Luca lifted his chin. “Your plan wasn’t going to work. We had to surrender, but Mira wouldn’t listen to me. She was always listening to everyone but her own flesh and blood. I did what I had to do to save as many humans as possible. Now everyone can come back, and we can finally end this war, Kori. Sometimes a hero needs to make hard choices.”
Duchess Dread sighed and rolled her eyes. “He’s under my protection, Koribella—” Her fingers tightened. “Do you understand?”
I gasped. “I understand.”
She loosened her fingers until they barely touched my neck, but she didn’t move her hand away. “Good. Now, what to do with you three? That’s always the question, isn’t it? Too precious to kill, too dangerous to live. Ultimately, it’s the three kings’ decision to make, but I would not expect them to be merciful.”
She released my neck, and I spun and staggered back, but she grabbed my wrist and said, “This is Hades.” The duchess gestured to the large glowering vampire who Luca now stood slightly behind. “If you do anything that even hints at treason ever again, Hades will torture you and your siblings until you die.” She bit the air before me. “Do I make myself clear?”
“Yeah, you do,” I said through gritted teeth.
Duchess Dread smiled, flashing white fangs against her crimson mouth. “Hades will take you to your siblings. Your fates will be decided when the kings arrive.”
I said nothing as the large vampire guard escorted me, even keeping silent when he guided me in the opposite direction as the prisons and stopped before the royal spa. As he went to open the metal door, I had a moment of realization. If I went in there, there was no way I could get to Timothy in time. The moment the vampire turned to the door, I spun on my heel and ran. Hades caught me before I made it ten feet. He carried me back, not even flinching when I elbowed him in the face.
He set me down and leaned in, his green eyes gleaming with interest. “Are you going in there? Or should I?”
I glared. “I’ll go.”
“Good.” He pushed open the door and shoved me inside. Heat blasted up my front as the cloying reek of burnt plastic wafted out at me. Tile rained down from above, shattering at my feet.
Genevieve and Brendan lunged just as the metal door slammed shut. There was a loud clang as they hit the metal and bounced off.
I gasped. “We need to get out of here. Timmy is out there.” My whole body shook. “Is there any way to escape from here?”
Both Brendan and Genevieve wrapped their arms around me, surrounding me in their warmth.
“No,” Brendan said after a second. “We managed to get the cuffs off.” He showed his wrists, which were red and raw. “I suppose they must have expected that. When we tried to burn our way out, we only managed to shatter the tile, melt the chairs, and thin the oxygen. I peeled some tile back. Underneath, the walls, floors, and ceilings are cement. That door is metal. The ventilation system is too small for any of us to squeeze through. We also tried climbing the chimney, but it narrows too much. There’s no way out.”
“I got him killed.” The charred tile walls spun around me, and I almost stumbled into the large pool that sat centrally in the room.
Both Brendan and Genevieve caught me.
“It’s not your fault,” Genevieve said, but she didn’t know what I did. She didn’t know that I raised Timothy from the dead and abandoned him.
“Come on.” She took my arm. “They gave us cots. We threw them in the pool before we started burning, so they’re probably still wet, but it might feel nice.”
My siblings guided me to lie down and pulled their cots beside mine. The slight sloshing of the pool echoed around the space. The room was warm enough, but there was a chill in my chest that no fire could touch. “All of this fighting, and the best we can hope for is that the vampires will spare our lives and accept us as their blood whores again.”
“We’ll break free the first chance we get,” Brendan whispered as he rolled over to face me. There were likely at least ten guards outside the door, but the low gurgling of the hot spring was loud enough that they wouldn’t be able to hear him. Brendan’s dark-brown eyes twinkled in the low light. “We need to find Griff.”
“He’s alive and gathering the rebels, but…,” I squeezed my eyes closed as I cushioned my head with a hand. “Luca is with Duchess Dread. He’s her consort. He will have told her everything by now. They don’t stand a chance.” I was too exhausted for tears, but grief and guilt weighed heavily on my heart as I stared up at the stone ceiling. Ribbons of light danced over the ceiling above us, refracted from the firelight on the water.
“Luca,” Brendan growled. “I fucking knew he wasn’t actually playing hero.”
“I’m going to kill him,” I whispered.
“Take your place in line. Vivie and I are better at killing.”
“We are,” Genevieve whispered before reaching out and taking my hand.
After a time, my brother’s breathing evened out into the cadence of sleep.
My eyelids grew very heavy, and even though every inch of my body ached, I slipped into oblivion.
I lay on rocks, looking into the pale features of the consort of Portland. Blood splattered across her freckled cheeks and dripped into her auburn hair. Thick, black liquid seeped from a hole in the consort’s head, but her hazel eyes were open and fixed on mine.
“You need to come back, Kori,” she whispered as she reached toward me. “You need to come back here.”
“Where?” I asked, my voice echoing over and over as if I was in a long tunnel.
“Look,” she said.
I raised my head, peering over a field of corpses. My heart jumped, and I looked down to see that I wasn’t lying on rocks. Everywhere around me were torn and severed arms and legs. Dead eyes stared up at me from all directions. I pushed up, trying to stand, but the bodies under me rolled, and I fell onto the consort.
She reached up and her fingers wrapped around my wrist, feeling like cold iron manacles.
“Look!” she yelled.
I lifted my head to see the ivory trunk of the tree of life. Its roots slivered like pale snakes over the pile of corpses.
Mira’s hand gripped my wrist tighter. “You have to come back.”
I screamed, and fought against her grip, but she was too strong—too impossibly strong.
“Kori!” A new voice called. “Wake up, you’re dreaming!”
My eyes snapped open, looking up at the tile ceiling. I gasped in air that tasted like burnt plastic. Arms wrapped around me, and I flinched, only to realize that it was Genevieve’s calloused fingers on my arms.
“It was just a nightmare,” she whispered as her hand rubbed down my arm. Her sleepy amber eyes peered over the side of my cot. “I was having one too—I think. I don’t remember it now, but I woke feeling terrified. I should thank you for waking me up from it.”
“It’s my fault that everyone died.” Wetness coated my cheeks, and it stung on my raw skin.
She shook her head. “Kori… no one but you would ever come to that conclusion.”
Emotion clotted in my throat, and I could swear I still felt echoes of the corpses’ dead flesh pressing into my legs. Genevieve’s hand continued to rub up and down my arm. When I turned to my sister, I found her fighting heavy eyelids.
“Go to sleep, Vivie. I’m fine,” I whispered as I wrapped my hand around hers.
“You should sleep, too,” she said back. She tucked our clasped fingers against her chest. Her fingers felt as they always did, dry and warm with callouses from her various weapons training. “What’s our next plan, Kori?”
I looked into her amber eyes and marveled at the trust I saw reflected in their depths. If today’s events proved anything at all, it was that my plots and plans were terrible things to trust in. I rubbed my lips together, and then I lied, “I don’t have one.”
The almost amused look she gave me told me that she would have none of my lies. “You always have a plan. Maybe you just haven’
t admitted this one to yourself yet.”
She was right. There was a plan in my mind, already forming, but I wasn’t ready to admit it out loud.
“You know we’ll follow any plan you make, Kori,” Genevieve whispered.
The words brought tears to my eyes—tears of terror. So many people were willing to follow me to their deaths. So many people had already died, following my plans. How many more would die because of their trust in me? I was fighting the current in a sea of corpses, and I felt the ravenous tide, ready to pull me under.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
KORI
We spent two whole weeks in our cell. Every day, we would have a loaf of bread thrown to us. We drank the water we bathed in. Every time my siblings attempted to sleep, both Brendan and Genevieve woke screaming. The sounds echoed around the walls. They opened their eyes and stared into the shadows, screaming with wide, terrified gazes, only coming out of it when I shook them awake. When I begged them to tell me what they were dreaming about, they said that they didn’t remember.
My dreams were always the same. I woke under the Tree of Life among the dead, with Mira telling me I had to come back there. I did everything in my power not to sleep, and only dropped into the dream when I had no choice.
Fourteen days after we were thrown in the cell, a delivery of fine clothing, make up, and three bowls of steaming oatmeal with milk and honey arrived in our cell. Within two hours, my siblings and I looked as we had before the rebels killed the king. My dark, curly hair was swept up in a delicate and complicated coiffure, my face was painted in dramatic reds and blacks, and the corseted crimson gown I wore dipped low at the front and back, revealing my shoulders and neck.
Genevieve’s gown had the same cut, and her hair was braided up in a similar style to mine, but, as always, we looked entirely different from one another.
Brendan quivered on my other side. After two weeks of imprisonment, he seemed as if he might combust into raw, uncontained energy at any moment.
Vampires flanked us on both sides as we marched hand in hand down the high arched hallways of the Portland Palace. We kept our silence as we walked with all of our wrists cuffed in iron. I used every ounce of control in me to keep my expression placid. My hands itched to grab the vampires to either side of me. I wanted to shake them and force them to tell me everything that happened to the rebel armies and if they found a man sneaking out of the city, but instead, I pushed a blank expression onto my face. It would put Timothy and the rebels at further risk.
The only sound that accompanied us was the shuffling of our jeweled slippers, the tread of the vampires’ heavy boots, and the rasping of our own breaths. Two palace servants in livery pushed the throne room door open, revealing a roomful of vampire nobles.
Over the crowd, we could just see the peaks of three high, golden crowns. As the crowd parted, I got a better view of the dais, and I staggered back as my gaze moved between the three kings’ faces. A year of war had changed Ash, Ruin, and Death. Their looks were essentially the same. Death’s flaxen hair still fell about his shoulders. His lips were red as blood and eyes black as obsidian. Ruin had more scars on his face. They crisscrossed up both cheeks and cut across his chin. His blue gaze found mine, looking wary. Ash was the most changed. His face was the same as before, features handsome and bold. But the look in his eyes was hard and cold. It felt as if his dark-brown eyes cut straight through me. My breath hitched as my heart skipped a beat.
This shouldn’t have been possible.
The vampires had a very strict system of hierarchy, and the warrior class was the lowest. Meaning, the Queen of Seattle had flexed her power by elevating her three warrior scions past lords, marquis, earls, and dukes. It was unheard of, but at the same time, it made a clever sort of sense. Allegedly, these three vampires were the only ones the queen trusted, and, as she personally sired them, they were helpless to contradict her commands. Which meant that the Queen of Seattle had ensured her rule of both cities was absolute.
The kings were not alone on the dais. Duchess Dread stood a few paces away among a group of vampires. Her golden gaze watched me like the eyes of a hawk that had fixed on prey. She was devoid of blood today, deciding instead to wear a formfitting black dress.
Not letting my gaze linger on her for too long, I turned to the vampire royals, finding that I didn’t know any of the ones I could see. Like us, they dressed in finery, but many of them wore high fashion items I’d never seen before. Luminescent jewels shone on their headpieces and dresses made entirely of golden feathers tinkled like bangles. Their faces were painted with heavy contours and thick gold paste. The entire group seemed to be avoiding standing anywhere near King Death, leaving a wide circle around him. They each turned to inspect us, their gazes carefully disinterested.
“You can see now, Your Highnesses. I told you that they were fine,” the Duchess said before gritting her teeth into an expression that didn’t resemble a smile whatsoever.
“Uncuff them,” Ash said, his voice cold.
A human in finery walked out of the crowd of royals, descended the dais, and crossed the floor to stand before Genevieve. “I am Anastasia, head courtesan of Seattle and, now, Portland as well. I’ll need your hands, courtesans,” the woman said as she held up six circular bracelets. Anastasia wore a headdress of black feathers over her wavy, raven hair. She was thin, in face and body. Her indigo eyes were sharp, but a warm smile sat across her red lips. “Please.”
Genevieve held her bound wrists up.
Anastasia pulled out a key and worked open Genevieve’s cuffs. All around us, the vampires drew away, crowding into each other. Anastasia immediately pushed two of the matte gray bracelets onto Genevieve’s wrists. The bracelet glowed under the head courtesan’s fingers, and when she pulled her hand away, the gray band had embedded into my sister’s skin. Genevieve sucked in a harsh breath that clearly was from pain. Her eyes closed, and she took deep, even breaths.
When Anastasia did the same to Brendan, he breathed shuddering breaths in through his teeth.
Anastasia passed a hand over my arms and nodded. “This one must be Koribella Ignis. Her powers are naturally latent.”
Ruin’s blue gaze warmed as it landed on mine. “Latent? What does that mean, Kori?”
“It means she’s a rare jewel in your kingdom. There is power in her blood but none she can access to attack you with.” Anastasia answered for me as she uncuffed my wrists. She hurried back up onto the dais and bowed low. “Your Highnesses, all three of our Ignis courtesans are now safely powerless.”
All around us, the vampires relaxed, strolling closer and chatting easily to their companions.
“They’re no longer a threat,” Anastasia continued, her voice low and melodic. When she spoke, everyone seemed to lean in toward her just a little closer. “They were misguided, and we believe that we courtesans of Seattle can lead them back to meaningful lives of service.”
“We haven’t issued a pardon yet, and I’m not certain that we should,” Ash said, and the words hit me straight in the chest,
“Didn’t you just announce that you plan to spare them?” Duchess Dread scoffed.
“I said that we planned to spare their lives.” Ash put his elbows to his knees and leaned in, his gaze heavy on mine. “We’ve killed far too many humans already.”
Duchess Dread hummed and leaned against Ash’s throne. “I handed you three the kingdom, darling. Most would just say thank you.”
Ash growled. “You handed us a kingdom of corpses, and you definitely didn’t end the war. Ten thousand human rebels are hiding in the tunnels around Portland. The rebel army is very much alive and now has even less motivation to agree to a peaceful solution.”
A storm of emotions surged through me, relief, terror, hope. Our armies survived. If anyone could lead them to victory, it was Griff.
“Did you want to plead your case, Kori?” When I turned to Ruin, I found him studying me. He scratched his scarred chin and tilted his head. When I met his
gaze, he leaned in and rested his elbows atop his knees. “We’d like an explanation… I’d like an explanation if you have one.”
I had expected kings that would be motivated by greed and lust. I had expected kings I could manipulate into believing that we played a minimal role in the revolution. Looking at these men, I knew that all of my plans were worthless here. Rolling back my shoulders, I lifted my chin and decided to just go with my instincts, “I’m not here to ask for your pardon, Your Highness. I’m here to ask you to make me your consort and that you take my siblings as official courtesans of the Portland Court.”
The crowd of vampires behind us murmured, and I heard someone say the word, “traitor.”
“Are you proposing to me?” Ruin leaned back into his throne, and, for just a second, a smile twitched at the corner of his mouth before his expression again grew unreadable.
“Yes.” As I said the word, I realized the plan that must have been forming at the back of my mind. What my siblings and I needed was the chance to escape. For that to happen, we needed to be let out of our cell and allowed to roam free.
Becoming a vampire’s bonded mate wasn’t an instant thing. From what I heard, the vampire had to keep their fangs in you during climax hundreds of times to make a permanent bond bite.
My gaze moved between the kings, first to Ruin, then Death’s intent gaze, before finally resting on Ash’s cold stare. I sucked in a shaky breath. “I’m here to request that you take all three of us into your court so that we can redeem ourselves.”
“Redeem yourselves?” Ash’s brow furrowed. “You three were part of a rebellion that killed hundreds of innocent vampires in their sleep.”
He had to know that I wasn’t there while those vampires were killed. I was with them. My brother brought me the news, and I snuck them out to save them. At least, that was the conclusion I hope they’d come to, but my brother and sister had murdered those vampire royals, and Luca probably already reported that. Instead, I said, “It’s been a long war, and there have been atrocities on both sides.” I bit my lip. “But, I’m not a threat to any of you, Your Highnesses. I’m the least dangerous person in this room.”
Ruin: A Reverse Harem Dark Fantasy Vampire Romance (Fire & Blood Book 1) Page 8
