by Meg Xuemei X
The warriors around me stared at my angelblade in awe and admiration. They didn’t know this intricate angelblade was a gift from a mate who had wronged me. As long as I held Dreamkiss, I’d never completely expel Merlin from my thoughts.
I pushed the pain to the edge of my mind.
My mates were ready to cut down any hands that dared touch me, their eyes promising death. Killian snarled, flashing an image in my head and asking who he should eat.
“No one will harm you in Nightingale, your city, Queen Calamity,” Raven said, scanning around with her piercing look.
“My city?” I snorted. “Pretty words. My mates and I were treated like criminals even though we’d done nothing wrong in this city, even though I explained that I had no intention to claim the title of queen. It’s just a fucking title, and I don’t give a shit. Neither do my mates. If we were weaker, your Protectors would have put us in chains or put us down.”
If Merlin hadn’t betrayed me, I wouldn’t even be in this situation in the first place.
“I don’t owe any of you a fucking thing,” I said, my voice icy, “despite some of you getting the wrong idea and feeling entitled.” I made eye contact with the warriors and the crowd. “However, I came for the people who want to be saved. I fight for freedom and a better life for those who deserve it. And for those who are willing to fight with us, join my mates and me.”
Guy and his Alpha Power team roared first, and many in the crowd punched their fists into the air and shouted in agreement.
“Silence,” Halia screamed. “She’s just shown her true colors. That woman will bring death to us all!”
“Look around you, old lady,” Octavia shouted. “This isn’t much of a life for anyone. We don’t want to cower in this hole like rats. I say we follow Queen Calamity to light and freedom!”
“Where our queen goes, we follow!” the women from the Desert Belle bellowed. “We’ll fight the demons!”
“I won’t tolerate this disorder!” Halia barked, but her voice was drowned out by all the other voices.
“We pledge our swords to you again, Queen Calamity,” Guy said. “Your consorts can train us to be efficient fighters, now that we have the angelblades that can kill demons. Thanks to you and your women raiding the demons’ fort. That took great courage.”
The women from the Desert Belle puffed out their chests, and I smiled at them. For the first time, pride sparkled in their eyes, overcoming their scars and suffering.
“We brought most of our sisters home,” Raven said, her blue eyes shining with tears as she gestured at Willow and her courtesans behind her, “because our queen has come. This should be a day for celebration, for we finally have hope.” She waved at the crowd, scanning and noticing every person in the room. She had leadership quality. She should be the queen instead of me, and my mates and I could fight by her side. “And we bear good tidings. The slaves above the ground from all seven regions have arisen and rebelled against the Sváva for the first time in centuries. The spark ignited by our Queen of the Flame has turned into wildfire!”
“All the slaves have heard the call from their queen.” Willow picked up where Raven had left off. “Everywhere they recited Queen Calamity’s declaration of freedom in the arena, ‘You may kill me, but you’ll never enslave my spirit!’”
Then many women joined her in quoting me. “There might be a fucking slave brand on my skin, but my spirit remains free. Today, I declare my freedom. Even in death, I’ll rise. And one day, we’ll all rise and burn down the fucking Underworld!”
When I was dumped into the arena to fight to the death, I’d never thought I would be the first spark that started a prairie fire.
I put Dreamkiss back into the sheath tied to my thigh. “We’ll fight then.”
Ash sighed. “We’ll have to train them. I hope they’re fast learners, or they’ll test my patience.”
“Do you always have to say something anticlimactic, fae?” Max grated.
“Look at our queen.” Willow beamed. “Her power burned the slave mark from her temple. She doesn’t need to show the mark. Actions speak louder.”
That had happened as soon as Elijah had mated with me and awoken my power. And now, where the symbol of double shackles had branded me as a slave, it was all smooth skin.
“This isn’t over.” Halia stormed off.
Everyone ignored her, even the rest of the Protectors.
“We’re sorry for being late and not welcoming you properly, Queen Calamity, Consort Max, and Consort Ash,” Raven said, leading us out of the throne hall. “We’ve prepared refreshments before you retire for the night.”
Killian growled his agreement.
Willow laughed. “It’s the tiger that saved the queen in the arena.”
“He’s so super cute,” Raven said with a doting smile, and my tiger wagged his tail at her. Then Raven’s shoulders stiffened. She turned, her gaze sweeping across the room and landing on the black owl that perched on a high beam.
I blinked in surprise. I thought we’d lost the owl during the chaos of battle. When had it followed us into the tunnel? That owl could move like a phantom.
Willow arched an eyebrow. “Is that your pet too?”
“No,” I said. “I think he followed me here somehow. He aided us in the battle against the demons.”
“Hmm,” Raven said, pressing her chin with her thumb. “A black owl follows the queen. I wonder what that signifies.”
The black bird let out a cry, spread his silky wings, and glided out of the hall.
It didn’t like to be the center of attention.
CHAPTER 12
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I felt like I could sleep for a year. That’s how tired I was. But we didn’t have the luxury of sleeping for more than a few hours. The enemy now knew of the existence of Nightingale and would seek any chance to get to our city. Plans needed to be made, and my mates needed to train the soldiers on how to fight the demons.
We turned down the offer to sleep in one of the few buildings, which housed esteemed individuals, like the Protectors. We chose a relatively large tent at the edge of the camps, amid the warriors. Sebastian, Octavia, and a few women took the tent next to us.
I lay in the middle of the cushion on the ground, my head on Max’s chest, my legs resting on Ash’s. They gazed at me with desire and exhaustion. The mating fever wouldn’t give us a break, even if we were on the brink of death, but it’d be foolish to oblige it when we felt like this.
Killian crouched by the door to guard us.
I eventually blacked out.
Despite being cocooned in warmth, comfort, desire, and the protective arms of my mates, my sleep wasn’t all that peaceful. Being hunted like a wild beast and watching those I cared about being slaughtered played in a loop in my dream. I was enraged, yet I was helpless and powerless to save them. I’d brought this on them. I’d brought the demon butchers to their city, and all the innocent were now lying in pools of blood, their eyes glaring up at the ceilings of the tunnels, sightless, accusing me.
Their lives might not be much, but they were alive before I’d come. Their blood was now on my hands, especially when it was Elijah who slew them all.
He was bathed in their blood, with a merciless smile dancing around his scar, and the black owl watched the massacre like a witness.
Tears streamed down my face and seeped between my lips, letting me taste their bitterness.
Tears were useless when facing violence, blood, and death, yet I couldn’t stop them from flowing.
I’d have to kill my first mate to save the rest of my people.
Cold sweat dampened my back at the thought of erasing my mate, and the iciness sank into my bones. I flashed open my eyes, dispersing the nightmares, and panted in panic. Ash murmured my name in his dream, then he tugged me closer to him. Max, on my other side, held me firmly in his sleep, not allowing me to move away from him.
A shaft of torchlight outside the tent streaked through the entranc
e, and I swallowed hard, fighting to push the bleak pictures of the dangerous future from my head, yet they kept coming back, haunting me.
I’d failed to bring an army from the Upper Realm. The warriors who escorted us to Nightingale were the elite rebel soldiers, yet they could barely keep up with the Sváva demons, who had been bred for battle for millennia.
Halia wasn’t entirely wrong about me bringing death to their city.
I would get everyone killed, and I couldn’t live with that, even in the afterworld.
Ice traveled through my veins, paralyzing me. No matter which way I turned, I’d bring blood and death.
“Doll,” Max whispered, waking up and pulling me towards his solid torso. His body heat blanketed me, yet a chill kept dripping into my bones.
He kissed me, his tongue thrusting into my mouth and mating with mine.
His scent of cypress and flame cast a safety net around me. The flame of lust leapt up, licking me all over.
I explored his bronze skin. He was made of refined ridges and hard muscles, and a swirl of inked waves and runes rippled across his massive shoulders and chest. My fingers traced them before moving down to his trousers.
He yanked them down for me and pulled my pants down as well. He knew I needed a quickie now more than anything.
His large hand cupped my breast, the other moving down to palm and rub my wetness.
My hand seized his hard length, but I could hold only half of its column, since it was too big. I gave it a few hard pumps, and Max hissed in pleasure.
Placing my slick sex at the tip of his thick head, he thrust into my heat. I moaned in pleasure and arched my back to take him in deeper, my fingers lacing in his chestnut hair that was speckled with gold.
His gorgeous face distorted in ecstasy and thick lust; mating heat burned through us.
He thrust up again and again, relentless and hard, and I heaved up my hips and slammed down to his base. We fucked like a pair of beasts. He propelled up into me, and I plunged toward him, my pussy gloving his large, hard shaft perfectly and my inner walls clenching it and milking it. My muscles kept stretching to fit his size.
Our speed became bruising, and our labored breaths mingled as I leaned down to kiss him hard. Now he was doing all the banging work, and my ample breasts bounced on his chest.
He growled. “My female’s sweet pussy.”
A wave of body heat radiated to me from my left side. I turned my head and met Ash’s burning gaze. I wondered how long he’d been watching Max and me fuck.
This time, he didn’t participate but just watched us lustfully, which made me even hotter.
Pleasure rocked me. I wanted to moan. I wanted to scream Max’s name, but I had to be quiet since the soldiers were all around.
Max’s hard thrusts turned erratic, and then his next powerful thrust tossed me to the peak. I rammed a fist into my mouth to stop a scream as waves of orgasm shattered me. Max let out a low, rough groan and shuddered beneath me, finding his release, too.
We stayed locked until Ash brought me to his side, spooning me.
The chill inside me no longer lingered, and I linked my fingers with the Winter Prince’s, shut my eyes, and slept.
CHAPTER 13
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My eyes fluttered open, and I found both sides of the bed cushion empty. I searched for my mates in the tent, but they were gone.
There was a glass of water on the small wooden table beside the bed, obviously left by them. I touched the space where my mates had slept to see if they’d left long ago. The spots were cold.
They wanted me to sleep a little longer, and they knew that the Thorn Rose soldiers were loyal to me, so no harm would come to me while amid them in Nightingale.
I appreciated that they wanted me badly, yet they weren’t clingy when the situation demanded it. We were preparing for a war, and we all knew what was at stake.
I inhaled. Even though they were gone, their scents of cedar, flame, ice, and forest lingered, comforting me. The scene of how I rode Max last night reeled back in my mind. He knew I needed that and gave it to me without reservation. I smiled at the intimate memory while feeling my face burning, especially as the mating heat responded to my mood and a new wave of liquid fire surged between my thighs.
I’d love to have another go if they were in the tent. Sighing in disappointment at their absence, I picked up the glass and drank the water.
Killian rose from his spot at the door, lazily stretched his powerful back, and padded toward me, whipping his tail left and right.
The wolf and the vampire didn’t want me to wake you up. They said to let you sleep since you’re tired. Killian flashed pictures of a gray wolf and Max’s wings in my head.
That’s very nice of them, I answered in his head.
Calamity, I’m hungry. Killian started whining, flashing pictures in my head about hunting and eating. I don’t like it here. There are no monsters to hunt, and you prohibit me from eating anyone!
You aren’t eating anyone here. Period, I said sternly. I’ll get you breakfast.
I let Killian drink the rest of the water from the glass. I rolled off the bed, put on my worn boots, and stalked out of the tent.
The area was mostly empty except for Guy’s second and another soldier from the Alpha Pure team guarding my tent outside.
They bowed at me and greeted, “Queen Calamity.”
I smiled at them and asked their names, which I hadn’t had a chance to learn.
“We’ll lead you to Consort Ash and Consort Max after breakfast, Your Majesty,” murmured Josh, Guy’s second-in-command. I had to learn all the soldiers’ names and ranks soon. “The Protectors are expecting you to join them for a meal in the Hollow Hall.”
I expected all of the Protectors, including Halia, to be in that hall. I was in no mood to get into a glaring match with that woman and answer all of her stupid, demanding questions at the beginning of the day. Given what she’d said last time, she might even inquire about my sex life last night.
I did not come to this city to play politics. I don’t give a shit about their games. It amazed me that they didn’t have much down here, yet playing games was still an important part of their lives.
It must have been Halia’s or Travis’s idea to fetch me and demand I join them for breakfast, as if they thought I would take their orders.
“Have my mates eaten?” I asked, running my fingers through my tangled silver hair and darting my eyes around.
I didn’t look like a queen with this haggard appearance. I needed to find a place to clean myself up first.
“Yes, Your Majesty. They ate with Guy and the Alpha Pure warriors,” Josh said. “And then they went to the training field.”
I nodded in approval.
“Have you two eaten?” I asked.
“We’re guarding you, my queen,” Josh said. “We won’t eat before you.”
“I need to refresh myself, Josh,” I said. “And then we’ll eat together where you usually eat.”
“But my queen—” Josh hesitated and traded a panicked look with the other soldier, whose name was Owen.
“That’s an order, soldier,” I said. “In war time, formality should be our least concern. We must be ready for battle at all times.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
I wouldn’t eat a more luxurious meal than a soldier normally ate, so each of us had a roll of old bread. And I gave half to Killian. I just couldn’t ask they feed my tiger, considering how little these people had.
I asked about the seven clans and how many fighting men each clan had. I needed to explore the city. I asked for a map for every entrance and exit of the tunnels and their security details.
My next immediate concern was my tiger. It wasn’t safe to leave a hungry predator around the camp.
“Is there anywhere around here my tiger can hunt?” I asked. “All the better if there’s a place like the black forest we visited.”
Owen’s eyes rounded with awe
. “You went through Acheron, the land of woe? No one has come out of the black forest before.”
Josh gave his man a hard look. “When you address our queen, call her ‘Your Majesty.’ And don’t speak out of turn.”
Owen dropped his head in shame. I wanted to tell them it was fine, but I also didn’t want to disturb their chain of command and customs I wasn’t familiar with unless their orders were ridiculous.
“Your Prophet saw our coming and prepared refreshments for us in the cave at the edge of the black forest,” I said.
Josh nodded. “It must be our rival team, Omega Power, that cut across Acheron last time.”
“Rival?” I asked.
“We beat them,” Josh said proudly, his chest puffing out. “We found the queen and brought Your Majesty to Nightingale.”
Owen puffed his chest too. “Omega Power can eat dirt, for all I care!”
Josh didn’t scold Owen this time. I bet he agreed with Owen’s opinion.
“In war, we’re united,” I said. “Only the demons eat dirt.”
Josh and Owen snapped to attention. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
I sighed. It would take some getting used to, but the soldiers needed someone like my mates and me, especially my mates, to lead them into the battle. I doubted that the Protectors, except for Jonathan, would lead the soldiers to war or fight at the front.
Killian swallowed his portion of bread and growled at the soldiers in dissatisfaction as if it was their fault he hadn’t been fed properly.
The warriors’ faces paled at my tiger’s threatening sound, yet they didn’t stumble back.
“Killian, behave,” I scolded. “Don’t bare your teeth here.”
The big cat lowered his head and rubbed his neck against my thigh.
“There’s a hunting ground near east Nightingale,” Josh said in a grave voice, “but one would have to cross part of the Shades to the jungle. No one has ever crossed the Shades and returned to tell the tale.”
“That’s okay,” I said. “I’ll have to feed my tiger anyway. My mates and I’ll cross the Shades and return with game.”