We crouched down behind the stone wall and waited for Gregory to meet us.
“The door to the tower is just over there.” Tobias pointed to our right. “The guards must be stationed inside.”
“I see it. I wonder where Gregory is; he should be here by now.” I peeked from behind the grey stone tower to see him speaking with another dark-haired shifter. Shit. This was not good. Not good at all. “I believe we’ve been double-crossed, gentleman. Should I kill Gregory, or would you like to do the honours?”
“I believe this may be our distraction.” Tobias nodded toward the door.” Gregory is keeping the shifter’s back to us, so we can move in. Are we ready?”
“If you’re certain,” I reluctantly agreed. “You know him best.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded. It was now or never.
Tobias held up his right hand and mouthed, “On three.”
When he raised his third finger, we stood and dashed toward the door as silently as possible. Tobias had his magic at the ready and disengaged the lock before we even reached the door. I was thoroughly impressed.
Eric pulled the door open and it creaked rather loudly, I might add. We halted and slammed our backs against the wall. Shit. Shit. Shit. What was with all the creaky doors? It seemed I wasn’t the only one with this problem.
James popped his head out to see if we’d been spotted, but as far as he could tell no one had seen or heard anything. We slipped inside the entrance, single file, into complete pitch-black darkness, closing the door behind us. I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face. I bumped into someone’s back, who I assumed was Tobias, and whispered my apologies. How the hell were we supposed to do anything if we couldn’t see? I realised dhampirs could see in the dark, but I couldn’t. I was certainly at a disadvantage.
“Follow me,” Tobias whispered.
“Right. But, where are you exactly? Someone hold onto me; I can’t see shit.” I felt a hand grab my arse. “Eric if that’s your hand on my arse, I’m going to remove it for you once we’re done here. Hold onto my arm. Damn.”
The light chuckle behind me told me it was most certainly Eric’s hand. I rolled my eyes and smiled. He was such as shit.
Just up ahead, I could see a dim light in a narrow corridor. There was a spiral staircase that led all the way up to the top of the tower. I knew in my gut Lucy would be there.
“Follow the stairs,” I whispered, pointing to my left. “Stay on alert for guards and let me know if you sense shifters before we bust inside.”
“Follow me,” Eric said. “Catherine, stay close.”
Dear God. Not this caveman shit again. But whatever, we were a team and I needed to learn how to work with others and not solely on my own. Begrudgingly, I kept my mouth shut and followed. Almost. “If Julius shows up, he’s mine. I don’t want any of you to touch him. We have a score to settle and one I intend to even up.”
Three sighs could be heard all around me, but not one of them protested. Maybe they were learning. Hmm. Progress.
We walked up what felt like fifteen-thousand steps and dear God, my arse cheeks were burning. I needed to work out more. I was nearly out of breath.
Eric stopped abruptly and if not for Tobias, I would have fallen on my arse and all the way back down the stairs, most likely to my death. I huffed out a sigh. “Drakins.” Eric turned toward us all, not pardoning himself for nearly pushing me to my death, I might add. “I sense at least five behind the door. There could be more.”
Damn. Well, more for us to kill. Lucy was leaving tonight; they could surrender or die. I honestly didn’t care.
Tobias moved past me to the front. “I’ll need to disengage the lock. No one breathe. We’ll attempt to go in as silently as possible and catch them off guard.”
I realised James hadn’t said a word this entire time and I wondered if he was all right. “James, are you still with us?”
“Yes, I’m only thinking. We need to keep one alive as leverage against Julius,” he said. “With Gregory no longer being on the inside, we’ll need more information about what Julius’s plans are for your kingdom and mine.”
“Good idea.” I patted his shoulder. “You ready?”
“Yes. Remember, stay close and keep your guard up.”
I almost laughed. I’d been slaying dragons for years, but their concern was endearing. “Let’s move.”
Tobias silently unlocked the door and slowly pushed it open. I could see Lucy sitting in her cage, hugging her knees, and my heart caught in my throat. She looked pitiful and sad. Four guards stood off to the side, and another had his back to us; he was staring out of the large window facing the front of the castle. I couldn’t quite make him out from my vantage point. The lighting was terrible.
Tobias was the first to slip in, followed by Eric, then me and finally James. My heart was jackhammering so loudly in my chest, I was certain someone would be able to hear it. Sweat gathered across my brow; I was nervous as hell. I had no idea why. I’d killed more Drakins than I cared to count, but something about tonight was oddly different. I was different. Dammit Bertha.
Lucy looked up and our eyes met. She opened her mouth to speak, and I shook my head. My companions and I were crouched near the entrance unseen, waiting to make our move.
I turned toward Eric for only a moment when I heard Lucy cry out. One of the guards was pulling her up by her hair through the cage, and I snapped. Unsheathing my sword, I made my presence known.
“Unhand her, you piece of shit!” Before the meat-headed shifter could react, I held my sword to his throat, forcing the brothers to react at the same time. I stepped forward, piercing his neck, causing him to mess himself in the process. Nasty, indeed. Was he struck dumb? “Get your filthy hands off my sister. Now!” Then I heard chaos ensue all around me and glanced to the right.
My companions were holding three Drakins by their throats, and with one swift movement, they broke their necks, dropping them to the floor like sacks of potatoes.
Well, that escalated quickly.
“Catherine, no!” Lucy cried out. “Behind you!”
I’d forgotten about the fifth one. I turned on my heel, raising my sword, only to be met with a punch to the back of my head. Damn. That hurt but I was certain it hurt him a bit more. I shook my head and turned to see who my attacker was. My mouth dropped open.
“Julius. You son of a bitch.” I dropped my sword to my side. I was going to kill him with my bare hands.
Chapter 27
“Hello, Princess. I knew you would come.”
“Fuck you.” I tossed my sword to the floor. “Ready to die, arsehole?”
Julius chuckled, taking a step back. I could hear the other Drakin struggling in the background, knowing my companions had captured him.
“Do you honestly believe you are the person to kill me?” he sneered. “You are but a woman who plays with a sword.”
That was it. He was going to die. I sounded my real battle cry and went on the attack. With a right hook to his ugly-as-sin jaw, I caught him off guard and then kicked him in the gut. Damn the sword. He would die by my hand. He’d threatened my family and my love. Love, yes, I said it.
Doubled over, bits of fire and smoke erupted from Julius’s mouth, but I didn’t allow that to deter me. I carried on with a roundhouse kick to his head, causing blood to spray from somewhere on his scarred face; my red skirt whirled around me. It was a lovely sight.
“I don’t need a sword to kick your arse.” I grunted, grabbing a fistful of his long blond hair and bringing him close. “Look at me, you coward! This is the face of the Southern Kingdom.” I then kicked his manly bits into his throat, and he fell into a heap on the floor, moaning in agony. I smirked to myself; that had to hurt.
“I never want to piss her off.” I heard James say. I had a bit of a chuckle at that. He’d already pissed me off, but he’d never felt my wrath.
“Tobias, get Lucy out of that damned cage. It’s almost time to go.” I turned to loo
k at my little sister’s lovely face and smiled. “I told you I’d come back, Sis.”
“Not so fast, bitch.” I felt my hair being pulled from behind. Again? What the hell?
Arse-kicking Lesson Number One: Never turn your back on your opponent.
I was a cocky dumb arse, then I heard Eric’s menacing growl, and he came rushing forth. Oh, shit. He was going to kill him. I was about to see assorted limbs flying and masses of blood, but no—Julius was mine.
“Eric, stay where you are!” I shouted, attempting to pull away from Julius’s grasp.
Fuck, my hair hurt, and how many more times was some arsehole going to yank on it? It looked lovely tonight, too. Now he was just pissing me off. And he had just called me a bitch. How rude!
I threw my head back and heard a sickening loud crunch. Eww. That had to hurt. It was most certainly a broken nose, but he let go of my damn hair. Win-win. Bastard.
I turned on my heel to face Julius only to find him gone. He’d vanished. “What the fuck? Where did he go?” I looked about the tower with my mouth hanging open. “Seriously. Where the hell is he?”
I glanced around at my sister’s and companions’ awestruck faces. No one was answering me.
Tobias finally stepped forward. “I’m afraid he jumped out of the window and shifted mid-air.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!”
“Catherine! Since when do you use such filthy language?” Lucy scolded me. “And what in the king’s name are you wearing?”
Lucy’s mouth was hanging open in shock and her arms were pressed firmly to her sides. If I wasn’t so pissed, I would have had a laugh at her reaction.
“I’ve recently added the despicable word to my vocabulary. It fits quite nicely.” I shrugged. “And the dress? Well, that’s a long story.”
“I’m afraid Julius will have to wait for another day,” James said.
“Yes, yes, you’re right.” I waved my hand in dismissal. “I took too long kicking his arse because he thought me only a wee little woman playing with a sword. I should have just stabbed him.” I heaved a dramatic sigh as a I paced. “Shit. Now he’ll have time to regroup.”
Eric walked toward me and wrapped his arms around my waist. “You have no idea how hard it was to stand by and watch you fight without me.” He kissed my forehead in front of everyone, and I blushed. “I’m proud of you, Catherine.”
I needed to push him away but found that I couldn’t.
James cleared his throat. “If we’re all done here. Maybe we should be going before more Drakins show up.” He raised an irritated brow, eyeballing Eric and I. “Tobias has spellbound this bastard here; he’s worthless and won’t remember a thing.” James dropped the Drakin to the floor. “We need to find Gregory.” The shifter certainly didn’t look too well; I believed he might have been drooling. Maybe Tobias overdid the memory swipe a bit.
I stepped away from Eric. “You’re absolutely right. Any way we can make it back on foot? I’d rather not die riding on the back of a dragon. That was simply dreadful.”
“What? You rode a dragon to get here?” Lucy exclaimed. “I don’t understand. We’re riding a Drakin? But we hate Drakins, right Catherine?”
“Partly, yes, but this one is all right it seems. He helped us rescue you and got us to the castle. I nearly died on the way here, though. It was a horrifying experience.”
“You nearly died!” She turned toward my companions. “You didn’t protect her? Just what kind of dhampirs are you?”
James shook his head. “She’s so much like her sister,” he muttered.
“What did you just say, dhampir boy?” Lucy demanded with her hands on her hips, stepping closer to James on her tiptoes. “Listen here. I have been starved, dragged around by my hair, stuck in a magical golden cage and wearing the same darn clothes for days! Don’t mess with me, mister. I’m not having the best of days!” She took a deep breath and exhaled. “And I’m in dire need of a bath!”
James’s eyes went wide, and he took a step back. I was laughing my arse off. I couldn’t help myself.
I straightened as best I could and glanced about the room. “Shall we be on our way now?”
“After you,” Eric said.
“Don’t touch my arse, Eric, or you’ll lose a hand.”
“What did you say, Catherine?” Lucy enquired incredulously. “Someone touched your arse? That’s simply indecent!”
If she didn’t calm down, she would soon burst a blood vessel. I couldn’t wait to see her reaction to the brothel. I was wickedly evil, but it seemed my Lucy had grown a bit while in captivity. She was quite bossy and loud indeed.
We finally made our way down the thirteen-million steps and found Gregory waiting. He was alone, thank God! I was worried he was still talking to another shifter, or we had brought too much attention to ourselves. Which posed another question: Why hadn’t Julius sent his minions in after us? It would have been easy enough. I knew I’d injured him, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t order his army to have us captured.
Something wasn’t adding up; this had been too easy. If I knew anything about life and fighting Drakins, it was that nothing ever came easy. I was afraid that tonight was a possible set up, and something else was happening elsewhere. Maybe we were a distraction or a decoy. Julius must have been making plans, plans we weren’t privy to. I also wondered if Gregory was part of that plan. I would have to keep an eye on him.
Once we were all well rested, we needed to hurry back to the Southern Kingdom to check on my father. I was becoming increasingly worried, especially now with all of this uncertainty hanging in the air. Now Julius was out in the wind. I knew in my gut he wouldn’t give up so easily just because he’d taken a beating. He was most certainly gathering allies somewhere else, readying for an attack. This frightened me, not the fight, but my father’s safety. I should have killed the bastard when I had the chance, instead of wasting time kicking his arse, although that part was fun. But worrying about things I had no control over wouldn’t solve our issues of the here and now.
I had my sister back and that was most important at present. She was unharmed, albeit a bit pissed, understandably so, and starved, but safe and sound all the same. I was certain Bertha would be able to get her sorted. I giggled at the thought.
Damn. Gregory was shifting and there was not another shifter in sight. We had to ride all the way back on a dragon. I might indeed be ill. I only barely made it the first time. Dear God. Give me strength. I looked to Lucy and shrugged. Her mouth was hanging open, and I honestly couldn’t blame her. I prayed we lived through this journey back to the brothel. It would just be my luck to die after coming all this way.
“Come on, Lucy. You can ride behind me and in front of Tobias. Just don’t puke on me.” I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and walked her toward the big arse dragon waiting for us to climb his back. I looked around and things were unnervingly quiet. Too quiet. I would have to speak to my companions once we were settled. Something must have happened. This wasn’t right. Not right at all. I was afraid my gut instinct was correct.
Eric grabbed my arse to push me up and Lucy slapped him in the face. I couldn’t help but giggle. His expression was priceless and unexpected. He’d never met my sister and she was on form tonight. In fact, I’d never seen this side of her. I liked this Lucy. She was badarse indeed. She was learning how to swordfight once we arrived home, I decided. Dress and all.
Once we were all seated atop the dragon, he took off and I know it was at maximum speed. I could feel my jaws jiggling. If I didn’t vomit it would indeed be a miracle.
Lucy was squealing with joy behind me and raising her arms above her head. I decided she’d lost her damned mind while being held by the Drakins. Tobias was laughing his arse off and shaking his head. I was glad they were having a grand old time. I was going to die. This would be my last day, and I would never live to become the warrior queen as Bertha had said. I guessed she didn’t figure a dragon into my destiny. This w
as just shit.
“I’m too young to die!” I buried my face into Eric’s neck and inhaled his scent. Damn, he smelled good. Maybe if I kept sniffing him, I wouldn’t think about dying.
Then Gregory flew between the mountains and my arse slid sideways. Yep, this was it. I was dead. There was no coming back from this. I didn’t even bother to scream. I accepted my fate. “I love you, Lucy!”
She grabbed my arse and set me upright. “Hang on and stop being such a big cry baby.”
Well, that was simply uncalled for. How rude! Bossy Lucy was a bit, well, bossy!
“Catherine! You can’t be serious.” Lucy exclaimed with her hands on her hips. “A brothel? You can’t expect me to sleep here. It’s simply indecent! Dear Lord. What would father say?”
I was dying laughing as Lucy was having much the same reaction I did the first time I found out I had to sleep in a brothel. But it was so much funnier listening to her prattle on. Oh, my!
“Lucy, dear. It’s not at all what you think.” I stepped to her side to hug her. “It’s actually quite nice inside and the staff here is wonderful.”
She pushed me way. “I don’t find this funny at all, Catherine. Dear Lord—a brothel.” She put her face in her hands and shook her head dramatically. “Do they at least have a place to bathe?”
“Yes, and soap, too!” I giggled, walking her to the door. “Just wait until you smell the shampoo. Oh, my! We’ll certainly need to bring some back with us to the castle. I’m telling you, Lucy, the rooms are lovely.”
“Welcome back, Catherine!” Bertha hugged me as I walked through the door. “I’m so happy to see you back safe and sound.” Then she glanced at Lucy. “Oh, dear. This must be your beautiful sister, Princess Lucy.” She clutched Lucy’s hands in hers. “It’s such an honour to finally meet you. I’ll get you to a room and have food delivered straight away. You poor dear. You must be so exhausted.”
Bertha wrapped her arms around Lucy’s shoulder, turned her head and winked at me, then proceeded to coddle Lucy all the way up the stairs. Lucy was eating it up and even sniffled a few times. I nearly burst into a fit of giggles again.
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