It was obviously Charming’s fault. The prince needed to die.
“Uh… I was contemplating very important stratagems and missed that last part.” He told the waiting rebels. It was strange for Slade to converse with peasants, but he wasn’t finding it nearly as horrible as he’d feared. Some of the beings had reasonable suggestions, when you gave them a chance. “What were you saying?”
Konrad, an Ogre with a shedding problem, was more than happy to repeat it. “I said that now is the time for us to attempt the Corpse Road. It’s the only chance we have to get out of here.”
The other rebels looked concerned about that idea. They must have been bickering over Konrad’s plan for some time. Slade had no idea why and he didn’t particularly care. “There is another way out of the forest?” He surmised.
Konrad nodded. “Yes, your majesty. I’m sure of it.”
Everyone else glowered at him.
That was wonderful news! Jane had been right. Listening to the villagers was really paying off. Flying to freedom would only take moments and Slade clearly needed longer than that to get through to Jane. It would be better to walk. Ideally, she would have to remain by his side for days. Delaying his inevitable victory meant more time with her, so Slade had to stall.
“What is the Corpse Road?” Granted, it didn’t sound like a street Jane would enjoy traveling upon, but she was eager to escape the Endless Woods. If he could find a way out, she would surely be impressed. …And if that way out meant Jane was stuck with him, so much the better. Given time, she would see that he was the best possible monarch a girl could have.
The best partner.
“If the Corpse Road was a viable escape, none of us would still be here, Konrad.” An older guy named Neville snapped. He had horns and a face like a seahorse. “Do not speak such foolishness.”
There was a general murmur of agreement.
Konrad wasn’t giving up. “The path is cursed, it’s true. But, now we have King Slade to lead us. He will see our way through the danger, Neville.”
“And risk his own grand life in the process!” Neville shot back. “Your ideas are not the stuff dreams are made of, Konrad. It’s folly to even mention them. There is no way out of this forest. Attempting to traverse the Corpse Road will kill…”
Slade cut him off. “What is the Corpse Road?” He demanded, again. He did not recall that name in the script.
The rebels exchanged more troubled glances.
“It’s a trail that leads to death.” Neville finally said. “It’s hidden, with none but the dead knowing where it starts.” He lowered his voice as if something sinister might be listening from the trees and he didn’t want it to overhead. “You don’t want to attempt that path, your majesty. No one has ever survived the trip. Better to stay hidden here in the forest.”
“Kings do not hide.” Slade scoffed. “At least, not for long.” The very idea was ludicrous. “We will never defeat Fang unless we face him. And to face him, we must leave these woods and find the Silver Sword.”
“Each soul that falls dead upon the Corpse Road rises again as a Shadowman.” A Pixie named Andra whispered. …Although it didn’t seem possible for her to know such a thing if no one had ever come back from the road to tell the tale. “They haunt the ground and attack trespassers, making ever more of their deadly kind.”
“I do not fear ghosts.”
“These are not just ghosts, majesty. They are Shadowmen. They steal the souls of everyone who crosses them.”
The other rebels made signs of prayer.
Perhaps Slade should read the From Here to Infinia script again, because he had never heard of beings called Shadowmen, either. Jane was forever telling him that the pages were changing and he should pay more attention to the “film” unfolding around them. Slade just didn’t see the point. He’d skimmed the tome and seen that events had been altered, but the shifting story was only to be expected. Whatever had been written before was obsolete now that he was here. Once he had the Silver Sword and escaped these woods, he would…
“Slade?”
His head snapped around at the sound of his name and the scent of her skin. Jane. Seeing her, the world made sense again. His irritation melted into longing, as she drew closer. If she would just stay with him, he would give her whatever she wanted. They were supposed to do this together. Why did she not understand that?
Her clothes must have finished drying, because she was back to wearing them. Slade frowned. Pants were simply not decent on a lady. He’d tried explaining that to her, but she laughed at him and did as she pleased. At least half the rebels were staring at her khaki-covered legs. He sent them all a warning look and they quickly averted their eyes.
“Are you ready to fly out of here, yet?” Jane demanded, marching over to join him. The woman was clearly annoyed. He was used to that.
“We may have another option.” Slade got to his feet. “The rebels tell me there is a path leading out of the Endless Woods, after all.”
“Since when?” She demanded skeptically. “Why hasn’t anyone mentioned it before now?”
“It is hidden.”
“Hidden?”
“That road is fraught with horrors beyond imagining, milady.” Neville intoned like some medieval prophet predicting their doom. He was clearly hoping that Jane could talk Slade out of the plan.
“Don’t call me ‘milady.’” She told them that fifty times a day but they never listened.
The rebels all respected Jane. She intimidated them, but Slade had noticed that they often went to her when they wanted someone to intercede with his more controversial rulings. It didn’t bother him, since he liked it when the woman got involved in village life. It showed Jane cared about their quest. Besides, she was almost always right. Slade wasn’t sure how that worked exactly, since he was always right, but he couldn’t argue with the facts.
“Someone explain to me what’s going on.” Jane ordered, turning her attention to the peasants. Melessa would’ve swooned before she talked these grimy rebels, but it never occurred to Jane to avoid them. She thought everyone should have a voice and that everyone was important. Slade loved that about her. Though she tried to hide it, Jane truly did have a soft heart.
“Where did this path come from?” She persisted impatiently.
Andra watched Jane with a mixture of hope and fear. “Neville speaks the truth, milady. No one has ever stepped foot upon the Corpse Road’s horrible surface and survived to reveal its location. To travel it is certain death.”
Slade flinched. He’d been hoping to avoid telling her most of that. All of it, actually.
Jane very slowly turned back to him. “The Corpse Road?”
“Frightening names are often given to lovely places in an effort to discourage tourists.” He ventured.
“Well, it worked because I’m discouraged. We’re flying out of here, Slade. Start flapping your arms or whatever.”
“But… I cannot.” It would ruin everything.
“What do you mean you cannot? You told me you could fly, remember? You said all you needed was my blood.”
“I can fly. …But not in Infinia.” Lying to Jane was difficult, but what choice did he have? Slade needed more time with her, so he could convince her to stay. “My powers are somehow suppressed in this land.” He shrugged. “We are stuck on the ground.”
Jane’s eyes narrowed. “You’re lying.”
Damn it, the woman was so inconveniently smart. Slade refused to back down. This was too important. “Why would I lie?” He asked, unable to meet her eyes.
“I have no idea, but I have yet to see anything that you couldn’t do once you decided to do it. You know what that tells me?” She jabbed a finger into his chest. “It tells me that you could get your cute ass airborne, if you tried. Only you’re not trying, because you don’t want to try.”
“I have tried and it is impossible.”
The rebels looked back and forth between them like spectators at a tennis match, sta
ying out of the fray. It was often that way. The village considered Jane his queen and Slade did nothing to discourage the idea. This obstinate woman was his future. Regardless of whatever ridiculous feelings she had for Prince Charming, Slade was the one she was supposed to be with. It was so obvious to everyone but Jane.
Still, ruling Infinia with Jane would be far different than ruling the Vampire Isle. Melessa had never argued with him the way Jane did. It was a refreshing change to have someone else assuming part of the responsibility and offering fresh ideas. Slade liked having another person care about the kingdom and its people. …Usually. When his partner wasn’t so bent on wrecking his plans, anyway.
“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?” Jane accused. “You’re deliberately dragging your feet, for some crazy reason.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Slade cleared his throat and stared at a random rock formation like it held the mysteries of the universe. He was not gifted at deceit, especially not with Jane’s luminous gray eyes watching him so closely. “I’m simply telling you the truth. We must use the Corpse Road. There is no other choice.”
Jane’s temper exploded. “I don’t want to use the Corpse Road! Who the hell would want to use anything called the Corpse Road?! Maybe you’re okay with living in Quest of the Delta Knights, but I’m not! I just want to get this nightmare over with, so you can marry your stupid princess, and I forget I ever met you!” She gave him a frustrated shove and stalked passed him towards the trees.
Slade frowned as something new occurred to him. “Are you upset that I would plan to wed Allandrina?” He demanded hurrying after her. That idea was sheer lunacy. The princess barely even registered in his mind. “Jane there is no need. That woman is nothing to me. I have never even met her.”
“Then, it’s even worse that you’d propose.”
“But, she will not care for me, either. I’ve explained that it is a business….”
Jane cut him off. “Besides, it doesn’t matter who you marry, because I’m not going to be here to see it.” She waved a disparaging hand. “Go ahead and say ‘I do’ to some girl, because you want a damn castle. I’m sure it’ll work out great for you. It did last time, right?”
“I did know Melessa!” Slade protested indignantly. “When a Vampire meets his Eternal-One, he instinctively knows her on every possible level.”
“Really?” Jane stopped walking to pin him with a glare. The two of them were isolated by forest now, which suited Slade fine. No man could ogle her… except him. “What level instinctively knew she was going to screw Viktor the Werewolf in your bathtub?”
Slade’s jaw ticked.
She arched a smug brow at him.
“That was a low blow, Jane Squire.” He finally said. “Melessa’s betrayal was unprecedented among Vampires. No one could have predicted her actions. She was my Eternal-One, after all. My destined mate.”
“Oh, she was not.” Jane rolled her eyes. “‘Cause if she was, she wouldn’t have fucked around on you.”
Slade blinked at that glib response.
“Face it,” Jane continued, “on some level you knew she wasn’t the right girl for you. You only married Melessa to retain control of the Vampire Isle, just like you’re only proposing to Allandrina to get Infinia. All your weddings are about real estate. You said yourself you care about business and not romance.”
Slade had told her that, but he hated that she’d listened. The words made him seem so shallow. “Melessa was my Eternal-One.” He snapped. “She had to be. All the signs pointed to it.”
“If you say so.”
“I do say so. And while Allandrina is simply a means to an end, that doesn’t mean I am incapable of deeper feelings. I care for you very much.” There were no words for what he was coming to feel for this woman. “You know this, Jane.”
“Yeah, the situation was real clear to me when you basically suggested I become your royal mistress.”
“I never said that!” Slade roared, his voice echoing through the woods. “I have never even thought of the situation in those terms!” He wanted Jane to stay with him, because he could no longer picture an existence without her. Why did she have to make everything sound so sordid?
She snorted. “Oh right. Sorry. I couldn’t be your mistress, because you would never lower yourself to actually sleep with the help, right?”
He leaned closer, pushed to the brink by her refusal to see the truth. “If you wish, I will show you once and for all how very idiotic that statement is.” Slade snarled, grasping her wrist. He tugged her hand forward, so it was pressed to the front of his trousers. “Being around you leaves me in a constant state of readiness, so just nod your head and I’ll be inside of you. Would that convince you of my desire?”
Jane’s eyes went wide as she felt his erection, automatically trying to tug away.
He wouldn’t let her go. Instead, Slade stepped closer, pressing her hand tighter against him. “You know full well I would have us both naked the second you gave consent. You can feel how much I want you, Jane.”
She swallowed, her fingers resting on the bulge of his manhood. “You want me?” She blurted out as if the idea had never occurred to her before.
Gods, dealing with the woman drove him mad. How could she be so clever and still miss everything important? Slade kept his gaze locked on hers. “I have never wanted anyone the way I want you, Jane Squire.”
Releasing her wrist would’ve been the gentlemanly thing to do. Instead, he urged her hand lower so she was cupping more of him through the fabric of his pants. The silver bracelet moved beneath his grip. The fact that she still wore his gift made him even more aroused.
She bit down on her lower lip and he nearly groaned. Jane’s fingers slowly traced the size of him, her thumb brushing against the tip of his shaft. Slade’s whole body jolted at the sensation. Her gentle explorations were going to kill him. He rocked against her palm and she instinctively tightened her grip.
Slade stared down at her and she stared back.
Now, everything was perfect.
God, he’d never felt anything like the connection he had with Jane. Whenever Slade looked into her eyes, he felt as if he was on the verge of some fantastic discovery.
That baffling mixture of aching tenderness and crazed hunger built within him, again. He was swamped with the seemingly contradictory desires to shield her from everything and to possess every inch of her body in a thousand shocking ways. He wanted to talk to her and make her smile. He wanted her weeping from desire. He wanted her turning to him for comfort and protection. He wanted her to know that she belonged with him and that he would destroy any other man who sought to claim her.
He wanted everything.
She was… everything.
Jane gazed up at him and Slade lowered his head to kiss her.
For a moment, it seemed that she might let him. Jane’s mouth parted, her body softening into his. She leaned up almost imperceptibly, as if she wanted meet to his lips halfway. It was all exactly as it should be.
…So, of course, Jane had to go and ruin it. The woman was just determined to complicate every step of their lives.
“No!” She jerked back, glowering up at him and breathing hard. “I’m not kissing somebody who plans to get engaged to somebody else. I’m not touching him, either.” She yanked her hand free, which made Slade want to curse and cry and destroy small planets.
“Jane…”
“No. You want this kingdom and you’re willing to trade yourself to Allandrina get it.” She shook her head with the inflexible morality of someone truly good. “But, I’m not going along with it. I’m better than that.” She met his eyes. “So are you, Slade. You’re so much better than this sleazy plan. I wish you could see that.”
Slade froze. In a blinding flash of insight, he realized that Jane was once again right. His plan to wed Allandrina sounded sordid, because it was sordid. It was something a Werewolf might plot. How could he possibly do such a thin
g and still call himself an honorable man? If Slade proposed to another woman that he did not love, he would never respect himself.
Worse, Jane would never respect him.
She wouldn’t stay, if she didn’t respect him.
Slade looked away from purity of her gray eyes, his mind whirling. He wasn’t sure how it had happened, but he couldn’t ignore the truth. Keeping Jane was the only thing that mattered. She meant more to him that any throne. Allandrina and Infinia and the future he’d sought versus this one small human…? That was no choice at all.
It would always be Jane.
“Why must you confuse everything?” He muttered, surrendering the inevitable.
The thought of giving up another kingdom was very vexing. They were difficult to come by. It would no doubt take him weeks to find another. In fact, on second thought, he wasn’t going to just give Infinia up. He was Slade, King of the Vampires, so he’d think of a way to claim Infinia without Allandrina. It was possible, but much more difficult.
Also, more time consuming.
Not only would the war be longer, but Allandrina would surely not be in the mood to help send Jane back to her own dimension. Not after Slade conquered her lands, took over her castle, and didn’t marry her. Without the princess’s magicks, he had no idea how to get Jane home. She would be stranded in Infinia forever.
He smiled at that thought.
Jane was only woman in Infinia immune to his many charms, but he could change that. Somehow. When Slade wanted something, he found a way to get it. And he wanted Jane. With more time, he knew could win her over. If she could never return to her dismal world and her dismal prince, Slade would have nothing but time with her. She’d spend the rest of eternity right beside him. Sooner or later, she’d have to start caring for him.
Vampire Charming Page 13
