He knew by heart the way through his childhood home—once a grand spectacle, now reflecting the decay rotting his entire planet. Arian’s teeth ground together. After this, it’d be even less likely that Onoliza’s reign would be challenged.
But he had to do it.
His mate’s life was on the line.
The doors to the throne room were held open by the grasp of vines, preserved beneath the thick layer of ice.
Sitting atop her throne that was chiseled with jagged, twisting arcs of glittering blue, Onoliza watched him step out of the shadowy corridor and into the grand—albeit dimly lit—chamber. Her dark eyes sparkled with lust and pride.
Translucent bluish-green skin stretched tight over her long, lithe skeleton, with cerulean hair pulled up into an elegant knot atop her elongated skull. She was a beautiful nightmare.
A long finger tapped her sharp jaw while her thin lips split into a wide smile.
Arian stopped at the bottom of the stone steps, forcing himself to lower into a bow. Every inch of his body revolted against the simple action.
“Well, well, Princey,” she crooned. “This is a surprise.”
“Is it?” he growled, rising to his feet while the beast beneath his skin raged to burst free. To tear her smug smile from her body. “In that case you might want to fire all of your sentinels.”
She gave a shrill laugh that reverberated off the room encased in ice—as if each molecule of the awful substance existed only to project their Empress’s voice. Of course she’d seen him coming. A wretched creature, yes, but a fool she was not.
“Let’s cut to the reason you’re here, shall we?”
Arian steeled his spine, fists clenched at his sides. “I think you know.”
Her chin lifted, gaze turning mocking. “Say it, Prince. Tell your Empress what you want.”
His jaw threatened to crack with how hard he clamped it shut. “My brother Elentis is missing. Do you know where he is?”
Onoliza clucked her tongue in admonishment. “And?”
His skin felt tight from reining in his beast, yet defeat seeped from the empty space in his chest where his heart used to be. Harlow had taken his heart with her, wherever she was. He hung his head. “My Marked, Harlow, was taken by Oricus. I need to know where he is. In exchange for my servitude, I want you to free her and keep my brother from her. And Elentis, too, if he’s been captured.”
Silence followed his words. He peered up at her through his lashes. She watched him, a predatory smile that was all teeth still adorning her face. His bargain was foolproof for her. Though it meant he’d likely never see Harlow ever again, she’d at least be free. She’d be safe.
“You think I know where Oricus is?” Something flickered across her features before she looked down to the slender column of ice that her arm rested on, stroking the violent points delicately. Was it hurt he’d seen? “Would it surprise you to know that he hides himself from me? Better than you did.” When she looked back up, it was anger that marred her otherworldly face. “I do intend to hunt him down. I suspect he’s here on Scondelade. Elentis, however, is indeed here. Drowning in the Okeah.”
Arian’s lips parted, a hiss pushing through his teeth. He ran a hand through his long, disheveled hair. “That means that Oricus is here. But where?” The words were spoken more to himself than to anyone else. He turned, calling over his shoulder, “I rescind my bargain.”
He didn’t make it more than two steps before sharp daggers of frozen matter tore through his abdomen in a morbid spray of crimson. Arian roared, staggering to his knees.
Onoliza glided around to stand above him, grinning like the wicked witch she was. “Too late, Prince. You’re mine now.”
Arian lunged for her. Another terrible torrent of shards tore through his body, freezing his insides, blinding him. Then consciousness fled.
HARLOW
After another hour or so of splashing in the pool, the three climbed out of the water and dressed, the weight of Harlow’s future keeping her from fully enjoying her time with Kel and Xalicur. Her clothing was completely dried, thanks to the sunshine illuminating the area.
Xalicur scooped her up into his arms with ease then took off back to the castle. She couldn’t help but search the trees, shivering at every flash of movement that followed them, or at the glint of eyes from above. From what she’d heard of the forest children, she didn’t want to encounter them, ever.
When they broke through the dark canopy cover and emerged into warm sunshine, Kel a step behind them, they slowed to a stop. Xalicur set her down.
In the open she saw the two suns low in the sky, the one closest to the horizon bleeding red. Her awe at the beauty around her, however, was interrupted.
Storming down the loose stone path, surrounded by servants carrying items, was Oricus, speaking in a quick voice. His green eyes flashed with annoyance, bouncing from Kel to Xalicur before landing on Harlow.
“This should be fun,” Xalicur muttered.
Harlow’s shoulders pulled back, and before she knew what she was doing she was stomping toward the sexy yet grumpy man who kept more secrets than a beach contained grains of sand.
Pausing to lift a brow at the radiating anger coming from Harlow, Oricus held up a hand to silence the women around him. Their odd language cut off abruptly.
“Enjoy your clandestine trip out of the castle?” he asked.
Harlow’s eyes narrowed. “We need to talk.”
“Agreed,” he said. “Ladies, you’ll be directing the rest of the Lunvet Solstice Ball planning to Miss Marks. But for now, leave us.”
Harlow blinked in stunned confusion. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” Oricus replied, his gaze sweeping down her body in a way that made her even warmer than the blistering sunshine could. “Now what is it you wanted to discuss?”
“I’ve never planned a ball, I don’t even know what the Lunvet Solstice Ball is.”
“Lunvet means winter, which will begin in two weeks when the last two suns carry on their orbit and the six moons become visible. It will be a masked ball. Think ice, candied everything, and all the usual winter items. The menu and guestlist is taken care of—”
“Where is the camera in my room?”
His nostrils flared, and she suspected it was more to do with the interruption than the question itself. “Have you seen a camera in your room?”
The heat of her anger licked through her veins. She stepped closer, chin raised. His question was clever. He knew she’d never seen a camera, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t one. “I saw the pictures of me on your desk.”
“Yes, I’m aware. I smelled you all over my room.” This time he stepped forward, their chests brushing. Snaking a hand around to the middle of her back, he kept her from pulling away. “Word to the wise: if you don’t want me to fuck you against your will, don’t go leaving your scent near my bed. All I can think about is holding you down on it and punishing you for sneaking in without my permission.”
Harlow shivered at his words, the fire in her body morphing into one that pooled between her thighs. Oricus’s own scent wrapped around her, and her body seemed to come alive like it had just hours ago under Kel’s and Xalicur’s touches.
The slow spread of his cruel grin was like a thousand knives disguised as roses—beautiful to look at, but deadly if you got too close. One taste of those sensual lips and she knew she’d be done for.
She lurched out of his grasp, keeping the irritation present on her expression. “The harder you try to hide your secrets from me, the more determined I become,” she whispered, and stalked past him into the castle.
The next few days were filled nonstop. In the mornings, Rex and Rasimus joined her for breakfast before Rasimus launched into all manner of attacks, which Rex hoped would coax her magic out. He’d fling blasts of wind or water at her right the same time Rasimus would charge. Nothing worked, leaving her soaked and with enough bruises and wel
ts on her skin to make her look like a splotchy abstract painting. After washing off any blood along with the copious amounts of sweat from the onslaught, she was immediately met by the Lunvet Solstice Planning Committee. They followed her around into the late morning hours demanding that she choose linen colors and patterned dishes that gleamed through, translucent and stunning. Then there was where each table and chair was to be placed, every candle, every crystal dictated by her.
It left no time for her to seek out Emuria, who was absent altogether. Jezzebelle assured her that Emuria was fine, but had been temporarily placed on kitchen duty.
Harlow didn’t hate the party planning, though much of it was meticulous. Every detail had been decided on, down to the ice sculptures and the draperies in the elegant ballroom, which the servants had been kind enough to show her. Like most of the castle, trees grew amuck. Vines wound over the walls and ceiling and tiny crystal-like buds of blue and white already grew in thick bunches, as though they themselves were decorating for the ball.
Through the magnificent, tall windows of the ballroom, Harlow noticed the sky darkening day by day. At night the halls were dark, giving the illusion of proper night and day cycles, though the periods of darkness were far too short to be true night.
When she finally escaped the women and shut her bedroom door, she barely had time to change into the pj’s Emuria had made—soft fleece shorts and matching long-sleeve top with buttons in the front—before collapsing face-first into her pillow. The hours spent in sleep were restless, with flashes of images and scenes she always struggled to remember the next morning. But like clockwork they fluttered away the moment she opened her eyes.
She hadn’t seen Oricus or any of the other men besides the two she trained with each morning, and strangely, she found herself missing them. Feeling their presence about the castle, sometimes sensing them leave the grounds, which always merited a sharp pang deep in her chest. But she was too busy to chase after any of them.
With the job he had saddled her with, she was too busy to snoop through Oricus’s room; of course, though that was undoubtedly by design. Keeping her occupied day and night kept her out of trouble. She’d managed to ask the odd question about each of her mates, but the staff were unsurprisingly tight-lipped on most topics. Especially when it came to Oricus. Being as they lived in a castle and everyone answered to him, it wasn’t too much of a leap for her to guess he was a king or something similar. But when she’d made a quip to that effect, they’d all looked at her in horror—like the sky would tear open and great bolts of lightning would fry her on the spot.
A full week after Oricus had assigned her the task of managing the ball, she awoke early only to spot a long, thick box placed on her table, tied shut with a ribbon. It glared at her in the barely illuminated room. Since the qauitocent incident, she’d had the lights programmed to remain dimly lit through the nights.
The pleasant flutter at seeing a gift for her was replaced with the realization that someone had been in her room and she hadn’t woken.
Most likely a servant, since she didn’t smell any of her Marked’s lingering scents. Still, she didn’t like the idea of being such a hard sleeper that she wouldn’t know if anything undesirable had crept in.
Sitting up to stare at the offending box, she stretched with a groan, unable to keep her eyes from doing their usual sweep of the room for any hint of a hidden camera. As usual, the walls and ceiling were flawlessly smooth. There were no obvious creases indicating a panel that opened.
She had no idea how he’d done it, but she’d find out.
As she rose to change into her training gear, a knock sounded at the door. Harlow rushed to scan her thumb, moving aside for her covered breakfast trays. But instead of Jezzebelle, Tadaj stood in the doorway, his full lips twisted to one side in a mischievous smile. His long black hair was pulled back, and he wore a leather jacket over a tight black T-shirt, the undone buckles giving full access to the chiseled muscles beneath. His dark denim jeans were slung low, tucked into the tops of his black combat boots.
He radiated “bad boy,” and Harlow’s entire body responded as shamefully as it did with all her other mates.
Nine of them stood behind Tadaj—with the notable exceptions of Oricus and Viktor. “Good morning,” Tadaj purred.
Folding her arms across her chest, she huffed. “You’re not Jezzebelle.” Though all ten of them took in her custom-made flannel pajamas a shade of red so dark it resembled blood, she didn’t feel the least bit apologetic for the shorts being nearly short enough to be considered underwear. Nor did she care that the tight, button-down top hugged her every curve. Their gazes turned hungry and she felt each one. Ten sexy-as-hell men staring at her like she was a feast might have been a fantasy for some, but not when the consequence lasted forever. “I need coffee.”
Tadaj’s wicked smile grew.
“Don’t worry, mi reina,” Kel said over Tadaj’s shoulder. “Breakfast is being delivered to us on the lawn. We wanted to come fetch you. Ras and Rex said you can be a tad unruly without coffee.”
“Which is why,” Rex spoke up from the left and Tadaj moved aside, “I brought you some.”
The familiar scent of her liquid addiction called to her like a drug to a junkie—even knowing it wasn’t actual coffee, she craved it. She lunged for the cup in his hands, the sweet taste burning her lips and tongue, but she moaned, taking a long gulp.
“Mierda. Que es sexy,” Kel muttered.
“Seriously sexy,” Koen agreed, nodding.
Harlow hid her heated cheeks behind the cup before lowering it. “Well I better get changed if we’re going outside. What’s the weather like?”
“Sorry, pet, you’ll have to go as you are or our food will get cold.” Rasimus’s flash of teeth as he grinned resembled more of a wolf than a man, but his meaning was clear. They’d wanted to catch her out in her night clothes.
She scowled. “If your intention is to have me freeze my ass off, I’ll stab you.” She took another sip of her coffee before moving through the throng of men, all of them stepping aside to let her pass.
Hearing Rasimus hiss between his teeth made her smile into her mug. She strolled to what she’d learned to be the entrance of the back garden, where she’d taken an afternoon tea break per the servants’ request.
When she came to the end of the hall, her mug was woefully empty. Rex walked silently at her side, the others laughing and joking together in languages she didn’t understand.
At the open grand doors leading to the sloping grounds, her breath hitched.
A small stretch of bloodred light painted the horizon, but above the sky was navy blue and filled with stars. Down the stone steps onto the paved courtyard large metal basins lined the area, all of them filled with tall, coiling, writhing flames that cracked and popped. Plush multicolored cushions sat around a low table, covered trays spilling over it. In tall stacks between the torches, kept out of reach of the hungry tongues of fire, were folded blankets. It was all transformed to be warm and inviting. Not something you would expect from a group of burly men.
Turning to look at her mates that waited behind her for a reaction, Harlow beamed, a weird burning starting between her eyes. She blinked the gathering moisture away. “And here I was about to pull a Thor and smash this mug for being empty.”
A round of chuckles passed through the men, but when Harlow glanced beside her at Rex, his face was pale and void of humor. Had she said something wrong? She reflected on the Thor reference and puzzled over it. How had she remembered that? There was nothing else pertaining to the memory of the movie. Another dead end.
“Let’s eat,” Lefayon said in his raspy voice that she was sure made women’s toes curl.
She started down the steps in a haste, spying the steaming jugs filled with coffee. Her mates followed suit, fanning out around her when she sank onto a cheery yellow cushion. A warm material fell across her shoulders and she glanced back to find Darrow walkin
g away, but not before he flashed her a wink. She grinned. Arodis on her right was filling her mug with more coffee. Rex, who’d claimed the seat on her left, popped the bubble over her tray, revealing all of her favorite pastries heaped beyond what she could logically eat. Well, she could polish it off if given the entire day, but likely not at breakfast alone.
A sigh of contentment escaped her. “Maybe you lot aren’t so bad. My coffee cup is never empty for long, and you even took the time to set up a nice breakfast with all my favorite treats.”
Silence followed, broken only by a few of the men shifting uncomfortably.
“Well, if you like this, just wait ’til you see what we’ve got planned for the rest of the day,” Tadaj said at last.
“There’s more?” she asked.
“Aye,” Darrow answered, spearing a sausage link with his fork. “We’ve not been able to see you much since Oricus stuffed you with this ball.”
Her heart thumped at that. She’d been missing them, but given she’d not seen any of them even in passing besides at her grueling training sessions, she hadn’t thought they’d missed her.
She picked up a blueberry muffin and tore off a chunk that she tossed into her mouth. The first bite drew a moan from her, the flavors of berry bursting in her mouth almost better than an orgasm. Almost.
Again the men around her went still.
She cringed, remembering that her sounds of enjoyment were painful for the unmated men to hear. “Sorry,” she murmured.
A few of their eyes had changed, their pupils expanding and eating away their colored irises.
“It’s fine,” Rex said, albeit roughly. His hand brushed her thigh in what she assumed was meant to be a comforting gesture, but he pulled away just as quickly.
Harlow looked down at her plate, her own chest suddenly tight, heat simmering through her. “This is bad, isn’t it?”
For several moments no one answered. Then, from the farthest end on her right, someone cleared their throat. “Not to worry,” Koen replied. “We will adjust.”
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