by Meg Xuemei X
Emotions reeled in me, and I was so hot for her. “You can claim it in the place I choose,” I said. I would let her claim it in bed, anytime, if we could get out of here.
She flushed, knowing exactly what I meant. But she’d started it.
I grinned at her wickedly. I now had even more motivation to get her out of here. Wasn’t that what I was born to do—to protect her with all I have?
Her flame flowed toward me.
“Wait, I need a countdown,” I called.
Fiammetta rolled her eyes, as did Kaara.
My mate’s flame slammed toward my face, just the way she’d thrown her icy storm at me. My mate just couldn’t help being wicked, no matter where we were or what we did.
I blinked, opened my mouth to say something, and immediately closed it.
The fire poured down on me like a shower, basking me. A stream of side fire caressed my wings with particular interest.
Just as my witch had promised, her fire licked my every inch—not to burn, since it couldn’t and wouldn’t burn her mate, but to entice.
It called for my flame to come out and mate with it.
I felt a stir inside me. The tiny flame in me rose as if drunk, because of the venom. My Angel flame started flowing in me lazily, only half awake.
My mate’s fire lost patience. It didn’t tolerate tardiness well, so it sank into my skin and traced through my veins, seeking my flame.
Fiammetta’s flame met the venom, and they hissed at each other.
There was a battle between the two, fierce and nasty. My flame was outraged that my mate’s flame was under attack. My primal male instinct roared to protect her above all. My flame surged. The two flames, hers and mine, joined at last and burned away every trace of the venom in my veins.
Fiammetta’s flame licked mine, entwined with it, and purred in victory, and mine demanded more rewards than licking. When Fiammetta refused, I spread my wings to full length, fire sparking on my black feathers.
Heat blazed in my mate’s eyes. She truly loved my wings, although she’d pretended the opposite in the past. With our mating bond strengthening, I could read her better now.
“That’s a bit of overkill, Archangel,” she said softly.
“I haven’t started yet,” I said, but I tucked my wings back slowly.
My mate and I were flirting even in our dire situation. But then, the mating fever never cared much about consequences.
Jasmine screamed as she felt her last hold on me vaporizing. “What did you do to him, you Wickedest Witch?!”
“Didn’t you ask me to unhex him?” Fiammetta said. “I did just that. And what I do to my man is none of your business.”
Territorial, isn’t she?
I grinned at Fiammetta. She’d declared me as hers.
“Never get between fated mates,” Kaara told Jasmine. “Remember it next time: when a man isn’t into you, he just isn’t into you, no matter how hard you try and how much you give. Men are coldhearted bastards like that.”
“Which side are you on, Kaara?” I asked.
Without the vampire venom in me, I sensed the mating bond between my mate and me shining brightly and purely.
My mate’s flame slid off me after one last caress. It was no longer benevolent once it sought a new target. It found one.
Jasmine zoomed out the door, the fastest of all. Speed was probably her best talent. But before she could make her escape, a spark of Fiammetta’s flame caught her and burned away a patch of her blonde hair.
Jasmine shrieked. “Kill the witch, brother! Squash her with the walls!”
That gave me a hint of what else the tower was capable of. I darted my eyes wildly around the surrounding walls, calculating my next move.
The exit was packed with vampires, and the tower could seal that opening as well.
And if I grabbed Fia and Kaara and shot toward the window while I shattered it, the tower would simply drag us back and squeeze us all to death.
Fiammetta, however, seemed unconcerned. She asked coolly, “Are you ready to leave, or do you prefer to stay?”
“Oh yeah, hell no,” I said, and turned to the Dark Prince. “You’ve seen what the Wickedest Witch can do. If you don’t want to get burned like your squirming sister, you’d better go open the door for us and send us out.”
“I didn’t know you were the type to hide under a woman’s skirt,” Desdemona sneered.
I shrugged. “There’s no shame in that. I’m fine with her protecting me. My mate is the most powerful witch, and I expect no less from her. But how we handle our relationship is our business. Did I ask your opinion, Desdemona?”
Desdemona clenched his teeth.
Fiammetta frowned. “You’re too talkative, Gabriel. You need to work on that in the future. Since you don’t have the venom in you and you prefer to leave, let’s go.”
She wanted us to escape through the window. That was why she’d picked this room. She’d also remembered that I’d climbed up the Witch Tower to her chamber then jumped to the ground after she kicked me out.
I would demand she not do that to me again—dismiss me heartlessly right after our hot, dirty, and sweaty sex.
Now she was betting on my wings being of use.
And that was why the wolves and her army were waiting for us on the ground outside.
“The vampires still have my angelblade,” I complained.
“You’ll get another one eventually,” she said. “You seem to be the type that, once you want something, nothing can stop you from getting it.”
“I want you,” I said. “In the meanwhile, I need to borrow Kaara’s blade.”
“Not a chance,” Kaara said.
I gave her a hard stare.
“Ten, nine, eight,” I shouted, ready to propel my steel-hard wings to break the window, but my mate’s flame beat me to it.
The window shattered.
I grabbed Fia and Kaara and jumped through the open window.
My wings spread full to slow our fall.
The wolves rushed toward us, howling in glee, and Fiammetta’s army followed them with cheers. They would escort us back to the Witch Tower.
Marrok charged at the vanguard, with a white wolf on his left, and a golden-red leopard on his right. The Wolf King looked overjoyed and relieved to see his mate, though not thrilled that she was in my arms. But I couldn’t just drop Kaara to the hard ground and crash her delicate mortal skull to ease his possessiveness.
That guy should learn how to be cool and laid back. And I was only hot for my own mate, my incomparable witch.
“Baby,” I whispered in her ear, her body warm and soft. “You’ll reward me when we return to your tower, will you?”
“What do you mean?” the witch said, flushing and hissing.
“Get a room!” Kaara said.
“We will, after I drop you,” I said, ready for the touchdown.
But we didn’t land on the ground, instead, a force dragged us back toward the vampire tower.
Fuck!
I couldn’t get away, despite being clean of the vampire venom.
The tower would never let me leave, but Fiammetta and Kaara could still escape.
“Marrok!” I shouted. “Catch them!”
I let go of both Fiammetta and Kaara.
“No!” I heard my mate scream, as she tried to grab me.
The gray wolf, white wolf, and the leopard all leaped to catch the ladies, but found themselves holding only an armful of empty air.
It was as if time rewound; the three of us flew back through the window and collided against the wall in the vampires’ ballroom. I shifted position and grabbed Fiammetta just in time to absorb the blow for her, but I hadn’t had a chance to take care of Kaara.
Kaara groaned from the impact of the crash, giving me an evil look. I only had time to help one, so, of course I chose my mate above her, above anyone.
Wasn’t she the captain to my witch? So shouldn’t she display a bit more toughness?
&nb
sp; Marrok howled furiously, heartbroken, outside the tower—he was trying to climb up. The other wolves howled with him, and the rest of the witch’s army shouted battle cries.
The vampire horde had crashed upon them. Snarls, howls, and tearing sounds filled the air.
All three of us shot to our feet, as all the broken glass returned to the window.
Marrok howled again, long and hard and full of desperation. He’d seen that, too.
Desdemona eyed us with a malevolent smirk. “Welcome back, ladies and gentleman.”
That was why he hadn’t even tried to stop us when we’d all jumped.
Kaara charged to the wall, cutting it with her angelblade that was forged in my homeland and could cut into any material.
The wall only sealed again.
“That was why I warned you two not to get in,” I said.
Fiammetta pondered this for a second before she drawled, “Dark Prince Desdemona, there’s nothing here for you. Pandemonium will be nothing but dust in space in a few weeks. So, why don’t we all get out of here? We can reach a new truce, and you can also leave by the portal.”
“I won’t listen to your heresy, Wickedest Witch,” Desdemona said spitefully. “The sooner you come around, the easier it’ll be for you. Forget the Angel punk. You’ll be mine.”
“Vampire, I can cut your head over and over,” I said. “So, you’d better not threaten my mate again. She’ll never be yours.”
“The bloodsucker prince won’t do it,” Kaara said, moving to the window and looking down at the battle raging beneath. “He’s too old to know how to adapt.”
“And he’s bound to the tower,” I said. “He’s vulnerable outside it. The selfish bastard can’t leave it, so he tries to stop everyone else from leaving the planet.”
“I’m still here,” Desdemona hissed. “I don’t like your ignorant, vicious comments. You’ll pay me respect in my tower!”
“I’m asking you one last time, Desdemona,” I said. “Let us go, or the three of us won’t be nice anymore. I’ll behead you again and again, the Wickedest Witch will burn you over and over, and Kaara will spit at you as soon as you regenerate.”
Kaara glowered at me. “I’m a royal warrior. I don’t do spit.”
“You’ll spit at him,” I said.
“Lay down your ward, Dark Prince Desdemona,” Fiammetta said. “Or—”
“Or what, Wickedest Witch?” Desdemona said. “Burn down my tower? Try your worst. You’ll never leave my domain. So, you’d better learn to tone down your attitude.”
My mate blew a kiss, and a strong current of fire erupted from her pink lips.
A shadow dashed by, and Desdemona phased into the wall, his voice trailing behind. “You’ll be sorry for it, all of you.”
Fiammetta’s fire slammed into the wall where the prince had vanished. The wall burned and part of it came off. A second later, the wall became whole again, without even a hint of soot on its surface.
And then all the doors in the tower shut on their own, trapping us.
“You should have picked up the fight after Desdemona’s servants brought us the refreshments,” I said. “Now where am I going to secure food and drinks for you two?”
“Shut up, Gabriel,” Fiammetta and Kaara said at the same time, and my mate rushed to join her captain by the window and watch the war outside with an icy expression.
21
The Witch
Kaara stopped hacking at the windows with her angelblade and sat cross-legged, eyes closed. I wanted to remind my captain that now wasn’t the time to meditate, but I let her be.
What else could she do?
I should not have let her enter the fray with me. I’d relied on her too much and had a slip in judgment. Now I’d doomed her and separated her from her mate.
As for me, no matter what, I’d still come for my mate.
The gray wolf outside howled in rage, wanting his mate. If he came in, he would be trapped as well.
Gabriel stayed near me on high alert, his eyes darting wildly, in case Desdemona phased out of the walls to hurt us.
“The walls have eyes,” he said. “He’s watching us. The bloodsucker is now laughing viciously at us.”
As if he could hear the Dark Prince’s dark laughter echoed around.
I eyed the paranoid Angel, thinking how I’d missed him and how much I wanted to throw myself into his arms to seek his comfort and heat, and to touch him and let his male scent wrap around me.
“We’ll wait until the Furies visit again,” Gabriel said. “The three Furies are actually one naked woman. She wants my help. She’ll have to do my bidding and teleport us out of here.”
He was so worried for us he seemed to be losing it. While I tried to figure a way out, I also needed to keep him sane. I probably should keep him occupied with some tasks.
“Gabriel, can you sing?” I asked.
He blinked. “What?”
“Do you know how to sing?” I asked.
He frowned. “Of course! I’m an Angel.”
“I know what to do, Fia,” Kaara said, opening her violet eyes.
“Trust me, I’ve tried everything,” Gabriel said.
“Breaking the dark magic in the tower will require a blood sacrifice,” Kaara said.
“How?” Gabriel and I both asked at the same time, but with a different tone. Mine was open-minded; his was full of suspicion.
“I came in with you for this,” Kaara said. “Blood is the price, and I need to pay it for us all. I need to offer the last drop of my blood to the tower, so the three of us can be free.”
“No!” I snapped.
“She’s losing it faster than I,” Gabriel murmured. “I should be proud of myself for having sustained so long.”
“I can reveal the First Seer’s prophecy now, because the magic binding my tongue doesn’t work inside the tower,” Kaara said. “The magical fire guarding the secret in my mind is also weakening. Before I set out to come to Pandemonium for you, the Seer said I’d have to sacrifice every last drop of my blood to get you out of a situation. Now’s the situation.”
“Absolutely not,” I hissed. “I won’t sacrifice you, no matter what. If we go down, we go down together.”
“You must let me do it. I want out of this, too,” Kaara said. “I won’t die, Fia. I have your blood in me.”
Was that why I’d always felt a tug toward her? No, it was more than that. Kaara Nightshades meant way more than that to me.
“I took a blood oath using your reserved blood sample kept in the Lithuaria royal house’s most sacred vault. That was the only way I could trace you on this planet. Your witch blood is firestorm. After I pay the price with the last drop of my blood for all of us, your powerful blood will stay in me and keep me alive.”
Our gazes met. An inherent knowledge deep inside me confirmed Kaara’s truth.
I knew what I had to do. “My blood magic will preserve you until I bring you home and revive you.”
Only in our native land would she awaken again.
Tears formed in my eyes. “Oh, Kaara Nightshades.”
She’d done too much for me, and I could never pay back the life debt.
“Let’s get it done, my queen,” said Kaara.
“No!” Desdemona screamed, and the tower shook with his rage. “Kill them all, but leave the witch!”
He’d never believed we could find a solution. He’d thought I was a fly caught in his black net.
The doors burst open, and vampires poured in.
“Take it,” Kaara said, tossing her angelblade at Gabriel.
With a roar, Gabriel flung himself at the horde to prevent them from reaching us. His massive wings spread to full length, sparks of fire lighting his black feathers.
Where his sword went, vampires’ black blood spilled.
My mate was glorious and ferocious.
I’d consumed too much fire magic helping Gabriel burn the venom in him. The rest had to be used to save Kaara.
So
, I depended on my mate’s sword and wings to keep us safe.
“Quick, Fia!” Kaara urged.
“Defender,” I called, and my ice spear appeared in my hand.
I turned the sharp spearhead and cut open Kaara’s veins.
She didn’t wince, but I knew how much it hurt.
It hurt me, too, more than I knew.
“I’m shedding the last drop of my blood,” Kaara recited, “to purchase a free path for the exiled Queen Athena Fiammetta Faya of Lithuaria Empire, her mate Archangel Gabriel, and her Captain of Guards Kaara Nightshades.”
The vampires went into a frenzy at the scent of Kaara’s blood, but Gabriel bellowed like thunder as he cut them down mercilessly. The leeches swarmed him, like they’d done to him in the jungle. My heart contracted in raw fear for him, but I couldn’t go to him.
I had my captain bleeding profusely in my arms.
“Tell Marrok I love him,” she said, her violet eyes starting to lose the warmth and light she’d always carried, as no one else had in Pandemonium. No, I wouldn’t allow the last light to fade in her eyes, not under my watch. And I vowed it with my own life.
“I’ll tell him, but you’ll tell him all about it yourself,” I said.
Her hand grabbed my arm. “I don’t regret coming for you, my queen, and wouldn’t even if I hadn’t met Marrok.”
“I know,” I said, brushing a strand of her light violet hair behind her ear.
My captain was a beautiful woman and a worthy warrior.
“Tell him I’d do anything for him,” Kaara said. “Tell him not to be mad at me, because this is necessary. This is what I came here for. I also came for him, though I didn’t know that at the time. Tell him—Stars, I have so much I want to tell him, and I don’t even know where to begin.”
“Right from the start,” I said, as she trembled in my arms, her skin turning cold. “You always know the right things to say. You’re Kaara Nightshades.”
“Stay with me, Athena.”
“Always.”
Gabriel had pushed back the vampire horde, their bodies piling all around. He turned to me with a savage grin.
The tower rocked violently, its black fury whipping the air.
