At great length Kalina raised her fire-ice eyes and met his gaze. “The cards hold tight to their secrets, Master. However, it is clear Mikaela will strike soon. I am not positive where the true danger lies, but I fear that Queen Alice and her cubs are in great danger.”
Karn and Ty both growled aloud at the news. Rage flamed through Darronn and he barely reined in his fury. “When?” he asked through clenched teeth.
“Soon.” Kalina glanced to the cards and back to Darronn, then to Karn and Ty. “You must return to Hearts if the High Queen and her cubs are to survive. Of this I am certain.”
After taking a quick bath, Alexi slipped on one of her favorite leather outfits and clasped on the leather and gold collar. When she glanced at her reflection in the mirror, she liked how it looked on her—kind of sexy. She still had a few scratches on her body from climbing down the ravenwood trellis, but they didn’t look too bad and they no longer itched.
A smile touched her lips as she thought about the past few days and how much closer she and Darronn had grown. She couldn’t believe how happy she was with him. She’d finally met the man who was her equal in every way. Someone she loved, trusted and respected. The only thing that marred her happiness was that he had yet to tell her he loved her.
Her smiled turned into a small frown. Well, she certainly wasn’t going to beg for his love. And she needed to have a serious talk with him about either letting her go in search of her sister, or maybe he’d help her find Alice.
The thought of Darronn stalking the streets of San Francisco caused her to grin. Talk about a fish out of water. Or rather a tiger out of his realm.
When she was dressed and her hair combed, Alexi set out in search of Kalina. She’d heard a lot about the sorceress’s abilities, so maybe she could help. With Darronn always around, Alexi never had the chance to be alone with Kalina, but she had the feeling that today would be different.
Alexi wasn’t used to sitting around and waiting for things to happen. She made things happen. This time in Spades had been strange and exciting, but it was time she got back on track. Hopefully with Darronn’s support, once she had a concrete plan of action.
As she approached Kalina’s quarters, Alexi caught the sound of male voices along with Kalina’s and she frowned. Was the sorceress busy screwing a couple of guys? Damn. She’d have to come back.
But when Alexi caught Darronn’s voice, her stomach clenched. No, she could trust him, she knew he wouldn’t…although they had never discussed an exclusive relationship. She’d just assumed.
She didn’t bother to peek around the corner to see what was going on. She walked right into the room and stopped at the doorway. Darronn and two other gorgeous men were involved in a heated discussion, and she recognized them both from their portraits. Of course Darronn with his wood-brown hair, with his golden earring and spade tattoo, was by far the best looking as far as she was concerned.
Karn, the King of Diamonds, was bare from the waist up. He was the dark-haired brother with a diamond tattoo on the back of his right shoulder, and he wore an intense expression, as if really concerned with something.
Ty, the King of Clubs and the youngest brother, was the opposite in coloring with blond hair and of course he had a club tattoo. The devilish smile he’d had in the portrait was missing, though, and it was replaced with frustration.
The sorceress’s golden eyes met Alexi’s, but the men didn’t notice her.
Alexi’s first reaction was relief—all the men had their clothes on, and so did Kalina.
However, when she caught what the men were saying, her skin flushed with heat, and then went cold, cold, cold.
“We must leave for Hearts at once,” the black-haired king was saying. “Queen Alice must be protected at all costs.”
“Her cubs as well,” the blond king added with an emphatic nod.
Darronn’s scowl was fierce. “We will allow no harm to come to our brother’s mate and my future queen’s sibling.”
In that one crystallized moment, suspended in space and time as if by a single thread, everything became clear to Alexi.
Her ears buzzed and her vision narrowed to only the three men, and then to her supposed lover.
Darronn’s assurances that she would one day see Alice again…
His lack of concern about finding her sister…
The sonofabitch had known all along where Alice was because she’d been kidnapped into this freaked out world, too.
He had known, and he had let her suffer all this time, battling her loyalties and heart—for what? To prove to himself she loved him more than she loved her sister? To show his total dominance and control over her?
“You bastard,” Alexi said with such venom that all conversation in the room came to an abrupt halt and the men turned to look at her. She ignored everyone else as she marched up to Darronn with her fists clenched. “You’re the man who said he’d teach me a thing or two about trust and respect. You lying fucker!”
He frowned. “Firecat—”
“Don’t you call me that ever again.” Fury poured through her in such waves that she trembled from head to toe.
All the days and nights of pain and uncertainty. Of missing her sister so badly her gut felt torn in two.
He had known where she was from day one. From before day one!
Growling like a tiger herself, Alexi reached up and grasped the fastening of her collar and yanked it off. “I accepted this from the man I thought was honest and trustworthy.” She flung it at his feet and it landed on his boots. “Obviously you’re not the man I thought you were. You love no one but yourself, and you do only what will further your needs and your desires. You think everything that comes to you is your due, don’t you? Well let’s just make this plenty clear for you, asshole. I don’t want anything to do with you.”
With all her might she slammed her fist against his jaw, causing his head to turn only slightly from the force of her punch. The pain in her hand was intense and immediate, but she ignored it. Darronn slowly looked back at her, his expression a mask of no emotion.
“How dare you strike a Tarok King, wench?” The blond man stepped forward and grabbed her forearm, his eyes flaring with anger.
“Fuck off.” At the same moment she jerked her arm away from the blond, she swung her knee up and into his balls.
The man blanched and was obviously so taken by surprise that she easily freed her wrist.
Alexi turned her glare back on Darronn. “I’m leaving now, for this place called Hearts to get my sister and to get the hell out of here.” She backed away as she spoke, and he only stared at her now, making no move to speak or to follow her. “Even if I have to fuck someone to take me there, I’ll find a way. And this time you’d better not follow me. You’d better not come near me!”
With that she turned her back on the bastard, and with her chin high she left to go find Alice, once and for all.
Chapter Eleven
“Would you like me to go after the maid and bring her back?” Karn said in a low tone as Ty, clearly incapable of speech, braced one hand against the wall and clenched his teeth.
“Do you wish to have your bollocks crushed?” Darronn grumbled as his gaze followed Alexi from the room. “My firecat would most certainly see to it.”
The corner of Karn’s mouth quirked as he glanced at Ty who looked like he had yet to breathe since Alexi kneed him in his groin.
With a slow shake of his head, Darronn said, “As my mate Alexi owes no one but me her submission… And she does not even owe me that because I failed to earn it.”
He turned his eyes on Kalina who stood quietly beside the a’bin awaiting his instructions. “Make whatever preparations are necessary and then take Kira to escort Alexi to Hearts with the jul. I will follow to ensure the safety of all, but out of sight so that my mate is unaware.”
“Yes, Master.” Kalina bowed and slipped from the room.
“You will just let the wench strike two of Tarok’s Kings?” Ty as
ked after the sorceress had gone, his voice a shade higher than normal.
Darronn turned the force of his frustration on his brother. “I did not ask for your interference, and you received your due.” Darronn ran his hand over his stubbled jaw that still throbbed from Alexi’s blow. “As I received mine. The maid spoke only the truth, and she was right to be angry.”
His gut clenched with pain unlike any he had experienced in his many years. When Darronn spoke again, his voice was harsh with the realization that he may have lost the only woman he had ever loved, or would again. “My only hope is that it is not too late to win back her heart…and to give her mine.”
* * * * *
Alexi was so furious as she marched back to their—Darronn’s—chambers that she could barely see straight. Her knuckles throbbed from hitting his jaw, and as hard as she’d rammed her knee into blondy’s balls, it was a wonder her knee didn’t ache, too.
Even as angry as she was, she was still stunned and hurt that he’d allowed her to continue going through hell. All this time he’d known where Alice was.
The bastard! Well, she was going to grab what she needed and get the hell out of there.
Only when she got to the room she realized she had no decent clothing to travel in. “Goddamn him,” she muttered as she went to the trunk where he kept his clothing stashed. He was so huge she’d never fit into his pants, but his tunic would certainly cover more than these stupid-assed leather outfits he’d given her. His intoxicating scent flowed over her as she grabbed one of his black leather shirts from the trunk, and she had to bite her lip to keep it from trembling.
What the hell is the matter with me? She never cried, and she certainly wouldn’t waste one single tear over the likes of his Royal Assness, Darronn of Spades!
After she stripped out of her clothing, Alexi plucked off the spade nipple rings and threw them onto the bed with such vehemence they bounced across the surface and landed onto the granite floor with soft tinkling sounds. She was about to yank on Darronn’s shirt when Kalina entered the room carrying a bundle of black leather and a pair of boots. The sorceress was wearing more clothes than Alexi had seen any woman wear in Spades since she’d arrived. Kalina had dressed entirely in black with tight leather pants, a leather shirt and jacket, and leather boots that laced up to her knees. A golden sword hilt thrust up from a leather scabbard at her side, and the gold spades glittered from the collar still at her throat.
“What do you want?” Alexi growled at the sorceress.
Kalina tossed the bundle on the bed and her amber eyes met Alexi’s. “I have brought suitable clothing for travel. Kira is gathering enough food for the journey and will meet us at the stables.”
“What do you mean us?” Alexi didn’t bother to thank the sorceress as she snatched the pair of pants from the bed and tugged them on. “You knew all long that Alice is in Hearts, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” Kalina said quietly. “I am very fond of the High Queen, and it has greatly pained my soul to be unable to share with you news of your sister.”
So many thoughts rambled through Alexi’s mind from all that she’d heard since walking in on Darronn and his little meeting. High Queen…Queen Alice’s cubs…
But for now Alexi chose to ignore the many questions and to focus instead on getting to her sister.
“Then why didn’t you tell me about her?” Alexi yanked on the tunic and tucked it into the pants. The clothing was snug, a perfect fit. “You’re not a slave. You have a mind of your own.”
“I serve my king,” Kalina replied, calm confidence in her voice as Alexi pulled on the boots. “I may not always agree with his decisions, but I trust him to do what he believes is right. King Darronn is a good man, Alexi. But he is a man, and men do make mistakes.”
“He sure as hell did with me.” Alexi finished lacing up her boots and scooped up a leather binding that Darronn had used to tie her up with only that morning. With a few efficient movements, she plaited her hair into a single thick braid and used the strip of leather to tie the end.
She paused to glance at her reflection in the mirror. She looked like she could spit bricks and take out an army of commandos on her own. With a little weaponry she could even pass for Lara Croft, from Tomb Raider.
Alexi turned back to the sorceress. “The bastard told you to take me to Hearts, didn’t he?”
Kalina nodded. “It is not more than two days’ journey, but it can be dangerous.”
Alexi grabbed the jacket on the bed and strode toward the door. “He just didn’t like the idea of me screwing another man to get there.”
The sorceress gave a delicate little snort. Alexi glanced at her and caught the hint of a smile. “Indeed, Milady,” Kalina said. “Indeed.”
* * * * *
It had been nearly a full day since they had left the château, but Alexi had set a pace that would honor the finest of warriors, Darronn thought as he followed his woman. In their tiger forms, he and his brothers blended with the forest, silently weaving in and out of bushes and trees, ensuring Alexi never saw them. Ty guarded Kira, Karn trailed Kalina, and of course, Darronn never let Alexi out of his sight.
Alexi, Kalina, and Kira all rode the finest jul steeds with black saddles tooled with the Kingdom of Spades crest. The graceful beasts had the stamina of a hundred men and could go for days without food or water. Tok carried Alexi, his fine silver coat glittering in the dappled late afternoon sunshine. Kalina rode a golden jul, and a bronze coated steed bore Kira. They were not chameleons, but the jul had the unique ability to blend with the forest, to become a part of the sunshine or starlight as they traveled.
In his tiger form, Darronn was able to communicate with Kalina in thought-words, instructing her to encourage Alexi to make camp before they left the cover of the forest. Tomorrow would be a day’s journey across the plains before they would arrive in Hearts.
While they traveled, Darronn worked over and over in his mind the mistake he had made with Alexi. He had known she had difficulty with trust, yet he had broken her faith in him. In his arrogance he had thought he knew what was best for her. And mayhap it was because he feared this very thing might happen…that he would lose her.
No matter. He had done the unforgivable. He had denied her vital information, and in doing so had violated the most basic tenet of trust in any relationship where power was so totally shared and transferred—her ability to give a full and informed consent to Darronn’s choices for them as a couple.
And when she found out what he had held back, the second basic tenet had been destroyed—trust.
A growl rose up within his throat and he barely contained it. Whatever it took, he would win her back.
When it was dusk, Alexi and her companions neared the edge of the forest. The women had scarcely spoken since leaving Spades and the only noises were the soft thuds of the jul’s hooves upon the forest loam and the calls of night birds.
“It would be best to make camp here for the night,” Kalina suggested in her calm yet concerned tone. “It is not safe to cross the plains in the dark.”
Alexi only nodded her agreement—she hadn’t been in the mood to talk all day. Her mind had been too busy going over everything, and her heart bounced from heaviness over Darronn’s betrayal to excitement that she would see Alice soon.
As she dismounted from Tok, Alexi’s muscles complained and she ached from her neck to her ass to her legs. The leather saddle had been comfortable while she traveled, but now she was walking bowlegged. Who knew that riding a horse—er, jul—could be so exhausting? It reminded her of when she’d learned how to ride her Harley and had gone on her first all-day excursion.
Her knuckles throbbed from slugging Darronn, but that only caused her to give a satisfied smile. The bastard.
“If you do not mind, Milady,” Kalina said as she removed the saddle from her jul, “you could spread out our bedding there, beside those boulders, while Kira gathers firewood. I will unsaddle the jul and brush them down.”
> “Sure,” Alexi said, her muscles griping as she snatched up a bedroll and took it over to the boulders. It felt good to keep busy, to know that she was working toward a goal.
Yet as she helped Kira and Kalina set up their camp for the night, Alexi couldn’t help but feel an ache in her heart. She had given her love to Darronn, and he had betrayed that love and her trust in him. How could he have done that to her after knowing what she’d gone through, and how she’d thought she’d never trust anyone again?
Even though she was furious at Darronn, Alexi felt an excitement and happiness that she hadn’t felt for over a year. Alice is alive! She couldn’t wait to find her sister and take her home to San Francisco. Although that thing about her being High Queen and having cubs seemed a little troubling—and might even throw a wrench in the works.
After their bedrolls were spread out around a small campfire, and after Alexi had found a nearby bush to relieve herself, the women ate the hot dinner Kira had cooked.
When they finished eating, Alexi sat on a flat rock a little bit away from the other two who quietly chatted and laughed. For a moment she stared at her gold bracelets that all but glowed in the firelight, and she couldn’t help but think about all the times Darronn had fastened them together with his magic.
No! Don’t think about that—that ass.
Alexi forced herself to turn her thoughts back to her sister, which wasn’t really hard at all. She had so many questions.
“Alice has children?” Alexi finally asked, interrupting the women.
Both grew quiet, and then Kalina smiled—and it was so radiant that it nearly stole Alexi’s breath. “Your niece and nephew are beautiful children, Milady. And they are such a joy to your sister and her king.”
Wonderland 2: King of Spades Page 12
