The Emperor of Evening Stars (The Bargainer Book 3)

by Laura Thalassa

  It’s finally out there between us, that beautiful, brutal truth. And now all I want is to fall into her and never return. My sweet redemption.

  For several seconds she takes me in, the only movement the rise and fall of her chest.

  And then she smiles.

  Ah, Gods! Who needs the sun when she smiles like that? She can make sadness forget it exists.

  “Do you … want to be with me?” she asks.

  She still doesn’t get it.

  I pull her into me, staring down at those wide, hopeful eyes. “Callie, this may be oversharing, but I’m getting the sense that you want that at the moment …”

  Her smile widens. “I do.”

  So I tell her all those truths that should be so painfully obvious right now. Because I’m a sentimental fucker and she’s my mate.

  “I want to wake up every morning to you, cherub, and I want to marry the shit out of you, and then I want to have lots and lots of babies with you. If, that is, you will have me.”

  I want that future so badly and I want her to want it too.

  Please want it, Callie. Please want me.

  She doesn’t speak, and one agonizing second gives way to the next.

  “I’ll be yours, if you’ll be mine,” she finally says.

  I feel my grin nearly split my face in two, and my wings flare wider than ever.

  Take. Claim. Keep.

  Nothing, nothing, feels as good as this moment.

  This is what it’s like to be loved. Like the universe forming from chaos. It’s lighter than air and headier than magic. It’s everything.

  “I’ll always be yours, cherub.” Even when she doesn’t want my crafty ass. I’ve never not been hers.

  I cup her cheeks.

  There’s a vow, an ancient vow, in my land, and as long as anyone can remember, lovers have whispered it under the stars. For seven years they’ve eaten away at me. Finally I set them free.

  I search her eyes. “And mountains may rise and fall, and the sun might wither away, and the sea claim the land and swallow the sky. But you will always be mine. And the stars might fall from the heavens, and night might cloak the earth, but until darkness dies, I will always be yours.”

  Chapter 24

  The King of Claws and Talons

  Less than a year ago

  When I wake up the next morning, Callie’s vanished—only, sirens don’t vanish. They glamour and beguile, but they don’t altogether disappear, particularly ones who’ve been magically bound to live under my roof.

  After last night, could she have fled me as I used to flee her? The mere thought is enough to level me.

  She loves you, you fool. She wouldn’t flee.

  I move through my Catalina house, but there’s no sign of her. I check the front door. It’s locked from the inside. She has a key, but at the moment it’s sitting on a side table off the entryway.

  The back door then.

  When I come to it, it’s unlatched. I feel my relief sigh out of me.

  She came out here to be close to the water, of course.

  But when I walk outside, there’s no sign of her. My unease gathers. I stride deeper into my backyard, stopping at my patio table. A full cup of coffee rests on the table. I pick up the mug.

  Cool to the touch.

  It’s just one of those things that scream something’s off.

  If Callie could, she’d mainline her caffeine in the morning. She wouldn’t leave her coffee undrunk.

  My unease becomes something else. It feels like someone is squeezing and twisting my gut.

  I feed magic to the few shadows that linger out here. They will know what happened. A few seconds later, my power boomerangs back to me, the shadows remaining obstinately silent. Earth’s shadows love to chat. The only time they’ve ever remained quiet is when …

  Gods above and below.

  No. Impossible. She’s a mortal, and the Thief of Souls has very particular taste. He wouldn’t come here, he wouldn’t take her.

  But if … if he did take her, then it’s my fault. I’d tasked her with this case, never imagining that she’d catch the attention of the monster I hunted.

  Should’ve known better, Desmond. Monsters always notice what you care about.

  A second later, I dissipate into the shadows.

  Need to find her. I chant the sentence over and over as I begin my search.

  All day and all night, I scour worlds for her. Earth, the Otherworld, she could be in either.

  The task would be infinitely easier if our bond was fully in place. But because it’s not, because Callie is a human and I am a fairy, I can’t reach through our shaky connection to locate her.

  Instead I search the old-fashioned way, cashing in favors for information. I beseech the shadows of both my world and hers, looking for any little tidbit of knowledge they’ll give me. But the darkness is silent, and it makes me want to destroy something.

  Though the shadows tell me nothing, if I focus hard and long enough I swear they quake with fear. It’s the same unnerving reaction I’ve sensed every time I tried to pull out answers regarding the Thief of Souls.

  I’ve wondered a thousand times what would cause the night to feel fear. Now, I’m too consumed by my own panic to dwell on that question.

  The Thief of Souls has Callie. The darkness may as well have said as much.

  My mind flashes to all those female warriors trapped in their glass coffins, a baby clutched to their breasts. Before now I felt a spark of sorrow for them—sorrow and horror—but that was it. They were not my loved ones, my family or friends.

  Now, I’m coming up with all sorts of terrible explanations for how those women came to be sleeping … and how they acquired a child.

  Rage is burning through the fear. I will break the Otherworld in two before that happens to Callie.

  Less than a year ago

  Several days in, all my cashed-in favors and whispering shadows get me nowhere.

  I storm through my palace, making myself at home deep in the dungeons. I perch on a stool and steeple my fingers, tapping them against my mouth.

  Forget about what you know of the Thief of Souls, Desmond, what unusual occurrences have happened to Callie? Monsters love leaving their calling cards. I should know.

  There was the ripped up mattress, the dream that was so obviously not just a dream. And then there were the visions that the casket children had shown her—visions of cages and an antlered creature.

  That’s all I have.

  It’s going to have to be enough.

  I start with the antlered beast. There are many horned fae in the Otherworld, but only one with any distinction—

  Karnon Kaliphus, Master of Animals, Lord of the Wild Heart, King of Fauna—and lately, the Mad King.

  He just might have enough power and lunacy to fit the bill.

  Shit, but am I really assuming the Fauna King is behind the disappearances?

  Those who are moon-touched are capable of much. The question is, could Karnon be capable of the evil wrought by the Thief of Souls?

  Surely one of his subjects would’ve said something. Surely, if he were truly guilty, someone would’ve noticed something damnable by now.

  Cannot afford to ignore this possibility. It’s the best lead I’ve got. For Callie’s sake, I have to assume the worst of Karnon.

  But if I’m wrong … not only will I be no closer to finding her, I might have a war on my hands. That’s what happens when you attack kings.

  War for Callie if you must, but find her!

  As swift as the night, I leave the dungeons of Somnia and make my way to the Fauna Kingdom. Being the king of a rival kingdom, I’m required to announce my presence in my fellow ruler’s territory. I don’t bother.

  If I’m right and Karnon’s behind this, then his soldiers are behind it as well. No one keeps a secret this big all to themselves.

  I join with the night sky, sweeping across the Kingdom of Fauna. I’m no longer a man, no longer a body wit
h arms and legs and a face. I’m hardly a thing at all. More like sentient darkness.

  The shadows are ever quiet here. I feel it then as I never have. Old magic. Powerful magic. The kind not written down in books. Perhaps it’s not that the shadows won’t share their secrets; perhaps it’s that they can’t.

  If Karnon is the one wielding this kind of magic, then I’ve vastly underestimated him.

  Before I head to Fauna’s capitol, I scour what I can of the land, looking for any trace of Callie. I come up with nothing.

  Just as I thought.

  There’s a chance that she’s simply not here in the Kingdom of Fauna, but there’s also a chance that she’s in a protected area of the palace, where wards prevent me from entering.

  All the kingdoms have pockets of space that are spelled against me and the other rulers. This way, rival kings and queens can’t just waltz in and learn their most closely guarded secrets.

  I dissolve into the darkness outside of Karnon’s castle grounds, and there I linger. Things are almost painfully normal. Guards make their circuits around the perimeter, Fauna nobility come and go. I follow several of them back to their homes, waiting for one of them to slip up, but none of them do.

  You were wrong, Desmond. She’s not here.

  Callie could be in another kingdom—even another world—enduring cruelties I can’t fathom.

  I’m considering leaving my post when strange magic wafts through the darkness. It’s so faint I almost miss it. With it comes the urge to coalesce back into my form. Reluctantly, I do so, my body manifesting in a tree downwind from the palace.

  I feel the magic stir again, this time concentrating over my heart. I draw in a shocked breath, my hand pressing against my chest.

  Gods above, I feel her.

  My mate!

  Callie’s essence is a song, something I imagined sirens might sing to wayward men. Only it resonates inside me, calling me to her.

  A second later I realize I shouldn’t sense her. Our magic is too incompatible. The weak bond between us thrums, and through it I sense distress. Immense distress.

  The world around me darkens.

  My gaze snaps to the castle, where I can now vaguely sense her, and my eyes narrow.

  Spreading my wings wide, I soar into the sky a moment later, following the faint pull of my connection to Callie. The darkness moves with me, swarming along the edges of the palace grounds and dimming the fae lights until they’re nothing more than a memory.

  I move to the invisible barrier that bars me entrance into the Fauna palace. While I can’t see it, I can sense the ward arcing over the royal grounds in a perfect dome.

  Must get to her.

  Pulling a fist back, I begin to hammer against the barrier that separates me from the keep.

  THWUMP! THWUMP! THWUMP! The sound of my blows pulsate through the night.

  It doesn’t take long for the Fauna soldiers to react. Between the thick shadows that have curled themselves around the outskirts of the palace and the sonic booms of each successive blow, they know someone’s trying to breach their castle.

  But cloaked in darkness as I am, they can’t see me.

  I strike the magical barrier again and again, putting my power into it. Each time I feel the wards give a little more.

  THWUMP—THWUMP—THWUMP!

  Got to get to her.

  THWUMP—THWUMP!

  The primal need is stirring me into a frenzy.

  Now that I can hear Callie’s essence, each note of her call is getting increasingly dire.

  I throw all that I’ve got into the hits, barely aware that my knuckles are splitting and my blood is dripping down the ward and onto the ground.

  Finally the guards on duty spot where I’m trying to enter. On the other side of the barrier they run towards me, weapons drawn. The shit thing about wards is that while things can’t pass from my side into theirs, things can move from their side into mine—namely arrows. The soldiers notch them into their bows then let them fly. One—two—three—four whiz by me. More follow, until the night air is filled with the hushed zipping sound of them.

  I grunt as an arrow hits me in the shoulder. Another thumps into my side.

  Bound to happen with that many soldiers taking aim at me.

  I don’t slow my ministrations. Beneath my fist I sense the ward growing brittle. I strike it again and again.

  With a crack, it finally shatters, the magic rippling across the dome as the ward disintegrates.

  I’m in! I almost roar with my feral triumph.

  I dissipate into the darkness just as a barrage of arrows shoot past me. Those that were buried in my flesh fall harmlessly to the ground.

  In this form it’s hard to focus on my connection to Callie; now more than ever our magic is incompatible. But I’m near enough to her to hone in on her essence.

  I manifest outside Karnon’s throne room. This section of the castle grounds is warded once more against me.

  Fucker knew I’d be coming for my mate.

  Inside, I can hear Callie’s screams. It breaks something inside me.

  Never borne such agony! It feels like someone is ripping the flesh from my bones.

  Karnon did this.

  The darkness gathers around me, extinguishing all memory of light.

  There’s a calmness inside me, a calmness honed by a lifetime of practice. Everything shuts down—my love, my hate, my dreams and fears. All that’s left of me is a stillness.

  I gather my magic and throw it at the large double doors barring me entrance.

  BOOM!

  They tremble against my power but hold fast.

  Again.

  BOOM!

  I hear wood and metal creak as it begins to buckle.

  Again.

  BOOM!

  The air in front of me ripples.

  Again.

  BOOM!

  With a shriek, the spell shatters and the doors burst open, the wooden frame splintering and the metal fastenings screeching as they’re ripped away from the wall. They sound like thunder as they hit the ground.

  Inside the throne room is a nightmarish scene. Dead vines stretch up the walls and ceiling, curving around the throne of bones. Old leaves decorate the ground. The place has fallen into decay.

  Amongst it all is Karnon, his eyes wild and frenzied, and at his feet—

  I don’t immediately process the sight of the crumpled body in the middle of the room. That limp, bloody thing can’t be a person.

  But then I hear our connection and smell her scent.

  My mate.

  My Callie.

  I have to lock my legs to keep from falling. I can’t stop the agonized bellow that escapes my throat.

  No.

  My darkness curls around her protectively.

  “So your mate found you after all,” Karnon says from where he looms over her. “Took him long enough.”

  I’m at Callie’s side in an instant, and now I am falling to my knees. Her heartbeat is a weak, thready thing. I choke on my own breath as I take it all in. Whatever happened to her, she only barely escaped it.

  My hand trembles as it passes over her. So much blood. I’m afraid to touch her.

  And then I notice the feathers, the hundreds of bloody, night-dark feathers that sprout from a pair of—of wings. Wings attached to my mate’s back. And now I do touch her, so I can feel for myself that they’re real.

  They are. The wet feathers shiver just the slightest beneath my palm.

  The shadows of this place crowd me in.

  I feed them a little magic.

  … We saw it …

  … terrible, terrible sight …

  … sprouted clean from her back …

  … Fauna King to blame …

  I feel my rage then, my sweet, faithful rage, begin to gather.

  “I’m so sorry, cherub,” I say, my voice cracking. “For everything. He will pay.”

  “Tell me, how do you like your mate now?” the Fauna King says.
“She’s improved, no?”

  Slowly, my hands leave Callie. My eyes travel up, to the mad, antlered king.

  I stand.

  “You know it’s breaking the most sacred law of hospitality to attack a king within his own castle,” Karnon taunts even as he begins to back up.

  I move towards him, the darkness nipping at my heels. The long years I’ve lived with the memory of my mother, broken and lifeless, dead at the hands of another king. And me, powerless to stop it.

  “I never imagined you’d go for a slave,” Karnon continues. “But weak attracts weak …”

  I could not save my mother, and I could not stop this from happening to my mate—but I was always good at vengeance.

  My magic is building, building …

  Rip. Kill. My instincts scream at me.

  “Though I did enjoy her moans …”

  Rip—kill.

  Karnon lets out a frustrated growl, then in a fit of impatience he flings his magic at me. His phantom claws shred through my clothes and slice into my flesh.

  “No,” Callie groans weakly.

  Warm blood drips from the wounds. I barely feel any of it.

  Rip. Kill.

  My power builds, buzzing in my veins. My mother’s lifeless face flashes before my eyes. Callie’s weak, bloody one stares at me.

  My fury coils deep in the pit of my stomach. It builds beneath my skin and fills the air, turning light to dark, swarming the space with shadows.

  In Karnon’s eyes I see a flash of fear, and the Fauna King stumbles backwards.

  Yes, I am something even monsters fear.

  They are always frightened in the end, every one of my victims. Not because I’m apathetic or because I enjoy bloodsport, but because they realize the one simple truth behind my existence—

  I was made to kill.

  The room darkens until there is no light, until there is nothing but the primordial void my ancestors crawled out of.

  “You think I cannot see in the dark?” the Fauna King says.

  I smile, and the void smiles with me.

  “I am the dark.”

  My power blasts out of me, rippling through the room and destroying everything in its path. It vaporizes the Fauna King and the walls of the palace. It blows apart furniture, shatters windows, rips off roofs. Across the palace grounds, any Fauna fae caught in the web of my darkness now burst like overripe fruit as my darkness devours them.