MY SCREAM FILLED THE AIR AS I DUCKED and covered my head with my hands, my fangs and claws out and muscles tense for death.
But…it never came.
King Niallan’s laughter filled the room, ugly and aimed right at me. “That is so precious! Look at you. All tucked down, like that would help.”
Heat still surrounded me, hotter than before.
I didn’t move an inch.
My chest heaved, and my muscles quivered.
But I didn’t move.
“Quit cowering, your majesty.” King Niallan snickered. “You look like you’re squatting to take a shit. Surely, you don’t want to die that way.”
He…may…have a point there.
I lifted my head just barely, only enough to peek through my arms. The death wall of fire was only a foot away now, but it had stopped in its tracks.
“I said stand up,” King Niallan barked. “Or I will make your death painful.”
I growled low in my throat and gradually lowered my arms. I stood on steady legs and put my claws away. With my back ramrod straight, I snarled, “If you’re going to kill me, then what are you waiting for?”
“I’m not really waiting. I’m simply enjoying this far too much to end it quickly.” My asshole king shrugged his left shoulder and sat back on my chair. “Do you want to know a secret, your majesty?”
“Not really.” I did wipe at the sweat on my forehead, the beads falling into my blood red eyes and stinging.
He spoke anyway. “I’m the king now because of your father.”
I snorted. “Please, tell me how you reasoned that out in your fucking delusional mind.”
“Lord Cato owed me a favor.”
I lifted one black eyebrow waiting for him to explain.
“Years ago, I helped him out when he was in a pinch, all for one single favor to be repaid. And repay me he did. Your father may be a snake, but he is a man of his word.” The blond druid placed his hands on his trim stomach and clasped them casually together. “Then one day, I had a tiny prophecy while in bed with Devin and Ysander, not unlike the Three have.”
Still, I waited. The fire sparked close every so often.
“I knew I would become king.”
I sniffed and peered down my nose.
“All that needed to happen was Lord John’s death.”
“And? What does that have to do with Lord Cato? Lord John requested his own Eternal Slumber.”
“Your majesty, think for a moment. I know you’re a smart girl. Why would Lord John request his Eternal Slumber if he had found his soul mate recently?” Golden eyes skimmed over my face. “The answer is he wouldn’t. Not without persuasion. So I called in that favor to your father.”
My brows puckered, lost in the story.
King Niallan smirked. “Your father is extremely frightening when he wants to be. I don’t even know how he brought on Lord John’s depression, but he did it. He killed a royal, a death sentence action, all without a trace of evidence left behind. And believe me—I’ve looked for the evidence.
“And so started a spiral of events. Lord John died at his Eternal Slumber. His soul mate, Cleo, declined the Queen Novitiate position ahead of you for her own Eternal Slumber—because of his death. You accepted. The Original vampire amulet only brought me during your King Challenge. And now here I sit. The king of the vampires. All because of a single favor owed by your father.”
I stared, frozen in shock.
“So…” He winked at my distress. “All-in-all, Lord Cato made a person he loathes a king to his own loving people. How do you think that sits with him, your majesty? Like, deep down in his gut? I’d like to know your thoughts.”
My nostrils flared. “I’m sure it makes him ill.”
In reality, it probably made him happy.
The Overlords had King Niallan right where they wanted him, under their own roof so he wouldn’t escape them. But fuck if I was going to tell him that.
He chuckled. “I hope it does.”
I eyed the wall of fire, but asked, “What favor did you do for him that required a repayment?”
“That, I cannot answer. I am bound by my own power not to speak of it. Your father was extremely thorough while making the deal.”
I jerked when the circle of fire twisted.
Right before my eyes, it turned into golden mist.
King Niallan tsked when I stepped toward it. “Remember what I said, your majesty. That mist can be very disturbing when I wish it to be.”
I scowled but took a small step back.
He stood from my chair and stalked toward me. My king began circling around the mist, watching me. “Tell me, your majesty, how do you think Lord Belshazzar will take your death?”
“I don’t believe he would take it well,” I stated honestly.
“I don’t think he will either. That’s why I had to get inventive. You see, I am going to make your own bodyguards kill you.” He grinned with malicious delight as he circled around in front of me, catching my shaken expression. “Crow and Phoenix may be the best with their swords, but I’m older and more powerful. It will be easy.”
A burst of inappropriate laughter rushed out of me.
“You find that humorous?” He cocked his head as he strolled by again.
“Actually, yes. I wonder if you even know you just put down your own manhood with that little speech.”
He stopped short in his tracks, and his brows furrowed for a good second. Then he snorted and returned to his stalking circle. “Poor choice of words.”
“If you say so.” My lips twitched.
My king actually rolled his eyes. “Please. You know you enjoyed it.”
I kept my mouth shut on that one.
I would not inflate my killer’s ego one bit.
King Niallan stopped in front of me. He smiled.
And it was beautiful.
“Time to get your guards and start Lord Belshazzar’s pain.” He bounced on the balls of his feet in excitement. “I can’t wait to see his face. I’ve been waiting a very long time for this.”
The mist disappeared.
I shoved forward, claws out, just as he grabbed my throat. Druid power shot through my system, and my body jerked with the influx. So heady. So stunning. So magnificent. I fought against it, shaking my head inside his loose hold. My body wouldn’t respond to my attack commands, each order trapped in my own mind and going nowhere fast.
I gurgled deep in my throat.
King Niallan leaned forward and kissed my forehead softly. “Quit struggling. It won’t help.”
The fuck with that.
I flared my own power to maximum strength.
Nothing happened.
King Niallan walked me backward toward my front door, taking us to my bodyguards stationed outside. “I told you. It won’t help.”
I stumbled backward, hardly able to keep my feet under me. I tried to speak again, but it came out as a wet gurgle once more. My gut twisted in fear and nausea enveloped me.
I was going to die. It was really happening.
The jewel on my gifted necklace flared. Hot.
A burst of strange, untamable power erupted.
I shrieked as blood splattered my face, my body, the white walls, my white ceilings, the white carpet, and the white couches. Blood fucking everywhere. I shook my head and screamed again, backing away from…
What. The. Fuck!
I turned in a fast circle, with my claws still out.
There was no one else here.
No one else alive, anyway.
King Niallan’s head sat on my carpeting, staring up at me with dead golden eyes. All of the rest of him was everywhere else in my living room. Like…everywhere! His bloody bits dangled and dripped from my ceiling and squished underneath my bare feet as I moved.
“Oh my god,” I whispered. I turned in a circle again, studying the carnage. “Oh. My. God.”
Oh my god. Oh my god.
I pressed my palm to my forehead and stared at his dead eyes gazing at nothing. I shook my head and tried to clear my thoughts. This…was bad.
We needed him alive, goddammit.
We needed him alive to steal his power.
Wait… Oh my God.
I dropped to my knees and frantically dug through his remains, searching through any lump I could find. I crawled around my living room dumping furniture over and scouring every inch of the space. When I found nothing, I still searched. I crushed bones in my hands. I tore apart what remained of his liver. Everything I could find, I overturned and demolished in my frantic state.
For an hour, I searched. His blood now cooled.
I pounded my fists on the ground and bellowed!
The Original druid amulet wasn’t here.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
I shifted to my feet and glowered at the ceiling. There was nothing there anymore, the heavy gore from his body having fallen already, only blood stained the ceiling—the same with the walls. I rubbed at my forehead and shook my head again.
I needed the Overlords. Like yesterday.
I walked to my front door and opened it a crack.
Crow and Phoenix’s heads whipped in my direction, their nostrils flaring as the scent of blood filled the hallway. Their eyes widened at my blood-covered state, and their swords were instantly in their hands.
I shook my head. “No. That’s not needed.” I swallowed hard. “I need you both to speak to the Overlords’ personal guards. I need you to be discreet. But I need every Overlord inside my room right the fuck now. Understand?”
They sheathed their swords and nodded.
In the next second, they were blurs in the wind as they raced down the hallways, going in opposite directions.
I shut my door and righted my couch.
Then I took a seat and waited.
Lord Xenon arrived first.
He walked inside, took one look at what was left of our king, and damn near fainted. The Overlord fell back against the wall and stayed there. Mute and shell-shocked.
Lord Pippin stepped into my room next.
He stumbled on an anklebone entering my room and then shut the door quickly as his eyes widened at the mess. His mouth bobbed a few times. He blinked even more. Then he closed his mouth and stood silent.
Lord Otto arrived at the same time as Lord Cato.
Both vampires handled it better than the other two. Their eyes swept the room. Scanned my person. Then they crossed their arms and stayed quiet. Their reactions were telling enough to the men they were—and what they had done in life.
It took fifteen minutes for the eldest lord to enter.
Lord Belshazzar’s hair was sopping wet, his suit haphazardly thrown on, staring at his cell phone and speaking as he entered, “My apologies, Gwen. It took a while for my guards to get through my security—”
His nostrils flared, and his eyes popped up from his cell phone. He instantly kicked back his left foot, slamming his heel against my door to shut it. My lover pocketed his cell phone and his narrowed gaze traveled over…me…first. Those ice blue eyes perused my frame intently from head to toe, and he demanded, “Are you injured?”
Quickly, I shook my head. “He didn’t hurt me.”
“He…” Lord Belshazzar hissed softly—toxic to whoever “he” was—then his eyes voyaged over my room with calculation in his scrutiny, studying everything he saw. His attention stopped on the head of our now deceased king. He simply cocked his head and stared at it for a moment. Lord Belshazzar’s shoulders relaxed, and he stated absently, “He…being King Niallan. Yes, I can see why it was an emergency now, your majesty.”
I patted the air with my blood-covered hands. “I know this looks bad—”
Lord Xenon snorted. Then abruptly laughed.
And he continued laughing.
He laughed so hard, he bent over at the waist and placed his hands on his knees…and just kept laughing.
My father coughed hard behind a fist.
Lord Xenon waved a hand in the air, choking through his nervous attack of laughter. “Just. Give. Me. A. Moment.”
It took three minutes for him to shut up.
I leaned over and placed my head in my hands. “I looked all over. I can’t find the amulet anywhere.”
Lord Belshazzar sat down next to me, uncaring about the gore he rested on, and promptly lifted me up and placed me on his lap. His arms curled around my shaking frame as he hushed me gently. His long, strong fingers ran up and down my back, petting me in comforting motions.
He asked quietly, “What happened?”
I shook my head against his shoulder and wrapped my arms around his neck, holding him tight. My voice was muffled against his jacket, but it was clear in my conviction. “I don’t know how he died. He just fucking…exploded.”
My lover rocked me back and forth with his muscled arms holding me close. Patiently, he whispered, “Start from the beginning, Gwen.”
“He stopped me in the hallway after our meeting. He pretended to need me. I fell for it. I fell for his shit, just like you warned me about. I’m so stupid. I thought I was duping him.”
“You’re not stupid, Gwen, but keep going,” he persisted softly.
“When we got inside, he surrounded me with fire. He went on and on about how much it would hurt you if I died and that he didn’t need a queen.” I sucked in a lungful of oxygen and decided to omit what I knew about my father. For now, anyway. “He changed the fire to mist and grabbed ahold of my neck. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t do anything. His power was too much for me to fight against.”
I shuddered hard inside his hold. “He started taking me to my door, where he planned to spell my bodyguards to kill me. Then he just fucking exploded.”
“Hmm,” he hummed. Lord Belshazzar rocked me for a few minutes longer, quiet in his contemplation. Until one of his hands snaked between us. He fingered the necklace around my throat, and then he wrapped his arm back around me—and continued to rock me. He cleared his throat, and asked evenly, “Lords, what the hell do you think happened to him? This is new, even for me.”
No one said a word. No thoughts given.
I stopped shaking and fingered the necklace myself. Bel had stated the jewel was one of protection. Had a gem really…done this? If it had, I was so in over my head with my lover.
He rubbed my back faster. A little harder. “There has to be something, my lords. Any ideas would be helpful.”
I wrapped my arm back around his throat.
Holy fuck. Just…holy fuck.
This was now the life I led. And I still wanted it.
I was more fucked in the head than I thought.
Lord Pippin muttered, “I don’t have a damn clue. I’ve never heard of a druid exploding before.”
“Did he have a bomb on him somewhere?” Lord Xenon asked. “That’s the only thing that could have created this mess.”
“For that to happen, it would have had to be inside of him. The splatter in the room is centered from where he stood. His body is fucking everywhere,” Lord Otto groused.
My father mentioned offhandedly, “Maybe he pulled too much power from the Original druid amulet in his excitement to kill our queen.”
The room went quiet.
“Now, that could have done it.” Lord Pippin snapped his fingers.
Lord Otto snorted. “That’s like shooting your load before you enter the hole. He was too experienced for that.”
Lord Cato argued, “Not really. Not when strong emotions were involved. He was finally getting his revenge on Lord Belshazzar for killing his mother. That’s thousands of years of pent up anger.”
The Overlords went quiet once more. Each thinking.
“I guess you’re right. Although, the head still being intact is extremely weird.” Lord Otto sighed. “What a goddamn dumbass.”
Lord Xenon grunted. “Queen Gwynnore, you said you couldn’t find the amulet anywhere?”
I shook my head and kept my face against Lord Belshazzar’s shoulder. I wouldn’t say it aloud, but I was still pretty fucking shaken by my almost death by a being as powerful as King Niallan. I stayed right where I was though, against my lover’s warmth and inside his protective hold. I whispered, “No, I searched all over. It’s nowhere here.”
“Motherfucker,” Lord Xenon snarled. His feet stomped on cold bits of our dead king as he paced, the crunch under his feet making me shiver. “What the hell do we do now? You needed him alive, didn’t you, Lord Belshazzar?”
“I did,” Lord Belshazzar responded. “Stop walking, please. It’s bothering the queen.”
The crunch of death stopped, and he questioned, “Do you have another plan in place for finding the Original druid amulet without a living being that’s linked to it?”
“Not right now. I’ll need to review a few texts I have.” Lord Belshazzar sniffed. “If not, we know a druid who can work magic on the dead.”
Lord Cato chuckled—it wasn’t nice. “You mean that bastard Chester? No-last-name Chester? I hate that fucking man.”
“That would be the one.” Lord Belshazzar snaked his hands underneath me, and then stood to his feet with me in his arms. “I’m going to take the queen to my room where she can shower and relax. She’ll obviously be staying with me until this room can be repaired. And have someone cancel her meetings today. Oh, and one of you put that head on ice. I don’t want it decaying too fast.”
Lord Pippin snorted. “Besides the fact it will take weeks to restore this room, how the hell are we supposed to explain this mess to the staff?”
“Just say she had a party in here and it got out of hand,” Lord Otto remarked. “We’ve seen parties end worse than this.”
“And the king’s absence? How do we cover that up?” Lord Pippin questioned further. Then he muttered, “Oh, I know. We’ll just say he went back to Cape Argent for business. That could work for a while. But someone will need to field his emails and such, pretend to be him.”
Lord Cato ground out, “Lord Belshazzar, you need to work this issue out quickly. I would suggest you also clear your schedule and start immediately. We can cover for you in your absence.”
“Thank you. I might be able to get some sleep then.” Lord Belshazzar grunted and walked toward the door. “Call me if you need me.”
I lifted my head before he exited the room, glancing over my lover’s shoulder at each Overlord. “I…um, thank you too. For coming so quickly.”
Silently, they nodded.
We left the room of King Niallan’s death behind.