by Lizzy Ford
“We want to thank you all for attending. We’ve had many exciting changes in our family and society the past several months,” Kiki said with absolutely no excitement in his tone. “My father would like to share an important announcement with the most revered members of the Immortal society.”
The guests smiled politely. They were as careful as Wynn about displaying true emotion. Stephanie couldn’t read any of them, and she couldn’t help looking at the four clan leaders who wanted her dead.
Kiki sat, and Wynn rose.
“As everyone is aware, Stephanie has returned to her family. She is the daughter of Chaos and the mate of Fate, and most importantly, my daughter. She is what this family needs to continue its tradition leading our society,” Wynn said, even less enthused than Kiki. “I’ve decided to name her my successor. Her new duties will commence in five days’ time. Out of respect for you all, I wanted to inform you before I announce it to the society.”
Five days? Stephanie blinked, surprised. How was she supposed to learn all her new duties let alone master them?
What would happen in five days that influenced Wynn’s decision to step down? Whatever it was, it had to be behind his recent decision to ramp up teaching her lessons.
The guests clapped. Some gave what seemed to be genuine smiles, and Lord Osmond appeared relieved.
She had a feeling the guests wanted all the men in her family gone from positions of power. Based on what she knew of their respective reigns, she didn’t blame the Immortals for being frustrated or angry. Would Wynn’s announcement change the minds of those who wanted her dead? Would she be viewed as the least of all the evils?
“To Stephanie,” Wynn said and raised his wine glass. “May your heart guide you and our people through the next age.”
She forced a smile and toasted with the rest of the people, silently hoping she didn’t have to give a speech next, because it wouldn’t be anything near as polite as what her father said.
“That said, the divisions within our people cannot be permitted to continue,” Wynn stated. “We were divided long ago. Not only did demons run unchecked within every world, but our kind was hunted to near extinction. You all joined with me to unite our people and create the society we have today. I understand the unfortunate events of the past few thousands of years have strained my family’s relationship with our people. Stephanie is my solution to healing this relationship. I am confident she will usher in a new era of leadership and growth. I believe you will find her nature to be compassionate, level headed, and fair. It is time for us to evolve, to build rather than destroy. She is powerful in her own right, and comes with the added connections to several influential deities.”
Stephanie listened, affected by Wynn’s thoughtful speech. More genuine smiles went through the guests, and she sensed eagerness at the idea of change. The Immortals deserved better than to be ruled be a dictator. She was impressed Wynn not only understood this, but was capable of seeing what was best for his society and following through, even if it meant he turned over his power and position to her.
She also felt a sliver of panic when she realized how much she had to learn before she was ready to lead. If she couldn’t hold the society together, the worlds would once more be overrun with demons.
Her mind was stuck on his short timeline. There was a reason for everything Wynn did, and her gut told her he hadn’t decided to become benevolent.
“However, I couldn’t in good conscience leave her to lead a society at war with itself,” Wynn continued. “I have taken the liberty of eliminating those who sought to betray the Council. Four of the ten families here aligned with my sons to usurp me and cause civil war.”
Her smile faded. Fate had warned her what would happen if civil war tore apart the Immortals, and to side with Wynn to ensure it never happened, as much as she didn’t want to. Stephanie hadn’t counted on Wynn taking care of the problem himself.
One of the guests coughed, followed by a second.
She glanced towards them and then back.
One couple was coughing up blood. Two more people began, followed by another. More people began coughing, until four couples were hacking up blood.
The others watched, their faces stony and emotionless.
Stephanie froze, horrified as she understood Wynn’s meaning. Those he targeted were the four clans she had learned wanted her dead.
One by one, the afflicted men and women sagged, fell, or face planted on the table. Ten Immortal guards entered and pulled the bodies away from the table. One by one, they chopped of the heads of the dead.
Stephanie winced every time she heard an axe slicing through meat and bone. She struggled to hold in her emotion, to not react, because that wasn’t what a leader would do.
A decent leader wouldn’t behead her guests at the dinner table, either.
Silence filled the dining room. Stephanie’s heart slammed in her ears, and she sat, unable to look at the damage and unwilling to move, in case she passed out. She couldn’t help thinking she was grateful she hadn’t eaten much, or she’d have vomited everywhere.
Andre sat stiffly, disapproving. Kiki shook his head and downed more wine.
“Consider this a warning to those of you remaining,” Wynn said quietly. “Their families will be spared, as long as no one challenges my authority again. For those here, if you choose the path the others did, your families will not be spared.” He set his wine glass on the table. “You’re dismissed.”
Without speaking, the heads of the other families stood and filed calmly out of the dining room.
Only when they were gone did Stephanie lean over, hyperventilating.
Wynn touched the back of her head. She pushed his hand away, but he replaced it. His cool power moved through her, removing the need to vomit and scream. He calmed her stomach and anxiety then released her.
“What the fuck did you just do?” she demanded when she could breathe again. She pushed herself away from the table and rose, needing to put distance between her and the eight headless corpses near the dining table.
“I removed the threats to your life and our society,” Wynn said.
“This was not what we discussed, Wynn.” Peace’s voice was hushed.
“But it was necessary.”
“You were supposed to talk to them!” Stephanie exclaimed, not caring about the hysterical note in her voice. “You chopped off their heads!”
“Based on the information I obtained, I chose more drastic measures,” Wynn replied.
“At dinner? You couldn’t wait to handle this elsewhere? And differently?”
“The threat to your life, and those of your brothers, was immediate.” Rare anger was in Wynn’s face. “I have wiped out entire races to protect our people and my family. Eight people are a drop of water in a lake.”
She gripped her head. “I can’t handle this.”
“We had evidence the attempt on your life would happen within the next twenty-four hours,” Peace said. “I had hoped we’d handle it differently.” This rebuke was aimed at Wynn.
“Which I did,” Wynn replied. “I’m allowing their families and clans to live. It’s more than they deserve.”
“He is being unusually … nice,” Kiki seconded.
“What the fuck is wrong with you all?” Stephanie snapped. “If this is how you do business, and what you expect of me, I can’t do it!” Furious, with tears in her eyes, she stormed out of the dining hall. When she reached the hallway outside, she flipped off her high heels and ran, not to her room, but outside, where she could breathe without feeling as if her lungs and head were about to explode.
Stephanie leapt down the stairs to the greens and into the forest, slowing only when she tripped over a branch in her path. Tears streamed down her face, but she didn’t care. The night was chilly and the air fresh. Trees groaned and swayed in a stiff breeze.
She tripped again. Trayern caught her arm before she hit the ground and hauled her back to her feet.
She
shoved him away. Trembling from emotion, she threw her head back and stared at the stars visible through the swaying branches above.
When she thought things couldn’t get weirder, or started to think Wynn was human, or that she might have a chance leading their people, new levels of crazy shit exploded into her life. She’d come to peace with the fact she had to choose who lived and died in a demon incursion.
But at dinner?
“That’s the first Immortal dinner I’ve enjoyed,” Trayern said.
“Shut up, Trayern!” she snapped. “Back off!”
He didn’t leave, but he was silent, which was the most he’d accommodate her.
Stephanie stood in the quiet, sucking in deep breaths and trying to push the images of the dead couples out of her mind.
“Stephanie,” Andre said softly.
“I can’t do this,” she shouted. “I can’t have my heart broken every morning and my mind crushed every time I interact with him! I can’t do what he does to our people! How will they accept me if he’s going around chopping off heads?”
Peace smiled at her, sadness in his features. “You have been asked to carry a burden far greater than most. But it’s because you’re strong enough to carry it. Everyone around you sees it, including Wynn, who has never willingly ceded power to anyone.”
Always placated by her oldest brother, Stephanie calmed. “What he does is always wrong,” she said.
“He’s from a different time and does things the way he always has. When you’re in charge, you can choose to do things your way. The people will adapt. They always do.”
She listened, refusing to see any era where beheading people at a formal dinner was considered appropriate.
“His decision was influenced by the fact that times have changed,” Peace continued. “He has always done what is right for his people. His methods are ruthless and cruel to us, but he has never acted without a purpose and plan.”
“Neither do serial killers.”
“You know by now Wynn is far worse than a serial killer.”
She shivered. She distrusted Wynn. Being reminded of the monster beneath the handsome façade made her question why she wanted anything to do with this world in the first place.
“What’s the significance of five days?” she asked. “Why not wait until I have a fucking clue what I’m doing?”
“I don’t know,” was the troubled answer.
“It’s something bad, isn’t it?”
Andre shrugged.
Stephanie released a deep breath. “How did I wind up here?” she murmured, not for the first time.
“This is where you’re meant to be. You’re meant to unite your family and lead your people into a different era, one without Wynn. Of the two, I think uniting your family is going to be the bigger challenge.” Warm amusement was in his voice.
When Peace spoke, her life made some sense.
“Unless he’s planning on fucking us all over in five days,” she replied.
“Come on. You’re getting cold.”
Andre draped one arm around her shoulders and walked with her back to the castle and into its warm interior. They were quiet until they reached her floor.
“Sometimes, I start to think things aren’t as bad as they are. I just want … normal,” she whispered. “I don’t know if my mate’s even alive. My sister and mom are hidden away on some island where Wynn can’t get to them.” More tears formed. “And I’m supposed to lead the Immortals and prevent a civil war when I have no fucking idea what I’m doing?”
Her oldest brother was quiet.
“How can any of this not devolve into a raging dumpster fire?” she demanded with no heat.
“Let me see what I can do,” Andre replied. “Hang in there, Stephanie. I’ll figure something out.” He walked her to her chamber and stopped. “Stay strong. Okay? Things are going to change soon. I promise.”
She nodded.
Trayern threw the door open and strode in.
Exhausted and horrified by her evening, Stephanie followed. She turned on all the lights and threw herself across her bed. She couldn’t cry anymore; she’d spent the past few weeks sobbing. She felt … empty. Alone. Terrified. Lost.
I can’t take another day of this.
How did she lead her people when she could hardly tolerate her life?
As much as she didn’t want to think about anything, she couldn’t suppress the urgent instinct warning her she needed to find out Wynn’s plan, before they were all fucked. She just had to figure out how to do it.
Fifteen
Karma released the corpse and dropped it. She threw her head back, exhilarated by the sensations of power coursing through her. The night sky stretched overhead, littered by bright diamonds and a chubby moon.
Her emotions were raw, volatile, spinning out of control faster and faster. She craved Wynn more this day than the day before. If she let herself think too long, she obsessed about her first night with him and his every touch, command, and kiss.
She growled, unable to find satisfaction out of balancing someone the way she usually did.
What she wanted was another night of Wynn, to release the surprise, need and fear tormenting her after their night together. The intensity and depth of what she felt, of how deeply connected she was to Wynn, of how he had mastered every part of her without ever losing control of himself … She’d never been in control of her power or her mind, but she’d never ceded control of every part of her – down to her soul – to anyone else, especially not someone who had claimed her without appearing to be affected himself.
What happened between them was more than a series of incredible physical acts. Had he known he would claim her soul? Was that what being bonded really meant?
For the first time in her life, she was terrified.
“Karma!” exclaimed someone behind her. “What’s going on?”
Karma was too obsessed by her thoughts to notice the cool, damp air of the place-between-places. Karma shook her head to clear it and faced Deidre, the queen of Hell, whose eyes were on the dead deity at Karma’s feet.
“I was getting nowhere negotiating, so I made an example out of him,” Karma explained. “The deities won’t listen to me.” She motioned to the corpse. “Maybe they’ll reconsider.”
Deidre looked from the body to Karma. “Are you okay?”
“I feel great,” Karma lied. She was shaking.
“You took out a ton of demons, but I’ve never seen you like this.”
Karma didn’t answer. She couldn’t admit the truth to herself and didn’t want to say it aloud.
“Is this who I think it is?” Deidre asked.
Karma nudged the dead body with her foot. “Yeah. One of the Unseen. Spirit, creator of souls.” She should have felt good about balancing someone, but she didn’t. She hadn’t been in control when she did it, and her mind wouldn’t turn away from memories of last night. “I figured it was better to make an example out of a retired deity.”
“You’re definitely sending a message,” Deidre responded.
“Is this a social visit?” Karma asked.
“I’m afraid not. I didn’t want to tell you this, because I know you’re already worried. If you were to make a deal with someone else, you may want to focus on your brother’s enemies, the ones who won’t negotiate with Darkyn or Gabe.”
“I hadn’t thought of that. Who’s at the top of the list?”
“The head of the guardian angels.”
“Fuck.” Karma’s mind raced. “Who else?”
“Mayhem and Hope have been cashing in favors left and right.”
“Those two I can take care of,” Karma said. “Hope is already on my list.”
“I think maybe next time you should balance them, not murder them,” Deidre advised. “Deities don’t take lightly to one of theirs being murdered, even if they’re always at war with one another.”
“Then they need to stay out of my way and stop torturing my brother,” Karma replied.<
br />
“You may also want to consider making an official alliance or two with some of them.”
Karma scowled. She didn’t want to have to rely on anyone else, or to play the game Wynn and her brother had mastered. All she wanted was her brother free from Hell.
“This shouldn’t be that hard,” she muttered.
“It’s complicated. I watch Darkyn deal with the others and honestly, it’s terrifying. I’m not cut out for it, but you have to be,” Deidre said. “You’re a goddess, and you’re a powerful one. But power will only get you so far.”
“Then I’ll go as far as I can. Guess Mayhem is next on my list.” Without another word, Karma summoned a portal and left the body of Spirit to rot where he dropped.
She paused once inside the place-between-places. Her thoughts went to Wynn and the book she needed to barter with Raphael. She’d returned to the study after her night with Wynn, but the damned book refused to let her remove it.
The only way to obtain it was to speak to him, and she didn’t feel ready for that conversation yet.
She returned her attention to her current situation. Her new tactic was to intimidate whoever she had to for a favor. She couldn’t balance anyone in the place-between-places and chose a random place in the human world to confront Mayhem.
Determined to help her brother somehow, and avoid Wynn if at all possible, she summoned Mayhem and waited. She wanted him to resist. She needed him to fight her. Her mood was too fragile for her to consider negotiating when she needed the high only balancing gave her.
“We need to talk,” Peace said, entering the study. He closed the door behind him.
“I imagine so.” Wynn sat in front of the hearth, sipping wine. He’d tugged his cravat loose but was otherwise still formally dressed after dinner. “How is Stephanie?”
“Not well, Wynn.” Andre’s voice carried a concerned note.
Wynn motioned to the chair beside him.
“She lost her entire family and woke up to find a new one very unlike hers,” Andre said quietly. “She can’t handle much more, Wynn, and murdering eight people in front of her is not helping.”