The fog of pain was clearing to give him a moment of reprieve, as it always did before taking him back into its grip, stealing the hours from him and leaving him filled with despair.
He was changing; he could feel it inside him like the crack and remaking of bone, like the snap and dissolution of his very DNA. He was changing and there was nothing he could do to stop it. But he needed to know what he was becoming. He needed to know what to expect with that final dose.
“What happens? What happens when the process is complete?”
Caldwell’s face swam before his eyes, a blurry frown. “Then your body and mind will belong to Orin.”
“He’ll make me sign the treaty.”
“He’ll make you do whatever he wants.” Caldwell leaned in. “If I don’t make it out of here, if neither of us make it out, then Lindrealm and the fifth dimension are doomed.”
The clatter of the bolt being drawn had Caldwell backing up and clipping his case closed.
The guard ushered him out of the cell, slamming the door closed behind them.
The serum … Something about the serum and Lindrealm. He needed to think to make the connection between all of it. The Fearless deaths, the luma shortage, the serum—it was all connected, all linked.
He needed to figure it out before—
Shards of glass pierced his skull and there was nothing else to do but scream.
33
Agares dropped me off at my chambers, and I found Baal lying on the bed, hands tucked behind his head, eyes closed.
Oh, so now he wanted to sleep, did he?
There was so much churning around in my head, annoyance at his little disappearing act, anger at Kai and the way he was tearing down everything my father had built, and second thoughts about not taking Davin up on his offer.
“I can sense your tumult, Kenna.”
His voice was silk and honey, slipping over me and leeching away the angst.
I plonked my arse in the velvet chair. “Where were you?”
His eyes remained closed. “Gathering allies.”
“You told!”
He snorted. “I’m not a fool, Kenna. No. I was simply testing the waters, discovering which Overlords would be willing to band together against Kai’s rule.”
“And?”
“We are sorely outnumbered.”
“Crap.”
He opened his eyes and rolled onto his side to face me. “Outnumbered for now, but once they discover who you are, once you have the throne, those ranks will swell.”
For the first time I allowed myself to contemplate what would happen if my people didn’t side with me. “What if they don’t?”
Baal’s brow crinkled. “Why wouldn’t they? You are Ibris’s heir, and if the throne accepts you, there is no doubt.”
I allowed my head to fall back against the seat. “What if the throne doesn’t accept me?”
“Kenna? What is it? What’s happened?”
“Nothing. I just … Look at me. I’m in a mortal body and missing a leg, do you seriously think the throne will want me?”
Baal swung his legs off the bed and walked across the room to crouch by my chair. He took my hands and looked deep into my eyes. “I see you Kenna, and so will the throne. The shell doesn’t matter. It’s what’s inside that will be tested.”
I swallowed and looked away, blinking back moisture.
The urge to tell him about Davin’s proposal was on the tip of my tongue, but he’d agreed to keep my secret and it would be bad form to expose his gift.
Time to shit to a different topic. “Why didn’t someone else step up, why didn’t you take over?”
“The palace?”
I nodded.
He ran his thumb over the tops of my hand. “We were all reeling from the loss of our king, and of course I understood that someone would need to rule, but I foolishly believed it would be a democratic process. I guess Ibris had truly spoiled us, allowing us to believe that the single djinn’s wants and needs mattered.
“Kai had no such qualms, he took the palace, staking his claim before any of us could rally together to stand against him, and once through the doors he fortified his defences.
“We could still have taken the palace back by force, and I appealed to the other Overlords to do just this, but Kai is cunning, he’d already lined their pockets and coated their ears with promises of greater status and riches. The handful who sided with me were farming or textile provinces with no real army of their own, and so I turned to Erebus.”
“Who turned you down.”
“Yes.”
“But we will have his support once I claim the throne. I’ll make sure of it.”
Baal’s lips curved. “That’s the spirit. You must never lose faith in yourself.” The corner his mouth curled up. “You were pretty forceful when you ordered Irina to take a nap this morning.”
My brow furrowed. “Yeah, about that. I can take care of myself. I don’t need a round-the-clock-babysitter, especially when, right now, my life isn’t in any danger.” I wanted to be more annoyed with him, but he was stroking my hand and sending sneaky shivers up my arm and down my spine. “And you need to keep me in the loop when you go off. Where did you sleep last night?”
His eyes lit up and his lips twitched. “Did you miss me?”
The memory of his mouth on mine, his tongue against mine, filled my head. My eyes dropped to his lips.
“Kenna …”
We hadn’t spoken about that kiss, about what it meant, and that was okay with me because I wasn’t ready to open myself up to anything, not yet. My focus had to be on the throne, on my people. Anything less would be selfish.
I gently extricated my hands from his grip. “We should go mingle.”
He dropped his gaze to his lap and then pushed himself to his feet and walked over to rap lightly on the adjoining door.
Irina appeared a moment later.
“Get dressed,” he said. “We’re going to drink, eat, and be merry, and tomorrow we’ll take the throne.”
34
BRETT
The pain was done with him and now numbness had set in, so when the door to his cell opened with the dreaded grating sound he didn’t even flinch.
Orin’s voice filled the room. “And how is my most exalted guest faring?”
Brett didn’t bother to lift his head.
“Ah, I see the serum has begun its work, so interesting to see it work its magic on a human. Our first subject died shortly after the first dose, but you, Emissary, are strong. You’ll make a superb general, especially with your Fearless training to fall back on.”
He knew? Brett slowly raised his head to lock eyes with Orin; something was different. He blinked and focused on Orin’s haughty face, a face which had been smooth and unmarred at the celebrations now carried a scar from temple to cheek. He blinked again and the scar melted away.
He was going insane. The serum was making him crazy. “Go away.”
Orin pouted. “Oh, dear. I see I’ve offended you with my hospitality.” He raised a finger. “I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I’ll give you a final chance. A choice. Sign now and we can stop the process. You’ll never be the same of course, but you’ll retain your will. Or you can continue with the final dose and sign the papers regardless.”
Stop the process? Stop the change? Oh god, he so wanted to say yes, but then he’d consciously be betraying his people.
“Fuck you.”
Orin rolled his eyes. “Stubborn till the end. I have to admire that I guess, and I must admit I’m curious to see what the finished product will look like.” He turned smoothly and glided toward the door, pausing to glance over his shoulder. “Enjoy your last hours as barely human, Emissary. For what it’s worth, your loyalty to your people has impressed me greatly, and when you are mine I will ensure you are taken care of.”
He slipped from the room and Brett sagged against his restraints.
His wrists no longer hurt. In fact, nothing hurt any longe
35
Djinn booze rocked.
I shouldn’t have had so much.
Why did I have so much?
Ah, Gia and Raina and the other sharmutas. Gosh those girls were evil.
An initiation into the sisterhood which involved way too much nectar and way too many side splitting stories about the lords who would soon be governed by me. For example, I now knew that lord Phenex liked to don female silk undergarments and that lord Zaghan had a horrific fear of toenail clippings. Useless bits of information, but facts that made the overbearing and frightening Overlords seem a little less scary.
“Kenna? Drink this. It will make you feel better.” Baal’s voice drifted through the foggy haze of my thoughts.
“I feel fine, just a little hot, that’s all. Can you open a window?”
“I’m sure you do, but your mortal body will feel the effects of the nectar in the morning if you don’t, and the windows are open already.”
The bed was too comfy to move. “Stick a straw in it. I can’t be bothered to move.”
Were my words slurring?
A hand slipped under my head, cupping the back of my skull and lifting me gently. The cool rim of a glass touched my parted lips.
“Drink, Habibi,” he said.
I drank. The water was cool and sweet, and I realised I was actually really thirsty. Once the cup was drained, he laid me back down against the soft pillows.
“What did you call me?”
“When?”
“A moment ago. You said, drink ha-something.”
He was silent for so long that I was forced to turn my heavy head to look at him. He sat on the bed beside me, his back against the headboard, his face in profile.
“Baal?”
He turned his glittering jade eyes to me. “Nothing, Kenna, a slip of the tongue.”
Now I really wanted to know. I rolled onto my side as a wave of heat rushed up my body.
“Baal, seriously, I’m really hot.”
He placed his hand against my cheek, a frown marring his forehead.
I sighed. “Ah, your hands are nice and cold.”
He tried to remove his hand, but I grabbed it and held it to my neck, running it over my collar bones and the tops of my breasts. He was cool and welcome on my feverish skin.
“Kenna …” his voice was a rasp.
“Touch me.”
Suddenly it wasn’t about the coolness of his skin. It was about the texture of his hands, the calloused fingertips that skimmed my soft skin, sending delicious shivers over my heated body.
I reached for him, grabbing a fistful of his shirt and pulled him toward me. He resisted for a split second but then I had what I wanted, Baal sliding on top of me, his toned weight pressing down on me, pressing me into the mattress.
“Kenna, oh, god …” his eyes were hooded, his mouth enticingly close.
His liquorice scent filled my head, heating my core with pulses that matched my pounding heart.
“You’re not yourself,” he said.
Oh, but I was. The nectar had brought out the old Kenna, the sexy wanton woman who liked to fuck a little too much. I raised my hips, pressing my groin to his and making small circles. He was hard and huge and god I wanted him
He dropped his head into the crook of my neck, his lips caressing my skin. “Dammit Kenna, you make this so fucking hard.”
“Say it again?”
He raised his head to lock eyes with me. His beautiful face framed in moonlight. “What?”
“Fuck. Say it.”
“Fuck.”
“Tell me what you want to do to me.”
He was grinding into me now, his fingers digging into my flesh, his chest rising and falling against me.
“Oh, Kenna, you have no idea …”
His parted lips hovered over mine, our breath mingling as he rubbed his length against the silken wetness at my crotch. My blood was flames and I needed him inside me to quench this desperate yearning.
He tucked in his chin, pressing his forehead to mine. “I want you Kenna, more than I’ve ever wanted another woman in my life, but not now. Not like this.”
He lifted his body from mine and lay down beside me.
I stared at the ceiling, my body aching for his touch.
“Sleep now, Kenna.”
My body was pulsing and throbbing. There was no way I was getting to sleep anytime soon.
“Sleep Habibi.”
That word again.
My body began to relax. What the heck? My lids grew heavy … had he just … But I didn’t get to finish my thought.
36
BRETT
The sliding back of the bolt at the door told him it was time.
Caldwell had arrived to administer the final dose of the serum.
I’m sorry Kenna, I tried. I really did.
He didn’t know what he would become, but he may as well be dead. Maybe this final dose would kill him. It would be small mercy.
The shuffle of footsteps.
Brett didn’t bother to lift his head. “Just get it fucking over with.”
Deft hands fiddling with the shackles at his wrists. “We don’t have much time.”
Brett lifted his head to look at the speaker. The face was familiar. Hazel eyes, chestnut hair. Pretty. “Have we met?”
The beautiful man’s lips pressed together in a hard line. The shackle fell off with a click.
“Yes, Brett, we’ve met. I’m Lauren remember?”
He began to work on the other shackle as Brett blinked to clear the fog from his mind.
Lauren? Lauren!
“You found me.”
Lauren finished with the leg shackles and threw a cloak about Brett shoulders, pulling the hood up to hide Brett’s face. “Keep your head down, and don’t say a word. Hold out your hands.”
Brett did so without question, and Lauren wound some rope around his wrists but didn’t tie it off.
“I’m getting you out of here my friend. All you need to do is keep your face hidden. Can you do that?”
Brett nodded.
Lauren adjusted the hood of the cloak, pulling it down as far as he could to cast Brett’s face in shadow. What was he hiding? What had the serum done to him? He ached to reach up and touch his own visage, but refrained. Right now he needed to focus on getting out. He could deal with what they’d done to him once he was safe. He noticed Lauren’s clothes for the first time. Guards uniform.
Clever.
“Caldwell sent you?” Brett asked.
Lauren nodded, sidling up to the door and peering out into the corridor beyond. “The others are smuggling him out as we speak. We need to be quick. The guards are on break, but they’ll be back soon.”
Brett didn’t need telling twice. It didn’t matter what they’d done to him, all that mattered was that he was alive. A few months ago all he’d wanted was to die and be with Danny and now he would kill to live.
“Let’s get the hell out of this shit hole.”
37
“Don’t say anything, until I give you your cue,” Baal said.
We were moving through a vast entranceway surrounded by a throng of djinn, toward a tall, pointed, gilded arch that opened up into the throne room.
“The two lords that will be our strongest allies—Lerage and Ugo—arrived a few hours ago, so everyone that matters is now here. There’ll be a point in the ceremony when the priestess will ask who claims the throne. This used to be Ibris’s cue to take his place on the throne, and I believe that Kai intends to declare himself regent to the absent crown. This is when you must step up and declare yourself heir.”
We were almost at the archway now. The room beyond was dimly lit, and I could make out the shapes of the djinn moving about within, jostling for space under the glass domed ceiling.
My hand slipped under my cloak to my waist, to Frieda who was finally where she belonged. I was back in my denim and leather, ready to show them who I really was and who would be their queen. If I was going to do this it would be as Kenna Carter. And Kenna Carter was Fearless.
We finally made it into the throne room, and Agares and Irina cleared a path to the front where I finally got to see it.
The throne.
“Wow.”
“Yes, it is magnificent.”
It wasn’t just magnificent, it was stupendous, and I never used that word lightly because it was a pretty powerful word. But then this throne was powerful. Forged of iron and bone and draped in fur, it was large enough to seat two of Baal.
Had Ibris filled this throne?
And sitting beside it, on his little homemade version, was Kai. Davin stood at his side, his eyes scanning the room. They came to rest on me, and he inclined his head just a fraction.
Baal gripped my elbow. “He recognises you.”
Shit, in trying to keep Davin’s secret I’d completely neglected to tell Baal that he’d promised not to reveal who I was.
“It’s all right. He won’t say a word.”
I could see Baal wanted to press the issue, but the already dim lights were dimming further, and the gathered djinn began to murmur in excitement. A slight figure wrapped in a flowing robe climbed the podium to the throne. Her head was covered with a hood, and she faced away from the crowd.
“The priestess,” Baal said.
I nodded, watching as she threw off her hood and tilted her head back to the twinkling stars above.
A sigh rippled over the gathered. We looked up to see the moon, huge and hovering right above us—a sliver of silver.
“Watch it turn,” Irina whispered. Her voice hushed with awe.
I kept my eyes on the sliver as it shrank into nothing, plunging the room into complete darkness. The stars winked out one by one.
“Oh blessed seer, cast your eyes down on us your children. Bless us with your sight.” Her voice echoed eerily around the room “The future, the past, and the present are one. Gift us with your vision so that we may forge our paths with renewed vigour. Shine your light on us.”
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