by A. K. Koonce
A reminder I won’t ever forget.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath to calm my already slamming heartbeat. My hand lingers on the cold brass of the doorknob.
“This entrance is directly below my brother’s room. He isn’t to be disturbed. Ever. He sleeps when he likes, and he rises when he likes. So I won’t be interrupted. I’ll do it. I want to be the one to do it.” I cut a hard stare toward Damien and then Krave.
Only Damien has the good sense to look worried.
“Did I ever tell you how sexy you are when you tell me what to do, love?” Krave says with a slashing smile and smoke wafting from his fingertips.
I think the smoke drifting from him is from too much pent-up energy, but I don’t honestly know. He can smile all he likes, but I can tell his mind is running a mile a minute. He takes a step forward, but my hand settles over the chaotic tattoos lining his chest.
“Walking into the castle with four enormous men might make me look suspicious,” I whisper.
“If by suspicious you mean lucky, then yes, I think people will think you’re the luckiest fae in all the realms.” Krave cocks a dark eyebrow at me, and my lashes flutter from how hard I roll my eyes at him.
I’m certain my father uses Krave as the court jester when the incubus isn’t out trying to seduce princesses.
“I’m going to sneak inside. Krave, fly up to his balcony and wait there. I’ll unlock the doors for you. The rest of you, stay on the ground and wait for Krave’s signal to make sure it’s safe. If he’s caught there, everyone will just assume he’s spying. This is the best way.” The minute I say it, Ryke’s eyes narrows into thin slits.
He doesn’t like this plan.
It’s the best one. I’ve thought it all out. I have a blade strapped unseen to my thigh. Anyone who might recognize me should be asleep by now. Guards aren’t posted on the side entrance. Krave won’t look out of place. This is the fastest route to my brother and also the safest.
For all of us.
I don’t wait for them to answer. I slip inside and pull the door shut behind me. It’ll only take a few minutes to slip upstairs. I’ll only be separated for two minutes.
The door re-opens swiftly behind me and shuts just as fast.
Ryke’s fastening a collar around his thick neck like it’s his finest tie, and he’s ready for an interview as the castle’s head of security.
Instead he looks like he’s preparing for some BDSM play, but now isn’t the time to mention it.
“What are you doing!” I hiss.
Why is it so hard for them to listen to me?
“You said four men would draw attention. One should be fine. And I know how much you like to leash me, so let’s get the hell on with it.” He hands me the leather leash and starts prowling ahead of me like he’s about to fight off the whole damn world for me.
I have to rush to get ahead of him and look like a real handler who has a demon who actually does the things she tells him to.
Luckily, it’s late, and no one lingers here. The guards are based at the front entrances and along the back of the castle near the king’s rooms. We slip up the marble staircase without passing a soul.
Until we get to the second floor. Again.
The little goblin waddles past us on his way toward my mother’s rooms.
“Lady Aries,” Nille says with a bob of his large head.
I tense hard, but Ryke never misses a step.
Ryke’s big palm settles on my lower back, and he has to guide me forward for me to snap out of the fear of someone spotting me.
Nille won’t tell my mother. Nille won’t tell. Nille. Will. Not. Tell.
With faster steps, I race to the last door on the right. The leash is strung tight as Ryke rushes to keep pace with me. My heart pounds through my ears as I take a steady breath, grip the handle, and open the door.
I release the leash and slide the weapon along my thigh as I pull it from its leather sheath. I’ve done this once before not long ago, but it feels like I’ve done it a thousand times from how often I’ve fantasied about it. It’ll be quick. The slice of the blade along his throat will be a fast death.
I know because my big brother showed me personally when I was just a little girl with a harmless crush.
I step into the room and walk stealthily to the massive bed. My feet never make a sound. My muscles are strung tight. I’m ready.
But no one’s there.
Cool wind blows my long silver hair back from my face, and I look up to find the balcony doors wide open. Krave’s lithe figure leans there against the doorframe with his arms crossed.
“Seems the prince is out late. I could stay and let you know when he gets back,” the incubus says quietly.
My heart falls. It breaks as if I just lost a loved one instead of missing my chance at killing one.
This was my shot. Tonight was a perfect night.
I was ready.
Now another day will pass without change. I’ll live another day with this thing inside me, and demons, my mates included, will never be safe here. With time, even humans will be in danger of the fae’s growing greed for superiority.
Frustration rises in my chest.
My fingers grip the smooth hilt of the knife, and with a swift move, I fling the blade into the glossy bedframe. It rattles there, shaking back and forth from the impact.
I’ve accomplished nothing.
Cold wind pushes in violently from the open doors. The air smells deeply of roses. It’s peaceful here in the castle. In another life, tonight would have been a peaceful night.
A hint of a movement catches my sight, and I never even see him step out from the deep shadows of the room. But he’s just like me. And like I said, shadow bending is the first thing dark fae learn.
The second is to hate demons.
Nathiale’s green eyes are like sparking gemstones as he strides toward me. His hands grip my throat like claws waiting to snatch me up. He hauls me off the ground by my neck and slams me hard against the wall.
“Hello, sister,” he says with a thin smile that glitters like the shining crown on his head. “I always told you, you should be quieter when sneaking through the gardens with nasty demons.”
My breath burns in my chest for a taste of air, but I can’t reach it. My nails dig into the pale flesh of his wrists, but he’s stronger than me.
My knee comes up fast and to my surprise, he blocks it with a twist of his leg.
“I’d think after three years you’d find new tricks, Ari. I certainly have. I’ve trained some. It made me miss you even more. It’s a shame—”
His words are cut short. Ryke lifts his arm and brings the jagged blade of his forearm down against the prince’s back. Nathiale shrinks down and stumbles back from the demon, flinging me to the floor in the process.
My shoulder stings with pain as I slam into the floor at their feet. Krave takes a rushed step toward me, but I reach up and wrench the knife free from the frame. My arm arches up, and I bring the blade down hard, lashing it clean through my brother’s leg. His scream is a growl of pain as he stumbles back from me and dodges the massive demon still prowling toward him.
He looks small right now. Nathiale is all long limbs and slender frame, and Ryke looks like he wants to rip every single little part of him from his body.
But size means nothing when revenge has fueled someone for so long.
And just like myself, revenge has clearly been burned into my brother’s mind.
Instead of cowering away and licking his wounds, Nathiale glances at the incubus who’s too focused on me. Krave is oblivious to the danger around him because he’s too worried about me.
And it’s just enough to get him killed.
The prince’s crimson wings sweep out fast, and he lunges for the distracted demon. I scream his name. I can’t hear my own voice, but I scream Krave’s name like it’s the last word I’ll ever say.
But I’m not fast enough.
Nathiale’s body co
llides with Krave’s. Instead of pummeling him to the floor, he sweeps him up and through the open balcony doors in a flash of movement.
Within seconds, the two of them are soaring through the sky like shadows in the night.
And I’m tearing through the gentle breeze without hesitation.
My wings beat hard, my breath storms through my chest, and I never once look away from that motherfucker. He’s just ahead. Less than ten feet. I can see the whip of his red hair in the wind and every fist that Krave lands against my brother’s flinching face.
Krave’s glinting fingers fist through the red feathers along my brother’s back, and he pulls so hard, I hear something snap.
They drop. The fae’s big wings give out, and they spiral through the air in a tangle of punches and clawing fists. My feathers pull in tight against my back, and I free fall down right after them. I fall so fast my vision is a blur of colors, but I don’t fucking care.
I will kill him. Not in the name of demons everywhere but for laying a single hand on my fucking mate.
They hit the brick hard, Nathiale using Krave’s body to brace the impact. Krave’s groan of agony is all I hear, it’s all I focus on, it’s all that drives me in this moment.
That golden crown scatters from Nathiale’s head, rolling until it hits something, and then stops. Nathiale stands with a staggering step. His jaw clenches hard as he glares down at the incubus in disgust. His leg comes back with vicious intent, and he lands a striking blow right to Krave’s ribs.
And rage rips through me.
Catherine rears up with storming energy inside me, but I’m so furious, my own emotions finally outweigh hers, and she shrinks back from my power.
With my body aligned, every muscle in me tense and ready, I slam myself into Nathiale. My teeth rattle as he hits the bricks. Thorns tangle around us, but I never stop for a single breath. The weight of my fist cracks hard against his jaw. It feels good. It feels so good, I do it again and again and again. There are no weapons here. It’s just us. Us and the beautiful roses and thorns lashing at our skin with every move we make.
His nails scratch over my face, and I’m not fast enough as he flings his leg back and uses his weight to roll. My head and horns slam into something smooth and hard. My sight blurs even more, but my hands keep striking out at him.
Without even wincing, he grabs a sharp vine of roses and pulls the roots and all from the ground. The points of each thorn drag over my throat, and he chokes me with the one thing that’s blessed our kingdom. It’s like fire. The tiny cuts against my skin are a blaze of pain, but that’s nothing compared to how frantic it makes me for a breath of air.
“After I kill you,” his straight teeth are bloody when he smiles down at me, “After I kill you, I’m going leave you here to feed this garden slowly, just like all the friends you had as a child. And I’ll claim your new friends, too. I’ll be sure to handle them real good, Ari, don’t you worry.” He sneers with so much manic amusement, I stop fighting with his hands just to claw at his fucking smiling face.
Hundreds of red scratches line his face, but his threat is the last line that drives my rage.
He will never touch them. None of them.
Ever!
My hand tucks in close and with one sweeping blow, I smash my elbow into his nose. Blood sprays from his face, and it’s enough to cause him to release me. Then I’m on him. I grip his golden crown from the ground, and I bring it down with intent. I drive the ornate metal into his face again and again and again.
Minutes slip by until his fighting hands drop away. He lies beneath me, and I use both hands to bring the crown down. It cracks bone in a sickening way, and I keep going. His blood soaks the ground and my body, and I keep going.
I think of every single person he’s ever hurt and every single person he would have harmed in the years to come.
And then I strike out harder.
Flesh and hair cling to the weapon of a crown, and I just grip it harder as I slam it into the bloody mess.
I can’t stop.
I won’t.
Not until I feel safe.
Not until everyone I care about is safe.
“Crow, stop. Stop!” The voice barely registers, and there’s no strength left in my arms. I keep bringing the crown down with slashing intent.
Strong arms wrap around me from behind. He’s warm. He’s calming. He’s safe.
“It’s okay, Crow,” Zaviar whispers against my damp hair as he holds me.
Blood stains my silver locks. It’s slick over the ground and the flowers. And even the little hidden bench to my left.
Zaviar pulls the crown from my hands, and I release it with numb fingers. My breath shakes from my lungs as I lean back into him, and as much as I thought this would change my life, I still feel the same.
My father will still hate demons. He will still allow his people to keep them prisoner.
But . . . he won’t send them away either. The token inside of me is safe.
For now.
That’s the smallest benefit that came from all of this.
“Aries,” a soft voice says.
I blink hard, and it takes time for my gaze to drift over to the woman standing in a long red gown with the spikes of the castle looming behind her. Her familiar green eyes are wide and unbelieving as she stares at me.
Ryke drifts in front of most of the blood, and he takes a moment to pull the crimson-colored crown from Zaviar’s hand, hiding it behind his back.
“What—what did you do, Aries? What—” I hate the fear that’s in my mother’s voice right now.
She stumbles back from me, and I stand up weakly. I have just enough energy to get to my feet. But when I take a single step toward her, she steps farther back, her delicate hands held in front of her.
Storming steps pound over brick in the same way that my heart is pounding in my chest. I know who it is from the sound of his boots alone.
My father’s long silver hair blows in the breeze, and his golden features are as stern as ever.
That all changes when his gaze drops to his incubus who’s still lying curled up on the ground, and then . . . to his son’s body behind me.
Fury strikes through his gray eyes.
“You monsters!” My father screams.
At the sound of his rage, dozens of guards fill the space behind him. None of them move without his command. His big fists tighten until his knuckles are white. I step forward, feeling like I could possibly shield the enormous men behind me with my small body.
But my father’s gaze snaps to the bloody crown held in Ryke’s fist. Blood still coats his jagged blade along his arm. He’s almost as bloody as I am.
Almost.
“No.” My hand slips slickly over his, but he doesn’t respond. He doesn’t deny the question in my father’s furious gaze.
He looks at me in a way I’ve never seen him look at me before. There’s a pureness in his gaze as he studies my features so intently that even my heartbeat is suddenly aware of the affection in his attention.
And lies. What he’s doing is as much a lie as what he just said—a tormenting, life-ruining lie.
“Stop!” I whisper.
Zaviar looks to Damien, but neither of them speaks out against me.
Neither of them helps me.
Fucking no one helps me right now, and I feel as reckless as when Catherine tries to take over. But the slamming of my heart, the raggedness of my breath, that’s all me.
All of these fucking emotions are mine.
And I hate them.
“He didn’t do it. I did it.” I urge, my voice coming out in a desperate gasp of breath, and as powerful as my emotions feel, my body wants to collapse right here in the dirt. My words go unacknowledged.
My father doesn’t question why I’m even here. I’m sure he’s heard the rumors from his spy.
But his son is dead.
And I’m not even sure if he recognizes me through the haze of rage that’s blinding
his eyes.
My mother’s gaze slips to the puddle of blood on the ground, and she flinches from the sight of it. And then, with a sweep of her gown, she turns away and never looks back at me.
“Krave. Krave, get up. Now!” my father bellows. His boot comes back, and he kicks the incubus lying on the ground, just as Nathiale had.
Just as I’m sure he taught his son to do.
“Don’t,” I growl out.
My fingers dig into my palm, but Damien’s palm skims over mine. It doesn’t matter. The king is in a haze of rage.
“Krave, did this fucking demon act alone? Did all of them do this? What happened here? The truth,” The king commands of his demon.
Krave stays curled on the ground, but he tilts his head slowly toward me. A smile doesn’t kiss his lips as it always does. Regret pulls hard at his mouth. It lines his face and shines in his eyes as he stares just at me.
And then, for once, he lies to my father.
“The demon, Ryke, Ryke did it,” Krave rasps out.
I’ve begged him for years to lie to his handler. And now he finally does.
And I fucking hate him for it.
The guards all move the moment my father gives the smallest of nods.
I shake hard as my father has Ryke beaten down until he’s bloody at my feet. There are too many guards and too much violence surrounds us for Zaviar or Damien to make a move. Instead, they hold me back as I thrash in their arms.
“I did it! I did it! I killed him! Me!”
My screams are senseless melody that coincides with Ryke’s. Sounds of pain echo through the night. My body sags into Damien, but my hands continue to claw at him to release me. Zaviar shields me from the sight of their friend being broken physically and emotionally right before our eyes.
Tears stream hot down my cheeks, but I don’t realize it as I fight against the two men who I know care about me.
Maybe that’s why they do it . . .
It feels like a lifetime passes, but the violence finally stops. Ryke’s face is swollen and will scar even more. I swallow it down. He’s dragged away to the dungeons beneath the castle. And I swallow it down. Damien and Zaviar are led to the demon’s quarters where someone will claim them as their own. And I swallow it down.
