Lord Xenon nodded his head. “Yes, and you really need to watch your back—even more so now. They will be a threat to you.”
I nodded slowly and stood like a tree stump while they all started changing into clothes made for the outdoors. I chewed on my bottom lip, my eyes cast on one man. His actions were harsh enough that he ripped one of his socks, tossing it aside in anger, and pulling another pair out of his bag. He sat heavily on the edge of our bed to finish getting dressed.
I murmured softly, “Lord Belshazzar…”
His ice blue eyes flayed me. “Do not right now, Gwen. Don’t even say a fucking word to me.”
My nostrils flared. “Fine. Be an asshole.”
He shoved his left foot into his sock—without tearing it this time. But his eyes held fire. All aimed at me. He spewed, “Okay, let’s chat about this with everyone listening in, shall we?” His fangs bared in his rage. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me you’d had a goddamn crush on him when you were younger? Because, just a few minutes ago, you sure as shit fell under his ‘aw shucks, fuck-me-darling’ charm like a schoolgirl ready to have her cherry popped by a limp-dicked high school twit. I know you’re young, but you can’t be that goddamn young.”
My hands balled on my hips. I fumed so hard my face had to be a glorious shade of red. I gritted through my clenched teeth, “I really want to rip your balls off right now.”
His fangs glistened in the sunlight pouring in through the windows. He hissed, “Fucking try it. Give me one more reason to taste your sweet blood again, and I’ll have my fangs dripping in it.”
I flared my nostrils and tipped my head back to stare at the ceiling. I wiggled my fingers until they no longer cramped, and gradually lowered my hands down by my sides. I breathed in through my nose and out through my mouth for a full minute, regaining my inner calm.
Then I tipped my head back down and stared into his violent eyes. His wrath hadn’t subsided. I said the words that were on a repeating loop inside my head. “You are not an easy lover.”
The Overlord shot to his feet and licked his teeth in annoyance. “If you can’t handle me, then move the fuck along. Come back when you’re older and wiser.”
And…he wasn’t done yet.
He flicked his hand at the door. “There’s a druid who would love to be inside you right now. And you apparently want his cock, too. Feel free to spread your legs for him right the fuck now. But make sure to tell the prick not to worry. You don’t want his concentration blown—since I’ve heard he’s a mediocre lover, at best. I wouldn’t want you getting a subpar ride.” His eyes flashed blood red. “Go ahead, your majesty. We’ll wait until you’re done to start his Challenge.”
I moved before I even knew it.
My open palm lashed through the air.
Smack. Right across his cheek.
Lord Belshazzar’s head whipped to the side.
The resulting silence was profound.
I slowly lowered my hand and stared hard at his frozen profile. I growled quietly, “Are you done now?”
The Overlord wiggled his jaw, not moving to face me yet. He lifted his right hand and rubbed over his stinging cheek, the lord unshaven this morning. Those frigid blue eyes finally turned to stare down at me. His cheek muscles flexed as he clenched his jaw, but the hardcore fire had abated somewhat. His fangs were put away.
The lord stated, “I may have gone too far.”
He knew that. I knew that.
It was why he hadn’t stopped my attack.
Cause he sure as hell could have.
I crossed my arms. “I’m fairly positive I don’t like you right now. No amount of groveling is going to help you. Don’t even try it.”
He grunted. “I wasn’t planning on it.”
Not. An. Easy. Lover.
“You never answered my question.” His blue eyes narrowed once more.
I swallowed down the childish retort I wanted to say. Instead, I answered with a chilling bite in my tone, “Like I said earlier, I was mortified by what happened. I was a teenager then. It’s not something I’m proud of, nor was it anything you needed to know.”
A black brow lifted. “Don’t ever presume to think you understand what I need to know. That was your first mistake.”
All right. Enough was enough.
I took a large step back from him. “This conversation is done.”
He ran his tongue over his teeth again, not appreciating my command. But he didn’t contradict it either. His voice was gruff. “I don’t like when you pull away from me.”
“Then don’t act like a first-rate asshole.”
Lord Belshazzar snorted, not arguing that statement either. He lifted both his brows slowly and took a step forward, closing the space between us. His head of long, black hair tilted to the side, while his attention held all of mine. His blue eyes flicked back and forth between my eyes and searched my features. The Overlord questioned quietly, “Has anything changed between us?”
My nostrils flared in irritation. “Do you mean, am I going to move along? Like you suggested I do if I can’t handle you?”
He hesitated, and then said, “Yes. I’m asking that.”
“Nothing has changed.” I shook my head. “Calm the heck down. You’ll know when I get really pissed. You won’t even have to ask if I’m leaving. I’ll already be gone before the thought crosses your bullheaded mind.”
He stared, quiet for a second. “Don’t fall for his shit, Gwen.”
I lifted my eyes heavenward and sighed at the ceiling. “You should get going, my lord. Master Niallan’s first Challenge awaits.” The Overlord still felt threatened. There wasn’t much else I could say to him right now though, not with an eavesdropping portrait watching over us.
He gripped my chin with gentle fingers, lowering my head so I could look into his eyes again. Then he dropped his hand from my face and balled it into a fist. “We’ll be back before nightfall. Do as Lord Xenon ordered. Don’t roam alone, and do not leave the castle.”
“Yes, my lord.” I knew a royal demand when I heard it. And I didn’t disagree with it, either. Even if I would be bored out of my goddamn mind. “I’ll see you before nightfall.”
Lord Belshazzar dipped his head, and his hair fanned down around us—hiding us from anyone else’s view. He stopped when his lips were a breath away from mine. His blue eyes flickered with worry before he quickly dashed the show of emotion away, replacing it with his normal stony expression.
He waited. For me.
I crossed my arms and lifted a brow.
I held his hard gaze head-on with one of my own.
Then I angled my chin up.
And pecked his lips really fast.
That was all he was getting from me right now.
The Overlord grunted. A tiny smile flirted with his mouth. He mumbled quietly, “Well, after the way I acted, that was better than nothing.”
Damn straight, it was.
I’d been tempted to deny him. I would have, too, if I hadn’t seen the uneasiness he was hiding away. The Overlord didn’t want to lose what we had together.
Lord Belshazzar slanted his chin up and pressed his plump lips to my forehead, kissing me there once. His mouth was soft and sweet. The caress squeezed my heartstrings, precious and fine, with how delicately he touched me. He lifted his hands and ran the pads of his fingers over my cheeks softly before he pulled back. His eyes searched mine afterward and his lips quirked up on one side. He pecked the tip of my nose quickly.
He rose to his full height and turned to face the mute Overlords, who weren’t even bothering to pretend not to listen in on our conversation. All were staring and silent. The lord’s eyes narrowed on them. He griped, “You fuckers are becoming a nuisance.”
Lord Otto blinked. “I doubt I’m speaking just for myself when I say this…” He flicked a finger between the lord next to me and myself. “I never thought the day would come when you’d actually care for someone romantically, my lord. This is the best entertain
ment we’ve had from you in a long while—and I mean a long while. The shock won’t easily disappear, nor will our pleasure at watching you two fight for dominance. Especially since she’s just as goddamn awful as you are.”
Lord Cato instantly hissed, “Watch it.”
Lord Otto tossed my father a special glance. “Don’t even defend her. She ripped out your heart less than an hour ago and used it as her footstool without fucking blinking. And our candidate knew exactly what she was doing…and only liked her more for it.”
Enough of that.
I ordered, “All of you get going.”
Lord Otto swapped his attention to me. “What? You’re the only one who can rub that shit in?”
“Yes. That anger’s mine to own. No one else’s.” I pointed at the door. “Get. Now.”
One by one, they filed out.
I shut the door behind them. Then locked it.
Not that it would do much good.
If a druid wanted in, they’d get in.
Chapter Twenty
~ Gwynnore ~
I wore all of my weapons—showing and hidden—as I stepped outside the empty bedchamber and took my time to make sure the door was locked properly. I wiggled the door handle twice, double-checking that it wouldn’t budge. The solid wooden door didn’t even jiggle in its frame, perfectly fitted.
Eeeeee-eee.
I jerked in place and slowly turned my head to the side. I peered behind me, carefully searching for the violence of that high-pitched scream. The only thing in view was a table with a vase of blooming lilies perched on top of it. There were no hearts beating close by.
Eeeeee-eee.
I flinched and swung around with my right hand on the handle of my knife that was holstered against my right thigh. I demanded, “Who’s there?”
Were they blocking my hearing?
Was it possible a druid could hide their heartbeat?
No answer came. Time ticked by in the silence.
With more firmness, I ordered, “Show yourself!”
A thumping started.
Bang, bang, bang.
My eyes lowered to the table before me—to what might lay hidden behind the cabinet doors on it. I stared for a long time, not moving. The thumps only increased in harshness, shaking the frame of the stand. I muttered under my breath, “What the ever-lovin’ fuck is that?” And did I really want to open those two innocent, tiny doors to find out?
I was thinking it was a definite ‘no.’
One of the doors broke open. Choice gone.
I took a step back and lifted my blade from its sheath, ready for anything. It was either another parlor trick, or it was something truly nasty.
A porcelain female face peeked out from behind the remaining closed door. Old-fashioned glass eyes blinked, her plastic lashes fluttering. Half her face drooped from a thick crack down the center of her face, her head only held together by the back of a solid skull. Dirt and grime and green crayon smeared the rest of her face. And her filthy brown hair was missing large chunks at the scalp here or there all over her head, showing the tiny black holes where the locks used to be fitted inside the porcelain.
I didn’t lower my knife.
She blinked again, and her mouth opened.
Eeeeee-eee.
I flinched at the god-awful screech.
The foot-tall demonized doll squeezed out of her hiding spot, jumping on two stiff legs to the ground in front of me. The dolly swayed back and forth. She wore a dark maroon dress that appeared to be in the 1950’s style of a homemaker, and her dirt crusted feet were bare. Her black, glass eyes simply stared up at me from her cracked face while she occasionally blinked with her plastic lashes.
Another damn way to spy.
I glared. “You are not coming with me.”
Eeeeee-eee.
I flinched again and wanted to cover my ears.
“Jesus-fucking-Christ, stop doing that!” I shoved my knife back into its sheath and pointed a sharp finger at that hellish face. “Master Niallan, this is completely unacceptable—and creepy as hell. Stop the parlor tricks.”
The broken toy didn’t move. It stared.
A shiver worked up my spine. “You are one twisted motherfucker.” I ground my teeth together. “This shit is done.”
I lunged at the doll. My left shoulder rammed into the table and the vase tipped over, crashing to the floor in a shatter of glass. I twisted to keep from landing on my face, but my hands were empty. Fucking hell!
With vampire speed, I pulled my gun out and fired off two quick shots in rapid succession. Right and left. I followed the doll’s blurring movements and fired off two more rounds.
My finger hovered over the trigger.
The hellish doll squatted right in front of me.
I blinked in confusion. “What are you doing?”
A thin stream of water splattered the tile underneath her. Her black eyes blinked and watched me.
Eeeeee-eee.
“Oh my god. You’re one of those potty dolls.” My face crinkled in horror. “Is that really piss?”
She straightened.
Yellow pee pooled around her feet.
“Master Niallan, this is a new low.” I aimed point blank at the doll. “Say good-bye, asshole.”
I wasted an entire clip on it. An entire clip.
I lowered my weapon and bared my fangs. The bitch was powered by Master Niallan’s power—including his vampire power which was much older than mine.
And it was even worse than that.
I’d been bested by a children’s toy.
I swiftly glanced down the empty hallway, looking both ways, and hurried to put my weapon away.
I was never going to tell anyone about this.
I side-stepped the shattered vase and spilled white flowers, and my feet moved at a fast charge away from the scene of the “crime.” The demented doll followed after me on stiff legs, teetering back and forth like she had a large stick up her ass. I hissed over my shoulder, “Master Niallan, if you make her piss on my boots, I will piss on your favorite shoes. Don’t mess with my footwear.”
Eeeeee-eee.
My shoulders hunched. I tugged at my ringing right ear and then my other smarting ear. I growled, “I hate you. I hate you. I hate you.”
Eeeeee-eee.
I gritted my teeth.
Perhaps it was best to ignore it.
I traveled down multiple hallways, attempting to keep in sight of the druids walking by—from servants to guards to the upper-class. They rubbernecked all around—that was for damn sure—but I was making myself known to them. I wanted their eyes on me. I wanted witnesses in case Devin or Ysander tried underhanded tactics to take me out.
All while I opened all my senses.
I searched for power.
It led me to a courtyard in the center of the castle, all four golden surrounding walls towering and rising high into the sky, shielding the open outdoor area from the outside village.
Guards filled the private space. Their feet trampled over the dead winter grass while their swords clashed against the swords of the others. White, glowing druid power sizzled over the steel blades and glistened under the sun, creating white sparkling tracers in the air with their efficient strikes. The guards weren’t in full battle gear, simply dressed in golden practice attire.
And there was a shit ton of them.
All with weapons.
Cracked-and-Nosy waddled up beside me.
She squatted and took another piss.
While staring up at me.
Hint received. This was not a safe place for me.
But fuck. I turned my attention back to the druids.
This was where the most power was.
My brows puckered. I backed away slowly.
I ducked back into the castle and took a survey of my surroundings while I continued to think this through.
I hadn’t been able to feel any power from the Original vampire amulet. It was quite possible I wouldn’t
be able to feel the Original druid amulet either. If that were true, I was searching this way blindly. I needed to think of a different angle, one more personal in nature. I needed to delve deeper into Master Niallan’s psyche.
Shit.
I might actually fail at this. I may be of no help.
Because the man truly confused me at times.
I started walking again and kept to the main hallways. I turned my thoughts around and around in my head while I strolled and evaluated everything in view. And I mean everything. I kept track of the flowers. I counted the women working here. I stopped and examined every piece of art. I looked for patterns in the tiling or in the carved white ceilings full of angels. I paused at every window to look at the view. I listened for which hallways were quieter than others, compared to how worn the tiles were under my feet. I even studied the designs and colors of the drapes hanging from the open windows.
In the end, as the sun started to set, I slammed my bedchamber’s door on Cracked-and-Nosy’s face and moved to stand in front of the lone portrait inside the room. Master Niallan’s mother blinked down on me. This painting was truly exquisite if you studied the care with which each brush stroke covered the canvas. I lifted my eyes to hers, and asked calmly, “You loved her very much, didn’t you, Master Niallan?”
The lilies gave it away.
There were fucking lilies everywhere all over this castle, including in the painting behind his mother.
She blinked rapidly.
I sighed and started removing my weapons. I placed each one on the desk with care, watching my hands work. “I don’t know the whole story, but I am sorry you lost someone you cared that deeply for.” His mother may have been a criminal or a peasant, but to Master Niallan, it didn’t matter. She had been his mother. I cracked my neck and peered up with tired eyes, exhausted from my long day, and the fact I hadn’t found what I was truly searching for—not even a hint of it. I asked, “Did you pass your first Challenge?”
His mother blinked swiftly.
I high-fived the air in front of her portrait with as much enthusiasm as I could muster. “Way to go. Make sure you get rest tonight. They won’t go easy on you. You know that.”
King of Gods (Vampire Crown Book 2) Page 24