Chapter 21
Zarathos
Zarathos clenched his jaw as Aryana rose to her feet. Blood stained the back and side of her torn and shredded silvery gown. Signs of the hell she’d been forced to go through because of him.
She followed his gaze to her attire. “I think I’d like to put on something else.”
He nodded and stalked to the rack and pulled the black dress he’d had Ernon and Mils retrieve, suspecting she’d want to wear it when they went for the scepter, considering it was the only gown she thought her uncle would approve of.
“Here,” he said gruffly.
He held it out to her, and she accepted it.
“There is a bath prepared. Wash quickly.”
She gave a nod and disappeared into the washroom.
He didn’t have to enjoy the things he did to her, only ensure they kept her alive.
Leaving her chained and sobbing on the floor had caused a piercing agony inside he couldn’t name, couldn’t escape.
But they’d been listening. The demons, right on the other side of the door.
As if they believed Zarathos wouldn’t follow through.
Not to mention what had happened at the ceremony.
The damn mark on his arm had been cold and aching from the moment they’d stepped into the arena, telling him what he already knew.
That his Bloodbound was in life-threatening danger.
He shook his head. Disaster.
When Aryana returned to the room, she wore the dress but offered her bare back to him, her hair swept to the side. Seeing her like that, the gown catching the curves of her body, did odd things to him.
“Will you button?” she asked.
He fingered the clear elixir in his pocket. He didn’t want to take another dose yet so soon, but he would if he had to.
Stepping up to her, he worked on the tiny buttons, trying to ignore how close her soft inviting skin was to his hands, how her scent drifted up to him, and how he wanted to simply reach out and touch her.
“I wish I had a weapon,” she said.
He cleared his throat, refocusing on her words. “Wouldn’t that be suspicious?”
Her shoulders fell. “Probably.”
After he finished, he took her by the arm, pulling the shadows around them. When they reappeared, they were a short distance outside the vampire castle. The building towered over them, a monolith of ancient stone.
“Are you ready for this?” he asked her.
She looked away, most likely cursing all that he had seen about her in the crystal ball. “I’ll be fine.”
“Are you sure? Because if we get caught in that room—”
“I’m not weak,” she snarled.
The way she’d taken out her lover who’d attacked her when she had little-to-no-training attested to the fact that she wasn’t weak. Not to mention how she’d resisted her uncle when she became wise to his manipulation—how she’d tried to escape it as opposed to caving to it.
If he was being honest with himself, she was probably the strongest person he knew.
But he’d rather die than tell her that.
“Fine.” He removed his cloak and wrapped it around her shoulders.
“Why are you giving me this?”
He reached into the pocket and pulled out the same crystal ball they’d used two nights ago. “I cannot go in with you, but there is a spell that will allow me to place my mind and body into this. Until you set me free.”
Surprise entered her expression, then she grew calculating. “I have to release you?”
His stomach twisted. And he gripped her arms, his nails pressing into his cloak. “You will free me when I say, or you will be dead. We both will be dead.”
“My, but you don’t enjoy depending on someone, do you? What? Afraid I might betray you?”
He let loose a snarl and released her. “If you do, it’ll be your death.”
“What about getting to the alcove?”
“As long as you carry me in, it should get me through the door to your father’s room and even into the alcove, since technically it is not a person entering, but an object.”
“And the spells protecting the scepter?”
He grabbed a new vial off the vanity and smiled. “This is Neutrolisis, a neutralizing agent. It removes any magic or power binding any object.”
“It looks like the potion you normally take.”
Yes, it did resemble his Elixir of Purification, but there were minor differences.
“If you hold it up to the light, you can see Neutrolisis takes on blackened hues.” He held it up to a soft burning lantern on the wall to demonstrate. Even though it was see-through, the lining of the potion assumed subtle ebony tones.
“You’ve thought of everything,” Aryana said.
“Impressed?”
She huffed. “I’ll be impressed if you get us both out alive.”
His smile grew as he tucked the Neutrolisis potion into his pocket next to his elixir. “Now who hates depending on others?”
“Yes, I know how reliable demons can be,” she muttered sarcastically.
He was a tad offended by that. After all, he’d upheld his part of the bargain superbly up to the present moment. He held the orb out. “Are you ready?”
“Ready for what?”
“You must touch it as I am entering in order to be the one who can release me.”
“And how do I release you?”
“Simple. Say ‘Zarathos, I need you, return to me.’”
She made a face, and he couldn’t help but laugh. All she actually needed to do was speak his name and will him out, but there was something about getting under the vampress’s skin that pleased him.
A shocked expression crossed Aryana’s face.
“What is it?” he asked.
“You laughed.”
“You act like I have never laughed before.”
“You have, but this one felt…”—she shrugged—“like it wasn’t full of dark intention.”
“Maybe it was,” he said. “Eat this.” He handed her what looked even to him to be a stale piece of bread.
“What for?”
“It will allow us to communicate.”
She hesitated a moment more, then slipped the small bread piece into her mouth.
Her nose wrinkled at the stale taste. This was also a potion, but it worked better when baked into something that dissolved upon ingestion.
It was a minor dosage that should last as long as they needed.
Extreme dosages of the Communication Potion could potentially link them for a two-way connection, but then it additionally linked emotions.
Zarathos didn’t need nor want to go that far.
After she had finished eating, he motioned toward the crystal ball. She reached out and took it in her hands.
He spoke the words to cast the spell, and the world around him blurred.
In an instant, he found himself inside the ball.
Though he still had some sense of his body, it felt distant, faint.
He was dimly aware of the tight space he occupied.
Her castle appeared before his vision, a little taller than he was accustomed to.
He was seeing through Aryana’s eyes because she was the bearer of the sphere.
That connection allowed Zarathos to keep watch and stay informed of what was unfolding.
Aryana glanced down at the cloak, slipped the crystal ball into its pocket, and hurried up to the palace gate.
“I have returned. Allow me entry,” Aryana said.
The guards regarded her with surprise, but then scrambled to do as she commanded. She ventured into the main courtyard.
So far, so good, he thought.
Aryana tripped. “What the…”
Gods, he had forgotten to warn her. Don’t panic, Vampress. While the potion in the bread is in effect, our minds are connected. I can see everything you see and communicate with your mind. Although the mind communication, I admit, is only one way.
“Lovely,” she muttered.
So sarcastic today. Is this a sign of nerves? Not to worry. With me here, this will be a breeze.
She snorted.
I concede that is a bit of an exaggeration. But don’t let me distract you. We are on a mission and a single misstep is likely to get us killed. Just act as if I am not here.
She snorted again, but didn’t respond as she entered the castle.
The moment the guard at the threshold of the throne room saw her, they jumped into action, opening the large double doors to reveal the ruler of the vampires sitting on his throne.
King Fallor watched Aryana enter with an impassive look in his crimson eyes.
He gripped the armrests of his throne. Zarathos recognized the expression of someone who was constantly calculating, although there was a slight manic glint behind his stare.
It was the first instance that Zarathos had seen the vampire king.
Ever since the vampires had split off from the demon kingdom after Aryana’s great-grandfather defeated the demon arch king in battle, their two kingdoms had been on uneasy terms.
Aryana’s gaze shifted to the female in King Fallor’s lap. Horns and large seductive eyes and a tail that whipped from side to side. She ran a hand through the vampire king’s hair over and over. Shit. A succubus. Succubi could detect Bloodbindings.
The vampress’s heart thudded in her chest. Gods, if he heard it within the crystal ball, then her uncle and those around her would have no problem.
Steady, Aryana.
If her nerves gave her away, this would all be over before it began.
He heard her release several slow breaths and her heartbeat calmed before she entered the room.
“Aryana, I’m so relieved that you are safe.” Her uncle ran a hand over the succubus’s side who watched Aryana with bright, interested eyes. The king motioned for his entertainment to leave, then stood with open arms.
Aryana did not walk into them. She stopped a suitable distance from her uncle’s throne and bowed. “Uncle, I have escaped the demons who kidnapped me and I have returned to you.”
The succubus made her way down from her perch in the king’s lap and Aryana took several quick steps to the right, trying to stay clear of her. The demon woman passed, taking in a sharp breath, a small smile coming to her lips.
Shit.
“And we are ever so happy to see you here and well,” King Fallor said. He shifted to address the vampire standing to his left. “Are we not, Raydin?”