King Of Shadows: The Shadowcrown Duet

by Kay Elle Parker

  She’d smelled it for that one instant, then scurried to hide when movement caught her attention. Hidden, she’d waited and waited for Kian to come, to prowl like a big cat on his search for her so he could pounce on her, tickle her, and make her laugh.

  But it wasn’t laughter echoing through the chambers that night, or girlish squeals of delight. What came from the darkness was raw and pained, a sound Allianna had never heard before but that gouged into her soul like blunt knives. Screams, so many screams that filled her head until they pulsed in her brain, through her veins, crippled her body.

  “N-No!” She snapped at the fingers in her mouth as more liquid slicked over her tongue, down her throat. She had an idea what it was, and she wanted no part of it. Her hands were trapped, her body bucking between her captors as they held her. “Islador!”

  Her vision was clear now, eyes wheeling trying to find Kian’s Second-in-command, the only one capable of stopping this when the Lord wasn’t present. She didn’t know the females dosing her with poison, didn’t recognize the two foot soldiers stoically holding her down.

  “Up here, treasure,” Islador purred, and her head tilted back slightly to find mercurial silver eyes watching her sympathetically. “Good girl, Allianna, you’ve nearly drunk it all. Just a little more now. I promise you’ll feel better for it.”

  Better? She felt like she had some mutant variety of the flu. She was shaking, her skin felt as though it should be blistering off and yet she was drenched in cold sweat. Mouth and throat were parched, as though the poison had leeched every last drop of moisture from her.

  “Let her go, she’s on her way.” Islador ordered, and the foot soldiers immediately obeyed, retreating to the doorway and standing on either side. “Ladies, give me a few moments if you will. She needs to be washed and oiled, so ensure there’s plenty of hot water.”

  Washed and oiled? The fire raging through her body short-circuited her brain. Alli twisted and thrashed restlessly trying to escape the merciless heat while those words flashed over and over in her mind. There was a reason for washing and oiling, she’d been taught that at a young age. But what...

  Alarmed, she tried to sit up, found herself unable to gather her body into a functioning person. Nothing responded as ordered; legs and arms flopped loosely. Her body was lax and oh-so-warm, with that heat settling deep inside her belly.

  “Everything is just fine, Allianna. I’m here with you. It seems you’ve worked our almighty leader into a frenzy by taking off the way you did. He was incredibly worried about you, treasure, as we all were.” Islador gave her a crooked smile and moved around to sit beside her. “The tonic won’t harm you, you have my word. The next several hours are going to be extremely pleasant for you, Allianna. That buzz you’re feeling now? That will keep you floating until morning, pretty girl.”

  She didn’t want a buzz, she wanted her goddamn faculties back! “W-Why?”

  His eyes snapped to the doorway she shouldn’t know was there, to the chamber she’d seen as she ransacked Kian’s mind. Only for a second, but it was enough to have panic surging. It rose like a tidal wave, met the resistance of the drug in her system, and was soothed into uneasy discord.

  Islador’s smile turned sad. “You know why, baby.”

  Her head shook from side to side weakly, conveying her denial. She had to run, to escape the hell Kian had brought her back to. He knew she wouldn’t be able to fight him if he got that tonic into her, the fucker. The asshole wasn’t hanging around to comfort her though, was he? No, he left that to his right-hand man, the one who cleaned up after Kian every fucking time.

  Her fingers dug into the sheets, using them to try pull herself upright. Sweat dripped down her face, ran down her neck and chest, between her breasts. Someone had stripped her while she slept, and the vulnerability of her current position ate at her self-confidence.

  “Struggling won’t help,” Islador advised gently, capturing her hands one by one and straightening her fingers out with a gentle pat. “You’ve got about twenty minutes of this cycle to go through; these ladies will bathe you until it passes. After that, you’ll become pliant and amenable for a while. That might be a good time for you to catch some sleep.”

  Her throat closed with tears. “And then?”

  He scrubbed a big, rough-palmed hand over his face and sighed, but he didn’t speak until his eyes met and held hers in thrall. Literal thrall—she couldn’t tear her gaze away from the molten silver of his as he stared deeply into her, further than he should have been able to go. “There will be a ceremony. Runes read, masters of the shadows invoked.” He ran his thumb along his lip. “I’ll be there as witness, but I cannot interfere once it has begun. It would cost us both dearly.”

  The two females came back to the bed with buckets of steaming water and bottles that gleamed blood red in the candlelight set around the room. Starting with Allianna’s feet, they worked up her body as she shuddered in revulsion and tried to kick. “Interfere with what?”

  “Do you really want me to say it, treasure?”

  Her leg twitched as a rough cloth scrubbed along her calf. Between the heat inside her belly and the warmth enveloping her skin, she felt as though she were suffocating. “Can’t figure out an escape plan if I don’t know what I’m escaping.”

  Islador blinked at her, twice, before he threw his head back and roared with laughter. His hand clasped hers, brought it to his mouth so his lips brushed her knuckles as the laughter died to an unhappy huff. “Baby, if you could escape this, I would wish you all the luck in the world. There’s no leaving that chamber until he’s finished with you.”

  Those cloths were moving higher, running up the lean muscles of her thighs. She clenched, trying to keep them together, but the females just clucked their tongues and went about their task as though Allianna wasn’t about to kill them if she regained control of her limbs. “Stop this, Islador, please.”

  “I’ve already tried to reason with him, baby; he will kill me for telling you what he has planned for tonight, but you deserve to know.” He looked uncomfortable as he rose, stepped aside so the washerwomen could turn their attention between her thighs, her stomach. “These ladies will tend to you, Allianna. Behave for them if you will—this is not their doing. I’ll be back in thirty minutes to begin the next step.” He touched his fingertips to her forehead. “Rest if you can, treasure.”

  Stunned, Allianna watched him walk away. One of the last friends she had in this fucking hellhole, one of the ones she needed to help save her, and he just sauntered away without a backward glance. She hissed out a breath, slapped weakly at the dark-skinned, dark-haired female diligently using her cloth on Alli’s pussy like she was polishing silver. “Enough! Stop it, right now!”

  The female didn’t even pause. “The tribute must be clean for his Lordship. He has requested his bride be spotless for the ritual. Inside and out,” she added, applying the fucking cloth to a place that had Alli’s jaw dropping on a shocked yelp. “She must rest and be ready for when his Lordship claims her. Tonight she anoints us all.”

  What the fuck did that mean? Digging deep beneath the heavy layer of drugs, she strained to pull an emotion from beneath the constriction. But everything was locked down, sealed away, and the more she struggled to free it, the faster she tired.

  “That’s it, my lady,” the other female murmured from far away. “Just let us take care of you. You will look beautiful for his Lordship tonight.” Her voice was so slow, like it was underwater. “This wonderful skin will look delicious oiled.”

  Hands replaced cloths, kneading oils into taut muscles until they went limp. Knowing she was falling into their trap, Alli forced her eyes open every time they drooped. Made her hands and feet jerk when they were touched. But four hands, drugs and exhaustion were too formidable a foe to defeat, and before she knew it, she was sliding under the veil of shadows with a soft sigh.

  Only to wake on a screaming cry as many hands clamped down on her arms and legs, shocking her fr
om sleep into nightmare. She thrashed viciously, dislodging several strong grips, and managed to get in two short, sharp punches to someone’s face. She heard the howl, let it worm through her and bolster her courage.

  “Idiots. I told you to wait.” Islador’s voice carried over the wall of warriors surrounding her. He shoved through, knocking one soldier aside to reach her. “You can’t win this, Allianna. I can see what you want to do in your eyes, but there’s too many of us, and you’re not at full capacity.”

  Full capacity or not, she wasn’t going in that room. She counted eight men around her including Islador. Half were in their human form while the others had taken partial fighter attributes. Which meant the ones in fighting attire were afraid of her and what she was capable of.

  Good, that worked to her advantage.

  “You,” Islador said gruffly to someone outside the formation. “There’s another vial of tonic over there. I want it, now.” There was an urgency in his voice that told Alli he was aware of her plan. “Keep hold of her. Do not let her go under any circumstances.”

  Allianna smiled. Rearing up, she yanked her right arm free of the tentative hold of one man, elbowed him in the face, and used the momentum to bounce her fist off the nose of the one opposite him. Her left arm became loose and she smacked him again, sending him stumbling back clutching his bloody face.

  Six. Six to go, and more of them were changing.

  Strong hands gripped her shoulders from behind, used exceptional leverage to force her back to the bed. Growling, she kicked her legs violently, smashing her feet into whatever she could. Someone went tumbling with a pained grunt and Alli twisted in the hold of five.

  “Fucking hold her!” Islador roared and the remaining grips on her tightened. But she was all oiled up for his Lordship’s pleasure, and wasn’t that just a lovely advantage? Every way she writhed, hands struggled to maintain a grip on her. Fingers dug into her flesh only to slide off. “Get me that fucking vial!”

  Alli giggled as his words from earlier came back to her. Pliant and amenable, she thought with a snort. Someone had seriously miscalculated the effect of the drug on her system because, oh boy, pliant and amenable were the last things on her to-be list.

  She rolled, broke the final hold and tumbled from the bed in a flurry of uncoordinated limbs. Scrambling to her feet, finding her legs were like rubber, she stumbled a few steps, waiting for a tackle. But when she turned to face Islador, his guards were lined up against the wall and he was pacing in front of them.

  “Use a team, he said,” Islador muttered with a roll of his eyes. “Kian hasn’t got a clue what he’s asking of her. What he’s tying himself to.” He tossed a small vial in his hand, catching it as he walked the floor. He stopped, eyed her with resignation. “You loved him once, Allianna. Can you not love him again?”

  She cocked her head. “I still love him, Islador. He’s an insufferable, egotistical, pompous ass half the time, but I’ve loved him since I was old enough to understand what that meant. I hate some of the things he’s done, I’ll loathe him for what he has planned for me now, but love can be as dark as it can light, Islador. Right now, my love for him is encased in shadows, ready to soar into the light or plummet into darkness.”

  Islador nodded slowly, just once, and flicked the cap off the vial with his thumbnail. He offered it to her. “Take it voluntarily, treasure. I don’t want to call in reinforcements to take you down.”

  Folding her arms across her chest, she was determined not to let him see how worn down that brief tussle had made her. It was taking too much effort to keep from swaying on the spot; another dose of that shit and she would be in Lalaland for a long, mindless time.

  Her problem was, Islador had her only exit blocked, and she didn’t know how to summon a portal. All eight warriors were on their feet now, a solid wall at ease but Alli knew one word from her friend and his soldiers would be on her without mercy.

  Her knees buckled for the briefest second and that was all it took. Even as she righted herself, staying standing, Islador tackled her with his superior speed and strength. She found herself slung over his shoulder one moment, flipped back roughly onto the bed in the next. Breath slammed out of her lungs, then he was straddling her, ruthlessly pinching her nose as she wheezed for air, and she keened as more of the sickly-sweet concoction drowned her.

  Within seconds that horrible cold sweat was back, the shakes, the goddamn heat curling inside her belly like a dragon rudely awakened. She stared up at Islador with betrayal knifing her in the gut.

  “This is the better choice for you, baby,” he murmured softly, trailing his fingers over her face and gently wiping away the beads of sweat forming on her temples. “There won’t be pain this way; it would kill him to hurt you. And fuck knows I don’t want to have to bear witness to your suffering.”

  Her vision blurred as candlelight flickered. Frowning, she tried to lift a hand and was highly confused when it didn’t move.

  “Okay, boys. Take a firm hold of her legs, her arms. I’ve got her head and neck. Move quickly but carefully. Do not drop her, out here or in there.” Four men immediately took up position, gathering her between them so she floated on a platform of strong arms. Her head was secure in Islador’s care and they seemed to speed along to wherever they were going.

  “Gently, set her down gently. Allianna, just relax. Boys, you can leave.”

  Her eyes rolled back in her head for a moment. There was a hard surface beneath her back, yet it was unfeasibly warm. It was quite soothing on her battered behind. The faint chink of chain on stone drew her fluttering attention back to the current predicament, which she was having trouble understanding.

  She studied the cuff on her left wrist with amusement, wondering why on earth she thought they looked good on her. The cuff on her right was met with suspicious disapproval. Her breath came faster when a thick strap whispered over her hips and locked her down tight. “No. No, I don’t like it.”

  “Breathe, baby. Just breathe.” Islador’s voice floated from by her feet and she kicked restlessly as cool restraints caressed her heated flesh just above her ankles, then tightened.

  Horror filled her when he drew another strap over her chest, just above her breasts and she groped frantically for his hand. “Why?”

  “Orders, Allianna. All I ever do is follow orders.” He sighed heavily, stroking her forehead before running a hand over her hair and tugging the now-white-blonde braid free from where it had been trapped beneath her. He draped it over her shoulder and between her breasts. “Once I fasten the last strap, I have to leave you. I won’t come back until Kian is with me.”

  Beneath the drug’s influence, she raged. Her ire burned hot enough to melt the chains holding her down, her fury evolving into the stuff legends and nightmares were made of. But on the surface, only the barest signs of anxiety showed. “How long will he keep me waiting?”

  “I don’t know. Could be minutes, could be hours.” With an apologetic look, he slid the final strap over her forehead and secured it. He bent and kissed the tip of her nose, a habit he’d developed from the time she turned one up until she hit her teens. “Everything will be okay, baby.”

  Alli called for him as he studied the room, then whimpered when he chose several candles to extinguish, leaving her with only two for light in the intimidating chamber. She called again, and again, her fierce nature subdued by a syrupy concoction and the knowledge she was irreversibly trapped in hell.

  Alone, time crawled by. She imagined the seconds tick-tick-ticking by at a fraction of their normal speed, drawing out her torment into mental torture. She was awake when the first wave of side effects wore off and left her feeling high. After that, it was easy to doze under the influence.

  “Are you sure she’s in here?”

  “Oh yeah. Islador’s been all hush-hush since Kian returned from the mortal plane, but he’s spent most of the day in here, with washerwomen and guards. The little slut is in here somewhere.”

  “If
tonight’s the night, she’ll be in there. I wanna see, I wanna see!”

  Alli blinked herself back to attention, trying to place the three female voices. One she thought she recognized as Kian’s favorite whore to play with, a screamer with an incredibly nasal voice that made her sound like a really annoying child.

  “I don’t think we’re allowed in there.”

  “Why not? Our beloved will finally fuck the little virgin cunt he’s waited a quarter of a century for, and he promised we could watch. I’m not missing out this. I want to watch her bleed and scream over the Lord’s cock when he loses himself.”

  Bile rose in her throat. The venom in the woman’s voice was monstrous. She meant Alli harm, and restrained as she was, she had no defense against an attack. And what the fuck was that watching shit?

  “Come on, Delleso. The girl’s young, she’s not at fault because the Lord doesn’t want us as much anymore. He’s waited a long time for her to ripen. Her eyes will be opened tonight, and I don’t envy her. Not this way, at least.”

  “Always were a soft bitch, Selena. I for one am going to enjoy this.”

  “Me too!” The childlike voice was already grating on Alli’s nerves.

  One moment she was alone in the chamber, and the next, she had three Amazons stalking around her with smirks on their gorgeous faces. The shadows concealed them, but they were all red of hair and hazel-eyed. Tall, almost as tall as Kian himself, they would tower above Alli.

  “Look at the present, all trussed up,” one said softly and ran a talon-like fingernail along Alli’s bare forearm. “Never seen a tribute tied down so well. Must be a fighter. He’ll like that. He likes it when they struggle.”

  “Don’t scare her, Tralee.” The one called Selena murmured and offered Allianna a quiet smile. “Don’t have a clue why you’re here, do you, pet? Strapped down and left all alone, waiting for the Lord to feast.”