by HD Smith
“The girl is dead,” I said, getting their attention, “and Thanos is returned.”
Everyone quieted and spread out. Harry and The Boss stood in front of me. The quads stayed off to the side, as if they might find a way out. Mab grabbed Thanos by the hand and pulled him along like a small child. She aligned with Harry and The Boss, all facing me. Ronin positioned himself opposite the quads, and Quaid stood behind The Boss.
“Lower your weapon,” Harry commanded.
“Or what?” I asked.
Harry stiffened.
Mab smirked. “She’s no worry, brother, I’ll take my property and leave immediately.” Looking at me she said, “which includes Claire, of course.”
Harry snarled. “She has something that belongs to me. I’ll have it before she goes.”
“By law she’s a pagan, Brother. You may remove your blood, before we leave.”
“What about us?” Cinnamon asked.
“You’re still mine,” Mab said dismissively. “Nothing has changed.”
The pain of Gizelle’s mark flared. “Wait,” I said.
Thanos’s heart raced. I wasn’t sure if he was sensing my fear, or the pain from Gizelle’s mark, but he knew something was wrong.
“Claire,” Mab said, “would you like to use your favor now? I would recommend you free Cinnamon. She is the most deadly to you at present, as you have been bitten by the Easter Hare.” I started to argue, but she cut me off. “You only have one favor,” she reminded me.
I should have known the quads wouldn’t count as one. Thanos knew what this meant. I had to save them all, or I was dead. His heartbeat increased. The hellfire separating me from them flared.
Mab laughed, unaware that her son was hurting right along with me. She stilled and I dropped the hellfire as Thanos walked to me. He stood by my side, holding my hand. Harry twitched, as if he might rush me. I flipped the barricade back on, keeping everyone at bay.
I wanted to stop time again and explain my plans to Thanos, but I couldn’t risk them understanding how well I controlled the power. He didn’t understand yet, but Mab wouldn’t allow him to keep me. My heart hurt just thinking about it.
I glanced at Mab, whose face was turned up as if she smelled something foul. She wasn’t pleased that her son wanted to hold my hand instead of stand by her. She would end our connection at any cost.
“Name your favor,” she growled.
I glanced at the quads. I saw hope in Cinnamon’s eyes, but saving her wouldn’t help. Gizelle’s curse would kill me if any of them had to return with Mab.
I looked at Thanos and smiled. I’d use the favor in a heartbeat to save him—damn the consequences—but she’d never let that happen, and I wasn’t sure it was fair to him to try. She was his mother after all. But I wouldn’t make it easy for her to hurt him, not where our bond was concerned. If Mab found out that I was bound to Ronin, she’d no doubt make him command me to hurt Thanos. She’d keep it up until it broke us apart. I wouldn’t let her do that. I wouldn’t let her use Ronin against us.
Turning my gaze to her smug expression, I said, “I wish for you to free the Bounty Hunter of his bond to you.”
Cinnamon’s jaw clenched with anger. Ronin’s eyes widened with shock. Mab just looked pissed.
“He’s bound to me of his own free will,” Mab argued. “That cannot be broken. It’s the law.”
“You make the laws,” I reminded her. “You can change them to suit your needs. You promised me a favor. I expect you to honor your word.”
Mab’s face pinched with anger. Thanos squeezed my hand to show his support.
“Are you incapable of completing the request?” I asked.
Mab didn’t say anything.
“Harry, is this a request Mab can honor?” I asked.
“I would have to change a law,” Mab stated, before Harry could answer. She raised her chin, putting her nose in the air, as if that ended the discussion.
I looked over the room of interested faces. “Am I wrong, or was it once law that no one could enter this museum except for the big three? Yet here we all are. The law was changed when it was necessary. My request is not unreasonable, and you agreed to give me a favor for the safe return of your son. Do you not agree that he has been safely returned?”
“My son stands with you,” Mab spat, quick as whip.
My lips fell. She was right. Thanos had to return to her side, or I didn’t have a favor to bargain with. The steady beat of his heart increased as the words sunk in. He pulled my hand up to his lips and kissed it.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
He let go. I parted the barrier of hellfire to let him pass, and he returned to Mab’s side.
“Do you now agree that your son has been safely returned?” I asked, though this time my heart wasn’t in it.
Mab didn’t reply.
Harry, although unhappy with me, was still on my side. “It’s within your power, Sister,” he confirmed.
Mab scowled at him, then at me. Losing her Bounty Hunter wasn’t supposed to be part of the deal. Now she was stuck. Harry had basically declared my request to be reasonable. She would have to honor her word and grant my favor. She looked at Ronin, her eyes seething. “You’re free. You are no longer bound to me.”
Ronin looked at me and nodded. “Claire, I free you of your bond to me.”
Mab gasped, realizing what she’d just lost—control over me through Ronin. I ignored her and nodded at Ronin. He disappeared, but I sensed his presence was still near me.
I heard Ronin’s voice in that silent way he’d spoken to me before. “Mab’s claim is because of their mother,” he whispered, then disappeared for good.
“I will not forget this, Claire,” Mab said, bringing my attention back to the group.
I nodded to her and smiled.
“Brothers, as always, it has been a pleasure,” Mab said, as if our business were concluded.
“I’m not done,” I said.
Gizelle’s mark was warming on my arm. I had to do something before Mab left with all of us.
“Silence,” Mab said. “There is blood to be removed, then we will go.”
She threw her will at me, as if to shut me up. Of course, it couldn’t get past my line of hellfire. “I will have my say.”
“Sister,” Harry said, “the blood is mine to take. If Claire drops her shields in good faith, we will listen to what she has to say first.”
Gizelle’s mark burned, which was just stupid. It wasn’t like I needed a reminder. I smiled at Harry, but it didn’t reach my eyes. He was quite literally playing with fire, and he knew it.
Nodding at him, I dropped the shield. I was dead if Mab took any of us back to Purgatory. I considered what Ronin had said, but what did it mean that Mab’s claim on the quads was because of their mother?
I thought back to the day in the castle last spring. I’d assumed The Boss gave them to her, but maybe he just released his claim? Maybe she had rights to them because their mother was a pagan? But Gizelle claimed loyalty to the Fall Queen, and she was chimera—who were descendants of the fourth realm. That had to be what Ronin meant.
Without considering the consequences, I said, “I claim the quads.”
Quaid chuckled. The Boss shot him a dirty look and he quieted.
“By what right?” Mab bellowed.
“Their mother is a chimera. Chimeras originated in the fourth realm. As I am the current Fall Queen, they belong to me.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Mab scoffed. “They are not of your realm.”
I tried to hold back my smile. Mab was getting sloppy with her words. “I’m glad to hear we aren’t debating the merit of my claim to the realm.”
“I didn’t—”
“Sister,” Harry said, “do you wish to challenge that it is not her realm, or that they are not of her realm?”
Mab’s scowl showed her displeasure with the idea of debating either topic.
“If uncontested,” I said, not looking at Th
anos, “then I will only claim the quads, not the other child in this room born to a chimera.” I could have heard a pin drop. Mab was screwed, outplayed by a twenty-one-year-old girl, and she knew it.
I decided not to consider how things might actually unravel if I tried to claim Thanos. He was the reason Mab owed me the debt. Without him Ronin wouldn’t have been freed. But to survive I needed the quads out of Mab’s control. Threatening to take what she desired most, even if my odds were slim, wasn’t a risk she’d be willing to take. Thanos understood that, but it didn’t remove the pain from either of us. The quads were the first to speak. They muttered amongst themselves.
“Silence,” I yelled, putting power into my words.
The Boss had no reason to contest my claim. He’d already given them up. Mab on the other hand, could lose Thanos if she tried. That was something everyone in this room knew she wouldn’t risk.
“Sister,” The Boss asked, “do you contest the claim?”
Mab had no choice. “No,” she said through clenched teeth.
It was weird, but I sensed a power shift when they joined my team. I looked over at them. Mace was raising his hand.
“Speak,” I said, releasing the compulsion of my previous command to be silent.
“How exactly does she have the right to claim us?” he asked the others, ignoring me.
I’m not sure what annoyed me more: the fact that he had the nerve to ask, or that he asked the big three, as if I weren’t in the room. You’d think he wanted to go back to Purgatory and be trapped in that castle with his siblings, instead of acknowledging I might have some power over him. I clearly needed to rectify that assumption.
I grabbed him with my will and shoved him against the closest wall. He hung there, dazed by the impact, though still conscious. I slid him down the wall onto his knees as I walked over to him. Tilting his chin, I looked into his eyes. I wanted to make sure he could see that I was telling him the truth.
“I can’t kill you now, because I made a deal with your mother. But if I ever set eyes on you again,” I said, focusing my will on his shoulder, “I will kill you.”
He screamed as I snapped his collarbone with a thought. It was vindictive of me, but I was done putting up with his bullshit.
I cupped his face with my hand, locking our eyes. “Do you believe me?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said, unable to look away.
Dropping him, I turned to Cinnamon.
Her eyes widened as I approached. Bowing her head, she asked, “Will we be banished to the fourth realm, my queen?”
I needed to be sure the hare’s curse was taken care of. I couldn’t leave it in me, to be reactivated at some random point in the future if she ever got her ears back. I grabbed her face, locking our gazes—forcing her to speak the truth. “Can you remove the poison from the hare’s bite?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Why the hell not?” I growled.
“You misunderstand—it’s not needed. The cage—I lied. The poison is neutralized, I cured you then. I had to, or you would have died before you had a chance to get to the museum.”
I thought back to when Cinnamon sealed the wound. She’d chanted something while touching my neck—it hurt like hell, but she’d said it wasn’t the cure. I could have just walked away, never entered the fourth realm—and never saved Thanos. No, I’d never regret that.
“But you didn’t believe I could do it. So why not let me die?” I challenged.
“Mother is never wrong,” she whispered.
I released her and looked at the twins. Their expressions were priceless. Gone were their normal cocky attitudes. Now they looked as meek and innocent as two hellspawn could. Both bowed their heads.
Sage was the one to speak. “What would you like from us, my queen?”
I could smell his fear. They had no idea what I would do to them, and considering what I had just done to Mace they probably assumed the worst.
“Take Mace and go. All of you,” I said, glancing at Cinnamon.
“Where, my queen?” Sage asked.
“I don’t care. Just stay the hell away from me and never go back to Purgatory,” I ordered.
Sage and Sorrel bowed their heads again. Sage guided Cinnamon, and Sorrel assisted Mace. They disappeared without another word.
I felt the mark on my arm fade, but it wasn’t gone. Gizelle’s curse was to save them from Mab and death. Unfortunately that was capital D, Death, not just regular death as I had assumed, which meant there was really no deadline—Death could still activate it at any time. His threat to kill the quads if I didn’t bring him the torque of time actually meant something. For now, however, there was no imminent threat. It was dormant.
I turned back to the others. The Boss looked amused. Harry stood with his arms folded over his chest. Mab’s eyes were narrowed on me.
Her smile didn’t reach her eyes as she viciously ordered, “Harry, take your blood from my sweet daughter-in-law. It’s time we returned home.”
Chapter 43
Harry lifted his hand as if he intended to rip the blood out of me. I held up my hands, putting a barrier of will between us.
Thanos was scared. He knew I was going to ask him to remove our bond. Part of me wanted to keep it, but that wasn’t fair to him, and I couldn’t let Mab have that much control over either of us. She would never leave us alone. I wasn’t sure if he understood that, but I had already taken more from her than she imagined possible. There would be no happily ever after for me and Thanos in Purgatory or anywhere else for that matter.
I looked at Mab. “I’m sure there’s a way I can free your son of his bond to me,” I said, trying not to think about how much that would hurt Thanos. He’d formed the bond while under Raven’s initial compulsion to serve the Fall Queen. I couldn’t trap him in a marriage he wouldn’t have wanted if given a choice. As the saying goes: Set it free. If it returns the love was true. “Tell me how and I will free your son.”
Mab studied me for a moment. “He would have to agree to let you go, but I’m not sure I want that.”
“You would trap him for your own amusement?” I asked.
“It’s quite obvious that he’s in love with you,” she replied, although she hadn’t once looked at him to confirm. “How is that a trap?”
“He’s not blind or stupid. He understands that you’ll never let him keep me.” I looked at Thanos. He didn’t meet my eyes.
Harry interrupted. “If he wishes to be free of the bond, Sister, there is nothing you can do to stop him.”
Mab turned to Thanos. She cupped his chin. “I’ll gladly let you keep her, son,” Mab cooed. “Claim her, and we will all go home together.”
Thanos looked at me—hopeful. I dropped the barrier of will, opening my arms to him.
He came to me, taking both my hands in his.
“Ask me,” he said, putting my hand to his face.
Our eyes locked as the spell entranced him. He knew there was doubt in my heart about his true feelings.
“Do you love me?” I asked.
Without hesitation, he said, “Yes.”
“You see?” Mab said, triumphantly. “He loves her.”
Thanos’s gaze was still locked with mine. I had one more question. His eyes implored me to stop, but he needed to hear the truth from his own lips.
“Do you believe your mother will let you have me?” I asked.
Mab blustered something about a ridiculous, insolent child. We ignored her.
Thanos struggled to say yes, but he knew the truth. Mab would not let him have me. Blinking back tears, he said, “No.”
I released him from my hold. The moment he was free he pulled me into his arms and kissed me. He held me as if we were the only two people in the world. Our hearts beat as one and we melted into each other completely. It was the kind of kiss I couldn’t forget, and the kind I wished could last forever.
He leaned back and looked into my eyes. “Is this what you want?” he asked.
/> I shook my head, but said, “Yes.”
He placed his hand over my heart. My hand went to his heart. He chanted. I felt the pain of our love separating, being ripped to the quick, as if half of my heart was being shredded.
I couldn’t feel him anymore, but the spark of love remained close to my soul. Part of me wanted to ask the questions again, but the other half was scared of the answer. Of course, for all I knew the real Thanos—the one that existed before he’d been trapped in the fourth realm, waiting in isolation for five hundred years, for the Fall Queen to return—could be just as heartless as Mace.
He grabbed me when I tried to pull away, devouring my lips with a kiss so white hot I felt it in my toes and think I might have stopped time. Just for a minute.
Thanos closed his eyes and rested his forehead against mine. “I will always love you,” he whispered.
“Gizelle, your father’s twin, was in the Deeps earlier,” I whispered back. “I’m sure she wants to see you.”
Mab cleared her throat. Thanos pulled back, smiled at me, and kissed my hand. He nodded toward his mother, then disappeared.
“Go,” The Boss ordered Quaid.
It was just the four of us now. Mab looked at me with contempt. Harry was itching to retrieve his property. The Boss appeared bored.
I held out my arms, palms up. Not all my power was from Harry’s blood, but I would be exponentially weaker than the others as soon as I lost that advantage. The quads joining my team added a significant spike to my core power base, but I’d be kidding myself to think I was any match for the big three.
I used the roiling force at my core to push Harry’s blood from my body. It pooled on my outstretched arms, ready to be reclaimed.
Harry chanted a brief incantation. He pulled the liquid ribbons of blood from my arms. They snaked around his outstretched wrists as if being called home. It wasn’t as flashy or as painful as Mab’s technique, but it got the job done.
I dropped to one knee when it was finished. I felt as though I’d just completed seven ironman triathlons. Everything hurt. I sucked in a sharp breath as I stood. My legs didn’t want to hold me at first, but slowly, as my inner power leveled out, I started to regain strength.