With her life in jeopardy, he retooled his tasks. Kill her captor in the fastest and most violent way possible, grab Nola, find Vale and rift to my lair.
“I’ve decided to walk away,” Bane told the mortals. A lie. “I suggest you let me.”
“What?” Nola squeaked. “You’re abandoning me?”
Never. But he needed the males to think so. Needing a genuine reaction from her, he adopted his darkest, meanest sneer, and put genuine fury into his tone. “The way you abandoned me?”
She flinched, and his chest tightened. “I hurt you, and I’m sorry, but I did it to protect you,” she said. “And yeah, okay, I was about to abandon you here, too, but only to protect you. Shouldn’t I be praised for my sacrifice and selflessness? My utter brilliance?”
She’d decided to stay with Zion to protect Bane? He...didn’t know what to think about that. He only knew the hottest flames of his fury gained new ground. She’d tried to shield him, and now some human thought to shoot her in the head?
A human who grinned, smug, thinking he’d cowed a beast. “You aren’t walking anywhere.”
Boom, boom, boom. Another round of bullets pierced his wings. His legs, too. Bane rolled over the ground again, grabbing two guns his victims had dropped. He aimed and hammered at the triggers, shooting one missile after another. Grunts of shock and agony resounded, men toppling.
While the other soldiers were distracted, Bane lurched to his feet and sprinted into the cover of trees, pretending to retreat. In reality, he circled the army without their knowledge, planning to come up behind Nola and her captor. As he tore around trees, his ears picked up different voices.
—Where’d he go?—
—Follow him!—
—Go, go, go! I’ll take care of the girl.—
His control? Almost completely razed. One gun, out of bullets. He dropped it and palmed a dagger. The other gun had one bullet left. Excellent. He charged into the masses, using the dagger to swiftly and quietly kill everyone in his path. Bodies toppled. Soon, no one stood between him and the object of his rage.
The male sensed him and turned. Too late. Bane reached him, batted the gun away from Nola and shoved the dagger into his temple. No hesitation. The bastard jolted and squeezed off a shot, the blast deafening. Thankfully, both bullet and man hit the ground.
Bane aimed and fired off the final shot—in the male’s face. Brain tissue and blood sprayed.
Nola wrapped her arms around her middle and stared down at the dead body. Tremors racked her.
He’d thought her terrified before. Here, now, she looked broken, and the sight was doing strange things to Bane’s chest. It felt like someone had cracked open his ribs and strapped a barbed wire around his heart. Maybe she won’t turn out like other queens, after all.
A few feet away, a gun cocked. Cursing, he threw an arm around Nola, yanked her against him and spun.
A bullet tore through his back, in one side, out the other. The pain proved intense but manageable. Though he yearned to punish the shooter, he wouldn’t risk Nola’s life.
Lifting her into his arms, he raced into a thicket of trees. As he ran, satisfaction filled him. Finally! He had the princess in his possession. Once he evaded the army, he would open a rift to his lair. Soon, she would be safe and surrounded by his things...
One step closer to my goal. After he convinced Nola to work with him, he would return to Colorado, alone, and rescue Vale. All would be well.
Footsteps echoed behind him. Faster.
“Thank you,” she whispered, embracing him. Tremors still racked her. “For everything.”
The barbed wire tightened, and he winced. For centuries, he’d yearned to see Aveline ruled by terror. Since a royal was a royal, he should enjoy Nola’s suffering, too. One day, one day soon, she would deserve this. But...
He experienced no enjoyment. He wanted to raze this world and present the remains at her feet, wanted to vow he would forever protect her from feeling this way again. Ridiculous!
Bane rushed around trees and boulders, leaped over gnarled roots. Sharp branches sliced at his upper body, deepest in his biceps.
Nola mewled, and he cursed. Already failing at my task. He’d let the branches slice her, too.
He waited for a volley of complaints...
Odd. Aveline had complained even before her change.
Pleasantly surprised, he readjusted Nola’s position against him, pressing her face into the hollow of his neck. Her soft curves molded to his muscular frame, the simple action somehow battering through his defenses, leaving him bare.
He hardened, painfully so. Neglected body, that’s all. Teeth gritted, he asked, “Better?” Would her nearness always affect him so strongly?
“Yes, thank you,” she whispered, remaining lax. “Bane? Heal quickly.”
Two words, yet he heard absolute and utter command in her voice. In an instant, pain consumed him, bullets popping out, flesh weaving back together, until only the shoulder wound remained, as raw and angry as ever.
All the while, Bane’s thoughts swung from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. Nola was concerned for his well-being. Concern often heralded caring. If she came to care for him, she would want to stay with him. Better, she would do as he wished. But it was clear she understood the worst of her talents, which created a major complication for him. He couldn’t share too much about his past, his goals or his motivation, for fear she would order him to relinquish his vendetta and lose the war. He’d have to win her over another way.
“Why did you come to me, princess? Mere hours ago, you chose to stay with Zion.”
She sighed, the warmth of her breath tickling the base of his neck. “We were ambushed. I thought if you and Zion worked together—”
“No. Not happening. Not now, not ever.” Tension knotted his muscles. “Why do you continue to aid him?”
“Why do you hate me?” she countered.
He needed her aid, and didn’t want to scare her off, but he couldn’t blunt the truth. “In your quest to save Vale, you will ruin my life.”
“Maybe, but you hated me before Vale joined the war.”
A pause. Then, “Do you know what you are, Nola?”
“Yes.” She flattened her dainty little hand against his pec and sank her nails into his skin. It was the touch of a lover...or a woman who expected a terrible emotional blow and needed a shield. “I’m a girl, a baker, a writer, a worried sister and an...other-worlder?”
He bit out, “You are so much more than an other-worlder.”
“It’s true, then.” Her breath hitched. “I suspected it, so I shouldn’t be freaking out on the inside. But I’m totally freaking out on the inside, Bane.”
Why did he suddenly want to smile?
Sensing he’d lost the army at last, Bane pictured his lair, and stroked his thumb over the Rifters. Roughly a hundred yards ahead, a portal opened, layers of air separating, revealing inky blackness.
He rushed through the opening and spun, facing the forest in case anyone attempted to follow. Portals couldn’t be closed manually, so he had to wait until this one shut on its own.
As soon as he and Nola were sealed inside the cave, his satisfaction returned. Long ago, he’d built this one-room shelter in the heart of a mountain, and refortified its walls with stone pillars. Now, limestone scented the cool, musty air.
“So dark,” Nola cried.
Bane excelled in darkness. Nola should, too. The fact that she didn’t... Is she more human than Adwaewethian?
Could a human survive the Blood Rite?
The barbed wire tightened again, a sharp, shooting pain striking his lungs, slaying his next breath. He placed Nola in front of a rocky wall and pressed against her shoulders, urging her to sit. He remained on his feet.
Deep in his throat, the beast ignited embers. When enough embers had for
med, he angled his head and unleashed a stream of fire, flames licking the torches he’d anchored to the walls. Amber light chased away the darkness and bathed Nola, paying tribute to her delicate features.
Ignore her allure. Do not harden again. Do not—
Too late. He hardened again, overcome by ravenous hunger.
“You sprayed fire,” she said, her eyes as wide as saucers. “You sprayed fire from your mouth.”
“I did, yes.” He crouched in front of her and spread his wings to block out the rest of the cavern. For this conversation, Bane intended to be her sole focus. “Do you. Know what. You are?”
She met his gaze. Her pupils were blown, her starry irises glazed and wild. The pulse at the base of her neck thumped in time to his as she wrung her fingers together.
“I’m an other-worlder,” she said, breathless.
“You are. And you will never be able to tell anyone but other Adwaewethians. We are blessed with a natural-born instinct that prevents us from discussing our secrets with outsiders.”
She nodded, eager. “I’ve experienced such an instinct.”
Concentrate. Stop staring at her mouth. With the fuller upper lip, and heart-shaped slant in the center. “Centuries ago, my queen discovered your world, and sent a contingent of breeders to mate with the inhabitants. It’s a crime punishable by death for every Adwaewethian. Including you. But Aveline did it, anyway.” He couldn’t mask his rage, his hate or his bitterness, so he didn’t even try. “She sent me here with two objectives. Win the All War, and destroy the evidence of her misdeeds.”
Nola gave her lips a nervous swipe with her tongue. Damn it! He hadn’t stopped staring. “Kill the breeders, or their children?” She gulped. “Or both?”
“Only a handful of the children. The ones who would grow to be queen of all hybrids.”
Realization dawned on her features, right along with dismay. “D-did you kill babies, then?”
“No.” He held her gaze, not daring to blink. “Before I found a single royal, I was frozen in the arctic. Centuries passed, more and more hybrids born, the line diluted. But I never gave up hope. I often sensed a royal’s birth and death, but never a true connection. Until one fateful day. I felt her, and she felt me. I knew she would find me.”
Her jaw dropped. She searched his gaze. “And did she? Find you, I mean?”
He framed her exquisite face with his big, calloused hands, the contrast between their skin tones mesmerizing. Gold against snow-white. “She did.”
The muscles of her neck worked as she swallowed. “Through the link you both share?”
He nodded and the shine in her stunning brown eyes dimmed. Her hand flew to her mouth, and she shook her head.
“I need a fact cleared up,” she said, her voice unsteady, but also filled with a strength he admired despite himself. “You were ordered to kill her?”
Again, he nodded.
Her gaze clashed with his. “Are you here to kill me?”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
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NOLA’S MIND WAS a field of land mines. Every new thought caused an explosion, starting a chain reaction of emotion. Shock, fear and incredulity. Disbelief and uncertainty. Excitement, hope and happiness, even dread. Queen. Queen Nola. Queen Magnolia Lee. Orphaned as a baby. Sickly, unwanted by other families. Shuffled from one foster home to another, some good, some bad. Some really bad. The weird girl with strange impulses she couldn’t discuss with anyone other than a golden god she’d just met but had known in her dreams for years. The grown woman unable to enjoy intimacy with a man without vomiting. The addict. Fledgling teleporter. Controller of dragons. Alien.
“I will not harm the Terran queen,” Bane said. “I will protect her with my life, even though—yes—I hate the power she wields over me.”
He’d avoided her question. Or had he? “That power. Are you bound to her—” me? “—forced to do whatever she commands?”
“Yes,” he hissed.
“D-does this future queen have a name?” Can’t be me. But it might be me.
Would he say her name?
“She does.” He released her, then. No connection, no body heat. Numbing cold infiltrated her bones. Peering deep into her starry eyes, he finally said, “Her name is Nola Lee.”
Gulp. “I can’t be a queen. I can’t rule anyone, much less an entire race of warriors and beasts. I can’t even rule myself! My life is a mess.” Except, the prospective job did kind of thrill her. Had she finally found her calling? Her passion?
Ruler of the freaking world, baby!
Too many flaws. Or maybe just the right amount?
Argh! The back and forth was beyond annoying.
“You’re right. You are not a queen. Yet,” Bane replied. “Until your...coronation, you hold the title of princess, your abilities limited.”
What! If she could teleport with limited abilities, what would she be able to do with limitless abilities? The prospect alone made her shivery.
Bane shifted, adding, “I am your warrior, forced to obey your every command.”
Her warrior. Hers, and hers alone. Bane, who killed with such ease. Who aroused her and frightened her for reasons she didn’t yet understand. Who was currently looking at her as if he wanted to strip her naked and eat her for dinner...or bag and tag her, then hang her on the wall as a trophy. At last she comprehended his hot and cold treatment.
Too often lupus, fibro or opioids had acted as her master, forcing her to stay in bed when she’d rather be anywhere else, doing anything else.
“Once, you all but begged me to order you around. Tell me to heal quickly and regrow my foot. Dance monkey dance,” she mocked. “Remember? I obeyed you, and you obeyed me, and look at the magnificent result.” Deep breath in, out. “I didn’t ask to be your queen, Bane. So why blame me for our situation?”
He narrowed his eyes. “I’ve served many royals. One day, you will change into the worst version of yourself. You will be cold. Determined. Deadly. You will exert your sovereignty over me, forcing me to do reprehensible deeds. Queens always do.”
The hatred in his tone clanged like a death knell. He really hated Adwaewethian royals. But that wasn’t the reason she withered inside. What he described...she’d already met the worst version of herself. Dark Nola.
Realization: I’m not delusional... I’m transitioning.
Fight or flight took over, fear welling and denial surging. This couldn’t be happening.
No, she couldn’t let it happen. She would stay and fight. Dark Nola wouldn’t win. “Did you, perhaps, date a princess who became queen?” Beneath the hatred, she thought she’d heard torment. Why agonize about what he was saying unless he’d been in love?
“I did,” he offered tightly.
“And she changed?” Nola persisted.
His gaze lowered, snagged on her lips and warmed. “She did.”
Heart speeding up, she said, “As long as you leave Vale alone, I have no intention of harming you, or ordering you around. Besides, I’m nothing like your other queen.”
He laughed without a shred of amusement, raising her hackles. “You think you’re stronger than Aveline, that you can do what she did not and remain kind, caring? Sorry to be the one to hit you with truth, Nola, but all royals change. You will, too. You won’t be able to help yourself.”
Tired of being called weak, she lifted her chin. “Challenge accepted.”
He peered at her for a long while, silent, and she peered right back. A mistake. Torchlight loved him, painting his rough, masculine features with raw, sensual strokes. His flaxen mane glowed like a halo.
“Not a challenge. A fact.”
“I’ve been rejected my entire life, Bane. I’ve been found lacking in every way. I’ve had zero advantages. No money or special education. What I have had? So many absences from high
school I nearly flunked out. Constant sickness and pain. Medical bills I’ll never be able to pay off. Months spent in bed, dreaming of being someone, anyone else. Foster families who starved me, called me terrible names, or beat me. So yeah. Physically, your Aveline can take me down, no doubt about it. Yay for her. She can do the same thing as a gust of wind. But mentally? Emotionally? I’m unmatched.” The more she spoke, the higher her tone and the louder her volume.
Why were some people born into blessing and others born into curse?
Bane’s temper detonated, his breathing faster, his color brighter. “Who beat you?”
Why? So he could go and kill them? “Doesn’t matter.”
He gripped her forearms and shook her. “Tell me.”
A little smug—okay, a lot smug—she grinned up at him. “Why don’t you make me? Oh, that’s right. Because you can’t. In this, you are weak, my will stronger than yours.”
He narrowed his eyes, huffing and puffing like a big, bad wolf. “You’re right. In this, I’m the weaker of us. But I understand the future, you do not. Do you want to know the first thing queens do after their coronation? Kill their loved ones to ensure no one can be used against them. I was spared because I was too valuable as a warrior and trainer. Years later, Aveline ordered me to stand down while she killed the woman I loved right in front of me.”
His confession tore her to shreds, his grief like salt in her wounds. The pain he must carry inside him...more than any one person could bear. And oh, the loss he’d suffered. A loss she knew well.
Would she one day want to kill Vale?
No. No way.
As she and Bane stared at each other, something wonderful...terrible...happened. Defenses melted away, desire stirring inside her, hot and liquid, past pains fading away. Where they touched, she burned and ached.
“Bane,” she rasped.
“Nola.” He loosened his grip and traced his hands up and down her arms. Every upward glide gentled, and yet the aches intensified. With every downward glide, he lost a layer of calm. Now, only savage hunger remained.
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