Ruin: A Reverse Harem Dark Fantasy Vampire Romance (Fire & Blood Book 1)

by Alexa B. James

  “It’s faint… but I’ve been feeling her since we left the train station platform in Portland, just a distant echo of her emotions. She’s scared, but she’s alive.” Death’s gaze fixed on the pale trunk. “I’m having one of those… those feelings. We have to burn this tree.”

  I held up my hand and focused. For the second time since I drank from Kori, I pulled my energy and concentrated it on my palm. A blue flame flickered to life. Suddenly, Ash stood beside me, and he grabbed my wrist. “We have to think this through. You say it’s a gateway to the dead… what if you’d be blowing that wide open?”

  “I don’t care. We should burn it…” Death gritted his teeth. “I feel it.”

  Ash held up a hand, and flames lit over his palm. “If we’re risking dooming the whole fucking world, I’m doing it, Ruin, not you.” His brown eyes landed on mine. “You’re not living with something like this on your conscience.”

  His fingers squeezed around my arm, and he brought his palm of blue flames to the ivory trunk.

  A warm splash of water dripped onto my shoulder.

  “What the…?” I glanced up, only to see liquid pouring down from above. It was like rain from the time before the dome, except this water didn’t burn as it showered down over my face.

  The fire on Ash and my palms sputtered and died.

  “Burn it!” roared Death, but water dripped down the trunk and off its branches.

  I leaned forward, arching over my hand and reigniting the Ignis fire. Tingling energy swelled in my palm, and a blue flame flared to life. I held the fire under a pale branch, only to have the flames sputter out.

  “Fuck!” Ash growled with both of his hands on the tree.

  Fear surged through our bonds as we desperately tried to burn the wet bark.

  “Your Highnesses.”

  We all turned to see Hades standing in the rain. Water slicked down his face and dripped from his beard, plastering his white shirt to his chest. Behind him, soldiers ran into the entrance of the garden.

  The vampire warrior strolled up the path. “Duchess Dread arrived with terrible news. The humans took back Portland—I warned you…” He shook his head. “But you wanted to play house with the rebels.”

  You die third, Ruin. Not yet, but soon.

  The words whispered through my mind a moment before the vampire’s green eyes flashed to mine.

  “These warriors are here to take you to her. She’s with her brother, King Ravage, in the throne room.”

  Rage pumped through my bond with Death, so forceful that the garden blurred. Green and red smears of color spun around me, and I clutched my chest. My stomach flipped and knees slammed into the paving stones before I even knew I was falling.

  Ash collapsed beside me with a hand fisted in his shirt, over his heart. “We have to stop him…” he wheezed the words as he fell to hands and knees. “He’ll kill everyone.”

  Death leaped. One moment he was beside us, and the next he was a streak of white, zooming through the air toward the massive, pale vampire.

  Hades only had time to bare his fangs before Death was on him. They tumbled together into the stones with Death riding the bigger vampire down. Blood splattered out. Then Death jumped to his feet, leaving Hades dead with his throat torn wide open. Blood dripped down Death’s face as he turned to the lines of soldiers streaming in through the entrance.

  “How many of you want to die?” he asked as blood dripped down his chin and rain slickened his white hair to his cheeks.

  “Death, stop,” I croaked as his wrath poured into me. Acid surged into my throat, and I choked it back down.

  Beside me, Ash retched, and a splatter of crimson splashed onto the black and white spiral of stones.

  “We have to stop him,” Ash whispered again before collapsing forward. Blood splattered as bodies flew through the air.

  Darkness crept into my vision on the edges as the torrent of rage threatened to pull me down into nothingness.

  A crack of gunshot sounded directly beside me, and a high-pitched note rang through my ears. I struggled to look up, only to see Hades standing over me. The warrior’s shirt was crimson with blood, but the skin of his torn neck was as smooth as if it had never been touched. The massive vampire pointed a large silver gun down, aiming it at my head.

  “Stop, Your Highness,” the vampire spat the words at Death. “Or I’ll kill Ruin first and then Ash… it’s the reverse order than what I’ve planned, but I’ll make an exception under these circumstances.”

  Through the sheet of rain, I saw Death drop a limp vampire to the ground.

  “Those are the Duchess’ warriors you just killed,” Hades added as he pressed the barrel to the side of my head. “They were your citizens.”

  “They were never our citizens,” Ash gasped out. “The Duchess and you were always working against us… even before we arrived in Portland.” He staggered to his feet, clutching his stomach. “Where’s King Ravage? Take me to him.”

  The large vampire gestured out to the path. “After you.”

  ****

  Only Duchess Dread waited for us in the plain, austere throne room at the top of a narrow stairway. The room had two large wooden chairs, both worn down with age and frequent use. The room itself was almost entirely glass, looking out at the glowing city.

  Duchess Dread sat in the smaller throne, staring at the city lights. “There was nothing I could do,” she said, sounding almost bored. “You three abandoned your city, and the rebels simply walked in and took it.” Her gaze lifted to mine. “We barely escaped with our lives.”

  She volunteered it like a memorized speech, without us having to say a single word.

  Across the room, Death and Ash shook with barely contained rage. Their fury pulsed through our bond. More than once, they looked over to the gun aimed at my head as if they were measuring the distance and their chances of getting to it before Hades pulled the trigger.

  As I knew that neither were likely capable of talking at this point, I spoke for the group. “So, let me get this straight, Duchess. Your battalion killed two hundred of the rebellion’s strongest generals, but this morning, you barely made it out alive when the starving humans funneled up from the tunnels? That doesn’t add up.”

  The duchess rolled back her head against the headboard of her throne. “They caught us unaware… and I was under the impression that you thought my previous methods unsavory.”

  It made too much sense. I’d always thought that her long stream of parties seemed intentional. Kori had said it too. The rebels would never believe that we wanted to change Portland because Duchess Dread made sure that it looked the same from the outside. “The game was rigged from the start,” I said. “You handed the city over to the rebels. Why?”

  She pinched her lips together. “You’re not all that smart, are you, Ruin?”

  “A lot of people make that mistake because I’m friendly and easygoing—most of the time.” I shrugged. “But you look very comfortable in the throne of Nightendale—even though you were supposed to have been forever exiled from King Ravage’s kingdom. And, I can’t help but notice that your personal guard—who should have been in exile with you—traveled here this morning and seems to be commanding warriors around the palace now. So, who should we tell Queen Hell holds Portland now? The rebels or you?” I lifted a brow. “Because my money is on you.”

  Duchess Dread said nothing, but the sour expression on her face spoke volumes.

  “Where’s Kori?” I asked, as my gut clenched. “Did you kill her? Is she in the world of the dead?”

  “She belongs to Nightendale now,” Hades said as he pressed the gun against the side of my head.

  It wasn’t easy to push a smile on my lips, but I squeezed my hands into fists, adjusted my posture so I appeared unperturbed, and then I lifted my chin at the Duchess. “You see… I don’t know much about being a vampire… I’m relatively new at it. But I was told that the Queen of the Deep is the oldest and most powerful vampire in existe
nce. No one knows her name. No one has seen her in a half a century, but the Deep is too scared to choose another ruler. Some people say she’s not really a queen at all—others, that she rules us all. She’s like Death—she started out as something other than a vampire—no one can quite agree what she was before, some say dragon, others, demon. More than one warrior has whispered that she was a human from the beginnings of time—cursed to become the first vampire. The only thing everyone agrees on is that she has wings and she loved an assassin named Claire who was stolen away from her and killed by a rival king. And, if you steal another vampires mate, the Queen of the Deep will ascend from the bowels of the Earth and pull you down.”

  Duchess Dread’s expression barely changed, but her nostrils flared, and her blue eyes traveled to the side, landing on the large vampire that held me at gunpoint. I could see a question brimming in her gaze, but I had no idea what that question was. She gave an infinitesimal nod, and then called over, “Go find Koribella Ignis and send a guard to lead these three men down to her. These once-kings won’t hurt me, because they know that if they try anything, you’ll kill Koribella.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  KORI

  The world came into a bleary focus. I lay on a spiral of black and white paving stones. Leaves and flowerbeds grew around me on all sides. I pushed up slightly, only to see that the skin of my arm was smooth. I was completely naked, and all of the places that the fall had shattered my bones were whole once more. I tried to remember where I was and what I had been doing as the world spun around me. I remembered the massacre on the square, and then I fell through the hole. My forehead pounded as I evoked the memory of the Tree of Life. I had pulled the black flower off and ate a petal. And… that was all I remembered.

  I glanced up, seeing the four branches coming off the tree. A flower bloomed from each branch, red, yellow, blue, and black.

  My stomach dropped, and the ground felt like it was falling out from under me. Had I even picked the flower? Was any of that real?

  “Griff,” I whispered, remembering that he’d fallen with me all the way down from Pioneer Courthouse Square, only to smash on the garden ground. I stumbled to my feet and staggered down the path toward where I’d left Griff’s body. My head throbbed and eyes pulsed with pain. Otherwise, my entire body felt raw like someone had scrubbed it clean with a wire brush.

  I stooped before the hedge, staring down at where I left Griff’s broken corpse, but he wasn’t there. The lilies didn’t even look trampled, as if his body had never fallen there.

  “Kori?” I spun so fast that I lost my balance and fell. My butt smacked into the dirt as my heart crawled up into my throat. My brother and sister were here, in the garden, staring at me from where they slumped against the ivory trunk of the Tree of Life. There wasn’t a mark on them. I’d seen their throats, torn and bloody. I saw their dead eyes, but their eyes were full of life and their skin healed.

  I crawled back to them as tears streamed down my face. Was I dead? How could this be real? “I saw you in the square. You were dead, and—how?”

  Genevieve sat up completely, rubbing her head. Her eyes narrowed and mouth hung open. “Kori? Dead? What are you talking about?”

  “Luca killed his sister. The vampires attacked, and… I fell with Griff…”

  Genevieve shook her head. “Kori, that happened a month ago. You used the flower to save us, Griff, and Timmy. They’re all fine.”

  I shook my head and looked back to the hedge where I’d left Griff’s broken form.

  “What’s the matter with you, Kori?” Brendan asked as he shut his eyes tight. “Is this some sort of joke? And, how did we all end up here naked? We were at the dinner while you were still attending King Death, taking forever—”

  “Who’s King Death?” I asked. My temples ached as I tried to understand the nonsense coming out of my brother’s mouth. “The last thing I remember is putting a petal in my mouth from the flower… and… then I woke up here…with you.”

  Brendan and Genevieve looked at each other, their mouths hanging open.

  Genevieve reached over and put her hand on my shoulder. “Kori, did you hit your head?”

  I pressed my hands into the sides of my aching forehead. “I could have.”

  “I don’t remember coming down here.” Brendan leaned back against the ivory trunk and crossed his arms. “Maybe we all drank too much.”

  Genevieve gestured to me. “And it gave Kori four weeks of amnesia?”

  Weeks of amnesia? I stumbled to my feet and pressed my palms into my forehead, trying to remember something, anything.

  “Luca betrayed us,” I said, feeling anger surge up in my stomach. “He was working for the vampires.” A tear dropped onto my cheek. “I went to him this morning and took that horrible excuse for a human into my body.”

  “Luca did betray us, Kori.” Genevieve nodded. “He’s the duchess’ consort. If anyone tries to hurt him, she’ll kill them. He came with us here.”

  “It would be worth it.” I winced. “It’s actually been almost a month? What happened?”

  “Kori.” Genevieve stood up and crossed toward me. She stopped before me, her eyes going wide. “The vampires won the war. But we never left the rebellion. The rebels are still fighting. You’re the consort of Portland, and we’re courtesans. We’re passing messages to the rebellion—it’s so important you know that before they find us here. There’s a blood mage named the Sorcerer. You don’t like him, but we’ve been working with him to take Portland back.”

  A loud thud echoed through the garden, and we both jumped. Warriors poured out into the path with guns clasped in their hands. They ran toward us, their weapons pointed at the dirt but at the ready.

  I raised my hands in the air, and Brendan and Genevieve did the same beside me. “Koribella Ignis,” The nearest massive vampire warrior called out as he drew level with us. “You’ve stolen five petals from the Tree of Life. Five years of your life are now forfeit to the kingdom of Nightendale.”

  “The flower has already regrown,” I said as I pointed back toward the tree. “It’s right there.”

  “You stole priceless magic from me.” He held out a brilliant red cloak toward me. “The sentence is a year of your life for every petal.”

  “No,” Genevieve said, her hands wrapping around my shoulders. “Please. She did it for us. Take me.”

  “She’s the consort of the kings of Portland. Legally, you can’t take her,” Brendan said, stepping between the soldiers and me. “According to the third cardinal statute of the vampire laws, you can’t claim another vampire’s mate.”

  The vampire warrior glowered down. He was a massive man with dark-blond hair that fell to his shoulders. His features were strong and bold.

  “Cover your nakedness, Kori,” he barked with a glare as he held the cloak out. Somehow, he knew my nickname. He wrapped the red garment around me and fastened it at my neck.

  The warrior reached for my head. I tried to dodge out of the way, but he scooped up my hair and fisted two handfuls.

  I wrapped my fingers around his wrists and yanked. “Let go.”

  “I’m not hurting you,” he said. “I could.” He peered down to both sides of my neck. “Where are your bond marks? If you’re actually bonded with the kings, you’d have marks on your neck, and I don’t see them.”

  “She was just trying to protect the people she loves,” Genevieve whispered as she reached toward his fists. “Have mercy. Your Highness, please. Let go of her.”

  “Not yet,” the vampire said. “You’re her siblings, where are her bond marks?”

  Brendan and Genevieve searched my neck. From the frantic way they searched, I knew there was nothing there.

  “Please, let me argue her case,” Brendan grabbed the vampire’s hand, but a nearby warrior lifted his gun, pointing it at my brother’s head.

  “Stop. Stop,” I said. “I’ll go with you, okay?”

  “Bind those two and put them on a train out of Nigh
tendale,” the vampire holding me said.

  Warriors surrounded us on all sides, grabbing my siblings and locking metal cuffs around their wrists.

  “You’re the King of Nightendale?” I asked, my voice breaking on the words. “Please, Your Highness. It was all me. They haven’t committed any crimes.”

  “My name is Ravage. That’s what you’ll call me by.” Ravage rubbed his chin. “The rebels have attacked and retaken Portland while the kings were away. Your siblings are suspected rebel collaborators. You are too, but I’m not releasing you. Brendan and Genevieve Ignis will be heading directly for the train to Seattle to face judgment there.”

  Warriors pulled them away, and I looked over my shoulder as Brendan and Genevieve struggled against the vampires. Why weren’t they using their Ignis power? But they didn’t. The soldiers scooped them up and carried them from the garden as they screamed my name.

  “Don’t worry about them, Kori, you’re in a much worse position.” King Ravage crossed his arms over his chest as his green eyes studied me.

  “Are you going to kill me here?” I asked, as my gut twisted. I could picture it so clearly in my mind. His giant hands would close around my head, and he’d twist. A crack would rip through the air. I’d slump to the ground. A tear slipped onto my cheek. I saw a quick flash of Luca’s features, dead and waxy. I covered my lips and gagged at the image.

  It didn’t make any sense. I hated Luca with every fiber of my being.

  “We’re waiting here for the kings of Portland. They claim that you’re their bonded consort, but I don’t see a mark.” He waved his hand at the warrior beside him, and the man raised his gun, pointing it at my head.

  “We need to put to rest any doubt before your sentencing,” the king said, “But I’m not taking the risk that they’ll steal you from me.”

  At the far side of the room, three massive figures charged in. Their gazes fixed on me, and a growling sound rumbled through the garden. One of the vampires grabbed the other, and bellowed, “Stop. Look, he has her at gunpoint.”