed, Isabel,” Aden said, kneeling down and pushing aside a small, velvet drape. He grabbed the handle to a mini fridge, hidden away under the bar, and he pulled out an oversized bowl of fruit. “This is for you,” he said with a smile. “We’ll be bringing you your dinner in a little while. Pork chops, paella rice, string beans…”
“That sounds great,” she said, turning to Oz.
“Alright, well, until then, do you want to leave the two of us alone?” he asked Aden, his voice firm.
Aden nodded, turned around and disappeared into the hallway. “Well, I guess I should be going, too,” Analise said, flipping her hair back.
“No, can you wait, actually?” Oz asked, following her out the door. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something…”
Isabel rolled her eyes. “Well, this is going to be weird,” she said to herself, turning around and making her way for the bar. The fruit looked nothing but ravishing, but Isabel didn’t care to touch them. She knew that filling herself up with food would do nothing for the kind of hunger that was clawing its way up inside her. Suddenly she caught a whiff of Oz lingering in the air of her room. Instantly, she felt a current rush through her. “Oh, come back, already!” she yelled, stomping her feet.
“What was that?” Oz asked, popping his head in through the inched open door.
“Nothing,” Isabel said, turning away.
Oz crept inside and closed the door quietly behind him. “You know you want me,” he hissed, stepping in closer and closer to her. Isabel could feel the heat boiling up inside of her.
“I’ve been waiting on you all day,” she said. “Why did you leave me hanging like that?”
“Didn’t I tell you?” he asked, his head cocked to the side. “It’s all a part of your training.” And then he paused, clearing his throat. “And besides, Gavin will be here, soon.”
Isabel raised her eyes to Oz. His stare was boring into her, penetrating her utmost, deepest desires. She knew what he had in mind, and, even though she was ashamed to admit it, Isabel felt the exact same way. She wanted them both so bad, and she wanted them both at the same time. “I can’t wait,” she said, smiling against his lips.