Beauty & Rage (Broken Crowns Book 1)

by Natalie Bennett

  Words were a dangerous weapon.

  “You seem to have an answer for everything. Why don’t you explain why dozens of demis were just massacred by the same depire who is now having them snatched off the streets?”

  His eyes remained diverted, no response to dispute my words.

  “We leave at next dawn,” he mumbled before turning away from me all together.

  It wasn’t easy to watch him walk away. He’d been one of my closest companions since I was just a girl.

  I wanted to explain that I wasn’t any happier about this than he, but our personal feelings mattered little now. As a princess, I was afforded many privileges. As a queen, I lost nearly all of them.

  This was it.

  I quickly plaited my hair in a braid, leaving the tail to dangle down my back. Hands bundled in wool gloves, the finished product wasn’t all that neat or smooth, but it would suffice.

  Across the room, Keith, the other guard with us, assisted Jacinda into our only jacket. The wheezing that came with her every breath cemented the fact she needed it much more than Scarlett or I.

  Her bold silver hues met mine, and a tempered smile rose to her lips. Even in the midst of all that had happened, further away from her pride of smilodon than ever before, she remained a refreshing light in all this darkness, one I could only hope didn’t flicker out.

  Jacinda may have been full supe, but the circumstance of her birth, the constant raping by the vilest of beasts and copious amounts of drugs her mother ingested, had stunted her severely.

  Born a runt, the only thing that saved her from immediate execution was her uncle being the sovereign of Equinox, the fall region. His coming to her aide once learning of her existence spared her life.

  Sadly, all the title and status in the world couldn’t mend her inability to shift, her small stature, or the fact that she was almost entirely mute.

  His close friendship with my father had him sending the shy girl to us for better protection until she was of age.

  I’d been compelled to befriend her even with the seven-year gap between us. That was four years ago now, and she had come so far just for sickness to lay claim upon her like a thief in the middle of the night.

  “Are we ready?” Scarlett’s voice poured in through the open door.

  Taking one last glance around the shack, with its warped walls and sunken floor, I nodded. There wasn’t anything left for us in this place.

  ~2~

  The short journey was an extraneous one.

  Having to avoid all main roads meant taking seldom traveled paths full of overgrowth and uneven terrain.

  “Are you sure you know where we’re going?” I questioned Toby, tone laced with suspicion.

  “It’s just over the hill, I promise. We had to choose a road the rig could travel down.”

  “Wha—?” I reached for the nearest tree to stop myself from falling.

  A thin, toned arm slipped around my middle before I could grasp bark, keeping me upright.

  “Thank you,” I said to him on a heavy breath.

  “That’s why I stay close; to always catch you if you fall.”

  An awkward silence engulfed our group after that statement. Had he been his usual playful self, I’d have thought nothing of it, but he’d been saying painfully cliché things like this since we left the shack.

  Lifting my braid from the back of my sticky neck, I breathed in the smell of dirty lycan, musk, and chilled air, taking a step away from him.

  “What rig?” I asked after a clearing of my throat.

  “The one that’s going to take you to Purgatory.”

  “Oh.”

  Just as he claimed, when we reached the top of the hill, I could already make out the massive truck used to transport prisoners and demis. It was a large vehicle, about seventy to eighty feet long.

  Where the driver sat was enclosed, but the rest of the rig consisted of a trailer, small spaces between boxes making it completely open.

  “Will she be okay back there?” I asked, concerned the air would be too much coupled with Jacinda’s ongoing health issue.

  “I’ll be fine,” she signed to me before he could answer.

  “I’ve got some burlap to help,” Keith said, helping her make her way down the steep hill.

  With a frown, I surveyed our lack of belongings.

  “Well, unless you’re hiding it in a certain cavity, where is it?” Scarlett inquired.

  He didn’t respond until we were at the rig. I looked the large vehicle up and down, noting it was covered in a thin layer of frost as if it had been sitting here empty for some time, lacking any sign of life or activity, not excluding a driver.

  I searched for Toby, who had disappeared to the other side of the rig. “Where is the transporter?”

  “Right here,” he answered, appearing in a khaki uniform, muffler, and worn hat that he’d been without just minutes ago.

  “You…what have you done?” I glared at him, now making sense of all his strange phrases on our way here.

  “Did you think I would let you go into that region alone and remain trapped outside? I needed a way in, and this was an easy solution.”

  I drew in a breath, releasing it before speaking. “What happened to the supe this truck belongs to, Toby?”

  “Come on, Duvessa. It’s not as if anyone will miss him. He was a scum demi who drove the rest of your kind straight to hell.”

  I clenched my jaw and turned away.

  I was far from a saint, and I had my share of immoral faults, but I couldn’t condone cold-blooded murder of one of my own, no matter how despicable they were.

  “So you have a plan?” Scarlett asked him.

  “Course I do. I made him explain the process three times.”

  Shoving aside my personal feelings, I turned back to where he stood, questioning him with my eyes.

  Understanding, he bent down and reached for something secured beneath the rig, standing again with a chain in his hands.

  “You want to do this, then we need to do it right,” he explained.

  I agreed.

  I was also aware that the very being who inspired fear in the most savage of men was the man I was going to see.

  He could end my life if he wished, and death was something I still hadn’t made peace with.

  As I had told Toby, though, if I lost my life in place of helping my people, it mattered little. We were all destined to die if I failed.

  My sage eyes locked with Scarlett’s shamrock ones,.“Are you sure you want to do this?”

  “I go where you go, in this life and the next,” she tacked on, acknowledging that this could well be a suicide mission.

  “And you?” I looked at Jacinda.

  “Always with you,” she signed with no hesitation.

  Rolling my lips together, I shut my eyes for a second, using that small fraction of a moment to prepare myself for what may come.

  Lids opening to Toby’s dark blue hues watching me closely, I held out my wrists and let him bind me like a prisoner.

  Leaving Zenith behind was never something I thought I’d do, at least not in the back of a transporter rig.

  As Keith had promised, heavy sacks of burlap covered our laps and were wedged behind our backs to offer comfort in place of the chilled slate pressing against us.

  My eyes wandered the floor, seeing old blood and tread marks from those who had sat on the metal bench seats before us.

  Maybe an hour after we’d crossed the threshold from Zenith to the open plains that lay beyond, Scarlett shifted her body in my direction.

  “Do you think we will be put through selection like the others?”

  I shook my head, “I wouldn’t see the point of it, but I have no idea what’s going to happen when we get off the rig.”

  Looking down at the thick metal coils showing early signs of rust, I wondered how many demis had been secured in them, whisked away to an uncertain future.

  If not for my station, I would never have consi
dered this. From what I knew by the whispered words on the street brought back by Toby or Keith, and the fuzzy broadcast we often listened to, it held some weight.

  The primitive depires saw my kind as little more than trophies, wanting only the best of us. It was a drastic change from being looked at like vermin

  My mother was dark fae, my father one of the nine classes of demon. Their coupling produced me, a half breed, a demi.

  Scarlett was much the same, only her mother was half succubus.

  This meant we were dormant, the reason society looked at us so distastefully. We didn’t have any of the perks or prowess that came from being a full fledging. Sure, we were harder to kill than human cattle, but we couldn’t bear children without extreme difficulty, and we lacked in many areas they excelled.

  It was almost cruel when one thought about it, the fact we could even exist. Even crueler were the babes killed off because of such a coupling. After all, what good was a powerless supe with a muddied bloodline in a world where it was all about power and prestige?

  I’d been beyond fortunate to be born to the types of parents who loved me regardless. Scarlett, too. It made me all the rarer.

  Never had there been a demi king or queen.

  As such, if I weren’t the only child of Gideon Vasiel, I’d have simply been another being carted off.

  Trying to remember the process in detail, I recalled that the healthy were kept; those not up to par were sent to Gods know where. Then, if a demi passed the health screening, everything from looks to intelligence went into determining where and with whom they would be placed.

  I’d not voiced it yet, but I couldn’t help but find myself wondering if, instead of death, the same would be done to us.

  I stared at the tall buildings that loomed in the distance.

  The sun had completely fallen from the sky at his point, its hazy glow like darkened embers.

  Our rig was halted, a gruff demand for the registration that granted transporters entrance to this twisted region given. It was now that my nerves made their first appearance in the form of twiddling fingers and sweat.

  The second another guard spotted who was contained in the trailer, the entire mood shifted. Static from communicators gave way to excited voices. A declaration that the sovereign was alerted of our impending arrival saw us waved through the previously blocked entrance without incident.

  Two depleted white signs were placed on either side of the thick stoned gateway. Both read in black lettering: WELCOME TO PURGATORY, and in smaller print: The Region That Never Wants You To Leave.

  How welcoming, I thought bitterly.

  The chilled air of Zenith having faded away miles ago, warm air was now wrapping us in a blazing vise-like grip. Not a single breeze blew to offset the sticky heat.

  Purgatory looked nothing like I expected it to. The roads were smooth, LED lampposts illuminated our path, and clean semi-detached storefronts stood alongside the flagstone.

  This region was said to have the greatest technological advances. Paired with its cleanliness, I would have been pleasantly surprised if I didn’t know it was all a thinly veiled illusion.

  A sound of disgust escaped from Jacinda as her silver hues took in the horridness of the scenery surrounding us, heinous and lewd acts all taking place in the open.

  A small group of cloaked men rode the opposite direction of the transporter, all sitting atop chestnut geldings. They barely glanced our way.

  I had to remind myself that this wasn't an unusual sight for them, a thought that was confirmed when I saw the half-mutilated corpses being dragged from ropes tied to their saddles.

  On the next block, four vampires had a man down in the middle of the sidewalk, feeding away, and leisurely draining him dry as his muffled pleas became dying whimpers. Those out wandering the streets didn't blink twice at the scene; they simply walked around them, totally unfazed.

  Multiple bodies—some rotted and others fresh—hung alongside street lights like decorations. The heat greatly worsened their decomposition.

  Guards in loyal servitude strolled around with bored expressions on their faces. What they were patrolling was anyone's guess; I suspected this was more of a scare tactic to keep the boisterous men in line.

  The rig began attracting curious stares; soon after, shouting and cheers started going up.

  Supes stopped what they were doing and watched us pass.

  When we finally pulled away from the main city and left the buildings behind, dwellings with dome-like roofs were spread about.

  I knew only the higher castes had the luxury of a fully functioning home. Everyone else grouped together to survive, bartering everything but their souls to get food and other necessary items.

  After the dwellings ended, nothing but vast open wasteland stretched out around us. The Arcana Mountains that ran around the outskirts stood tall and foreboding, slowly becoming more vivid the closer we got to our destination.

  Not thirty minutes later, the transporter went down a road situated between thin metal flagpoles reaching towards the sky.

  The sovereign's snake and dagger insignia was embellished on the black and ruby colored fabric.

  A towering iron fence soon began on the right side of the road. Pointed spheres atop it dared trespassers. Dark trees stood on the other side of it, blocking any views of the Purgatory Palace.

  Toby drove right through a set of double gates.

  “No guards?” Jacinda signed curiously.

  “Nope, I heard the sovereign welcome whoever makes it this far. You know, fresh competition to prove they can’t be usurped,” Scarlett explained, her face fixed on the passing scenery.

  I’d heard that as well.

  It was cocky, proving another rumor true. The king never hid from anyone foolish enough to contend for his empire. Many claimed that he killed and tortured with his bare hands. Others swore he did it all with his mind.

  Feeling a tightening in my chest, I rolled my shoulders and shifted uncomfortably.

  Beyond rumors, I knew so little about this man or those like him—only that their king got whatever he wanted whether by force or by charm.

  The beast was both revered and feared. This had never bothered me before. In my region, I had been safe from all his horrid ways.

  Now, being on his playing field and growing closer to his domain with each passing second, I struggled to keep hold of myself. I couldn’t risk losing an inch of my mind just yet; too many were counting on me to do all I could to succeed.

  After another few minutes, the road split into a rounded circle, revealing two more transporters already parked and emptied.

  The dark citadel itself stood massive and proud in all its Gothic glory, spreading out in front of the dark mountains that served as a backdrop.

  Toby easily maneuvered the rig behind the others, the exhaust groaning loudly as he shifted into park.

  As we waited for him and Keith to get their bearings and retrieve us, I studied the exterior of the building. Whoever built it had put their heart and soul into the detailed architecture. From the tall convex windows to the towers with conical roofs, everything was elaborately detailed.

  “Rise,” a voice suddenly commanded from the rear of the trailer.

  We turned in unison to see a guard opening the hatch.

  After sharing a glance with Scarlett and Jacinda, I steadily rose to my feet with as much grace as I could muster.

  Shoes a size too small carried me towards the exit and the supe wearing a uniform different from all the rest, medal clippings displaying he was of higher station than the other guards.

  His opal eyes roamed over my person, double irises revealing he was a vampire.

  Toby reached the back of the rig just as I stepped down, the vampire guard giving me a decent amount of space.

  I glanced around, expecting a much larger spectacle than a few lingering guards. Just as I started to think he wasn’t yet aware of our arrival, I was proved wrong.

  “I can han
dle this,” Toby said with a fake accent, reaching for the bit of slack in my chains.

  “Are you new? That isn’t how it works. You bring them in. We present them. You’re no longer permitted to touch the King’s property, especially this batch. He’s been waiting on you.” He directed his last words at me.

  “Property?” Scarlett muttered from behind me, finding her way down to even ground.

  The words prickled my skin too, but my face remained blank.

  Their king could call me whatever he wished if it meant helping my people.

  Another guard strolled over, this one a burly man with long red hair and the pack marking of a lycan. I leaned backward when he rudely sniffed much too close for comfort.

  “This one needs to wait outside instead of in the lobby,” he said, dark eyes going to Toby. “She reeks of your scent. He’ll slaughter you the second he catches a whiff of it,” he went on to explain when Toby opened his gob to protest.

  “Should’ve let ‘em walk into it. He was the fool who got to close,” the vampire replied indifferently.

  My brows met in confusion. Why did it matter to the king what I smelled like? Unless…No, that would be absurd. Even so, I was forced to bite down on my inner cheek, swallowing a lump of dread.

  Once Jacinda stepped down, we moved.

  “Let’s go. You take the rear,” my solemn vampire ordered the lycan dressed in a uniform similar to his. “Don’t try anything,” was said to me before he turned and strode back towards the citadel.

  The threat made clear, I trailed after him, unable to risk a glance at Toby. I couldn’t let our gazes potentially give something away. His distress was already too great for a simple transporter doing his job.

  Coal colored double-doors groaned loudly as they were pulled open by another stone-faced guard. A barrage of hushed voices could be heard from somewhere inside the massive palace.

  With a quick peek over my shoulder, my eyes met Jacinda’s, and we stepped over the threshold.