Chapter 26
Kaden
“You didn’t tell me about the bard,” I murmur to my brother, watching as he leaps over a cracked section of stone.
Am I a little irritated he didn’t tell me of it? Slightly. My brother is known to tell me all of his conquests. I’m his confident.
“I knew you wouldn’t approve.” His lips twitch as I glare. “Musicians aren’t really your thing. Or Humans. Or Witches. Or pretty much anyone, ever.”
“It’s not that I don’t like others—”
“It’s because of Sose,” he finished plainly. “I get it, Kade. Besides, ever since, you’ve all but barred us from marriage proposals.”
“No one should be forcing you into such an arrangement,” I defend. “Marriage is a large undertaking. Neither you nor Fee should be tied to someone you hate. You should be allowed to make the right choice.”
Climbing up the mountain, my eyes burn against the bright sunlight, the heat taxing us. With very little time to gather supplies, my siblings and I are at the mercy of the elements.
We don’t die from sunlight exposure like our citizens, but it will harm us if we stay out too long.
I didn’t think about that when chasing after the blood summoner on this insane plan. She’ll end up killed if I don’t follow and I need her alive.
“I know you weren’t given that choice.”
“No,” I agree, stepping over a rock. “And I care if you do. I’ve seen what an arranged marriage looks like from our parents. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”
Our mother, Serafina the First, died shortly after giving birth to Reid. He never met her. Some days, it hurts to know he’ll never know her laugh or her love, but it’s better he never saw how miserable she was in the Dark Court. How it drained her to live with our father, under his rule and abuse.
“You could have still told me about the bard.”
Clapping a hand on my shoulder, my brother nudges me. “Who are you truly mad at? Me, or the blood summoner?”
Rolling my eyes, I shrug him off. “Don’t push it, Reid.”
Laughing, he darts in front of me as I glance to the woman in question. She and the Witch are arguing, loudly, about her plan.
He’s worried, which I can understand. I don’t like the Witch but I can relate to his anxiety.
This whole trek is going to be fruitless. The Fury has already eaten the lord and we’ll be its next meal.
Max throws her hands up, fingers red. She’s not a fan of her friend today.
But my mind is stuck on the bard. Could she have love him? The Witch seemed to think so.
I’ve experienced love once. It’s a terrible thing to behold and then have it broken, taken from you without a second thought. Does she feel the same loss as me when reflecting? Does hearing the name Finnick break her heart all over again?
The idea that he, a simple man with no skill, heard the intimate noises she makes when her orgasm crests, twists my heart. I’ve gone from seeing the blood summoner as a conquest, a cog in a machine to win a war, to now, hating that she would even think of touching another man.
Not when I want to be the man she touches.
Gods. I rub my eyes, aggravation tightening my shoulders. What is happening to me? How has this slight thing, who can barely walk up this incline without tripping, turn my beast feral and me into a yearning mess?
I kept my distance in the woods, to set my mind straight and restrain my beast. But once that lord tried to touch her—I saw red, my beast broke free and I wanted to spilt him into two as a message.
She’s mine. She’s only mine.
My jaw clenches, fists at my side.
Wanting her is one thing, but the need inside my heart is another. I want to posses her, hear those moans, feel her bites as she flays me, defies me. I want to hear her laugh, from my words, see her guarded smile that could break apart dark clouds overheard with its brightness.
Holy Bel, I want her.
Rubbing my eyes, I curse my stupidity.
Since when do I want anyone?
But her, I do. And it’s not a simple want, but a soul crushing need to have her near me, to breathe the same air as her. Seeing her walk up the mountain, away from me, turns my insides until I’m jogging to catch up with them.
This doesn’t bode well for the plan. A plan, I know, must be enacted if I’m to do what’s needed back home.
She’s the perfect weapon for my father. She’s the means to an end for me.
And the idea that I’ll have to trick her, after she told me of her fears, of her time in the Coven, feels like a knife to my heart.
I’m cruel, but not heartless. Fee was right.
We stop at the widest part of the summit, a sharp ledge to the side. The climb stops only a few paces higher with a narrow path continuing skyward. There are no sides to brace against wind, no place to hide.
The perfect place for a Fury to attack.
“I’ll take the blood summoner with me,” I say glancing to the sky, brow damp with sweat.
The group stares at me.
Gesturing to the cliff, I explain, “I’m the fastest of us. It’s your plan, blood summoner, so it’ll be your show. And we need the Witch alive, in case one of us falls to our deaths.” I look to the edge and shake my head. “You better be good at healing, Witch.”
Taylay, stands taller, glaring at me. The hostility goes both ways, I see. “We’ll see how charitable I’m feeling. Especially if she doesn’t come back down unharmed.”
Smirking, I gesture to the cliff. “By all means, Witch, feel free to go with the woman to the summit. Let me know how brave you feel when the sharp talons of a Fury are cutting into your midsection and you can’t defend her.”
He scoffs. “But you think you can?”
“I know I can.”
“That’s enough,” Max interrupts, glaring at me, hands up. “I’ll go. And for the record, I can defend myself.”
She shoves me back a step and I wink at the Witch, teasing him further as my jealousy seethes.
I’m the prince to the Shadowlands—fighting is in my blood.
To insinuate he’s a better warrior—who has left the woman he claims to protect, alone, made her feel less than— burn my guts.
He’s lucky I don’t rip his head from his neck.
“Are you sure about this?” Fee asks, handing me a waterskin as I attach it to my belt. “If you fall from this cliff, at this height, it’ll take more than magic to heal you. Much more.”
“I know, Fee.”
“We don’t even need the water,” she whispers. “Let the raid fall. We can just take her—”
“Enough,” I cut off. “We have to do this.”
If I want to earn her trust, then going into a Fury’s nest is the way to do it.
“But if you’re injured—”
“I know.” And I do.
All Dark Fae can heal exceptionally fast. But because of my curse, when I’m severely injured, it takes too much energy to heal and control my beast at the same time. It has been known to try to escape when my defenses are lowered.
When he does, he goes ravenous, destroying anything and everyone around him.
Fortunately, it’s been a long time since that’s happened.
“Ready?” Max asks, looking from my sister to me. “The sooner we get up there, the sooner we leave.”
“Already know this is a pointless endeavor?” I tighten my sword on my hip. “The lord is dead by now.”
“It’s worth it to check.”
We head up the mountain, the rest remaining further back for support. My eyes keep to the surroundings but they’re pulled back to the woman in front of me.
Her hips sway with each step, her body curved just right to fit in my hands. How have I never noticed before now— she’s powerful, but her beauty could bring a simple man to his knees.
Seti’s Hell, I’m ready to drop for her.
“You’re quiet,” she says, glancing back. “I’m surprised not to hear anymore cutting remarks about my walking skills. Or how I should be hiding in the camp, not going head first into danger.”
“Why say it?” I grab her elbow as she teeters too close to the edge. “Especially when you know that’s what I’m thinking?”
“Prick.”
“Why the bard?” I ask, looking ahead. “Did he charm you with his voice?”
She snorts, kicking a rock. “Why are you so interested? Trying to figure out how he got me into his bed?”
I chuckle, jealousy rolling along my gut. “Oh, pet, I’m sure it was desperation on your part.”
“Excuse me?” She stops, jerking toward me, eyes flashing with her ire.
Good. I like to see her anger. It’s dark, beautiful and makes me feel at home within her presence.
“Being the good little blood summoner in your Coven, I can only assume he was the only one brave enough to court you.” At the twist of her lips, I know I’ve chosen right. “What was it, kitten? Did he say the right things? Promise you a lifetime of love?” I snort, shaking my head. “Pathetic.”
Her hand flies out, a dagger grasped between her fingers and it swigs wide for my neck. She’s quick. Ducking, I grab her arm, throwing her against the cavern, the top just to the side.
“Easy,” I purr. “You don’t want to fly off this mountain. At least, not by your own hand.”
“How dare you,” she seethes. “How dare you assume I must be some pathetic woman, seeking love from any source I can get it.”
“Weren’t you?” I pin her legs, my knee pressed between her thighs.
What would it be like to be there?
She juts out her chin, defiant. “No.”
Lowering my head, I inhale her intoxicating scent, my lungs finally feeling as if I’ve taken my first deep breath in months.
Picking a fight with her, this close to death, seems absurd, but the jealous knot in my stomach pushes me on. If I’m mad, I want her furious.
“No?” I shift, my knee rubbing at the spot that is aching for my touch, the scent of her arousal surrounding me. My head spins and my fangs break through, dipping over my lip. “Then why him, Max? What did the bard do to win your favor?”
“He wasn’t an asshole like you.” Her eyes flash again, like the cresting waves of the ocean.
Smirking, I crush her into the wall, bodies flush. What I wouldn’t give for us to be naked, wrapped together like this.
I’d wipe the bard from her memories and replace them with me.
“Did he tell you how well you took him?” I ask, words lowered. Her body shakes under mine and she’s damp. “Or did he praise you as you took him down your throat? I bet you would look gorgeous on your knees, my cock between your lips.”
She swallows, eyes narrowed. “Keep dreaming, heir.”
My nose brushes her cheek. “It’s a damn nightmare at this point, kitten. Tormenting me, robbing me of sleep.” My fangs skirt her neck. “Just the idea of tasting you is enough for me to lose control and cum in my pants.”
Her cheeks are red, but those blue eyes widen, lust so strong, they turn black. Black, like my heart, like the darkness we both hold deep inside our souls.
Her mouth parts, leaning close. My groin jerks, hard and throbbing being this close to a woman I want—need.
Whatever she’s done to me, I want it gone and to sink deeper into it.
“You’ll never taste me,” she promises.
Surging forward, I claim her lips into a brutal kiss, fangs pricking her tongue as I taste the euphoria of her blood. Growling, my free hand digs into her locks, tugging her until I get the angle I want.
I plunder her mouth, gulp down her moans and steal her breath as if it’ll sustain me. Maybe it will. My heart races, her hips fitting perfectly against me, her touch sending me into a frenzy.
This. This is why I’ve needed her. She feels like something I’ve been missing.
Ripping away, I exhale, watching her chest shudder with every breath. I’m not the only one affected and I grin.
She touches her bruised mouth, eyes wide.
“Never say never.”