by Olivia Ash
She surveyed the endless array of clothing at her disposal. She needed to quickly think of something that would show her command and gain the attention of the men. She needed to make the best first impression.
A smile stretched her lips as she settled on a long-sleeved black dress that shimmered as it caught the light. Its neckline plummeted, which would show off her amulet well.
Oh, this is going to be fun.
Chapter Eleven
Damien
Damien swung Lightbane, his broadsword, at Steele. The blade flamed, sending tiny sparks of fire into the air. His brother ducked the flames, narrowly missing his throat. The warmth Damien’s blade emitted was familiar and comforting. His sword’s guard was a bronze crescent that extended to the pommel, and it protected his hand from the sword’s scalding heat, which should have hit his brother, had Steele not cheated by casting an illusion of Damien hitting a tree instead of his brother.
Steele wore his usual form-fitting, silver and blue armor. Even Damien had to admit his brother looked as dashing as ever, though that only added to his annoyance.
“Stop being so uptight. Stress is a real killer, brother.” Steele laughed as he dodged another blow.
Damien groaned. This son-of-a-bitch never takes anything seriously.
Why did his brother have to be here as well? Why couldn’t he just stay away for once. It’s not like he really cared about anything but himself. He seemed perfectly content to lie in the beds of sexual predators even when Cedric had died. What could he possibly want with the new queen?
“Hold still so I can kill you. And none of those hallucinations. Fight me like a real man.” Damien swung his sword again. The flames of his broadsword singed Steele’s dirty blond hair.
Steel gasped. “You burned my hair!” He narrowed his eyes and swung his axe at Damien. The axe clanged against the sword.
Damien took note that the metal of Steele’s weapon was entirely indigo, and the handle was lined with bronze fleur-de-lis carvings.
“Nice weapon. Where did you get it? Or should we say, who did you kill to get it?” he asked as he swung his sword. He struck the flat surface of his brother’s weapon.
“I’m glad you like it,” Steele said. “It’s called Bloodrage, though I like its nickname better.”
Damien rolled his eyes and said, “Which is?”
“Party Pooper.” Steele smiled and bobbed his eyebrows.
“Accurate.” Damien swung again, but his brother parried the blow. “That’s diamantine isn’t it?” He referred to the rare metal Steele’s weapon was made of.
“Aren’t we supposed to be fighting, not chatting?” Steele asked with that stupid smirk still on his face.
“You attacked first!” If only Damien could land a blow to his brother’s face, earn him a well-deserved scar. That would make this squabble so worth it.
“Huh…” Steel paused to rub his jaw and leveled the weight of his stare on his brother. “I wonder why.”
Damien growled. He spun and smacked the sword’s pommel on his brother’s side. But Steele’s golden tail wrapped around Damien’s ankle and snapped back, knocking him on the ground. Steele’s axe descended on Damien’s face, but he rolled away, tucking his wings behind him. When Damien stood, brown dirt smudged all over his white and gold cloak. He had worn his best attire just for this day’s purpose, and his brother was ruining everything. He jabbed at the tail that had yanked his feet from underneath him. It recoiled when the flames licked it.
Damien had enough of this. He sheathed his weapon, extinguishing the flames, and glided toward his brother. He collided with Steele, and they crashed to the ground, limbs and fists slamming against each other. Wings and tails whipped back and forth. He shifted his weight, gaining needed leverage, and wrapped an arm around Steele’s head, pinning his brother to his chest.
“Give up, brother,” Damien said, gritting his teeth as Steele tried to wrench himself free. “Stick to your petty games and brothels.”
“Tempting,” Steele said through clenched teeth. “But not as tempting as kicking your ass.”
Steele twisted under Damien’s hold, striking his elbow against his brother’s ribs and breaking free from the headlock.
Damien lifted a fist to deal another blow, but Steele’s eyes widened.
What the…
“Look out!” his brother yelled. Steele shoved Damien away and jumped back.
Damien gracefully landed in a crouch, but he scraped his palms against the ground trying to steady himself. A strong blast of fire hit the spot where they had been grappling. The small explosion ruffled his hair. He searched for the source of the attack and gawked as a beautiful woman sashayed toward them with a thunderous expression. Her raven hair cascaded over her shoulders, and the sexy dress she wore accented every curve well.
He spotted a figure a short distance behind her. Narrowing his eyes, he recognized his brother Kaiser’s human form. A snarl erupted in Damien’s throat.
Great. Now I have to contend with two brothers.
The woman approached closer, and Damien took in her stern features. She appeared human, which would likely explain Kaiser’s form. Either she preferred the human form, or she was…
He squinted, discerning no hint of enchantment or glamour. His mouth fell open. What in the hell was a human doing in the underworld?
A red ruby in the center of her chest glowed as her hands took on the aura of fire. That pendant was unique, special, and only meant one thing. The demon queen was human. He didn’t see that coming. To make matters worse, Kaiser somehow beat them to her.
Steele quietly came to stand beside him and was uncharacteristically speechless, gawking at her beauty and probably surprised by the fact that she was human just as much as Damien was when the realization hit him.
“What are you doing here?” Kaiser asked, lips curling.
“Family reunion,” he said, shifting his gaze to Steele.
“Enough!” the human demon queen said in the most commanding, attention-grabbing voice.
She’s fierce too.
Damien cleared his throat, returning his mind to his task at hand. “Your Majesty. It was not my intention to cause any inconvenience. I am here on a diplomatic mission, to talk to you about matters of utmost importance.”
Steele snorted behind him. “Way to man up, brother.” He approached the queen with a devilish smile on his face. “Please, allow me to introduce myself. You see, I’m—”
“Not interested. Now, tell me why are you two on my land and fighting.” She narrowed her black eyes on Damien. His world tilted for a moment as something within him became completely consumed by the woman in front of him.
Damien stammered, finding himself at a loss for words and unable to articulate his reason for being there.
Steele muttered something under his breath that Damien couldn’t quite catch.
She bit her lower lip, the space between her eyebrows slightly creasing in concentration. He could almost see the cogs turning in her brain. She shook whatever thoughts she was processing in her mind away with an eyeroll and said, “You know what? Never mind. Just follow me.”
She turned in the direction of the fortress, not bothering to wait for a response. He and his brothers glared at each other, neither dumb enough to turn their back to the others. Damien particularly couldn’t stand being in his brothers’ presences, but he did not want to lose his chance to ally with the queen.
Damien relented, following directly behind her, keeping himself aware of his two brothers and their movements. His eyes wandered over her back to her slightly swaying hips as she walked. He knew he shouldn’t underestimate her. She had just arrived, and she could already wield the amulet’s magic better than she seemed capable of. To him, that showed strength and capability.
He felt drawn to her, as he had always admired women of power. But he could tell this one was different. She was special. Beyond being human and the demon queen. There was more to her than what met the eye, a
nd he had to know more.
Chapter Twelve
Sadie
Sadie sat on her black throne and crossed her legs, her fingers brushing the golden armrest. She felt at ease in the seat, like she belonged there. The fortress felt more like home than anywhere else she had ever lived. Her gaze swept across the glistening, green marble floor of the throne room, and the majestic diamond pillars that stood on each corner.
She sucked in a deep breath as her affinity for the place grew even stronger.
She finally looked at the three men—well, demons—standing side by side on the floor in front of her throne. They waited silently for her to speak. Even from her post, she noticed how tense Kaiser was. His eyebrows met, and his lips were in a tight, thin line.
Beside Kaiser stood the handsome demon with black wings and horns, his dark-hair lay slick and polished, despite scuffling with his brother. He was the polite one from earlier and the tallest of the three, but only by a few inches. The other handsome demon, the blond one, stood with his hands behind his back. When their eyes met, he winked at her. She struggled to keep her face expressionless, though she felt the corner of her lips quirking upward.
For a few moments, she just watched them, deeply contemplating what she could do with them. She recalled what Kaiser and Hobson had both told her—that people would come for her, that she had inherited enemies when she had unknowingly fused with the pendant and absorbed its magic. Like it or not, she had powerful enemies now, probably far more than just Mara.
“Introduce yourselves,” she said, her voice softly echoing inside the large room. “And tell me what you want.”
Kaiser stepped forward. “You already know what I want, Sadie.”
She nodded, remembering the conversation they had in her room. She still wasn’t sure if he told her everything though.
“In addition to that, I’ll offer you my loyalty and teach you more about your newfound power,” Kaiser said.
“I appreciate your help, Kaiser.” She nodded and smiled at him. She looked to the second one in line.
He seemed to take that as his cue and stepped closer. “Your Majesty.” He bowed his head. “I am Prince Damien of Shardford. I have established numerous alliances with dignitaries and ambassadors of the underworld. And I want an alliance with you, too. In return, I also offer you my loyalty. However, I wish to discuss other matters of importance with you.” He glanced at his brothers. “But it’s integral I speak with you in private.”
Sadie leaned back in her chair and drummed her fingers over the armrest. She scrutinized him, admiring the way he stood, the slight jut of his chin, the courtesy and brevity with which he spoke. She wondered what “other matters” he found necessary of her time.
Finally, she said, “I’ll take your request under consideration.”
“Of course, Your Majesty.” Damien took his place next to Kaiser.
Next, Sadie regarded the man with the dirty blond hair. “What about you?”
He smiled and stepped forward as well. “Steele, at your service.” He exaggerated his bow with a hand sweeping a nonexistent hat. He stood straight and stared at her, a mischievous glint in his eye. “As to what I want? Maybe, I also want an alliance.” His gaze traveled down her body and looked her straight in the eyes. He smirked. “Maybe I want something other than an alliance.”
Sadie rolled her eyes and suppressed a smile. His lightheartedness alleviated some of her stress. “What’s in it for me?”
“Security. Training. Information.” He grinned. “Lots and lots of fun.”
She wasn’t sure if she blushed, but her neck warmed from his gaze that insinuated a particular type of fun.
They all essentially wanted the same thing from her: their loyalty in exchange for her protection and teaching her more about what she was. An alliance, of sorts. She was sure there was more than what was simply said, and she would get to the bottom of it. For now, she thought it would be smart to align herself with at least Kaiser. He had proven himself a number of times. He still had more to prove to her, being in her newfound position. But she knew nothing of the other two and had no inclination to trust them at all. Especially with their little act at her gate.
However, in thinking about the people after her, about Mara, she knew she still needed to find Blair. Allies couldn’t hurt. She needed all the help she could get. She may not have trusted Steele or Damien yet, but she could, with Kaiser’s help, get to know them better, find out their secrets, and maybe discover their true desire behind an allegiance with her.
“Hobson?” she called out, knowing her fussy butler just lurked around the corner.
The gargoyle appeared from the shadows. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Find rooms for these gentlemen, please,” she said and returned her attention to the princes. “I need time to think this through. Meanwhile, make yourselves at home. But be warned, if you have ill intentions, I will find out and you will not like the consequences.”
When Damien and Steele followed Hobson to their rooms, she pulled Kaiser aside. “Why do you look human when your brothers have wings and horns?” she asked.
In answer, he simply shifted into his demon self, his upper body curling as dark red wings sprouted from his back and darker red horns protruded from his brown hair and, beneath his wings, a red tail uncoiled, its metallic scales gleaming in the light of the room.
Demons could shift. They could change form to fit in. Fascinated, she stepped closer to him and raised her hand, stroking the underside of his left wing, feeling the soft membrane against her fingertips. She looked into his eyes. The hazel swirled and darkened, turning blood red.
“I didn’t want to frighten you,” he said, his voice soft.
Her heart skipped a beat. He did it to make her feel comfortable. How surprisingly accommodating for a fearsome warrior.
She stepped back, forcing back the urge to move even closer. “I have to go,” she said and walked out of the throne room.
Even in his demon form, she couldn’t help being drawn to Kaiser. She couldn’t risk trusting him completely just yet, but if anyone was going to help her find Blair, it would be him.
As she walked the fortress’s hallways to her chambers, she touched the walls, feeling the connection she had with the place, letting the soft, electric sensations flow from the cold, stone walls to her fingertips and to the rest of her body.
Hobson had said the fortress held secrets she could discover and explore. And the butler had said she could summon him whenever, no matter where he was. Since she had powerful guests in her home, she needed to have fail-safes in place. Should it come down to it, she needed to learn how to fight with her magic. She had her MMA background to cover the physical sides of fights, but with this new world of hers, she knew that basic hand-to-hand wasn’t going to get her very far.
Closing her eyes, she concentrated on the hum of the fortress beneath her palms, how it seemed to complement the rhythm of her heartbeats. Hobson. Call Hobson.
Chapter Thirteen
Sadie
Sadie trained with Hobson in the castle’s western courtyard under the crystal-lit, underworld sky. Its colors gradually dimmed to soft shades of orange, yellow, and pink—the colors of sunset.
Sweat dripped from her forehead as she shot fire at the stone discs Hobson threw in the air. He produced the small rock objects himself, lobbing them in the air from his forearms and sometimes from his belly or his knees. When Sadie hit the stone discs, they’d explode, and the fragments would fly back to him and meld into his skin.
The first five throws, Sadie missed, but from the sixth one onward, she finally got the timing right and hit every target. Even when Hobson feinted his tosses and pitched multiple discs at a time, Sadie’s aims remained true. Once, she managed to take out six targets simultaneously.
“Very impressive, Your Majesty. I see you’re a natural with fire.” Hobson gathered the remnants of the marks. Rocky debris flew through the air, melted into his hard skin, and shif
ted to form more stony scales. “How about trying other elements? Smoke is a relative of fire. Let’s go ahead and try that.”
She thought about the suggestion for a moment, pausing to consider how powerful she felt, if there was a limit to the amount of magic she could do in a day without exhausting herself, and how late the day grew. But the feeling was better than anything she had experienced before. She smiled, wanting more of that.
“Okay,” Sadie said, wiping the sweat on her forehead with the back of her hand.
Hobson extended his arms, deep lines appearing on his forehead. As he moved his hands, a small orb of smoke appeared between his palms and shifted until it took the shape of a thin dagger no bigger than Sadie’s hand. Smoke billowed on the surface, and she gasped when she touched it, startled to feel the solid blade. She softly brushed a fingertip against its edge, marveling how it felt cold and hard like metal.
Hobson grunted, and the smoke dagger delicately exploded, dissolving into white mist.
“I can only hold it for so long,” Hobson said. “The most common thing smoke casters do is create weapons out of smoke. Axes, swords, bows and arrows. With the demon queen’s magic, you should be able to do more with smoke.” He nodded toward her. “Try it. Make any weapon of your choosing. It’s the same principle as casting fire.”
Sadie nodded and inhaled, biting her lower lip. She put her arms in front of her, just as Hobson had, and focused on tapping into the now familiar energy concentrated within the ruby embedded in her chest. The air shimmered in front of her as particles collected, forming a tiny, swirling mass of smoke. She willed it to shift, to form the shape she wanted. The manipulation of the smoke really was similar to the way she could manipulate fire. The only difference was that casting fire had a sensation of heat while casting smoke had a cooler feeling.
A slender sword with a translucent blade began to form from the shapeless haze. She held the hilt with both hands. The edges glowed dark blue, and its cross-guard spiraled. She altered the circular pommel to match the ruby in her chest. She smiled, proud of her creation.
