by Faulks, Kim
“But if he wants me, then he can come and goddamn get me.”
There was a second when he stood there, stunned, and then, in an instant, he turned, leaving the sound of his frantic footsteps behind.
“You can’t,” Kalliste shoved from the ground. Blue flames darkened as she bared her teeth. “Never mind ruining a city you’re sworn to protect, but do you honestly believe this is where it’ll end?” Long strands of red hair lashed the air as she shook her head. “First Hell’s Gate, then the entire world. You can’t do this…you can’t.”
Her desperation tasted bitter in the air. I moved closer, wanting to reach for her…needing to reach for her.
Instead, I clenched my fist and swallowed the need for my Hound to rise. I could still feel her under me, still taste the perfection of her lips, still feel her power hum under my touch. I wanted more. Pain flared through my chest with the thought. I turned my head to where Margaret’s face had vanished.
I couldn’t hear her anymore, not her voice or her call to the darkness.
“Sevan?”
I turned at the sound of my name, my real name. I’d spent a lifetime atoning for that fateful day I’d found my Queen dead on the throne room floor, and here I was…falling for her daughter.
Silence filled the darkened space. There was no stench of rotting blood, no shadows shifting against the obsidian walls. There was just us…
“Did you think we forgot about you?” the chilling, quiet voice slipped into the cell.
I jerked my gaze to the sound as he stepped out of the darkness, his long pale hair not catching the faint light, but swallowing it.
“Gabriel,” I gripped the bars and scanned the cavern behind him. “The others?”
“Hanging back. I told them I was dispensable,” he muttered, glancing at the Hellhound Queen. “And for once, they agreed.”
I jerked my gaze to the far side of the cavern. “They’ll be back.”
“I know,” the Vampire turned that icy blue stare on me. “That’s what we’re hoping for. We want her…the Huntress. Find a way to get us into the tunnels, Senator, and we’ll take care of the rest.”
“You want her?” I pressed against the bars. “You fucking want her? You realize she has my line, right? She’s brought the lash back from Hell and it’s wrapped around their goddamn necks.”
He stepped closer, and my Hound snarled in warning. The sound rippled like thunder through my head.
“For Zadoc and Joslyn.” The Vampire’s gaze burned into mine. “For Thorn.”
I stiffened at the name, still seeing the tiny, shriveled black body, with her wings all torn. The Huntress had done more than abduct and torture, she’d tried her best to break someone perfect and pure.
“She has to pay for what she’s done.”
“The Dragon child?” Kalliste murmured behind me. “The one who was missing?”
Gabriel met the Queen’s gaze. “Abducted and tortured…she barely survived.”
There was a shake of her head as the Hellhound Queen stepped closer, wrapping pale fingers around the cold, hard steel. “We need to get into the tunnel.”
“It’s where we lost her, and the others. Austine is leading the Lowest Kynd, unleashing droves to keep us from them. There’s no other way, Senator. Find a way to get us inside.”
“One wrong move and she’ll kill the rest of my line.” I turned to Kalliste. “I stayed away all this time to protect them, not to murder them at the end.”
“Then we won’t make one wrong move,” she answered and those blue flames burned deeper. “We’ll find a way, Vampire.” She met his blue eyes with a frightening azure stare.
The Vampire flinched, then swallowed. He cast a panicked glance at me, and found the same ravenous stare. “We’ll be waiting.”
Footsteps sounded in the distance. I glanced toward the echo, then to where Gabriel had stood a second ago, and found nothing, nothing but darkness, nothing but pain.
He was gone.
And the Dragons were waiting.
I reached for her and met the brush of her fingers as she reached for me. There was a connection between us now, a shared bond, deeper than loyalty and more needy than trust.
“This is it,” she whispered. “We all get out of this alive.”
“And the seals stay protected,” I answered.
Blaze would know by now there was no way for the six of my line to break the spell and shatter the seal. There was no way Hell’s creatures could crawl free…not before we tore them to pieces and left the Demons to die.
17
Kalliste
There was blood on his hands—fresh blood.
Hellhound blood.
The metallic smell filled my nose, tightening my stomach, filling me with fear.
What have you done?
Blaze wiped his hands on a rag and tossed it aside as he smiled and lifted his gaze. “So, you’ve finally come to your senses…and not before time.”
“What the fuck have you done to them?” Sevan pressed against the bars.
“What have I done?” Hate raged in Blaze’s eyes as he stopped in front of our cell. “You mean, what have you done?”
Sevan bared his teeth. “If you’ve hurt them, I’ll fucking kill you.”
“If you’d fallen and accepted the lash when it was expected, then none of this would’ve happened.”
He was within arms’ reach, just a little closer and I’d—power surged, deeper than I’d ever felt before. “Then take us,” I forced the words through my teeth and met the bastard’s gaze. “And let’s end this once and for all.”
There was a flicker of surprise as he met my gaze. Still, he gave nothing away, just stared into my eyes and then glanced at the Hellhound beside me. “Well, well, well. Looks like I missed something.”
He licked his lips, not moving a muscle. I unnerved him. The thought made the corners of my lips curl. “You wanted power…” I whispered. “So here we are.”
He bared his teeth. I’d trembled under his hand, I’d cowered. But not anymore. Sevan shifted beside me, drawing his gaze. “The others are useless, take me instead.”
“Us,” I added. “Take us.”
For the first time, he found himself floundering with the unknown. “And how do I know this isn’t a trap?”
“There’re thousands of you,” I murmured, keeping my voice soft and weak. “What could we possibly do to stop you?”
I needed to play to his ego, to let him think he had all the cards. “You can take me, cuff me, control me.”
His chest rose with the words, and with a slow exhale, he glanced at the guard and gave a nod.
Keys rattled, but I kept my gaze fixed on Blaze. I wanted to know his every thought, and after all the time we’d spent together, it wasn’t hard. He wanted me weak. He wanted me reeling…he wanted me controlled, just like a good Queen.
Just like my dad.
I turned my head, finding Sevan in the dark. He was nothing like either of them. He was strong, steadfast…and loyal. Pain deepened his tone when he spoke about his wife. He loved her…would always love her.
He’d never fully be mine.
I lifted my hands as the guard neared, reaching through the bars to snap the shackles on one wrist, then the other. My Hound pressed against my skin, she wanted to throw her head back and howl. She wanted to blanket the city with her power and annihilate Blaze’s rule.
“You, too,” Blaze fixed his gaze on Sevan. “One wrong move, and I’ll break her neck, and this time, I’ll make sure the bitch stays dead.”
A growl slipped from Sevan’s lips as he lowered his head. The sound ripped through the cavern, standing the hairs on my arms. But he made no move as the guard clamped his wrists in chains.
The thud of the lock made me jump. I stepped to the side as the door swung open. Magic hummed along my skin as I stepped through the doorway. I looked down, to the makings on the stone. Magic filled the cavern, and it wasn’t just from the diseased newborn Vampires tha
t invaded my city, but it was in the air, like a blackness…a taint that infected.
I’d sensed her darkness when my past had reached out to claim me. Her power rippled through my soul, leaving a mark, just as it had left a mark on the stony walls floor of the cavern.
And now I wanted her gone.
Blaze lifted his head as I neared. He said nothing, quiet…that wasn’t like him. Usually he was chatty, loving the sound of his own voice, or was it the way he made my skin crawl?
“You ready?” He looked behind me when he spoke.
But there was no answer from the Hellhound. There was no giving this sonovabitch anything but silence and hate. With a nod of his head, he turned and started walking. I glanced over my shoulder, meeting Sevan’s gaze, and started forward.
Step by step, that eeriness inside me grew.
Something just didn’t feel right…
This was all too easy.
A weight settled in my gut, heavy and awkward, making me swallow and scan the darkness as we walked, leaving the cell behind. The guard in front strode toward the far wall and ducked, slipping through an opening in the wall.
The sounds of their screams grew louder, tortured screams, and my pulse sped. “Where are they?” I lifted my gaze to Blaze as he ducked and stepped through. I had no choice but to follow, listening as a guard followed me into the tunnel.
My shirt snagged on a jutting rock, tearing as I turned sideways. They led me deeper, giving me nothing but silence. I pressed my fingers against the wall and shuffled through. Warmth seeped into the stone. We were going deeper, and curving around, heading down to the Dragon’s Breath, and the seals.
The Vampire, Gabriel, filled my mind. Everything rested on him, and the Guardians, because, without them, we were battling a legion of newborn Vampires. Without them, we were dead. I knew that…no matter how powerful I’d become, I was nothing on my own.
My line would end.
And my sisters with it.
That thought lingered as I made my way through the tunnel until it forked up ahead.
The guard slowed, and stopped at the fork. I tried to track this unknown tunnel, tried to figure out just where we were in relation to the Dragon’s Breath, as Blaze stopped.
Screams echoed, piercing, terrifying screams of men and women.
Faint screams…familiar screams.
The longer I stood still, the louder they became.
“Fuck you!” someone screamed. Amaris. My heart thundered with the sound.
I jerked my head to Blaze as he gave the guard a nod.
In an instant, they moved, grasping Sevan’s shackles, pushing him toward one of the entrances, while we were stopped at the other.
“Wait! What are you doing?”
That weight in my stomach grew heavier as Blaze turned his head and settled that cold stare on me. “You didn’t think we believed you, did you?”
Panic punched through my chest. I tried to move forward as Sevan turned.
“You think I’m that stupid? You think I don’t know the fucking Guardians are waiting for me? Trying to find a way in?”
I shook my head as Sevan clenched his fist.
Now…it was now or never.
So I opened myself to the power of my line, and I swallowed it all. Every ember of Hell, every hungry flicker of the flames.
I took it all and felt the world shift as the Hellhound guard whimpered, then fell to his knees.
Blaze clasped a fist to his chest, face twisted in agony. But it was Sevan I looked to.
The Hellhound I’d claimed.
My beast of Hell.
He was the only one who could help me now, the only one I trusted. He shuddered and shook, falling to his knees as the beast swallowed the man. Muscles rolled under his skin. He lowered his head as midnight fur sprung through the pale skin. Bones snapped, and bowed, stretching, and growing…hunkering until he was all I could see.
If I’d thought he was strong and powerful as a man—then he was magnificent as a beast. He filled the space. My gaze skimmed thick paws and a glistening, inky coat, until I craned my neck to meet his stare.
Black lips curled, baring long white fangs. He hunkered on all fours, thick shoulders moving as he turned to sniff the air, then lifted his head. Piercing blue flames danced in obsidian eyes, but it wasn’t me he looked at—it was Blaze.
He growled and stepped forward. Muscles tensed as the Hellhound sank back, firmly on all fours, and then lunged.
Blaze’s eyes widened, before the guard beside him stepped into his path, meeting the Hellhound head on. There was no match, not for the leader of the Royal Guard. Flesh tore and bones snapped, filling the tunnel with the sickening sounds. Something splattered my cheek. I stumbled backwards as Sevan slammed the guard into the stone wall and then pulled back as the guard slid to the floor, dead.
A savage growl slipped out from one of the remaining two guards, but it was Blaze the Hellhound wanted. He just couldn’t get to him. Blaze glanced at me, and I could see my end. I moved sideways as we shuffled inside the tunnel. There were only two ways out of here, back the way we’d come…or down one of the two tunnels ahead.
“FUCK YOU!” Amaris’ scream tore through the shaft to slam into me.
Sevan neared, taking powerful, sawing breaths. His shoulders rippled as he moved, his concave waistline bowing in and out with every breath.
He wasn’t just a servant of Hell, he was part of it, seeped in it, like he was part of the foundations itself. A protector. An enforcer.
One guard turned to the still body of his fellow soldier, then shook his head. “Fuck this, I’m out.”
Blaze lunged for him, but the guard was gone, tearing back the way we’d come, until his frantic footsteps were all that was left.
“Fucking coward!” Blaze roared and turned to the last guard. “Don’t just stand there, kill him!”
I stepped backward, hitting the splayed arm of the dead guard.
Savage howls of pain filled the tunnels. A Hellhound’s screams, until, in one terrifying second, it ended.
I looked down to the blood seeping into the cracks of the obsidian stone floor. Steel sparkled at the body’s waist, catching my eye. I lifted my gaze to Blaze, then knelt, finding the weapon and dragging it free.
“Hurry,” I commanded Sevan. “Protect the seal…save my sisters.”
His back was to the tunnels…all he had to do was turn and run. This could be all over in an instant. Still, he turned that infernal stare to Blaze and hate vibrated in his chest with a blood-curdling growl.
Power rippled through me, shuddering the stone walls and filling crevices. I lifted the muzzle of the gun. “Later,” I urged. “There’s more important things at play here.”
Sevan turned his head and met my stare. The Guardians, I urged with my eyes, and hoped to the Goddess he understood.
He turned toward the tunnel meant for me, and then charged, leaving me standing there. My finger curled around the trigger, the muzzle aimed point blank at the man I hated as much as I’d hated my father.
And the piece of shit just grinned.
18
Artemas
My paws pounded, my muscles flexed and rolled as I raced, leaving her behind.
My Queen.
The urge to turn around howled inside my head. But her command was stronger, and my Hound obeyed, so I ran, driving my claws against the stony ground to catapult my body forward.
The boom of the gun behind me made me falter. I skidded, paws smacking the hot stony ground as I sucked in sawing breaths.
Fear was a fist around my throat as my past and present collided. I’d left behind one dead Queen…I refused to leave behind another. My Hound was in the driver’s seat now, a beast in control.
The cavern rumbled above me, and the ground shook. The crack…crack of the gun came twice more. Return to her, and risk Hell being unlashed onto this world, or keep running, and find a way in for the Guardians?
A piercing shriek echoed thr
ough the tunnel walls, but not in front of me…beside me. I turned toward the sound and sucked in the familiar scent of sulphur. Heat radiated from the walls., the black stone was hot to the touch, burning red in the distance.
The river of lava pressed against the shaft, and it was from the searing river of death I heard him. Bastian. The name drifted to the surface as that call came once more, stronger, growing louder. I risked a quick glance behind me to my Queen, Kalliste, and felt an ache in my chest.
Hurry, I urged my beast. The Guardians are our only help.
I shoved forward, small strides before I lunged and speared through the tunnels once more. The further I ran, the brighter the stony walls grew. Sweat ran along my spine, sharp, jagged, panting breaths consumed me.
The shrill call from the Dragon came once more, and a growl echoed from me in response. I scanned the darkness as it diverged into two more tunnels up ahead.
But the calls of my line were stronger now, their screams louder, as was the Hellhound Princess, Amaris. She was fierce and unrelenting, howling her rage as the agony of my line surfaced.
I staggered under the pain as the tunnels blurred. I stumbled right, leaving the howls of agony behind. An unseen knife drove through my chest with every step. I wanted to turn back, to lunge at those who killed and maimed, to the one they call the Huntress…the bitch determined to crack open Hell.
I lowered my head, sent my rage spilling through my bared teeth, and ran. Blue flames burned more brightly. There were seals all through the tunnels. The Dragon’s Breath that broke through to Hell was one…but there were others, ones designed as fail-safes to get from down here to the world above.
To the human world.
I had no blood to open the doors, like those of the royal line. I had no sacred amulets, just the blood that ran through my veins, and the mark of Hell on my soul. I raced forward, forging out of the tunnel at the dead end. Hard breaths filled my ears as I lifted my gaze to the seal in the ceiling, the one that opened to the city streets above.
The sharp, piercing call cut through the river of lava. I threw back my head, and emptied my rage into the air. The howl shook the walls, dust and shards of stone came away to fall around me. I opened myself to the call of Hell, not just lowering my walls, but shattering them.
