Lowering my forehead to my knees, I close my eyes and take deep breaths. I want to forget the place I’m in, but the smell of mildew and rot is impossible to escape. Soon, the reapers will be here, and they’ll either lock me up somewhere or drag me back to my parents. To spend eternity with my family doesn’t sound so bad, but I know I will never have another chance to escape.
Even if my men survive, Kayn won’t allow the world to be at peace. I feel it deep in my bones, how the vengeance and the ambition will twist him. He said it was to keep his progeny safe—but something changed in him. Maybe because I told him no, and he couldn’t take it. He has no reason to fear the breaking of the wall, and yet he’s searching for a necromancer.
He wants my powers, and for darker reasons than he lets on.
The creak of the door opening makes me snap my gaze up. Shit. Are they already here? Landing my hands to the dirty ground, I brace myself and shoot to my feet. Automatically, I call for my powers, but they don’t come. The shadows enrich every corner, their blackness teasing me, but they don’t obey my command. It leaves a gaping hole inside me.
A familiar smell hits my nose, and I savor it. It doesn’t prepare me for the sight of Zaki. My forehead creases, and I bare my teeth as I throw myself at the bars. If I land a punch, I’ll be a happier woman.
“What are you doing here?” I hiss. “Did you come to laugh at me?”
I’m still in the ridiculous red dress, so my threats sound as empty as I feel. Zaki walks closer, and I could probably hit him, but maybe he would enjoy it, and that’s not what I’m looking forward to.
He reaches out, fingers closing over mine on the bars. I pull back, but he doesn’t let me go, his naked chest pressing closer. “Cassandra,” he starts, brows pressed together. “You have to believe me, I had nothing to do with this.”
“Oh, right. Your father is just a pretty good guesser. Or will you say he was here by chance?” My heart races in my chest, and I taste enamel when I grind my teeth too hard. There’s more to this rage inside me than I expected. There’s disappointment. My heart hurts more from the betrayal than anything else..
Zaki shakes his head, his yellow eyes like lanterns in the dark. “They noticed I’m too far from home. If someone in Berith’s house told Father they saw me with a human soul, he would easily guess where I was headed. My father has always known I wanted out.”
“You said demons love their reputations,” I spit, squirming until I free my hands from his grip. “And you’re a demon. It’s obvious you did that to make Daddy happy.”
Zaki’s eyes burn almost orange. He grabs onto the bars so hard his tanned knuckles turn white. “I don’t give a single fuck about what my father thinks. And I would never betray you for a morsel of his attention.”
I press my naked back to the cold stone behind me. “You lied before. You didn’t tell me you were a prince. Why would I believe you now?”
“I didn’t lie.” He shakes his head. “I just didn’t think it was important.”
“Oh, right.” The old ‘it wasn’t a lie, just an omission.’ “Whatever, Zaki. Just say what you want to say and fucking leave.”
His eyebrows squeeze together, lips tugging downward. “My father is trying to sell you off to the reapers, but they’re having problems setting a price. We might have some time. I will get you out of here.”
I scoff, folding my arms across my chest. Even as I step into the very corner of the cell, it doesn’t take me far from him. The space is too small, and I hate how I feel when we’re this close. Even when I know he’s betrayed me, even when my heart hurts, my body still wants him. My soul calls for his, or whatever demons have inside them. Slamming my eyes shut, I turn my face away from him. Maybe if I don’t see him, I won’t feel this way.
“You can’t be surprised I don’t trust you,” I say, and for the first time since he got here, I feel the tendrils of his powers. They don’t touch me, keeping themselves an inch away. As if his body wants me, too, but he knows he shouldn’t touch me. And, gods, if I feel his powers against my skin, I will bite his cock off.
Head. I meant his head off. I shouldn’t be thinking of his cock. Damn incubus.
Zaki lets go of the bars and takes a step back. His eyes still burn yellow as he searches for me, for my gaze. For something in my expression I can’t point out. His chest rises and falls. “Trust me or not, I will make this right. I promised I would get you back to your mates, and that’s what I’m going to do. You will see them again.” And he makes to turn around, his tattoos shimmering in the near darkness.
“Zaki,” I call out. I don’t know why. He stops, turning to face me. I lick the corner of my lip, searching for the words, searching for the reason I called him. “Why?” Why is he helping me? Even if he had nothing to do with it, he still doesn’t have to break me out. Why does he want to do it so badly?
His gaze roams down my face, locks with my lips, and there it stays for longer than should be comfortable. I don’t shrink under his scrutiny, though. Instead, it sets me on fire. For a long minute, there’s only the two of us in this dreaded Abyss. I can almost feel his warmth, radiating toward me. My body responds, and I take a step closer. I miss his arms around me, even when I don’t understand what's going on between us. After several heartbeats, he looks away, and the spell shatters.
“It doesn’t matter,” he whispers, turning with finality. “Be ready to run.”
CHAPTER24
APOLLO
The maid standing near Cassandra’s body trembles with fear, then drops the broom she had been using. It’s the clattering of wood to the ground that sets it all off. The sound explodes like the firing of a gun, and my dragon rises inside me until the two of us share the same air.
Kayn stands there, with his bored expression, his smug half-smile. To my side, the body of my soulmate. The most important person in my existence, the one who holds my heart, dead because of a vampire lord’s unending ambition, his unbridled chase.
I take a step, even as my muscles burn with pain and my limbs scream at me to stop. There’s no way I can halt it now. It’s a natural combustion, the fire inside me growing from an ever-burning ember to an all-devouring blaze. My dragon bellows out a roar, talons splitting through my nails, scales spurting out of my arms and legs. I let him take everything.
I wouldn’t mind death so much if I knew Kayn was gone.
My wings stretch free behind me. One of them hits Tristan, but the gargoyle doesn’t mind. His face hardens into pure anger. He feels the same as I do. All of them hate this fucking vampire more than words describe. I would burn him to death if I didn’t fear burning the others along. Snapping my jaws, I let my dragon take the lead.