Madison would rather die. But she would do anything to save Nix’s life.
“Could be fun.” Her demented brother-in-law executed a casual one-shoulder shrug. “Too bad I’m not in the mood to teach succubus play.”
Madison was extremely aware of the ragged sound of her exhale. If that was succubus play, she never wanted that experience.
“I’m the Queen,” she said in a rush.
Elias mock-pouted. “Nope.”
“I’ll be your goddamn Queen. Don’t make me do this. Tell me what to do.”
Nose to nose, he smacked her ass. “Too. Late.”
He caught her hand before she gutted him.
“Kill Phoenix now, Madison.”
She struggled against the compulsion as she walked stiltedly toward Nix.
“I’m the Queen,” she muttered. Nothing happed.
She tripped herself twice, burying the hilt deep into the flooring. As if the souls connected to the skin-stitched ground were compelled to eject her, she was bucked back to her feet.
She stood no chance of resisting the royal sway.
“I’m Hell’s Queen,” Madison screamed as she neared Nix.
“Afraid not.” Elias sounded bored.
Hand shaking, her arm lifted against her consent and brought the dull, rusty blade closer to Nix’s neck. The bastard could’ve at least given her a sharp one. She looked into her lover’s eyes. Fear brightened his gaze. “I love you, Nix.”
He was gagged and could not reply as she sawed the knife across his flesh, the blade lurching because of its dullness. She screeched the entire way through the action. The demons released him and he slumped to the floor. Madison crumpled on top of him, murmuring how much she loved him as he bled out and died in seconds.
“Heart-wrenching.” The King toed Nix’s head and it lolled to the side. Madison slashed the knife toward Elias’s knee. The bastard chuckled. “Kill Amos.”
“Li!” No!
“Caj.” Yes, he said mildly. He knelt, grabbed her hand holding the weapon, and slammed it down, straight into Nix’s heart. “Take this knife and thrust it into Amos’s heart just like that.”
Teeth clenched, she fought the compulsion to do exactly as he wanted. “Li.”
“Ichnaday, Madison. Kill your son.”
Madison stumbled to her feet, screaming telepathy for Micah to help. Her nose began to bleed and her right eye twitched.
No help arrived.
The first step she took toward her son, she vowed to thwart Elias by whatever means necessary. She pressed the blade to her own neck. Successful in gashing maybe half an inch, Elias zoomed to her and snatched her arm away. “Didn’t expect that. Remarkable that you can resist while under my command.”
Trembling, she glared at him. “I won’t kill him.”
“You will.” He spun her so her back pressed against his chest. One arm around her throat, the other holding her hand with the knife in it, he walked her toward Amos. Madison dug her heels into the skin-stitched floor and spewed curses. She promised death in every language she knew and claimed her status as Queen in the same languages.
“Still not the correct words.”
Elias jerked her arm forward and buried the blade to the hilt into her son’s chest. Her brother-in-law released her instantly, stepping around to face her so he could watch her like a heckler at a football game.
Everything transitioned down to her son.
Dead.
With Amos cradled in her arms, she collapsed to her knees. Rocking him back and forth, she sobbed against his chest.
My baby is dead.
A buzzing grew in her ears, drowning out the King’s maniacal laughter.
As if from a distance, she heard her mother say, “That’ll do it.”
Electricity crackled in the air. Elias’s humor silenced.
My baby is dead.
Lifting her head, she touched Amos’s face. Glassy blue eyes stared back at her and she began to vibrate. Anger surged. Injustice over his death peeled back a layer of Elias’s dominion and she felt her Lynx stretch, her demon’s fury similar to a nuclear fallout.
My baby is dead.
Without him, all reason to exist vanished. A life with Micah and Nix would be hollow without her angel.
No reason to live. My baby is dead.
We need to kill Elias. The determined words of her Lynx surprised her.
Yes, she agreed, relieved to have Usha back. Madison lifted her head and nailed the bastard with a glower.
Pink misted the room. His eyes widened. Panic flared in his dark gaze. He reacted. He came at her, talons out and slashing. She fought back, but slipping on her own blood, she went down once too often, and he used it to his advantage each time. With Lynx already weak, she toppled the final time and slumped against the wall.
The swishing ceased and a lost soul cradled her head in its arms. A month ago the comfort would’ve been creepy. All that mattered in this moment was that her baby was dead.
Elias knelt beside her, panting and running his thumb over a nasty wound on his cheek. The touch smeared black blood. She smiled, but it felt wrong against her split lips.
A cup poofed into his hand.
“Drink.” He pressed a goblet that glowed like the Kings’ eyes to her mouth.
She knocked it aside, but was confused when nothing spilled from it.
He picked up the chalice. “Drink the contents. It’ll give you the power to bring one of them back.”
They stared at one another. Chest aching and her lungs wheezing with each labored breath, she suspected she suffered a few broken ribs and maybe a collapsed lung.
“Liar.” The word rasped out, the slight movement torment.
“Can you take the chance that I’m not?”
Elias pressed the cup into her hands, calling her bluff.
No, she couldn’t take the chance. If Amos could be revived, she’d take the opportunity at whatever cost to herself. Madison lifted the goblet to her lips and gulped the magical contents, convinced she brought more damnation to herself.
Chapter Forty-Two
“Here.” It’d taken Micah too long to scout out his brother’s hiding place. Fear for Madison’s safety clenched his heart like a vise. Putting faith in his brother had brought danger to her door. If something happened to her, he would never forgive himself. “Latch onto my power, Phoenix, so you may bond through the wall with me.”
The Ark of Heaven showed no fear or hesitation, but joined him in penetrating the soul-barrier. A quick scan and he spied them. Naked, Madison lay slumped on the floor, her head supported by the essence of one of the damned souls. Elias crouched near her. Blood coated her body like she’d skinny-dipped in paint. Maimed to the point of critical even for a demon, Micah tamped down his blood-rage at the sight of her abused body.
“zkihtak.” Eliel swiveled toward him and rose to his feet. “Come to thank me so soon?”
You are no brother of mine. No relation of his would abuse his woman like this.
“Fuck. You.” He slammed his brother through the heart with a bolt of power. His twin hit the wall. Souls emerged, wrapping limbs around him. “How’s that for a thanks, zkihtak?” He slurred the final word. “Kur, get Madison to Qugu Quta and submerge her in the lake. She can breathe it. Phoenix….” The Scepter of Spirits descended into Micah’s palm. He’d never thought to use it against hellish brethren. “Join Kur, but do not enter Qugu Quta.”
Chest smoking, Elias coughed and disengaged from the spirits attempting to restrain him. “You misunderstand, Beliel.”
He understood perfectly. His twin not only wanted to kill his wife, but had engaged in his favorite pastime by torturing her first. Why Eliel wanted Hell to continue with the status quo was beyond his comprehension. Madison brought unlimited power to their domain, which was to all their benefit.
A flicker of movement on the other side caught his attention.
Celeste. One of his children. And Madison’s mother.
; “Ichnaday, Celeste.” She went utterly still at the command, all color leeching from her skin. “Xauht ej lih ciok yipkuxa.” Death is not your comrade.
The floor screeched when Celeste went to her knees. “Micah, please, listen. I tried to tell him no, but—”
“Be gone.” Too angry to listen, he snapped his fingers and she vanished. He would tend to her eternal torture later.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Kur lift Madison, showing her more gentleness than Eliel ever had. Madison cried at being jostled and begged the dragon to end her misery.
“I misconstrue nothing, Eliel. It is you who does not see clearly.”
“She made you weak.”
“By whose standards?” Kur exited the room with Madison and Phoenix. “Why should I measure up to your standards?” He tapped the Scepter against his thigh. “Father attempted to bully me once. What makes you think you’d succeed where he failed?”
“I did you a favor.”
“You tried to kill my wife!”
Elias’s smirk confused him until his brother said, “Tried?” A dark chuckle reverberated in the chamber. “Madison drank from the casket. I succeeded in killing your wife, unless she accepts her status as Queen. That is the only hope she has.”
The Scepter fizzled out. Revenge against his brother must wait. Madison needed him if she would survive the casket—the drink of death. “This isn’t over, Eliel. Whether Madison lives or dies, you’ve declared war against me. I will not rest until you are chambered for torture. An eternity won’t be long enough to appease me.”
Micah portaled out of the room and straight into Qugu Quta. Kur handed her over the moment he appeared. The dragon joined Phoenix on the bone-crushed beach.
Madison, he whispered telepathically.
“Amos is dead.” She wept against his shoulder, her body racked with emotion. “Elias forced me to kill him and Nix. Their blood is on my hands.”
“They’re both alive, kitten.” He rose from the waters and nodded toward the beach. “Phoenix joined me to save you.” As she peered at the Ark of Heaven, he erased her other fear. “Our son is secure. In the protective custody of Zennyo Ryuo and at last count somewhere around one hundred dragons.”
“Illusion.” She peered at him.
“Not my illusion. Eliel’s trickery. I cannot lie to you, remember?” Micah immersed them below the surface, going deep and burying them in the silt.
Madison wept against his shoulder. Tears of relief now that she realized Nix and Amos’s demises were fake. You cannot imagine my horror of killing them.
They’re alive. He hugged her, offering comfort with his body. But you remain in grave danger. Relax and allow the waters to heal your flesh wounds.
Difficult choices would be hers to make soon enough.
***
Micah carried Madison out of Qugu Quta. With care, he set her on her feet. Unsteady, she managed to launch herself against Phoenix.
“I thought I killed you.” Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks.
“I’m okay, baby.” Phoenix kissed her and ran his hands all over her back, his touch reverent.
“Elias mind-fucked her?” The dragon was known for the direct approach.
Watching the Ark with his woman…fuck. It was like staring into the face of his father wearing all His glory. Or in lame human terms, staring into the sun without blinking.
Uncomfortable Micah shifted his attention to the dragon. “Made her believe she killed Amos, too.”
“What will you do?”
“Undecided.” I’ll hunt down and torture the bastard. Death was too good for a traitor.
“So long as it serves and protects Madison, I’m yours to be used.” Kur touched her shoulder, his best guess, to assure himself she was indeed unharmed.
She was a long way from being out of danger. He hoped they could rectify that problem immediately. “Locate Petra and Cael. Afterward, return to Zennyo Ryuo and update them about Madison.” He’d almost forgotten Petra and Cael scoured various nooks and crannies in Hell looking for Elias. Once they located his brother, they were to report immediately. So focused on his brother’s betrayal and saving Madison, he’d overlooked notifying them. “Guard Amos. We’ll return once Madison is vigorous.”
“If Madison needs me or us, have her summon us.”
The dragon vanished while Micah nodded. He looked at Madison. His everything loved another man. Phoenix held her snuggled against his chest, her arms wrapped around his waist. The Ark of Heaven lent support through silence and his embrace. What the King was about to do would be the worst betrayal he’d committed against her.
Micah cleared his throat. “She’s not out of danger.”
Whatever the Ark saw on his face must’ve felt like discovering biblical secrets that damned the universe, because the other man’s expression turned grave. A one-move head nod and Phoenix swung her into his arms. Madison curled against his chest, face buried between the other man’s shoulder and neck.
“We’ll use a portal.” He touched Phoenix’s arm and a moment later they were in his hellish bedchamber.
Phoenix made no effort to release her. Still naked, he thought it all sorts of hot the way the Ark cradled her. Clothing her hadn’t entered his mind. No point in modesty now.
“Your seriousness is freaking me out, Micah.”
Madison shivering in Phoenix’s arms freaked him out. “She drank from the casket.”
The Ark blanched.
Madison twisted in Phoenix’s arms and peered at Micah. “That’s the magic I drank from the goblet?”
He nodded.
“Elias told me it would give me the power to bring back either Nix or Amos.” His brother’s subterfuge chilled him to the bones. “What does it really do?”
“It’s the drink of death. Some fallen choose to sip from it so they can go into oblivion.” He took a step closer and cupped her cheek. “Claiming your status as Queen—for real this time—as well as sex with…Phoenix, might save you.”
“You’re lying.”
Goddamn his inability to prevaricate with her. He walked across the room and scrubbed his face with his palms. Only when he felt certain he had his emotions under control did he face her. “Madison, you need to own your hellish status. Half an hour ago wasn’t soon enough.”
“Truth.” Her knees visibly trembled. The reaction had nothing to do with her fear of becoming the Queen. She was too pale. The dark circles beneath her eyes were stark. Her lips were a subtle shade of blue and were cracked. And not from any hit Elias had applied. The Qugu Quta had healed all of her cuts and abrasions. This was the inevitable sickness of the casket. “So cold.”
As if to verify the truth of her statement, she shivered and rubbed her arms with her hands. Just as he was about to offer his support, Phoenix wrapped his arm around her waist. She melted against the other man, but the shaking continued.
“I know you are, kitten. That’s why you should claim your status immediately.”
“Micah, you don’t think sex with Nix will help.”
“It might.”
“Lie.”
“Madison, the alternative isn’t an option.”
“Sex with you?”
Unable to witness the revulsion he’d see in her eyes, he scanned the room. He fisted his chest, rubbing the spot over his heart. Who knew doing the right thing would hurt so much? Never again would he allow himself this much vulnerability. Pathetic fools loved this hard. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “First, you need to own your status. Without the extra power you’ll harness from the rank, you won’t be able to dilute the power of the casket’s magic.”
Frankly, he wasn’t sure how she was still breathing. Or if she could survive. No one had ever lived afterward.
She laid her palm against his cheek. Startled, he jerked and lowered his hand from his face. Unable to gauge her thoughts, he waited for whatever she’d say. “After I become your Queen”—Micah tingled at the idea of her being his queen—“will your s
eraph help my Lynx?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
“Truth.” Her thumb traced his jaw. “And sex with you will help my succubus, as well.”
The short answer was yes. The power in a King’s sexual energy was potent enough to heal a succubus of anything. He refused to pressure her into his bed. “Sex with Phoenix might help your succubus.”
She tsked him, the sound alone calling him a liar.
“I am the flame, and the flame is me.” Her thumb ran across his jaw. The advent of power raised the hair on his arms. “Hell shall bend its knee to Hell’s Genesis Queen.”
Blue flames erupted over her body. His fated Queen stood straight and proud before him, the fire a testament to the royalty she had just become. Only the unceasing shivers racking her body detracted from the beauty of Hell’s power entering her.
Every desire he owned was wrapped up in this woman. Achieving his goal was bittersweet. He could love her, but he would never have her.
To keep his hands off her, he jammed his fists into his pockets. “Hell’s power looks stunning on you, kitten.” As I knew it would.
Madison migrated straight into Micah’s personal space. Her much-too-cool hand slid into the short hairs at the back of his neck. The smoldering kiss of her blue-flamed body pressed against his. Even fully clothed, he could feel the turgid peaks of her nipples through the silk fabric of his dress shirt. Angel claws burst forth and he fought to get his demon under control.
She stared him straight in the eyes. “Make love to me, Micah.”
The request galvanized him. Those words had never come from her except for in his fantasies.
“Why?” He needed to be very clear he understood her request. “To help heal you?”
“Because I want to feel you inside me.”
Nowhere would he rather be than inside her.
She wiggled a little closer. Her other arm draped along his shoulder, and her fingers fiddled with his hair. “I’m not the same woman you married.”
No kidding. She was improved.
Genesis Queen (The Road to Hell Series) Page 34
