MidKnight: A Reverse Harem Fantasy (Tangled Crowns Book 2)

by Ann Denton

  “I need Declan. I’m taking the queen as ransom. I’ll come back in three hours. You have Declan for me then or—honestly, I don’t know what they’ll do,” she finished on a whisper.

  My eyes moved past Declan to Malia. Tears streamed down her face as she held him. Clearly, she was being coerced. But I didn’t care. She had threatened my knight. Her fate was a tomb. A cold, lonely trip to the earth.

  I can hit her with peace, I told Quinn. Give Ryan time to get to her.

  NO! Quinn shouted, shocking me.

  What? My feet ignored him even as I asked the question. I took a step out from the tree I was hidden behind. But someone grabbed my arm and stopped me from walking forward. I turned to see Cerena crouching behind the tree. I peeked at her from inside my cloak. She shook her head at me and leaned close. “Let her go,” she whispered.

  My eyes widened, screaming ‘what’ and ‘you’re a sarding idiot’ simultaneously.

  I turned back to the scene at hand and I saw Donaloo behind Malia, gesturing at Quinn, holding out his hands in a ‘stop’ motion.

  Why the sarding hell do we want to put Declan in danger?

  Because if we follow her, she can lead us right to them, Dove, Quinn responded gravely.

  But then Dec will be in the middle of them! The very person she wants! How the hell will we get him out?

  Quinn didn’t answer me. Because there was no good answer.

  Malia kept one arm around Declan’s neck, the orange vial tilted precariously as she whistled.

  Seconds later, three winged bears dropped from the sky. This time, none of them were Fuzzy. They were Isla’s.

  That shite Raslen queen, I raged. I’ll smite her and obliterate her country—

  Calm, Dove, Quinn said. We have to keep our thoughts clear. For Declan.

  I wanted to smash him in the mouth. I wanted to hit everyone. It felt like I could go through an entire nation, hitting every single person until their face splashed into the mud. And that still might not be enough to quell my rage.

  Two of the bears formed a barrier blocking Ryan and Connor from reaching Malia.

  Malia shoved Declan toward the third bear, who got on its belly so they could mount easily.

  “You don’t have to do this,” Declan spoke quietly as she pushed him toward the bear.

  “It’s your family or mine,” Malia said coldly, prodding his back.

  “I could protect your family,” Declan offered.

  “You have no power there. Soon, you’ll have no power at all.”

  “I know djinn who can help. I could get you a wish,” Declan promised recklessly, lying through his teeth to push her into more revelations.

  “She’s already killed one of my fathers,” Malia snarled, “And you can’t wish for what you’ve once had. Your djinn could do nothing for me.”

  She pushed Declan up onto the beast roughly. They settled onto the bear’s back as everyone else stayed still and silent. The bear’s black wings flapped, rustling the leaves and creating a miniature wind. And then they were airborne, the other two bears lifting off just after.

  I watched them rise into the sky. My heart flew off with them.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Once they were gone, I dropped my invisible cloak from my face and stormed into the moonlit clearing. “That’s the stupidest idea you all have ever had! We could have taken her. We could have turned her! Bribed her! We could have used a disguise spell and posed as her—”

  “Not fast enough,” Connor shook his head. He tilted his head, studying me in my bodiless state. “What the hell happened to you?”

  I ignored him. I didn’t have time for stupid questions. And Connor was wrong. Sarding wrong. I looked at Ryan. My soldier would agree with me. He’d hate this. “And you?”

  Ryan bit his lip but shrugged. “We need an advantage. They don’t know that’s Dec. He’s got power. He can protect himself.”

  “Not good enough!” I stomped my foot. “We don’t sacrifice each other!”

  “Remember, failure is the toll we pay to cross the bridge to success. You must pay the toll or forego your goal.” Donaloo sing-songed at me.

  If Quinn hadn’t grabbed onto my invisible waist and held me back, I would have decked the old wizard. Which would have been a mistake. Because we needed him still. The other side had a dragon, some fairy-looking sea-monster bitch, and djinn. And now they had my Declan in their clutches.

  “Why the sard aren’t we in the air already?” I growled.

  “Just having Quinn tell my men to guard the palace,” Ryan responded.

  When Quinn gave a nod that the order had been received, Donaloo clapped his hands and our feet rose, as if we’d each just taken a bottle of Flight.

  We rose into the air and scanned the sky. Ryan spotted them first. “There,” he pointed. The bears were flying toward Rasle. Of course.

  Blue fluttered next to me as we all turned that direction.

  I eyed him. “It might be a long flight, little man. Why don’t you stay behind? No one can hurt you. The castle’s frozen.” I’d deal with that problem later. I’d add it to the ever-growing list of world-ending problems I faced.

  Blue shook his head side to side, vehemently protesting my suggestion.

  I sighed. But at least one person seemed to understand the concept of sticking together. Of not hanging their fellow knight out to dry.

  He’ll be fine, Dove, Quinn said. Dec is tougher than you think.

  He’s a scholar! I mind-yelled as I held out a finger for Blue to perch on. Once his claws were wrapped around my index finger, I brought my other hand up out of my cloak to grab him gently. Both my hands curled around him and pulled him into my chest.

  Quinn must have decided it wasn’t worth fighting with me, because he simply kicked his legs and started flying after the bears. Everyone else followed, except Ryan.

  “What are you doing?” I asked him.

  “I’m covering us from behind.”

  I bit my tongue. I didn’t ask how the sard he was going to stop anything from attacking us midair. Yes, he had a sword. But they had a dragon. And bombs. And every sarding weapon known to man apparently. And spies. In our network. And nobles they’d bribed or threatened.

  Countess Malia was part mermaid. I assumed Isla or Raj or their mystery sea fairy threatened the mermaid side of her family. How or when they’d killed one of her fathers, I had no idea.

  My mind raced as I tried to work out what the hell we could do when we caught up with her.

  “Donaloo, if the dragon’s there, do you have a plan?” I asked the wizard.

  He grinned at me and patted his green vest. He pulled a ring with a dark band and blue stone out of his pocket. So the dragon was a djinni!

  Donaloo said, “A djinni and his ring are inseparable things. Not to fret, not to fret, I’ve—”

  He dropped the ring.

  He dropped the sarding ring!

  I dove. I didn’t blink. My eyes roamed everywhere. But I didn’t see it anywhere. The moonlight wasn’t bright enough. The ring wasn’t glinting.

  Tears of frustration came into my eyes.

  Fear.

  Utter fear.

  It hammered at my insides, turning them to mush.

  Declan. If they took my knight anywhere near the dragon, we’d just lost the ring that might stop it.

  Ryan’s arms enveloped me. He pulled me upward in the sky, away from the lost ring. Away from hope.

  I turned into him. I needed his comfort. I needed reassurance that things were going to be okay. Ryan pulled me in tight. Blue got squashed between us and let out a squawk of protest. Ryan loosened his grip slightly, so my bird friend could breathe.

  “We’ll find another way,” Ryan reassured me.

  Quinn thought, They can always freeze the dragon like they did everyone at the castle.

  The ache in my heart eased. I nodded, then rested my cheek against Ryan’s solid chest. I took a few breaths to calm myself.

&nbs
p; Then I forced myself to turn on queen mode. The mode my mother had tried to beat into me year after year. I tried to evaluate our enemies’ weaknesses.

  “Malia’s part mermaid. If she stays out of the water, she can’t access her powers.” Even as I said it, more of my childhood made sense. Avia had never gone abroad. She’d never gone to the christening of a new ship. Mother never even had her taught to swim. She’d always said my swimming lessons had been so disastrous she couldn’t stand to repeat the experience. Lies. All moves to keep my sister away from water. Where she might be discovered. Might be found.

  I shook off my anger at mother. Now wasn’t the time. I had to focus. Declan’s life was at stake.

  “What are the chances Malia goes underwater?” I worried.

  Ryan shrugged. “Dec can turn water to sand. Quinn can give him a signal. Keep faith.”

  I nodded. My heart unclenched the tiniest bit. “That’s right.” I tried to stay analytical. “Opponents: Dragon, to the wizards. Water creatures to Dec. What about soldiers? And we need to expect winged bears. How are we going to fight them?”

  Ryan grumbled, “I can take one on. But hopefully we can freeze the rest? Or you can stun them with peace?”

  I’d forgotten the wounds on my arms and legs. Adrenaline had kept me from thinking about them. With the cloak, Ryan and the other knights couldn’t see them and fuss over me. But I was battered. The wolves and then the exodus at the castle had taken a lot of blood. My arms still throbbed. “Um … about that. I used my power at the castle.” I didn’t mention the wolves. It didn’t seem like Ryan needed any more stress right now. Not with what we were about to face.

  Ryan ground his teeth together. “How bad is it?”

  I bit my lip. “Not so bad,” I lied. It was probably worse than I’d ever been, minus the fight with the dragon.

  “Show me,” he commanded.

  I held Blue in my left hand and lifted my right. It was a shredded mess. Ryan exhaled through his teeth, his square jaw clenched in fury.

  My heart melted a little at that. My wounds brought out the protector in him. The giant ready to smash trees and destroy the world in order to keep me safe.

  He carefully put one of his hands near my arm and pink light glimmered softly. My skin healed over in seconds.

  “You’re getting faster at that.”

  “You give me too much sarding practice. Give me the other one.”

  I transferred Blue again and let Ryan heal my arm and then my legs. By the time I was healed, he was breathing hard.

  “I’m sorry. Was that too much?” I caressed Ryan’s neck.

  His chocolate eyes smoldered down at me. “No. I’m pissed. Gods, I hope there’s a fight when we get there. I hope she’s not just taking Declan to some wayward cabin in the woods.” His fingers clenched slightly as he held me, but he didn’t hurt me. He’d never hurt me.

  In the distance, near the shore, was a volcano, belching into the night sky. Three tiny specks descended toward it.

  I took a deep breath to steady my nerves. But the rebellion was prepared. We weren’t. “I love you, Ryan,” I whispered.

  “Don’t you sarding talk some goodbye shite to me! None of that!” he snapped. The general came out. “Look ahead, I think we’ll get our fight.”

  “Why do you say that?” I asked.

  “Where there’s smoke, there’s usually a dragon,” Ryan’s smile wasn’t kind. It was the smile a warrior got when the bloodlust took over.

  We flew closer, and I realized I was wrong. There was no volcano. There was a mountain with steep sides that dropped straight into the sea. As we flew closer, the sides became easier to see. Black basalt columns lined with moss and mold rose up out of the water. There had once been a volcano here and its flows had cooled into hexagonal columns, making the mountain look more like a fortress or a towering cathedral than a regular mountain. A cave opening gaped, creating a path for the frothing ocean water to snake into the mountain’s heart. Smoke drifted out of the cave opening. The smoke I’d mistaken for a volcano’s was dragon smoke.

  “Freeze the dragon, hit the bears with peace,” I repeated to myself.

  “Quinn, you tell Dec we’re behind him?” Ryan asked. “Let him know we’ll move in on his signal. Get us a damned good mental map of the place, okay?”

  Up ahead, Quinn’s black head of hair dipped in a nod.

  Quinn shared Declan’s thoughts in a direct feed with all of us.

  Once they dismounted from the winged bear, Countess Malia grabbed Declan and dragged him to the mouth of the cave.

  Our group landed in the wooded hills to the east of the cave. We set down amongst tall pine trees and I released Blue so he could stretch his wings. He fluttered up to a pine branch just above me. All of us kept eyeing the entrance even as we watched Declan’s thoughts inside our minds.

  He entered the cave. Inside, the front cavern was gigantic. It looked as though the entire center of the mountain had been hollowed out. There were smooth black slabs of volcanic rock along the floor. The columns along the wall formed a rough geometric pattern of edges and corners, like children’s blocks lined up corner to corner. There was no smooth wall, only edged columns that stretched toward the moss-covered ceiling.

  At the back of the cave, the blue dragon was chained to the wall, smoke curling up from his nostrils and scenting the cave. The chain explained why he’d never come to us when summoned.

  His orange-red eyes flashed. He did not look happy to be there. Neither did the soldiers that paced nervously through the place, giving the dragon wide berth. They were a mix of Rasle and Cheryn’s soldiers.

  “That’s good,” Ryan muttered, “They won’t be well equipped to fight together. Confusion will help us out. And the dragon might throw fire, but he’ll have limited range.”

  I did not point out that the sheer numbers they had might overcome any advantage that confusion gave us.

  Malia dragged Declan past the soldiers, past the dragon, down a tunnel to a smaller chamber. They rounded a gigantic hexagonal column.

  I wasn’t prepared for who they saw. I’d known she’d turned. But seeing Ember in the cave still felt like a blow to the head. The fairy that I’d considered my childhood Raslen friend was part of this rebellion.

  Ember was naked, her black wings stretched wide. Her breasts dangled like ripe fruit as a man pumped her from behind, his face hidden by her wings. Ember moaned as she leaned forward over a broken column, her pale skin the brightest thing in the cave. Her fingers gripped the stone tightly, a black ring on her finger pinging as she scratched at the boulder.

  My eyes zeroed in on that ring. That ring either controlled the dragon or Abbas. I’d have bet my life on it.

  Malia cleared her throat uncomfortably.

  But whoever was doing the story with Ember failed to care. He must have been too close to firing off. He started pumping more rapidly, even as Ember spotted Malia and leaned up to say something. Her wings lowered and a man’s hand reached down to slam her torso into the pedestal.

  “I’m not finished,” Abbas growled, coming into view. His black curls fell to his shoulders and his beard looked bigger and rougher than the last time I’d seen him. His tan skin and defined body showed no signs of the abuse that had been wrought in my dungeons. He had both hands. He’d been magically healed. The tattoos on his biceps flexed as he held Ember down and continued to pump into her.

  My entire body twitched with anticipation. Instead of fear, determination filled me. I was going to rip that sarding wicked excuse for a—

  “I wish you would stop,” Ember commanded.

  Her black ring sparked with gold for a second. A cloud of twinkling yellow specks filled the air. And then Abbas froze. Ember pushed herself up off the column. She lifted her leg and slid Abbas’ hard, thick cock out of her as she walked around him. His hands clenched in fury. His cock was still red and swollen, begging for attention.

  Good. Let him suffer.

  Ember didn’t g
ive him a second glance. She lazily tossed on a silky black wrap that she scooped off the cave floor. She pulled the material tight around herself and knotted it behind her neck. Then she strode over to Malia, her lavender eyes scanning Declan—scanning me—dismissively. “I told you to bring Declan.”

  “He never showed. I took her and told the rest to find him and bring him or I’d off her.”

  Ember’s eyes closed in fury. Her lips pressed together. I could almost hear her counting in her head. She turned back to Abbas. “You can finish in one of them.”

  Malia’s eyes widened, and she scrambled backward, tripping over a broken column of rock. “I did what you—”

  “You failed.”

  “You can’t just let him—” she didn’t finish her sentence. Because just then, Abbas slammed Declan into the angular wall columns. Our vision of the scene went red, as Declan struggled to see. Abbas’ fist reared back and connected with Declan’s face, smashing it into the columns again.

  “Shite! We need to move!” I stepped toward the edge of the tree line.

  “No!” Ryan yanked me back. “We aren’t just going to be able to get in there past all those soldiers. We need a diversion first.”

  Cerena rubbed her hands together and looked at Donaloo. “Ideas?”

  Donaloo sighed and shook his head, “Ideas need time to germinate. To take root and grow. They need time to culminate in a magic show.” He clapped his hands and immediately all the evergreen trees around us yanked their roots out of the ground and stood on those roots as if they were legs. Their needles shook and changed shape, transforming into long, thin green arrows, their sharpened points facing outward, glinting in the moonlight.

  The pine soldiers started to march on the mountain. The ground shook beneath them. Loud thunks announced each of their steps.

  Cerena stared at Donaloo with wide eyes. Her jaw went slack.

  Isla and Raj’s soldiers heard the racket and poured out of the mountain to confront the threat. The trees spit arrows at them en masse. The soldiers didn’t have time to react. They simply fell down, bodies as riddled with spikes as any porcupine.