I ended the audience with an entreaty to the line of Priam to watch over the Bloodkeep and guide all within it to a future of rebirth. The thunderous applause and roars threatened to bring the keep down on our heads.

My council and I retreated to the antechamber. Faren escorted Shildreth to the closest divan and held her to his chest. Helen looked stricken as she took her seat. Arachne followed, her spiders close at her heels. When the doors swung closed, Shildreth kissed Faren on the mouth, surprising him. He almost fell off the seat.

“What’s this?” he asked as he took her hands.

“She will leave the keep alive and go into the Darkwood.” Shildreth laughed.

I looked at Helen, who seemed equally puzzled.

“Well done. The trap is set.” Arachne clapped. Her spiders clicked their teeth and hissed.

“You’re happy she will live?” Faren was dumbstruck. He wasn’t the only one.

“Don’t you see? I agreed that she will leave the keep alive. I agreed she would enter the Darkwood. With a little insight from our new friend”—Shildreth inclined her head to Arachne—“I realized that was an excellent deal.”

Helen straightened and beamed at Shildreth, clearly having figured out the plan. “Oh, I see. Which tower shall we set up in for the unbinding?”

Faren and I exchanged blank looks. What had these females cooked up?

Shildreth planted another kiss on Faren. “You’ll see. Trust me.”

I had no problem letting the women work their strategy, especially if it ended with Desmerada dispatched.

“It’s in your hands.” I whipped my robe off and draped it on the nearest chair. I was going to be a more casual dress sort of king, if that were even possible. I reached up to remove the crown.

“Leave it,” Helen said, taking in every inch of me with her stare. “I’ll remove it later, after we’ve dealt with her.”

Faren whistled through his teeth as Shildreth rested her head on his shoulder.

The look in Helen’s eyes was pure desire, and I needed her on my cock sooner rather than later. That settled the timeline, even if I was still unclear on the plan.

“Let’s get this over with.” I hurried to the door and ordered the guards to clear the great hall immediately.

Helen smiled, her warmth setting me alight. We waited a few more moments for the guards to escort the crowd from the room. Desmerada taunted the guards. Promising them pain and retribution if they didn’t release her. Fool.

I wrapped my arm around Helen’s waist, pulling her into my side as we approached the cage.

I nuzzled against her ear. “Are you going to tell me what you’re up to?”

“You’ll see.”

I quickened my pace even more, carrying Helen along with me. Every minute spent away from our bedchambers was a problem.

“Shildreth, the floor is yours.” I waved a hand toward Desmerada’s cage.

“We’ll need to do this in the southwest tower, top floor. We can set up there. It will keep the rest of the castle safe should anything go wrong.”

A handful of guards hurried off to make the room ready.

Shildreth approached the cage. Desmerada’s beady eyes took in the vampire’s walking difficulties and smiled. “You escaped, but not unscathed, I see. Good.”

Shildreth ignored the taunt. “What do you need to unbind Helen?”

“I wouldn’t expect an ignorant peasant such as yourself to understand the finer points of magic. See if you can keep up. Hades fire, of course, three black owl feathers, two vials of great spider ichor, down from a fury’s wing, two drops of gorgon venom, a skin of amaranth blood, and a changeling stone.”

“Helen, do these sound right, or is it some trick?” I asked.

“No, for once she’s telling the truth. I remember some of those things from the day she bound me.”

Shildreth whispered some more ingredients into Faren’s ear. Realization dawned on his face.

When she finished giving her directions, I said, “Faren, please collect what’s needed and take it to the southwest tower. We’ll meet you there. Guards, bring her.”

Helen

The top of the southwest tower was sparsely furnished, used as a lookout and rarely so.

I arranged the ingredients and the fire pit from memory.

“Do you think it will work?” Paris asked, helping me set the room.

“Only one way to find out.”

“Are you going to tell me what’s actually going on?”

I stole a quick kiss, tasting his lips briefly. “No time.”

Faren had carried Shildreth up the many stairs and placed her inside. He kept his arm around her as her steely gaze roved the room, no doubt remembering the tortures she had endured here. She focused on the window, a cold wind whipping through it. Closing her eyes, she shook her head, as if clearing away the bad memories.

I gripped her hand.

“I’m okay. Really. I’ll be fine when it’s done. Are you all set up?” Shildreth asked.

“I think so. Faren managed to get all the ingredients. The smith in the keep’s village had some Hades fire, and Desmerada had expansive magic stores.”

The guards dragged a cursing Desmerada up the stairs, her chains clanging against each step, and threw her into the room. She didn’t seem to recognize it, didn’t realize this was the tower that Shildreth had thrown herself from to escape. But she would.

Desmerada shook her wrists. “You’ll have to unbind me.”

“Close the door.” Paris pointed to the guards. “All of you stand watch. If you hear anything even verging on a struggle in here, you are to dust Desmerada immediately. Dust first, ask questions later. Understand?”

For a new king, Paris was adept at giving orders. I was pleased he was no longer content to be a prince or a libertine. Now, he was in command.

“Yes, my lord.” A guard removed the chains and left the room, closing the door soundly behind him.

“Unbind her,” Paris said.

Faren warily removed the shackles.

Desmerada rubbed her wrists before taking stock of the supplies. “I suppose this is adequate.”

She settled on the floor, next to the flames, and motioned to me. “You, Queenie—sit in front of me.”

Paris, quick as light, was at Desmerada’s back. “Harm her, and you’re dead. Understand?”

Desmerada rolled her eyes. “What am I going to do? Stab her and run right into the guards on the fucking stairs? Now, let me work.”

She began combining ingredients in a bowl, grinding them with a pestle. “I’ll need a drop of Helen’s blood.”

“No,” Paris growled.

“Do you want me to unbind her or not?” Desmerada snapped. “Fucking prima donna,” she added under her breath.

“It’s fine. Paris?” I held up my hand for him to prick my finger. He did as asked, though I could tell he hated spilling even a drop of my blood. I squeezed my finger into the bowl, the blood drop causing a sizzle and a pop.

Desmerada stopped her work. “Tell me, did Menelaus ever try a pair of silver bangles on you?”

I narrowed my eyes. “Yes. How do you know about them?”

“Did they work? Were you bound?”

“Yes, for a short time until I had them removed.”

She beamed. “I knew they would work. I demanded the blood of one hundred virgins in exchange for those little beauties. And can you believe he delivered? I bathed in it, swam around in it like I was in a pool of silk. It was wonderful.” Her mind was far away, the spell at hand forgotten. “He cheated, though. Half of it was the blood of children.” She shrugged. “I didn’t count it against him. Finding adult virgins is hard. Besides, the younger the child, the better for my complexion. Am I right, Shildreth?”

Faren put his blade to her neck. “Do the spell and shut your mouth.”

She looked up at him, a serene smile on her face. “Or what? We have a deal. You can’t harm me, remember?”

“Faren,” Shildreth said and put a hand on his arm. He lowered his blade and backed away. Desmerada continued grinding.

“When Menelaus gets you again, he’s going to break his dick off in you. And he will get you again. Surely you know it’s true? Deep down. His army is formidable. How do you think I took the Bloodkeep in the first place? They destroyed any who would dare challenge me. They’ll do it again when I retake the keep. I bet your blood will be magical. I can already feel it sinking into my pores. Mmmmm.”

“Get on with it, hag,” Paris said.

I didn’t care if she talked and talked. As long as the spell worked.

“This is done.” She swished the mix around in the bowl before throwing it into the flames. The voices of the damned rose from the fire to earsplitting levels as Desmerada recited an incantation. I braced myself for the spell. As the voices calmed, so did Desmerada’s, until there was only a whisper. Then silence.

“You’re all set. Now show me out.” Desmerada rose from the floor and straightened her crimson dress.

“Did it work?” Paris asked.

I looked at my hands. “I-I don’t know. I don’t feel any different.”

“Witch!” Paris cried and rammed his blade under Desmerada’s throat.

“It’s done, I swear,” she shrieked. “I swear, that’s the spell. I undid it.”

“Is there any way to test it?” Faren asked.

“Not unless you want to invite Menelaus over and give it a try. But I get the feeling you all will be seeing him soon enough.” She cackled. “Now, for my release.”

Shildreth knocked on the door, and the guard opened it. She motioned everyone out of the room until only she and Desmerada remained. Faren, Paris, and I waited on the landing near the door.

Shildreth lingered at the entry and regarded Desmerada’s smug face. “You are now free to leave the keep and make your way in the Darkwood.”

Desmerada spit. “Yeah, I got that, moron. Show me to the gate.”

“I’m afraid that wasn’t part of the deal,” Shildreth said, vengeance coating her words.

Paris looked down at me, surprise playing across his face before he raised his eyebrows in understanding.

“But I was not to be harmed. I was to be given safe passage from the keep.” Desmerada’s voice rose, fear sharpening the notes.

“No, the deal was that you would be allowed to leave the keep alive and enter the Darkwood where none here would harm you. Those were the parameters of the bargain.”

“But how am I—” Desmerada’s haughty voice choked to a halt. Several beats passed, each one heavier than the last. “Is this the tower?” she asked, her voice thin.

“It is. As I said, you are free to leave the keep at any time and go into the Darkwood beyond. None here will harm you, according to your wishes. Though, I can tell you from experience”—Shildreth lifted her skirt, showing Desmerada the withered bones—“you may wish for death before it comes.”

“You can’t do this. You bitch! You fucking bitch! I will kill you! I will kill you all for this!” Her screeching echoed on the cold stone of the tower.

Faren brandished his sword to keep Desmerada at bay as Shildreth left the room and closed the door. Desmerada hurled herself against it, her nails scratching down the wood. But there was only one way out of the tower for Desmerada, and this door wasn’t it.

Shildreth collapsed into Faren’s arms. She had been so strong for him and for the child they’d lost. My heart broke for her.

The bricks and mortar Shildreth had ordered were sitting on the steps while a brick mason waited. His face was grim, as he was already aware of his task. Walling in the vampire queen was no small matter. He bowed to Paris.

“Brick it up,” Faren said and scooped Shildreth off her feet. “Station guards on it at all times, two below and two here, even after the bricks are in place. Send word the moment she jumps.”

“Aye, Captain.”

Faren took off down the stairs at a brisk clip as Shildreth sobbed against his chest.

Paris picked me up and followed them.

“I can walk, you know.” I nestled my head against his chest.

“I know.” He shrugged and pulled me tighter.

Desmerada’s screams dimmed the farther down we went. I couldn’t drum up even a hint of sympathy for the evil queen. Arachne and Shildreth drove a hard bargain. Caveat emptor.

The spiders would maintain a lookout on the tower. If the former queen should survive the fall and make it free from the Spinis thorns below, Arachne would know about it.

“Is it really over?” I asked.

“For now. But we still have people to rule and a demon to slay.” The rumble of his chest comforted me.

“Right, other than those things.”

He laughed. “Other than those two things, yes, it really is over.”

He hit the bottom step of the tower and made easy work of the distance to our bedchambers.

He laid me on the bed, greedily taking in my form. Unbuttoning his shirt, he revealed the golden skin that begged to be kissed. He pulled me forward and drew the dress over my head. I lay back, letting him get an even better view.

“Mmm,” he said. “What happened to your panties?”

“I seem to be fresh out, my king.” I drew the crown from his head and dropped it on the nightstand. “Now take off the rest.”

He obliged, sliding his pants off and then his boxers. His shaft was already hard and gleaming in the candlelight. I rolled onto my side and licked his slick head. I relished the salty taste before taking him deeper into my mouth. He pulled my hair tight through his fingers as I reached up to remove my tiara.

“Leave it.” His voice was gravelly.

I continued sucking him, using my tongue to crisscross along his shaft. He pushed me back onto the bed and slid on top of me. His chest raked against my taut nipples, making me arch up into him. His fangs had extended, the sharp tips setting off a primal need inside me. I reached down and took his shaft in my hand and fed it into my core. He pumped, seating himself to the hilt as I licked his mouth, teasing him. He captured my wrists and held them above my head as he started a steady rhythm. I wrapped my legs around him and kissed him in earnest, letting him delve his tongue into me as I answered with my own. He nipped me with his fangs, causing the heat to build even faster.

He relaxed his grip on my wrists and slid his hands down my sides before kissing my breasts, licking one hard tip before going to the other. He sped his rhythm, thrusting deep into me. He must have sensed me tightening and withdrew.

“No,” I cried and tried to pull him back into me.

“Turn over,” he grated out and tugged me onto my stomach.

Gods.

He pulled my hips up to him and sank into me from behind. I thought I would come just from the feeling of his thick shaft rubbing me in all the right places. His chest was to my back as he pumped into me. When he reached around and began rubbing my most sensitive spot, I gasped. He kept his pace before taking a handful of my hair and turning my head to the side. His mouth sent thrills down my body.

“Bite me,” I said.

He pulled my hair harder and fixed his lips to my tender neck.

“You can do better than that,” he whispered in my ear.

“Bite me, my king,” I breathed.

He struck, plunging me into a euphoria I hadn’t even known existed. His mouth was attached to my neck, his fangs deep inside me. He pulled me up so I sat on his shaft as he continued his pistoning strokes. I was so close. When he took another pull from my neck, I felt the edge of my bliss fast approaching. He caressed my nub faster with one hand and rolled my nipple between his thumb and forefinger with the other.

The sensations washed over me, and I couldn’t stop myself. He kept pumping into me as waves of pleasure shuddered through my body. They kept cresting until he tensed inside me and gave two powerful thrusts. His bite intensified and he groaned through his release. I cried out as the pain and pleasure mixed.

When we both drifted down the other side of the wave, he slowed his pace and removed his fangs. I made a small noise of disappointment.

He laughed against my neck. “I’ll have you again before daybreak, my queen. And next time”—he circled his fingers around my almost painfully sensitive core—“I’m going to taste you here.”