Page 266 of The Queen’s Shadow

“Well, good luck with all of that, you crazy bitch.” I snorted. “You can’t enslave me. If you could, you would have done it already.”

I wasn’t actually sure if that was true. Without my magick, I couldn’t tell if she had put a slavery bond on me or not. Was it possible to enslave someone who had no magick? I did know that with my magick, I was strong enough to prevent her from enslaving me. Even without Elvira’s circlet, which seemed to be missing from my brow along with my shadowstone blades, I had been able to stop her from enslaving Amon the first time she had tried.

“I do not need to enslave you, Little Raven. You will be forced to fight for your life when I order him to kill you. The only thing better than watching him murder you, would be watching you kill him as a free daemon. Imagine how he’ll feel, knowing that his mate took his life of her own free will?”

Jesus Christ.

“You’re one twisted piece of shit,” I murmured, unnerved by how much pleasure she seemed to be getting from all of this. This didn’t even feel strategic anymore. It felt personal, and vindictive. She just wanted to watch us suffer, for no other reason than she enjoyed it.

Well, at least the feeling was mutual. I was looking forward to watching her die, and I planned on making her death violent and painful.

“Flattery will get you everywhere, half-breed.” She cooed, as if being called a twisted piece of shit were a compliment. She grabbed my face and left a wet, sloppy kiss on my mouth. I jerked away from her and she laughed.

“We have some time before your powers return,” she sang. “Since you don’t seem to be interested in my affections, perhaps I will see if your mate is in the mood.”

I snarled at the implication, but she just turned on her heel and stalked away, leaving me alone and bound in the dark, empty room.

Rycon

Iwoke up on what should have been the happiest day of my damn life, feeling like something was horribly wrong. Listening to Kasha scream my name as I ruthlessly drove into her did nothing to shake the strange feeling.

Something was just…off.

“What’s wrong?” She asked me, still quivering from the orgasm I had just fucked out of her. She ran a finger down the side of my face and pulled me close, leaving feather light kisses across my lips. It was such a contrast to the violent sex we had just had. I loved that about us. We were a walking dichotomy. The sweet side of viciousness, if such a thing existed.

“I don’t know. I just have this strange feeling… Like something is missing, or I’m forgetting something…” I wracked my brain, trying to put my finger on what it was.

“Hmm, think it could be Anaya? I bet you’re just itching to punish her.” Kasha wondered out loud, and I couldn’t help the stupid grin that stretched across my face. This is why she was my mate. No one understood me like she did.

“Yeah, that must be it.” I said, dropping a kiss on her head and hopping out of bed. She followed me up, reaching for her armor. Watching her cover her naked body made me want to tear the restructium out of her hands and drag her right back into bed, but I resisted the urge.

We had a viper to torture and an army to build. My seemingly unquenchable need to fuck her would need to wait. I shook my head, once again feeling that strange anxious tug that something was wrong.

Was it Anaya? It didn’t feel like that was it…

“I have a question.” Kasha announced, and I glanced at her.

“Hmm? What is it?”

“You know how you told me you killed all of them?”

I raised an eyebrow and smirked. “Yeah. What about it?”

“Did you save me one?” She looked so hopeful, that I almost felt bad for a minute that I hadn’t. Almost.

“No Kasha, I’m sorry.” I pulled her tragically clothed body into me and kissed her forehead. Leaning back, I looked at her and found she was disappointed.

“Want to kill Anaya?” I asked, wondering if that would make up for it.

She laughed. “Not quite the same, but sure. It’s better than nothing.”

I smirked at her and tugged on a piece of her hair. “She’s all yours, just as long as I get to watch.” I purred and she gave me a devilish grin.

“Deal.” She said, and I went to get my own armor out of the guest room.

If we were paying the viper a visit, I would need the extra protection. Even restrained, she packed more of a punch than my barely trained K’aalpah-Kah.

Aiden had Anaya dangling by her throat from a tree on the outskirts of Olkuyrbe. He had bound her hands and hung her close enough to the ground that she wasn’t being strangled to death, but she certainly didn’t look comfortable.