Calming his temper, Islador closed his eyes and counted slowly from ten. Already Kian was focused on desecrating the miracle of Allianna and it couldn’t be too long since dawn rose. “Did you think I’d stolen her, my Lord? Whisked her away from this hellhole and stashed her somewhere?”
Kian shot him a sharp look. “More than your life’s worth, Islador, but it had crossed my mind, yes. A pretty little cunt can turn the most loyal soldier into a traitor.”
Don’t rise to it. He wants you to bite. Biting his tongue took effort but he refused to be baited. He lifted a cocky eyebrow, challenging Kian to up his game, and shrugged. “You know I love her, Kian. Why would I risk both our lives when evading you would be impossible?”
“Huh. So you’ve thought about it then.” Kian nodded slowly, his eyes on the bathroom door. “Can’t blame you, I suppose; I’d consider it in the same position.”
Recognizing the look in his friend’s eyes, Isla eased toward the bathroom door. “Yeah, you would. Just like I know you’d kick my ass if I made a move toward that door when the love of your life was naked and defenseless in the fucking shower.”
Green eyes dark with anger locked onto Isla’s. “She belongs to me, Islador. By the time the sun rises tomorrow morning, she will be mine in heart, soul and most especially body. Be grateful I allow you any contact with her at all after this.”
A wall of testosterone was rising between them, hormonal bricks tossed into position with every breath they took and cemented in place the longer their eyes met. It was quickly becoming a tipping point dangerously close to throwing them both over the edge of reason.
Hating himself, Islador reeled himself back in. Taking on his friend meant a fifty-fifty chance of winning but losing was not a viable option. Pushing the issue further, arguing and raising tensions would only gnaw through their friendship and trust—both of which Isla needed to keep Allianna alive.
He seethed at his unavoidable submission, but losing contact with Allianna, especially after tonight, was a punishment Islador would not risk inviting. He altered his body language and inclined his head. “Of course, my Lord. It would seem I overstep my boundaries.”
Kian stepped toward the bathroom, was evidently pleased when Isla made no move to stop him. “So it would seem, Isla. But at least the bitch brings you back to heel when necessary.” With a hard laugh, Kian moved away from the bathroom and dropped into Isla’s chair. “I need you ready to go in an hour, Islador. There is a team on standby—one of our scavenging units went missing overnight and we need to find them.”
How convenient. “Numbers?”
“Eight missing. Two were found alive, rambling about an attack, and another two were found eviscerated about a mile away from the designated foraging area. I want the survivors found, dead or alive, and the perpetrators of the attack dealt with.”
Islador gritted his teeth. “That may take several days, Kian.”
Unapologetic green eyes mocked him. “Yes, I know.”
Do not take the fucking bait. “I’ll grab a shower once Allianna comes out and make my way to the team.”
Using the recliner like his throne, Kian shook his head slowly, a smile curving his lips. “There are showers in the barracks, Islador. You can use them and let your beta brief you on the rest of the details.”
“Allianna—”
“Has a long day ahead of her, and I would hate to see her traumatized by a lengthy and emotional farewell.” Kian tapped his fingers on the chair arm, one by one. “She will be told where you have gone, and why. She will have more important things on her mind in short order, I promise you. I’m betting she won’t give you a second thought for quite some time.”
Islador wondered if he was meant to return from this assignment, or whether he and his unfortunate team would end up like the mystery scavenging unit. Refusing the mission seemed sensible, but Allianna had given him instructions that outranked Kian’s. He would obey his queen and placate his Lord in one move, and pray he’d made the right decision. “Yes, my Lord.”
Chapter Six
It was cowardly, she knew it was, but Alli stayed in the shower long after she heard the door to Islador’s chambers break open. The water was hot, the gel smelled like Isla, and her battered soul was crying in a corner in a moment of extraordinary weakness.
So she let it cry, let herself weep, because if she didn’t, that weakness would be just another tool for Kian to use to break her into pieces. Between him and his demon, they wouldn’t break her into two pieces or three. No, they would shatter her into fragments, tiny shards like crushed glass, so she could never put herself back together again. Would never be whole again.
Lathering as she wept, she washed away every trace of her time with Islador, shedding more tears for that loss as well. She left the ache between her legs for last, hoping for a miracle, for his seed to take root before Kian’s had chance to. If she could thwart the prophecy from the start, her destiny might not kill her or the ones she loved.
Unfastening the horrible braid, wincing as her scalp burned as her tightly-bound hair released the confines, she untangled the tresses and let water flow through it. One day, when this hell was over, she would let Islador take her to the mortal plane, somewhere where the sun was hot on their skin and they could stand beneath a waterfall of crystalline blue like normal people.
She’d like that.
Her skin chilled as she felt Kian’s impatience radiate through the rooms. He was like a generator of emotion, so in tune with his realm that even the walls resonated with his feelings when they amped up out of his control. The strongest ones were the worst—hate, fury, impatience, despair.
There was no question he deserved to be Lord of Shadows. The realm was another skin to him, the population his silent shadow following his every order to the last breath. If he ordered them to die, they died. If he commanded them to kneel and kiss his boots for a week, they did just that.
On a deep breath, Alli removed the last of Islador from her body with regret. Dread was a snake in her belly when she stepped out of the shower and snagged a towel big enough to cover her from shoulders to feet. She took her time drying herself, schooling her breathing and her frantic thoughts.
Show no fear. Show no weakness.
She could make it through the night. Whatever he did to her, she would survive. Her angelic asshole of a father made her mortality null and void as far as she was aware. If she was proved wrong on that score...well, she wouldn’t have too much to worry about as long as she stood on the right side of the gates.
“Stop stalling, Allianna.” Kian’s voice rumbled through the bathroom like music through speakers, echoing from the corners. A voice she’d once dreamed of hearing in her ear early in the morning while his arms wrapped around her.
“Go fuck yourself, mighty Lord,” she muttered, and felt the innate sense of self she relied so heavily on slide back into place. She’d known him all her life, had seen the demon make its play for dominance when she hit her teens, and could read him like a fucking book. He would not make her cower, not if she could keep her attitude holding strong like a shield. “I’ll be there when I’m ready.”
Aware she was pushing his limits, she used Isla’s comb to work through her tangled locks, adding a few minutes to her personal time, and using it to shore up any leaks in her composure.
It didn’t stop her heart jerking into her throat when she walked out into Isla’s quarters and found Kian waiting for her, sitting in Isla’s chair by the burned-out fire, with his big hands steepled in front of his mouth. The picture of decadent leadership, his pristine white shirt open at the collar to reveal a hint of tanned chest, and the broadness of his shoulders accentuated by one of his tight-fitting jackets.
A year ago—hell, who was she kidding, six months ago—she would have dropped to her knees and crawled to him as he sat in that position. Would have laid her cheek on his knee and smiled as he ran his fingers through her hair.
Would have begged him to fuc
k her, to be her first, to be her everything.
Now she studied the man, the Lord, and saw the demon’s influence. Harsh lines on his face, the way his eyes softened when they saw her before they hardened with a predatory shine. Instinct made her take a step back when he set his hands on his thighs and rose swiftly.
Pride stopped her from taking another.
“I would like to apologize for last night.” Kian told her, apparently genuine with his apology, and cocked his head at her. “I realize it must have been quite disconcerting for you to experience that.” Yes, his tone was regretful, honest.
Allianna didn’t trust him one fucking inch.
“I’ve spoken with the necromancer,” he continued easily, as though her heart and her childish dreams weren’t slowly withering into dust. The more time she spent with him, the harder it was becoming to connect with the man she’d loved all her life. “Once the washerwomen have prepared you for this evening—they have been disciplined for their lack of care in your preparation last night, so don’t fret over that, you will be ready—the necromancer will visit you in the chamber before my arrival.”
Nausea rose quickly, violently. “I won’t go through that again, Kian.”
Annoyance rippled over his face as the demon loitered beneath the surface like an eerie silhouette. “Islador coddled you far too much last night, that will not be happening again. Fight and you will be punished. Submit and you will be rewarded. It is just that simple if you would listen to me.”
Listening to him would make her a mindless bride to a psychotic demon with illusions of grandeur. If the demon came into full existence, he would have limitless skills and untold power. Despite her strengths and talents, Allianna knew she would be no match for the great beast. “Where is Islador?”
Kian dismissed the question with a flick of his hand. “I have given the necromancer specific orders for your tonic this evening. You will drink it all and do as she says.”
“Kian, where is Islador?” she repeated firmly.
“If you’re depending on him being there to hold your hand and wipe your brow, little rose, you will be disappointed. Tonight your focus will be entirely on me, our marriage ceremony, and the conception ritual.” Kian’s face distorted with a sneer. “There will be no savior for you tonight, Allianna. He will not divert my attention or distract you from doing your fucking duty!” He roared the last word, then laughed when she jumped and staggered back from him.
If Kian wasn’t already completely lost inside the demon, if the fucking beast hadn’t devoured her first love, it wouldn’t be long before it did. She didn’t know how to stop it, how to slow the demon down before she found a way to drive it back down into Kian’s depths. But if she wanted to save her Lord, she needed to find the right path and soon.
“Did you kill him?”
“No. Islador is my best friend and my Second-in-command, regardless of whether he loves you or not. And he’s a damn good fuck when he stops fighting and lets me drive deep into that tight ass of his.” Kian shrugged. “But he is on a dangerous assignment for the realm, so who knows if he’ll return in one piece or two.”
Alli smacked her temper on the head. She had a good fight in her, but she had to save it for when the true test of her courage came. She’d escaped her fate once, out of the blue, but she knew she wouldn’t be allowed to divert it again. “If he doesn’t come home, Kian, I will kill you. He’s as much a part of me as you are.”
“Do you love him as much as you love me?” Kian demanded, coming closer so he loomed over her.
Her next words could bring an axe down on both their heads, but she hoped it hurt Kian to hear them. Straightening to her full height, hands tight on the towel, she became the queen he desired. “As we stand here, my Lord, my love for him surpasses whatever it is I feel for the reprehensible monster you’ve become. Love burned away into hate becomes ashes, my Lord, and ashes become steel. A furious woman with steel in her hand is your worst nightmare because she has nothing left to lose.”
His dark head snapped back as though she’d struck him, and the demon receded for a few moments. “You would rather be with Islador than me?”
Allianna shook her head. “Given the choice, I would rather be with two men who love me for me, than with one who sees me as an incubator for his crown. I love you, Kian, when you’re the man who raised me, the man who became the only man I could see in my wedding fantasies. My man. But the thing you become when you allow the demon to rule you? I fucking despise it. It takes all my self-control not to drag you to your knees and remove your head when that bastard uses your skin like its own, yet you permit it to do so. I can’t fathom that.”
“He’s strong. Gets stronger the more he’s near you.” Kian whispered, face pained. Be it her words striking home or the battle to hold the demon at bay, Kian was suffering. Sweat broke out along his hairline. “I wouldn’t hurt you for the world, little rose. I’ve loved you for too long.”
This was her man. This was her Kian.
She reached out and held his face in her hands. “I’ll remember that, my Lord, when the demon makes me scream. Perhaps then you’ll find the strength to beat the fucker back to whatever hell it crawled from.”
Kian’s features creased. “Allianna, I’m sorry. I love you, I...” He burst out laughing darkly and Alli dropped her hands. The moment was over, yes, but the seed was planted. “Poor little rose, poised to scream. Whose name will it be, Allianna? The man who fucks you raw and bloody, with pleas for mercy among your tears? Or the man who can’t fuck you at all until I say so, jerking pathetically on his cock while I fuck his ass and tell him just how fucking tight that cunt was before I wrecked it?”
“You won’t touch him again.” Command rang in her tone.
“He’s mine to do with what I wish, little rose. He wears my mark.” Kian tapped his own shoulder where Isla carried the bite. “As will you.”
It took effort but Alli laughed. Laughed long and hard so he wouldn’t see the anguish of watching Kian get sucked back under slicing at her heart. “Are you done yet, my Lord?”
He lashed out, faster than she anticipated, and pinched her chin tight between thumb and forefinger. Gripped it tight enough to bruise. In the depths of his green eyes, something glowed faintly red. “Bored, Allianna? I can fix that. Keeping you busy will be my pleasure.” He ripped the towel from her hands, baring her completely, and his hum of carnal delight sent chills down her spine. Using his hold on her chin, he shoved her back and almost made her fall. “Yes, my pleasure indeed.”
A timid knock sounded at the door and Kian grinned. “See, most subjects obey when I summon them, little rose. They do as they are told, they don’t go against my wishes, and they are rewarded very well. Come in!”
The broken door creaked open and two washerwomen slid into the room, silent on their bare feet, fading into the shadows. They eased toward Kian, flanking him with heads bowed and hands folded at the waist. It took only a moment for Alli to realize these two were not the same ones from yesterday.
“Replacements?” Alli asked, eyeing the females.
“Absolutely. The other two were detained along with Delleso and Tralee for doing an incomplete task. When I ask for virgin orifices to be prepared, I expect them to be prepared thoroughly.” Kian’s grin turned sadistic as he flicked his fingers toward her and the washerwomen immediately seized her by the arms. “Although given your attitude this morning, perhaps inadequate preparation would make an effective deterrent for this kind of behavior in the future, Allianna.”
Her jaw clenched so tight she thought she heard a tooth crack from the pressure. Her arms twitched in the tight hold of the washerwomen, but she refrained from knocking them out. For now. She was holding that option in reserve for when her bitch switch flipped. “It would also be repaid in kind, Kian.”
The grin didn’t waver but the animosity in his eyes sparked. “Wouldn’t that be fun? Be a good girl, Allianna, and neither of us will have to find out. I’ll see yo
u in a couple hours.”
Her heart stuttered and died. “A couple hours?”
He turned his back to her, and she was tempted to throw off her fleshy shackles and leap on him, sink her nails into his gorgeous shoulders and her teeth into his neck. “Difficult little roses have their thorns cut off sooner rather than later. Our timetable has just moved up considerably. I require a placid and obedient queen, not a wildcat in a crown.” He dismissed her with a wave of his hand and she dug her feet in as the washerwomen tried to drag her away. “Expect the necromancer to pay you a visit within the hour, little rose.”
“You’re an asshole, Kian!”
He didn’t grant her with an answer as she was physically dragged from Islador’s chambers. The females he’d chosen were more like slim males in female form, more than a match for Allianna. He’d made smart choices and, although she’d anticipated some of them, it fucking hurt to know the demon was using Kian’s knowledge of her to outwit her.
Fingers bit into her forearms and biceps, bruising as she resisted. Resisted futilely as they just hauled her along like she weighed nothing. Her heels skidded over the smooth rock floor to no avail and it seemed like it took seconds to reach Kian’s abode. Everything in her warned her not to go through the doorway looming open for her arrival.
There was no stopping the washerwomen, and there was no comfy bed or sheets beneath her back. Allianna thrashed when they dragged her through the Lord’s opulent quarters and straight to the altar chamber. Worse, they didn’t give her time to get free, they didn’t spin her around to put her back to the gleaming slab and fumble with the cuffs.
They slammed her facedown on the obsidian and restrained her by the wrists while pain radiated in white-hot waves through her head. She yelped when cold oil pooled between her shoulder blades, dribbled down her spine in a frozen line that stole her breath.
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