by Leia King
And then, the searing pain started to subside. “Ah… yes,” he breathed with relief.
“The pain is gone?”
“Yeah. Finally. What the hell was that potion?”
Nathanial released him and stepped back. “Its purpose was to burn through the infection Oriana had implanted in you.”
“Burn? That’s a fucking understatement,” Ryan muttered, as he slipped his shirt and leather jacket back on. “Still not as painful as being forced not to shift during a full moon, though.”
“I can only imagine. Luca inherited his sadism from his mother. She is not even a vampire. You really would have thought it would have come from me.”
“You’re not like other vampires.”
“As King, I have to be more.”
“Yeah, I’m getting that,” Ryan said over his shoulder, as he bent down and scooped up Orion. “I’m gonna get some rest, before we leave in a few hours.”
“Would you like me to summon Jada here to relax you after what you just endured?”
Ryan’s gaze snapped to his. He saw the humor in his eyes. “Hilarious. No thanks. But I can ask one of your vampire vixens to pay you a visit if you like.”
Nathanial laughed. “Marella is the only woman I will take to my bed.”
Ryan smiled. “Good. Just checking.”
With that, he opened the door and staggered from the lab.
9
Marella waded through the thick, white clouds. They were light and fluffy to the touch.
She was dreaming.
The sun shone down brightly, illuminating her long, silver dress. There was a light refreshing breeze that emanated a peaceful serenity.
“Angel,” his voice came, softer than usual.
She turned around to see him standing behind her, dressed in white pants and a snug shirt that clung to his broad chest, highlighting the well-defined muscle beneath. His thick, black hair blew in the wind. He was a sight to behold. She could feel her body warming just from looking at him. His piercing, red eyes looked upon her, afire with the depth of his love for her.
“Nathanial.”
He smiled. “Marella.”
“You conjured this for me?” she asked happily.
“I wanted to look upon you in the daylight. Here that is possible without me burning.”
“It is beautiful,” she said, wrapping her arms around his waist and holding him close. His powerful arms pulled her closer still.
“I have missed you greatly, Marella.”
“As I have, you.”
“At nightfall, I will return with Ryan to the White Realm. We will be together again within hours.”
He pulled back from their embrace and then his lips crashed against hers.
She tugged at his hair. “I want you now, Nathanial.”
His hands slid down her dress and he started to bunch it up.
Then, he stilled all of a sudden. He eyed her worriedly. “Something is wrong. I am sensing—”
“Me,” a voice came from behind them.
Nathanial released her and spun around, pushing her behind him in a protective gesture.
“Vazra,” he hissed, seething. “Leave us. You do not belong here. Only black magic could have allowed you to breach our subconscious minds to gain access here without an invitation.”
“Oriana is an asset in many ways, wouldn’t you agree?”
Marella saw Nathanial grimace at the overt innuendo. She started when Vazra caught her eye, his fierce glare dripping with accusation. “You were my right-hand advisor, Marella. You have betrayed me! Sleeping with the Vampire King?”
“He is my mate.”
“I do not care!” Vazra thundered. “Whore!”
Nathanial was on him in a second, his hand wrapping around his throat, hoisting him into the air. “You do not speak to her that way! How dare you? Apologize, immediately!”
“She will pay for her betrayal,” Vazra choked out.
“You will not touch her! She is mine!” Nathanial hissed, tightening his grip, choking the life from him.
Vazra laughed. “You cannot stop me. You are realms apart.” His eyes flashed with flaming silver. “Look up. Time for you to leave.”
Marella looked up. Terror gripped her as she saw the sun forcing its way through the thick clouds surrounding them. It didn’t look falsified any longer. No, it looked real. It was real sunlight!
Nathanial’s eyes narrowed. “Do not make a mistake here that you cannot come back from, Vazra! Do not challenge me here!”
Vazra snickered. “Too late.”
A single ray of light touched Nathanial’s shoulder, making him hiss as it burned his skin.
“Stop, Vazra! You will kill him!”
“If he leaves, that will not be his fate. For now.”
Several more rays forced their way through the clouds, assaulting Nathanial’s body. He broke his grip on Vazra, unable to keep a hold of him while enduring so much agony.
“You are allowing that devil woman to manipulate you,” Nathanial gritted out.
Marella ran to him and she screamed as smoke began emanating from him.
“Nathanial! Go! Now!”
He was seconds away from bursting into flames. “No.”
“Please, darling. Please.”
He turned to her, the flesh on his face peeling away from the sun’s brutal assault. “I cannot leave you,” he rasped.
She was on him in a second, wrapping herself around him, trying to protect him from the sun above.
“Please, Nathanial. I am begging you. Leave. Wake up. I need you on the other side.”
He collapsed to his knees. “Marella—”
“I love you!”
Their eyes met and she saw his desperation to protect her. “I… love… you.”
“Go,” she pleaded. “Now.”
He nodded sadly.
And, in the next second, he was gone, his form dissipating from the dreamscape.
Nathanial’s eyes snapped open and he jolted upright in bed.
To his surprise, Ryan and Orion stood at the foot of his bed.
Ryan was yelling at him. It took him a moment to realize what he was saying. He wanted to know what was going on.
“Vazra,” he growled.
“What? How are you… burned?” Ryan asked, gesturing to his face and bare chest.
“It will heal.”
“That’s not an answer,” Ryan pressed.
Nathanial was too distracted, though. He bolted out of bed and started to pace the room frantically, trying to think.
He knew Vazra would punish Marella for her supposed betrayal. He could not allow that. Never.
He had to reach her. Immediately.
But, even through his rage and his fear for his love, he knew he had to be careful. He had to remain levelheaded. If he could not, he risked starting a war with the White Realm, something that would be catastrophic for everyone.
“Tell me what happened, Nathanial.”
“He… he took her. He burned me. He will… hurt her. He will—”
“Marella? Vazra took Marella? He knows about you guys?”
“Yes.”
“You can’t just burst on into the White Realm without Vazra’s permission.”
“I am aware!”
Ryan gripped his arm, forcing him to stop pacing. “But I can. I have Cora’s White Realm blood running through my veins, remember?”
“Yes. It will act as a key.”
“Right,” Ryan said, nodding. “I have an idea.”
10
“Cora! I am sorry! Help me, please! Only you can break it! Help me!”
“Argh!” Cora exclaimed, clutching her head. What was that?
“You okay?”
She blinked hard and looked to see Josh eyeing her worriedly. He was sitting on the floor of his room across from her. They were playing poker. So far, he’d kicked her ass, winning every one of the five hands that they’d played.
“Cora?” he pressed.
>
“Yeah. Fine,” she answered, looking back down at the cards in her hands. “I just… I thought I heard something. In my head. I’m probably just being paranoid, because of the whole Oriana thing.”
“You’re not supposed to be thinking about her, Cor. The whole point of us playing was to distract you from all of that until Ryan and your son return.”
She smiled sweetly at him. “You’re right. Sorry.”
He adjusted his weight on the floor and asked, “You gonna fold again, sweetheart?”
She rolled her eyes. “I know what you’re doing, Josh.”
“Yeah? What’s that?”
“Hustling me.”
He laughed. “Yeah. And you’re so easy, sweetheart. I can’t believe Ry hasn’t taught you any of his tricks.”
“His tricks? You learned from him?”
“Yup. He’s a mean poker player.”
“Well, I think I’m learning.”
“Really?” he challenged. “Then call it.”
“Fine.”
She rose to the challenge, slapping her cards down with a winning hand on display, that had Josh cocking an eyebrow. She jumped to her feet and pumped her fists in the air.
“All right. I’ll give you that. You are getting better.”
“You know what I can beat you at every time?”
He climbed to his feet. “What?”
“Racing.”
“Bike? Car?”
“Bike, of course. As soon as we get back to the human realm, we’ll do it. You game?”
“Always. But I have to warn you, I’m better than Ry.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, you wanna back down now?” he teased.
“Never.”
He laughed. “Oh, by the way, now that you’re stronger, you should call him out next time the pack fools around arm wrestling.”
“I can’t do that to him.”
“He’ll like it,” Josh assured her, as he knelt back down on the floor and started shuffling the cards for another round.
Cora scoffed. “I’m sure.”
“He likes feisty women. It’ll get him hard.”
“It worries me that you know that,” she said, joining him on the floor.
“Hey! He’s normally very vocal about that stuff.” He watched her face flush and he added, “Not since he’s been with you, though. He plays that close to his chest. I guess, cuz he loves you and all that shit.”
Cora started to laugh, but then the voice she’d assumed she’d imagined earlier ripped through her head. And it was a hell of a lot louder and more intense the second time around.
“Cora! Please, help… me. I’m sorry. I… need you!”
“David?” she gasped aloud.
“Please! I beg you! Help!”
“David?” Josh queried, stopping short and eyeing her.
“Yeah,” she murmured, getting to her feet. “Something’s wrong.”
“He contacted you? How? He’s not your mate. He doesn’t have a telepathic link to you.”
“I… it wasn’t the same. Not really telepathy. It was more like a call that only I can hear.”
“Well, ignore it. Fuck him. He’s in the human realm now.”
Cora shook her head. “No. He’s here,” she said, her gaze locking with his. She closed her eyes and concentrated, focusing on David’s call, trying to ascertain his precise location. His call was so pained, so intense, that it was easy to latch onto. Got it!
“He’s in the basement,” she said, bolting for the door.
“The basement? I didn’t even know there was a basement,” Josh said as he followed after her.
They made their way down the stairs to the main floor.
Glancing around, neither of them saw any sort of basement access anywhere nearby.
“Maybe it’s through here,” Cora said, heading down the corridor.
“Wait!” Josh called after her, stopping short as something unsavory assaulted his wolf senses.
She hurried back to him. “What? What is it?”
He sniffed the air. “Blood. Not just blood. There’s also—” He stopped talking when he saw the look in her eyes.
“Well?” she pressed.
“Forget it.” He looked away and started to follow the scent instead. “Underneath the stairs,” he told her.
She stepped forward.
And that was when she saw it. A floor tile that, on a quick glance, looked like nothing more. But, as she peered closer, she saw the tiny lever there. She reached for it and pulled hard. It moved aside with ease to reveal a concrete staircase beneath.
“Josh, yes! Here it is!”
He threw out his arm, before she could take her first step. “Let me go first, just in case.”
She huffed, not liking his protective gesture. But she let him brush past her and go on ahead anyway, knowing he was just following Ryan’s orders to watch her back, while he was away.
They made their way to the bottom of the staircase and found themselves standing in a damp, acrid-smelling corridor with nothing but closed doors on either side of them.
Josh choked violently.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Just… the stench is overwhelming. Shit.”
She brushed past him and approached the first door on the right. She reached for the handle and jumped back in shock. “My father’s magic.”
Her eyes narrowed with resolve and she gripped the handle tightly. Her fingers shook with fervor as she called a shitload of power to her to break through her father’s magic.
Moments later, she heard a clang. She’d done it.
She pushed open the door.
“Cora! Wait!” Josh called to her.
The stench wafted towards him and it churned his stomach. He knew what awaited them inside. And he didn’t want her to see it.
But it was too late. She’d already stepped inside.
He heard her scream.
And then, she began retching violently.
He hurried in after her, finding her bent at the waist, throwing up violently. He reached for her hair, to keep it out of her face, but stopped short when he caught sight of the man hanging on the wall, restrained by chains and cuffs.
“Fucking hell.”
The guy was ripped to pieces. There was blood everywhere. His guts were spilling out. His features were barely recognizable. He’d seen a lot of horrendous things over the years, but the sight before him was beyond any of that.
Cora straightened up and turned to the man. “David.”
“David? That’s him?”
“Yeah. My father… he did this.”
She approached David and raised both her palms. Balls of white light exploded into being.
“Cora, you can’t! Vazra, he’ll—”
“I don’t care,” she snapped. “Despite what David did, no one deserves to suffer this.”
Fuck. How could he argue with that? He’d never seen anything so brutal. “Hurry then.”
She threw the balls at David’s restraints. They shattered instantly.
The faery groaned as he started to fall.
Cora threw out her hand and held him in mid-air with her magic.
She released it slowly and he crumpled to the floor.
Before Josh could stop her, she skidded to her knees beside the faery. With a burst of wolf speed, Josh joined her. She looked at him, terror in her eyes. “It’s bad. Really bad. Oh my God.”
“I know. Don’t look too closely.”
“I don’t need to,” she realized aloud.
Josh watched in wonder as she closed her eyes, her hands hovering over David’s unconscious, bloodied, and shredded body. That familiar silver glow emanated from both her hands. He gasped as, moments later, David’s wounds slowly started to heal right before his eyes.
But then her hands started to tremble and her head fell forward.
“Cora, pull back!”
“Not… yet.”
“Healing him is draining you!�
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She ignored him and continued.
David’s hand shot out, gripping her wrist. “That’s enough,” he croaked.
Cora trembled at his sudden contact and her eyes snapped open, inadvertently breaking her magic.
Josh watched her waver and he quickly reached for her and wrapped his arms around her. She shuddered at his contact, just like she had with David.
He knew what was going on with her. With Ryan away, he’d been keeping an eye on her, protecting her and watching her back. It was his duty to protect his Alpha’s mate. Ever since she’d found out about David touching her and doing hell knew what else without her consent, she’d been jumpy around all men.
“It’s okay,” he told her gently.
She relaxed against him, trusting in his assurances.
He helped her to her feet and she leaned against him, needing his body to support hers. He glanced at David and saw him struggle to his feet. He was still bleeding from a couple of wounds, but nothing like he had been.
“Thank you,” he told Cora.
“Healing you drained her,” Josh snapped.
“Josh, it’s okay. It was my choice. Go, David. Now.”
David nodded. “I will repay you for this, Cora. Thank you.”
“Wait!” Cora called. “Magical wards surround the palace, created by my father’s magic. He will sense you and refuse you passage. You need my magic. Only I can breach his.”
David shook his head. “No, you have done enough. What you’re suggesting is treason. He will punish you, princess.”
“Seconded. Don’t, Cora,” Josh cut in.
“If I don’t, healing him will have been pointless.” And before either of them could protest again, she closed her eyes and gripped David’s hand, teleporting him away.
“Fuck. You really want to get both of us killed, don’t you? Is that how you get your rocks off when Ryan isn’t around?” he muttered as he helped her to the door.
Cora rolled her eyes. “No one is killing anyone.”
They had barely made it back into the corridor when a potent scent caught Josh’s attention. He stopped short, scanning the area. “Someone else is here.”
“What?” Cora gasped.
“A woman,” he said, tracking the scent to the door on the far left.
“I thought you wanted to get the hell out of here,” Cora said when he gestured for her to open the door with her magic as she’d done before.