Page 20

Iseemed to constantly find myself in turmoil over the Prince of Darkness. I no longer denied the feelings of affection growing within me. My attachment was swiftly becoming something I needed, something I depended on. Despite all his faults and less than upstanding morals, deep down, Ashor was someone I trusted. It had been hard for me to get there, to believe in him, yet all he had done was protect me in his own way, regardless if I agreed with his methods.

The attraction between us was nothing like I’d ever experienced, but in truth, I had to admit a large part of the insane chemistry was from our connection. It had also been there before I knew he was my mate, even though I refused to accept what I was feeling then or how hard I fought against it. If it was the fates or destiny, I didn’t really know, and nor did I want to think too hard on it. Right now, this thing between us just was, and we both knew it wasn’t going to last forever.

That might have added a layer to the desperation we had for each other, knowing that at any moment, we could be torn apart by his world, by mine, by his mother, or some other outside force we hadn’t come across. The cards were stacked against us.

And yet, here we were.

“How long until she makes her decision?” I grumbled. I had been unable to sit still for an hour now, pacing the common area of our suite.

Ashor was lying on the sofa, staring out into the large window. Day was coming to a close, giving off the barest of light as night peeked along the edge of the horizon. “Days. Weeks. Years.”

Letting out an exaggerated sigh, I sprawled myself out on top of him, tracing the lines of his blood oath mark on his arm. I needed a distraction, something to take my mind off the waiting. “She can’t possibly mean to keep us here forever.”

His fingers stroked over my hair. “Eventually my mother will come for me.”

My head rested on his shoulder so I couldn’t see his face. “And how long will that take?” I asked, my voice edged with impatience.

“Days. Weeks. Years.”

“Ashor,” I groaned, thumping my hand on his chest. “You’re not helping.”

“Perhaps not, but it is the truth. Time is useless in the underworld when you’re immortal,” he replied, doing nothing to curb my boredom. In fact, he was making it worse.

Shoving off his chest, I sat up and glared down at him with a frown. “Well, I’m not immortal. And I’m tired of waiting.” Each day I spent trapped inside Verena’s castle, I lost a shred of hope for ever getting back home. “If she doesn’t make up her mind soon, it might be too late.” The Queen of Darkness might already be on her way with an army backing her up. She was eager to claim her prize.

The Crown of Envy.

My being at court, being at Ashor’s side would unnerve her. This was something she’d waited years to set in motion. Kali’s patience might have finally run out, and I was feeling the bitter cold. She was coming.

I shivered.

“Are you cold?” Ashor asked, concern breaking into his violet eyes as he wrapped his arms around me.

I took comfort in his embrace. “No, I was thinking of your mother.”

“That would make anyone shiver.” His fingers tucked my hair behind my ears before cradling my chin and tipping it upward so I looked into his face. “You don’t need to worry about her. As long as I am by your side, she can’t hurt you. No one can.”

And what of the times when he couldn’t be by my side? I didn’t belong here. I came for a purpose, to abduct the prince. I needed to regain my purpose. “Run away with me,” I murmured.

“And where would you have me run?”

“Anywhere but here,” I said.

“If I thought there was some place we could be safe, we’d already be there.”

A thought popped into my head. “I know a place. Well, a temporary house we could hide. My mother used it.”

“You’re referring to when Cayden helped her. They both paid for their insubordination. How do you think Cayden became my mother’s official punisher? There is nowhere my mother won’t be able to find us.”

My stomach dipped. “You really know how to suck the hope out of a situation.”

“Besides, luv, I am bound to the Wild Hunt. The oath I took nearly a century ago forbids me to enter the mortal realm except for four nights a year. I couldn’t run there even if I desired it.”

I grimaced. The Wild Hunt collected souls during the solstices and the equinoxes, the nights when the veil between our worlds was at its thinnest. “So my plan to hijack you from the underworld was destined to fail.”

He pressed a wintery kiss to the tip of my nose. “I’m afraid so.”

Why hadn’t Cayden or Kira warned me? What were they playing at? Having my plans to bust Ashor out of Hell crushed by his bond to the Hunt put me in a sour mood. What was I to do? If we managed to succeed in stopping his mother from taking Verena’s throne, and that was a mighty if, what happened to us? To our relationship?

Those were choices I didn’t want to make, nor did I want to think about them.

Until the time came, I would put them into the back of my head. One problem at a time, and without a way to stop Kali, it wouldn’t matter anyway. “If Verena does agree to ally with you in this war against your mother, will the other courts be inclined to join us?” Angel had abandoned her court, and the demons in it were queenless and unruly because of it, but if it meant saving the world, I knew my best friend would put on her crown and demand her demons fight.

That just left the Court of Sorrow and the Court of Misery, both run by kings. And none of them got along, so it should be interesting, when faced with war, who sided with who.

Ashor reached for my hand. I went willingly, spreading out alongside him on the couch as he talked. “King Trist is a reasonable demon. But I can’t say for certain that he will align with Verena and stand against my mother. King Angor is an arrogant bastard. His court is iron strong with some of the most powerful demons in existence. He could make or break this war.”

“What do we have to do to get him on our side?” I asked.

Deep consideration wrinkled his forehead. “I don’t know. Not yet. He would be petty and vain enough to fight the Court of Darkness on his own. Join neither side. The only side he cares about is his own and what he can get out of it. Make no mistake about it, King Angor would double-cross us in a heartbeat. He is untrustworthy.”

Truly, were any of them trustworthy? Sure, one queen or king might be more dependable than the other, but none of them were honorable. “If your plan works, whatever insane thing you’ve schemed, what then? Does it stop here?”

He shook his head. “No. If anything, it will only get more perilous, which is why you never should have come back.”

“Are you saying that you regret what happened between us?”

His eyes burned as he stared into mine. “Never.”

I curled my fingers into his shirt, half afraid he would disappear in front of my eyes. “Promise me you won’t leave.” Careful, Lexi. Or you will fall in love with this prince. The demon inside of me brushed against my heart as if to say, “open up.”

Ashor’s teeth grazed over my earlobe, and matters of the heart were overshadowed by the pleasure of the flesh. “Perhaps you should shackle me to the bed,” he suggested with menacing lewdness.

He was joking, but it struck a chord of anger within me. I lifted my head, looking down into his chiseled face cut from dark magic. “You will never be my prisoner,” I said, my voice serious.

“Aren’t I already?” Although his voice was light and playful, I felt the respect through our bond. “I was yours from the moment I saw you in the woods, fierce and determined. I knew you were mine.”

We were prisoners to each other, to the bonds that tied us eternally together in any world. A small part of me relished in our rare link. “It is both a curse and a blessing to be tied to you.”

He laughed. “Perhaps I could show you more ways this bond we share can be transcending.” His lips brushed over the side of my neck as his hands moved from my hips to my lower back.

“Ashor,” I sighed, thinking everything between us felt so rushed, yet when we were together, I wondered how I lived without him. It was his damn lips that scattered my ability to think rationally. Or at all. “You distracting me won’t change my mind,” I somehow managed to say.

His lips hovered just over my own. “The crowolves, the sentries, and the skinwalker were sent as a warning. Next time, my mother will send someone who will do far worse.” The trepidation flowing inside him wasn’t for himself. He was worried about me—about what his mother would do to me. “Or she will come herself.”

“I’m not leaving you,” I reinforced, in case he got any ideas since the last time I informed him of my decision to stand beside him and fight. He was going to have to accept my choice, even if I had to pound it into that thick skull of his.

The prince pinched the bridge of his nose. “So you’ve made crystal clear. But I need you to understand the risk you are taking, the danger you will be in. This time, I might not be able to save you or return you to your world. Are you prepared for that?”

“You forget, my best friend is a queen of her own domain.” Always have a backup plan. Chase taught me that.

“A sector she has abandoned. You will not find any sanctuary at the Court of Inferno.”

“Perhaps not,” I agreed. “But as a queen, she has the right to come and go from the underworld.”

He reached down to the foot of the couch, grabbing a knitted blanket and draping it over me. “Can’t say that your backup plan is solid, but… it”s better than nothing.”

I adjusted my arms over the soft white blanket. “You’re not the only one with tricks up their sleeves.”

“You have a long way to go to play in my league, Lexi luv.”

A yawn pulled at my lips, but I refused to give in to the exhaustion. My body was screaming at me to rest. It had been hours since I slept—well, real uninterrupted sleep. I was afraid to waste any time I was given with Ashor. “Don’t think about sneaking out on me,” I murmured, snuggling in beside him. I rested an arm on his chest. “I will hunt you down.”

He placed a kiss on my forehead, and I nestled deeper into his coolness. “I wouldn’t dream of it, luv.”

Strong arms wrapped around me, and I tumbled into an abyss of darkness.

* * *

Iwoke up alone, tucked in the bed, and stretched my legs as sunlight streamed bright and bold across the floor. I rolled over onto my back, staring at the empty spot beside me. The air still held his ocean midnight scent. Sitting up, I wiped the sleep from my eyes. “Ashor?” I called, listening to see if the shower was running, but I already knew.

He wasn’t in the suite.

The thread tying his body to mine was stretched, as if he was moving further and further away from me. Heavy panic pressed down my chest like an elephant was sitting on me. It clamped around my lungs and squeezed the air out of them, causing my mouth to go dry.

No! No! No!

He wouldn’t do this to me.

He wouldn’t leave me. Not again. Not here.

But if it was the only way to keep you safe?a voice in my head mused.

“Shut up!” I screamed, sounding insane, hands slamming down onto the bed. I didn’t care. Verena wouldn’t allow him to just walk off. It was against court rules. Right?

Darting off the bed and out of the bedroom at demon speeds, I scanned the common area, and then threw open the door to the hall, not sparing the guards a single glance as I began my search of the castle. My heart was in my head, beating like a jackhammer. I scanned the faces of every demon and human I passed, knowing before I saw their features that they weren’t him. None of them eased the ache that spread like fire through my veins, threatening to burn me from the inside out.

“Ashor,” I whimpered, shoving aside the pain. I braced my hand against the wall in an attempt to steady my swimming head.

I had to find him.

Before it was too late for us both.

My feet turned in a circle, not feeling the ground underneath me, and the bustle of demon activity didn’t even register. There was nothing but white noise in my head. It hit me with a force that almost knocked me off my feet. He was really gone. No matter where I searched, I wouldn’t find the prince anywhere in the Court of Envy.

Why had Verena let him leave?

Why would he leave me?

Again?

Why?

It didn’t make sense.

I was alone. Utterly alone in Hell.

My back hit the brick wall, and I began to sink to the floor, tears stinging my eyes. My world was spiraling, and I didn’t know what to do about it. Strong hands grabbed my arms, yanking and tugging me back inside the castle. I was shoved not gently back into my room, a door slamming closed in my face. My fists beat against it as I screamed his name into the empty apartment. That broken feeling from so many months ago came back, crippling my bones. Turning around, I dropped to the ground, a crumpled mess of tears and agony. Darkness exuded from my pores, enveloping me like a cloak.

Tears blurred my vision. This ache, this pain, it would only get worse the longer we were apart. It would poke and prod me, a constant reminder to find him, because only then would either of us be complete. When he left, he took half of my soul with him, and now my body was paying the price.

I hadn’t been lying when I told him I would hunt him down.

It was precisely what I planned to do.

The prince and the queen.

Damn them both. Damn him for breaking his promise. Damn him for breaking my heart—a heart I swore no man would ever have again.

Through the muddled disarray of tears and snot, a dark figure emerged from the corner of the room. Except… my room was no longer the one I remembered. It was a prison, fancy demon bars and all, but I didn’t give it more than a fleeting glance, because my tear-soaked eyes couldn’t look away from the figure walking toward me.

Ashor?

Hope surged, but it only took a gut-clenching ache to remind me that Ashor wasn’t here. This shadow wasn’t him. Then the fear came. “What are you doing here?” I hissed, jumping to my feet and scrambling backward. I smeared away the tears and watched as Soren stalked into the center of the room.

“Miss me, little huntress?” His condescending voice was one I’d hoped to never hear again. Ashor’s brother was glowering at me. Evil vibrated in the room as if it were a living thing meant to do me harm.

I sniffled, trying to quickly compose myself when all I wanted to do was fall apart. “How can I miss someone who means nothing to me?” I snapped in a dismissive manner that only infuriated Soren, but I couldn’t stop myself. Fear brought out the bitch in me.

Soren’s hateful eyes flicked over my face before settling onto mine, and a cruel smile twisted on his lips. “Then I’ll make sure to leave a lasting impression this time. Something unforgettable.”

I did the most ladylike thing I could think of. I flipped him off, smiling smugly. “Fuck off.” There was nothing this demon could do to me that would hurt more than being hurt by Ashor.

Soren made a growl of disgust in the back of his throat. “Where is your mate?” he asked as if he read my mind.

I bristled, my chin lifting. “None of your fucking business.”

“Did he leave you again?” Soren clucked his tongue. “He tends to run away from commitment. My brother was never a one-woman demon. Don’t take it to heart.”

His words were a stab in my gut that had my knees wobbling. It was an effort to stay on my feet, but I squared my shoulders and drew on my last grain of strength. “I’m not in the mood to mince words with you. What do you want?”

Solid eyes of coal raked over my body in a perusal that had bile churning in my gut. “You are looking a bit rough around the edges. Sadness isn’t a good look for you. Nor is patheticness.”

My fingers itched to smack that smug grin off his chiseled face.

He slinked closer to me, those unnatural eyes never wavering from mine, like a hawk circling his prey. “I never got a chance to welcome you to the family, sis. Something to look forward to.”

“Bite me.”

Soren flashed his teeth. “With pleasure.”

It was too late to realize the position I was in. Soren had me cornered against the wall. His fingers dove into my hair, grabbing a fistful. I curled my hand into a ball and slammed my fist into his belly just as he yanked my head to the side, sinking his teeth into my neck.

The second his fangs pierced my skin, the fight left me. My arms fell limply to my sides, and a languid feeling spread through my veins as if I was drugged. Something repulsive spread through me.

“You and I are going to have a little fun,” Soren murmured against my throat, his teeth grazing along my pulse. He bit me again. And again. More times than I could count, each bite bringing a new level of pain.

Soon there was nothing but the echoes of my screams. I withdrew inward, unable to take the tortured cries of my own agony, and it was within myself I heard a faint voice calling my name. The voice was far away, trying to cleave the screams that were growing hoarse. “Lexi,” it whispered. “Lexi. Lexi. Lexi.” It grew louder, drowning out my cries. I held on to that voice as it pulled me further and further from the nightmare. Until there was no pain. There was no Soren. There was no ache of hopelessness.

There was only Ashor, holding me in his arms and gently rocking me back and forth on the bed. Eyes wide and wet with tears, my skin glistened with cold sweat as I grappled between reality and… something else. Something utterly fucked-up.

I clung to Ashor, my arms wrapped in death grip around his neck. His scent hit my nostrils, breaking through the terror that swamped all my senses. “Ashor.” His name was a broken sob on my trembling lips.

He stiffened against me for a moment. “It’s okay. You’re okay,” he cooed, running loving fingers down my back to soothe and comfort me. “I’ve got you.”

I didn’t understand. “Your brother,” I croaked. “He—” My voice choked.

His eyes clouded with darkness. “It wasn’t real. It was just an illusion, luv. He can’t hurt you.”

I trembled in his arms, resting my damp brow against his chest. It was all an illusion? But it had felt so real. Not real, I repeated. Again. And again. And again. Just a horrible dream.

Ashor shifted on the bed, and an upswell of panic barreled within me. My arms tightened around him. “Don’t leave,” I said hoarsely.

“Never,” he vowed, pressing a kiss to my temple, settling in.

The Queen of Envy’s laugh echoed in my ears, and I hugged Ashor harder. His darkness wrapped around me, banishing the memories.

At least for the night.