“Can I fucking help you?” I snapped, my voice thick with sleep as I angrily tossed my legs over the side of the bed and sat up properly.
“Sir,” she said, shrewd eyes tinged with only the barest hint of fear at the sight of a grouchy dragon shifter. “We need you in the command center.”
“What?”
“Something’s…come up.”
I sighed heavily, but nodded in response. “Give me a minute.”
“I’ll be just outside,” she replied quietly.
With a groan, I stood up and grabbed the shirt that was hanging on the back of the desk chair and tugged it on. It snagged slightly on my back and I frowned, feeling the itch of my dragon wings yearning to burst free. As far as I knew, no one else in my family seemed to have the same problem of having to fight back their more monstrous physical form like this. I’d only seen my sisters and my mother as dragons a handful of times, and even the men in my family preferred their more human side.
For me, it was like a constant nagging. A strange, dark power that was impossible to ignore, always begging to be set free.
Soon, I told my dark side. Soon, you can be free.
I shoved my feet into a pair of boots and stomped out into the hallway, shooting the Rogue lady a glare.
“This way,” she said simply, leading me down the hall. We took a left just before Zik’s gross torture chamber and stopped at a plain door marked with a white X. I watched as the girl placed her palm on a sensor and it ding-ed happily once, then twice. I thought that alone unlocked it, but then she had to type in an extensive password into the keypad that I couldn’t follow even with my quick eyes. I wondered why they bothered telling us to avoid the doors marked like this if none of us dark tourists even knew the passwords to get in anyway. It was probably just another way for Lee to assert himself as the leader. Pompous ass.
This part of the ship was crawling with Rogues. There were dozens, way more than I originally thought. I followed the girl quietly through rows of Rogues at computer screens, bent over tablets, reading printouts of data, monitoring whatever mess of information was spilling out in front of them. None of it meant anything to me, and I was fine with not understanding the details. As long as they got me to a timeline where I could feel the twisted pleasure of killing my family, I’d be a happy customer.
“Hey, Loretta,” called one of the Rogues. “Where’s your trainee?”
I made a mental note to remember this one’s name. Loretta. I glanced at her as she shot her colleague a quick smile.
“Mind your business, Richard,” she replied, though her voice was playful. The Rogue named Richard snorted and turned back to his computer, but not without shooting me a nervous glance.
“In here,” Loretta said, gesturing me into what looked like a small conference room, but with one wall made entirely of a busy computer screen.
Immediately, I noticed Ellen sitting at the table beside Lee, tapping her pen against the tablet in front of her. She wore all black, and though she hadn’t been given a small t pin yet, she looked just like the rest of the Rogues. Except, not completely. She had too much light in her eyes. Too much kindness.
Lee stood up at the sight of me, but not out of respect. It was more like the dramatic flourish of a circus master, as if I were his favorite animal to parade around the ring. His most well-paying customer to date.
“Prince Markus,” he said, sweeping into a mocking bow with a devious grin. I fought the urge to pounce on him and rip his heart out. “We have some interesting information for you. Please sit.”
Loretta remained standing, moving over to the screens, but gestured for me to take the seat next to Ellen.
Why the hell did I suddenly feel so timid in her presence?
“Hey,” she said, offering me a sweet smile that I definitely didn’t deserve.
“Hey,” I replied, curving my lips into the closest mirror of her expression as I could manage. Lee caught the exchange and snorted to himself. Much to my amusement, Ellen rolled her eyes at the sound. She looked like she wanted to murder Lee almost as much as I did.
Maybe she wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies, after all. That was promising.
“What’s up?” I asked. “Why’d you drag my ass out of bed? Did you do this with the others?”
“You were sleeping?” asked Lee. “It’s noon.”
I shot him a look.
“Sir, it’s just that…we’ve located a ruined timeline for you to enter in which your family exists in much the same way as they do in your original timeline,” began Loretta, barely glancing up from whatever was in front of her. “There’s just some information we feel the need to impart on you before we go. Ellen can explain; it was her first task to find this timeline for you.”
Brow furrowed in confusion, I glanced over at Ellen.
She offered me another small smile and then glanced down at the tablet, tapping her pen even more rapidly.
“Well,” said Ellen, biting her lip. “Markus… It seems that this timeline has been watched closely by the Time Agency for decades. With a high-profile family like yours, this is perfectly normal. They like to make sure that any parallel timelines are stable. So, um, they’ve put a lot of research into this ruined one. They’ve been able to predict the outcome… Which is why it’s going to be destroyed.”
I wanted to tell her to just get to the point, but something about her nervous rambling was slightly endearing. I watched as Ellen met my eyes briefly, blushed, and then looked back down at the tablet with a frown.
“So, what’s the problem?” I asked.
“It seems...” said Lee, cutting off Ellen, “...in this ruined timeline we’re headed for, there’s a tenth heir.”
I froze.
Markus Aurelius Alin III, youngest Prince of the Dragon King’s blood, ninth in line to the throne.
Ninth.
Last in line.
“Tenth?” I practically choked.
Lee looked far too entertained at the sight of my reaction.
“Yes,” replied Ellen, her voice gentle. “A Princess. She’ll be thirteen when we enter the timeline, as it seems the Time Agency is set to destroy the timeline just before her fifteenth birthday.”
“What happens on her fifteenth birthday?”
Lee snickered. Even Loretta cleared her throat awkwardly.
Ellen, who had no idea what my plans were, who had no clue what was going on in general, reached over and placed a hand on top of mine. I tensed in surprise, not used to such a tender sentiment. She was comforting me.
“Markus… She…” Ellen sighed. “This Princess… She…”
Lee huffed in exasperated impatience and leaned across the table toward me with a wicked smirk. “The little girl kills her entire family. Your entire family.”
“Oh,” was all I could manage.
The universe had a twisted way of operating. Here I was in my own timeline, the ninth heir, filled with a hatred for my family so strong that I was traveling through time and space to kill them, only to stumble upon another timeline where a tenth heir is predicted to beat me to the punch. There was a strange symmetry to it.
“She kills…everyone?” I asked.
“Yes,” replied Loretta. “Including you.”
“Interesting,” I responded, nodding slowly.
I almost wanted to meet this fourth murderous sister of mine. I was pretty sure I’d like her a lot more than the rest of my sisters, that was for sure.
But, of course, she killed me. Or, rather, she was going to kill me.
What a bitch.
The others were silent, watching me. Loretta observed my reaction coolly, Lee remained smirking and Ellen still had her hand on top of mine, biting her lower lip nervously. In the very back of my mind, I wondered what it would be like to bite that lip of hers, to taste her.
I needed to focus.
I cleared my throat and squared my shoulders to the three of them, sitting up straight in the chair like a proper royal.
“And there’s no other timeline?” I asked.
Ellen shook her head and took away her hand to scroll through the information on the tablet. I immediately wished for her touch to return. “There are only two timelines in which the Alin dragons exist, at least as royals. The original one, or the one this version of yourself is from, and…the one where the tenth heir kills everyone.”
“I see,” I replied.
“The good news is,” added Lee. “We can get you in there before the Princess goes psycho teen girl assassin on your entire family...”
I flinched, knowing the next words that were about to come out his mouth.
“...so that you can kill them before she does.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Ellen sit up straight in her chair. Her pen dropped to the table with a clatter as she stiffened, practically turning to stone before our eyes.
Lee pretended to gasp aloud. “Oh, Ellen! You didn’t know?”
I sighed quietly and forced myself to meet her gaze. She looked horrified.
I told myself it was for the best. She was better off seeing me as a monster. She would be safer that way, and far happier. Dealing with a darkness like mine was not anything anyone should have to do with their lives.
Still, I felt an odd pang in my chest at the look in her eyes.
“That’s what you’re here to do?” she asked, her voice so quiet that it was almost inaudible. “To kill your family?”
“Ellen, as Rogues, we don’t pass judgment on our-” Loretta began.
“What did I tell you?” Lee said, interrupting his second-in-command with a flutter of his hand. Loretta’s eyes flashed angrily, but she quieted. “The Prince is not the dashing hero you think he is.”
I shot Lee a glare, but he was focused on Ellen’s reaction. As if he were trying to drink it in, like he gained power from the satisfaction of watching her interest in me turn into pure hatred.
I may have been a fledgling murderer, but Lee was truly sick in the head.
Ellen stood up from the table. “I just need a minute,” she said, mostly to Loretta.
Loretta pursed her lips in disappointment, but nodded anyway. Then, without another glance in my direction, Ellen hurried out of the room, hand pressed to her chest.
“Well, anyway,” sighed Lee. “We’ll set our course for the crazy dragon Princess timeline, yeah?”
With a frustrated growl, I snatched up Ellen’s abandoned pen and tossed it at Lee’s head. He dodged it at the last second, the perfect smirk still affixed to his face like it was painted on.
“Whatever,” I snapped, standing up and storming out.
Chapter 9
Impulse
Ellen
There was something seriously wrong with me.
I’d stormed out of the conference room when I’d learned the truth about Markus’ presence on this ship, acting as if I were personally offended by the dark desires of a man I barely knew.
Because that was the truth. I barely knew him. Sure, I found myself unbearably attracted to him and desperately searching for a goodness that I could feel within him, but I didn’t really know that much about him. I knew he was a party boy, a little reckless, and kind of childish. Spoiled, entitled and spiteful.
But was he really a killer? Could Markus really be capable of murder? And not just any murder, but the murder of his entire family?
And, if he was, why the hell was I knocking on his door?
I must have had a death wish.
I stood outside the door of his room, hand raised to the metal as I knocked timidly.
“What now?” he called angrily. I resisted the urge to turn and run away.
The stomping of his boots came closer as he approached the other side of the door and then yanked it open, the heavy iron relenting easily under his dragon-fueled strength.
“Oh,” he said, most of the annoyance immediately melting off his face. “Sorry. I thought it was Lee.”
Against my better judgment, I let a small laugh escape. “Yeah, I feel the same way about him.”
The look in his eyes was hard to read. It was defiant, as if daring me to judge him. I had a feeling he was used to wearing that expression, that he’d come to expect harsh criticism from pretty much everyone in his life. But, there was also something soft underneath it. Something nervous, as if he actually cared what my judgment on him was.
I was probably reading too much into it. They were just eyes, not windows to the soul. That was just poetic bullshit.
“Can I come in?” I asked.
“Um, sure.”
Markus stood aside, letting me into the room. It was surprisingly tidy. I’d imagined a room with an unmade bed, strewn with clothes and maybe a few empty vodka bottles. Maybe my party boy stereotypes were a little inaccurate. After all, I didn’t have much to go off of in my world. We were all too busy trying to survive to have the time or energy to party like Markus did.
Markus offered me a soft lounge chair by the window. His room was slightly more luxurious than mine, clearly designed with a royal guest in mind. Still, it was pretty basic. If these Rogues really wanted to start taking on more high profile clientele, they seriously needed to consider better accommodations.
I sat down, but Markus remained standing, crossing his arms in front of his chest. I thought briefly of what Lee said to me yesterday, about how I crossed my arms when I felt threatened. Asshole.
“What are you doing here?” asked Markus.
I looked down at my hands.
“I was kind of hoping I could convince you to…to not…”
Markus exhaled sharply. “To not kill my family?”
“Yeah,” I replied. “I guess.”
“What makes you think you have the power to convince me of anything?” he practically growled. “You’re just some human girl. You can’t just waltz in and tell me what you think is best for me.”
I pursed my lips. “You’re such a child.”
His eyes flashed with anger. “I’m a child?”
“You’re so petulant!” I replied, raising my voice slightly and throwing up my hands in exasperation. “Someone tries to be even slightly contrarian to you, and you just throw a temper tantrum!”
Markus simply humphed in response, which certainly didn’t help his argument.
But, I was on a roll. “What the hell is wrong with you anyway? Killing your family? Do you even know how lucky you are to have a family? Do you know how many people back on my planet had to grow up without their families because they were killed in the war? Do you even realize that I’m not even going to see my parents ever again?”
Markus appeared to be shocked into silence.
But then he leaned against the wall and rolled his eyes, shaking his head at the floor.
“Just because some people don’t have families, doesn’t mean that I have to love mine,” he replied, his voice deadly quiet. “You have no idea what I’ve been through.”
In that single sentence, I could sense his pain. A lifetime of neglect, of being cast aside like he was worthless and unimportant. I assumed that was the pain felt by the murderous tenth heir in his ruined timeline, and that he shared that pain with her. He was right; I couldn’t imagine what that was like. I was lucky enough to have two parents that I loved. But feeling hurt wasn’t an excuse for murder.
“That may be true,” I replied, “but you don’t know what something like that will do to you.”
“What do you mean?” He still sounded pissed, but at least he was still talking and hadn’t thrown me out of the room yet.
I stood up and approached him by the wall, standing as close as I dared.
“I mean that we all have dark impulses,” I told him, returning my voice to my normal, gentle tone. “We all have darkness in us. Even me. And sometimes it’s good to indulge in the darkness a little bit; it can be good for us. But, giving in to it completely? There’s a serious danger in unlocking our darkest impulses. Sometimes they’re better left buried.”<
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Something sparked in his dark eyes, and I thought for the smallest of seconds that I was getting through to him. I could tell he was listening to me, that my words weren’t just going in one ear and out the other, but he was still a stubborn young Prince. He wasn’t used to taking the advice of others, or doing anything other than what he pleased.
“I understand what you’re telling me,” he answered, “but, I need to do this.”
I sighed in frustration and reached out to touch his arm. He tensed at the contact, but didn’t shove me off. It was definitely stupid to corner a literal dragon the way that I was, yet something told me Markus wasn’t interested in hurting me. Maybe my survival instincts were broken.
“Think about Zik, though,” I replied. “He has incredibly dark impulses, and he gives into them. He tortures people for fun, Markus. And when he goes back to his planet and his timeline, he’s fine for a little bit, sure. But he keeps craving it. He can’t stop himself from giving in, from being dark. He’s never satisfied… What if you kill your family and then you can’t stop? What if you just start killing anyone and everyone who hurts your feelings?”
Markus scoffed.
“Or,” I continued. “What if you kill your family and it haunts you forever?”
Before I even knew what was happening, Markus knocked my hand away and grabbed my shoulders. He spun us around so I was the one shoved against the wall.
I gasped as he stepped in close, hands pressed to the wall on either side of my head. My heart hammered in my chest, mostly from fear, but also from…something else.
A chill ran down my spine as I watched Markus’ eyes lighten from inky black to an unnatural golden-brown that flickered like fire. Flashes of red swirled in near the iris and my breath caught in my throat. Was he going to transform into his dragon form right here, in this close proximity?
Was I about to die?
Markus held my gaze with a ferocious glare, eyes dancing between black and hazel as if they couldn’t decide which form to take. He rolled his shoulders once, as if shaking off an annoying fly.
“When I take my true form, my dragon form, my wingspan is longer than this room,” he whispered, lips pressed close to my ear. I was frozen beneath him, torn between fight, flight and surrender. “My nails turn into talons, sharper than razors. My teeth sharpen, too. Like knives. My eyes turn red. I’m resistant to fire, almost indestructible. I could take down any entire building in seconds on my own. That’s how strong I am. That’s how dangerous I am.”
A Wife for the Torturer Page 6