The Forgotten Witch

24 ~ Lexi

Lexi woke up with the urge to pee, but when she took stock of her situation, she found a babe sleeping at one breast and a husband at the other. She was still bound by a pair of sashes, and her arms were wrapped around Hades's neck, which meant there would be no slipping out of bed stealthily.

"Hades," she whispered. "Are you asleep?"

"I don't know. Is this a dream?"

"No. You really did tie up your wife and have your wicked way with her. Now she needs to pee."

"Do you need a locksmith, my lady?"

"I think your nimble fingers will do."

Hades blinked his eyes open, looking adorably unkempt, and Lexi kissed him because there was no one else she would rather wake up tied to.

"A god could get used to this," he said as he dipped behind her hair to nibble her earlobe.

"Don't get used to it. Your goddess still needs to pee."

"Apologies, my queen, but your beauty is like nectar, and I always want it on my lips." He whispered his seduction at Lexi's ear and a shudder rippled to her groin. Now she really had to pee, but Hades didn't make her suffer any longer. He ducked under her arms and began untying her wrists, grinning at Juniper curled against Lexi's chest. "Our daughter looks blissfully happy where she is. How did you sleep? No visits from errant spirits?"

"No, only visits from errant husbands."

"Your grace!" Fiona barked through the speaking tube, and Lexi had to clench her buttocks to avoid an embarrassing accident.

"What is it, Fiona?" Hades called over her head.

"Our rogue spirit has taken advantage of Sella! I found her in the pantry in a state!"

"We'll be right down!"

Lexi and Hades both rolled out of bed, jostling Juniper awake and putting her into a state. Hades gestured Lexi toward the bathroom and swaddled Juniper in her blanket. During Lexi's mad dash to the toilet, multiple scenarios played inside her head. What kind of state was Sella in? That term carried a wide range of options. Being woken abruptly could put someone in a state. Or eating a bad mushroom. Was Sella ill? Delusional? Was she even conscious? How had Josef taken advantage of her?

By the time Lexi and Hades arrived downstairs, the nymphs had moved Sella to her bed where Lacy comforted her with a wet compress. While Hades stormed off to the pantry to investigate there, Fiona brewed tea over the nymph's firepit, filling Lexi in on the events leading up to Sella's discovery.

"I noticed she wasn't in her bunk, but I didn't think anything of it. Sella often preps the kitchen for me. So I went about my morning. When I got to the pantry, there she was, curled in the corner, like a fawn in the woods."

"Was she crying? Was she...bleeding?"

Fiona cocked her head, giving Lexi a motherly appraisal. "No, my lady. She was slaked from a lusty affair with our miscreant spirit. Her life force was all but snatched, and we need your healing. Without it, she will lie like this for days."

Lexi stood over Sella's bed, watching the nymph's eyelids flutter faintly as Lacy dabbed her forehead. "Are you saying Josef really is an incubus?"

"Yes! The son-of-a-bitch!" Hades stomped into the room, his bellow disturbing the quiet, and Sella's eyes snapped open. Hades lowered his head when he realized what he'd done, and he coughed out a reply. "My apologies, Sella. I should have checked myself at the door. How are you feeling?"

"Tired, sire. Did you catch the rogue yet?"

"No. But I will."

"When you do...bring him to me," she went on groggily. "I want to thank him for a wonderful time."