The Darkest Torment

by Gena Showalter

She wasn’t afraid...but might have been a little turned on. Stay strong! The long-term outcome was more important than the short-term pleasure.

  To her surprise, the dogs remained quiet. Sensed no threat this time?

  “Stay.” Taking a page from her training manual, he began to pet her. “We’re so good together.”

  He stroked her hair...down her arm...up her stomach and between her breasts... Only when she had gone taut with anticipation, the very air she breathed burning her with awareness only this man could elicit, did he circle her beaded nipple.

  “If we’re parted, I won’t be able to touch you like this, and I desperately want to touch you. Stay,” he repeated. “Please.”

  His resolve was a tantalizing throb against her skin. The problem? He’d couched the words as a request this time, and yet they were still a demand.

  “Your plea is too little too late, warrior.”

  The gentleness evaporated from his expression. “You’re a human. You don’t know what’s good for you.”

  “So you keep telling me.” She pushed him away. “Well, I know beyond a doubt you aren’t good for me. Now move!”

  He moved, but only of his own volition, the bastard.

  “What do you want from me?” he snapped.

  “From you? Nothing.” Head high, she bent to pick up the bag. She stuffed her belongings inside. “I want a man who sees me as his equal.”

  “That,” he said, his voice now devoid of emotion, “is something I’ll never do. I can’t. Not when I could break you.”

  Just. Like. That. Hope that their relationship could survive this withered. Disappointment and sorrow welled up and bubbled over. Won’t beg him to reconsider.

  She wasn’t leaving to teach him a lesson and calm herself down, she decided. She was leaving, period. Their story was over. The end. She’d thought she could prove her worth. He’d just admitted he would never see it.

  “We’re done,” she told him, and she meant it.

  “We aren’t done.” He reached for her but let his arms drop before contact was made. “We will never be done.”

  Stay. Strong! The very strength he thought she didn’t have. “When you start to miss me, and you will, don’t come looking for me. This—” she waved a hand to indicate her body “—is now off-limits to you.”

  “No. No! I won’t let you—”

  “Katarina is still talking.” She stomped her foot. “I’m done trying to train you. You failed my class. F plus plus.”

  His nostrils flared as he bared his teeth. “You were training me? Like one of your dogs?”

  “Of course.” She fluffed her hair. “You’re a beast, are you not? Beautiful but deadly.”

  “I am. And now you’ll see my worst.” With a roar, his eyes glinting with red, he toppled the dresser. The drawers split down the middle, the contents spilling out. At the bed, he yanked the iron headboard until a bar came loose. A bar he hurled into the wall.

  What had brought on this fit? Certainly not her admission to training him. It had made him angry, but not enraged.

  The fact that she’d called him a beast?

  Ignoring him as if she hadn’t a care, she finished packing in silence, picking her garments off the floor.

  Once upon a time...

  Today, a new story began. One of her own making. She would use this heartbreak as an opportunity to patch herself up into a new and better person.

  When she had everything she needed, she called, “Galen!”

  Baden stopped his tantrum and glared at her. “He won’t dare take you from me.”

  “He will. And you’re going to give him the order or I swear to you now, I won’t just fight you, I’ll run every time your back is turned. I’ll provoke this beastly side of you at every opportunity, and—”

  “Enough.” He was panting, his hands fisted. “You want to go? Very well. We’ll let you go.”

  We, he’d said.

  Relief battled with sorrow. Don’t want to lose another loved one. But she didn’t love him. She couldn’t. “When my brother is well, you’ll have Galen bring him to me, wherever I am.”

  Silence stretched between them. He nodded stiffly.

  Galen soared into the room without knocking, irritation painting his features. “You rang, doodlepop?” He saw the naked Baden and covered his eyes. “Seriously, dude? Come on! If I’d wanted to be part of a sausage fest, I’d have visited my butcher.”

  The dogs moved to her side and licked at her hands. Chin trembling, she slung the bag over her shoulder and hooked leashes to the collars. “I’m ready to go.”

  “Uh, ready to go where?” Galen asked, confused.

  Baden turned away, the muscles in his back knotted. “Take her somewhere else.” He paused and gritted, “Somewhere safe.”

  “Somewhere of my choosing,” she corrected. “And you won’t tell Baden where I am. You won’t ever tell him, even upon threat of death.” There would be no sequel. She would make sure of it.

  A sob brewed in the back of her throat.

  Tears? For him? No!

  Galen blinked, as if certain he’d misheard. “Are mommy and daddy getting a divorce?”

  “Yes, and mommy has full custody of the fur children.” She pasted a bright smile on her face, ignoring the thick veil of tension in the air. “Now let’s go before I divorce your ass, too.”

  * * *

  Baden battled an unholy rage. Katarina was gone. But even if she’d stayed, he would have lost her. She, like so many others, thought him beautiful on the outside but ugly on the inside. Despite her boast to the contrary!

  His one bright light in a world of darkness now flamed out of reach.

  He drove a fist into the wall again and again, creating new holes, tearing skin and cracking his knuckles.

  Destruction prowled through his mind. I want my woman back. Get her back!

  I will.

  He must.

  A hand came to rest on his bare shoulder. No pain. He whipped around, expecting to see Katarina. She’d realized her mistake! He came face-to-face with Fox instead.

  “What?” he snarled, hating his desensitized skin.

  Her gaze swept over his nakedness. “How about you get dressed? You’re hot and all, but I prefer my men with a little less obsession for another woman.”

  He wasn’t bashful or shy by any means, but he didn’t like another woman’s eyes on Katarina’s property. He strode to the closet and tugged on a pair of pants. He would give Katarina time to calm. Then he would mount a charge to win her back.

  Perhaps he shouldn’t have ordered her to do his bidding, but damn it, remaining human wasn’t an option for her. But he definitely should have waited to force the issue until he had a way to change her.

  “What?” he repeated with just as much heat.

  “I heard yelling, and thought I could help you out. I didn’t realize offering aid would be such a terrible crime. My mistake.”

  “I don’t need your help. Also, what happens in my life isn’t your business.” Cultivating a friendship with the keeper of Distrust? Not ever going to happen. He may have given her advice, but that had been at Katarina’s request. Now he just wanted to kill someone.

  “I’m not your enemy, Baden.”

  “You’re right. You’re worse. You’re a reminder of a past I cannot change.”

  “Yes, and you should be grateful! You’re stronger now. You’re wiser. And I’m a fucking mess.”

  “Through fault all your own. You welcomed the demon. You wanted it.”

  “I wanted power. You have no idea what life was like for me, an immortal born without—” She sucked in a breath, quieted. What had she stopped herself from revealing?

  She was an immortal of indeterminate origin. She’d never shifted
into an animal form that he’d seen. Her voice wasn’t a weapon, like a siren, and she didn’t have wings like a Harpy, Sent One or angel. She had no fangs to mark her as vampire, or whatever Pandora had become, and no aura of power, like a witch.

  “I wanted power,” she repeated.

  “You acquired an illusion of power. And a new weakness.”

  “I know that. Now.”

  True power was friendship—strength in numbers. True power was love—a willingness to sacrifice for others.

  Love often ran red.

  True power was hope for a better tomorrow—which he no longer had. True power didn’t have to spring from violence, he realized. It could be as gentle as a woman’s touch.

  Perhaps he was wiser now. And yet, he’d still allowed his determination to possess Katarina to drive her away. To keep her safe, yes, but also to care for her on his own terms.

  He yanked a shirt from a hanger and pulled the material over his head. “You need to go.”

  “Look. Whether you want my aid or not, you’re going to get it. I know something about Hades’s sons.” She rubbed the back of her neck, shifted from one booted foot to the other. “William and Lucifer used to wear the bands, too.”

  How could she know that? And William would never keep such a secret—

  No, not true. William was a selfish prick, easily amused by the ignorance of others. Even his friends.

  William had even warned Baden away from Fox. Because she knew his secret.

  “You should have told me sooner,” he said.

  “I didn’t want you asking questions about my past.”

  “Oh, I won’t. I’ll be too busy killing the man I thought was my friend.” Baden grabbed two daggers and made an adjustment in his mind.

  Home—wherever William is. He ended up in a spacious bedroom. The walls were covered in claw marks, the furniture busted into jagged pieces, shards of glass littering the floor.

  Maddox, Paris and Sabin were doing their best to pin William as he raged, while Strider and Lucien guarded the door to prevent an escape. Did they not remember the male could flash? Or could William not flash while his emotions were in such turmoil?

  He fought with a skill beyond lethal, his every movement precise and methodical despite his volatility.

  By some miracle, Maddox was able to latch onto one arm while Strider was able to latch onto the other, allowing Paris to come in from behind to perform a headlock. They wouldn’t be able to restrain the male for long. Already William was close to gaining his freedom.

  Baden closed the distance in a hurry and slammed one of his daggers deep into William’s heart. Finally, the male stilled, glaring at Baden as literal flames flickered in his eyes.

  “Mistake, Red. Big mistake.”

  Baden slammed the other dagger into William’s gut.

  William laughed with manic glee while the others gaped in astonishment. “I’ve been meaning to come to you. To collect the favor you owe me.”

  Baden sensed the opposite was true. “You want your favor? Tell me to release you, and I will.”

  Eyes of crystalline blue darkened until jet black. Black that spread to his cheekbones, reminding Baden of one of the kings he’d seen in Hades’s chamber.

  I’m staring into the abyss.

  “No,” William said. “I think I’d rather wait.”

  “Very well.” Baden twisted the daggers deeper. “Then let’s discuss the reason for my visit. Were you or were you not once bound by Hades’s bands?”

  In a shocking move, William surged forward, pushing both daggers deeper. One more step, and Baden’s hands would come out the other side.

  “Does this feel like a sharing moment to you?” the warrior demanded, deceptively calm, even as bolts of lightning flashed underneath his skin.

  “Answer me, anyway,” Baden said.

  “Or what? You’ll stick me with a third dagger?”

  Bastard. Was there nothing he feared? “You think you’re the only one with problems?” A question the male had once asked him.

  “I’m the only one with a problem I care about.”

  “Tell me what I want to know or—”

  “Or what?” The words were whispered, more lethal than the blades. “Tell me. I’m figuratively dying of curiosity.”

  This was Hades’s son. Threats wouldn’t work, as proven. Appeals to a softer side wouldn’t work, either. He had no softer side. Or rather he’d had a softer side, but she’d been taken away from him.

  Baden yanked out the daggers, one at a time, removing bits of heart and liver, too. Oops. “Do you know if Gilly and Puck registered? Want to make sure I buy the right toaster.”

  William narrowed his eyes, and it was clear he struggled to retain his composure. “Yes, Red. I wore the bands, just like you. They made me Hades’s son, and if you live long enough, they’ll do the same to you—brother.”

  25

  “Go ahead and eat your weight in ice cream. You’ll just give him more of you to love.”

  —Haidee, former keeper of Hate

  GALEN, THE CHRUNO, refused to take Katarina and the dogs to Bratislava, where she could find a new place to live and start over. Instead, he took her little ragtag group straight to Keeley and Kaia. According to Galen, Keeley had horrifying powers her enemies feared so greatly, they wouldn’t even speak her name except in hushed whispers, and Kaia could chew through an entire army without breaking a sweat. Details Baden had left out during intros.

  This was another perfect example of why Katarina needed a book of who was who to whom in the worlds.

  Not that Baden would provide such a tome now.

  The backs of her eyes began to...no, surely not...but she couldn’t deny—or fight—the burn for long. Trembling, she patted her cheeks. They were still dry. Good, that was good. She would not cry for him. Her parents and Peter deserved her tears. Her precious dogs deserved her tears. Baden did not.

  Suck it up. Move on.

  “Here. She’s your problem now, ladies. Protect her if you want. Or not. My part is done.” Galen vanished without another word.

  Keeley stared at her, confused. “Who are you?”

  Was that a joke? “You know me. We hung out just last week.”

  Keeley shook her head. “No way. I’d remember. Wait.” She rubbed her temples. “The deets are coming back to me. You’re Baden’s girl... Katrina. He absconded with you after the attack on our home.”

  A pang in her heart, the burn returning to her eyes. “I was Baden’s girl.” She pointed to a cozy spot in the corner, and the dogs trotted over to lie down. “We decided to part ways because he’s an asshole. And my name is Katarina.”

  “Katrina is better,” Kaia said with a nod. “Fewer syllables.”

  Katarina gave her a false smile. “I’ll call you KiKi, then. It’s prettier.”

  Got to make the best of a bad situation.

  She took in her surroundings. The decor could have been plucked from the set of a porno. Dark, intimate and suggestive, with mirrors on the ceiling and walls. “What is this place?”

  “A nightclub for immortals,” Keeley said. “Known as Downfall.”

  Appropriate. According to the hours of operation displayed on the wall, the bar wasn’t set to open for hours. Well. No wonder it was currently devoid of other patrons.

  “Why are you here after hours?” she asked.

  “Long story short, I was testing the club’s security, seeing if it was possible to break and enter. Hint: it is.” Kaia moved behind the bar and mixed a concoction she named the Shame Spiral. “Slight hiccup. I didn’t actually tell the owners I would be doing them such a massive favor. Here. Drink.”

  “I’ll be honest with you,” Katarina said. “This might as well be cardboardeaux. I can’t tell the differen
ce between a well-mixed drink and a piss-poor one.”

  “Then you’re probably the only person in the world who will appreciate the enormity of my talent.”

  Well, then. “Bottoms up.” She downed her glass in a single gulp and coughed as her throat and stomach burned. The room spun for a moment. “I think we should rename the drink Bad Decisions.”

  Kaia fist-pumped the air. “Change approved! Now drink another.” She slid a second glass in Katarina’s direction. “It’ll help get your mind off things.”

  “If I’m arrested for stealing liquor...” The first drink she could justify. Just had my heart crushed. This second one? Not so much.

  “Dude. The worst Thane will do is stake us to his front lawn. He’s one of the three owners, and staking is a specialty of his.” Kaia flicked her mass of red hair over her shoulder. “But he’d have to catch us first, and that ain’t happening.”

  Keeley nodded with enthusiasm. “My girl speaks true. I can flash, and she can fly like the wind. Besides, you’ll lag behind, and he’ll turn his efforts to you. We’ll be forgotten.”

  So comforting. “Your immortality isn’t fair.” And she wasn’t jealous. Really. That ship had sailed.

  The pink-haired vixen tapped her chin with blunt-tipped nails painted ivy-green. “There’s got to be a way we can even the playing field and make you immortal.”

  “Baden said the same thing.”

  “He’s right. I mean, Hades has the ability, and I’m stronger and better than him. I’m almost certain I did something to Gilly...”

  Wait. “The girl who got sick and had to marry a goat-man to survive?”

  Kaia ran her finger across her neck in a dude, shut your piehole motion. “We aren’t supposed to talk about that, Keys.”

  “Someone got sick? Why am I always the last to know?” Keeley downed her newest drink then motioned to Katarina to do the same.

  She obeyed, the heat was more delectable than painful this time, causing fireworks to explode and spew flames in her head. “I don’t want to have to marry a monster.” Or a beast.

  Longing leveled her. Going to wipe Baden from my memory. Never going to think about him again. Or crave him. Or dream of him. Or fantasize about him. Nope. Never. He’d pulled the he-man card, and she’d had to exit the game.