Immediately she wrapped her arms around herself and shuddered, squeaking at the cold and snow falling around them.
Kai stripped off his coat, but her wings had already moved to wrap around her and he laughed at the sight of her, nothing but a ball of feathers with a head and feet.
Glaring at him, her wings twitched but he was already dancing out of range.
"Imagine if we pushed her down a hill like that…" Uzo said with a wicked grin and she turned her glare on him, silently daring him to try.
He didn't dare to try, instead he grinned at her and set off. Accepting the jacket and wriggling it on backwards under her wings, she muttered about their immunity to the cold, even if it would affect them eventually, and Daemon's sheer body heat melting the snow around him.
They set off in the direction away from the four points and they could see the palace a good day's walk to their left.
Turning, she stared in the direction of Ceress and chewed on her lip, knowing she was incredibly vulnerable to attack, but also difficult to track.
Turning to see the men heading off, she hurried to catch up and smiled as Kai lingered to wait for her. He ruffled her hair and then set off again, smiling at the tips of her fingers only barely peeking out of the sleeves of his jacket.
Daemon led the way with a set jaw, remembering the path to the home of the ancient Mara.
***
It took them several hours to reach it, but while they walked he explained everything they needed to know, starting with their distance being because Mara didn't like strangers barging into his land.
"Mara is a dangerous man," Daemon said as he melted a path through the snow. "He is very intelligent, very attractive to both men and women, he is a God of lust and worldly desires. He will try and seduce you and keep us trapped, think of him like a siren but much worse."
Etani chewed on her inner cheek and contemplated what the man must look like.
The place they were looking for came upon them rather suddenly, though they were the ones that were moving. It simply seemed to loom out of the snow.
It was a large dome shape, white and sparse and the group paused, curious about it.
Set into the front of the dome sat a pair of doors that were open, inviting them in, yet the building only grew bigger as they drew nearer, seeming to grow before their eyes.
When they finally reached it, the dome seemed to be the size of Ayathian, perfectly smooth and without imperfection.
Daemon didn't stop, he simply walked inside, and the others paused to exchange looks.
Finally shrugging, they followed him in and the sight had them staring around in wonder.
The inside was a deep blue with gold and silver patterns painted everywhere from bottom to top of the dome.
The ground was strewn with pillows and little day beds, pillars carved into giant spouts of water and fire keeping the dome up and allowing for long strips of gauzy fabric to hang and break up the space.
In the centre of the room a man sat in a pile of cushions, two young women at his sides.
They were succubi, judging by their sumptuous bodies and little horns.
Mara looked up and Etani froze at the sight of him.
He was glorious to behold, a rich honey colour with black hair that seemed to suck in the light.
luscious, glistening lips and full cheeks.
He was naked from the waist up, revealing his toned, gorgeous body painted in gold and six arms moving, stroking hair and teasing flesh all while lifting small green fruit to his lips or lifting a goblet.
He wore a bright green, blue and gold skirt and little gold clogs on his feet.
As he took in the group, his eyes seemed to bore into her like a physical touch and her breath sucked in. He was a God indeed.
Atop his head he wore a large, elaborate gold crown and his eyes were an unusual, heavy lidded almond shape she had never seen before, only enhancing the exotic beauty of him and captivating every cell in her body.
He smiled at her and she felt herself filling with light, his eyes moving from her to Daemon.
"Daemon!" Mara boomed, brushing away the succubi to rise to his feet. He had movements like a snake, smooth and graceful. His arms outstretched for the demon who went to him immediately.
A sudden thought struck her at how close the two seemed to be and a flush crept up her cheeks as the thought of those two together made her blush.
"Mara, my dearest friend!" Daemon said and the two kissed, deep and slow in confirmation of her tantalising thoughts.
Her mind was lingering on the thought of having both the demon and the God giving her that kind of attention and she bit hard on her lip to keep from making a sound.
"What entertainment have you brought me?" Mara boomed, his words seeming to echo inside her mind and low in her stomach.
"Not so much entertainment, my friend. These are my companions and a special guest just for you," Daemon said. "This is Versalis, the vampire king, Uzo you likely already know," he pointed to Versalis and Uzo nodded once, wary. But Versalis hadn't moved, his lips slightly parted as he stared at the God.
"Next we have Jaia and Kai, vampire twins."
"Twins?" Mara asked, a suggestive tone to his voice as he eyed the twins.
Jaia and Kai seemed both terrified and enthralled by the God.
"Yes, twins. And then we have Etani."
Maras eyes found her and she felt herself warming up inside, her breath coming in a slight hitch as Mara moved towards her and he took her hands in two of his, a third stroking her cheek and fourth trailing through her hair. He drew her closer and she quivered at the scent of sandalwood and lavender that tickled her senses.
"I'm sure you recall Ivette and Jeanette," Daemon said, and Mara nodded absently, his gentle touches stroking her skin and hair and she found herself unconsciously moving forward to him and his remaining hands found her hips.
His head bowed and his lips were an inch from hers when Daemon spoke, laughter in his voice.
"Etani is Jeanette's descendent."
The God froze, his breath brushing her lips and she desperately wanted to feel his lips on hers, her entire body battling against itself to reach for him.
"Jeanette had children?" Mara asked her, his eyes a warm honey brown as he studied her face.
"Just the one. Her name was Gennevote."
"How far back was this?" Mara asked.
"There are around forty-five generations," Daemon said and finally the God gave in to her need and his lips found hers.
Her entire body melted into the kiss and he pulled her to him, hands finding their way between her protective wings and touching on bare skin at the small of her back.
She whimpered softly against his lips and he smiled against hers, a hand finding its way up to the back of her neck and her hands reached for him.
Without knowing how she had gotten there, she found herself on her back in a pile of cushions, his tall frame laid out beside her with his hands trailing over her, his lips moving against hers.
Daemon coughed and Mara broke the kiss to look at the demon, frowning.
"What? It's not like we're closely related," he said, irritated at the interruption. "I don't imagine you've managed to resist. You're further back than I am,"
He placed a gentle finger against her lips at her quiet protest and his lips quirked when she licked the finger playfully.
"I have actually. She won't let me touch her and they're all very protective,"
"I can imagine," Mara said as his eyes turned back to her as she gave his finger a nip, demanding his attention. "Quite the vixen," Mara crooned, and she tingled all over.
His fingers had found her stomach and he was tugging at her pants, his mouth heavy on hers as the ties came free.
"Mara, we're not here for that," Daemon sounded angry now, but Mara ignored him as his hand delved down the front of her pants and she gasped as he found her, teasing her.