Killian blew out a breath, relieved at the subject change. “I did. He hasn’t
responded back, but he’s probably still sleeping.” His face tightened with
pain and something akin to anger. Well, at least as much anger as someone
like Killian was capable of having. “I can’t believe his dad did that. Why
didn’t he tell us?”
I’d wondered that too, numerous times. We were his brothers, closer than
blood, yet he never admitted that his father continually grew his legs back
only to cut them off. Again and again and again. If we would’ve known, we
would’ve...
Would’ve what?
The seven of us were strong, sure, and it was rumored we’d grow even
stronger, but we were no match for our fathers. Maybe if it was only the
fourteen of us, but the Kings had something we didn’t: armies and leverage.
They dangled our loved ones over our heads like tasty morsels we were
tempted to bite down on.
“He’s gonna be pissed,” I pointed out matter-of-factly.
“He’s going to be furious,” Kill corrected. He suddenly sighed, forking
his fingers through his tangled red hair. “What about Z? How mad is she?”
“On a scale of one to ten, I’ll say she’s a solid one thousand. I’m pretty
sure she’d skin me alive if she had the chance.”
Killian winced, eyeing me reproachfully. Out of all of us, he was the only
one against leashing Z like a fucking dog. He understood why we had to, but
he didn’t like it. Not one bit. It was for that reason alone that Devlin
instructed him to reach out to Dair and Atta.
He was too soft, too compassionate, to do what needed to be done.
“She seems to have forgiven Ryland,” Killian pointed out, nodding
towards the wall separating us from them. “I can feel the lust in the air. She…
she did the sex with him, didn’t she?”
My cock instantly went rock hard as I recalled the scene I had walked in
on. I would give my right nut to be in his position. Okay, maybe not my right
one. That was personally my favorite (if a dude could have a favorite ball).
But my left one? That was gone.
Wait…
The sex?
No, Killian. Just no.
“We need to discuss the plan,” I pointed out.
Killian noticeably blanched. “She’s not going to like it.”
“I don’t give a fuck what she likes,” I snapped. Not true. I cared too damn
much. “We need to keep her safe, regardless of her personal preference. The
Vamps would eat her alive if she challenged them.”
Kill pursed his lips but didn’t bother to correct me. Good. I wasn’t in the
mood to get into an argument with my best friend. Instead, I was content to
fall into a deep sleep and dream of Z’s pussy clenched around my cock.
The others could bear the brunt of her anger. This Mage? He was done for
tonight. And tomorrow. And maybe the next day.
I didn’t think I’d survive another episode of Z’s rage. I might just cum in
my pants if she punched me again. Messed up? Probably. But also very, very
true.
TWELVE
Z
“A bsolutely fucking not.” I crossed my arms over my
chest, body thrumming with a sizzling heat. I had grabbed
a robe from the bathroom, and now I stood in front of my
mates with narrowed eyes.
“Baby, don’t be like this,” Devlin pleaded. His olive-toned skin was paler
than I remembered it being, almost like he was afraid of me. Or afraid of my
reaction to his words. Smart man.
“It’s for your own protection,” Lupe added gruffly. He crossed his
muscular arms, mimicking my own pose, as my eyes narrowed further.
“Tying me up and treating me like a dog is for my own protection?” I
snapped. An elemental fury was brewing just beneath the surface like a kettle
over a fire. Any second now, it was going to explode. I was going to explode.
“We don’t want to do it,” Devlin argued irritatedly. “But when we’re in
public—”
“Which we will be the majority of the time,” I pointed out.
I clenched my jaw so tightly I was pretty sure a bone or two broke. Did he
even hear himself?
The Alphabet Resistance was formed to protect humans from this exact
thing. To rescue those who were used and sold like cattle. This was going
against everything I believed, everything I stood for. I knew, logically, that it
was nothing more than an act, but the prospect of being paraded around like
prized stock fractured that tremulous hold I had on my sanity. What about
those humans who didn’t go home to loving mates every night? Whose entire
existence wasn’t based on an act?
Shouldn’t we be taking a stand against this bigotry instead of playing
right into it?
Arguing would get us nowhere, and frankly, I was too damn tired to
mount another protest. I cared about these ridiculous men—more than I even
wanted to admit—but that didn’t mean I agreed with them.
“Look, I’m tired and I don’t want to argue. We can talk in the morning,
okay?” I scrubbed a hand down my face. “And this time, I mean it when I say
I want to be alone.” I gave Ryland a pointed stare. Already, he had retreated
to the shadows, his striking features obscured by a dark mist. It pained me
that he once again felt the need to hide, but I couldn’t judge him. I hid every
damn day of my life. Behind Z, the assassin. Behind Zara, the maid. Behind
Susan, the poor, defenseless human. I wore so many faces that I struggled to
recognize my real one.
Silence engulfed us for a long, tense moment. I could tell none of them
wanted to leave while we were in the midst of an argument, but at the same
time, what could they do? This wasn’t something they were willing to
compromise on.
And I wasn’t willing to forgo my own morals in exchange for my safety.
“Fine,” Devlin agreed. When he made a move to kiss me, I ducked my
head. His kisses were worse than crack. I was utterly addicted to them. I
knew that if I let him, he would make me forget all of my anger and hurt.
However, I needed to hold on to them. I needed to remember who I was and
what I was fighting for.
He blew out a breath, face twisting, before he pecked me on the forehead.
“I love you,” he whispered sincerely. “More than anything.”
And that was what scared me.
THIS WAS the first night in weeks I’d slept alone.
The bed felt even bigger without a warm body engulfing mine.
Sleep evaded me. I tossed and turned, unable to get comfortable in a bed
that wasn’t my own.
Was I behaving ridiculously? I didn’t know for sure. All I knew was that
my people were being suppressed while the Nightmares flourished. I
supposed I just thought...
I just assumed...
I thought my mates were better than that.
After another fitful attempt at sleep, I pushed back the blankets and
climbed out of bed. The room was kept painfully cold, forcing me to wrap a
quilt around my shoulders.
I had the irresistible desire to punch something, to find a sem
i-healthy
outlet for all of my pent-up anger. I knew I couldn’t leave the inn, but I could
do what I wanted in the safety of my room.
My decision made, I changed out of my nightgown and into shorts and a
revealing sports bra. I made quick work of moving the furniture to the
perimeter of the room until there was an immense circle directly in the center.
B, the leader of the Alphabet Resistance, drilled into my head how
important stretching was before any strenuous exercise. Now, the languid
stretches were second nature to me.
Placing my hands on the ground, I arched my back until my ass was
straight up in the air. Of course, that position made me think about Ryland’s
hand spanking said ass and heat flooded my system. I didn’t think I would
like something like that, but what the hell did I know? There was a fine line
between pleasure and pain, and I was balancing precariously on it.
Fuck, if I wasn’t livid with him and the others, I would’ve invited them
all back and alternated between them in bed. Yes, even Bash. I was an equal
opportunity lover.
My smirk faded when knuckles rapped on my door. Frowning, I
straightened, pushing back a strand of my golden blonde hair.
“Who is it?” I snapped. I wasn’t stupid. I knew that this kingdom wasn’t
safe for humans like me—the last thing I was going to do was let a stranger
in.
“It’s me,” a familiar voice announced. And then, sounding flustered, he
added, “Killian.”
Smiling widely, I lunged towards the door and wrenched it open. Sure
enough, my Incubus stood in the doorway, his red hair tousled and his
delicious tattoos on display. He wore only a pair of low-slung sweatpants,
and damn, the man was a work of art. A vine swirled up his chest and over
his left pectoral, dozens of roses extending from it. There appeared to be a
pocket watch on his opposite side, the golden color a startling contrast to his
lightly tanned skin. More tattoos lined his muscular forearms and bulging
biceps—a snake, a fractured heart, and a face that looked eerily similar to my
own.
“I wanted to check in on you,” he admitted, running his fingers through
his hair. Halfway through, they got stuck in a tangle, and he made a face as
he pulled at the garnet strands. Finally, he freed his fingers and awkwardly
shuffled from foot to foot. “How are you? I mean, obviously you’re not fine.
If it makes you feel better, Devlin, Lupe, and Ryland are all sleeping on the
floor in the room next door. Bash and I claimed the two beds.” His lips
twisted upwards in amusement before straightening once more. “They’re
truly sorry. You know that they care about you. Just to let you know, I’ve
been against this plan from the start.”
I breached the remaining distance between us and wrapped my arms
around his waist. He hesitated, only briefly, before returning my embrace.
“That does make me feel better,” I admitted.
“The way some people treat humans is awful,” Killian continued,
lowering his cheek to my head. “I wish I could change it.”
“But you can, Kill.” I pulled back to look at him directly in the eyes.
“You’re going to be king soon. You and the rest of them.”
“That’s assuming the old bastards ever die,” he pointed out with a
sardonic twist to his lips.
My muscles locked together at the underlying threat in his voice. The
spell the Kings put on me—the spell making me the official assassin—didn’t
allow me to harm them. Hell, it didn’t even allow me to talk about harming
them. I would be forced to fight against anyone, including my mates, who
dared to even attempt it.
“Let’s not talk about that,” I murmured, rubbing a hand up and down his
back. His skin was warm beneath my palm, an inferno, and that heat migrated
straight to my core.
“I don’t want you to think—” Killian’s words cut off with an enraged
snarl, unlike anything I had ever heard before. His eyes widened with horror
as he stumbled forward, blood coating his lips.
“Kill!” I screamed, eyes flickering from his pale face to the scaly tail
protruding from his back. As I watched, horrified, the tail left his body and
wrapped around its owner.
“Hello, Z,” a sly voice said. He was unlike anything I had ever seen
before. It looked like a humanoid snake, green and black scales covering his
cheeks and slithering body. Those eyes, though, carried an intelligence and
coherence that contrasted with his snake body. His tail was the width of a
small car and seemed to be hewn from pure muscle.
When we were researching extinct supernatural creatures, descended
from lesser sins, we had stumbled across this exact monster. A snake-like
creature with a poison so deadly it could kill the most powerful Nightmare in
seconds.
A Basilisk.
THIRTEEN
Z
R ocking on the balls of my feet, I allowed my gaze to
momentarily rest on Killian. Fuck, his skin was pale and
clammy, a fine layer of sweat coating his ruddy cheeks. Blood
seeped through the wound on his back, staining the floor red.
“What did you do to him?” I whispered darkly. If this asshole thought he
could get away with hurting my mate, he had another thing coming. My fist,
for one. Probably up his anus.
“My tail, sweetheart.” His forked tongue slithered out of his mouth,
wetting his scaly lips. The man—creature—was grotesque. Hideous. He was
the thing nightmares were made of. “It’s poisonous...as is my blood.”
Picture the largest, slimiest snake you could think of. Now, picture that
snake with a decidedly male head. He made the Gorgon from before look like
a sex goddess. Hell, even Slippy was prettier, and Krakens were ugly as sin.
The door to the next room burst open, and the rest of my mates emerged
in the hall. They took one look at the Basilisk before breaking into action.
Lupe charged forward first, shedding his human skin and rising up on his
furry hind legs. His Bear was larger, nearly the size of the Basilisk, and had
beady black eyes that seemed to swirl like twin abysses. He swatted a paw at
the Basilisk, releasing a thundering roar.
“Careful,” I screamed, stepping over Killian to reach for my dagger. “His
tail is poisonous.” I glanced helplessly at my mate, horror consuming me.
Before I allowed it to grow and fester, I smothered it beneath an iron-clad
wall. I would save Killian...after I killed the monster.
Bash pushed through the others, hands cupped as a ball of flame appeared
between them. It grew and grew until it was an inferno of molten red
interwoven with streaks of orange and yellow. It blasted through the air,
hitting the creature on the side of its scaly head. The Basilisk hissed, fangs
piercing his distorted lower lip, but he didn’t back down.
“I’ll let your men live if you come with me,” he murmured silkily. It was
a voice designed to seduce and entice—though, why anyone would be
attracted to a hideous lizard man was beyond me. “I’ll even provide a cure for
the Incubus.�
�
“A cure?” I asked, pausing with the dagger raised. Behind me, Bash
faltered slightly, the fireball dissipating as quickly as it arrived. Killian was
his best friend, his brother. If this monster knew how to cure him, then his
death would have to wait.
The Basilisk smirked and extended his hand in offering. “Come with me,
and your mate will live.”
“No way in hell!” Devlin snapped, lunging forward and wrapping his
arms around the creature’s neck. At least, I was assuming it was his neck.
The Basilisk struggled, his tail rising from the floor and sharpening
dangerously until it resembled a spear. When it was seconds from piercing
Devlin’s back, I jumped forward, blade raised. I slashed down on the
Basilisk’s tail, guts and other unsavory substances erupting from his
punctured skin.
I turned my face before any of the goo could touch my skin, but a dollop
of green liquid landed on my cheek. Immediately, blistering pain erupted on
the tiny swath of exposed skin. It felt like acid was corroding away my
muscles and bones, as if every one of my nerve cells were alive and singing.
Crying out, I fell backwards and landed on the floor beside Killian. He
turned his head to stare at me, and in his gaze, I saw nothing but agony. The
pain emanated from his mossy gaze like proverbial fireworks.
Adrenaline shot through my veins as I forced myself back on my feet. If I
had to, I would torture the information out of this fucker.
“How do you get rid of the poison?” I snapped, wobbling on my feet. My
heart thundered in my ears.
I always knew Killian was too sweet, too pure, for this world. I just never
expected that I would be the cause of his death.
The Basilisk laughed, his throaty voice grating on my nerves. My entire
body ached fiercely, but still, I pressed on. Was that love? Putting someone
else before yourself?
“Tell me!” I screamed, spit flying.
He opened his distorted mouth, eyes glimmering with mirth, when he
suddenly lurched forward. Shock crossed his disgusting face as blood formed
at the edges of his scaly mouth. With one last wide-eyed glance at me, he
collapsed, black ichor pooling around him. Before my very eyes, his tail
seemed to shrivel up, the green and gold scales transforming into hideous
shades of black and brown.