Unchained Beauty (Deadly Beauties Live On Book 5)

by C. M. Owens

  “Trust me, I just proved it is very plausible. We’re immortals. It’s instinct. You said it yourself,” I argue, looking at Kya, continuing to ignore Dice, since Karma swore she’d abandon me if we told him.

  “If it doesn’t work?” Kimber asks me.

  “Then I get out until Slade nukes Hannah,” I say immediately, then freeze as the words sink in.

  It’s the plan. It’s not at all what I want to do. It’s sickening to even consider. But it’s the only plan where I feel like I’ve done all I can do without selfishly letting all his pain have happened in vain.

  When a tear escapes my iron grip, Kimber starts toward me, but I hold a hand up. “If you hug me, I’ll start crying. If I start crying, I’ll start second-guessing every single decision, and I won’t be able to…”

  I let my words trail off, and she nods.

  “Why not just tell Slade this plan, and promise him he can still die in your place if shit hits the fan in the wrong direction?” Dice asks.

  “Because he’ll never risk it,” Kya says, eyes on me. “His plan ensures that Ella is one hundred percent safe, and he spent years perfecting math that Ella doesn’t understand, but says won’t work. Our plan is not centuries old or well-calculated by a genius mind like his,” she adds, already second-guessing us.

  “He did this without allowing himself to hope for any other outcome. He doesn’t care about the new variables as much as he cares about what he knows with certainty will work,” Kimber goes on. “This will work, so long as every single thing goes exactly as we’ve planned.”

  “Sure. We’ve never had a problem with things not going according to plan,” Dice states unhelpfully.

  “He changed the future,” I say quieter. “He changed the future,” I say a little firmer, my eyes meeting theirs.

  “He didn’t change everything, Ella. Just the details,” Kya states, once again dousing our confidence, because she’s worried, like we all are, that we’re wrong.

  But if we’re not wrong, then Slade dies for nothing and we may still not really kill Hannah.

  “So we kill Hannah and save the world, so long as she doesn’t succeed in possessing Ella or Slade or Kane or any other fucking person with a lot of power so she can rule the world,” Dice adds.

  “She’ll target us to start with,” I say, not looking at him. “If she can’t have the Lokies, she’ll possess one of us, grow stronger inside us as she has Morgana, only she’ll own our bodies for eternity, unnaturally growing more abilities. Her reign could literally never end,” I add.

  “And the rings will be an above-ground operation that no one can stop, because they’ll simply be added to the prisons,” Kya states quieter. “This is bigger than we ever really knew. Even me.”

  “No wonder the scarred menace never cracks a grin. He’s known this all along,” Dice says with a shudder.

  “Call him that one more time,” I say, my eyes flicking silver before narrowing on him.

  He shrinks back.

  “I remember when you had a sense of humor. You even recycled my insults,” he grumbles.

  My eyes drop back down to the board in front of me, with our terrible drawing of our Hail Mary pass.

  “He changed the future,” I say again. “I hope.”

  Kimber and Kya launch into fully explaining to Leah what her part will be, while Dice walks out, huffing and puffing when we don’t give him phase five details. They fill Leah in on that once we’re sure he’s gone.

  “So why do you have all this circled? And this part here makes no sense at all. What do you need with a deer?” Leah asks, not even blinking at the onslaught of information, despite the fact what we’re asking her to do is really big.

  “That’s Kya’s part,” I tell her, which has Kya’s eyebrow raising.

  “What’s my part?” Kimber asks, and I grimace.

  “Your part is hoping you’ve made Gage love you enough to do absolutely anything you ask,” I tell her, giving her a hopeful look.

  Her eyes glance down, then back up, adding up the Ella Math in her head, most likely.

  “I don’t like my part. Give me the deer,” she states flatly.

  Dice walks back in, looking down at all of us. “Have I been gone long enough?” he harps as he goes to take his seat.

  “You can’t really help with the deer,” I say to Kimber.

  “What’s with the deer?” Dice asks from the corner.

  I give him an annoyed look, but when I glance back, Leah is staring at me quizzically. “I’d like to understand the deer too.”

  “Dice,” I say, sighing heavily.

  “Let me guess, you need me to go fetch you something while you concoct more of the secret plan you don’t want me knowing,” he says as he stands. “I’ll just stretch my legs while you girls scheme.”

  My eyes dart to Kimber’s, then to Kya’s.

  “They turned my father into one of those Firsts. I’ll have to be the one to kill him,” Leah tells me, but I already know.

  I’m the one who told Thad and asked him to help ease the blow to her, when I thought Leah was avoiding me. It’s just been Zee avoiding me and essentially forcing her to go along with it, because he’s terrified Slade will go murderous on her again if her guard is down.

  “You’ll only have a small window to kill him, but Zee might be able to kill him instead.”

  “No,” she says softly. “I don’t want to risk Zee. It needs to be me. Slade’s not the only one who’d die in place of the woman he loves. Just make sure I get some backup if it doesn’t look like I can take him on my own in the timeframe necessary.”

  “I’ll back you up myself,” I say, eyes on hers.

  “I trust you,” she tells me. “Things have felt…different since I first walked into this room. You feel different. It’s almost…soothing. Which doesn’t make sense, so of course I’ve silently been analyzing it this entire time. There’s an odd calm just standing in front of you.”

  “I’m anything but calm,” I assure her, my brow arching.

  “But you’re in charge,” Kya states, her finger running over her lips. “I feel the same calm when Slade stands in front of me and directs me. I always know he’s the deadliest in the room, except for when you’re there. Then I feel torn, like I can’t decide who to listen to. All this talk about instinct has had me dissecting my subconscious movements. It’s the same with Alyssa and Kane when they disagree, according to Chaz.”

  “The rules of yesterday won’t matter tomorrow,” Leah says, distracting us.

  Her eyes are on my scribbling next to the deer as they widen.

  “Why do you say that?” Kya asks.

  “It’s what was inscribed on one book about the Aquarius. My family’s motto has never been more right.”

  “Give it a moment,” Kimber says, clapping her shoulder. “One minute you’re a child prodigy visionary legend, the next you can’t even see yourself tripping over your own feet until it’s too late. Everything else will seem possible after that rock bottom drop.”

  I snort.

  Kimber snorts.

  Then Kya and Leah laugh while groaning.

  “You haven’t even heard about the deer yet,” I tell them, though Kya knows exactly why we need more deer.

  “The fate of the world depends on us. God help us all,” Kya says, palming her face.

  Someone knocks three times, and Kya blurs to open the door. Standing at the top is the demon we’ve been waiting to see.

  “I was told I might be removed from a blood oath if I came to help in your plans without telling Drackus,” Shaylan says as he eyes Kya then starts walking down the steps.

  Taking a shaky breath, I nod at him.

  “I can’t be removed from that oath. Even though I hate it, it’s the only bit of humanity I’m tethered to.”

  I frown at that, because I had no idea he actually wanted the blood oath.

  “Drackus is your source of humanity?” Kimber asks dryly, eyebrows up in horror.

&nb
sp; Shaylan’s lips ghost a smile for a split second. “It’s far better than the alternative, I assure you. I have no conscience at all, otherwise.”

  “Well, do you have enough humanity to help us even without the huge incentive we thought we had to offer?” I ask a little less confidently.

  He shrugs a shoulder. “Tell me what you need me to do before I supply an answer.”

  My eyes connect with his and hold. “Nothing much. Just wrestle with a much stronger demon for a few minutes,” I deadpan.

  “You mean Hannah,” he surmises, then a dark grin tugs at his lips. “In that case, I’d be happy to help.”

  “That easy?” Kya asks skeptically, her eyes narrowing on him.

  “If she wins this war, she’ll turn this world into the hell I worked so hard to escape. So yes, it’s that easy,” he states seriously.

  “Don’t tell Drackus,” Kimber says again.

  “Trust me, Drackus probably knows more than you think. You’re not very good at being discreet,” he says carelessly. “So explain to me what exactly I need to do.”

  Chapter 35

  SLADE

  “It’s not just Ella who dies. It’s not just Ella at stake. It’s not just tonight that matters for all of you. I’m simply saying she’s my only priority. The rest of the world is for you to give a damn about,” I growl, furious at Kane for telling Chaz, Zee, and Gage about my journal and my plan. “And these new, deformed abominations she’s added into her army are a novel variable, because she had to grow stronger to counter me. In all the other timelines, her attacks were relentless, but I’ve fucking put a stop to that. Now she’s finally battling again because she’s gotten stronger.”

  I should have known better. Stupid fucking memories made me believe Kane wouldn’t run his mouth. In another time, he was loyal to me.

  “I only told you this because Ella already knows and is up to some half-cocked miracle scheme to change what cannot be changed. If my plan deviates, you’re all essentially fucked. Do you understand? Just because my mission is Ella, it doesn’t mean she’s the only one at stake tonight.”

  “I’m okay with you dying,” Zee says with a dark smile.

  “Especially if it saves the world,” Thad adds with a shrug.

  “Usually it feels like you’re sacrificing something when someone is dying for the ‘greater’ cause, but not so much this time,” Gage points out.

  “Then why the hell won’t you tell me where she’s been hiding all day? And why did you come here to make me go through my entire plan again?” I bite out angrily.

  “Ella is smart. And no offense, but it’s not as easy to find her as one might think,” Gage drawls. “Especially when Kimber is assisting her in hiding.”

  I should have just locked her away last night when she was safely sprawled across my body, freshly sated and relaxed. Now she’s fucking hiding. I should have known better. Today’s the day my life finally matters.

  Chaz just looks bored with this entire situation, even though I’ve seen his jaw tick no less than five times since he’s been in here.

  “Look, as sweet as what you’ve done for Ella sounds, we’re here to see what you’ve seen. We need to know what we’re facing,” Zee states.

  I glare at Kane. I informed him precisely why he was to tell no one else before I ever told him anything.

  He pinches the bridge of his nose. “I just told them. I thought they’d need to know about the portal—which I won’t mention aloud to you. I need them focusing on the things around them, because you said we’ve all died at some point. I’m trying to save more than just my daughter. I trust you with that task implicitly,” he explains with exasperation.

  “Implicitly?” Gage asks incredulously.

  “I spared you some details to let you know what led me to that extreme,” Kane tells him, even as his eyes stay on mine, silently conveying the message.

  I nod at him, realizing he must have generalized. He still fucking told them too much.

  “I need to find Ella before tonight,” I say again, trying to sound calm. “I’m not showing anyone else anything.”

  “If I find her, I’ll give you a call,” Kane says, and I know he means it, because I can see the torn look in his eyes.

  He feels like he’s betraying his daughter by letting me go to my death. I really shouldn’t have let him read that fucking journal. I don’t know what I was thinking.

  Maybe I just needed him to know why.

  He and the others vanish from the room, but Chaz remains.

  “I bet they’d see things differently if Roslyn had dragged back someone they cared about to the rings where they were tortured or brutalized in other ways. They’d certainly view Leah differently if they’d seen her as I knew her,” I point out.

  “But Kane said you didn’t have those memories.”

  “Oh, I still left the rage intact for Leah—for all the Aquarius—just to ensure I killed her before she killed Ella. My rage for Roslyn needed no reminder, since she was fresh on the brain by the time we escaped,” I assure him.

  “Why remove that memory of Leah?”

  “I removed Hannah’s identity too. Everything needed to be relearned, so that I didn’t miss anything important this time that could lead to yet more failure.”

  “You focused on not failing. Not on riding off into the sunset with the girl,” he states as he glances down.

  “Surely you didn’t stick around to say that,” I state dismissively, sitting down as the tension rolls over me.

  I have to find her. I really fucking hope she’s not hiding from me. I hope she’s not this naïve.

  “It’s funny how, until recently, I didn’t even realize I’d become a hypocrite,” he says under his breath, moving to take a seat.

  “I don’t have time for personal epiphanies. In case you missed it, I’ve got to kill a demon who hasn’t been killed in over a thousand scenarios, and she’s been growing stronger. I need to focus. And I need Ella. Do you know where she is? I noticed you stayed quiet.”

  He doesn’t look like he’s even listening to me.

  “We keep telling Ella she’s powerful, but that she’s not strong enough to control it. All of us. Including me. We keep telling her one day she’ll be strong,” he goes on. “We see her as a child. Helpless. I see her as one of my best friends, but one that I still need to shelter and protect.”

  He snorts, and I roll my eyes.

  “She walked into the middle of a lynch mob and pulled out the man they were rallying behind. I was furious at first. I just knew it was about to get nasty, all because she had zero idea of how to handle a delicate situation like that.”

  “When exactly did this fucking happen?” I bark.

  He ignores me, his eyes distant as a small smile toys with his lips.

  “She stood in front of a man who’d challenged her, and she was fucking smug about herself when the people immediately backed her. She knew she was the deadliest thing in that bar, and she was utterly fearless. I remained furious, because it was the heat of the moment.”

  “Tell me there’s a bloody point to your ramble, or I’m going to walk out of here,” I growl.

  “She told him there’d be more massacres, and she meant it. She intends to dedicate a lot of time to following through on that promise. And she let them know, without any sort of directly spoken threat, those who fraternize with traitors won’t be overlooked. And knew they got the point.”

  “The point you’re getting to?” I prompt when he pauses.

  He smirks, but it seems to be to about something in his mind that he’s not sharing. “I was so pissed at her for making a move like that. I told her she sounded like you, but later I realized you’d have just killed the entire bar if they’d had a problem with you taking this individual out.”

  I just stare at the idiot.

  “I missed it when it happened, but Ella found herself. And she’s no longer asking for anyone’s permission. Not even ours. She’s waiting on us to catch up with
her, because deep down she knows we’ll listen when it counts. We’re the naïve ones.”

  “You’re a daft cunt,” I argue. “You’re far past the point of naivety if you think for one second any of this changes my mind.”

  “Kane told me today we had over two hundred new men show up for tonight’s battle, and they’ve helped evacuate Pine Shore.”

  His eyes cut to mine.

  “There were only twenty in that bar,” he adds.

  “What does that have to do with a damn thing?”

  “It didn’t hit me until later, when I was lying there and thinking about it, that she also let them know the royal family would be cleaning these things up—not with false promises or elegant words, but with brute actions. Hence the reason these men wanted to join. If you want to help, you better be working for the royal family and not a mob. She chose her words carefully, even though they seemed so natural and almost careless.”

  “And?” I ask, wondering what the fucking hell that damn girl has been up to.

  He shrugs. “We’ve all forgotten one important thing: Ella’s got royal blood. Just like her mother, who was the youngest person on the battlefield once upon a time.”

  “Royal blood? They come from a strong lineage that makes them royals. There’s no such thing as actual royal blood,” I growl.

  He cocks an eyebrow at me. “Yes, there is. Their blood makes them different from all of us. I’ve witnessed it before with Alyssa, and now I’m witnessing it with Ella. They have blood so primal and so alpha, that it radiates power generation after generation. We forget that they were born to lead, but they know it. They feel it. And they command when the time comes.”

  My jaw grinds as he slowly stands.

  “She’s had everyone telling her she isn’t strong enough. She admits she’s not ready to rule, but that she is ready to be heard,” he goes on. “We’ve simply ignored her when she started telling us she is strong enough; she wouldn’t say it if it weren’t so. It wasn’t easy for her to do so alone, but she’s found herself. We just all missed when it happened. You made her a monster the second you tethered her to centuries of rage, and she’s finally figured out how to embrace it.”