My king actually rolled his eyes. “Please. You know you enjoyed it.”
I kept my mouth shut on that one.
I would not inflate my killer’s ego one bit.
King Niallan stopped in front of me. He smiled.
And it was beautiful.
“Time to get your guards and start Lord Belshazzar’s pain.” He bounced on the balls of his feet in excitement. “I can’t wait to see his face. I’ve been waiting a very long time for this.”
The mist disappeared.
I shoved forward, claws out, just as he grabbed my throat. Druid power shot through my system, and my body jerked with the influx. So heady. So stunning. So magnificent. I fought against it, shaking my head inside his loose hold. My body wouldn’t respond to my attack commands, each order trapped in my own mind and going nowhere fast.
I gurgled deep in my throat.
King Niallan leaned forward and kissed my forehead softly. “Quit struggling. It won’t help.”
The fuck with that.
I flared my own power to maximum strength.
Nothing happened.
King Niallan walked me backward toward my front door, taking us to my bodyguards stationed outside. “I told you. It won’t help.”
I stumbled backward, hardly able to keep my feet under me. I tried to speak again, but it came out as a wet gurgle once more. My gut twisted in fear and nausea enveloped me.
I was going to die. It was really happening.
The jewel on my gifted necklace flared. Hot.
A burst of strange, untamable power erupted.
I shrieked as blood splattered my face, my body, the white walls, my white ceilings, the white carpet, and the white couches. Blood fucking everywhere. I shook my head and screamed again, backing away from…
What. The. Fuck!
I turned in a fast circle, with my claws still out.
There was no one else here.
No one else alive, anyway.
King Niallan’s head sat on my carpeting, staring up at me with dead golden eyes. All of the rest of him was everywhere else in my living room. Like…everywhere! His bloody bits dangled and dripped from my ceiling and squished underneath my bare feet as I moved.
“Oh my god,” I whispered. I turned in a circle again, studying the carnage. “Oh. My. God.”
Oh my god. Oh my god.
I pressed my palm to my forehead and stared at his dead eyes gazing at nothing. I shook my head and tried to clear my thoughts. This…was bad.
We needed him alive, goddammit.
We needed him alive to steal his power.
Wait… Oh my God.
I dropped to my knees and frantically dug through his remains, searching through any lump I could find. I crawled around my living room dumping furniture over and scouring every inch of the space. When I found nothing, I still searched. I crushed bones in my hands. I tore apart what remained of his liver. Everything I could find, I overturned and demolished in my frantic state.
For an hour, I searched. His blood now cooled.
I pounded my fists on the ground and bellowed!
The Original druid amulet wasn’t here.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
I shifted to my feet and glowered at the ceiling. There was nothing there anymore, the heavy gore from his body having fallen already, only blood stained the ceiling—the same with the walls. I rubbed at my forehead and shook my head again.
I needed the Overlords. Like yesterday.
I walked to my front door and opened it a crack.
Crow and Phoenix’s heads whipped in my direction, their nostrils flaring as the scent of blood filled the hallway. Their eyes widened at my blood-covered state, and their swords were instantly in their hands.
I shook my head. “No. That’s not needed.” I swallowed hard. “I need you both to speak to the Overlords’ personal guards. I need you to be discreet. But I need every Overlord inside my room right the fuck now. Understand?”
They sheathed their swords and nodded.
In the next second, they were blurs in the wind as they raced down the hallways, going in opposite directions.
I shut my door and righted my couch.
Then I took a seat and waited.
Lord Xenon arrived first.
He walked inside, took one look at what was left of our king, and damn near fainted. The Overlord fell back against the wall and stayed there. Mute and shell-shocked.
Lord Pippin stepped into my room next.
He stumbled on an anklebone entering my room and then shut the door quickly as his eyes widened at the mess. His mouth bobbed a few times. He blinked even more. Then he closed his mouth and stood silent.
Lord Otto arrived at the same time as Lord Cato.
Both vampires handled it better than the other two. Their eyes swept the room. Scanned my person. Then they crossed their arms and stayed quiet. Their reactions were telling enough to the men they were—and what they had done in life.
It took fifteen minutes for the eldest lord to enter.
Lord Belshazzar’s hair was sopping wet, his suit haphazardly thrown on, staring at his cell phone and speaking as he entered, “My apologies, Gwen. It took a while for my guards to get through my security—”
His nostrils flared, and his eyes popped up from his cell phone. He instantly kicked back his left foot, slamming his heel against my door to shut it. My lover pocketed his cell phone and his narrowed gaze traveled over…me…first. Those ice blue eyes perused my frame intently from head to toe, and he demanded, “Are you injured?”
Quickly, I shook my head. “He didn’t hurt me.”
“He…” Lord Belshazzar hissed softly—toxic to whoever “he” was—then his eyes voyaged over my room with calculation in his scrutiny, studying everything he saw. His attention stopped on the head of our now deceased king. He simply cocked his head and stared at it for a moment. Lord Belshazzar’s shoulders relaxed, and he stated absently, “He…being King Niallan. Yes, I can see why it was an emergency now, your majesty.”
I patted the air with my blood-covered hands. “I know this looks bad—”
Lord Xenon snorted. Then abruptly laughed.
And he continued laughing.
He laughed so hard, he bent over at the waist and placed his hands on his knees…and just kept laughing.
My father coughed hard behind a fist.
Lord Xenon waved a hand in the air, choking through his nervous attack of laughter. “Just. Give. Me. A. Moment.”
It took three minutes for him to shut up.
I leaned over and placed my head in my hands. “I looked all over. I can’t find the amulet anywhere.”
Lord Belshazzar sat down next to me, uncaring about the gore he rested on, and promptly lifted me up and placed me on his lap. His arms curled around my shaking frame as he hushed me gently. His long, strong fingers ran up and down my back, petting me in comforting motions.
He asked quietly, “What happened?”
I shook my head against his shoulder and wrapped my arms around his neck, holding him tight. My voice was muffled against his jacket, but it was clear in my conviction. “I don’t know how he died. He just fucking…exploded.”
My lover rocked me back and forth with his muscled arms holding me close. Patiently, he whispered, “Start from the beginning, Gwen.”
“He stopped me in the hallway after our meeting. He pretended to need me. I fell for it. I fell for his shit, just like you warned me about. I’m so stupid. I thought I was duping him.”
“You’re not stupid, Gwen, but keep going,” he persisted softly.
“When we got inside, he surrounded me with fire. He went on and on about how much it would hurt you if I died and that he didn’t need a queen.” I sucked in a lungful of oxygen and decided to omit what I knew about my father. For now, anyway. “He changed the fire to mist and grabbed ahold of my neck. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t do anything. His power was too much for me to fight against.”
I shuddered hard insid
e his hold. “He started taking me to my door, where he planned to spell my bodyguards to kill me. Then he just fucking exploded.”
“Hmm,” he hummed. Lord Belshazzar rocked me for a few minutes longer, quiet in his contemplation. Until one of his hands snaked between us. He fingered the necklace around my throat, and then he wrapped his arm back around me—and continued to rock me. He cleared his throat, and asked evenly, “Lords, what the hell do you think happened to him? This is new, even for me.”
No one said a word. No thoughts given.
I stopped shaking and fingered the necklace myself. Bel had stated the jewel was one of protection. Had a gem really…done this? If it had, I was so in over my head with my lover.
He rubbed my back faster. A little harder. “There has to be something, my lords. Any ideas would be helpful.”
I wrapped my arm back around his throat.
Holy fuck. Just…holy fuck.
This was now the life I led. And I still wanted it.
I was more fucked in the head than I thought.
Lord Pippin muttered, “I don’t have a damn clue. I’ve never heard of a druid exploding before.”
“Did he have a bomb on him somewhere?” Lord Xenon asked. “That’s the only thing that could have created this mess.”
“For that to happen, it would have had to be inside of him. The splatter in the room is centered from where he stood. His body is fucking everywhere,” Lord Otto groused.
My father mentioned offhandedly, “Maybe he pulled too much power from the Original druid amulet in his excitement to kill our queen.”
The room went quiet.
“Now, that could have done it.” Lord Pippin snapped his fingers.
Lord Otto snorted. “That’s like shooting your load before you enter the hole. He was too experienced for that.”
Lord Cato argued, “Not really. Not when strong emotions were involved. He was finally getting his revenge on Lord Belshazzar for killing his mother. That’s thousands of years of pent up anger.”
The Overlords went quiet once more. Each thinking.
“I guess you’re right. Although, the head still being intact is extremely weird.” Lord Otto sighed. “What a goddamn dumbass.”
Lord Xenon grunted. “Queen Gwynnore, you said you couldn’t find the amulet anywhere?”
I shook my head and kept my face against Lord Belshazzar’s shoulder. I wouldn’t say it aloud, but I was still pretty fucking shaken by my almost death by a being as powerful as King Niallan. I stayed right where I was though, against my lover’s warmth and inside his protective hold. I whispered, “No, I searched all over. It’s nowhere here.”
“Motherfucker,” Lord Xenon snarled. His feet stomped on cold bits of our dead king as he paced, the crunch under his feet making me shiver. “What the hell do we do now? You needed him alive, didn’t you, Lord Belshazzar?”
“I did,” Lord Belshazzar responded. “Stop walking, please. It’s bothering the queen.”
The crunch of death stopped, and he questioned, “Do you have another plan in place for finding the Original druid amulet without a living being that’s linked to it?”
“Not right now. I’ll need to review a few texts I have.” Lord Belshazzar sniffed. “If not, we know a druid who can work magic on the dead.”
Lord Cato chuckled—it wasn’t nice. “You mean that bastard Chester? No-last-name Chester? I hate that fucking man.”
“That would be the one.” Lord Belshazzar snaked his hands underneath me, and then stood to his feet with me in his arms. “I’m going to take the queen to my room where she can shower and relax. She’ll obviously be staying with me until this room can be repaired. And have someone cancel her meetings today. Oh, and one of you put that head on ice. I don’t want it decaying too fast.”
Lord Pippin snorted. “Besides the fact it will take weeks to restore this room, how the hell are we supposed to explain this mess to the staff?”
“Just say she had a party in here and it got out of hand,” Lord Otto remarked. “We’ve seen parties end worse than this.”
“And the king’s absence? How do we cover that up?” Lord Pippin questioned further. Then he muttered, “Oh, I know. We’ll just say he went back to Cape Argent for business. That could work for a while. But someone will need to field his emails and such, pretend to be him.”
Lord Cato ground out, “Lord Belshazzar, you need to work this issue out quickly. I would suggest you also clear your schedule and start immediately. We can cover for you in your absence.”
“Thank you. I might be able to get some sleep then.” Lord Belshazzar grunted and walked toward the door. “Call me if you need me.”
I lifted my head before he exited the room, glancing over my lover’s shoulder at each Overlord. “I…um, thank you too. For coming so quickly.”
Silently, they nodded.
We left the room of King Niallan’s death behind.
BEL LOWERED ME TO MY FEET INSIDE his bathroom. His hands were so gentle as he carefully pulled my top away from my skin and lifted it over my head. He bent down, placed a delicate kiss on my cheek, then tilted his head, and kissed my other cheek. My lover dropped to his knees and used the same careful touch to remove my pajama shorts and panties, careful not to rub the blood-rough material against any of my skin.
Bel leaned forward and kissed right below my belly button. He placed his forehead against my stomach, staring down at the ground, and wrapped his arms around me, holding me close. Even though his body was relaxed, his voice was rough with tension, “If I had thought for even one second he’d try to kill you first, I never would have let him near you. I am…sorry.”
I placed my right hand on top of his head, and asked, “You said first. When did you expect him to try to kill me?”
“I didn’t think it would get there. I put you as number two on his list, right after your father so he could steal the Original vampire amulet beforehand.” His forehead rubbed against my skin as he shook his head, his long hair dangling and tickling my bare thighs. “That bastard.”
I gripped the hair at the back of his head and pulled gently until he was looking up into my eyes. “You have nothing to apologize for, Bel. I’m not mad at you or disappointed in you. I know it’s hard to fathom inside that head of yours, but people don’t always know the answer to a problem. And King Niallan was working on pure emotion today. You can’t always predict that.”
His eyes closed slowly. “He almost killed you.”
“He almost did. But it didn’t happen thanks to you. You gave me what I needed to stay alive.” I bent over and kissed his lips gently. “Thank you. Your gift saved my life.”
Bel sighed and opened his eyes. “You’re welcome, Gwen. But you don’t need to thank me. Not for keeping you alive. You wouldn’t have been in that situation if it weren’t for me and my actions a long time ago.”
I didn’t really have an argument for that…since it was pretty much accurate. I kissed his lips again, and grumbled, “Are you going to release me so I can take that shower?”
He chuckled against my mouth and kissed me back with a tenderness that curled my toes, soft, sweet, and caring. My lover murmured, “But I like you naked in my arms. Stay here.”
“You have work to do, my lord. We can roll around naked once you’re done tonight.”
He smacked my ass softly, and his eyes twinkled with affection. “I’ll hold you to that, your majesty.” He stood and turned on the shower for me. “I’ll find you something to wear.”
“Much appreciated.” I smirked and hopped under the steaming hot water. Red blood rushed down my skin with the force of the spray. I tipped my head back and proceeded to wash my hair three full times until the stench of death was gone, and I cleaned my body so hard every inch of me was pinked from the scrubbing.
I dried off and snickered at the too large T-shirt he’d left out for me, along with a pair of his boxer briefs. Not really a look I usually go for, but I put the clothes on quickly enough. I cle
ared my throat and called out through the open bathroom door, “Do you have an extra toothbrush?”
The sound of his voice came from his sitting area. “I don’t. Use mine if you wish.”
My nose scrunched in disgust…but I did it anyway. I had to admit, he had a better toothbrush than mine. I’d have to get one of these. The crazy awesome toothbrush vibrated so hard in my hand, I almost dropped it at first.
I took my time drying my hair with his hair dryer, attempting to relax my soul from the visions of a man who was so powerful I couldn’t even do anything to fight back.
Finally, with my mouth minty fresh and my body clean, I walked into Bel’s bedchambers and went straight to the food cart I’d heard brought in. My lover didn’t bother me or blather on with questions on how I was feeling now. Instead, he left me alone to hover over the food cart and stuff my face with pretty much everything I grabbed.
I eventually turned with a glass of blood in my hand and surveyed my vampire Overlord. He had changed out of his suit and into a pair of clean pajama pants, his chest and feet bare. He’d looped his hair up into a messy bun again at the top of his head so his long hair didn’t bother him while he worked, his head tipped down over a book he was reading. My lover sat cross-legged on the fur rug in front of a lit fireplace, the red and orange flames burning quietly behind him.
The hidden compartment on his bookshelf was open, and all of the ancient tomes lay scattered around him on the floor. There were so many books. Bel had his hands full with our new predicament and the time crunch of impending war.
I finished off my glass of blood, savoring the rush to my system as the liquid filled my mouth and ran down my throat. Then I set the glass on the cart and filled a plate full of food for Bel since none of the food had been touched before I’d attacked it with vigor.
I placed the plate down next to him on an empty spot on the floor and kissed his forehead, the vampire not even glancing up as his eyes flew across a page, written in his own hand, in the ancient druid language—lost in his work. I ran my fingers over his left shoulder, and whispered, “I’m going to sleep now. Make sure you eat something, Bel.”
He grunted. His eyes still cast downward.
Death of Gods (Vampire Crown Book 3) Page 20