by Meg Xuemei X
“I’m a full-grown woman,” I said.
“You look sixteen to me.”
“Add ten years to that,” I said.
That seemed to please him as some of the anger shifted out of his eyes. “That’s better. Then I’m only seven years older than you.”
“You’re in your prime,” I said, my hips swaying slightly as I spoke. I straightened my back, willing myself to stop reacting to the wolf alpha.
“I am indeed.” He cocked an eyebrow at me, a smile tugging at the curve of his lips, before he narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips. “Antonio always reports to me on everyone who comes out of the ships, but he neglected to mention you.”
“She was never on the list of the ships’ survivors,” Antonio said. He’d pulled on his loose trousers but was still shirtless.
Marrok frowned at his beta’s naked torso, but refrained from insisting he cover himself. I averted my eyes from Antonio’s bare chest. If Marrok gave him more grief, Antonio would hate me. It was important to maintain a relatively friendly relationship with Antonio if I wanted any share of the wrecks in the future.
I waited for Antonio to offer more information. I wanted to know what he knew.
“So, Kaara just popped into existence, like magic?” Marrok drawled.
“The Wicked Witch snatched her from the bloodsuckers.”
“Kaara isn’t one of them,” Marrok snapped. “She isn’t a blood slave either.”
“Of course not,” Antonio muttered. “I’ve known Kaara for nearly three years now.”
“And you didn’t tell me anything about her?”
Why was he so focused on the fact that Antonio hadn’t told him about me?
“I didn’t think it was important.”
“It’s more important than you’ll ever know,” Marrok said. “She could have died before I ever got to meet her! Life is fucking fragile on Pandemonium.”
“I’m sorry, but Kaara is tough as nails and shrewder than a fox,” Antonio said. “I don’t see any reason to worry about her.”
“From now on you’ll start worrying about her like she’s your own grandmother,” Marrok ordered.
What? I gave them both a scathing look. Not a single word coming out of their mouths was flattering. Grandmother?! I did not look like anyone’s grandmother! That was the worst insult I’d received. Marrok gave me a sidelong glance before telling his beta, “We need to keep everyone’s origin on record.”
Was he also seeking a way off the planet? Ships fell on Pandemonium, but none could ever depart. Once a ship fell, its power drained instantly and completely.
Fia had once mentioned a dark, hungry force on the planet that fed on all of the ships’ energy. When no ships fell, that force would eventually turn to feed on us.
Had she been talking about Akem, or something worse than him?
Chapter 2
All nine clans on Pandemonium originated from other galaxies. The only natives—beasts, Furies, and phantoms—dwelled in the dark entity Akem’s jungle, where no aliens had ever managed to get out alive. No one that is, except my princess Fia, who had fought her way out when she had first woken up in the jungle, her red gown torn to pieces when she finally emerged. Now, she was the only one allowed to roam the forest that besieged this apocalyptic city.
Akem was fascinated with the Wickedest Witch.
She’d been visiting his realm almost every day to seek the portal that had transported her here, determined to return to her planet and exact revenge on enemies she couldn’t even remember.
Lithuaria Empire’s spaceship had dropped my pod at the coordinates the First Seer had given to the Emperor, and the vortex of time had sucked me in. When I’d landed, it had been three months after Fia’s arrival, even though I’d left only three days after her disappearance. I would never forgive myself and those who had sent us here if Fia had perished. The irony was that I’d come to guard her, but she had saved me instead.
My pod hadn’t crashed in the arena like all the other ships; it had dropped down between the vampire’s tower and Akem’s jungle. Perhaps my one-woman pod had been too small for the vortex’s calculations. Now that I thought about it, I believed that had been the First Seer’s intent all along. She’d insisted on ejecting my pod instead of letting me come down in style on a large ship.
None of the nine clans had discovered my pod, so they hadn’t had the chance to claim me and my pod. I’d speculated that Akem’s creatures had dragged it into the jungle right after I’d escaped from it. When I’d run around wildly, desperately trying to track Fia, I’d stumbled upon the bloodsuckers.
That had been the first time I’d ever seen vampires. My jaw had dropped at how fast they could move. Within five minutes after my crash, the vampire horde had overpowered me. While they were dragging me toward their lair, Fia had happened to pass by. She’d given me one look—I was bloody and burned and, covered in cuts—and lunged at the vampires.
The lead vampire, Laurent, had hissed, “Wicked Witch, move along. We don’t want to quarrel with you.”
“Then leave this one,” Fia had said.
“You’ve walked away when we took others,” Laurent had said. “What’s so special about this one?”
“Because this one is mine.” Fia’s voice had dripped with ice as she spoke. “Go find your drinks somewhere else.”
“We want this one,” Laurent had insisted. “There’s something about her.”
I hadn’t thought he’d been taken by my pale, violet hair, amber skin, and dark violet eyes, though I’d often stood out in the crowd.
“Leave her or perish,” Fia had said, and it had been clear she was done talking.
Darkness had rippled from her, hissing through the air, and an ice spear had materialized in her hand. She’d thrust it toward a vampire’s heart as he’d zoomed in toward her.
“The mutants are extremely fast!” I’d cried out in warning.
But Fia was faster.
She’d yanked the ice spear out of the vampire’s chest and spun around to toss it toward another vampire sneaking up behind her. An ice storm had risen out of her darkness and slammed into the horde of vampires.
The princess I’d known could never have moved like that. She’d never had such a brutal side either. My future queen had transformed overnight. I could only imagine how horrible it must have been for her when she’d first awoken on this hellish planet. That thought had brought tears to my eyes.
Eventually, I’d managed to break free from the vampire who held me captive, regaining my angelblade as I did, and joined my princess. We’d slain four vampires that day and the rest had fled with Laurent.
I’d grinned at my princess. “I came,” I’d said with a sob.
But she hadn’t smiled back. There was no recognition, warmth, or gentleness in her eyes. As an Empath, I’d pushed my sense further to probe her mind, but all I’d met was blank walls. She’d shielded herself, yet I could still sense that her memory was lost and her emotion was cold.
Even now, nearly three years later, she woke up with a blank memory every morning, with no recollection of any of the previous days’ events or anyone she had met.
But she’d instinctively known I was hers. She’d risked her life to pry me away from the vampires’ fangs and brought me safely to her Witch Tower.
“What is your name?” she had asked me inside the tower, brushing me aside when I’d tried to tend to her wounds.
I’d bowed my head and swallowed my tears. “Thank you for saving me. Kaara Nightshades at your service.”
She hadn’t registered the name of my house, even though it had been tied to hers for thousands of years.
I couldn’t tell her about myself, about herself and her past. The First Seer had bound my tongue with magic. Fia had to remember everything herself. Only then could she find a way home. To regain her memory, she would need stimulation. But neither death, hardship, violence, nor fear had jogged it.
The Seer had told me to wait for a specif
ic ship to fall from the sky. One day, she’d said, an Angel with magnificent black wings would fall. When I saw him walk out of the ship alive, I would know for sure that Fia’s salvation had finally come, as had mine.
“Kaara Nightshades,” my princess had said. “I do not care for your gratitude. I’m the Wickedest Witch in the universe, and you owe me a life debt, like everyone else here.” She had then risen and ascended the marble stairs toward her suite at the top of the tower, icy light radiating on her skin and darkness twirling around her. “One day I’ll come to collect,” she’d added without turning her head, “so don’t take it easy in my tower.”
From that day, I’d served her, just like when we were in the Lithuaria Empire.
Fia had yet to collect on my debt or anyone else’s.
Chapter 3
“Kaara has been tight-lipped about her arrival at the City of Nine. And we haven’t figured out how the Wicked Witch came out of the jungle,” Antonio complained.
Marrok and Antonio turned their stares on me, clearly expecting me to volunteer information.
I’d heard rumors of why they’d been dumped here. They’d lost a turf war, but no one knew the exact details.
“How?” Marrok asked in a velvet voice.
“How did I impale a giant Kruid?” I asked slyly. “You saw how.”
Antonio sighed in exasperation and resignation, but Marrok only smiled, exuding nothing but patience. “You’re a woman of mystery, Kaara,” the wolf alpha said. “But if you want a share in what’s in that ship, you’re going to have to peel off some layers.”
His voice was soft, but even an idiot could hear the hard steel beneath it.
I had two choices: either I told him my secret, or battle my way onto the ship. I glanced around at his pack and then at my team. If I chose to fight, we’d all be slaughtered.
Marrok flashed me a smug grin, baring his even, white teeth. I could easily imagine those teeth grazing over my—I blinked back to reality, but couldn’t stop my breasts from growing heavy and my nipples from tightening under my clothing.
Unbeknownst to anyone, I was an Empath. I could detect others’ intentions and emotions. My empathic ability was also my great weaknesses. I felt too much. And shielding myself caused severe pain—fending off the world’s feelings meant I was fighting against my natural gift.
My empathic ability was so fine-tuned I didn’t need eye contact to feel the base feelings pouring off those around me. So, I already knew, without so much as flicking a glance at Marrok, that he wanted to fuck me, and badly. The heat churned through him, emanating off him. Knowing his burning desire wasn’t helping me. My senses were already in hyper-drive, and it took everything in me not to succumb to my own lust.
“I’m a woman who wants little,” I said, trying my best to ignore the simmering sexual tension between us. “I can overcome any temptation.”
“I didn’t realize there was any temptation involved,” Marrok said, a cunning light flashing in his eyes. “But you look hungry to me.”
“I’ve met men who were better at the art of seduction, Marrok.”
He scowled. “And where are they now? I don’t see any of them around.”
If any of my former lovers were around now, I believed Marrok would take them out.
“I’m on Pandemonium, aren’t I?” I said. One day when I went home—
Marrok narrowed his eyes on me, as if he could understand my thoughts. As if he could hear the radio broadcasting in my head. He was paying close attention to me. My empathic sensor picked up his vibe. How could he hear my thoughts? The wolf alpha was a shifter, and no shifter was a magical wielder.
I immediately put up a shield, and a splitting headache pounded against my skull, causing nausea to roil around in my stomach.
Marrok’s expression twisted into one of concern. He looked like he wanted to touch me, comfort me, but I stepped back before he had a chance to do so.
“What about new rules in a new place?” I purred.
“What rules, Kaara?” he asked, his voice rich and caressing.
My pulse spiked. “Let’s play a game and we’ll both get what we want.”
His eyes sparkled. “And you know what we both want?”
“I have an idea.”
He looked intrigued. “What game?”
The wolf alpha loved games.
“If you can take a challenge, Alpha Marrok,” I said in a husky, honeyed voice and watched his sapphire eyes turn a shade of gold.
“Any challenge,” he said. “Any terms you name.”
Antonio cleared his throat from behind his alpha, not liking the idea. He’d dealt with me. He hadn’t liked any of my ingenious proposals in the past. Somehow, he’d developed this funny concept that I had a penchant for tricking people. But who had I ever snared? Maybe a few, but they didn’t stand here to testify.
Marrok ignored his beta. I had him hooked on my ploy.
“If I lose, I’ll tell you my secret origin,” I said.
He grinned, and I wanted to melt. “Done,” he said. “And if I lose, I’ll tell you mine.”
“You can keep yours,” I said, and he sent me an injured look. “But if I win, I’ll take two thirds of what’s in that ship.”
Antonio coughed, and Marrok turned to glare at his beta. Antonio fell silent abruptly.
“If I win,” Marrok drawled, as if savoring his words, “you’ll not only tell me everything I want to know about you, and you’ll give me a boon.”
I knew exactly what he wanted. My face flamed, and my heart stammered in anticipation.
Yet the better part of me—my reason and natural-born sarcasm—sneered. If he regarded me as his prize, he was seriously mistaken. This hot shot in front of me wasn’t the one I’d been waiting for.
My interest was inside that ship—a Fallen Angel. As an Empath, I’d sensed him inside—his consciousness had stirred with the fall.
My wait was over.
I shouldn’t have pursued, but I couldn’t help it, so I asked, “What is the boon you want?”
“A kiss,” Marrok said.
While my body reacted to his words, I had a cool mask in place.
“That’s it?”
“Not a mere peck of a kiss,” he said, his heated gaze on my mouth. “It must be deep and thorough. It must be full of wildfire. You’ll give all of your passion to me.”
I sighed. “Which means I can’t fake it.”
He shook his head as if pitying me. “There’s no chance in hell you can fake it with me.”
My blood heated at the thought of kissing Marrok, yet I laughed as if he’d told me a joke.
“Only if you can handle it, Marrok,” I said. “But I’m not worried. I don’t think you’ll get one today.”
“Tell me the challenge, Kaara,” he said, his eyes dancing with light, laughter, and desire.
I commanded my boobs not to shake and my hips not to sway.
If we were on a different planet, with a different set of circumstances, I wouldn’t mind being his last dessert. Or he could be mine.
Chapter 4
I knew Marrok wouldn’t be able to resist a dare. He was made to take up any challenge thrown his way. The harder it was, the more he’d like it. My team and I couldn’t match up to his pack’s size and brutal strength without Fia and her destructive magic, but I could outwit him and anyone in his pack. I was an Empath, and a fucking talented one at that.
I needed to provoke him, yet not push him too far. The right dosage of fierceness and tartness could do wonders. Marrok was a pure alpha, just like Fia. And I knew exactly how to ruffle their spiky feathers the right way.
“What do you think of being civilized for once, even on this barbaric planet?”
Marrok tugged the corner of his lips up, and the mischievous glint in his eyes was enough to make my knees weak. “You want to show me how to be civilized, Kaara?”
“If you’re up to it, the duel will be between you and me.”
Antonio gave
me a wary look, but this time he had the good sense not to warn his alpha because he’d seen how it had turned out for him when he’d tried to step between Marrok and me.
Marrok knew nothing about me. He hadn’t known about my existence before today. So, he eyed me with more trust than his beta.
A sudden wind passed by, and I shook my violet hair to mess him up a bit more, hoping he liked my scent. He inhaled in dark delight as he gazed at me with fascination, not caring that we were still in the bloody arena.
He probably thought the piles of corpses were nothing but decorations in his backyard.
Pandemonium could turn a person apathetic like that.
For a brief second, he glanced at my sword and recognized its rarity, but he didn’t know its origin and history. Only an Angel would truly know what it was.
“You want to fight me, Kaara?” he asked. “But I don’t want to hurt you.”
Arrogant, wasn’t he?
“Didn’t I say civilized?” I asked. “We won’t have a physical fight. The duel is all about speed, wits, and inner strength.”
Marrok nodded his approval. “I like what you’re saying about inner strength.”
Antonio’s cough pierced through the air. “Marrok,” he started, about to warn his alpha.
“Your second-in-command is worried,” I said with a generous smile. “Should I give you two a second to brainstorm tactics?”
Marrok turned a hard look toward Antonio. Antonio, who was almost as big as Marrok, stepped back. If the beta said anything now, he would be undermining his alpha’s authority in front of everyone.
I winked at Antonio and he bared his teeth.
“That’s lovely, Antonio,” I said and almost blew him a kiss, but I didn’t want to risk pissing Marrok off. It wasn’t in my best interest to set him off before I got what I wanted.
Marrok scowled at Antonio.
“Marrok,” I said. “There’s a tenant alive in that ship. Whoever claims him first will be the winner.”
He peeked into my eyes, trying to detect a lie, and I stood still, holding his gaze, warning myself not to fall into his deep sapphire eyes.
