Page 23 of The Uncrowned King (The Bastard Duology #2)

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

The scent of blood hung heavy in the arena. Derek had struck the hellhound hard enough to bring the Kings, but her protectors hadn’t come pouring out. He turned and abruptly unfurled a wing. The end smacked into her chin, snapping her head back with a crack. She stumbled back onto her broken ankle, and her knee gave out.

Derek swung his wing and swept her up and into the air. There, he batted her with his wing a few more times just for the fun of it. His anger only swelled, though, because there were no screams of pain. Only a few moans had fallen from her lips. That meant it was time to get more forceful. He could hear his unborn children’s screams in his head. He would hear hers, too.

Blood dribbled from her mouth to mingle with that from the cut on her temple. She rose to her knees and lifted her chin defiantly. His gaze scanned the area for the Kings. They still hadn’t come. Perhaps they had turned their backs on her.

Derek waited until she was standing, then slashed a talon across her body, carving cloth and skin. Blood gushed from the wound. She stumbled, fighting to stay upright. He then whipped his tail around and embedded the end in her back, severing her spinal column.

The scream he had been yearning for finally filled the arena. But it did little to ease his grief.

He yanked the blade from her back and watched her body buckle and fall into a heap. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, her breaths wheezing as she clung to life. He moved to stand over her. Her eyes met his as a single tear rolled from the outside corner into the blood.

“It’s all right, Derek. Do what you need to do.”

Blood spilled onto the ground. Her dark hair was tangled and fanned around her. The light was fading from her eyes. Toying with her hadn’t been as satisfying as he had thought. He should end her now with dragon fire and go find the Kings. Derek drew in a deep breath, fire stirring within his lungs.

But as he stared at the hellhound, the edges of his vision blurred and shifted. The sandy earth gave way to dark, packed ground and wild, green grass. The two scenes flickered back and forth several times. And with it, the hellhound. She was lying, bloodied, looking up at him in both. But her clothes were different, as was the emotion in her gaze.

Derek shook his head, hoping it would clear away whatever was happening. But the scenes kept fading from one to the other until he didn’t know which was real. He tried to hold on to one, but there was no stopping whatever was happening.

He looked around. In one scene, there were empty seats, in the other, six blackened bodies.

In one, the silence of the arena. Then the sounds of a…marsh.

Inside. Outside.

Arid. Damp.

The hellhound. Kora.

The minute her name filled his mind, the memories flooded in with searing urgency. His talons plunged into the ground as agony racked his body. He never took his eyes from Kora, even as the life drained from hers. He had shredded her body. He, who had sworn to keep her safe, had brought her misery.

Voices broke through the haze. Derek immediately lowered himself over Kora to protect her as others spilled into the arena. He roared, warning them to stay clear. They halted. All except one.

Merrill slowly moved away from the group. “Derek? We’re no’ going to let you kill her.”

Kill? Derek looked at Kora. It was what he had wanted, what he’d yearned for. All because Miena had said she’d destroyed the eggs. Another roar rolled from him as he fully comprehended what had been done to him. Derek returned to human form on his knees and touched Kora’s face, but she was gone. The one person he had never wanted to hurt.

It didn’t matter that she would revive. He had caused her immense pain, and she had taken it. She had told him it was okay. To do what he needed.

Sorrow cut through him as he gathered Kora into his arms and rocked back and forth, his face buried in her neck. His anguish had been real, but not directed at Miena’s fictional adversary. His heart, his very soul, had tried to tell him who Kora was. If only he had seen .

Even his mind had conjured Kora. Her body, her voice. Why hadn’t he put things together? Why hadn’t he figured it out?

“Derek.”

He stilled and lifted his head enough to see Merrill. “Don’t touch her.”

Merrill lifted his hands, palms out. “I can take you to her room where we can get her cleaned up.”

“No one is touching her but me.”

“As you wish.” Merrill lowered his arms and took a step back, waiting.

Derek noticed the others watching. He only cared about Kora, but her eyes were closed. Her beautiful, warm brown eyes that had gazed at him so lovingly as he stood over her, ready to engulf her in flames. By the stars! He had nearly ended her life for good.

He adjusted her body and got to his feet. Derek didn’t look at the others in the arena as he followed Merrill to an open section of the wall. More Kings were there. They had stood by and let him hurt Kora, and there was only one reason for that: Kora had asked it of them.

The sand gave way to cool, smooth stone beneath his bare feet. Kora’s blood dripped from her body, leaving a trail in their wake. Merrill said nothing. No one followed, and they didn’t encounter anyone else in the many corridors they traversed.

Derek should have studied the hallways in case he needed to get out. It wasn’t as if he had his cuff anymore. But he couldn’t think of anything but Kora. How she’d stood before him in the arena. Talked to him when he was caged. Used her fire to call him at Cairnkeep. She hadn’t given up. Not once. Not even when he’d hurled hurtful words at her.

Not even when he attacked her.

He had felt it when she breathed her last. Everything went blurry as his eyes filled with tears. At least she would revive. But what if she wasn’t able? What if his memories hadn’t returned? What if he had burned her? He didn’t like the dark turn of his thoughts. It was better not to linger on those lest he fall into the pit of despair that waited.

It felt as if they walked for hours before Merrill opened a door and stood aside. Derek halted at the doorway to look inside.

“Blood washes out,” Merrill said. “And if it doesna, things can be replaced.”

Derek still hesitated.

“What do you need?” Merrill asked.

What did he need? He needed time. Forgiveness. But that wasn’t what Merrill wanted to know. He was asking about Kora. Derek held her tighter. “The greater the injuries, the longer it takes her body to recover. It took nearly a full day the last time. These wounds are worse.”

The wounds he had given her.

“You doona have to tend to her alone,” Merrill said.

“I need to do it on my own.”

Merrill nodded. “I’ll be close if you change your mind.”

They didn’t trust him. He wouldn’t either. But they had trusted Kora. What it must have taken her to travel to the very creatures she feared. It demonstrated her courage once more. Not that he had ever questioned it. He had appreciated her bravery from the very beginning.

He walked into the room and gently lowered Kora into the tub. Derek went to the bed and moved the pillows so it would be ready after he cleaned her. When he turned around, Merrill was gone, and the door was closed.

Derek returned to Kora and turned on the water, filling the tub halfway. Then he began the process of tenderly cleaning her body. When the water became too stained with blood, he drained it and repeated the steps until she was clean. Then he focused on her hair.

The activity took awhile, but it was better than sitting in a chair and doing nothing. So, he washed her hair twice, keeping her reclined against the back of the tub as he combed out the long strands. Only then did he carry her to the bed and smooth the covers over her.

Now came the part he hated the most. The waiting. Because he feared there might be another way to kill a hellhound besides dragon fire. Alone in the chamber, there was nothing for him to do but worry and think. His moods swung between rage and dread.

But he knew one thing: Miena had to die.

Derek grew restless after sitting for hours and moved about the room. He didn’t know where he was, and he wasn’t sure he would get an answer if he asked. He hadn’t seen any large buildings when he was at Cairnkeep. There was also the fact that he hadn’t seen any real windows to the outside. It made him consider the possibility that they were underground.

It might be better if he didn’t know the location. That way, neither Miena nor Villette could pull the information from him. He hated how easily they could mess with his head. They cared nothing about who he was. It was only about them and what they were after. Derek never wanted to see another Star Person in his life, but he didn’t have that option. He owed it to those he had unknowingly—and knowingly—harmed on their behalf to rid Zora of any and all Star People.

Derek halted next to a bench that had clothes laid out for Kora. All were made of the same material in different colors. He rubbed the fabric between his fingers. It was soft but also strong. He looked down, just now remembering that he was naked. He used magic to clothe himself.

A soft knock on the door pulled his attention. Derek glanced toward the bed, but Kora didn’t stir. He made his way to the door and opened it to find Merrill holding a tray of food.

“How is she?” he asked.

Derek opened the door wider to let him see the bed.

Merrill lifted the tray. “This is for both of you.”

“Thanks.” Derek took the tray and brought it to the table.

“How are you?”

He shrugged as he turned back to the door. “I’m fine.”

“That’s shite. You can try that with Kora when she wakes, but no’ me. I saw you in that arena.”

Derek ran a hand down his face and looked away from Merrill’s dark blue gaze. “I hurt her.”

“She isna dead.”

“She was about to be.”

“Nay, she wasna.”

Derek frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Con’s mate, Rhi, is a Fae. They can veil themselves. She was there. She saw you about to breathe fire and was at Kora’s side to get her away.”

“Why didn’t she?”

Merrill gave him a pointed look. “She saw what we did. Kora thought that if she could recreate the first time you saw her die, it would bring you back. Few of us believed her. But she was right.”

“You shouldn’t have let her do that.”

“There was no stopping her.”

Derek turned his head to the bed. “What happened after Miena took me?”

“More than you’re going to like.”

His gaze swung back to the Dragon King. “Tell me.”

“We’re working with Villette.”

Derek’s suspicion was short-lived. He nodded as understanding dawned. “She’s helping you find Miena.”

“And you.”

“Don’t trust her.”

Merrill crossed his arms over his chest. “We doona. She and Kora made a binding vow. It was the only way Kora would let her out of the flames.”

“Kora had her?” Derek asked in surprise.

Merrill nodded. “She did. The only reason she agreed to work with Villette was to find you.”

Derek found his eyes seeking Kora once more.

“You need to tell her,” Merrill said.

“Tell her what?”

“That she’s your mate.”

Derek drew in a deep breath and slowly released it. “I’m not someone she should want.”

“Tell that to your heart. Or hers,” Merrill replied before walking away.