The Darkest King

by Gena Showalter

  I recognize this suit. Hades changed his appearance on the reg. To him, clothing doubled as a weapon. William had seen him wear everything from a tux, to black leather, to crocheted underwear and decorative beard beads. Just depended on his audience. He only wore the suit when he wanted to look like a partner in a law firm and swindle someone.

  When Hades dismissed Green with a tilt of his chin, Green looked to William, one brow arched. He nodded, and his son left, shutting the door behind him.

  Am I to be the swindled? If Hades had heard about the unicorn and hoped to use her as a weapon...

  William curled his fingers around the arms of his chair, his claws cutting into the leather. “What’s going on?” He loved and admired Hades, yes, but he also recognized the male’s faults. Hades was power hungry, zealous in his determination and blinded to anything outside his endgame—whatever his endgame happened to be. He rarely shared his goals with anyone.

  “I’m here to discuss war business.” Hades leaned back, getting more comfortable. “Counting us, we have nine kings of the underworld, two princes, a princess, three horsemen, thirteen Lords, a minor goddess, the keeper of nightmares, a hellhound trainer, the son of a gorgon and dragon-shifter, not to mention the Harpies, the queen of Titans, the queen of Fae, a seer who peers into heaven and hell, and a Sent One. We even have the Red Queen. We should be unstoppable, and yet we have failed to neutralize Lucifer, a piece of shit with only legions of demons at his disposal.” He scoured a hand over his weary face. “If we lose this war, we do not deserve to live.”

  Agreed. Harpies were as bloodthirsty and strong as unicorn-shifters. Sent Ones commanded armies of angels and assassinated demons. Everyone else had powers and abilities beyond imagining. They should have this in the bag.

  “His demons outnumber us ten to one,” William pointed out.

  “Doesn’t matter. We should have defeated him already.”

  Hades wasn’t wrong. “If we want different results, we’ll have to do something different.”

  “Exactly. I have a plan to reduce his numbers, giving us a bigger advantage.”

  “I’m in.” The bastard had grown into the world’s most prolific rapist. Gender, age and species never factored into it. He tortured and murdered with abandon, leaving no one safe. Rumors suggested he liked to sneak his minions of disease out of Hell just to infect humans. “What do you need me to do?”

  “We’ll get to that. But first.” Hades flashed a scowl, there and gone. “Earlier today, I consulted my mirror about your list of decoders.”

  The mirror. A magic glass with Siobhan, the Goddess of Many Futures trapped inside it.

  “Are you sure we can trust her to aid us?” William asked. She blamed Hades for her captivity.

  Same as Sunny blames me for hers.

  What had the unicorn said? As a guest, I reward. As a captive, I punish.

  How did she expect to punish him?

  “Yes and no,” Hades said. “Either way, you need to know what Siobhan showed me.”

  “Which is?”

  “A blue-haired woman holding a vial of poison. According to Pandora, you have a blue-haired woman among your captives.”

  His brow furrowed. “Poison means what exactly?” That Sunny would poison him? Good luck. He’d already confiscated her locket. That their current path was toxic? Too bad. There would be no turning back. That he was destined to die by her hand? Okay, yeah, that one raised concerns, considering the curse.

  Voice as hard as steel, Hades said, “I want the blue-haired woman killed, William. Today. Before she has a chance to poison you.”

  A denial rushed across his tongue...a denial he brutally murdered before it escaped. One, a denial would only rally Hades’s determination, and two, Hades might decide to take the matter into his own hands. When it came to his few loved ones, “murder the threat” was his go-to answer.

  There was only one proclamation that would make the king back down. “Keeley says Sunny is not to be harmed for two weeks, because the girl is...my lifemate.”

  Hades valued Keeley’s insight. Interest gleamed in his eyes as he sat up straighter. “Keeley told me your lifemate has the power to destroy us all.”

  No wonder the king had wanted Gillian murdered, too.

  And wasn’t this more evidence of Sunny’s connection to him, and another reason to kill her quick? A muscle ticked in William’s jaw. “If she has the power to destroy us, she has the power to destroy Lucifer as well, aiding us.”

  “But why risk it?” Hades white-knuckled the arms of his chair. He was that concerned for William’s safety? “Keep your vow. Let me kill the girl...and burn your book. Mates are overrated, anyway.”

  “No!” William bellowed. Cheeks heating, he repeated more calmly, “No. For the next two weeks, no one, and I do mean no one, is to touch, harm or even yell at her.”

  Hades slitted his gaze. “So you hold out hope this Sunny will break your curse and what? The two of you will live happily ever after?”

  No. Yes. Maybe? Minus “ever after,” of course. But what kind of (temporary) future could he build with the woman who derived little pleasure from his kiss, trusted no one and insulted him regularly?

  Wild and crazy? Problematic? Fulfilling?

  You won’t know until you try.

  “Help me help you, son,” Hades said. “Do not be the fool who romantically pursues the woman predicted to end his life. Do burn your book. I know curses, and I’ve never sensed one in you.”

  “We’ve talked about this. You can’t sense the curse, because it hasn’t activated. First, I must fall in love.” He lifted a pen and repeatedly whacked the edge of the desk. “Forget the girl and the book.” For now. “Tell me why you rescued me as a boy.” The only topic guaranteed to shut down any conversation, anywhere, anytime.

  He’d made the request before, but he’d only ever received a nonanswer: I wanted to, so I did. Fact was, Hades did nothing without an ulterior motive. A fact William greatly admired. Why give if you weren’t going to get?

  Glowering now, Hades rubbed his fingers over his beard stubble. “We’ve talked about this,” he said, mimicking William. “I won’t discuss this topic. Explaining my reasons might result in a genuine curse and lead to your death.”

  But how? Why? William dropped the pen, leaned back in his chair and locked his fingers behind his head. “All right. Tell me why you made me vow to avoid the Sent One named Axel.” The one I suspect is my brother.

  “You know why,” the king snapped. “The day you meet Axel, a part of you will die.”

  So confusing! “What part of me? Why?”

  Silence reigned. Hades’s lips pressed into a thin line.

  Frustration stormed through William. Sometimes, the desire to know his brother all but choked him, their separation making him feel as if a part of him were already dead.

  He longed to talk with the Sent One. Were they similar? Or opposites? The warrior longed to talk with William, too; he’d been searching for William for over a year, had even questioned the Lords about his whereabouts. But, he owed his life to Hades. He owed everything to Hades, and loved the man unconditionally. If he had to eschew his past to keep his father happy, he would eschew his past. Plain and simple.

  Tone guarded, Hades said, “Axel still searches for you.”

  “And I still avoid him,” he grated.

  “Good boy.” The king stood and adjusted the lines of his jacket. “Before I go, we have a final piece of business.”

  Great. Wonderful. He performed a royal wave. “Let’s hear it.”

  “I requested a meeting with Lucifer to discuss a truce. Tomorrow morning, eight sharp. You will attend.”

  “A truce?” he roared, jumping to his feet. The chair skidded behind him, slamming into the wall.

  “Don’t worry, my son. He’ll show up, but he won’t accept. Exac
tly as I hope.”

  Though William had too much on his plate already, he unveiled his coldest smile. “I’ll attend. For a price. Just like you taught me. Do nothing without requiring something in return.”

  To his surprise, Hades smiled. “I know just what to offer.” A large, jagged crystal appeared on the desk, a rainbow of color trapped inside. “That is a Sphere of Knowledge.”

  “I know what it is.” He’d seen pictures. There were four in existence, each one specializing in a different type of knowledge. “I just didn’t know you’d acquired one.”

  Pride smoldered in Hades’s dark eyes. “A recent purchase. This one reveals cold, hard facts about anyone or thing. Like, say, a lifemate. But I caution you to choose your questions wisely. You are only allotted ten.”

  William grinned. He could learn a lot with ten questions. “How do I operate it?”

  “Easily. Simply ask it a question, and it will respond.” With a wink, Hades flashed away, moving from one location to another with only a thought.

  William glanced at the crystal, trembled like a puss and decided to pour himself two...three...four fingers of whiskey first. By the time he’d polished off the glass, he’d steadied. He made a list of his questions, then refocused on the sphere.

  Gripping the arms of his chair, he asked the first. “Why did Lucifer slaughter the unicorn-shifters?”

  Light shot from the tip of the crystal, an image taking shape inside it. A tiny pixie with white hair, gold skin and translucent, glittery wings. She hovered there, devoid of emotion. “A powerful oracle told Lucifer a unicorn would aid you in his defeat. Desperate to negate the prediction, he led legions of demons to the Realm of Mythstica, intending to slay every unicorn in existence. Only, he failed in his endeavors. There were six survivors.”

  William licked his suddenly dry lips. So much to unpack. A prediction about Lucifer’s defeat. But only with Sunny’s help?

  A cool tide of relief washed over him. I can’t kill her.

  One question down, nine to go. “Where was Sunday Lane during the attack?”

  “She was trapped at the bottom of a pit.” A new image superseded the pixie, one of war and pain. As screams of fear and pain echoed, an emaciated woman with tangled red hair lay in a puddle of mud and filth, trying to dig her way out with hands tipped by bloody, broken nails.

  When she shifted, he caught sight of her face and—

  “Fuck!” William exploded from his chair. Once again, his heart pounded, and he heaved his breaths. The redhead was Sunny.

  When he’d calmed—slightly—he plopped back into the chair. More information. Now.

  Two questions down, eight remaining.

  Teeth clenched, he asked, “Are unicorns capable of loyalty?” Is Sunny? With her dual nature, the woman wasn’t a single spice—she was the entire spice rack.

  The pixie returned, telling him, “Oh, yes. But they are only loyal to those in their pack.”

  Three down. He tossed his list, other questions already forming. “Are outsiders ever accepted into a pack?”

  “At times, yes.”

  He waited for the pixie to say more. She didn’t, and he ground his molars. Four down, and only six to go. “What are a unicorn’s most dominant personality traits?”

  “When unicorns feel safe, they are playful. When fearful, they are violent. Always they are highly territorial and private. To protect their horns, they refuse to shift outside ceremonies and war. To defend their loved ones and homes, they will fight to the death. During mating season, they are highly sexual and desperate for a partner.”

  Mating season? Two words, and yet he hardened in seconds. “When is mating season?”

  “Starts in two weeks, and ends two weeks later.”

  Two weeks. The exact time frame Keeley had given him. He bellowed another curse. Sunny was close to being “highly sexual and desperate for a partner” and he’d left her in a bunkroom with sixteen males who would no doubt kill to kiss those soft lips, knead those lush breasts and delve their fingers, tongues and cocks into that sweet little body.

  For the thousandth time that day, fury scorched William’s veins. With every breath, air sliced at his lungs. If Sunny failed to decipher his book in the very short—too short—timeline, she would require a lover.

  Who would she choose?

  He grabbed the crystal and nearly hurled it into a wall, just to watch the pieces scatter. Instead, he asked his seventh question.

  Harkening back to the pixie’s statement about unicorns and playfulness, and eager to see Sunny in such a state, he asked, “How can I make a unicorn feel safe?”

  “Never lie. Never imprison. Never harm.”

  Never imprison? Too late. How could he make her feel safe while imprisoned?

  He wouldn’t ask. Only three questions remained. “How is Sunday Lane able to decode at a glance?”

  “Magic,” the pixie told him. “Magic makes unicorns natural lie detectors—they see truth.”

  Fascinating.

  Only two questions left. Make them count. “Why does Sunny’s magic not affect me?”

  The light dimmed, the pixie fading. He frowned. Did the crystal not know? Or were questions about William forbidden?

  He frowned. “Am I truly cursed?” Nothing. “Do you know anything about Lilith’s curse?” Nothing. “What do you know about a Sent One named Axel?” Again, nothing. Now he scowled. “What else do you know about unicorn-shifters and Sunday Lane in particular?”

  A new flare of light, the pixie reappearing. “Get past Princess Sunday’s defenses, and you will have a friend for eternity.”

  His brows shot into his hairline. Princess Sunny? A royal?

  When the pixie offered no more, he pursed his lips. “That’s it? That’s all you’ll tell me about her or all you know?”

  She grinned slowly, a little wickedly, as adorable as the bride of Chucky. “No. I know more. And, yes, that is all I’ll tell you. And now your ten questions have been answered. I bid you farewell, William of the Dark.”

  What! “I didn’t mean—” He pinched the bridge of his nose. Why argue with a beam of light that contained all knowledge of the universe? Manipulation on the other hand... “Go, then. Leave me unsatisfied with your response to my ninth question.”

  She canted her head to the side. “Hades requested a report of everything you asked, and how I responded. Do you truly wish to learn more, knowing this?”

  Should have known. Annoyance scraped at his insides. Still, he nodded. “Tell me.” The damage was already done.

  “Princess Sunday is a vegetarian, flower petals her favorite meal...snack...and dessert. She can see auras. To her, to all unicorns, color—rainbows—equals life. With her dual nature, she is able to laugh one minute and savagely kill the next. She is stubborn and inquisitive, and she will not be easily seduced.”

  William absorbed every tidbit, a sense of challenge growing. Not easily seduced? I’m ready to play the game, coach.

  “That,” the pixie said, “is all I know.” As the light faded once again, she vanished for good, and he wondered what his distrustful, mulish and curious unicorn was doing right this second. Must know.

  He jabbed at his computer keyboard, pulling up video feed of the bunkroom. Everyone but Sunny huddled around a single bed, whispering escape strategies. Where...where...there! But what the hell was she doing?

  Zooming in. She sat at the edge of a bottom bunk, her head bent as she tore strips of cloth from the comforter to braid together.

  There are no windows, yet she makes a rope?

  Realization punched him in the throat. No, she’s making a noose.

  Was she feeling frightened and violent, then? Because of me? Airways constricting, William picked up his cell phone and dialed Pandora, saying, “Bring me Sunny. And have Green deliver a bouquet of roses. And a sandwich. And chi
ps. And other side dishes.” Neither he nor the unicorn had eaten, so they might as well do it together while they had their chat.

  One way or another, he and Sunny would come to an understanding. Today.

  8

  “Take what you want, when you want. I do.”

  “Yo. Sunny Lane. You’re up.”

  As Sunny’s bunkmates fell silent, she studied the speaker. Pandora stood inside a new portal. Behind her was a spacious living room with antique settees and side tables, a crystal chandelier and a finely detailed mural featuring naked females lounging on shells.

  How perfectly William. Add some men to the mural, and you’d have Sunny’s decorative style, too.

  The other codebreakers turned to stare at her, all but pointing.

  She rolled her eyes. Throughout the day, Pandora had come and gone, escorting people to William one at a time. Everyone but Sunny. Whatever he’d done and said had filled her fellow prisoners with dread. Even Jaybird and Cash referred to him as a monster now.

  Sunny had used the time to start an arsenal. Using pieces of wood she’d pulled from the bed frames, she’d already made a couple of shivs. At the moment, she crafted a trip wire with a noose at the end. If anyone approached her bed at any point during the night, they would hang for it.

  “Is it my turn to speak with William?” A Q and A with the sexiest man alive sounded both terrible and wonderful, and she’d never anticipated and dreaded an activity more.

  “It is.”

  Nerves buzzing, Sunny stuffed her makeshift rope under a pillow, leaped from the bed and stalked over.

  Pandora remained on the other side of the portal. “You look like hellebore.” She blinked. “Hell...bore. Hellebore. Sage! Freesia! Argh! Why can’t I cuss?”

  So, the magic censor worked with William’s sibling, but not William himself. Why?

  Unable to lie, Sunny did her best “who? what? me?” impression and shrugged, then walked through the portal. Huh. No tingles this time. Again, she had to wonder why.

  As the doorway whooshed closed behind her, she breathed deep. Notes of ambrosia, whiskey, candle wax and...vegetables? Her stomach rumbled. Yesterday she’d eaten a handful of petals and leaves. Today? Nothing.