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CHAPTER NINE

I resisted. With all the power of Pisces, I fucking resisted.

But the itch in my skin had grown to a burn, then a star-damned inferno.

The Nightfire was summoning me to Kaiser, demanding I go to him and sate this rioting need in my flesh.

I had no idea exactly what the desire was, only that if it wasn’t pulled from my body soon, my mind was going to crack from the weight of this oppressive magic.

I breathed heavily, releasing a cry of anguish as I tried to focus on the forge in my quarters, heating my newly-crafted blade in its fiery belly.

“Scorpio,” I gritted out. “Take this Nightfire from me. Rip it out and douse it in the icy lakes of your corner of the sky. Release me from its clutches.”

Scorpio was quiet, but a chill ran up the back of my neck that made me feel like the stars were displeased. Were they unquieted by this soul-tie? Surely they had to know I didn’t want this heinous curse on me? That I would commit any sin to release myself from it.

My hand shook as I gripped the hilt of the new sword, desperately trying to ignore the Nightfire slithering through my veins like a viper and spitting poison as it went.

It had become a potent torture, rising to a pain that was drenched in Kaiser’s possession and it was only growing more intense with every passing minute.

I could almost hear whispers on the air that commanded me to go to him and answer the demands of the soul-tie.

The blade fell from my grip and I buckled forward, my hands raking against the cold stone floor as if it could quench this fire inside me.

But nothing fought it. The dark power that I could sometimes summon wouldn’t stir.

It had fought off Ransom’s magic once before, but since then, it had failed me time and again, never answering my call.

Go to him! The Nightfire roared and I screamed with it, refusing with every fibre of my being.

“I will not go,” I snarled, but those words felt useless as the Nightfire wrapped around my beating heart and the pain was like a hot knife scoring through it.

I found myself on my feet, unwillingly walking to the door and there on the wall beside it, two bright eyes peered at me. Calcifiend chirruped in greeting, slipping away through a crack in the door and a click sounded as it swung open for me.

“You little rat,” I muttered, but still, I followed, the Nightfire taking over my body and guiding me along the path toward my abhorrent master.

I concentrated on trying to drag my dark power up to the surface, demanding it come and free me from these shackles.

But it was as fickle as ever, as if it had a mind of its own.

Sometimes offering me aid, and other times denying it.

If only I could figure out how to wield it fully and gain total control, I might have a chance at severing this tie to my mother’s killer.

I climbed through the tower until I was high enough to find a window, stepping out onto the snow-caked roof. The soft glow of Calcifiend’s tail hung ahead of me as he hovered on his little wings, guiding me onward through the dark.

Across the rooftops I went, cursing between my teeth and straining my muscles in an attempt to resist every movement, but far too soon, I arrived outside one of the tall windows of Kaiser’s quarters.

It swung open to reveal the Fury standing beyond it, staring blandly at me in nothing but a low-riding pair of trousers, revealing the firm muscles of his broad chest and the scar that ran from shoulder to hip bone. The one that I’d placed there.

“I told you; you cannot resist the Nightfire,” he said, his voice a hollow space that chilled me to the bone.

I climbed inside, looking up at him as Calcifiend landed lightly on his shoulder, my fingers twitching for my blade. It was strapped to my thigh beneath the thin black slip I often wore when forging, but the mere thought of his death made the Nightfire flare inside me, refusing to let me strike.

With the power of water in my veins, I didn’t need a veil of leather to protect me from the spitting fire of the forge anymore.

A layer of ice against my skin was enough for that and it served to keep me cool too, but as Kaiser’s black eyes dragged over my exposed skin, I wished I’d clad myself in layers of armour.

His hand gripped my shoulder, his hot thumb raking over a bruise there and I bared my teeth at the reminder of Ransom and his friends’ beating. Kaiser’s fingers slid to another bruise, then another, his expression never changing, ever-empty.

“Take your hands off of me,” I demanded, but he ignored me, continuing his overt inspection as if my skin was his to touch.

The Nightfire was still blazing inside me, demanding I give it something, but I had no clue what.

I’d thought coming to Kaiser would quiet it, but clearly it wasn’t done with me yet.

“These are not marks of training. Who placed these on you?” he asked, so low I nearly didn’t catch it.

I answered with a glare and nothing more. He was guessing. There was no clue that these weren’t placed on me during combat sessions.

“Answer me.” His fingers moved to grip my chin, his eyes flashing red as his possession curled around my tongue.

Horror built in the base of my throat as the truth rose to my lips. I bit down, refusing to let it out but the Nightfire flared in response, carving its way through my mouth.

Ransom’s name slid to the edge of my lips, but the thought of admitting to my half-brother’s power over me was like handing my enemy my weakness. I bit down harder on my tongue until I drew blood and Kaiser’s possession sharply withdrew as he turned away from me.

“No matter,” he clipped. “Come. We have much to do before dawn.”

I released a breath, unable to resist following him as the Nightfire took root again and I was forced to follow Kaiser up a tightly-winding iron staircase to the balcony above his bedroom.

Black bookshelves ringed the back wall and a suite of grey furniture sat in front of it, casting long shadows beneath the burning sconces.

“There’s only one way to satisfy the power of the soul-tie this night,” Kaiser said, turning to me and rolling his shoulders back.

The glimmer of the firelight caught in the rings of teeth mark scars on his body.

The flock of magpies curling up his left arm was on full display, their eyes so lifelike as they glinted in the firelight that it seemed they might take flight.

The edge of their wings and tails were alight, embers leaving a trail behind them in a swirl of flames.

It was masterful, that art. The mark of The Matriarch, like a shrine to her and her gangster following, the Ember Wing.

“The Nightfire will burn deeper than you imagine if you resist this. But if you give it what it asks of you – what I ask of you – then this will be over all the sooner. So, silka la vin, will you resist it and spend hours in my company tonight, or will you be a smart girl and play along?”

I gritted my teeth, deliberating his words. I needed this fire to stop burning me up inside, and it was surely only going to get worse if I refused now. “What are you going to make me do?”

“You will share your fears with me. You will allow my Fury to feast on the darkest nightmares your soul possesses, and you will re-live them with me here and now until I am sated.”

I could have sworn the night grew thicker at those words, shadows drawing in around this monstrous creature before me.

For all the world, I didn’t want to be afraid.

But those dreadful eyes were cutting into me and I knew I was about to face a torment like no other.

In the face of it though, I decided not to resist. Because Kaiser Brimtheon had long ago dismissed me as a weak Fae and if he was going to hurt me anyway, then let me walk to the altar of my torturer and show him no fear.

I strode toward him, fixing my face into an expression that was tempered with strength.

“Do your worst,” I said lightly, opening my arms in an offering as I came to a halt before him.

Between the bulk of his muscles and the strength of his Order, I may have appeared small to him, but he was about to see what I was made of. Inner strength far outweighed exterior when it came to games like these.

He cocked his head to one side, a slight frown creasing his brow as if he was confused by me, but then his eyes gleamed darkest red, blazing as his Order awakened.

Horns curled up from his head as he partially shifted then he reached out, taking both of my hands and laying them flat against the firm plane of his chest where his heart drummed to a slow and intoxicating beat.

The Nightfire spilled between us, pulsing through my body into his and taking me over entirely.

His hands wrapped around my wrists, keeping me there as his red eyes bored into mine and swallowed me whole.

In a flash, I was gone and the burn of the Nightfire simmered away at once, finally given what it wanted. I was drowned in the past as I slammed into darkest memories that were so real, I forgot where I had been before this very moment.

Ransom had me on the ground, fists driving into my skin while I curled up in a pile of dry leaves.

Then I was at the Eventide Carnival in a dress made from silk with golden seashells stitched onto its shoulders.

Alina ripped the bottom of it with a slash of her fingers, exposing my underwear and laughter brought a burning heat to my cheeks.

I tried to slap her but hands caught my arms, then there was pain again.

Fists and bites and more laughter. Ransom’s loudest of all.

Again and again, I was forced to relive the worst of my childhood, but for a fleeting moment, I remembered where I was and why I was here, catching sight of those blood-red eyes.

I could feel Kaiser pushing towards the worst memory of my life and started to resist, my body tensing against the intrusion.