by Kim Faulks
“And where do you think they have him?” Titus took a step past me and scanned the ground.
She’ll take him, too. She’ll take all of them…and then I’ll be alone once more. That was always her plan, right? Me alone…and vulnerable.
I shuddered with the thought, and grasped his hand before answering. “I’m not sure, the left of the castle is the kitchen and dining room, leading to the hallway with the consort’s bedroom and then the Queen’s.”
Titus jerked his head toward me, dark eyes glistening with anger. “Consort’s bedroom, and how do you know it’s the consort’s bedroom?”
I stared at the Unseelie castle and answered. “Because that’s where she made me stay. That’s where she made me listen to the things she does with the men she’s supposed to care for…and protect.”
Fear gripped me like a fist, and for a second, I couldn’t breathe…for a second, I saw them…all of them. Titus, Rival, Gabriel, and Redemption all held within these walls…all broken and bleeding at her hands. “Whatever happens in here, get out. If it comes down to me or you, I want you to choose you…promise me.” I squeezed his hand. “Promise me…”
Titus stared into my eyes. “I promise.”
“R-Rival,” the tremble seeped into my words. I turned my head, finding the Hellhound’s gaze. “Promise.”
“I promise,” he growled.
“What is it?” Gabriel murmured and stepped closer. His hand rested on my shoulder, firm and warm. “What are you scared of?”
“Her,” I answered. “And so should you be…so should all of you.”
“Nothing is going to happen to us,” Titus squeezed my hand. “Not while we stay together, and watch each other’s backs.”
I wanted to believe him, but there was a seed of doubt that cracked through the shell of strength and sprouted toward the surface.
“We need to move fast, get in and out before she even knows we’re here,” Rival strode forward. “All you gotta do is get us inside. We can take it from there, think you can do that?”
I could get them inside, that wasn’t the problem. It was getting them out. That was where the real battle lay. My gaze drifted along the pebbled grounds toward the open door where I’d escaped. “Do you have your powers here?”
I caught their flinch and a whisper of power…dark power, hungry power…angelic power.
“Yeah, we’ve got them,” Rival glanced at the others and answered.
I opened myself once more to the dark flames of Hell, and found nothing. She took them from me, or this place had—either way, I was useless to help them…
Do I tell them? A tremor of fear sliced me down the middle. What if it wasn’t just this place? What if it was me? What if this was it, no magic, no power of Hell. Nothing. Just me…
I swallowed hard as Rival moved toward the castle. I followed, listening for the others. We had a bigger problem than my lack of powers, and right now that was finding Redemption.
“Let me go first,” I murmured, “Just stay close.”
“Call me your second fucking skin,” Rival murmured. His shoulder brushed mine, breath warm against my skin.
I left him behind, stepping in front of Titus to break through the tree line. Grass was quiet and soft under my feet, but soon I left it behind for the familiar crunch of pebbles before I climbed the castle steps once more.
The ballroom door was still open. Glass shimmered as I neared. I left the front of the castle behind, skirting the outside of the building until I reached the door.
“This it?” Rival moved closer to peer inside. He flicked the end of a sheet draped over the top of the chairs I’d scurried under not so long ago and then turned to me. “All I see is stacked furniture.”
I looked past the stacked tables and chairs to the dark outline of the pillory. “Looks can be deceiving.” I crouched and shoved my hand back through the opening of the chairs I’d just crawled out from then started inside.
The others waited, letting me navigate the way before they started climbing and heaving, until finally I made it through the other side.
My knees were aching by the time I shoved from the floor to stand. Rival was wandering around, flicking the ends of the sheeting to reveal the furniture underneath. “Doesn’t look so scary.”
My stomach clenched as he neared the pillory. He eased the edge of the covering, stilled for a second, and then flipped the rest free. “What the hell? Looks like some kind of torture device.”
Mab, he’s delightful…
Those sickening words slipped into my mind. I turned away from the sight as my stomach twisted and turned, punching the rancid taste of acid into the back of my throat. “I need to get out of here,” I growled and made for the doorway to the foyer.
“What is it?” Titus murmured, haunting my steps.
“Nothing,” I growled.
He gripped my arm, pulling me gently until I spun to face him. “What is it?”
There was no give in his tone, no way I was getting away without telling him what he wanted to know. “She uses them, Titus. She uses all of them in ways that would make you sick. But Redemption…”
“What about Redemption?” Rival growled.
“She liked using him the most,” I finished.
“Yes…yes, I did,” quiet words slipped into the air.
The shadows gave birth to something vile, something sickening…something that glanced at the men at my side and smiled. Dark eyes glinted with a mixture of rage and madness as the rest of the Queen’s guard filled the hallway behind her.
“So good of you to bring company,” the Unseelie Queen murmured.
I glanced at Boroch, who focussed on Rival at my side.
“Where is he, Mab?” I took a step closer to the bitch. “Where is Redemption?”
Sweat gleamed off her consort’s forehead. He didn’t look like the towering strength I’d witnessed before. He looked sick. I scanned the rest of the line, not giving a shit about the glinting daggers at their belts, or the hostile stares aimed at us.
I found him. The guard stood third from the end with the same look of desperation and guilt. My pulse ratcheted higher. Something had happened…something bad.
“He’s in the dark room. I can take you to him if you like?” she whispered, and took a step closer. “I’m sure by now he’s out of his mind with worry about you…and other things.”
And other things? The way she said the words made my skin crawl. But it was Boroch I watched as his eyes widened and the hand near his waist trembled.
“Okay then,” I answered, and Boroch gripped the hilt of his knife. “But just me. The others stay here.”
Boroch clamped his arm to his side, stilling the shudder as it raced.
“Oh no. If I take one, then I take you all. I’m sure he’ll be excited to see all of you.”
Other things…excited. Her word choice was slow and deliberate.
“Then we’ll all go,” Gabriel stepped closer, the tips of his wings skimming the ground.
“Good…good…” She waved her hand toward us, and for a second no one moved. “Well?”
The word was a hiss between her teeth as she turned to glare at Boroch. “I just gave an order.”
The throat muscles of the guard worked as he stepped forward. His hand fell from the hilt of his blade as he reached for me. “This way.”
Fingers dug into my arm as he yanked, pulling me from my feet.
“Hey,” Rival growled, lunging forward. “I said, hey!”
He gripped Boroch’s arm, clenching tight until the towering Unseelie stopped.
The guard wrenched his gaze toward the Hellhound, his dark eyes glinting with rage. “Get your hand off me, Hound.”
“Okay, easy,” I murmured, watching the exchange as Rival’s lips curled, revealing the tips of white fangs as they lengthened.
Rival was more than just my lover, he was my protector, my friend, as were all the others, and it was only natural for him to react. But there was something
about the guard, something that’d tipped him over the edge. “It’s okay, Rival.”
Boroch lowered his gaze, sweat glistening on his top lip. He looked through me. Like I wasn’t even there, like his panic needed a way to tear free and become something tangible—and now it manifested as anger.
“It’s okay,” I tried once more and held the Unseelie’s gaze.
Rival glanced from the guard to me, and then back again.
“You need to take me somewhere? Then take me,” I answered, trying desperately to make them both understand. “Rival, let go of the Queen’s consort’s arm.”
I prayed to God the Hellhound’s temper didn’t get the better of all of us, and prayed he remembered what I’d said moments ago. The Queen’s consort wasn’t just her lover. He was her flogging post, her punching bag…her conductor for the unmerciful rage trapped within her skin.
Rival’s hand slipped from his arm. “You hurt her again, and you and I are gonna have a problem. You feel me?”
Boroch just stared into my eyes, desperately searching for something to hold onto. “I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I didn’t mean…”
“It’s okay,” I glanced at the Queen and the rest of her soldiers watching us. “Take me to see Redemption.”
I turned back, catching the flinch in his eyes. There was something about Redemption, something that’d pushed this abused warrior over the edge. I gently grabbed his arm and pushed, hoping to God he took the hint.
It worked. He took a step, and then another, dragging me around a set of mammoth stairs to where the darkness waited.
The others weren’t far behind, following with a stumble and a mutter.
“Boroch, we need a torch,” I murmured.
The guard slowed, his hold tightening on my arm as he pulled me left along a hallway. I didn’t know where we were…or where he was taking me.
My heart lunged, punching against the confines of my chest as we turned once more.
“Lorn,” Rival called.
Titus muttered, swearing in the dark as we left them far behind. Still the guard’s steps lengthened, and that sickly stench of panic slipped into the air.
“Boroch, you’re starting to scare me,” I yanked my arm from his hold as it grew tighter.
We turned again, his heavy steps booming like the thunder of my heart, until, with a sudden jolt, I flew forward and smashed against his chest.
He caught my fall, one hand around my arm, the other smashed flat over my mouth, pushing me up against the wall.
“Quiet,” he hissed against in my ear. “Or you’ll never get out of this alive.”
“Lorn?” Rival called in the distance. “Lorn, where the fuck are you?”
The whites of Boroch’s eyes were all I could see, and his heavy body all I could feel.
Thick thighs pressed against mine, pinning me against the wall. “You need to listen to me.” Hot breath blew against my ear, but there was nothing sexual about the full body contact—there was only terror. “She’s…she’s drugged him. If you go in there, he’ll tear you apart.”
I froze with fear, my words a muffled mess until he eased his hold over my mouth. “Drugged him with what?” I murmured into his hand.
“I don’t know…but whatever it is…it’s dangerous, dangerous for you…”
“Is he in pain?” An ache flared with the words.
Boroch rocked backwards, his thighs releasing mine. “Y-yes.”
“Then I don’t care,” I answered.
“Lorn! Where the fuck are you!” Rival roared. He was getting pissed now, to the point of no return.
“Lorn!” Titus yelled.
“Lorn, where are you?” Gabriel followed, their calls bouncing against the walls.
“You don’t want that,” Boroch leaned close once more. “You don’t want what’s waiting for you down there.”
He didn’t know me. Didn’t know the lengths I’d gone to to protect them. “I’ve hunted to protect them, I’ve killed to protect them, and I’ve brought them back from the dead. There’s nothing I wouldn’t endure to save the ones I love, and that includes Redemption.”
He was silent…all I heard was the thundering of boots as Rival, Titus, and Gabriel raced to find me.
“If you don’t fucking answer by the time I count to three, I’m tearing this fucking place apart, stone by ugly fucking stone,” Rival growled.
“I wish…I wish you were mine,” Boroch murmured and then took a step backwards.
There was a scrape against the wall and then the chink of a flint before a tiny flame flared from a spark. Dark Unseelie eyes gripped mine as the torch grew brighter and cast aside the dark.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Boroch murmured and handed me the torch.
Chapter Seventeen
Redemption
Thrust.
Thrust.
Thrust.
Icy air numbed my cock and licked between my thighs.
But it left the fire inside blazing.
Aching.
My body moved on its own. Ass clenched, hips drove into the darkness, desperate to just feel…desperate to release.
Slick tears slipped down my cheeks.
But there was nothing.
Nothing but need…nothing but an animal chained, broken.
Skin hissed, burning as the iron shackles touched my wrists. A whimper tore free, rebounding in the darkness. Thighs trembled…waiting…
And slowly the whimper of pain turned into something deeper. Something hungry. The copper taste of blood filled my mouth as I closed my eyes. The wave hit, swallowing me with the aching longing. Her face filled my mind, her perfect smile all I had now…red hair shimmered as the memory came to life inside my head.
Redemption, Lorn murmured. The sound of my name on her lips was sunlight in this cold, Unseelie heart, pushing back the darkness.
Redemption…
Her face filled me, desperate…beautiful. Brown eyes sparkling, flecked with gold as the sunlight that spilled through the open window.
We were in my apartment, the broken-down place I’d had so long ago. I had the happiest times of my life in that place and in that bed…with her.
Full lips parted as she turned her head. Pale skin flushed from sex. I knew that face, traced every line when she slept, and carved the landscape into my mind. And it was that landscape I clung to now.
Mab, he’s delightful…
A savage sound slipped from my lips as blinding light shone into my eyes. I bared my teeth at the sound of that voice…rage sent a tremor through my chest. And the fire moved deeper, spreading through my hips and thighs.
There was a sound…a sickened cry that sounded so familiar. Flames burned in front of me. The torchlight illuminated the face of my dreams.
But I couldn’t hold onto her now…I couldn’t hold onto anything but the agony…and that desperate, mindless hunger. The hiss from my skin filled my ears as fingers fumbled and then slipped against the shackles.
My knees buckled as that tsunami of hunger roared through my body. A cry mirrored another. A cry of terror…or fear.
A cry that wasn’t mine.
But I no longer cared now. No longer felt a thing other than that fever. Thrust. Thrust…thrust…thrust.
“Lorn, get the fuck away from him!”
The savage growl filled the room as the dancing orange flames came closer.
I could see her now. See her face, her eyes. But I didn’t care about that now. Didn’t care about anything other than that release that’s never come.
I climbed that mountain, I skimmed that peak. But I never staked my claim.
I never felt that rush...
I only the longing…
Only the hunger.
A sound ripped from my chest as voices filled the room. I bared my teeth, and gripped the chains. Momentum stole me, as I fixed on the one thing I wanted…her body, her slit.
I’d bury myself…bury myself all the way up inside.
Until th
e hunger eased once more.
Mab, he’s delightful…
Those sick words filled my head. I closed my eyes to the shame and the horror of what I’d become.
No.
Of what she’d made me.
Chapter Eighteen
Lorn
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Rival’s hand tightened around my arm. Titus’s fingers followed, grazing my shoulder…gripping my shirt to pull me from the man I once knew.
Feathers skimmed my cheek as Gabriel thrust his wing out as a barrier.
There was no way for me to touch Redemption…even if I wanted to.
Rival, Titus, and Gabriel saw to that.
I raised my left hand, and the torch light skimmed his naked body. Strained muscles trembled, his body glistening with blood and sweat.
His arms were stretched above his head, barely enough slack to stand. Still, his hands gripped the shackles, holding on as he pumped his hips, fucking…nothing but air.
“Get away from me,” dark eyes blazed against the orange light. Cracked lips split, baring teeth coated with blood. “Get the fuck away.”
This wasn’t the Redemption I knew.
This was the Redemption she wanted.
The animal. The betrayer. The broken.
And it was all for me. Because she couldn’t have what didn’t belong to her.
Acid rose in the back of my throat, spilling into my mouth. If I hadn’t emptied my stomach earlier, then I would’ve now. I would’ve fallen to my knees, would’ve prayed, if there was someone to pray to.
All I could do was witness.
My gaze drifted, following the rivulets of blood as they slid down his arms, his chest, his sides.
The cuts on his wrists were so deep the metal ground against bone. Blackened skin puckered at the edges. Every time he moved, that sickening scent of burned flesh made my stomach twist and roll.