“I’ll be okay, Z,” he assured me with a wobbly smile. Blood coated his
lips and teeth. “He gave me a potion. I won’t die.”
“He cut off your legs,” I hissed in horror. What type of parent did that?
Obviously, one that deserved to die.
I had killed men for less.
“I know what you’re thinking,” he whispered, stroking my hand. “He’s
the king, Z. You can’t go after him. Not without an army.”
“Then I’ll get an army.” I ground my teeth together, worked my jaw, and
flexed my hands. “He’ll pay for what he did to you.”
Dair continued to stare up at me with a dopey smile, and it was that
expression alone that made me have my next revelation.
“How often?” I whispered hoarsely. At his quirked brow, I added, “How
often does he cut off your legs and then grow them back?”
I knew that the Mermaid King and Dair’s brothers had done it before, but
I had wrongly assumed it was a one-and-done type of deal. I hadn’t expected
this.
The pain he must’ve endured…
The torture…
I wanted to scream and cry. Punch something. I wanted the world to
bleed.
Dair’s smile diminished as quickly as it appeared, a bloated storm cloud
moving in front of the sun, and my heart shattered into thousands of pieces.
“A lot,” Dair admitted, lashes fluttering against his high cheekbones. “A
lot.”
It took every ounce of willpower within me not to rush out of this prison,
find the Mermaid King, and eat his fucking fishtail. The man didn’t deserve
to live, not after what he did to Dair.
“How can we fix this?” I asked desperately. I knew the Capital had
healers on hand. I could ask one of them to help…
“He uses a potion to grow my legs back,” Dair explained with a sad
smile. “A potion he made with the Mage King by combining their powers.”
“Then I’ll grab you that fucking potion,” I hissed, but Dair was already
shaking his head.
“Z, it’s fine.”
“It’s not—”
“I’ve dealt with this for years now. Years. I’ll deal with it now.” He
captured my hand with his own, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “You have to
trust me, Z. Please. I know what I’m doing, and I know what we’re up
against.” He nodded towards the corner of the room where his wheelchair
was folded against the wall. “Grab me my chair, please.”
Tears of indignation and anger trickled down my face, but I knew arguing
would be futile. Dair could be as stubborn as me when he wanted to be.
Didn’t he understand that I needed to defend him? Protect him?
I was beginning to believe that my purpose in life—my purpose in
coming here—was to protect these seven men who had drilled holes in my
heart, filling the cavernous space with gold and jewels. For so long, I’d been
letting the tides carry me away, but these men were giving me the motivation
to swim and resist the current. To adhere to a purpose that went beyond
simply killing.
Hands trembling, I opened the chair and helped settle Dair comfortably
on it. Sweat continued to bead down his face, but he still offered me a
tenuous smile.
In a rare moment of vulnerability, I pressed my lips to his in a
tantalizingly soft kiss. Errant fireworks exploded from that menial
connection.
“I’ll fix this,” I vowed, straightening. Sadness descended in his expressive
azure eyes, the sight strangling me.
“You can’t fix everything, Z,” he whispered. “You’re amazing, and I love
you, but you’re only human. You’re only one person. But, fuck, if anyone
can bring this world to its knees, it’ll be you.” He flashed me another tiny
smile, and though it was strained, it wasn’t polluted with anger or fear, just
grim acceptance and a love that stole my breath.
“Will the sick bastard hurt you again if you leave?” I questioned, already
pushing him out the door. I rolled him down the hallway, my stomach
tightening now with each glance I directed at the various rooms. Knowing
what they were used for clawed at something raw and bleeding in my chest.
“He’s done with me,” Dair assured. I didn’t need to see him to know that
fake a smile with me.
“He’ll pay for this.” We stepped out of the building and into the glaring
sunlight. The grounds were miraculously deserted. I spotted Slippy’s gray
head bobbing in and out of the water, his one eye blinking at me. “I’ll make
him fucking pay.”
I would drive my knife into the Mermaid King’s throat, even if it was the
last thing I did.
FIVE
RYLAND
I moved with the shadows.
I was so in tune with them that there were times I couldn’t
demarcate where they ended and I began. They pressed in on me
from all sides like a disgusting sludge. In the shadows, I could see everything
and be anything. There were no limitations, no pain.
Shadows were renowned spies for the Nightmare Council. According to
my father’s numbers, over three hundred were currently on the Kings’ payroll
and stationed throughout the kingdoms.
We embodied a stealth and grace that exceeded that of the other
supernaturals. As a descendant of Pride, we were notorious for our secrecy.
Very few Shadows showed their faces out in public. I would be the first to
admit that I was one of them—preferring the darkness over the light. I liked
to remain unseen. I saw the rest of the world, but the world itself remained
oblivious to me.
Pulling the shadows tight around me like an onyx cloak, I glided down
the hall and to a servants-only door. Men and women—the majority of them
human—were bustling in and out, their hands overflowing with plates and
goblets. The Kings were feasting today. One final meal before the majority
left the Capital and returned to their respective kingdoms.
One final attempt for me to learn what they knew about Z.
I knew some of them, if not all, suspected that she was our mate, and that
thought alone caused icy fear to skate down my neck. In this world,
information was power that could be dangled over people. There were no
winners in this fucked up game. There were only losers and even bigger
losers.
None of the servants spotted me intermingling within their ranks. How
could they? I was nothing more than a silhouette on the wall.
A door at the very end of the musty hall led to the dining room. I knew
better than to go directly there. No doubt, my father would be able to sense
me the second I entered, and I still wasn’t positive of his allegiance. I trusted
my father more than I trusted the other men, but even that trust was tenebrous
at best. Trust was a fragile thing. One wrong move, one misspoken word, and
it could burst into tiny shards, never to be mended together again.
I turned into a different room, opposite the dining hall, and stopped
directly behind a knight in shining armor. Only then did I drop the shadows.
There was already a small hole in the wall,
and I did not waste any time
leaning forward and pressing my eye to it.
The Kings and some of their wives were spread out at a large table. I
spotted the Mermaid King sitting beside his twin sons, Idol and Manchester.
His fated mate, Elise, sat on the other side of him, her lips puckered into a
snarl. Elise wasn’t Dair’s biological mother, and thank fuck for that. Elise
was just as cold as the grinning King beside her.
The Mage King was already asleep, head lolling against his shoulder and
soft snores filling the room. The Incubus King sat beside him, two women
kneeling between his legs and giving him a blowjob. How they were both
able to do it at the same time was beyond my comprehension.
Across from them, my father sat in a cloak of his own shadows, providing
much needed anonymity. The Vampire King was sipping from a golden
chalice, his lips coming away red with blood. He seemed entirely
unconcerned that his only son was missing. The Genie King sat next to him,
dressed in his usual suit with his hair slicked back.
Finally, my eyes rested on the Shifter King.
He was the largest in the room by far, exuding an aura that made me want
to run in the opposite direction. With his shoulder-length hair, broad
shoulders, and numerous scars, he was a terrifying sight to behold.
He was also the epitome of evil.
his territory. Humans there were considered nothing more than cattle to be
sold and traded. Some of the other Kings were well on their way to
implementing his horrific, bigoted policies. Actually, I was nearly certain all
of them were, sans my father.
But even he could be bought.
I watched them for more than an hour, but all they did was make idle
small talk.
But what the hell did I expect? The Mermaid King to get to his feet and
announce his evil aspirations to the world? For the Shifter King to rub his
hands together, cackle malevolently, and explain his plans for world
domination?
Instead, I discovered that Cheryl from accounting got a new boob job and
Richard was cheating on his mate.
The horror.
I was just about to leave when the door to the dining hall opened and
closed, and a familiar man stepped through. I recognized him instantly,
though I couldn’t recall where I had seen him before.
He stopped directly beside the Shifter King’s chair and bowed once.
“Your highnesses,” he said respectfully. A smile blossomed on the
Mermaid King’s face. That, more than anything, scared the shit out of me.
That man did not smile. Unless he was killing someone.
Well, fuck. This did not bode well for us.
The newcomer had cropped black hair, piercing eyes, and a form that
rivaled Lupe’s in the muscle department. Despite his subservient tone, there
was something testy in his dark gaze, something I couldn’t name.
While he was large, I didn’t get the sense he was a Shifter. No, the way
he moved—with a grace and agility that belied his lumbering frame—made
me believe he was a Shadow.
“Have you thought about what we talked about, Axel?” the Shifter King
demanded. He barely spared the man a glance.
Axel…
A lightbulb went off in my head when I realized where I’d heard that
name before.
He had been the old assassin...before Z had won The Damning. He was
known throughout the world for his ruthlessness and butcher-style killings.
Why the hell were the Kings meeting with him?
After The Damning ended and a new assassin took over, the old was
given a life of privilege tucked far away from the Capital. A life of wealth
and prestige and fucking mansions. By all standards, the Kings should be
talking to Z, not Axel.
Trepidation clawed at my heart, destroying something I couldn’t name.
Axel pounded his fist against his chest, lowering his head once. “I would
be honored.”
Honored? What the fucking hell were they talking about?
The Shifter King grinned, his white teeth gleaming, before clasping the
assassin’s arm.
“We’ll start making arrangements immediately,” he said, releasing a
jovial laugh. Axel nodded once more, but there was a tightness to his face
that hadn’t been there before. His jaw was clenched so tightly I was afraid it
would break.
With that, Axel turned on his heel and stalked out of the dining room. He
didn’t seem at all concerned that he was giving his back to a bunch of
deranged, sociopathic Nightmares.
When it became apparent that nothing else interesting would happen, I
pulled the shadows to me once more and exited from my hiding spot.
I felt like I had witnessed something monumental, but what that thing
was, I wouldn’t be able to tell you. I had the distinct feeling that Z’s life was
in danger yet again.
But this time, I’d be damned if I didn’t do everything in my power to save
her.
SIX
Z
I brushed at a strand of Dair’s golden hair, highlighted from the
sun. He looked peaceful in his sleep. Serene. The tightness once
wrinkling his face and clenching his jaw was nowhere to be seen. I
wanted him to stay like this for the rest of time.
I had brought him to my bedroom and helped him onto my bed. The
second his head had touched the pillow, he was out.
Fuck, what type of parent did this to their kid?
It didn’t take long for Devlin to find me. I swore he had a sixth sense that
focused solely on me. Whenever I was distressed or frightened, he would
come running.
His eyes honed in on me first, assessing me for injuries, before lowering
to a sleeping Dair.
“Fuck,” he cursed, scrubbing a hand through his loose brown curls. He
moved to stand behind me, hands resting on my shoulders. “What
happened?”
“What do you think?” I didn’t mean to snap, but my emotions were
running rampant within me. All I wanted was to make the Mermaid King
bleed for what he did to my mate. My love.
The brutality of Nightmares never ceased to amaze me. They lived their
lives with an abandonment most humans didn’t possess. They didn’t think
about consequences before they acted; instead, they only saw the rewards.
“I always knew he was a twisted fuck,” Devlin murmured, referring to the
Mermaid King. His hands tightened imperceptibly on my shoulders before he
abruptly released me. “When they first cut off Dair’s legs, many years ago, I
wanted to kill them. Tavvy. The twins. His father.” He paced in front of the
bed, repeatedly running his fingers through his disheveled hair. The dark
strands stood in all directions like he’d stuck his finger in an electrical socket.
“I didn’t even think... I couldn’t imagine...”
“That they would do it again?” I queried, focusing once more on my
unconscious mate. “Over and over and over again? Fuck, how many times
have they grown his legs back just to cut them off? How many times?” Tears
distorted my vision, but I refused to let them fall
. It wasn’t my story to cry
over.
Yet, I couldn’t help but think about all the times he had “meetings” with
his father. Was he enduring unbelievable torture while I was only a hair’s
breadth away?
My stomach twisted and tightened, slithering like dozens of snakes.
“I came to retrieve you,” Devlin finally said. “Bash completed the spell.
We know where Jax is.”
“Jax?” I whispered, spinning towards my Genie. His violet eyes were
anguished as he stared at Dair before focusing on me.
“We’ll meet with the others,” he said, grabbing my hand. Before he could
pull me out of the room, I pressed my lips to Dair’s sweaty forehead.
Already, I could see color returning to his ashen cheeks. He was right earlier.
The Mermaid King must’ve given him a special potion to amplify his healing
capabilities.
“I’ll be back,” I promised my golden-haired prince. Giving him one last
kiss, I followed Devlin out of my room and down the hall. His hand was tight
in mine—a reminder that no matter what it seemed like, I wasn’t alone.
“He’ll be okay,” Devlin vowed as we turned right at the fork in the hall.
“Dair’s strong. Resilient. I swear the asshole’s made of steel.” There was a
smile in his voice. I could sense how much he loved his brother, how much
he respected him.
The princes weren’t related by blood; however, they’d forged
unbreakable bonds at a very young age. They were brothers in every sense of
the word. Besides, look at Tavvy, dead by Dair’s own hand. Despite
believing they were blood-related, they were nothing but enemies. Blood
didn’t equal family.
We stopped at an unfamiliar room at the end of the hall. Devlin didn’t
bother knocking before he stepped inside.
“Bash-hole! We’re here!” he called, kicking the door shut behind us, and
I couldn’t help but smirk at the nickname. I hadn’t planned for it to stick, but
I wasn’t complaining. Anything that annoyed Bash was a win in my book.
Huh. This must be Bash’s room.
It was larger than mine and bedecked in masculine, monochromatic
colors. The black bed was a startling contrast to the white carpeting and beige
painted walls. Two nightstands flanked the bed, one holding a lamp and the
other a television remote. There were no dressers, but the closet was