Bite me
-Lucy Heartfilia (AKA Lucy the Celestial Valkyrie)
You wouldn't be my bride if you didn't like a little adventure.
-Natsu Dragneel (AKA Natsu the Salamander)
If you had asked past Lucy where she saw herself in the future, it would not be here. Present Lucy stood in a small pond of murky water covered in engorged leeches that attached themselves to her skin. Natsu stood beside her, in much the same state, arguing with the owner of the said pond—the water up to their thighs. Shock flooded through her as she took in their surroundings. They had fallen through a dark tunnel from above and landed in what looked like an underground market. The stands appeared to stretch on forever. The ceiling of earth and vegetation vaulted above them. Their fall had drenched nearby stands in water and leeches. Customers scattered to pick up the little creatures from the ground as if they were pieces of currency. Some patrons even fought over their wiggling leech bodies. Gross.
"You've destroyed my stand, my supply tunnel, you are currently standing in my merchandise, and you want me to not call the authorities!" The man stood sodden by the splash of water from his pond. His stand fell to rubble around his feet, and a large crowd had formed from all the commotion. The man's face was a concerning beet purple, his hands firmly on his hips, and Natsu had the nerve to smile and incite him further.
"I'll have you know, buddy, that what you're selling is illegal," Natsu said. These revolting leeches were illegal? On closer inspection, along with their large rolling eyes and pulsing bodies, they shimmered an otherworldly opalescent shade. Not normal leeches. "Plus, you left that hole up there. If you ask me, that was an accident waiting to happen. We should call authorities on you." The two of them had gone around in circles about the stand. A new batch of leeches slid down the tunnel from above and landed in the shallow pool of water at their feet with a sobering splash. Lucy lost her patience and stepped out of the pond. One thing at a time. She'd worry about the leeches after she dealt with the owner.
"Hey, how much do you need for damages?" she asked. Natsu and the stand owner ignored her and continued to bicker. Lucy didn't have time to listen to their male squabbles. She unlatched her whip from her hip and slid the familiar leather between her fingers. When was the last time she had a chance to use it? When she unfurled the weapon, power buzzed around her, her muscles relaxed, and her focus sharpened. Natsu's sentence ceased abruptly, his argument long forgotten.
"Don't ignore me!" the owner said. His short finger pointed to Natsu in a warning.
"Listen here." Lucy allowed the length of the whip to fall beside her feet with an audible thud. "I'm willing to pay for the damages to your stand. I will not pay for your shitty hole that nearly broke my neck." She gripped the whip and power flowed through the mystical conduit. Sparks slid down the leather and crackled in the air. Natsu ignored the man, stepped out of the pool of water, and began burning the leeches from his skin.
"What are you doing? You're destroying my goods!" The owner hesitated; his eyes slid to Lucy, but his glare sharpened on Natsu. "Tell your bitch to leave this to us." Lucy snapped her whip up and brought it down against the man's arm with a thundering crack. The man's face struck the dirt floor in a blink. When he groaned, soil puffed out of his mouth.
"Well, I was going to pay, but now I'm just angry."
"Fuck you." The man spat at her feet. Natsu crouched in front of his face with a fist lit in flames.
"Try spitting at her again," Natsu said. The shop owner's eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to speak. A rasping dry sound came from his lips, which cracked and peeled in the heat. The man's face reddened with the increased intensity of the flame. "Are you going to call her a bitch again?" The man shook his head while the brows on his face disintegrated. Natsu lifted the corner of his mouth.
"Natsu, that's enough. You can—"
"They're coming!" A voice cut through the crowd. Natsu extinguished his flame and stood. Lucy rolled her whip in a practiced movement and attached it to her waist. The pond owner groaned and twisted on the floor. Patrons scattered like insects at the warning. Whoever made their way toward them scared the people here.
"Time to run?" Lucy asked.
"Yup." Natsu took her hand and tugged her through the crowd. From his palm, he emitted a heat that traveled across her skin. The leeches dropped from her body and left small red marks everywhere. If he could hear her through all the commotion, Lucy would have thanked him. A few bodies brushed against her bruised skin. She turned her head and tightened her grasp on Natsu's hand. Three darkly cloaked figures appeared to float down the path they had come, their faces shrouded by dark hoods, and their garments fell to the ground to cover their limbs if they had any. Lucy picked up speed beside Natsu.
"Behind us." The words came out in short bursts, all she could manage as they ran. While her eyes desperately searched for something familiar in the underground cavern, Natsu's eyes remained transfixed ahead. He tugged at her arm and rounded the corner toward a large burgundy tent. The whole thing laced with lights and an open sign sat out front. A small elderly woman sat in a chair just outside, her frail hands held an absurdly long pipe, and a grin spread over her face as they neared.
"Madam, if you please." Natsu bowed to the woman who blew a massive cloud of smoke in their direction. The smoke tendrils stuck to their skin like thick humidity and forced Lucy to cough. Natsu pulled her close, so their bodies pressed together.
"Not the time!" Lucy protested, but Natsu's lips were against her ear.
"Shh. Don't move." The ghostly cloaked figures hovered closer and halted in front of the woman's tent. One of them came mere inches away from them. The elderly woman exhaled a long puff of smoke in its direction, who appeared unbothered by their presence.
"Would you mind moving along?" the woman said, "You're scaring the customers." Her brows furrowed and deepened the lines on her face. The figure hesitated but moved along. The other two figures followed behind it in silence. Lucy shivered in Natsu's grasp. When the Lorean customers emerged from their hiding, Natsu released her.
"You should have let them take you," the old woman said.
"You know better than that, Madam Tear," Natsu said.
"Unfortunately, I do." She smiled up at the two of them and tapped the mouthpiece of her pipe to her lips. "You're searching for Dacia."
"How did you know?" Lucy asked.
"She's a soothsayer," Natsu said. "You know, Madam, why I can't allow them to capture us."
"You know nothing little dragon." She gave him a knowing smile that reached her eyes. "Though I'm glad to see you're on the right track with this one." She gestured toward Lucy. "She's pretty."
"Who are you?" Lucy asked.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Madam Tear puffed on her long pipe. The mystical smoke wafted into the air.
"Why did you say I should let them take us?" Natsu squatted in front of the woman with arms resting on his knees. The picture of them together reminded Lucy of a grandson and his grandmother.
"They have a Dacian," she said with another inhale of smoke.
"If these Dacians are legendary, why is one captured by—what are those things?" Lucy asked.
"Wraiths, nasty things." Madam Tear's earrings jingled when she shivered and tapped out some ash from her pipe. She peered up at Lucy with narrowed eyes. "Lorean traffickers."
"Like human trafficking? That feels hard to believe. Loreans aren't exactly easy to kidnap," Lucy said.
"Don't underestimate wraiths."
"And you wanted them to catch us? Thanks," Natsu said.
"You need that Dacian to get into their city." Madam Tear shrugged.
"I thought Dacians weren't able to leave the city." Natsu's brows raised.
"Only the assassins leave," Madam Tear said. The woman eyed Lucy and tapped at her pipe. "You didn't think they would allow anyone to leave and remain alive to tell others the location of their precious city, did you?" Her chest shook with laughter. "Besides, that Dacian needs help."
"Why?" Natsu asked.
"Things are in unrest in Dacia."
"Do you think you can get in without a Dacian, Natsu?" Lucy asked.
"I said I could get us into Pandemonia. I'm not even sure it's there." Natsu lifted his gaze, eyes unfocused on the woman's tent.
"More reason to have a Dacian show you." The woman's cough sounded as though something rattled around in her chest.
"Are you okay?" Lucy asked.
"I was once. Mistakes are easy to make, not so easy to make right." She stood from her chair. Lucy leaned in to help her up, but she shooed her away with her free hand. The other clasped to her long pipe. Before she disappeared into the tent, she had turned to Natsu. "Be careful, little dragon. I hope we meet again."
"Well, that was helpful," he said.
"Should we ask her where they're keeping the Dacian? Capture is not the only option." The idea of those cloaked figures descending upon them, to capture and sell them to other Loreans, disturbed her.
"We don't have to." Natsu moved around the tent and followed a type of alley between booths and tents.
"What is this place, Natsu? Have you been here before?" The question had sat on her tongue since their argument with the merchant.
"It's a kind of black market for Loreans. The Horde use this place a lot."
"Like the dark web?" Lucy asked.
"Like what?" Natsu took her hand when the crowd massed around them.
"You can't tell me that an evil group like the Horde doesn't use the dark web."
"I don't even know what that is."
"None of you use computers?" Even in the noisy crowd, she heard him laugh. The sound stirred something in her stomach. The genuine laughter took her by surprise.
"Lucy, we live in castles. We don't actually do tech."
"Good point, but you're all missing out."
"Been on this dark web a lot?" Natsu tilted his head so that he could glance behind him. His grin lit up his face, and her heart did another embarrassing twist. My gods, I'm like a lovesick teen.
Bodies sped by them as they moved through the dark market. Eyes flashed different shades of colors as they bumped past other beings. She swore some of them were human. Though that would blatantly disobey the rules of the gods. If the Lore remained hidden, they may mingle with humans. Wrath would rain down if they became exposed. Yet, here were humans partaking in Lorean wares. At the speed they moved, she barely made out what each booth sold. She caught a glimpse of normal magic items. Crystals, bones, herbs, but there were other things. Heads on sticks, live creatures squirming in bottles, and nasty-looking weapons. The booths crushed in on each other, some of them stacked giving the whole place a city-like appearance.
"Wait." She tugged at his hand to try, in vain, to stop their forward trajectory. Meeting with the strange, cloaked figures left her uneasy. "We're going deeper in!" Where was Natsu taking her? The crowd thickened the farther they went. Voices rose higher as she made out some of their conversations.
"How much is this one?"
"I hope it isn't another nymph."
"What? I hope it is another nymph." The voices of Loreans buzzed around them. What was going on? A small stage set up in the middle of the market came into view. They stopped and hovered in the shadows of a tent. She leaned toward Natsu, who lowered his ear to her.
"Are you insane? What is this?" she asked. Adrenaline pumped through her veins as she took in their cramped surroundings.
Her warm breath against his ear sent a shiver down his back. A few places came to mind that he wouldn't mind sneaking her to for a while. If it weren't for the damn Dacian, he'd kick out whoever owned the tent beside them and take her there. The image of her from the night before, her naked in his bed, flashed through his mind.
"If they have a Dacian, this is where they will be selling him." Natsu crossed his arms over his chest to keep his hands to himself. Someone pushed through the crowd behind her and knocked her off balance. To keep from falling over, she gripped his wrist, and her breasts pressed against his arm. He never wanted someone so bad in his life. He hadn't fed in quite some time either. The thirst beat at him as they stood in the crowd of onlookers. She raised a brow at the man that shoved through the crowd to get closer to the stage.
"I would tell him off if we weren't in the middle of the living embodiment of the dark web," she said. Another voice rang out across the crowd.
"Our next piece up for auction!" A short bald man stood on the stage in an obnoxious green suit. His arms waved at the dark figures moving toward the stage. The crowd parted for them. A man fought an invisible force that pulled him toward the stage. Because of the approaching merchandise, the crowd's voices hushed. The wraiths never touched their victims, and there were whispers of telekinesis. This wasn't the first time he'd witnessed a selling, but he avoided it if he could. The Horde didn't deal in trafficking, as evil as it was. Under Zeref's rule, a lot of darker Horde dealings had ended. Now that he knew about Mavis, the thought crossed his mind that Zeref's calmed behavior was her doing.
"This is disgusting." Lucy wrapped her arms around herself. The wraiths tossed the man on stage. His body fell to the floor with his arms tied together by another invisible force. When he fell forward, he smashed his face into the wooden stage and rolled onto his side. His long black hair covered his face like a shield. The bald man sneered at the vampire but smiled at the crowd.
"Here we have a Dacian assassin! Do with him what you will!" The man's arms waved at the vampire in a heap on the floor. His body lay motionless. Something about the victim felt familiar to Natsu. If only he could scent him, he'd be able to tell if they'd met.
"Are you alright?" Lucy asked.
"I think I know that guy."
"How could you know that? I can't even see his face."
"Let the bidding begin!" The auctioneer's voice boomed without a microphone at his lips. A few hands flew up. Some shouted substantial sums of money, and the auctioneer repeated them out for everyone to hear.
"How are we going to get him out of this?" Lucy asked.
"By taking him, from whoever wins him, of course." The crowd tightly packed in around the stage. Too many eyes to take him now. The cloaked wraiths remained around the Dacian like guards. The figures were no longer responsible for the merchandise once headed to the buyer. The biddings trickled in after the initial wave. The auctioneer's phony grin carved in place, but his voice strained with impatience.
"This is a pure-bred Dacian, a leech of old Lore! I see only some of you can see its value." This perked up some ears. A few Loreans wore grimaces and hands followed in the bidding. "Oh? Was I wrong in assuming that some of you are ignorant of the rare value of such a find?" A few more hands followed that statement.
"How do people fall for shit like that?" Lucy laughed through her nose and shook her head. The Dacian's body stirred on stage. He whipped his veil of hair from his face and winced when the auctioneer placed a shoe on his back. Now, Natsu knew why the man felt so familiar. The Dacian on stage was Rogue, Zeref's right hand, and Sting's confidant. Rogue's body stilled under the man's boot. His wince told Natsu that he had an injury somewhere they couldn't see.
"What is he doing here?" The real question was why the auctioneer continued to call him a Dacian. Rogue was a known Horde vampire. Dacians, up until now, were only a legend.
"So, you do know him?" Lucy asked.
"He's a Horde vampire."
"They keep saying he's Dacian. Can he be both?"
"We'll have to ask him when we get him out of there." The bidding went fast, and the amounts continued to grow. A tall reptilian demon grinned with triumph at their win and marched toward the stage with two other demons—much bulkier than himself—trailing behind him.
"Terrific. Okay, what now boy genius? You want to fight all three of them?" Lucy rolled her eyes and gripped the whip at her side. Earlier with the merchant, he'd felt a surge of power he'd never felt before coming from her. He'd ask her about that whip another time.
"Absolutely." Natsu's wide grin returned. The crowd dispersed and the auctioneer signaled for the next piece of merchandise. One of the reptilian demons slung Rogue's battered body over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. While most headed toward other booths, some stuck around and eyed the reptilians. All of them the losers of the auction. Lucy didn't blame the demon for bringing a bit of muscle with him. Natsu caught her hand and slid her through the chaotic crowd as another victim trudged on stage for the auction. The two of them followed the demons until they slipped past a booth and slunk down a tunnel covered in roots and vegetation. She pulled at Natsu's hand to stop him.
"What? Scared to take them?" he asked.
"As cute as that sounds, I'm pretty sure they're being followed." Lucy nodded toward two shifty-looking Loreans, with long feathered wings pinned to their backs, who entered the cave after them. "I think they had the same plan we did."
"Then we better hurry or they're going to take our fight!" His body gave off enough heat that Lucy felt it at their proximity. "I'm fired up now."
"Wait—" He gripped her hand and followed the rest of them into the darkness. Natsu's free hand lit in flames to illuminate the earth walls. Disembodied voices drifted in from the other end of the tunnel. They trudged carefully over exposed roots and rocky earth. "Have you even fought reptilians before?" she asked in the dark. The orange glow from his lit palm bounced off his skin and illuminated the grin that appeared there. If she didn't know Natsu, she'd say he appeared menacing.
"Not yet," he said.
"Wow, real nice date you took me on."
"What better date is there than a quest?" he replied. Unbelievable. Of all vampires in the world, this was the one that fate decided to put her with.
"What makes you think I like that kind of thing?"
"You wouldn't be my bride if you didn't like a little adventure." She opened her mouth to respond when a loud impact shook the walls of the cave. Both picked up speed toward the end of the tunnel. Her fingers detached her whip from her hip as they ran. The way ahead stretched on in ink-black shadows.
"Wasn't there moonlight outside when we fell down here?" she asked.
"Yeah, why?"
"So, shouldn't there be light at the end of the tunnel?" The pitch-black stretched toward them as though they'd walk into the void. They stopped in front of the dark wall that led out of the cave. "What is that?" Another crash came from the other side. Was this darkness a solid wall? Natsu stepped forward and reached out through the void. His hand slid behind the veil and disappeared. "Maybe we shouldn't—" Natsu stepped in completely and vanished. The darkness behind Lucy enveloped her in the tunnel. Only one way out.
She reached her hand out the way Natsu had. Nothing felt different on the other side, and with great trepidation, she stepped through the darkness. Her heart dropped to the floor when she felt a warm hand wrap around her wrist as she exited the tunnel. A hand clamped over her mouth before she could scream. Natsu pulled her behind an enormous bush as another massive impact shook the earth. She pulled his hand from her mouth, taking in the bizarre fight before them.
"Looks like you were right, Lucy," Natsu said. The great winged demons hovered over the reptilians. The beat of their feathery wings loud enough for them to hear. One of the reptilians lay in a heap on the ground, its neck at a grotesque angle. The others ignored the body, and stood in front of Rogue's motionless form, their attention on the skies. One winged demon shot down and slammed their feet into the face of the reptile with enough force to create a blast zone. The dust settled, and the beast hovered in the air with a wide grin. They spit something that sounded vile in an unfamiliar language at their enemy. Only two reptilians remained and wisely chose to retreat through the void that Natsu and Lucy had traveled through.
"You want to fight those?" Lucy asked. Instead of a reply, Natsu ran out toward the battlefield.
"Okay, chickens! It's my turn." He stood beside Rogue's body crumbled on the ground. Was he even conscious? The flying demons rattled off to each other until one shot toward Rogue, another barreled down toward Natsu. Lucy's whip cracked in the air; the wave of power toppled the one who dived toward the Dacian. The demon's neck hit a large rock with a loud snap. The air around Natsu rippled like a distant road on a sweltering day. The demon's eyes widened, but its momentum already set its fate. When the demon reached the vampire, the earth around Natsu exploded. Lucy picked up Rogue's limp body and moved away from the blast zone. The air around them grew eerily silent as the dust cleared.
"You alright in there?" Lucy called. A tan and bloodied hand shot out of the dust in a thumbs up. Only then did she wrap her whip at her waist. "I expected more power from those demons." Natsu sauntered from the crater he'd created. The demon now lay crumbled at the center, barely recognizable.
"I did too." Unlike Lucy, his tone fell in disappointment. "How's Rogue?" he asked. The vampire lay motionless on the ground.
"I mean, I can't tell if he's really dead. Leeches don't breathe and all." She nudged his shoulder with her boot and sucked in a breath when his body moved. A deep groan emanated from the mysterious new vampire. As soon as his eyes locked onto Lucy, he sprang up to grab for her. Shit. She had already tied up her whip, and her blade was out of reach tucked away in her boot. Her body froze as he lunged.
Natsu's fist came down on Rogue's arm before he got a hold of Lucy. With his other, he pushed her out of harm's way. His fresh heartbeat in his ears as he placed himself between the two of them. Rogue's eyes burned a bright red, and fangs sharpened.
"Watch yourself, Rogue. Or it'll be your neck next," Natsu said. The beaten vampire cradled his arm against his chest.
"Natsu?" Surprised recognition playing in his voice. Rogue's gaze distant and burned the bright red of bloodlust.
"Who were you expecting? Santa Claus?" The laugh that burst from Rogue took Natsu by surprise but didn't drop his guard. "You look like ass, Rogue. What happened to you?"
"I missed that shitty sense of humor of yours." Rogue moved to stand, then winced and remained where he sat in the dirt. He leaned back on his palms with legs stretched out in front of him.
"Are you a Dacian?" Lucy stepped forward with her arms crossed over her voluptuous chest, and her whip at the ready in her grasp.
"You're a lovely thing. Who are you?" Rogue licked his chapped and cut lips. Lucy's whip cracked in the air and snapped against the earth, terribly close to Rogue's crotch.
"Make that look again, or try to touch me, and I'll whip your balls clean off your body." Her eyes swirled a turbulent silver. Gods, she's perfect. "Why are you smiling?" Her eyes narrowed at Natsu. He held up his hands in submission.
"You lucky son of a bitch." Rogue chuckled as he slowly got to his feet and held his side. He nearly toppled over if it weren't for a tree he leaned on. "When did you find a bride? And a hot one at that."
"Watch it." Lucy held a finger up to Rogue as a warning.
"I think the better question here is when were you going to tell me that you were a Dacian?" Natsu asked.
"Would you have believed me if I told you?"
"If Dacians can't leave, how are you also a Horde vampire?" Lucy said.
"I think these questions are going to have to wait." Rogue cleared his throat roughly and spit out blood. "Let's find shelter, and I can explain." He gestured further in the thick forest.
"What? Here?" Lucy scrunched up her nose.
"Would you like to go back there where they can sell you off to the highest bidder?" Rogue asked and pointed toward the dark void they'd come through.
"We're still on Gaia anyway. Above ground from the market," Natsu said. The familiar smell of incoming rain permeated the air around them. When Rogue pushed from the tree, he grimaced and stumbled.
"How about a little hand?" Rogue held out his hand to Lucy to help him walk.
"In your dreams," she said. Natsu moved to Rogue's side and pulled his weak arm over his own stronger shoulder.
They found a cave as the first drops of rain struck the parched earth. Natsu sat Rogue on the ground with his back against the cave's rock wall. Lucy leaned across from them with her arms crossed, observant eyes surveyed the vampire Natsu once fought alongside.
"Spill it, Rogue." Natsu's curiosity ate away at him.
"I am a Dacian," he said finally, "I left centuries ago and found Zeref, later Sting." The long shadows drifted from his face as the moon peeked through the dense cloud cover of the night.
"You expect me to believe you not only escaped Dacia but also eluded Dacian assassins?" Natsu stood between Rogue and Lucy. The vampire, beaten and starved, sat on the cave floor like a cornered animal ready to strike at anything in the name of feeding himself. The power that emanated from him reflected in the bright eerie red glow of his eyes in the darkness.
"It doesn't matter if you believe me or not. Though, you know I cannot lie." The great yawn of the cave entrance filled with the sound of heavy rain. Rogue glanced between the two of them in a way that sent chills over Natsu's skin. Not far off from the predatory way Zeref would examine him. "As much as I appreciate the help, why did you rescue me?" His voice held the steady stillness of a calm lake before a thrown stone.
"We need to get into Dacia," Natsu said.
"Natsu," Lucy hissed.
"What? There is no use hiding what we know." He gestured to the injured vampire on the dirt floor. "And I'd rather not feel my mouth burn over this guy."
"Zeref finally opened up to you about the Fairy Tactician? Wow, good for him."
"You know about Mavis?" Lucy raised a brow. "Does that have something to do with why those things captured you?" She gestured to the mouth of the cave where the rain came in with a gust of wind, misting their heated faces.
"Smart girl. He asked me to look for Dacia after he discovered Mavis was there. I found a lead here."
"If he knew she was in Dacia, why send for Ultear the Queen of Time?" Lucy resigned herself to a protruding rock jutting from the cave wall. Rogue tilted his head and adjusted himself on the floor, clutching his wounded side.
"I wasn't there when he gave that order. I must have taken too long for his liking."
"What could she do?" Natsu asked.
"Turn back time. Possibly, to a time when he had Mavis."
"Isn't that dangerous?" Lucy asked. Rogue chuckled, meeting Natsu's eyes.
"What would you do to get your bride back, Natsu?" His grin appeared lopsided from the cut on his swollen lip. The answer came to him without a second thought. Anything. The thought of someone taking Lucy, or killing her, made his heart squeeze in his chest. If he had any doubt about the power of matehood before, he couldn't now. "Well, I hate to cut off the conversation, but I need to eat."
"Don't look at me," Lucy said.
"No worries. I'll be dining out this evening." Rogue wobbled but stood on his own.
"Get that wound from the wraiths?" Natsu asked.
"A Dacian assassin. Barely got away. The bastards." Rogue grimaced as he leaned against the rocky entry. The scent of damp earth wafted into the cavern and overpowered any other scent the rain may have washed away. "They'll always be after me, and don't worry about this." He gestured to his side. "After I feed, I can help you get to Dacia. We're all Horde family here after all." Rogue trudged out into the rain. His presence disappeared as soon as his body moved out of sight. Horde family, huh?
"Can we trust him?" Lucy's shoulders sagged.
"No, but we have more chance of finding Dacia with his help." Natsu gestured for her to scoot over on the rock for him to sit beside her. To his surprise, she didn't object. In fact, she leaned her head against his shoulder. "He used to be quiet, you know."
"Quiet?"
"Yeah, he kept to himself. Sting, another Horde vampire, usually spoke for them both. When Rogue finally conversed with me, his eyes had already changed with bloodlust." Lucy sat up and stretched her arms over her head. Her scent pervaded the space with the toss of her hair, and her heartbeat drummed in his ears like a song.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Lucy rubbed her neck.
"Like what?" Natsu stood and moved to lean on the other side of the cave. He couldn't smell past the damp earth and fresh rainstorm outside. I should have gone with him. His instincts alerted him to Lucy's welcoming form inside.
"When was the last time you fed?" The dreaded question. Natsu internally kicked himself for not feeding before they left. After taking her soft skin against his aching fangs, even if it were only an accident, he needed only Lucy. No one else would do. "Natsu?" Could he ask her? Lucy sat at the edge of the rock, her palms pressed to the surface, and eyes attentive and wide. If she said yes, would he be able to control himself?
Natsu's eyes swam in familiar darkness. Lucy's skin heated from his gaze.
"Since I touched you in the witch's dungeon." His voice was rougher than she'd heard before. Whatever she thought he'd say, that wasn't it. Her body responded in kind; thighs pressed together, attempting to relieve the building ache.
"And before that?"
"The night I tasted you." Natsu relinquished his spot at the cave entry to stand in front of her. The image of him between her legs, his eyes fixed on her face as he devoured her, replayed in her head like a dream.
"You need to feed." What was she saying? Her body craved his bite and begged her to give in. Clearly, all this vampire stuff was getting to her. When he grinned, his fangs lengthened in his mouth. Fangs should not be that sexy.
"Your eyes are silver again."
"Yours are black."
"If I said I did need to feed, what would you say?"
"Do you want to drink from me?" She meant her words to sound sarcastic, but instead, they felt breathless. When he nipped her last time, her legs nearly gave out. Say yes. Natsu leaned in enough to press his palms to the rock on either side of her. His face stilled inches from her own.
"Only if you ask me to," he said. Had Cana been right? Was Natsu different from those other vampires? Lucy had spent most of her life destroying the undead. She'd met so many that she'd become biased to their ways. But Natsu, at every turn, had proven her biases wrong. One of the many being his loyalty. She couldn't deny the way she felt. Couldn't hold back from her desire to have him sink his fangs into her, to feed from her alone.
"Sit down, Natsu." Lucy pointed to the rock. He hesitated but sat with obedience. She hadn't expected the thrill his actions elicited from her. His jaw went slack when she moved to straddle his lap and moved her long mane of hair over her shoulder to expose her neck. His obsidian gaze snapped to her bare skin.
"Lucy." His voice strained as his hands clenched to fists at his side.
"If we do this standing, I'll fall over," she said. As if acknowledging her invitation, he slid his hands over the small of her back to grab her rear and pull her flush against his obvious arousal.
"Can't have that, can we?" His face lit like a child given a gift for his birthday.
"Bite me, Natsu."
"With pleasure." Natsu slid a hand to the back of her neck, holding her in place. She grasped his upper arm and felt her pulse race as he leaned into her. The pinch of his fangs soon replaced with ecstasy. With his first draw of blood, a moan slipped from her lips, and his fingers dug into her hip. He groaned into her neck and sent her into a frenzy. Her hips rocked against his rigid shaft desperate for relief. Her clothes felt heavy against her skin. With each pull, a wave of pleasure washed over her. Natsu jerked his hips up to meet her demanding thrusts, and his name rolled from her lips like magic. With one final pull, she fell apart in his arms, his grip tight around her body.
Natsu stilled, pulled away, and licked delicately at the wound on her neck before it closed. He leaned his forehead against her shoulder. Hot breath ragged against her heated skin as he spoke. "You can let go." His voice a husky version of the playful tone he'd had before. She allowed her thighs to relax and released her grip on his arm.
"Is it like this every time?" Lucy's own voice a low whisper. Natsu chuckled and lifted his eyes to hers. His cheeks flushed from her blood running through his veins.
"Every time."
"I could get used to that." She slid from his lap and adjusted her clothes.
"Are you feeling alright?" Natsu inspected her while pinching the skin between his thumb and forefinger in his lap.
"I feel fine, why?" His shoulders visibly relaxed and he allowed his hands to drop as he stood.
"Making sure I didn't take too much," he said. In all her life, she'd never heard of a vampire that cared about taking too much blood from anyone. She cupped her hands over his cheeks and pulled his head down so that their lips met. He wrapped his arms around her, moved her close, and deepened their kiss. "What was that for?"
"Proving me wrong every time." Lucy strode toward the cave exit. The rain had dissipated, leaving behind glistening foliage and mud.
"Are you ready?" Rogue leaned against a tree that shaded the moonlight.
"How long have you been standing there?" She felt heat spread over her cheeks.
"Not long." He leaned away from the tree and stretched. His wounds had all disappeared, the dirt on his face gone with them, and he'd tied his hair up in a high ponytail. The only thing left on his face was a light scar across his nose. Now that he'd eaten and cleaned up, Rogue appeared quite attractive. His usual red haze over his eyes had dimmed. "You look well," he remarked as Natsu exited the cave behind her. He wagged his eyebrows at Lucy and turned to head down a muddy walking path covered in greenery.
"The minute we no longer need him, I want to rip out his fangs," Lucy said.
"Same," Natsu said.
The witches' living room fell quiet except for Erza's feet padding across the floor. The stillness disturbed when Gray appeared.
"What took you so long?" Erza demanded. Her pace slowed to a stop in front of the Forebearer. Gray shook some snow out of his hair, leaving little droplets on the hardwood floor.
"I had to wait for him to return." His voice was devoid of the edge he'd had when the other vampires occupied the room. "He wants to speak with you as well." Gray held out his hand. Erza hesitated. Her deep-rooted belief that a vampire only meant trouble clawed away at her. "Don't worry Valkyrie. I have no reason to harm any of you now."
"Not like you could," Erza said, taking his hand. The world around her blinked from existence. She found herself in front of tall castle doors in the dead of deep winter. Gray pressed a button on a high-tech panel, the entrance creaked open, and he motioned for her to enter first.
The vampire led her to an ornately carved door. When opened, the strong scent of old tomes overtook her. The room was beautiful with furniture placed in such a way that her eyes drew to the large desk and the man who stood behind it. His dark blue hair windswept, his hands tucked behind his back like a warlord, and he wore a coat resembling Gray's. When he turned, his lapis blue eyes widened at her presence.
"Titania," he said so low she almost missed it.
"I haven't heard that name in a long time."
"I'm Jellal Fernandes," he said after he cleared his throat. He gave her an unnecessary chivalrous bow.
"We can skip the pleasantries, Fernandes." As much as she wanted to know where he'd heard that name from, she had more important things to ask. "You know Natsu is helping us." Jellal nodded and asked her to sit. "I need to know everything you know about Mavis." She stepped closer to the seating area. The massive clouds and winter landscape stretched out on the other side of the large windows behind him. The light was dim enough for him to stand there, but bright enough for her to make out the intricate red tattoo across his angular and handsome face. Instead of sitting, she crossed her arms over her chest.
"I told Natsu everything that I know."
"If you are working with Natsu, then you are working with us." There was no air of aggression around this man, the way she'd felt in other rulers, yet he stood with poise and cloaked himself in power. Her curiosity crept over her skin like vines. There's no time for that.
"So, did you come here to get information or to make an alliance?" He leaned forward and pressed his palms against the dark wood of his desk. Could she make an alliance with leeches? The idea of it made her stomach roll, but they were in desperate need of allies. Natsu had proven his loyalty to Lucy, but how far could she really trust him? How could she speak to Mavis again after working with vampires? She wished Mavis were there to ask her what to do. "Trick question?" Jellal stood and moved to the other side of the desk. He sat on the edge with his gaze trained on her. At least his eyes didn't burn red the way other leeches did.
"Depends," she said.
"On?"
"On how much information you're willing to give me." She half expected the small smile that lifted the corner of his lips.
"I made a vow to Natsu to protect him and his bride. In my eyes, this means I'm willing to make an alliance. But are you?" He tilted his head and waited for her reply.
"Since you have no further information for me, the only thing I'd need you for is your army. I'm not looking for a long engagement. You help us and that's it."
"And what do I get out of it?"
"What did you have in mind?"
"Your company." If his face hadn't remained impassive, she would have expected his words were a joke.
"Excuse me?"
"I'd like to get to know you, Erza."
"And why is that?" she asked. He moved around the desk toward her; his deep blue eyes swirled with an inkling of darkness as he neared.
"You interest me. Any allyship with you would be worth it, no matter how short." Erza's heart leapt in her chest.
"Then I guess it's a deal." Erza expected the man to back away and send her home. Instead, he eyed her mouth and wet his own lips. The gesture spurred on a fluttering in her stomach. "First, we need to find Dacia." Jellal's eyes snapped up and brows furrowed on his beautiful face.
"What's in Dacia?"
"Our queen." Jellal ran a hand through his hair and eyed Gray, who stood quietly by the door.
"Do you have any leads?" Jellal asked.
"Natsu spoke to Zeref. Apparently, the realm could either be in Gaia or in Pandemonia."
"Where is he now?"
"Zeref? How should I know?" She would never understand the Forebearer's fixation on the Horde king.
"No, Natsu."
"He went to Pandemonia."
"With his bride?" His face back to the impassive and unreadable expression she'd seen before. His hands clenched into fists.
"How did you—"
"Have they found Dacia?" His voice shook at the name of the mystical vampiric realm. Something scared this powerful man.
"What is bothering you, Master Fernandes?" Gray asked.
"Igneel is in Dacia." Jellal pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Who?" Erza asked.
"The vow has already been made. He can't back out just because he found his father," Gray said.
"That is not my concern." Jellal slouched into the seat behind his desk. "I'm afraid Natsu's father is not the man he once knew."