by Meg Xuemei X
He scanned them, his gaze lingering on Merlin a bit longer with a smile, then he stared at me.
“You bear the Queen of the Flame,” he said.
“What about it?” Ash asked. He was still pissed at the Guardian.
I hoped Morgan wouldn’t ask to see my mark before he let us pass. My mates wouldn’t take kindly to any male gawking at my breast.
“The Queen of the Flame draws us to it,” said the true King of Hell. “That’s the reason Alessandro came to meet you and tried to trick Princess Ayanna into staying. They say men are all liars, as are women. And Alessandro is one of the biggest fucking liars in the Underworld. Shame on you, Merlin, my old friend. You shouldn’t have trusted a swindler’s words just because he’s a Guardian. Any promise he made to you and your mate is invalid, because he doesn’t have the power to grant you a free path across the Shades. He’s only one of my henchmen.”
Morgan stretched his giant, monstrous body and let out another yawn. “The dead all know who I am, but very few living perceive the truth that I’m the true ruler of the Underworld. I don’t like to advertise my position and power. I have no ego. But when I strike, all shall suffer my wrath. I seldom strike, though. What’s the point?”
“You tell me, King Morgan,” Merlin said.
“Good to see you, Merlin,” Morgan said. “You should have waited and dealt with me. It would have saved you much grief. Anyway, my point is, as the most powerful demigod druid, you should have known better. Are you getting rusty? Or is your new mate muddling your once incredibly sharp mind so you aren’t thinking with your head but with your dick?” He chuckled, pleased with his joke. “I’d never have pictured you as a slave to your heart and lust.”
“Enough of this bullshit,” Merlin snapped, stealing a quick glance at me, and I maintained a slightly pissed expression, not because Hell’s king had ridiculed Merlin but because I’d wasted my breath fighting the Guardian liar for nothing. Merlin, however, seemed to focus on the part about being humiliated in front of me, and he didn’t like it.
“I came to collect the life debt you owe me, Morgan,” he hissed.
“That’s why I granted you an audience,” Morgan said. “But allowing the living to pass through the land of the dead is against every rule we’ve held for eons. Even my own life and the life debt I owe you can’t justify breaking the rules.”
My heart sank. We would have to fight our way through, but then we would lose a lot of people, probably everyone.
“I won’t be a hypocrite and abuse my power just because I’m the king here,” Morgan continued. “However, I’ve thought of a compromise for our dilemma. I’ll let you all pass, but I’ll need a payment—or you can call it a gift from each one of you.”
“I don’t trust him,” Max growled. “He’ll cheat us. As soon as he collects our gifts, he’ll go back on his word like that fucking Guardian loser over there.”
Alessandro was still struggling to shift to shadow to break out of the prison I set for him, hissing and cursing in rage, his horns burning with shadow fire, his face purple with effort and fury and humiliation.
“I say we don’t give the Guardians a fucking thing,” Ash agreed. “We’ll fight our way through and burn the land of the Shades.”
Morgan shook his head, his crimson horns shivering and emitting an eerie sound.
“That wouldn’t be wise, Consort Fae,” he said. These Guardians had been spying on us, or they wouldn’t have known that some members of the clans called Ash Consort Fae. “First, we can’t be killed. And even if the four of you fight your way through, what about Queen Calamity’s people—the seven clans of Nightingale? And her brother—actually her royal cousin—is among them, along with her new friends. She’ll never abandon those poor women she rescued from that horrific whorehouse run by the demon commanders. Yep. I don’t doubt your ability to reach the last and only leyline through my land, but we can all wake up the dead. Without me and my Guardians to hold back the vicious black spirits, they’ll tear the seven clans apart like nothing you’ve ever seen. Would you like to gamble on that, redneck Consort Fae?”
“I’ll remember this,” Ash hissed.
Morgan waved a hand to dismiss him. “And you didn’t wait to hear my proposal before you judged. What I ask for won’t hurt a single hair on the lovely head of Princess Ayanna. I have too much respect for a warrior queen like her.”
“Name your final price and swear an oath that you’ll let all of us cross your land after the payment,” Merlin said.
“Do you want to have English tea first?” Morgan said. “I brought the choicest tea leaves from the Upper Realm, and they’re organic.”
“No!” all of us shouted at the same time. We were still angry and wary. The longer we stayed here, the worse it would be for us.
“Thank you for your invitation to a tea party, King Morgan,” Max said. He was forever more tactful than Ash under any circumstances. “But we have no time to waste, as my mate’s parents are anxious to see their long-lost daughter. I hope you understand the urgency of the matter.”
Morgan sighed. “Such is life. The living are always busy and don’t know how to take a break. They think they can live forever until the net of death befalls them suddenly. Fine, here’s what I need from you. From Consort Fae, all I need is that he shifts to his wolf form and doesn’t talk again until he leaves my realm. No one has annoyed me more than him, and when I’m irked, I lose my temper, which is bad for my mental health.” He sent us all a meaningful look. “I’m practicing Zen now.”
When no one else offered an opinion about his Zen (who the fuck even knew what Zen was?) except for Ash’s growl, Morgan sighed.
“See what I mean?” The King of Hell pressed his temples hard, as if he had a horrible headache. Yet he didn’t forget to gesture at Ash. “Please, Prince. Will you do us the honor? We need to get the ball rolling.”
“Fuck off,” Ash said.
“Prince Ash, I’m afraid we’ll have to meet his terms if we want to get out of here as soon as possible,” Merlin said grimly. “Let’s just get it over with and get Ayanna home.”
Ash moved toward me and kissed me gently and hotly on the lips, and my need for him sparked to life right away. Then in a flash of light, he shifted to a gray wolf, baring his fangs at Morgan.
The king smiled in satisfaction and swept his fiery gaze to Max.
My stomach flipped. What was he going to ask from Max? It wouldn’t be good. Ash had an easy way out by merely turning into a wolf. It wouldn’t be so tough to remain in his beast form for a brief time in the Shades.
“For Consort Hybrid Vampire and Sváva,” Morgan pondered, “I’m debating if I should get his magnificent wings or—”
My eyes burned with rage.
Morgan’s gaze fell on me.
“I won’t hurt your loving mate, Queen of the Flame,” Morgan said softly. “So I won’t ask for his wings as a part of the Underworld collection. For a vampire, blood is the most tempting for him, even more than sex, and he has your blood in his veins. So I’ll require that he donates a glass of blood.”
The tiny hairs on the back of my neck stood up.
“What do you need his blood for? Are you trying to do some voodoo dark magic with it?” I demanded.
He widened his eyes. “Me? I don’t even know how to do any voodoo dark magic. If you’re worried, ask Merlin. He’s the one you should be concerned about, since he’s the master of dark magic, even though he also possesses light.”
“I don’t trust any of you Guardians,” I said. “You can’t have Max’s blood.”
“Now you’ve hurt my feelings,” he said.
I sneered. “I doubt your kind even has feelings.”
“We do,” he said. “Only they’re different than your kind, since we’re the superior beings between the living and the dead. That will take a long time to explain, and you lot are in a hurry. Now, either I get the vampire’s blood or we call it quits.”
“You can have my blo
od,” Max said. “But you’ll not ask anything from my mate. That’s non-negotiable. Either that or we’ll wreak havoc on the Shades. You might not die, but we can find a way to trap all your Guardians and bring them and you to the Upper Ream and kill you there. We’ll drag you down with us. In a nutshell, Princess Ayanna is off limits.”
“All I’ve heard today are threats. That’s not very nice,” Morgan said. “Without us here, the dead would break loose and flood the realm. They’d destroy everything and tear apart your mate’s people.”
“We’ll take a chance with that,” Merlin chimed in.
The wolf howled aggressively.
Morgan had been right about one thing—I would never abandon my people and seek my own safety and happiness, but I offered him a vicious smile when he peeked at me.
“You’ll let your people die?” Morgan asked.
“We’ll do what we have to do,” I bluffed. “You should know desperate people are more dangerous and unpredictable than anything else.”
“My mate and my brothers are extremely dangerous and ruthless when they’re pushed into a corner,” Merlin added with a sigh. “And with our combined magic, we can achieve anything. And you can sense that I’ve mated with Princess Ayanna. If she unleashes the power once possessed by Atlas, one of the most powerful beings in the universe, she can shatter your beloved Underworld. So, Morgan, what’s it gonna be? I’d say you leave my mate alone.”
“I never planned to give her a hard time,” Morgan said with annoyance. “You all put words in my mouth and suspect that I’m up to no good. All I hope is that she can grace me with a lock of her lovely silver hair to remember her by and that I’ll have a chance to tell any future guests that Princess Ayanna Darken was once my honored guest.”
“Just a lock of hair?” I asked, blinking.
“A thread,” he said. “If that’s not too much to ask.”
I nodded. “Fine.”
I wasn’t a difficult person.
A cup materialized in the air and floated toward Max. The King of Hell still wanted Max’s blood. Max pulled out a dagger and slashed open his palm. His blood, which smelled like ancient wine, dripped into the glass.
I cut a lock of my silver hair and conjured up Ash’s icy wind to bring it to Morgan. He caught the lock of my silver hair and the cup of blood with a satisfied smile. With a wave of his hand, both of our payments to him vanished to the devil knew where.
“You’ll be named the Queen of the Underworld if you stay,” Morgan said. “Just to give you another option.”
“Not a chance,” my mates snapped at the King of Hell before I could part my lips to voice my opinion.
Both Morgan and Alessandro sent us a disappointed look, but Morgan seemed to move on quickly and grinned, rubbing his hands together in excitement.
“Now, Merlin,” he said. “I can’t believe that you brought me the most desirable thing ever.”
“You’re welcome,” Merlin said, opening his palm. “Take it.”
The crystal ball in his hand sparkled with light. The lovely miniature couple started dancing under the night sky of drifting snow inside the ball, music floating around us.
Morgan closed his eyes, listening with an indulgent smirk. He even hummed to the tune.
I hoped he wouldn’t want to dance and ask me to be his partner. If he did, it wouldn’t end well between him and my mates. I just wanted the whole thing to be over so my people, my mates, and I could move on.
Yet, in the back of my mind, I nearly felt pity toward Morgan. Sure, the crystal snow ball was amazing, but it was hardly the most desirable thing. But then, who was I to judge? Resources were limited in the Underworld.
“Let’s seal the deal then,” I said eagerly. “I’ve been away from my clans for too long. I don’t want them to get too worried. Merlin, give him the magical ball already.”
Morgan snapped open his eyes, flames shining inside his black sockets.
He didn’t look at the crystal floating toward him but stared up admiringly at the sky over the mountains.
“I didn’t mean that cute glass ball,” he said. “I meant the dragon, the most magnificent, desirable jade she-dragon.”
Just then, a roar thundered overhead.
A dragon flew across the shooting lava. Her outstretched wings arched and beat with orange flames. Her jade-like scales glinted under the dim sky, in contrast with the lava spewing around her. For a few seconds, she blotted out the sky before she touched down, her lethal wings folding smoothly.
Merlin’s dragoness perched right before the gate, her violet eyes caressing Merlin before fixing on me. A fit of unreasonable jealousy surged into me. I suddenly knew what she was to him.
And Morgan wanted Merlin’s beast familiar as the final price for a pass across the land of the dead.
CHAPTER 21
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Merlin could barely contain his rage, and then he lost it.
He shot his white light toward the King of Hell, and the dragoness poured her fire toward Morgan from the other direction, but Morgan had shifted to shade just as fast.
“Really?” he asked, his shade form landing on the back of the dragoness. “You want me to summon all the dead to join this battle, Merlin? You might be a coldhearted bastard, but your mate cares. She’ll never forgive you if your reckless action causes the extinction of her clans right outside the mountains. And what hurts her eventually hurts you more, even though you don’t show it.”
Merlin growled, and the dragoness roared, trying to shake off the Hell King’ eerie shade.
“Leave the dragon alone!” I shouted, searching my well of magic for what else could be done to beat Morgan. “Your argument is only with Merlin.”
Morgan left the dragoness, and the beast snapped her head back and forth to look for her foe, fire and smoke puffing out of her nostrils.
“What’s the matter, Merlin?” Morgan said. “You once gave up your mate. Is your dragon more precious than her?”
Ouch, that stung. The King of Hell really knew how to rub salt on a wound.
“You have no fucking idea what it cost me to send my mate away,” Merlin snarled, aggressive white light and dark fire twirling around his hands, but he was restraining himself from attacking Morgan again. “I’ll give you anything except for my mate and my dragon.”
“I’ve wanted a dragon for an eon,” Morgan said. “Your dragon can help us guard the souls. I alone have carried the burden for too long. Even as the powerful King of the Underworld, the collective shadow power of the dead is bearing down on me and my Guardians. We no longer have enough fire to confine that many souls, especially the numerous evil ones, eon after eon.
“You’ve seen what happened to Alessandro. He turned into a big liar who no longer carries a Guardian’s honor. I can’t afford for every Guardian to slip into madness or worse. If you refuse to give me your dragon, perhaps you’ll give up your mate once again. She has the Queen of the Flame, and the flame will keep us from sinking further down into complete darkness. Your pick, druid: your dragon or your mate. Leaving either one can be the justification for me to break the one forbidden rule and let the rest of you cross the forbidden land of the dead.”
Ash snarled in his wolf form, baring his fangs, ready to attack Merlin if he gave me up, or Morgan, or both.
“My mate will go home, period,” Max said coldly.
So, my two mates had made the choice.
Merlin looked so grief-stricken that my heart broke for him, and I wanted to spare him the choice.
“If it’s just me or the dragon, I’ll stay behind,” I said. “But I have an entire people relying on me and two of my mates who need me.” Merlin snapped his eyes to me, a deep hurt fleeting by them since I excluded him as my mate. We all knew that the King of Hell wouldn’t let go of this opportunity of a lifetime to have the dragon or me.
“Selling my mate into slavery broke me more than you can imagine, Morgan,” Merlin drawled. “And abandoning my dragon will—
” He paused, his throat moving, then he swept his sorrowful gaze to his dragoness. “I’m sorry, Skye, but I promise I’ll come back for you.”
The message was clear. Once Merlin got us out of the Underworld, he’d return to battle the Guardians and bring his dragoness home.
I fixed my gaze on Morgan. “You need to make a compromise. The dragon has been Merlin’s companion for eons. It’s beyond cruel to take his most precious thing from him.” I paused. Appealing to the conscience or compassion of the King of Hell was pointless and perhaps even dumb. “He won’t forget this. He won’t forgive this, and you know Merlin is the most powerful demigod druid on Earth. When he comes for you and his dragon again, you won’t like it. After all, you still owe him a life debt. Is this how you repay him?”
Morgan let out a long sigh. “Let me have the dragon for a thousand years, Merlin, and then I’ll return her to you.”
“One year and no more,” Merlin grated.
“That’s ridiculous,” Morgan said. “At least let me have her for one hundred years. One hundred years for an immortal like you is nothing. That’s my final compromise.”
And we all knew the King of Hell wouldn’t budge.
Merlin still looked solemn.
“That might be the best deal we can get, Merlin,” Max whispered.
“Swear the fucking oath, Morgan,” Merlin said icily.
~
Our people poured into the Shades. The Alpha Pure team helped direct the flow of the clans through the entrance, then the formidable gate.
Somehow, word had spread, and the slaves and rebels from all seven sections above ground had also arrived and joined us. Brooklyn and Diego, who were my brother’s friends in their mining days, had found Sebastian and were overjoyed at their reunion.
Merlin hadn’t said anything after Morgan swore the oath and granted us passage. He waited for the masses to pass, as he would go last and guard the rear with the Omega Power team.
