by Sarah Bailey
“Is that what I am now?”
She raised her head, her ice blue eyes determined.
“Forbidden or not, we’re in a relationship and we have been for quite some time. Are you going to tell me I’m wrong?”
He grinned, tangling his hand in her hair and leaning down.
“No.”
Claiming her mouth, he felt the truth of her words band themselves around his heart. They had been a couple since the day she’d asked him for friends with benefits. Neither of them had been willing to admit it until now.
“You should go,” he said when he released her.
She nodded, pulling away from him. They both had things to accomplish for their respective species. If Dani could solve the fae problems, then perhaps her father would get off their case a little. Even if King Mitah never approved of their relationship, he couldn’t do anything about it now they were bound to each other.
“You’ll know if I’m in trouble,” she said as blue glittering magic washed over her and soon she was clothed. “The bond, it will tell you. I’m not entirely sure how it works, but I know that much.”
“Does it work both ways?”
“Yes. You can feel me and I can feel you.”
He cupped her face.
“I always feel you. Right here.”
He placed his hand over where his heart lay. It was still, but she’d know what he meant. Her eyes lit up, sparking with happiness.
“I love you too.”
He kissed her forehead.
“Be safe.”
She nodded, stepping away from him. Magic poured out of her hand again, creating a portal next to them. She pulled out a blue stone from her bag.
“Ostende mihi viam,” she muttered to it.
It glowed brightly in her hands before a trail of blue smoke appeared and led to the portal.
“Was that from Alistair?”
“Yes, he said it will guide me to the right portal so I can enter Hell.”
She took a step towards the portal, looking back at him with a smile.
“I love you, Dani. Remember that.”
Nodding, she turned and stepped into the portal. A sense of trepidation ran through him as she left. He had no time to dwell on it. Dressing quickly, he melted into the shadows.
It was time to see Neave and put a stop to the shit with Gavin’s business once and for all.
Chapter Nineteen
Dani stepped out of the portal into Hyde Park. The stone glowed in her hand and the smoke trailed along in front of her. She tried not to tremble, but the thought of going to Hell to face Lucifer and Candace terrified her. She’d told Jamie she’d be okay, but in reality, she desperately wished he could’ve come with her. If only to give her the strength to go through with it.
She brushed her fingertips over her heart. That’s where she carried him now and it would just have to see her through.
Taking a deep breath, she followed the trail of smoke into the trees. She had to do this. Saving her people from war was more important than her and Jamie. Even if it meant placing herself at the mercy of the Devil and his queen. She wasn’t entirely sure how she was going to appeal to Candace. The fae had never treated her kindly. Dani didn’t care she was half witch. As far as she was concerned, it made Candace special.
The smoke led her through the foliage until it stopped in the middle of a small clearing. There was nothing particularly remarkable about the spot. Tall trees surrounded it. Dani frowned. Something struck her as odd. There was an air about it which didn’t feel right.
She shoved the stone in her pocket and walked around the clearing. There was nothing here to indicate there was a portal. Alistair said it would bring her to it and she trusted him. He’d given her the right ritual for the blood bond, so this should be no different.
“This is just great,” she muttered to herself.
She put her hand out, speaking in the ancient tongue of her people.
“Show me the hidden path.”
Her magic flared in her palm. She felt the air around her thicken until it was almost suffocating. Peering at the centre of the clearing, she began to see an inactive portal shimmering.
This was it. It had to be.
Now she just had to work out how to activate it. If Alistair was right and this was the portal which would take her straight to Lucifer and Candace, then she wasn’t surprised it was hidden. She walked over to it, placing her hand over where it shimmered. She felt heat pulsating from it. A portal to Hell would have to be hot. She couldn’t imagine Hell was anything other than fiery.
She whispered, “Open,” in fae, but the portal remained closed.
Tapping her finger on her chin, she realised this was going to take something else other than fae magic to open. It was Lucifer’s portal after all. Did it need Divine power? She shook herself. No, that wasn’t right. Candace was half fae. She just had to try something else.
Ten minutes later, she wanted to tear her hair out. She’d tried everything she could think of to activate the portal. Nothing worked. She couldn’t have got this far only to fail at the last hurdle.
Slumping back against a tree, she sighed. It was never going to be easy, she’d known that. What else could it be? Was it really something simple? It could be.
Then she had it. Alistair’s words about activating the stone came back to her. Could it really be that? There was only one way to find out.
She walked towards the portal, but a hand came over her mouth. Immediately, her skin prickled and she struggled against the other arm which banded around her chest.
“Don’t move,” said a voice which made her skin crawl.
He released her mouth.
“Questor,” she said.
She heard his laugh ringing in her ears as his magic washed over her, locking her arms to her sides. He stepped away and came around to her front. His hazel eyes glinted in the moonlight, a menacing and cruel expression on his face.
“What do you want?”
He laughed again. The sound grated on her. How had he found her? Novus’ warning about people coming after her to get to her father blared in her head. She had never been safe alone. Why didn’t she fight harder to have Jamie here with her?
Her heart felt tight. Jamie. She grabbed a hold of him deep in her heart. He’d get her through this. The bond had to work. So she tried to send a message down it. Tell him she was in danger. Whether or not it worked, remained to be seen. It was all she could do for now. And she’d keep trying as long as it took.
“I want the crown, sweet Dandelion, and to see your father destroyed.”
That was hardly surprising. He’d always hated Mitah.
“What do you want with me?”
The fae prince eyed her for a long moment, breaking into a cruel smile.
“You’re his favourite child. If he lost you, just like he lost his wife, perhaps it will be the final straw for poor Mitah.”
It dawned on her all at once.
“You killed my mother.”
He threw back his head and laughed a full belly laugh. His amusement was beginning to get on her nerves. And the sickening feeling in her gut told her she was right. The man in front of her had forced her mother to breathe a human and left her for dead.
“I did always wonder if you’d inherited her condition. Mitah kept that secret close to his chest.”
She hadn’t attempted to escape the magic hold Questor had on her, but now, she let her magic flare out of her hand. He knew how to kill her. His eyes told her so. This couldn’t be happening. All this time she’d been kept safe. She was only out here because she was trying to save her people.
Questor shook his head, purple glittering magic flying out of his own hand and further wrapping around Dani, forming a protective barrier around her. Her magic bounced harmlessly off it.
“Did you think I’d let you escape that easily, little Dandelion?”
“Don’t fucking call me that. My name is Dani.”
“Well,
Dani, you are feisty, aren’t you? Everyone thinks you’re Mitah’s innocent little daughter. When I learnt you were out cavorting with vampires, I knew you were a dark horse. Tell me, did it feel good to be a whore for the undead?”
She wanted to claw his eyes out. This man was scum. Murdering her mother all those years ago and now, trying to start a war for his own ends. Did he really hate her father that much?
And of course he knows about me and Jamie.
Raoul wouldn’t just have informed her father. He’d likely sold the information to the highest bidder. He was scum too. She hoped her father would see that Raoul was only loyal to himself.
“Go fuck yourself. You don’t know anything.”
“Don’t I? I know you have your mother’s condition, which makes killing you so much easier.”
There was no way he could force her to breathe a human. She had more than enough magic pulsing inside her. Any more and she’d burn up completely. That made her freeze. It would be simple for Questor to kill her. Her stomach dropped out from underneath her. She had to get out of here. Get away from this man. And that meant stalling until she could come up with a plan.
“How do you know?”
“Fae do not always glow after they breathe a human. It can only mean one thing. They need something else to help their magic settle inside them. For others, it can be a meal, blood letting or something else. For your mother, it was a sexual release. The day I killed her was so sweet. She couldn’t help breathing that boy. I made it impossible for her to resist by draining her of all her magic.”
Dani trembled at his words. Was that how he was going to kill her too?
“She took too much and it ultimately killed her. Your father couldn’t save her. I doubt even he wanted to fuck a convulsing woman.”
Bile rose in her throat. Questor disgusted her. He was sick in the head and what he’d done to her mother was awful. He didn’t know her father like she did. Mitah would’ve done anything to save his wife, even if it meant having sex with her in front of their daughter. She knew that deep down.
“You’re wrong. My father loved her. He would’ve sacrificed himself for her.”
Questor frowned, his brows drawing down in a hard line.
“Perhaps you’re right. It’s neither here nor there. She’s dead.”
Tears pricked at her eyes. The way he’d dismissed it like it was nothing broke something inside her. Her parent’s love for each other meant a great deal of things. The fact that Questor wanted to snuff them all out made her angry. She wouldn’t let him.
“Her memory lives on. In me.”
That evil grin appeared on his lips again.
“Not for long.”
“What is killing me really going to achieve? My father still has four other children, besides, right now, I doubt he’d give a shit about what happened to me.”
Questor cocked his head to the side, eying her steadily.
“And why is that?”
“Did you really believe Raoul only told you about my visits to ObliVion?”
His eyes flashed with irritation.
“I see.”
There was no doubt in her mind, Raoul had played both Questor and her father. He really was a piece of work. She hoped this would be the final straw for him. He deserved to be put down like the dog he was.
She kept trying to send a message to Jamie via their bond. It was the only bit of hope she could cling to. If he knew she was in danger, then maybe he could come for her. There was no doubt in her mind Questor was going to make her breathe a human whether she wanted to or not. And she’d die. Die without Jamie. The thought killed her inside. If she died, it would break him too. There was nothing for it. She put all her effort and might into sending her fear through their bond.
Please, Jamie, you have to know how scared I am. I’m going to die if you don’t come for me.
A single tear slipped down her cheek. Questor noticed it immediately because his smile was back.
“So, the reality you’re going to die is sinking in. Cry all you want. It makes no odds to me.”
Not wanting to respond, she glared at him. She wasn’t crying over what he was going to do. The heartbreak her vampire would feel broke her in two. All she needed in this life was Jamie and she was going to be torn away from him.
“Just get on with it.”
Desolation sunk in. She tried. It was useless. Jamie wasn’t coming. At least she’d told him she loved him. She could go without having that regret hanging over her head. The moments they’d shared meant everything to her. Jamie had given her the world and for that, she’d be forever grateful to her vampire.
“I didn’t think you’d be so eager to die, Dani.”
“I’m not, but you’re not going to let me live so why drag this out any longer? I’m sure you have better things to do than to stand around chatting to me in a dark park.”
He grinned again, shaking his head a little.
“Why, yes I do.”
Clicking his fingers, a teenage boy, no older than seventeen stepped out into the clearing. Dani baulked at the sight of him. She didn’t want to kill a human. Questor stepped up to her, eyes gleaming with violence.
“No one is coming for you.”
He looked her up and down before reaching out and taking her hand. He ran his fingers over her upturned palm. She shuddered with revulsion at his touch.
“You have a surprising amount of magic already running through your veins. This will be easier than I expected. It won’t take much to tip you over the edge.”
“I’ll never breathe him.”
His eyes flicked up to hers.
“Oh, you will.”
He took the boy by the arm and dragged him over to stand before Dani. The boy looked a little sheepish, but he smiled at her.
“It’s okay,” he said. “I know what he’s going to make you do.”
She shook her head. Breathing from him was wrong, especially with what would happen afterwards.
“He’s trying to kill me. You don’t understand,” she said.
“Shut up,” Questor snarled.
“Don’t let me breathe you. I’ll die. It’ll consume me, please.”
Questor grabbed her by the neck and squeezed.
“I said shut up.”
She couldn’t get any more words out, choking as his fingers tightened. The boy just stood there, eyes glazed over. Questor had done something to him. She couldn’t help the tears falling then. She really was going to die.
“Good girl,” Questor whispered in her ear.
He nodded at the boy who stepped closer to her and brought his wrist up.
“Now, I know you don’t want this, Dani, but you will do what I say if you don’t want me to kill your precious Novus.”
He released her neck. She took several gulping breaths.
“What?” she croaked.
“I have your brother and I will kill him if you don’t comply.”
He was lying. He had to be. There was no way he’d have gotten to Novus.
“You’re lying. You don’t have Novus.”
“Don’t I?”
Two fae stepped out, carrying someone in between them. Dani screamed. There were bruises all over her brother’s face, but she recognised him.
“No, let him go.”
She struggled against the magical barriers keeping her immobile.
“Now, now, Dani. You know how to make sure Novus lives.”
Tears streamed down her face. How could he have gotten to Novus? Sickness coiled in her stomach.
“Novy!”
Novus didn’t stir even when the two fae shook him.
“You idiots,” Questor seethed. “Wake him up. I told you he was to be unharmed.”
“Sorry, he didn’t want to come quietly,” said one of the men.
One of them slapped Novus around the face and her brother groaned. They set him on his feet as he raised his head. His eyes went wide immediately.
“Dani!”
Her brother struggled against the grip of the two fae
“Let her go.”
Questor laughed.
“Now, now, I promised your sister you would go free if she breathes this human.”
Dani had absolutely no choice. She could not allow Novus to die for her. She grabbed the boy’s wrist and brought it to her mouth.
“No, Dani, don’t do it,” Novus called.
“Good girl,” Questor said, eyes intent on her.
“Please, Dani. Don’t do this.”
She shook her head. She’d rather die than have her brother’s death on her conscience. Questor had known exactly who she cared about the most apart from her vampire and he’d used it against her.
Closing her eyes, she sent one last message to Jamie down their bond.
I’m sorry. I love you, Jamie. Goodbye.
The translucent energy flowed from the boy’s wrist into her mouth as she breathed him. The magic took hold immediately, causing her to glow.
“No, Dani. No!”
It only took a matter of minutes before her body started to shake with the magic coursing through her veins. It was too much. She let go of the boy’s wrist and fell to her knees. The magic was starting to take over. She could feel it.
“Take him away,” Questor said.
“No, let me go. I need to save her,” Novus screamed.
The two fae men dragged her brother away as she reached out for him. Questor slapped her hand down. The teenage boy followed the fae.
“Goodbye princess,” Questor spat and kicked her into the dirt.
She landed flat on her back as the convulsions started. The magic pulsed inside her, wanting to get out. She heard Questor’s retreating footsteps. And then she was alone. Tears streamed down her face as her body quaked.
“Help me,” she whispered, almost unable to get the words out. “Please help me, somebody.”
She lost all control of her bodily functions. Her arms flailed at her sides, her legs twitching as the convulsions got steadily worse.
“Please, Jamie. Help me.”
I don’t want to die.
Chapter Twenty
Jamie walked out of the shadows into the Manager’s Office at Fright Night. Neave sat at her desk, her eyes intent on her laptop screen. She looked up when he leant against the desk next to her.