King Of Shadows: The Shadowcrown Duet

by Kay Elle Parker

  Kicking frantically, she caught one of them in the thigh as they rubbed oil down over her buttocks and down her legs. The crack of a hand on her ass brought a cry to her lips before she shut it down.

  Kian had obviously decided to forego the tender loving care route this time around. Either that or the washerwomen were really pissed their sisters had been relegated to servicing prisoners in the pits.

  Allianna decided pissed was the likelier option when both demons grabbed a leg and pulled her down the slab so her stomach folded over the end. No amount of bucking and kicking prevented the shackles—a lot fucking shorter than the night before—from snapping shut around her ankles.

  More oil was dumped over her from nape to ass, and rough hands went to work with angry, painful strokes that set her skin on fire and made her muscles ache. If they wanted her in discomfort before Kian got to her, they were getting their wish in spades.

  Hands slipped beneath her, slicking her down. She shivered, wriggling uselessly in place as the oil held her captive on the smooth stone. There was nothing to cling to, no purchase on the slab.

  This is part of the plan. Screwing her eyes shut, she reminded herself over and over that this was all part of the fucking plan. Understanding it was necessary to the end goal didn’t make it any easier.

  “Itzel is here,” one of the females murmured reverently, and immediately all hands left Allianna’s person. “We are blessed with your presence, wise one.”

  The chamber was sucked of all warmth, all light before the washerwoman finished her sickening gush of welcome. Something ominous crawled through Alli’s veins like a poison, evil threading through her bones. Whatever the necromancer was, it was not human.

  “This is the Lord’s chosen one?” A voice, vaguely female yet sounding like an avalanche of gravel tumbling down a mountain, hissed through the air. “A pretty one, plenty of ssspirit,” it continued, sibilating the S like a snake. “Leave us, my pets. I can finish this myself.”

  Allianna’s breathing grew labored, chest heaving in uneven pants. Whatever was in here with her was unspeakable evil, and she wondered how much influence it held over Kian and his demon. This was not part of the plan.

  “Sssuch a pretty little toy the Lord has found himself. Twenty-five years of maturing come to a head.” Thin black fingernails clacked on the stone by Alli’s face. “I wondered who held him under her ssspell, and you are quite delightful, my dear. Are you afraid of little old me?”

  Her breath was whistling now and, she imagined, pluming from her mouth in wisps of steam because the chamber had grown so cold. Teeth chattering, she ordered herself to keep her eyes closed and her mouth zipped. This would be over soon enough, and she would survive it.

  “Ssshy and virginal. You’ll find your tongue sssoon enough when your Lord and master arrives. Which will not be long now, ssso let us ssstart, yes? On your back for the moment, I think.”

  Chains rattled, tension slackened, but before Alli could react to the sudden freedom, her body flipped without so much as a finger touching any part of her. Her back cracked down onto the slab, slipped on the pool of oil, and she was tied down again in moments as the chains reattached themselves by magic.

  Oh boy, this wasn’t a party witch with silly little parlor tricks. Someone had some serious power up her sleeves.

  “Open your eyes, little toy. I’d like to see them.”

  Trembling, Allianna kept them closed against the almost sweet politeness of the necromancer. Females necromancers were supposed to be rare, really rare; trust Kian not only to find a rarity, but a powerful one at that.

  “Very well. I do not like to ask twice, you will learn this quickly.”

  Blinding pain speared into her temples as icy pinpricks dug into the soft flesh. It pulsed in waves, fierce enough to bring tears to her eyes, and she couldn’t get her hands to her head to stop it. Her teeth began to ache, the nerves on fire. Her entire bone structure seemed to vibrate and perch on the edge of shattering.

  Self-preservation forced her eyes open.

  The pain stopped immediately, and she stared with blurred vision into what seemed to be a multitude of ruby-red reptilian eyes. “Very good, little toy. Perhaps next time, you will obey faster, yes?”

  “What the fuck are you?” Allianna rasped.

  Shrouded beneath a hood, she realized there weren’t multiple eyes staring at her, just three. Just, she thought with a shudder. Three red eyes indicated demon, which meant Kian was playing a dangerous game. The Shadow realm was not a plane for all and sundry—very few demons had permission to set foot here, and even less were permitted to reside.

  As Lord of Shadows, Kian had never been questioned about his change of character, the shift in his nature. No one had realized he’d become a demon host until it was too late. The creature in front of her, however, was not born of the Shadows and should not have had Lucifer’s or Kian’s consent to be in the realm...unless there were nefarious purposes involved.

  “I am Itzel. I will be the reader of runes today, witness to your joining with the Lord, and to the conception of your ssson. I am to be your midwife, and the care of your child will fall to me upon his birth.” White teeth glistened in a satisfied smile, beaming out of the shadows of the hood. “Kian has no need for your firstborn once he takes his first breath, little toy. Only the conception and the birth are needed to elevate his ssstatus to King. I, however, am fond of delicacies, and as it is my magic and my efforts that will bring Kian’s dreams to fruition, my fee is sssubstantial.”

  Sick to the soul, Alli stared at the creature with horror she couldn’t fake. Her mind spun the words around and around in her head until they became a whirlwind of deception, pain and the ultimate betrayal. “He wouldn’t do that.”

  Itzel sighed gently. “The man you know as Kian would not, no. I imagine his demon’s decisions are causing him a wealth of agony. But the power-hungry demon inside him? Little toy, he would feed you to me himself if I demanded it and promised him it would extend his reach to the pearly gates. Be thankful your ssson will be the currency for this transaction.”

  Stunned, Allianna went limp on the altar. If the necromancer spoke the truth...best laid plans were going to hell on a one-way train. Kian would have to die, and in all likelihood so would she. Before her son was born.

  “The Lord is on his way,” Itzel hummed in delight. “It is almost time. On his instructions, I have a new blend of the tonic for you. Would you lift your head?”

  “Don’t want it. Whatever he does now won’t hurt half as bad as what he’s already done. Don’t want the fucking poison that addles my head so he can screw with it.”

  “It is not optional.”

  What felt like a spider spread over her face, peeling open her lips and prying open her teeth. Six long fingers, spindly as the legs on an arachnid, manipulated Alli’s mouth with ease. Gagging, snarling, Allianna shook her head but couldn’t shift the demonic appendage.

  Warm liquid, thick and slimy, poured into her mouth. Coughing, she sprayed the first mouthful everywhere and wrenched her face to the side. Pain stabbed into her skin as Itzel simply yanked her back into position and continued to force viscous fluid down her throat.

  It hit her stomach like a bomb, igniting a furnace in her belly so hot it burned her internal organs to ash. She writhed, teeth biting hard into her bottom lip so hard she drew blood rather than scream. It shot to the tip of every finger, every toe, shimmered along each strand of hair on her head.

  When Kian entered the chamber a few moments later, her body was electrified, every molecule energized to the point she couldn’t stop shaking. Hands and feet jittered uselessly in their cuffs, her hips arching. Muscles were taut to the point of tearing, flailing helplessly as she bucked.

  “Fuck, Itzel, what the hell did you give her?”

  “Her body is responding well. The test sssubject this morning was dead within thirty ssseconds. Your precious toy is at approximately five minutes.”

  “You gave
her an untested substance? Are you insane?”

  Itzel huffed. “You wanted obedient and willing, Kian. I did my best within the time constraints you allowed. The ceremony will take place as decreed, you will have your queen and Kingship, and I will have my bounty in a few ssshort months.”

  Something smashed, the sound sharp enough to tug Allianna’s overwhelmed mind from beneath the chemical shitstorm smothering her. Kian’s rage did a fine job of rousing the rest of her as it throbbed through the chamber like a thunderstorm.

  “I wanted her awake and aware, Itzel! Part of the rituals is that my fucking queen accepts the pain as a condition of her ascension to her rank. Accepts me as I am, as her Lord and husband, as her goddamn King!” Kian was so mad he was roaring at the necromancer.

  Three red eyes narrowed in warning, then caught Allianna’s and widened in surprise. “I don’t think all is lost, my Lord. Your toy appears to be perfectly aware of the sssituation.”

  Shit. Allianna sucked in a shaky breath as Kian loomed over her, his hands braced on the altar on either side of his head. He smiled at her like the Kian of old, green eyes calming as his manic temper calmed to manageable levels.

  “So she does. My apologies, Itzel, I shouldn’t have doubted your expertise.” He ran his tongue over his teeth as his gaze travelled down her restless form. “Little rose, would you like some relief? You seem to be in distress.”

  “Don’t touch me, you back-stabbing, baby-selling megalomaniac,” she hissed at him, wishing she could burn holes through his forehead with her eyes.

  Smirking, he pushed away from her and trailed his fingers down her flat stomach. “I presume she is oiled and ready? I’d like to begin as soon as possible. The sooner we curb this agitation and shitty attitude, the sooner I can start enjoying my wife as I’m meant to.”

  Itzel made a weird clicking sound, like mandibles tapping together. It was a horrible sound for one tied down and alone with a pair of power-crazy freaks. “I will do that now, my Lord, while you gather your energy. Have you decided the order in which you want to take her?”

  Kian’s eyes flared with black lust. “Oh yes. I’ve waited for this for a long time.”

  “Excellent.” Itzel gestured with her hands, strange little movements, and Allianna grimaced as she heard the chains release. Not again, for God’s sake. But she cried out on a soft oomph as she flipped and landed on her belly, folded at the hips on the altar edge, and scrambled to move before the chains locked her down.

  Not fast enough, she clawed at her throat as one of the chains whipped out and collared her around the neck, tightening until she lost her breath, her sight, her hearing. On the verge of passing out, she floundered weakly.

  “Gently, Itzel,” Kian admonished. “Awake, aware and alive, if you please.”

  The chain slithered away, leaving her choking and wheezing down huge gulps of air. Her throat burned, her lungs cried for mercy, and her limbs were not her own once again. As she wept, she felt something tickle between her legs. Oil dripped between her parted buttocks, over the exposed rosette and down the seam of her pussy.

  “Don’t.” Allianna whimpered as a distressingly slender finger traced her slit before probing for her entrance and pushing deep. Her heart wished for Islador, for his comfort and guidance in a situation she hadn’t seen coming.

  “Ssshush, toy. It will be over sssoon. Oh yes, good and tight in here, hymen ssstill intact. Cervix partially dilated—the tonic is working, just not as effectively as I’d hoped.”

  Allianna swung for the necromancer, embracing the arrow of agony that shot down her arm as the chain yanked her up short. Torn between hiding beneath the drugs and hitting that bitch fit switch, her mood was on a rollercoaster ride. Blood trickled from her wrist, bumped her rollercoaster from crazy to off-the-tracks.

  That skeletal digit switched holes, pushing deep, bringing furious tears to Alli’s eyes. When she was queen and the realm bowed at her feet, she swore she would have Kian strapped down on this fucking altar and have him raped by the biggest, most feral, most well-hung shadowhound she could find. She would leave him here for days until he paid for every fucking moment she spent in this hell.

  “Everything is in place, my Lord. Your bride awaits you.”

  Allianna snapped at the fingers urging her to look at Kian. She knew it was him, couldn’t bear to look at the fucker. Nerves simmered beneath the tonic, rising steadily, and she breathed deep, reminding herself this was part of the plan. Even if it was a different plan than before.

  Stroking his impressive length with one hand, Kian forced her to look at him with the other. Panic hit her between the eyes when she assessed him, certain he was bigger, thicker, longer than Islador. Taking Isla inside her just those couple inches had been a test of faith and love.

  “Bite,” Kian said with deceptive calm, “and I will take your ass without mercy, your virgin cunt without leniency, and paint your tongue with blood, little rose. Are you clear on this?” When she nodded pitifully, he smiled like a man in love. “That’s my precious little rose, always trying so hard to please me. Itzel, you may begin.”

  Chapter Seven

  Perfection. He did love perfection.

  The wall of the ceremonial chamber glowed as Itzel chanted the runes inscribed into the rock. With every uttered word, they came alive with unholy light, pulsing in time with his heartbeat and Allianna’s. He could hear hers pumping with the rhythm of the chant, the primal intonation driving his little rose as surely as her arousal.

  Hand cupping the back of her head, his own thrown back in stunned delight, he let his virgin queen use her mouth of her own accord, learning how to take his girth while still breathing, his length without retching. His first orgasm of the night would course down her throat and seeing as she was being such an eager and responsive bride, he wasn’t feeling inclined to choke her with it.

  Her tongue stimulated the ridged vein running along the underside of his erection as she sucked hesitantly, and he aided her by using his grip in her unbound hair to guide her up and down his shaft.

  Fucking perfection.

  For all the talking this mouth did, all the sass it spat back at him, it sure as hell knew how to suck his cock. And those tears dribbling from the corners of her closed eyes were just the icing on his wedding cake.

  Fingers and balls tightening in unison, Kian used Allianna’s mouth as heartily as he intended to use the rest of her. Firm thrusts that shoved his crown past her gag reflex and beyond, ignoring her gurgling wheezes, concentrating on the panicked squeeze of her throat around his erection.

  Itzel’s chanting rose to a high; the last few notes and Allianna’s weak struggles to breathe were the catalysts that brought him to a thoroughly satisfying release. He slammed his hand down on the obsidian beside Allianna’s head and growled a warning as thick spurts of seed painted her throat and belly.

  Lost in the high, he almost forgot she was there.

  Laughing, Kian pulled free and used her bright-red face and terrified eyes, the strings of saliva trembling off her swollen bottom lip, as fuel for his next vital erection. The fact she tried to hold back more tears...his cock twitched once and surged back to full extension. “Aren’t you clever, little rose? Treating your Lord so well, giving him pleasure with that sweet, warm mouth.”

  Blue eyes flashed with disdain and hurt, then she laid her cheek on the stone and closed them. He had a feeling she would have turned her back on him if it wasn’t already facing his direction.

  “Are you ready for me to begin again?” Itzel questioned quietly from her position by the wall. Her slender fingers already caressed the carvings on the wall as a mother would her child. “We ssshould proceed.”

  Allianna trembled in her bonds. Kian didn’t blame her. Of the three components of the rituals, oral was the lesser of three evils. Her options now were limited, and she knew it.

  The demon chuckled derisively as Kian reached out and set his hand between her shoulder blades. He found it amazing h
ow she could be essentially calm and collected on the outside, only those nervous twinges giving her away, yet her heart was a bongo drum inside her chest, her back.

  He walked his fingers down her spine to the gentle curve of her ass, gripping the rounded flesh in both hands and opening her to his gaze. He licked his lips, moaned appreciatively as that delicate pink bud beckoned him. Man or demon, he would be tempted. Man or demon, he didn’t have to choose.

  Lucky him.

  Lucky, lucky him as Allianna’s scream of outrage exploded into the room, legs kicking frantically when he thrust his middle finger through that tiny rosette and into velvet heaven. The copper scent of blood fueled his lust, drifting up from the fresh wounds her struggles rubbed around her ankles. Salivating at the thought of what came next, Kian worked his hand furiously between her buttocks, adding another finger just to hear her squeal pierce the air.

  “Are you done playing with her, my Lord?” Itzel asked, rolling all three eyes in unison. They glowed with impatience, but it was of no consequence. Fuck, the she-demon was of no consequence right at this moment, and she knew it. “If you would mount her, the sssecond part of the ritual can be completed.”

  “Patience, Itzel,” Kian drawled, caressing Allianna’s backside as the muscles clenched and quivered. He was grateful her legs were shackled to the altar—the way she was trying to boot him, she could have done some damage. That didn’t mean he didn’t appreciate the view of her lean form fighting him. “This will hurt, and I’d rather save her screams for the conception of our son.”

  “Motherfucker!” Allianna howled the obscenity.

  The necromancer sighed. “Yes, my Lord.”

  Resisting the urge to do something impractical to his annoying ally, Kian blanked her from sight. The necromancer was a costly and unfortunately vital factor in his journey to becoming King of Shadows. Agreeing to give her the life of his firstborn son had been heartbreaking for the man inside, but the demon had soon squashed Kian’s humanity and opinion on the subject.