The man stilled behind Soraya; his cock still buried deep inside her throbbing sex. Her legs shook as she felt her ears fill with pressure, their panting breaths becoming the only sound she could hear for a moment.

  Raziel? Through her lust-soaked mind, Soraya recalled that was the stranger’s name.

  Regardless of his identity, Raziel’s sudden stillness, her next orgasm hanging by a thread, drew a frustrated whine from her lips. His grip on her hips flexed, and she felt him twitch inside her, causing her inner walls to clench down around his hardness. A thrill shot through her as his panting turned jagged.

  She didn’t care that they’d been caught. The new stranger could watch for all she cared—though something nagged at the back of her mind, a faint recognition that she’d heard his voice before. Arching her back, she rose onto her tiptoes and used the leverage of the wall in front of her to slowly inch off Raziel’s cock until she could feel the head nestled at her dripping entrance.

  “Lestis,” Raziel panted, struggling to control his heavy breathing and failing. “Didn’t expect—” His words choked off suddenly as Soraya slammed her entire body backward onto his erection.

  Stars burst behind her eyes as a powerful orgasm ripped up her spine. His hips stuttered against her backside, and a weak curse escaped his lips, mingling with her moan of pleasure. She imagined they were putting on quite a show for Lestis as she trembled on his cock, lewd noises spilling from her mouth. But in the moment, she couldn’t bring herself to care, her mind going blissfully blank and tingling with pleasure.

  Before she could come down from her high, Raziel suddenly pulled out of her, causing her body to jerk. He wrapped his muscled arm around her waist and lifted her up, tucking her into his left side and partially concealing her from Lestis. The sound of a zipper registered faintly in her mind just as she felt her thong and leggings being tugged up her thighs until they settled around her hips.

  “Are you quite done?” Lestis’s bored tone pierced through her blissful haze. Something at the back of her mind glimmered with familiarity, but it was quickly overshadowed by the mortifying realization of what she had just done—in front of a stranger!

  Soraya stood against Raziel’s heaving chest, letting her long hair obscure her face from this Lestis. She was too embarrassed to face him at the moment.

  “Lestis—” Raz began, raspy voice low, but Lestis cut him off.

  “You know, Raz, I find it quite the coincidence that I should find you getting your cock wet so soon after the attack on this city,” Lestis intoned. “Then, there’s the assault at The Pearl, more people dead—and if I’m remembering correctly, you liked to satisfy your carnal desires as a reward for a job well done. I don’t suppose this female here is—”

  A snarl ripped through the alley, making her freeze and Raziel pressed her harder into him.

  “Lestis, I think it would be a good idea for you to walk away right now before you jump to any more conclusions,” Raz hissed in warning.

  The alleyway went deathly quiet. Soraya, feeling strangely caught in the middle of something that shouldn’t involve her, peered through her hair to get a good look at Lestis. She felt as if she recognized that slightly arrogant tone.

  She saw Lestis standing at the entrance of the alley, his hands tucked into the pockets of his black pants. Lights attached to the buildings above illuminated half of his face, and though his stance appeared casual, Soraya could tell he was anything but relaxed as he stared Raziel down.

  Her eyes roamed from his short black hair to the half of his face that was illuminated, and something inside her stirred with awareness. She’d seen him before. A soft gasp escaped her when she felt his gaze flash down to hers, and the one eye that was visible glinted crimson red. When their gazes locked, it was as if an electrical current shot through her, unlocking memories of the man she had met at the restaurant.

  It was that man from not three nights before. The one who had allowed her to eat off his plate before taking her to a room and… Soraya scowled. It was the same arrogant prick. He had thought her a sex worker… and here she was, fucking a different stranger in an alleyway like some run-of-the-mill prostitute. She couldn’t let him know it was her.

  Lestis’s tone turned oddly lethal as he inquired, “Raziel, who is this female?”

  “Leave her alone. I’m warning you, Lestis. She has nothing to do with this,” Raz said in an equally deadly tone.

  Soraya’s heart lurched. Luckily for her, they didn’t sound like friends. Unluckily for her, they sounded on the verge of violence, and she did not want to be standing between them when a fight broke out. She sent up a quick prayer that they weren’t involved in a gang or, God forbid, the mafia.

  It can’t get worse than this, Soraya thought to herself as she quickly tried to devise an exit plan.

  “Love, are you alright?” Lestis asked, completely ignoring Raziel.

  Startled, Soraya realized he was addressing her.

  She couldn’t hide any longer. She was an adult, after all, and adults had to face their problems head-on.

  She cleared her throat. “Lestis,” she acknowledged. “I didn’t think we’d see each other again.”

  She wanted to die. She wished the floor would open up beneath her and swallow her whole. Forcing herself to look at him, she brushed her hair behind her ear and gave Lestis a tight-lipped smile. She was still pissed at him for thinking she was a sex worker, but in the end… could she really blame the guy?

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  Raziel’s body turned frigid behind her. “You know each other?”

  Soraya answered “No” at the same time Lestis said “Yes.”

  An awkward silence ensued before Soraya pushed out of Raz’s grip, the air pressure popping in her ears, and pulled herself to her full height. “It was only for a night, nothing serious. I hardly consider that as knowing one another.” Just like how there was nothing serious between her and Raziel.

  A breeze blew through the silent alleyway, and loose paper scraped across the stone floor. Raziel coughed, sounding oddly like he was trying to cover up a laugh.

  Soraya swallowed, her eyes darting to Lestis as she sent him a pleading look not to say anything. She could feel him watching her like a hawk, his shoulders rolling back as he remained quiet.

  He couldn’t possibly be mad at me—he doesn’t even know me. Soraya tried to recall more of that night to properly gauge his reaction. She had eaten his food… he had taken her to the back room… given her an outstanding wine and delicious dessert. Then, things had gotten hot and heavy for a moment, but before anything could progress, he was called away and promised to “compensate” her. Since he was willing to pay her for her services, she assumed her meal was paid for and called it even.

  She left the room and was headed for the front door when—

  Her eyebrows furrowed as her memories turned hazy, and the hairs on the back of her neck began to rise. She had encountered… Soraya shook her head. She had been staring out the windows and—nothing.

  “Are you okay?” Raziel whispered in her ear as he bent down.

  Soraya opened her mouth to respond, “I—“

  A loud, treacherous screech cut her off abruptly, coming from above them. Before Soraya could understand what was happening, she was shoved to the cobblestone floor as the sound of shattering glass rained down all around her.

  Soraya’s hands smarted as they slapped against the cobblestone. She felt a sudden cold gust of air rush over her, followed by a sickening thud and a loud screech that rattled her brain.

  Snapping her head up, she watched through a cloud of what appeared to be dust floating around her as a large frog-like creature barreled down the alleyway, coming from the direction Lestis had been in just a second before. Panicked, she scrambled to her knees, trying to get out of the way, when the creature shrieked and burst into flames.

  It staggered, its body crumpling to the ground as it writhed in pain. Horrified, Soraya watched as the monster’s body began to disintegrate right before her eyes. Ash floated up from the spot where it fell, piece by piece until its body disappeared entirely within seconds.

  “Get up!”

  Soraya was lifted and placed on her feet. She found herself staring at the two imposing figures of Raziel and Lestis, who were locked in a tense stare-down with one another. Before they could say another word, she decided she’d had enough.

  Ripping herself free from the grip they both had on her forearms, she spun around and sprinted down the right side of the alley. Adrenaline took over as she realized this wasn’t the first time she’d seen these monsters before. All she could focus on was the single thought of getting to Jesmine and Ahvi as the memories came flooding back to her.

  “Wait!” she heard one of them shout, just as another shriek sounded behind her. It only spurred her on faster as she reached the end of the alley without looking back. She rounded the corner, and she could feel some sort of film pass over her as she took off down the street. But she pulled up short as the stench of something foul and rotting hit her square in the face. Her breath came in ragged gasps as she looked at the unfamiliar landscape around her, marked with clear evidence of recent destruction.

  There were two rows of what looked like townhouses and shops sloping down a cobblestone street. The green and white homes were battered and leaned on one another like fallen dominoes. Seaweed and dead fish hung from the houses, as well as some of the streetlamps. Sand, debris, and fish carcasses were scattered up and down the street as far as she could see.

  Her eyes traveled down the sloped street and over the sandy beach at the end of the hill. The dark water, crested with white waves, crashed onto the white sand beach. Beyond it, the sky was lit to a grayish hue as the promise of dawn approached.

  As she gazed upon the broken harbor town, her gaze snapped to her left, as if drawn in that direction. Along the curve of the bay, she could see a giant white dome-shaped building with curved pillars arching around it. An image of white luminescent walls flashed through her mind.

  As more pieces of her memories began to return, Soraya failed to notice a figure stepping into the street from the shadows.

  She caught movement at the edge of her vision and realized something was approaching. In the blink of an eye, the figure was upon her, and she had just enough time to look into its blood-red eyes and jagged mouth, partially hidden beneath a broad-brimmed hat. The image of shifting windows and a tall, menacing figure breaking down a door entered her mind.

  Soraya didn’t have time to move or scream as the humanoid creature slashed its claw-tipped hand across her, sending her flying to the ground. She hardly felt the impact as pain exploded from her right arm.

  Shocked, she looked up as death loomed above her. The creature maintained its blood-red eye contact as it brought its clawed hand to its mouth. A white tongue slithered out to lick what she realized was her blood.

  The creature’s eyes shuddered closed as it got a taste of her. Its nostrils flared as it basked in the flavor of her blood.

  Paralyzed, all she could do was lie there and hope this was just a nightmare. That it wasn’t real, that this wasn’t really happening to her right now. Except… as her memories crashed into her like waves, one after another, she knew it wasn’t a dream. This was happening, and she couldn’t stop it.

  The creature’s eyes shot open, its mouth twisting into a sinister grin. It took a step toward her but suddenly stopped and snapped its head to the side.

  In a blink, the creature was gone. The sound of a loud crash made her turn her head to the left, where a new hole had appeared in the house beside her. Soraya looked to her right to see a panting Raziel, his arm outstretched, every line of his face etched with pure rage.

  Wood groaned, and Soraya shot her gaze back to the house. The rhythmic sound of heavy boots against a wooden floor echoed from within.

  Forcing herself to move, Soraya didn’t wait to see what would happen next. She had to get to the pearl-like building, the memory of a door that could take her back home flashing through her mind. She didn’t have time to think about the impossibility of magical doors—not when it was her only hope.

  Turning up the street, she began to sprint. She could feel her injured arm tingling and throbbing, but thanks to the adrenaline, the pain felt distant.

  Pumping her arms, she could hear the distinct sound of fighting behind her. She quickly turned off the main road and down another side alley. She could feel an energy rushing up through her legs and coursing through her entire body. Even the rancid air being pulled into her lungs seemed charged with an energy that fueled her speed.

  She was halfway down the alley when one of those frog-like monsters appeared at the end of it. Skidding to a stop, she knew she couldn’t outrun the creature as it spotted her and, with a guttural shriek, launched itself toward her.

  In a split second, she spotted a side door to the green building next to her.

  All she wanted was to get back to Jesmine and Ahvi. She didn’t want to die. Sending up a prayer, she lunged for the door and twisted the handle, hoping against hope it wasn’t locked. Ramming her entire body into the wood, she felt the door give way, and a surge of power rushed through her, around her, and out of her.

  She stumbled through as a prickling sensation washed over her. Once her feet crossed the threshold, she slammed the door shut behind her and slid the lock into place.

  Panting hard, she looked over and saw a broom resting against a fridge. Snatching it like a weapon, she backed away from the door, wondering if it would hold against the monster. But it was eerily quiet on the other side of the door… a door that, she began to realize, looked very familiar.

  Soraya took another step back, her mind reeling, when someone grabbed her from behind.

  Shouting, Soraya spun around, broom raised high, and stopped as she came face to face with a stunned-looking Jesmine in a hospital gown.

  Eyes darting to the raised broom, Jesmine asked, “Dude, what the fuck is going on?”