Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Maximinus’ Study, Shadow Court
Daire
I shake with exhaustion, kneeling on the hard marble in front of Maximinus in his study. I pray to the Shadow Devils that it will be for the last time.
Except, Maximinus is a slippery bastard.
Am I daft to believe his promise that capturing Lanlin and bringing him back to Draca Kingdom was my last mission?
Will he free me?
The small, sharp stones of knotted mosaic dig into my bare skin. I shiver, wishing that I’d at least been allowed to change into something more than my wedding kilt.
I was dragged here by my hair, however, by Maximinus immediately after Lanlin was taken away by the guards.
I couldn’t stop them, and I wasn’t allowed to take the twisted crowns with me. It hurts deep in my soul to abandon my new crown on the cold floor.
One month.
My mind races, running through possibilities and options.
Lanlin’s captivity makes the next step of my plan more difficult but not impossible. In some ways, it’ll provide the distraction that I need.
After all, I’m no longer the newest pet king in the empire. People will forget about me because of their fascination with the shackled Shadow Vampire.
If I play this right, I will even be released from Maximinus’ grip.
These bloody idiots are frightened of the wrong King.
My lips twitch.
How can they think that Lanlin is the villain?
Sun floods the opulent room but through my dim vision, it is blurred to a smear of gold and silver.
It makes my skin prickle that I can’t see Maximinus; I can only hear him moving around the study. I strain to listen to the rustle of parchments on the desk and what sounds creepily like he is stroking over the smooth surfaces of the large gold and silver statues that line the room.
I wrinkle my nose at Maximinus’ bitter scent.
“And that’s everything that happened while you were in that monster’s kingdom?
” Maximinus asks like I haven’t just spent hours recounting the events in excruciating detail, trying not to collapse or at least beg for a mouthful of water.
Is it afternoon already? “You didn’t leave anything out, sweet pet? ”
“Unless you want me to tell you about that special thing that I can do with my tongue…”
“Most certainly not, whore. I am already convinced that with your trained courtesan skills you were able to trick an unhinged but lonely freak like Lanlin Sin into loving you.”
“Stop, you’re making me blush.”
“How did you escape the iron bracelets? Or did you think that I wouldn’t notice?”
A fae can always hope.
“Heka, Sin’s tutor, decided to use me as his test subject. He’s obsessed with cruel experiments. One of them nearly bloody killed me but it ripped the iron off me.”
My heart speeds up.
Will he believe me?
Maximinus gives a sharp laugh. “That sounds like Heka. I have heard that he rivals even me with his experiments. Perhaps, he should be given the moniker the Nightmare of Sheut.”
I startle at the sudden touch on my cheek.
When did Maximinus get so close?
All my senses are dimmed by exhaustion. My muscles tremor with the agony of the iron poisoning, which has been increasing over the last few days. It has been hard to hide it from Freya.
I blink fast, hoping to at least clear some of my vision, but I can only see a dark blur above me.
My heart rate speeds up.
I wrap my wings around myself.
Maximinus’ thick finger traces down my cheek, and I shudder.
“I knew that my cursed mask would work on the Blood Moon,” he crows, smugly. “The idea of one king wearing the downfall of another as his disguise is pleasing.”
“Whatever gets you off, boss.”
I’m expecting the slap. It’s still hard enough to turn my head to the side and bust my lip.
I lick over the tangy blood, probing at my sore lip.
What a waste; I wish that Lanlin was here to lick it up.
My blood doesn’t taste like ambrosia to me, but everyone has their food preferences, right?
Choosing to feed Lanlin my blood and serve him is one of the best deals that I have made. Admiringly, I imagine having someone like my Bat King at my side with both our magic freed.
We’d be unstoppable.
Plus, when I die, I’d know that Freya would have two Alphas, Aurelius and Lanlin, who would destroy kingdoms for her. But how do I stop the idiots from destroying each other first?
Maximinus tuts. “Still a mouthy brat, I see.”
“Don’t you mean a charming rogue?”
“I don’t find savage bandits charming.” He grips me brutally by the chin. “It’s clear that I haven’t been strict enough with you, pet. I’ll hone my methods when I try again with the vampire.”
I bare my teeth, wrenching my chin out of Maximinus’ grip. “Bollocks. Sin has been sent to the Guild of Assassins.”
“Only for a month. I will petition the Council that as soon as he is released, he’ll be handed into my care to be trained.
He is already the realm’s best fighter and assassin.
My nephew helped me by giving him to the Guild.
They can start the breaking process, and I will complete it.
A pet assassin like Lanlin Sin at my side will strengthen my position, wouldn’t you say? ”
“I’d say that you’ll be in for a shock.” My eyes flash with rage. Lanlin is smart. Sharp. He is nothing like the easily manipulated fool that Maximinus believes. “Sin is the apex predator.”
Maximinus bloody chuckles. “Oh, you are a na?ve fae. Do you still not understand how things work in this empire? The apex predator is me.” I grit my teeth at the sudden blur of movement, as he leans closer. “Once more for old time’s sake, sweet fae?”
There is a quick move right in front of my eyes like the flick of his wrist, as if he’s about to surge the iron poisoning through me.
“Fuck.” I flinch, steadying myself for the agony to knock me to the floor.
Nothing.
Confused, I furrow my brow.
“Boss…?” I venture.
“See how well the conditioning works, sweet pet?” Maximinus flicks his wrist again, and again, I flinch.
“I merely need to raise my hand, and you brace yourself for punishment. Poisoning that invades someone’s entire body is effective.
It’s an invisible and successful control and discipline method.
I should adapt something similar for the academy.
The cadets take too long to recover when the skin is stripped from their backs.
The whip is too old-fashioned and brutal. ”
“Aye, because poisoning is not brutal at all,” I mutter.
I shift on the mosaic floor, trying to ease the pain in my knees.
I listen intently to Maximinus’ footfalls as he walks away across the study, then as a drawer opens.
My shoulders stiffen.
What’s he taking out?
He slams the drawer shut with a bang.
“Do you know why I’m known as the pet-hater?” He asks, quietly. “Don’t think my spies don’t inform me of every nickname that is thrown at me.”
“Hmm, because you’re a cold-hearted arsehole?”
“Cold-hearted?” Maximinus’ voice becomes icy with rage.
“Love and bonding are a type of madness. I have only fallen into them once, and it holds my sole regret. I blame my brother for his encouragement to visit the cells with the fae prisoners. He offered one to me as a pet. I should have known not to trust the pleading, seducing lavender eyes of the pretty fae who made me fall for him too fast. I was entranced in a way that I had never been for anyone. I took him into my rooms, dressing him in fine clothes and courting him like he was a dragon. The Council warned me that it was a mistake. I didn’t listen. ”
I startle.
Lavender eyes…?
They only belong to fae royalty.
Who the hell did Maximinus take as a pet before me?
Suddenly, a memory rises in me — sorrowful songs sung by the bards and tears shed by Da under the Sacred Blossom Tree for his long-lost Omega brother, captured by the dragons.
I rise to my feet, stretching out my wings.
My magic is partially suppressed by the iron in the walls of the court. But my shadows still whip around me in fury and grief for my uncle, taken and turned into this bastard’s pet.
“Where is he now?” I demand.
“Have you forgotten your place already? See, I’ve learned from my mistake about treating fae well, as if they’re not whorish tricksters.
” Wait, is Maximinus crying? “My sweet pet faked that he loved me for months. He played me. I asked him to bond with me, and on the night of our bonding, he tried to escape.”
“What did you do?” My throat is tight.
What happened to my uncle?
“I told you before.” Maximinus stalks toward me.
I raise my wings threateningly to ward him off.
I’m never going to let him touch me again.
“I learned from my mistake: Love is a madness. It’s a delusion.
I threw that bitch back into the dungeons.
Then I made sure that my pet was of some use at least. He helped me to improve the iron poison that I was developing.
In fact, his death was the first in your Winter Court.
I made sure that he knew what I would do with the poison, before he drew his last breath.
He died sobbing for his family, knowing that his Court would be destroyed because of him. ”
I howl, launching myself at Maximinus. “May the ravens peck out your eyes…”
Lost in a sea of blurred gold and grief, however, my punches and kicks don’t connect.
Instead, chains snake around my wrists and ankles, dragging me back and slamming me against the wall.
I grunt in pain, as the wind is knocked out of me.
I struggle, arching my back. “Fucking bastard. You never loved him. You’re a war criminal.”
“You’re a killer.” Maximinus’ voice is too close to my ear.
I battle against his enchanted chains that only tighten hard enough to bruise.
“I know. And the Shadow Devils will make sure that I atone eternally for my sins. But there is no spot hot enough in hell for you. Don’t pretend that you committed mass murder on the fae or torture pets because my brave uncle tried to escape your forced bond.
You fucking murdered the person who you’re pretending to have loved.
You don’t have a heart. You’re as dead as your creepy statues. ”
“Oh, my statues aren’t dead. Where would the fun be if they were?”
I stop struggling in horror.
For the first time, I’m glad that I can’t see the study and the dragon statues.
I shake my head like that can stop Maximinus saying what I know he will next.
“If Aurelius disobeys me,” Maximinus continues, “then he knows that I will melt his golden core and add him to my collection.”
By the sacred ash, is this why Aurelius has always hidden behind his controlled, emotionless mask?
Not only because of the conditioning from his academy and his inability to accept that Hadrian is part of him but because he has known that one wrong step, and his uncle can reduce him to a living statue?
I have a whole wingful of regrets in my life. Thinking that Aurelius simply had a stick up his arse is now one of them.
I better add saving the uptight dragon into my plot.
Unexpectedly, I hear a bottle being unstoppered, then being pressed to my lips.
I gag, as Maximinus pushes the stinking bottle more insistently against my lips, until I open my mouth.
“There, there, don’t fuss. You should be happy.
This represents your freedom, since you completed your final mission.
” Maximinus gently tilts up the bottle. I choke as I swallow the thick, revolting liquid of the antidote.
“You’ll no longer need to work as my assassin or courtesan.
After all, you’ve been humiliated enough before the Shadow Court.
I’ve made an example out of you. Now, I have a better pet to take your place. ”
He finally takes the bottle away, and I cough.
“Ouch, don’t hurt my feelings.” I lick the last of the foul liquid off my lips, as slowly, the pain from the iron poisoning recedes.
I am relieved that the study swims back into view. It is still blurred at the edges like it’s fraying.
I smile. I will be able to see Freya’s face one final time.
Maximinus releases the chains, and I stumble to my knees.
“Since you’re not working for me, I don’t need to provide you with any more antidote.
That was your last dose. I don’t provide them without a price.
The effects will possibly work for a couple of months, but these things are unpredictable.
I was only ever freeing you to death. We both know that I executed you a long time ago. ”