Sloth (The Damning Book 4)

by Katie May

  peered back at her before turning to me and softening. “Not all nightmares

  are the same. We grieve, just like you do. We fear death.”

  Why did his gaze burn a hole inside of my chest? It reminded me of a

  candle being lit up and infiltrating all of the shadows that crowded my heart

  and soul. There was something so calming and serene about his piercing

  gaze, something that made warmth explode inside of me.

  Natalia opened her mouth as if to protest, but Toby quickly clamped his

  hand down on her shoulder to stop her. She pursed her lips but chose not to

  comment again.

  “We need to get to the capital,” I interjected, glancing at all of my mates.

  “Now that I’m healed, I need to return to the kings.”

  “Why would you go back to them?” Natalia demanded, seemingly unable

  to hold her tongue. A perplexed expression knitted her brows together over

  eyes that dripped with disdain.

  I cast her a level gaze. “Because I don’t have a choice.”

  Either I traveled back to the capital to receive my next task…or I died.

  Those were the only choices I had with that damn spell placed on me.

  “What do we do about…all of that?” Killian gesticulated towards the

  front door of the shed, where we all knew there were hundreds of humans

  gathered in tents just outside.

  “Paco says they can stay.” Paco rested the broom against his erect cock

  and leaned against the far wall, crossing his arms over his chest. “Paco won’t

  help, but Paco won’t send away.”

  “What…?” Toby’s eyebrows arched as Bash sighed, pinching the bridge

  of his nose.

  “What Paco means is that he won’t involve himself in this war…on either

  side. You guys can stay, but he won’t aid our cause. But at the same time, he

  won’t help the kings either,” Bash translated, still giving his grandfather

  narrow-eyed looks.

  “And you trust him?” I inquired, arching my neck ever so slightly so Jax

  could continue peppering kisses on the skin there. Toby glanced in our

  direction, blushed beet-red, and quickly looked away, seemingly

  uncomfortable with our public display of affection. Honestly, I would’ve

  been the exact same way less than a month ago.

  It was amazing how death could change a girl.

  “We can,” Bash said, finally peeling his attention away from the crazy

  old man. His gaze landed on me, and heat flared to life in his eyes. I couldn’t

  help but remember our…activities from only a few minutes ago, the way he

  brought us both to completion with both his body and magic. My stomach

  muscles tightened, lust percolating in my stomach, and if there weren’t a

  bunch of virtual strangers in the shed with us, I would demand that all five of

  my mates participate in a toe-curling orgy right then and there. But alas, I had

  to be a mature adult. And mature adults didn’t initiate spontaneous orgies on

  the dirty floors of their mate’s grandfather’s house.

  Shame.

  “We’ll look after the humans here,” Toby told me, gesturing between him

  and Natalia. “Train them.”

  “I never asked for an army, guys,” I whispered. I felt oddly…flustered,

  and not in a good way. There was too much responsibility and pressure

  weighing on my shoulders, pushing me into the ground. I was suffocating

  under the weight of it all.

  “You didn’t need to ask for one,” Natalia said with a huff, sticking her

  nose in the air. “They follow you because they believe in you. They’re yours,

  whether you want them or not.”

  And maybe that was the problem. They saw me as a savior, a liberator,

  but I was nothing but a scared human girl who fell in love with the monsters

  under her bed. I didn’t even know if I could save myself, let alone an entire

  species.

  “I’ll head back with you guys,” Axel told us, a frown pulling at his lips.

  Turning towards Toby and Natalia, he asked, “And will you—”

  “We’ll protect Mary-Lynette with our lives,” Toby vowed, and something

  flashed in his eyes, something I couldn’t quite put into words. “I know how

  special that kid is.”

  I felt my eyebrows climb up my forehead at those cryptic words, and

  from Natalia’s flabbergasted expression, I realized she was just as in the dark

  as I was.

  “What—?” I turned towards Axel, but he immediately shook his head.

  “Not now.”

  “We need to leave, Z,” Bash murmured, coming to stand on the other side

  of me, opposite Jax. He placed his hand on the small of my back and began to

  lead me towards the door. “We won’t make it back to the capital in time if we

  don’t.”

  I nodded in agreement. “You’re right.”

  “Don’t worry about a thing here, Z.” Toby flashed me a smile, though it

  did very little to chase away the chill that had crept up my spine. “Everything

  will be okay.” He began to move towards the door as well, pausing with his

  hand on the knob to give me one last glance over his shoulder. “By the way,

  B sends his regards.” He winked at me, even as the chill transformed into

  pure ice. My entire body went numb at the name of my adopted uncle and the

  leader of the Alphabet Resistance.

  “Wait—” Before I could demand answers, demand to know how Toby

  knew B and where the old man currently was, Toby slipped out of the door,

  Natalia right on his heels.

  Silence descended as we all gaped after the pair, varying expressions of

  distrust and disbelief in my mates’ eyes. Only Paco and Axel appeared

  unconcerned. The old man now had both hands wrapped around the base of

  his cock with the handle of the broom tied to the tip. He moved his cock back

  and forth, forcing the broom to move with it. I was gonna need to bleach my

  eyes after that sight.

  He saved your life, Z. Remember that.

  “Welp.” Axel rocked back on his heels and blew out a raspberry. When

  he noticed me looking, he flashed a large smile and wink. “I love plot twists.”

  “That’s not a fucking plot twist,” I murmured, facepalming myself.

  “No,” Axel agreed easily, still flashing that disarming, slightly manic

  grin. “But I have a feeling that it might end up being one.” He easily reached

  behind him for one of his machetes and twirled it expertly between his hands,

  whistling. “Let’s go, boys and girls. We have a capital to visit, kings to see,

  and blood to spill. Basically, it’s a normal Tuesday evening for me.”

  TWENTY-SEVEN

  Z

  W e arrived with less than one hour to spare.

  When we burst through the doors of the capital, I was

  panting for breath, my stomach a tumultuous mixture of dread

  and anxiety and my heart seconds from breaking free of the confines of my

  chest. I gripped Jax’s hand tightly as I moved in the direction of the throne

  room.

  I had to show the kings I’d completed the task, that I saved Jax, before the

  hour was up. If I didn’t…

  I’d already faced death once today. I refused to give the Grim Reaper

  another premature visit.

  As my short legs ate up the distance between the throne room and me, a
r />   thought occurred to me, and I whipped my head in Dair’s direction.

  My mermaid prince was once more in his wheelchair, a fact that

  exacerbated his rage and annoyance. His eyes were tight with strain, and the

  gentle smile I’d come to love was nowhere to be seen. The spell had worn off

  while we were in the car on the way here, and Dair hadn’t found it necessary

  to drink more of that strange liquid. As he’d told us, his voice laced with

  bitterness, his father would just find a way to get him alone and remove his

  legs once more.

  That filthy fucker. When I got him alone—

  That thought cut off abruptly, the spell on me prohibiting me from even

  thinking about inflicting harm on the kings. Dammit. Though…

  Though before, I couldn’t even think the words ‘filthy fucker’ without the

  thought cutting off. I had no idea what that meant, but I didn’t dare look at it

  too closely.

  “Dair,” I said, addressing my mermaid prince. “Can you find Devlin and

  Lupe?”

  A vague image bombarded me—Lupe in what appeared to be a prison

  cell…

  The thought dissipated before I could grab on to it.

  I needed to see my genie and shifter mates more than anything else. I

  wanted to feel their strong arms around me and bask in their love. The

  separation…it had been unbearable. Painful, even. I couldn’t imagine how it

  felt from their end, not knowing what had happened with the poison.

  At the same time, I wanted Dair as far away from the throne room—and

  his father—as possible.

  “Of course.” I leaned down to give Dair a tender kiss before he rolled in

  the opposite direction, towards the bedrooms. I hoped that he found my

  lovers and brought them to me. Then I’d show them just how much I missed

  them.

  My body heated thinking of my last sexy times with both men.

  Dominating Devlin in bed. Shower fun with Lupe.

  Liquid heat pulsed in my core, but I pushed the lustful thoughts away,

  focusing on the matter at hand.

  And to be quite honest, facing the kings was a surefire way to kill any

  lady boner I might’ve had.

  We passed a guard, who instructed us to wait just outside the throne room

  while he gathered the kings. I could tell my mates were tense, though no one

  said a word as we waited impatiently. Killian repeatedly scratched at the nape

  of his neck before running his fingers through his dark red hair. Jax gripped

  my hand like it was his life preserver and he was adrift at sea, desperate to

  stay afloat amidst the roiling waves. Bash just stared stonily ahead, his green

  eyes flashing with his power and his hands curling into fists. And Ryland…

  he just paced, the shadows tightening around his body in agitation with every

  passing moment. One second, I could see his beautifully scarred face, and the

  next, it was completely hidden from view. Of the three of them, I knew he

  was the most protective of me, so it must’ve been killing him not to know

  what the kings had planned.

  After only a few minutes, the same guard from before returned, gesturing

  us through the heavy oak doors.

  The moment my foot stepped over the threshold, something sparked to

  life and then fizzled away inside of my chest. I recognized it as the mage

  king’s spell that tied my life force to the time limit imposed on me by the

  vampire king. I gasped, rubbing at my heart, and relief washed over Bash’s

  face.

  “The spell’s gone?” he whispered as we approached the thrones.

  “Yes,” I replied, though I didn’t peel my gaze away from the seven

  thrones near the far back wall of the room.

  I couldn’t help but note that the shadow king’s throne was empty, and if

  the tightening in Ryland’s face was any indication, he noticed that as well.

  Neither of us commented, though, as we approached the raised dais and my

  body automatically lowered into a curtsy.

  “Your Majesties,” I said with a respect and reverence I didn’t feel. Damn

  the spell.

  “You returned!” the shifter king exclaimed, raising his hands in the air

  like he meant to embrace me before lowering them and guffawing loudly. A

  shudder rolled through my body at the noise, though I kept my face

  indifferent.

  “And I brought Jax.” I turned towards the vampire king, who reclined

  lazily in his throne, his mouth bright red with blood. He barely spared his son

  a glance, his eyes intent on me.

  “So you did.”

  Silence descended as I struggled to find the words to say. I knew that the

  next king would be assigning me a task I needed to complete in order to

  “prove my loyalty,” but I had no idea what that task would be. Would they

  make me kill an innocent human? Track down the Alphabet Resistance?

  Something else?

  My stomach muscles twisted and tightened, slithering together like a ball

  of yarn I could never hope to unravel. I tried not to let my unease show on

  my face as I met each of their eyes, stopping on the shifter king. No one ever

  said it out loud, but it was obvious to me who wore the pants in this

  relationship. What the shifter king said, went. No ifs, ands, or buts. If he

  wanted to set the world on fire, the other kings would eagerly do his bidding

  with smiles on their faces.

  “You’ve been such a good little assassin, Z. You deserve a reward.” The

  shifter king’s smile broadened, revealing two rows of perfectly white teeth.

  When he smiled like that, I truly could see the resemblance between this man

  and his son. The only difference was their eyes—Lupe’s blue orbs radiated

  passion and love, warmth and kindness. The shadow king’s? His were empty

  voids. It made me wonder if the asshole even had a soul beneath that prickly

  exterior.

  “Reward,” Bash repeated in a dry tone, glaring at his father, the mage

  king. Of course, the mage king was asleep, his head lolling against his

  shoulder and a steady stream of snores leaving his mouth. Lazy asshole.

  “Of course! We’re not complete monsters,” the mermaid king interjected

  with a wicked grin, and I was suddenly grateful I’d sent Dair away. That

  smile…it thirsted for blood. Blood, death, and pain.

  “Z, I’m sorry,” Axel whispered from beside me, his voice low enough

  that I doubted anyone but me heard it.

  Before I could question him about his cryptic comment, the shifter king

  gestured the ex-assassin forward with a simple quirk of his finger. Axel

  obediently moved to stand directly beside the shifter king’s throne, his hands

  clasped behind his back and his face a picture of respect. He looked like a

  soldier—though not a soldier for my army.

  He looked like…the enemy.

  Like one of them.

  “But this is also a reward for our old friend, Axel,” the shifter king

  commented, grinning up at the stoic assassin. “We promised him a reward for

  helping us with you.”

  “Helping you with…me?” I repeated dumbly, and Ryland hissed out a

  breath from beside me.

  Axel kept his gaze fixed on something over my shoulder, not meeting any

  of our gazes as the kings laughed,
the sound sharp and taunting. It resembled

  swords clashing together, sparking with electricity.

  I knew that any second, a bomb would drop and detonate, killing us all.

  Any.

  Damn.

  Second.

  “If he agreed to help us keep an eye on you, we offered him your hand in

  marriage,” the incubus king explained with a salacious grin, giving me a

  suggestive once-over. His eyes burned with lust, white-hot and searing.

  “What the fuck?” Bash roared, but he was silenced by a wave of the

  shifter king’s hand.

  “Z will be married to Axel by the end of this week,” he exclaimed with a

  wide grin. But that grin wasn’t aimed at me…it was aimed at the princes.

  I realized then that this had never been about me. Not really. Maybe at

  first it had been, but when news of my mating with the princes reached the

  kings’ ears, they knew they’d finally found leverage over their rebellious

  sons. Me. This was just another twisted game they were playing, but this

  time, the prize was my life.

  “No fucking way!” Ryland seethed. “Where’s my father? He would never

  allow this.”

  The kings laughed again, the sound cold and deadly, but didn’t respond to

  the shadow prince.

  “D-d-dad,” Killian stuttered out, turning towards his father. “Please.”

  The incubus king’s lips peeled away from his teeth in what might’ve been

  a sexy smile if it had actually reached his eyes. They remained as cold as ice,

  not a speck of warmth to be seen.

  “By the end of this week, Z will be married to Axel.” He propped his chin

  on his palm and smirked. Rage and disgust burned in my chest, even as a

  dagger of fear cut me open. How the fuck could Axel do this to me? To us?

  “And like any wedding, we’ll end it with the two of them consummating their

  marriage.”

  The kings laughed once more as my rage boiled over, scalding me.

  Fuck. Fuck.

  Fuck.

  The kings just declared checkmate, and our only options were to finish

  the game…

  Or flip the entire table over to start a new one.

  I cast a glare at Axel so full of betrayal and rage that he physically

  flinched, immediately peeling his gaze away from me. I was distantly aware

  of Bash, Ryland, Killian, and even Jax arguing with the kings, much to the

  assholes’ amusement. But I kept my face perfectly placid, not a flicker of