1. Chapter One
Chapter One
Zalen
F ate was nothing to be feared. Not when it was something you made yourself. Not when you controlled it. Just like I controlled his.
The man dangling from the chains took his last strained breath. His blood pooled on the stone floor. As his body relaxed, a sickening crunch sounded as his shoulders snapped out of place from his contorted position—one specifically designed to inflict enough pain to keep him awake and alert. His arms twisted up behind him with a rattle of rusted chains.
In this room, I could release myself, the part I kept locked up inside me. When I brought my prey here to extract information from them, I shut out what little humanity I had left. And now that my last catch had finally given up what meager information he did have, I allowed him the mercy of death.
Shame it had to end so soon.
It was probably for the best. I had been here for hours, and I knew it had to be dark by now.
“Rydja.” I cast the clearing spell with a wave of my hand—the pieces of skin, muscle, and blood on the floor and walls began to disappear. The body would remain. Someone else could deal with it—or let it rot in here for all I cared.
Spinning on my heel, I yanked the door of the Vord cell open and left the room. A waft of fresh air made me realize what a repugnant smell I had created in the chamber. Of all the events that happened in this room, the scent was the only part I detested.
There was only one scent I wanted. One so sweet and intoxicating it made a pleased shiver run down my spine just thinking about it.
My lips spread into a smile as I thought of my reward waiting for me. But that would come later. I would retire for the night—I would be nothing less than fully rested and prepared for the prey that awaited me tomorrow. I had one more hunt to complete. Then, I could have my reward.
My boot met with a face, one attached to the dark-haired man caught in the snare I had set this morning. And this annoying fuck wouldn’t stop screaming.
I had tracked him through the woods from the south before catching up to him. It didn’t take much more than a svida incantation before he was begging for the pain to stop and spilling that he was an informant from the Kingdom of Aedum, ordered to cross the Damanthus border to spy on us. But oddly, it took me more effort than it should have.
He held a palm against the eye I had kicked with my heel. “Please. I don’t know what more you want, but I can get you money! King Erix will—”
I kicked him again.
King Erix Samanya of Aedum had a nasty habit of using defenseless humans as his pawns. He didn’t care if they were caught and killed, and saw them as disposable. I despised his methods, despite how strategic they were. However, my job was to eliminate any threat to the Damanthus Kingdom, and this trespasser was just that.
“Kyrr,” I hissed. But nothing happened. His annoying screams still pierced my ears. He should have been mute by now. My brows creased in confusion as I tried again, frustration pushing my magic harder. “Kyrr,” I spat, and the sound of his choked cry finally came to a blissful stop as the spell took effect. I wasn’t sure if it was my mind playing tricks on me—that my magic had seemed to struggle.
His eyes widened in disbelief as if I had cut off a limb. Which I would have no problem doing, but right now, I just needed him to be less problematic. I could finish him later.
I looked up to the sky, noting the position of the sun and realizing I was running short on time. I moved closer, crouching down in front of him as he scrambled back, then I reached out and grabbed his throat. Squeezing only hard enough to cut off most of his air supply.
I couldn’t have him die on me just yet.
Leaning forward, I pressed my thumb to his head, just between his eyes, being more forceful with the incantation, and muttered the sleeping spell, “Hvila.”
His eyes closed, and he fell face down on the snow-covered ground.
That would keep him out until I reversed it.
Not hesitating, I released the snare, prying it from his bleeding leg, and deposited him on the back of my horse. I tied him to the saddle before climbing on and riding off through the trees, finally ready for my reward.
It had been several minutes of galloping through the forest before I had the unnatural urge to turn around and go back from where I came.
To ensure no one stumbled upon my little secret, I had cast a dissuasion spell around the perimeter of the clearing that deterred anyone from coming near. I circled around and placed the unconscious man behind one of the trees, hidden away, before turning to face the fabricated warning.
My horse hesitated but had been through this before and continued on.
Moving past the barrier, I came to what appeared to be a dense area of foliage, seemingly impassable. Another layer of artifice in order to protect what I valued most.
With an eager grin, I pushed through the conjured deception.
The quaint cottage came into view. It was also veiled with illusion, causing any persistent travelers to see a mass of impassable and treacherous vegetation. While the illusion was visible to me as well, all I had to do was simply walk through, and the clearing came into focus.
Just as I did, I caught a glimpse of a figure dashing through the forest. I quickly dismounted and pressed myself against the trunk of a tree.
Such a fool.
She was ignorant of my searching eyes. No sense of being watched by the very person who was deemed her enemy. This was the exact same situation that had gotten her into trouble in the first place.
Trouble with me.
I waited until she approached the cottage, glancing around before stepping inside. Then I smiled.
Finally .
This was my favorite part—the thrill swirling inside my gut as I quietly crossed the clearing to the structure and pushed open the wooden door. She spun on her heel, her blonde hair whipping behind her. That sweet scent I desired so much greeted me. Her breath caught as I came for her, and she squealed as I threw her over my shoulder.
Music to my ears.
I watched as Maera shuffled around the room, wearing nothing but my shirt. She was looking through the discarded clothes strewn across the floor from when we tore them off each other only hours before. Her luscious ass peeked out from below the hem every time she bent over, and I felt no shame in staring. I leaned back in the bed with my fingers laced behind my head and tracked her every movement with an insatiable hunger that would lead to the shirt finding its place on the floor again. The sheet pooling around my hips just barely covered my already returning erection.
If only we had more time.
“Are you going to help me or not?” Maera asked from over her shoulder. My eyes hadn’t stopped roaming over her bare skin, wanting to feel it beneath my touch once more.
“I’d rather not. I quite like your current attire,” I said. She turned to face me with a stern expression, yet her eyes flickered with enjoyment.
Maera bit her cheek in an unsuccessful attempt to hide her smile. She walked around the bed until she was beside me, looking down at the floor for her panties. I sat up, wrapped my arm around her waist, and pulled her on top of the bed. She gasped in delight, giggling as I climbed over her—the second-best sound ever to grace my ears. I’d get the first again in a few moments.
I pushed the shirt over her chest and kissed from her navel to between her breasts. I smiled against her skin at her half-assed attempt to wiggle out from under me.
If I could just get her to stay a little longer—
I grazed my lips across her nipple, flicking it with the tip of my tongue before languidly working my way to the other one. Her hands came up to my shoulders, and she dug her nails into the skin, letting out a quiet whimper of pleasure as I took her breast in my mouth while my fingers traveled down the curves of her body. I kneaded the soft flesh of her inner thighs, coaxing them to spread for me once again.
I could never get enough of her.
“Zalen…” she breathed. “I can’t.”
I released her breast from my mouth and looked up at her. My hands slid over her waist and up her arms to her wrists. Removing them from my shoulders, I pinned them above her head. She gasped when I pressed the tip of my cock to her wet cunt.
“Would you rather me hold you down so you don’t have the choice?” I asked in a low voice.
Her eyes widened just a fraction, and I smirked. I knew exactly what excited her, having slowly learned over the years what she liked. I had helped her discover her true desires, without feeling ashamed of them. When we first met, she was embarrassed about exploring what she really wanted. It had taken time for her to reveal what little things made her insides flip with anticipation, to take her pleasure without hesitation.
My smirk quickly fell when that fiery thrill in her eyes dimmed, and she frowned. “I need to go. I don’t want to, but I’ve already been here longer than I should have.”
I closed my eyes and sighed. Releasing her wrists, I leaned down and rested my forehead on her chest. One day, we would have more time. One day, I would have more than a few hours to be in her presence, taking my time without worrying about each pained tick of the clock. One day. Soon…
“I know,” I said quietly.
Maera brushed her nails through my hair before trailing them down toward my jaw. She lifted my head, encouraging me to look at her. And I did. I saw her. Every bit of her that no one else would.
I saw the anguish and sorrow, the guilt she held from being torn between what she truly desired and what her duty as an heiress demanded. I saw her beyond the crown she would one day wear. I saw through the facade she was forced to uphold, knowing she wanted more than the docile role she’d been bred into. To everyone else, she was quiet and reserved, just like she had been when I first met her in this clearing years ago. But deep down, hidden behind a lifetime of suppression, she had stolen moments of fiery passion.
I craved it. I wanted to unravel her—help her find more and more of that fierceness.
Lifting off her, I leaned forward and gave her a soft kiss on her full lips, swollen from our short time together. She smiled up at me, her eyes crinkling at the corners as I got off the bed.
Maera cleared her throat accusingly and held out her hand with a pointed look. “Hand it over.”
I contemplated for a moment as I held the lacy undergarment in my hand. “I think I’ll keep it.”
“Is that so? And what would happen when the wind kicks up and the men back in Aedum get a show?” She crossed her arms and raised her brows.
My eyes narrowed. “I think we both know you would like that even less than I. Seeing as I would have to cut out their eyes for looking at you. Which would start a war between our Kingdoms. And isn’t that what you’ve been trying to prevent these past few years?”
She rolled her eyes. “My father wouldn’t go to war with Damanthus over a few dead men. He has more restraint than that.”
I scoffed. “He’d go to war over an apple rolling to my side of the border. He’s been looking for any excuse to wipe the Drolvega line from existence and take over the Damanthus Kingdom.”
She huffed a sigh but didn’t attempt to defend him. She knew I was right. That fucker has had it out for my Kingdom ever since he came into his crown.
But back to the matter at hand.
I reluctantly pulled her panties from beneath the sheets and handed them to her before standing at the side of the bed.
“Thank you,” she said, grabbing them before I changed my mind, then hopped to the floor and slipped them on.
I rolled my eyes and growled with discontent, but began gathering my scattered, discarded clothing while I kept one eye on her, watching her for as long as I could. She tugged off my shirt and slipped into her sapphire-colored dress, bringing out the blue in her irises.
After we dressed, we tidied up the space so it would be ready when we returned. I took her hand in mine, placing a kiss to the almost imperceptible symbol I had scarred on her wrist. She put my matching scar to her lips before I led her from the bedroom and through the living space.
It was a small dwelling with only a single bedroom, a washroom, a larger room with seating for the two of us, and a small kitchen area that was rarely used—most of our time spent here was in the bedroom. I had constructed the cottage three years ago once Maera and I had realized what we had between us was more than some simple attraction. So much more.
The wood of the porch creaked beneath my boots as we stepped out of our refuge. Glancing around for anything out of the ordinary, I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with the crisp air of the snow-covered forest surrounding us. The sun was descending over the treeline, casting deep shadows in the clearing.
Maera was right. It was time for her to leave. She would have to travel quickly over the border to avoid suspicion. Not to mention, I wouldn’t have her going through the forest in the dark. Dangerous predators lurked within the trees and wouldn’t think twice about snatching up a sweet little thing like her.
I would know.
I turned and pulled her against my chest. Her eyes turned up to mine, glistening as they always did when we were forced to part.
“I’ll see you in three days, right?” she said softly, her hopeful smile betraying the heartbreaking sadness in her eyes.
I tried to hide my frown, wishing I didn’t have to disappoint her. “I can’t meet in three days.” I flicked her nose playfully when her eyebrows pinched together. “But I can meet you in five.”
“How come?”
“Because, love, sometimes I actually have to go hunting rather than just say I am.” But I wished I could. If it were up to me, I’d never leave her side.
She pursed her lips. “Yeah,” she drawled. “I’m betting by now everyone thinks you’re a lousy hunter since you keep returning empty-handed. That, or they think you’re going off to some brothel in a neighboring town since you smell like sex.” She bit her bottom lip, and a blush crept across her cheeks.
I raised a brow. “You doubt my capabilities? I never return without a kill. I at least get something small on my way back but nothing like the bigger game that’s expected of me. Big enough I actually need the time to track down.” Whether or not she knew what I was truly hunting, I wasn’t going to dampen the mood with the truth. “And just how close do you think I let others get? Certainly not close enough to smell me.”
“You better not.” She pinched my side, and I chuckled before kissing her forehead.
“Never. You’re the only one I’ll allow close enough to smell my sweaty, after-sex scent.”
Maera giggled. At least I was able to get her to laugh, loosening the tension of the moment. She looked up to the sinking sun.
“You should go,” I encouraged.
She nodded and lifted to her toes, kissing me one last time before her departure. The moment her sweet, soft lips touched mine, my hand came to the back of her head, tangling my fingers in her hair and deepening the kiss. My tongue swept out, and she opened her mouth, giving me one final taste. I desperately wanted to keep her there longer, but we both needed to return to our homes.
I broke away after the too-short moment and jutted my chin to the trees, a silent command for her to go. She gave a curt nod and squeezed my hand before turning to leave. I smacked her ass as she walked away, eliciting a crude gesture from her that had a grin pulling at my lips. My little witch grabbed her basket full of herbs from foraging—her own ruse for being here—before crossing the grass and disappearing into the trees .
“Soon, love. Soon, I won’t have to watch you walk away. Soon, we’ll never have to part again,” I softly whispered, letting the wind carry my promise.
It was time for me to return as well, and with Maera gone, so was my gentle, loving demeanor.
My smile fell, and my eyes hardened as I went to the side of the cottage and retrieved my horse before riding west back to Kanth. Once I was past the barrier, I glanced behind me toward the cottage again, confirming everything still held in place.
Satisfied, I continued the trek through the forest, detouring slightly. It was only a few minutes’ walk before I came upon the spot where I had left my spoils from my hunt on the way to the cottage a few hours ago. My captured prey remained unconscious and tied to the base of a tree. I pulled my horse to a stop and dismounted.
“Takaor,” I said forcibly with a flourish of my hand, and the bindings vanished. I bent down to inspect closer.
The man looked to be around fifty of his short, human years. Magic users—comprised of male sorcerers and female witches—aged much more slowly. With only a few years between us, I looked half his age. The only identifiable difference between magic users and humans was our hair. Whether dark or nearly white, or even just a streak, magic users had some shade of blonde. All it took was one drop of human blood, and they were born with brown, black, or red hair—and no magical ability. Had he not trespassed into Damanthus, perhaps he could have continued into his old age. Unfortunately for him, he was found by a Vord, a hunter and guard of the Kingdom, and wouldn’t see the next dawn.
I slung the man over the back of my horse and began trotting back to Kanth to complete my hunt.
An hour later, I had only just emerged from the forest when Thane and two other Vords rode up to meet me. I pulled my horse to a stop and eyed them suspiciously as they approached. No one came into this area. It was my assigned territory as a Vord to guard.
“Thane,” I greeted. “Missed me so much you just couldn’t wait for me to get back?”
He dismounted his horse and straightened with his arms crossed behind him, standing at attention. This wasn’t an informal visit then. And the severe look on his face told me this wasn’t a pleasant one, either.
“What’s going on?” I pressed, keeping my tone firm and superior.
The other two, whose names I never cared to remember, glanced at each other warily. Thane took a heavy breath. “The King of Damanthus is dead.”