The Darkest Craving lotu-11

by Gena Showalter

  “He’s going to... No! I won’t believe that.”

  “Nevertheless, it’s true.”

  “But...but....” She went still, as if she couldn’t even bare to breathe. “He never experienced the life he dreamed of...a life free of Disaster. He should know how it feels to be at peace before he dies, and I can give him that chance, even if only for a little while.”

  “And you’re willing to give your life for that chance? Take a moment. Think about this. Once it’s done, it cannot be undone.”

  “I have thought about it. I want to do it here, now.”

  Malcolm nodded. “Very well. My bargain is now with you.” He held out his hand and a sword of fire appeared.

  In that moment, a sickening realization dawned. Tink had taken the ring, and she’d taken the demon, and she now planned to take Kane’s place.

  She was going to die in his stead, simply to give him a few days, maybe a few weeks, without the demon.

  “No!” Kane screamed. “No! Don’t you dare!”

  But it was too late.

  Malcolm had already been in the process of striking. The fire pierced her chest, and her scream of pain shattered every corridor of his heart.

  “No!” he cried. “No!”

  The sword slid out of her and Kane saw a gap the size of his fist.

  Tink collapsed. And Malcolm vanished.

  Kane dropped to his knees and roared up at the sky.

  * * *

  IN A DAZE, when the shock of what he’d witnessed had worn off, but not the horror, never the horror, Kane crawled to his wife, gathered her in his arms and cradled her precious body against his chest. He held her for what seemed an eternity, but it couldn’t have been more than an hour.

  There was no blood on her or him. The sword had cauterized the wound, and it wasn’t right. He should be covered in her blood, should have tangible evidence of the pain she had endured. He should have to wear it, a constant reminder of the disaster he had allowed—even without the demon living inside him. He needed to see his shame. His grief. His failure. Something, anything, but this...nothingness.

  Nothingness. Yes. That’s all he had now.

  His wife, his love, was gone. For nothing! Didn’t she know he could not have peace without her?

  Tears must have been brewing at the back of his eyes because they suddenly spouted out, like rivers of anguish. He sobbed like a baby, and he didn’t care who saw him. Guards and Opulens came up to him and tried to talk to him, to learn what had happened, but he snarled and sent them running away.

  “How could you do this?” he demanded of Tink. But he already knew the answer, didn’t he. She’d loved his life more than her own. “How?”

  He brushed his fingers through the softness of her hair—her blond hair? Yes. Blond. Even her features had changed. She looked like Petra, and he had a moment of hope, thinking Petra had died and not his wife. But then her hair and features changed again, and he found himself peering down at someone he didn’t recognize.

  When she changed a third time, and the strange image remained for an hour, then another, realization hit him and all hope withered. This was Tink, the blonde in the painting, and she was dead.

  She had drained the Phoenix, acquiring the girl’s ability to shift identities, that was all. Because, now that the shifting had stopped, whatever spark had tried to ignite had been extinguished.

  His Tink was dead, and she wasn’t ever coming back.

  He howled up at the sky.

  He had his freedom now, but the price had been too high.

  He wanted to lash out, to kill someone, destroy something, but he couldn’t bear to release his Tink. So he sat there, even as the sun disappeared behind clouds and rain poured. He sat there as day turned to night.

  Malcolm appeared a few feet away, his skin pallid, his lips compressed into a hard line.

  A growl rose in Kane’s throat.

  “I know I’m the last person you wish to see right now, but I must tell you what I’ve learned. I...went to my leader, told him what I’d done. He has assured me you will survive the removal of your demon, just as the girl wished.”

  Well, what do you know? Kane could release his wife, after all. He stood, his hands fisted. “I might survive, but you won’t.”

  The Sent One raised his chin. “Hear me out, warrior.”

  “How could you kill her? You are forbidden from taking human life, and she was half human.”

  “The moment she accepted your demon, I stopped seeing her that way.”

  “That doesn’t change your rules.”

  “No, nor does it change my circumstances. I was going to be punished either way.”

  Will...kill...

  But the warrior wasn’t finished. “I was wrong when I told you that you would be emptied out. Your cup wasn’t spilled over. Water was poured inside, slowly displacing the oil. Now, you’re filled with the water...with love. I’m...sorry for your wife’s death.”

  “Doesn’t matter now.” He withdrew two daggers.

  The Sent One sighed. “You don’t want to fight me.”

  “You’re right. I want to murder you.” He launched one of the daggers, aiming for Malcolm’s neck, but he vanished, and the weapon soared past him, embedding in a tree. Then, he reappeared.

  Kane threw the other dagger, and the Sent One performed the same move.

  He advanced. They’d settle this with their hands, then.

  “Your woman.” Frowning, Malcolm tilted his head to the side as he looked beyond Kane’s shoulder. “She’s on fire.”

  Kane spun, seeing flames dance at the end of her big toes. Once again, hope ignited as he realized what was happening. If she had retained Petra’s abilities, she could rise from her own ashes.

  But what if Petra had been close to the final death?

  He watched, desperate, as the flame spread to Tink’s other toes...to her ankles. Her knees. Her waist. Her shoulders...her head. Until she was engulfed.

  She began to wither. A pile of ashes formed.

  Then, nothing. The flames vanished.

  Another hope destroyed.

  Kane erupted.

  He tore out hunks of earth. He kicked and punched trees. He—

  Was blown backward by an intense wave of heat. He rolled to a stop and jumped to his feet. Beside him, Malcolm did the same. Another fire now raged, this one crackling over the ashes, lifting them, swirling them together.

  Please, he thought. Please.

  A female form came into view, floating in the center of the flames. Tink’s face took shape, then her hair, and body, and his heart nearly burst from his chest.

  She opened her eyes, and the flames died in an instant. Her naked form fell to the ground, and she hmphed, losing her breath.

  Breath. She had breath.

  It had worked!

  Kane dropped to his knees, the rush of relief too much for him.

  She held up a trembling arm, twisted it in the light, then held up the other. “I’m really here.” Her eyes widened. “Kane, I’m really here!”

  He lumbered to his feet, staggered over to her. He needed to touch her. Like, now. Emotion clogged his throat as he fell at her feet and gathered her in his arms. “I’ve never been so glad to watch someone catch fire,” he said, squeezing her tight. “You reformed, sweetheart. You reformed.”

  “But only the Phoenix can do—” Realization dawned on her beautiful face. “The Phoenix! I took from her.”

  “Yes.” A miracle of perfect timing. A choice...and a destiny.

  “William must have killed her,” Malcolm said. “That’s the only way Josephina would have retained the ability. Which means, it hasn’t faded and it won’t. She’s no longer half human. She’s fully immortal, though it appears her ability is weaker than that of other Phoenix. They usually catch fire moments after the deathblow is struck.”

  Kane had thought his tear ducts had dried, and yet, droplets rained down his cheeks. Tink. Fully immortal. His forever. “Thank you,”
he said, the words for Tink, for Malcolm and his leader. “Thank you so much.”

  Malcolm looked to the sky, paused and might even have smiled. “I have been told to tell you the baby reformed with his mother. Though he is only a few days old, he is specially gifted, and very strong.” After dropping that bombshell, he vanished.

  A baby. A boy.

  To know this soon...

  Kane almost couldn’t process the news. Reverently his hand moved to his wife’s still-flat stomach.

  Her eyes were wide and luminous. Then she laughed, joyous. “A baby, Kane.”

  “Are you happy?”

  “More than I ever thought possible. I always thought my gift and my circumstances were a blessing and a curse, but all along they’ve been a blessing, never a curse. I’m alive, and we’re going to have a baby, a baby that will be free—and you’re free, Kane. You’re free! The demon is dead. He’s no longer a part of you or me.”

  He buried his face in the hollow of her neck, breathed her in. “What you did for me...I’ll never be able to repay you. The price you paid...the pain you just endured...” He shuddered. “Don’t you ever do anything like that again. I need you. You’re mine. We belong together.”

  “Now and forever.”

  He pulled back to peer into her eyes. The stitches had burned from her cheek and the swelling had gone down, but even still, a jagged six-inch line stretched over her skin. The hole in her chest had been filled, but there was a big, puckered scar.

  “The injuries happened before you were fully immortal, so the evidence of them will never go away, I bet,” he said.

  “Are they bad?” she asked, rubbing the scar on her chest.

  “Bad? They’re amazing. Like you. Badges of courage—of your love for me.” He searched the rest of her, groaned. “We need to cover you up.” He tore off his shirt and tugged it over her head, concealing her bare breasts. He removed his pants and handed the material to her, leaving him in his underwear.

  She smiled, a big happy smile. “The women are going to be drooling over you.”

  “They can drool, but they can’t touch.”

  “Because you’re mine,” she said, “just like I’m yours.”

  “Forever,” he said.

  “Forever,” she agreed.

  A forever that would be very busy. “I want this kingdom at peace before our son arrives. I want Cameo and Viola found, and my debt to the Sent Ones paid. I’ll have to help them find the demons that killed their king.”

  “Together, we can do anything.”

  He kissed her, soft and sweet. “For now, I’m only interested in holding you, feeling your heart beat against mine, and proving you really are alive.”

  “I think you want to remove my clothes,” she replied huskily.

  He kissed her again, this time strong and sure. “Yes, but the removal of clothing is only step one.”

  “And step two?”

  “Come. I’ll show you.”

  Lords of the Underworld Glossary of Characters and Terms

  Aeron—Lord of the Underworld; former keeper of Wrath

  All-key—a spiritual relic capable of freeing the possessor from any lock

  All-Seeing Eye—human with the power to see into heaven and hell, past and future; Danika Ford

  Amun—Lord of the Underworld; keeper of Secrets

  Anya—(minor) goddess of Anarchy; beloved of Lucien

  Ashlyn—human female with supernatural ability; wife of Maddox

  Atropos—a Moirai

  Baden—former Lord of the Underworld; keeper of Distrust (deceased)

  Bianka Skyhawk—Harpy; sister of Kaia, Gwen and Taliyah; consort of Lysander

  Black—one of the four shadow warriors; famine

  Cage of Compulsion—artifact with the power to enslave anyone trapped inside

  Cameo—Lord of the Underworld; keeper of Misery

  Cloak of Invisibility—artifact with the power to shield its wearer from prying eyes

  Cronus—former ruler of the Titans

  Danika Ford—human female; girlfriend of Reyes; known as the All-Seeing Eye

  Deity—former king of the Sent Ones (deceased)

  Ever—daughter of Maddox and Ashlyn

  Fae—race of immortals that descends from Titans

  Flashing—transporting oneself with just a thought

  Galen—former second-in-command of the Hunters; keeper of Hope and Jealousy

  Gideon—Lord of the Underworld; keeper of Lies

  Gilly—human female

  Glorika Aisling—mother of Josephina

  Gorgon—immortal creature able to turn any living being into stone

  Greeks—former rulers of Olympus before Titans

  Green—one of four shadow warriors; death

  Gwen Skyhawk—Harpy; sister of Kaia, Bianka and Taliyah; wife and consort of Sabin

  Haidee—former Hunter; Amun’s wife

  Hunters—mortal enemies of the Lords of the Underworld

  Josephina Aisling—half human, half Fae; aka Tinker Bell, Tinker Hell, Tink, Tinky Dink

  Juliette—a Harpy

  Kaia Skyhawk—part Harpy, part Phoenix; aka the Wing Shredder; sister of Gwen, Taliyah and Bianka; consort of Strider

  Kane—Lord of the Underworld; keeper of Disaster

  Klotho—a Moirai

  Lachesis—a Moirai

  Lazarus—an immortal warrior; only son of Typhon and an unnamed gorgon

  Legion—demon minion in a human body; adopted daughter of Aeron and Olivia

  Leopold—only Fae prince

  Lords of the Underworld—exiled immortal warriors now hosting the demons once locked inside Pandora’s box

  Lucien—coleader of the Lords of the Underworld; keeper of Death

  Lysander—elite Sent One

  Maddox—Lord of the Underworld; keeper of Violence

  Malcolm—a Sent One; member of Zacharel’s army

  Marigold—a female from the past

  Moirai—three immortal witches who weave destiny; aka “The Three Fates,” “hobags”

  Neeka—deaf Harpy; prisoner of the Phoenix

  Never-ending—a portal into hell

  Olivia—an angel; beloved of Aeron

  Olympus—former city of the gods; now known as Titania

  Opulens—the Fae upper class

  Pandora’s Box—made of the bones from the goddess of Oppression; once housed demon high lords, now missing

  Paring Rod—artifact with ability to rend soul from body

  Paris—Lord of the Underworld; keeper of Promiscuity

  Penelope—queen of the Fae

  Petra—female Phoenix

  Phoenix—fire-thriving immortals descended from Greeks

  Princess Fluffykans—Viola’s pet Tasmanian devil

  Realm of Blood and Shadows—location of the Lords of the Underworld’s current fortress

  Red—one of four shadow warriors; war

  Reyes—Lord of the Underworld; keeper of Pain

  Sabin—coleader of the Lords of the Underworld; keeper of Doubt

  Scarlet—keeper of Nightmares; wife of Gideon

  Sent Ones—winged warriors that fight evil

  Séduire—the realm of the Fae

  Sienna Blackstone—ruler of the Titans; beloved of Paris

  Strider—Lord of the Underworld; keeper of Defeat

  Synda—Fae princess; keeper of Irresponsibility

  Taliyah Skyhawk—Harpy; sister of Bianka, Gwen and Kaia

  Tartarus—an underground holding cell for immortals

  Tiberius—king of the Fae

  Titania—the city of the gods; formerly known as Olympus

  Titans—rulers of Titania; children of fallen angels and humans

  Torin—Lord of the Underworld; keeper of Disease

  Typhon—an immortal creature with the head of a dragon and the body of a snake

  Urban—son of Maddox and Ashlyn

  Viola—minor goddess; keeper of Narcissism

  White�
��one of four shadow warriors; conquest

  William the Ever Randy—immortal warrior of questionable origins; aka the Panty Melter

  Zacharel—elite Sent One; leader of the Army of Disgrace

  Zeus—king of the Greeks

  If you loved The Darkest Craving, don’t miss these other pulse-pounding Lords of the Underworld titles by New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter. Available now!

  “The Darkest Fire” (prequel novella)

  The Darkest Night

  The Darkest Kiss

  The Darkest Pleasure

  “The Darkest Prison” (novella)

  The Darkest Whisper

  Heart of Darkness (includes “The Darkest Angel” novella)

  The Darkest Passion

  The Darkest Lie

  The Darkest Secret

  The Darkest Surrender

  The Darkest Seduction

  Looking for more scintillating paranormal romance? Download the spin-off series to Lords of the Underworld now!

  Angels of the Dark:

  Wicked Nights

  Beauty Awakened

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