Claimed & Seduced

by Shelley Munro

  “I can’t wait,” Mareeka whispered hoarsely. “I must act with swiftness or her spirit will become lost.”

  “Tomorrow morn, Mareeka. You have my word.”

  The com cut off, and Razvan cursed. Without Marjo, Mareeka floated in misery, adrift. She wouldn’t wait for his arrival, not given her current mood.

  Razvan let out another curse and stomped from his quarters to demand the wizards end their period of rest.

  * * * * *

  “Look at the smoke,” Keira said as she scanned the buildings on this level. Many lay in ruins, but a cobbler’s and a butcher’s shop had survived intact, against the odds. “That’s a big fire.”

  “It looks as if it’s on the lowest level,” Ellard said.

  The three quickened their pace and sprinted around the last turn before coming to an abrupt halt.

  “Someone has set the fire on purpose,” Jarlath said.

  Keira squinted. “There is a figure on top of the pile of wood.”

  “Mareeka,” Ellard said in a pained voice.

  Their steps slowed.

  “But who is burning her body?” Jarlath asked.

  “No, she’s alive. Look.” Ellard pointed at a figure who emerged from the soldiers’ office. “Mareeka.”

  Keira gasped. “But we saw her die. She was dead. I don’t understand.”

  Ellard started running. “Mareeka.”

  “No, wait,” Jarlath shouted, but his friend evaded him and raced up to the woman. She was tall and strong and identical to the woman Keira had shot.

  “They’re twins,” Keira said. The only explanation to make sense.

  “Mareeka, you’re alive,” Ellard said and joy suffused his voice as he gathered her against him as best as he could with one arm.

  The woman escaped him, her features devoid of emotion.

  “Careful,” Jarlath said. “Don’t trust her. You know what happened last time.”

  Mareeka whirled on him, hatred blazing on her face. “I’m honored. The prince himself. Not many people see you in person. Razvan will be excited to see his plans have drawn you from hiding.”

  “Razvan,” Ellard said. “What do you know of Razvan?”

  “He is my lover, my mate,” Mareeka said. “Who killed my sister? Who killed Marjo?”

  “I don’t know,” Keira said. It was obvious her sister’s death had unhinged the woman, and she’d snap if they said the wrong thing. “The people of the city panicked after the explosions. There was looting, rioting and many have died from setting foot in the wrong place at the wrong time. I fear we may never find the culprit.”

  Some of the tension left the highly strung woman. Her shoulders relaxed but anguish contorted her features.

  Ellard stared, dumbfounded. “Sister?”

  “You felines are so stupid, so accepting.” Mareeka sneered, her contempt bringing an unattractive color to Ellard’s cheeks. “Marjo and I had to take turns pretending to be Mareeka and spending hours with you because you made us sick. Bedding you was a chore.”

  “Don’t listen to her poison,” Keira whispered. “It’s not true.”

  Ellard shook off her hand and stepped closer to the true Mareeka.

  “Ellard.” Jarlath placed a restraining hand on his arm.

  Behind them, the flames shot higher and fear of a different sort snapped through Keira when a face appeared in the fire.

  “Shoot,” Keira screamed.

  Jarlath fired, but Ellard leaped at Mareeka. The woman avoided him and off-balance, he sprawled face first on the ground.

  “My, my,” a mocking voice said. “If it isn’t the very fledgling I’ve been searching for.”

  Keira froze, then to her horror, Razvan’s face grew a torso, arms and legs, and he stepped from the flames, a familiar smirk on his swarthy face. He lifted a hand to brush an ember off his night-black hair and smoothed the long tendrils without taking his gaze off her. Next, he stroked his goatee beard. Dressed in form-fitting black, he was a handsome man if one ignored the manic gleam in his button eyes.

  “They killed Marjo,” Mareeka shrieked. “Kill them all. Smite them with your magic.”

  “I told you,” Keira snapped. “We have no idea who killed your sister.” She’d thought she’d knifed Mareeka because Ellard had said it was her. The twins had obviously pulled switches as it suited their needs. Poor Ellard.

  Razvan ignored Mareeka’s screeches and strutted over to Keira, his amber eyes alight with interest. “I couldn’t see you clearly through the flames, but your appearance pleases me. You have grown well, little Keira.”

  Keira’s heart ventricles pumped so fast she started to hyperventilate. Panic tasted dark and rusty against her tongue, helplessness bitter. Fear for Jarlath’s life, for Ellard’s safety meant she focused on the threat. She straightened her shoulders and glared at her half-brother.

  “Not going to give me a proper welcome, pet?” Razvan’s eyes shone bright with mischief.

  Mareeka tugged at his arm. “What are you doing? We must amend our plan. Without Marjo, we are two. Three is the magical number.”

  “I don’t think that will matter, darling. I have a replacement in mind. The perfect solution.” He didn’t take his oily gaze off Keira, and her stomach roiled. Her crow pecked and scratched from inside, panicked, agreeing with her fears.

  Razvan was unpredictable. Capable of anything.

  Keira swallowed as her mind skirted the horrible possibilities. She’d never forgive herself if Razvan hurt Jarlath or Ellard. Never.

  She loved him, and it was too late to tell him. Razvan would murder them without blinking unless…

  Her crow pecked her extra hard, and she winced. Seemed her crow had fallen for the cat too. Unusual but not impossible, and because of that love, she couldn’t let them die.

  The House of the Cat needed Jarlath.

  He mightn’t think he was a good prince, but that wasn’t true.

  Keira reached up to wipe the enhancements from her cheek. She saw she had Razvan’s attention, and the air whistled through his teeth when he saw the crow she revealed. “What kept you, brother? I’ve been waiting for you to arrive.”

  Keira forced herself to strut to his side. She pressed a kiss to Razvan’s cheek and internalized the impulse to hurl. Her skin crawled and her crow gave an unhappy caw-caw.

  Razvan stared at her tattoo in wonder. He ignored Mareeka to brush his finger over her cheek, as if to ascertain it was genuine. “It’s real.”

  Keira inclined her head. “Of course.”

  “You can shift?”

  “Yes.”

  “But I thought…Father said…” Razvan trailed off, for once at a loss for words.

  “It is time to take this planet of fools and shape it into a dynasty. Our dynasty,” Keira shot a swift glance at Jarlath, crumpled a bit inside at his expression. Didn’t he care about her at all?

  Razvan patted her head, as if she were the pet he kept mentioning. “I like the way you think.”

  “We can’t trust her,” Mareeka snapped.

  “She bears the mark of Cawdor. She is of the Cawdor. She is one of us.”

  Keira swallowed but didn’t make the mistake of glancing at Jarlath again. Maybe Ellard had the right of it, and Jarlath was playing her. Her crow pecked against her breastbone in clear agitation. Keira kept her winces to a minimum and forced away every emotion. She steeled her nerves and prepared to lie.

  “Round up the people and force Marjo’s murderer to confess,” Mareeka said. “Strike now while we have soldiers in place.”

  “No,” Keira said. “The people here are stubborn. They won’t confess. Killing them is a waste of manpower, people we will require once we take over the mining operation.”

  Razvan’s laugh rang out in approval.

  “Bitch.” Ellard picked himself up, his body tense as if he intended to spring at her.

  “Silence,” Keira snarled and pulled out her blaster to point at Jarlath. “Crawl back to your castle and tell your
people to prepare to crown a new king.” Please, Jarlath. Please do as I say. “Ellard, you stay right there.”

  “Traitor,” Jarlath said. “All the time you were waiting for him?”

  “You don’t think a feline would interest me? Nasty, slovenly creatures. You can’t even fly.” Not that her attempts had been super successful, but Razvan didn’t need to know that. Difficult to fly when she didn’t have experience. “No, I have been waiting for Razvan’s arrival.” Jarlath was edging away, putting distance between them while Ellard stood firm like the soldier he was.

  “Don’t think you can step into Marjo’s shoes!” Mareeka’s chin lifted, and when Keira met the woman’s hauteur with a sneer, Mareeka lost it and flew at Keira. Razvan stepped between the two women, his grin broad enough to reveal his teeth, and drew Mareeka away. He lowered his voice.

  Maybe he thought Keira couldn’t hear him, but she caught the gist of their conversation. They needed Keira to gain enough power to master the cats. Mareeka was his true love, the important one. Just play along, and they’d get what they both wanted.

  His confidence set Keira’s stomach churning, her survival instincts chirping. So arrogant. So sure of himself. So deluded. Just of thought of him thought of him touching her…

  “We’ll get rid of her once you’re crowned king of Viros,” Mareeka whispered.

  “Whatever you want, darling,” Razvan soothed, but Keira saw his attention shift to her and linger. She pretended she didn’t hear, didn’t see that his eyes were gloating and full of hot lust.

  It appeared he still wanted her and would do anything, remove any obstacle, to have her.

  Sick, perverted man. There had been rumors he was Carrick’s father, not his brother. She’d asked her mother once about the gossip. Her mother had shifted the conversation and never mentioned the subject again. More than a grain of truth, Keira decided. And that would account for the madness within the ruling family. Interbreeding would do that to a line.

  Razvan continued to reassure Mareeka, and Keira took the opportunity to scan the area. Ellard stood, his watchful gaze telling her he was waiting for an opportunity to act. Jarlath had gone. Some of her tension receded. If she managed one thing today, at least it was to keep Jarlath safe.

  Her crow gave an unhappy caw-caw and Razvan shot her a sharp look.

  “It’s true. You can shift. I hear your crow,” he said.

  Keira stuck her nose in the air. “I do not lie.”

  “No, my pet. It seems you do not.”

  “She can’t get us into the castle. She’s lying about that. Marjo and I couldn’t get past the security at the front door. Each of us tried. Didn’t have enough experience.” She cackled without warning. “Didn’t matter. We managed to turn most of the soldiers to our cause.”

  “You have done well, darling,” Razvan said.

  Mareeka burrowed against his chest and shot a triumphant glower at Keira. “I am loyal to the cause. We will be successful and mighty as you predicted.”

  Delusional and scary too. Stay strong. You can do this. “I can get you into the castle.”

  “How?” Mareeka demanded. “Prove it.”

  “There is a little known rear entrance. We can go that way if you choose, but wouldn’t it be better to walk through the main entrance with our heads held high?”

  “Pet, I like your style,” Razvan said. “Let’s go.”

  “No, I have a better idea,” Keira said. “Tonight the king and queen hold a celebration ball. They think the attack is over. We should wait until the eve and make a grand entrance.”

  “You let the prince go,” Mareeka said. “A mistake.”

  “Bah,” Keira said. “He is a pretend prince. He does nothing. He holds no power. All he does is attend balls and dance with the high society ladies. He is weak. We don’t need him. We have Ellard.” She gestured at him with her weapon and received a feline snarl in return. “He is the real power at the castle. Once he is dead, their protective structure—the soldiers remaining—will crumple.”

  “You have a plan.” A statement from her half-brother, not a question.

  “Of course. We walk into their ball and go straight for the king and queen. They will not expect our bold move, and since you have already decimated their soldiers, it will be easy. We will dress Ellard in one of those red cloaks and threaten to blow him and the entire castle up if our demands are not met.” Ellard glared holes through her, and she had to force herself to laugh in his face.

  “That is a good plan,” Mareeka said, not bothering to hide her surprise. “You are right. She will be useful to us, but we do not require him.” She jerked her shoulder in Ellard’s direction. “We have others in place at the castle, others we can blow up. We don’t need the distraction of a prisoner. Shoot him.”

  Grata, this wasn’t good. “Let me take care of him,” Keira said. “You haven’t seen each other for a time. Go and rest, mourn and relax as best as you can. We require our wits about us tonight if we are to best these kittens in their own House.”

  “She might speak sense, but you can’t trust her,” Mareeka said. “She might talk the right talk but her actions do not match. What’s to stop her from letting him go and fleeing herself? Or maybe she’s playing a double game and seeks to gain time to warn those who protect the royal family.”

  Razvan stroked his goatee beard, his amber eyes gleaming as he calculated odds or whatever he did before he came to a decision. “You have a point, my darling.” He didn’t take his focus off Keira. “Why should we trust you?”

  Keira didn’t lower her gaze, didn’t give into her urge to flee and save herself, didn’t so much as blink while her mind considered different angles. “She’s right. I could be lying through my beak. Let me prove my loyalty. Let me do this. What’s the worst that could happen? Yes, you run the risk of me not following through on my promises, but you have the upper hand here. Playing you would be stupid when you know where I live and can grab me, punish me, kill me soon enough.”

  “Traitor,” Ellard snarled and lunged in her direction.

  Keira countered smoothly, stuck out her foot to trip him and kicked him in the arse to propel him to the ground. “So what do you say? Are you willing to give me a chance to prove my loyalty?”

  “Oh yes,” Razvan drawled and his wide smile made Keira feel soiled. “You’re right in that there is no chance of escape. You have this one chance, but make no mistake. Retaliation will come swiftly if you cross me.”

  “But, Van,” Mareeka protested.

  “No, I’ve made my decision, and if she fails us, you have my leave to use your race’s traditional methods of punishment.”

  “Ah.” Mareeka brightened. “Torture and decapitation.” Her cruel smile pushed a flymo full of horror through Keira but she held her ground. “That might be fun.”

  “We can’t lose either way.” Razvan’s gaze caressed Mareeka and held an edge of lust. “Keira will be useful to our cause. Very useful indeed. Let us go, darling. We have much to discuss and plan now that we are together again. Keira, take care of him. We will see you later either way.”

  “No problem. I’ll dispose of him and keep guard. Nothing must go wrong before we make our move tonight at their ball,” Keira said, her manner decisive. Razvan was more trusting than she’d expected.

  “Excellent.” Razvan stroked his beard. “Don’t disappoint me. This is the only chance you’ll get.”

  Or maybe she was the gullible one. She’d need to watch herself every step of the way.

  “Don’t let him go.” Mareeka bared her teeth at Ellard and snarled. “He deserves to die for daring to touch me, touch my sister.”

  “And he will.” Keira didn’t know how she managed to hold the woman’s hard stare or spout such trash. Ellard was a good man who lived to serve and protect. He would give his life for Jarlath.

  “Don’t interrupt us,” Mareeka said.

  “Of course not,” Keira agreed. The farther she kept away from them, the happier she
’d feel. “You.” She jabbed her blaster into Ellard’s ribs. “Over here, around the corner and in the middle of the street. I want your body to serve as a warning.” She nudged him hard and sent him lurching forward a step.

  “You won’t get away with this.” Ellard straightened and glowered at them all, defiant to the last.

  “Oh, I think she will,” Razvan said with a chuckle. “My pet has a vicious streak. Why I still have a scar where she bit me many cycles ago. Do you remember, pet?”

  “Yes,” Keira said, her tone short. “Are you going to supervise or do you trust me to carry out this task on my own?”

  “The crow are merciless when they have their sights set on a task,” Razvan said with a soft smile. “You have stated your intent and can report back later. Come, darling. Let us rest before our victory parade this eve.”

  Razvan and Mareeka disappeared into the soldiers’ quarters, and Keira saw Mareeka kick the door shut. A statement of ownership. Fine. The other woman was welcome to Razvan, although if she trusted Keira’s half-brother, she was foolish. Only one person mattered to Razvan, and that was himself.

  “Get moving,” Keira snapped at Ellard and dug her blaster into his ribs again.

  “Bitch,” he snarled.

  She ignored his insults and focused on getting him around the corner and out of sight. “Get a move on. I don’t have all day.”

  “I told Jarlath you were trouble. Warned him about you.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Keira muttered and took pleasure in digging her weapon into his back. His words hurt, and the small mutiny on her part brought a measure of satisfaction. She hope he bruised—the ungrateful lout.

  She glanced over her shoulder and saw they were out of sight of the soldiers’ quarters. Keira lifted the blaster and fired into the air. Once. Then she stuffed her weapon in her holster. “You can turn around now, Ellard. Give me the cat pendant you wear around your neck.”

  “No.” He clutched at the onyx carving, as if he suspected she might snatch it from him.

  “Don’t be stupid. Give me the pendant so they believe I shot you. Everyone knows you never take the thing off.”

  Ellard stared at her and shook his head. “Which side are you on?”