by Cynthia Eden
“Not if he loved you, no, he shouldn’t. You don’t remember—”
“I got you the first time! You don’t remember the ones you love.” She paced faster. Then stopped because she had a random thought. “Wait. So now I’m wondering if this means you loved the fallen angel you bit back on the other side. If you’ve forgotten him so totally, maybe you loved him? Is that crap for real?” Her gaze swept over Celeste. “Do you have a secret soft spot for Merius?”
“For who?”
Josephine’s gaze lingered on Celeste’s tense face. And then she smiled. “Check the canines,” Josephine advised. “They’re sharpening up.”
Celeste’s tongue slid over them, and then her hand clamped over her mouth as horror flooded Celeste’s gaze.
“Told you,” Josephine muttered. You don’t remember the ones you love. “You don’t remember the ones you loved on the other side. You don’t remember the things you did…Those are the rules, but somehow, Jason is breaking the rules.” Jason, a ghost from her past. Jason, who claimed to still desperately love her.
Jason…
“How long has he been here?”
Celeste shrugged. “Not sure. Time is different here. More fluid, you know?”
No, she didn’t know. But she was trying to learn.
Celeste tilted her head as she watched Josephine. “Are you going to pick a side? Will you choose a champion?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Is that what I’m supposed to do?”
“Yes. Yes, it is.”
A knock sounded at the door.
“They’re ready for us,” Celeste added quickly. “The battle will be in the pavilion. All of the nearby Fey will watch. So choose your side wisely. If you pick the wrong man…and he does not win the battle, then the champion will be able to take your crown.”
What? “Those rules are shit. Who made them up?”
“You will still be queen. But if you choose a consort who cannot defend himself…if you choose a consort who fails, then you fail. You will be given to the winner.”
“Oh, the hell I will—”
“And you will remain his. Forever.”
Those rules sucked. And she was not going to follow them. She’d make her own rules. Always had. Always would.
Another knock at the door. Harder this time.
Alarm flared on Celeste’s face. “You must choose—”
“Relax, sis. I already chose.” She marched to the door and yanked it open. “Take me to the pavilion,” Josephine snapped to the tall, muscled, and scantily clad guard. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
He frowned at her.
Celeste grabbed her arm. She spun Josephine back to face her. “I…forgot a sister? Truly?”
Josephine patted her shoulder. “That’s the way it works here, right? The Veil makes you forget so that you’ll stay here. It wants the Fey here.” She winced. “Though I have to warn you, there is a one very interested vamp who is probably going to fight his way to you soon.”
“Why?”
“Because you bit him. You transformed him. And I think you obsessed him.”
Celeste’s eyes were huge.
“Now, excuse me, but I have a champion to declare.” She needed to get this show moving. Josephine had places to go…and asses that needed kicking.
***
Malik breathed in and out, keeping his pose relaxed as his gaze swept the scene. The Fey were all around him, and now, he could see the shimmering wings that many of them sported. The wings would come and go, appearing when the Fey took flight and disappearing when they landed.
The guy in front of him didn’t seem to have wings. The guy in front of him showed no claws. No fangs. Were it not for the fact that the SOB was in the Fey world, Malik would think the fellow was human.
But…
There was something about the guy that didn’t sit well with Malik. And not just the fact that the jackass had once been involved with Josephine.
“I waited for her,” the guy—Jason—suddenly snapped. “You will not stop me from claiming what is rightfully mine.”
“So, about that…” Malik cleared his throat. “Josephine isn’t yours.”
“And you think she belongs to you?” Jason fired right back. He laughed. “As if she’d ever want a fallen mess like you. If you were still in the mortal realm, you’d be fucking insane by now.”
A possibility. But his thinking was wonderfully sharp at that moment. There were some perks to this realm.
With a sneer on his face, Jason added, “You’d be terrorizing the city, killing humans, and Luke would need to put you down.”
Malik stiffened. “How the hell do you know about Luke?” Actually, how did the guy even know Malik was fallen?
Before Jason could respond, harp music played again. A happy, melodious sound.
Josephine shoved past a few guards to make her way into what Malik thought of as the “ring”—though it was really some sort of giant, flowery pavilion. Lavender circled the large, white columns that composed the base of the structure.
“A harp?” Josephine demanded, looking a bit disgruntled—and oh, so beautiful to him. “Shouldn’t you have a trumpet announce me or something like that? A harp makes it sound like we’re at a wedding.”
Jason smiled. “We are, my love. You’ll be wed to the winner of this battle. Your consort will be officially chosen. It is the way it will end.”
He thought he’d get to wed Josephine? Not happening. Malik’s hands fisted.
“Pick your champion,” Jason said, voice smug. “Choose wisely.”
“I always do.” Her gaze raked over Jason, and she didn’t exactly look thrilled to see her old lover. Strange, considering that she’d died for him, again and again. But then her stare swung to Malik. And it—softened. “You came through the Veil for me.”
He would go through anything, for her.
She stepped closer to him. Her hand rose and pressed to his cheek. “You sent me through the Veil without you.”
He nodded. “I had to keep you safe.” His gut clenched. “Because of me, you were in danger.” His voice was loud and clear, and Malik knew all the Fey gathered there were avidly listening to him. “Because when I fell, darkness spread. Outside of the Veil, it…tries to consume me. Luke and Leo—they are the rulers of the Light and the Dark—they know how dangerous I am. They were going to kill me, or I was going to kill them.” A simple truth. “You were on my side, and that put you in danger.”
“On your side,” she repeated softly. She smiled at him, flashing the tiny points of her fangs. “I will always be on your side.” There was tenderness in her gaze. And if Malik looked deeply enough, he thought that he might just see more than that mere tenderness. Maybe…love? Was it possible? Could she ever love him? Or was he starting to get delusional?
“I’m on your side. Remember that,” Josephine added softly. “You save my life. I save yours. That’s how we work, right?”
He swallowed. “I don’t want you to be at risk.” And if she stayed in this realm… “There is danger here. Luke said the greatest danger to you was here. In the Fey world.” But he didn’t see danger. He saw Fey wings and harps and lavender—
“It is.” She nodded. “I see it. Don’t worry. I’m pretty good when it comes to spotting danger.”
A growl came from Jason. “So he is your champion, Josephine? Even though you once claimed to love me.”
She was still staring up at Malik when she responded, “That was a long time ago.”
“Your love is so fickle and fleeting—”
“No, my love isn’t fickle or fleeting. But thanks for asking. It’s pretty damn eternal, the same way I am.” She still didn’t take her eyes off Malik. Her voice turned a bit husky when she said, “So, I hope you understand, my fallen, when I say that I love you, I mean that I’ll love you forever.”
Murmurs from the Fey. Some angry huffs.
When I say that I love you…Malik could only shake his head. Josephine loved him
? Despite what he was? She was choosing him?
Another growl from Jason. “I would have given you the world—”
“No, I don’t think so. I believe you would have tried to take the world from me. In fact, you have tried.” She gave Malik another quick smile. “You should say you love me, too, Malik. It will really help me right now. I kind of just put myself way out there, know what I mean?”
“I love you.” Instant. Because he did. He had. “From the first moment I saw you, you owned my heart.” He would never deny that—or her.
She swallowed. “Good. That’s really nice to know. Especially since…” Now she turned from him and stared at Jason. “Since I know things aren’t what they seem to be.”
Jason stiffened. “Josephine—”
“Everyone knows how much the Fey love to play tricks. Fey can deceive so well.”
“I’m not deceiving you,” Jason protested. “You loved me, and I loved you.”
“I loved Jason. Yes. When he drowned. I went into that water, determined to bring up his body.”
“I am Jason. Fate granted us a second chance!”
But she continued talking, as if she hadn’t heard him. “I died in that water. Over and over again. And I never brought my lover back. The water became his grave.”
Jason shook his head. “I’m right here. I told you, I have Fey blood. That’s how I survived. You should trust me. You should believe me.” But his gaze flew to Malik. “It’s his fault. You’re bewitched. This fallen—this freak of nature—he has turned your heart and mind against me. But when I kill him, you’ll forget. You’ll come back to me. You’ll—”
“When you kill him?” Her head cocked. “You’ve been trying to kill him since he fell, haven’t you? But that hasn’t worked out so well for you.”
Rage burned in Malik’s gut. This man was the enemy who’d targeted them? This man was the danger to Josephine that Luke had warned him about?
“You were the one behind the attacks.” Josephine’s voice was flat. Cold. “You were the one who sent the homing spell when we were in Malik’s penthouse. The angel feather in the box? Nice touch. But you lost creativity points because you basically stole my work.”
Jason’s eyes narrowed. He didn’t confirm or deny her accusation.
“At the time of the attack, you know, right before all of the window glass started breaking into shards and flying at me and Malik, I thought, hmmm, there are three beings who could be behind this attack. I mean, it’s not just anyone who can hit a penthouse that high up in the air. So the attacker needed wings, obviously.” She held up three fingers. “Three paranormal types. A shapeshifter—someone who could turn into a dragon or a bird. That was my option one. Option two was a gargoyle. Though, I honestly can’t remember the last time I saw one of those guys. Oh, wait, now I remember—it was when I killed one of them. So, anyway, that left me with option three.” Her shoulders rolled back. She glanced at the assembled crowd. “A Fey.”
The sonofabitch before them—he’d been the one after them?
“Then my villain choices really narrowed down when Lawrence was murdered.” She shook her head. “Poor Larry. Got to confess, I was caught way off guard when his power blasted at me. That doesn’t just randomly happen, you know. A dying witch doesn’t shoot out his magic. Power has to be primed up so that it is ready to be transferred. It’s a whole very specific process. All technical. And not many beings can drain power that way.” Her hands went to her hips. “I’ll give you some clues about who can drain magic like that. Spoiler, it’s not a shapeshifter and it’s not a gargoyle.”
Malik wanted to attack. To rip the bastard into pieces.
“With two of our three options gone now,” Josephine lifted her brows. “Guess who that just leaves? Ah, hell, forget about guessing. I’m staring right at the Fey who is responsible.”
Celeste stepped forward. “Wait. Stop. I don’t understand…you’re saying Jason has been in the human world? He’s been…targeting you?”
Jason laughed. “Of course, I haven’t. She’s mad. A mad queen, hardly what we need to rule the Fey.” With pity clear on his face, he stared at Josephine. “I’ll win this fight. I’ll be named your consort, and I’m afraid I’ll have to imprison you. Madness can’t reign here.”
Celeste looked between Jason and Josephine.
“She claims to be your sister,” Jason reminded Celeste. “Obviously, that’s madness. You have no sister.”
“Obviously,” Celeste echoed, but she didn’t seem convinced, and her tongue ran over the tips of her teeth. She shivered.
“The prison will be a palace,” Jason assured Josephine tenderly. “I’ll make sure you have every luxury. Because despite everything, I do still love you.” His gaze slid to Malik. “The fallen has turned your mind. Poisoned you.”
“Poison,” Josephine seemed to taste that word. “That was the deal sealer, you know. When you tried to use the Vampire’s Kiss on me. I mean, that’s my poison. Of course, it wouldn’t work on me. I figured out, though, that you wanted me to think a gargoyle was after me and Malik because I used that particular dish of delight on a gargoyle once but…” She shook her head. “No dice. I wasn’t fooled. I didn’t buy the shitload you were selling. I knew I was still after a Fey.”
Malik stepped to her side. Jason’s eyes were burning with fury. His pity mask had faded away.
“If you knew a Fey was after you,” spittle flew from Jason’s mouth, “why come back to this realm?”
“Because I had some business that needed taking care of.” She lifted her hand. Showed the tally mark on her inner wrist. “This baby came back…the minute I crossed over.”
“What the fuck is that?” Jason snarled.
“It’s your mark,” Josephine said simply. “The mark for the Fey King who didn’t really die. The bastard who just kept himself hidden in the shadows.” Her head turned and she stared at Malik. “You told me that part. You told me there was someone leading the charge against the angels. That he was taking power by stealing it from the angels.” She swallowed. “You said he could see in the shadows, remember?”
Yes, he fucking remembered. Malik’s breath came faster. His heart raced harder.
“The Fey are the shadow people. And a full-blooded Fey, their infamous king—he could see best in those shadows.”
Jason laughed. “I’m not the king. That’s why I am battling your fool lover. The crown knows. The crown always goes to the true ruler. I will be that ruler. When Malik is dead, I’ll be your consort by way of Fey law. I’ll be king then. I’ll lock you away, my poor, mad Josephine. I’ll rule. I’ll—”
“Enough,” Malik snarled. He lunged forward and grabbed the bastard by the neck. “You will never touch her. You will never lock her away. You will never—”
A bolt of white light hit Malik in the chest. It burned through flesh and bone, branding him even as it hurtled him back into the air. He crashed down, landing about ten feet away.
“Fucking fallen!” Jason bellowed. “You have no power here! And, yes, that was my plan! I knew you could do nothing in this realm!” His laughter echoed. “You can do nothing to save her. And she can’t do anything to stop me.” He pointed at Josephine. “You think you’re so damn smart, don’t you?” The light spread from his fingertips. Engulfed him. “Well, I fooled you plenty of times. You thought I was dead. You thought you’d won. Even the fucking great Luke Thorne thought I was dead and gone.”
The light slowly faded. Malik rose to his feet. The redheaded man was gone. In his place stood a fellow who was Malik’s height. With Malik’s build. The red hair was gone—replaced by a white-blond mane that trailed down the guy’s back. His eyes were bright green, a wild emerald. His skin was golden, and a long, vicious, red scar slid around his throat.
“Finlay,” Josephine murmured. “Nice to see you again, Finlay.”
And Malik knew exactly who he was staring at—Finlay, the Fey King. The king Josephine had killed ten years before. Only…
/> He can’t be dead if he’s standing right here.
The crowd had gone absolutely silent around them. Malik thought he could actually smell the fear in the air.
“Your Jason died a long time ago,” Finlay announced. “But I thought by borrowing his face, I might be able to come up on your blind side.” He shrugged. “Guess that didn’t happen.”
“Nice scar,” Josephine muttered. “It gives you a nice, I’ve-almost-been-beheaded-once look.” She didn’t sound afraid. She was confident. Bold. His Josephine.
Malik returned to her side. As he always would.
Always.
But Finlay laughed. “I saw you that day, fallen.”
Malik stiffened.
“You were there when Josephine came for me.” Finlay’s voice took on a low, menacing tone. “You screamed when my men shot her. You screamed when she fell. I knew you loved her then, and I thought…watching this angel go insane before me is just so much fun.” Rough laughter. “Almost as much fun…” Now his gaze slid to Josephine. “As killing you.”
“You didn’t kill me.” Her hand reached for Malik’s. Squeezed tight.
And Malik felt his fangs begin to stretch in his mouth.
But this time, he also felt something more…
He felt…felt a strange itch between his shoulder blades. He rolled back his shoulders as the itch turned into a burn.
“No, I didn’t kill you.” The bastard’s laughter faded. “I came up close to you.” He took a step toward Josephine. “I was going to kill you. Going to savor watching the light fade from your eyes. But then you shoved your knife into my throat.”
“I have my talents.” She shrugged.
“You took my power. Drained me so completely that it was like I was dead. You took and took.” Finlay’s voice echoed around them.
No one advanced. No one moved. Why the hell not? Malik glared at them all. Cowards.
“You took until almost nothing was left.” Fury dripped from the Fey bastard.
“I thought I had taken everything,” Josephine threw back. “My mistake. This time, I’ll take it all. Be sure of that.”
Finlay’s eyes gleamed. “No, this time, I will.”