Gena Showalter - [Lords of the Underworld 13] (30 page)

But not Tink. Tink patted her on top of the head. “Don’t go near Kane, or I’ll have to hurt you.”

“What about William?” Gilly prompted.

“She can go near him if she wants,” Tink said with a nod.

“No.” Gilly twisted the fabric of her T-shirt. “His women.”

“Can I go to my room now?” Legion, Aeron’s adopted daughter, interrupted. She was pale and withdrawn, and Kane hated the reason why. Like him, she’d spent a little time in hell.

Earlier today, he’d gone to her room to talk with her. She hadn’t responded when he’d knocked, so he’d gone in thinking to leave her a note. He’d found her huddled in the far corner, her knees drawn to her chest as she etched pictures on the wall. Pictures of Galen, once the second in command of the Hunters, now under Sienna’s control.

Galen, who’d once thought to enslave the girl.

“Legion,” he’d said, and she’d stiffened. She had the body of a porn star, and yet, at that moment, she appeared to be nothing more than a child.

With her back to him, she’d said, “I hate that name. I won’t answer to it.”

“What would you like me to call you?” He’d kept his tone gentle.

“Anything but that.”

“All right, then. I’ll call you Honey.”

“Whatever. I want to be left alone.”

His heart broke for her. “I’ll go. I just wanted you to know I’ve been where you are, and I’ve been through what you’ve been through, and if you ever want to talk about it with someone who understands, come find me. It doesn’t make you better, but...it helps.”

Now, in the present, Olivia, Aeron’s wife, wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Stay with us a little longer. Please.”

Legion—Honey—flinched at the contact, but nodded reluctantly.

“Well...” Tink scanned each expectant face, a gleam of awe dawning in those baby blues, as if she couldn’t quite believe they were talking to her—and actually liked her. So wise in so many ways, yet so innocent in so many others. “Let me tackle this one at a time. First, the Fae palace is huge and luxurious and filled with treasures, but the people kind of suck.”

Gwen and Kaia smiled and nodded.

“I think a treasure hunt is in our future,” Kaia said.

“Agreed,” Gwen replied.

“Second,” Tink continued, “I won’t divulge a single detail about what Kane and I do in the bedroom. Except to say that it’s awesome. I’m probably the most satisfied woman in the fortress, if not the world.”

“No way. I am!” Anya said.

“No, me!” Kaia replied.

“Third, a makeover would be nice. Thank you. Fourth, William...yes. He spent time with a beautiful but very cruel blonde. The queen, who is kind of like my stepmother. I’m sorry.”

Gilly nodded, the twinkle fading from her eyes. “A married woman,” she said. “He’s not the man I thought he was.”

Tink reached over and squeezed her hand, a gesture of comfort and understanding. When she realized she wasn’t wearing her gloves, she jerked her arm away. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have touched—no, wait. I can. Kane made sure.”

He grinned—the pride was back.

Hate her! Hate them!
Disaster banged against his skull, roaring, growling, threatening.

Beside him, a light bulb shorted out. At his feet, a crack formed in the marble.

Here we go,
he thought, fighting a spear of dread.
The hunger pains had begun.

Every eye darted to him. He ground his molars and nodded in acknowledgment.

A hard hand on his shoulder drew his attention to the male behind him. “You ready?”

Surprised, he said, “William. What are you doing here?”

“That’s the welcome I get after everything I’ve done for you? Thanks a lot, dude.”

Kane drew back a fist and let it fly, nailing the warrior in the nose. Blood instantly spurted. “No, that’s the thanks you get.”

William grinned, his warped sense of humor obviously coming out to play. “Better.”

“Next time you try and trick me, I won’t stop with one punch.”

“I’m sure.”

And now that that was settled... “Last I saw you, you were headed into a fight with the minions. What happened?”

“A slaughter, that’s what. Those females got what was coming to them, I assure you. And now, you owe me, like, big time.” He blew the ladies a kiss and started toward the library. He only looked back at Gilly once.

Kane followed him, and, taking a page from his playbook, threw one last glance at Tink. She smiled at him, so sweet and pretty, and he smiled back.

“I owe you nothing,” he said to William. He wasn’t sure whether to feel elated his enemy was dead, or ticked that vengeance would never be his.

He’d go with ticked.

“So, where’d you get my ring?” he asked, just to taunt the warrior.

Those electric blues narrowed to tiny slits. “You mean
my
ring.”

“That’s what I said. My ring.”

A pause. A stiff shrug. “Fine. Keep it. I stole it from a woman I bedded and killed. What? Why are you looking at me like that?
Anyway
. The ring’s probably cursed, luring you into a false sense of calm.”

Another light bulb shorted out, a spray of flames seeking Kane as if he wore a bull’s eye. He remained silent as he entered the room. William shut and locked the door, just in case the women decided to come looking for them. Kane swept his gaze over the men scattered throughout the room. Lucien, Sabin, Strider, Amun, Paris, Gideon, Aeron, Reyes, Maddox and Torin, who stood in the far corner. Weeks had passed since they’d all been together like this.

Together, they were a force to be reckoned with.

“So your girl’s in trouble, huh?” Strider said. “William told us about her father’s plans.”

“What can we do to help?” Sabin asked.

Help, he’d said. He wasn’t trying to take over, and didn’t plan to leave Kane behind. He understood Kane’s need to participate in his woman’s liberation. Some of the tension left him—

Until another light bulb shorted out.

“First, I have to be straight with you,” he said. “I need you out of the fortress, no questions asked, in a little less than three months.”

“What?”

“Why?”

“What’s going on?”

Yeah. No questions asked, he thought with a roll of his eyes. Whatever. “To find Tink, I made a bargain with someone. That person gets the fortress.”

“Who?” Sabin demanded.

“None of your business. Just do it.”

There was grumbling. Of course there was grumbling. But the warriors would have done the same thing for their women, and they knew it. There was no debate in the end—they would leave.

Next, Kane outlined his plan for the Fae king, and all of his friends nodded encouragingly. It was dangerous, and it required a huge sacrifice from every person in the fortress, but it was the fastest way to prove Tink’s worth to her father—and all of the Fae.

Then, and only then, would Tiberius understand Kane would never let her go. Hunting her would do no good. She would never again be a blood slave.

When he finished, Sabin stroked his chin and pondered. “Will it hurt?” the warrior asked.

“No,” Kane replied.

“Cause any lasting damage?” Reyes demanded.

“No.”

“You’re sure?” Lucien asked.

“I am.”

“Well, you have my agreement,” Strider said with a shrug. “Now, you just have to get Kaia’s.”

Kane nodded. He’d expected that. “I will.” He wouldn’t fail.

William placed his hand over his heart. “This plan is
so
devious, it’s almost as if I thought of it. I’m quite impressed.”

Kane flipped him off, just because. And even as the wall beside him rumbled and shook, as if preparing to collapse on him, he felt lighter than he had in weeks. He felt...free. Free of the past and the pain, the memories and the hate.

Last night, Tink had done something to him. She had soothed the beast inside, perhaps. Or maybe she had cauterized what remained of his wounds.

Now, he would do the same for her.

“We leave in the morning,” he said.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

K
ANE
LEFT
T
INK
sleeping in their room, and knocked on Reyes and Danika’s door.

“Go away,” Reyes shouted, sounding out of breath.

No need to wonder what was going on in there. “I need to speak with Danika. I’m staying put until I do.”

Pounding footsteps. The hard twist of a knob. A scowling Reyes appeared. He was shirtless, his pants undone, his hair askew. “You’re flirting with death.”

“And I’m sure Lucien finds me adorable. The painting,” he said, looking past his friend to the beautiful girl strolling toward him, tying a terrycloth robe around her waist. “What can you tell me about it?”

She nodded, saying, “I struggled with the appearance of the female. One second I saw a brunette that could have been Josephina, but I’m not one hundred percent certain about that, and the next I saw the pale-haired female I ended up painting.”

When he’d first met her, Tink had changed facades, but the ability of the Phoenix had left her, so she wasn’t the pale-haired one in disguise. “The Moirai told me I had two possible mates. William thought one was his daughter White, and I thought one was Tink’s half sister, Synda. Both are blondes.”

She thought for a moment, sighed. “You should show the artwork to Josephina. If that’s her body—”

“It’s not.”

“—she would recognize herself.”

“She won’t.” He’d seen and kissed and touched every inch of her. “I know her body better than she does.”

Danika gave another sigh. “I can believe it. Anyway, there’s something strange about that painting. I’ve never had trouble locking onto an identity, and I’ve never been wrong.”

“Tink’s safe.” The assurance was for him, not Danika. “I’m not going to let anything happen to her.” Even though his plan involved throwing her straight to the wolves. “There’s nothing more you can tell me?”

“No, I’m sorry.”

“This meeting is over, then.” Reyes shut the door in his face.

* * *

P
ANTING
AND
SWEATING
, Josephina peered up at Kane. He hovered over her, panting just as hard, sweating just as badly. She watched a bead trickle from his forehead to his temple and catch in his hair, mesmerized.

“How was that?” she asked.

“Absolutely terrible.” His lashes fused, hiding the brilliance of those angry hazel eyes. “The worst.”

Brutal honesty sucked sometimes. “I’m sorry.”

“You should be.”

“I’ll do better.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it.”

Hey! “You’re seconds away from being slapped!”

“That would be a welcome change.”

She shoved him off, and he rolled to a stand. They’d been training for hours, and she was tired. She hadn’t slept last night—even after Kane had made love to her and exhausted her—her mind too busy outlining every possible flaw to his crazy plan. The only real fight she’d ever been in had happened in hell, but at the time she’d had the abilities of the Phoenix and had simply burned everything that had approached her. She didn’t have that luxury now.

He helped her stand, his calluses tickling her skin. “You have to use every weapon at your disposal. A rock on the ground. Your knees. Whatever. Don’t be afraid to get down and dirty, and inflict major damage. If your attacker’s face is within striking distance, like mine just was, poke out his eyes. Break his nose with the heel of your hand, sending cartilage into his brain.”

Josephina anchored her hands on her hips. “Until now, I haven’t wanted to do those things to you, and that’s the only reason you’ve been able to take me down so many times.”

“The
only
reason?”

Argh! She ripped off her tennis shoe and tossed it at him.

The heavy heel banged into his shoulder and toppled to the ground.

“Better.” He nodded with his first display of pride. “That’s a habit that must run in your family.”

“Do you want to feel the sting of the other shoe?”

“I
need
to know you can take down an opponent, Tink. I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you.”

Okay. All right. That, she could understand. The plan hinged on her, and what she could do. She would be in the thick of danger, and he would be worried.

She
would be worried, but she wasn’t going to let it stop her.
I’m stronger than I’ve ever been. I’m determined. I know the stakes.

I deserve to live and love. And I will.

“Kane,” she said, stepping toward him. “You’ve left me no choice. I have to do this.”

She punched him in the mouth. Pain exploded through her knuckles and arm, and his head whipped to the side. Slowly he faced her. A cascade of crimson flowed from the corner of his lip, obscene against the bronze of his skin. He grinned, the blood even staining his teeth.

“Now that’s my girl. Good job.”

A knock reverberated through the room, saving her from an embarrassing display of self-congratulations.

“We’re ready for you,” Sabin called.

Kane’s grin disappeared. “We’ll be down in fifteen minutes.”

He tugged Josephina into the bathroom, stripped her, stripped himself and turned on the water for a quick shower. Soapy hands wandered, and once again Josephina found herself panting from exertion. As much touching as they’d done, her body was already primed.

“We only have a few minutes,” she said.

“That’s all I need.”

“Really?” But, every time before had taken hours. “Are you sure I’ll enjoy this? I mean, I want you, but I also want to reach the end.”

“I consider it a personal mission to ensure that you do.” He donned a condom and pushed her against the wall. He was inside her a second later, and oh...oh! The way he moved...hard and fast, nothing held back...he wrung groan after groan from her. He kissed her, a tinge of desperation to every thrust of his tongue.

“I could drain the life out of you in seconds,” she rasped. “I could kill you.”

He moaned with pleasure-roughened arousal. “Tell me more.”

“You’d never know what happened. One moment you would be lucid, the next you would be dead.”

He became a wild man, whatever tether he’d had on his control broken. Her thoughts derailed as he hammered at her, the pleasure too much, not enough and...
yes, yes, yes...

“Kane!” she shouted, her body breaking apart, reforming, every inch of her branded by the man in her arms.

He bit the cord between her neck and shoulder as he shuddered against her, the pressure somehow propelling her into another level of rapture. For a minute...an eternity...black dots flashed behind her eyes and silence cloaked her ears. She was lost to the pleasure.

When she came down, Kane was grinning at her. “Told you,” he said, all masculine satisfaction.

The tub shattered beneath their feet. He slipped and caught himself on the curtain rod above their heads. Her legs were still wrapped around Kane’s waist, her feet protected from the shards. But not his. Blood welled from several incisions.

“This will pass,” she said.

“I know.” Scowling now, Kane carried her out of the debris. He set her on her feet, and they dressed as swiftly as possible and rushed to the ballroom to meet with his friends.

The women formed a line in the center, their men behind them.

“I don’t like this,” she muttered.

“Trust me.” He gave her a swift kiss. “Your family will never see you coming.”

And she had to do whatever was necessary to defeat them. That way, they would never again think to use her.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” she asked the women. She was to borrow the strength and power of everyone but Scarlet, who was demon-possessed, Ashlyn, a nursing mother, and Danika, whose visions of the future could distract her.

Each female squared her shoulders, raised her chin.

“Very well.” Trembling, Josephina reached toward Gwen. She stopped just before contact. “Last chance to back out. When I’m done, you’ll be weak. It could last a few hours or a few weeks.”

“Weak schmeak. I know the problems dirtbag dads can cause.”

“Her father is Galen, keeper of Hope and Jealousy,” Kane explained, stepping up beside her to offer moral support. “Though he doesn’t carry the kind of hope you might think. It’s false hope that Galen offers. Real hope is essential...miraculous.” He looked at her, his hazels bright. “The kind that you gave me.”

The kind he’d given her.

She melted into him.

“Do it. Drain me. You’ll need what I’ve got,” Gwen added as Sabin came to stand behind her. “I’m amazingly strong and faster than light.”

Sabin placed his hands on his wife’s shoulders. “Just don’t hurt my favorite toy, and we’ll be fine.”

Gwen preened as she tapped her thumb against her chest. “Today I’m his toy.” Next, she hitched that thumb in Sabin’s direction. “Tomorrow he’s mine.”

Toy. Yes. The perfect word to describe such a delicate-looking female; Josephina wasn’t sure how much strength she would be able to take without putting the girl into a coma.

“I’ll be gentle,” Josephina promised, wrapping her fingers around Gwen’s wrist. “And thank you for this. I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to repay you.”

“I’m sure I’ll think of something.”

She closed her eyes, flipped the mental switch that she now knew caused her pores to open and create suction...pulling...pulling on the strength the female possessed.

Energy fizzed in her veins, as potent as if she’d stuck her finger into a light socket, and she reeled at the force, feeling shocked and giddy.

When she released Gwen, the poor girl sagged into her husband’s arms. “Wow! That was amazing.”

Kane urged her to turn to Kaia.

“You’ll want what I’ve got most of all,” Kaia said. “I’m part Phoenix, and I start fires when I’m angry.”

The moment they touched, Josephina experienced the same crackling surge of energy, but also a flood of warmth. Heat...so much heat swept through her, and she felt as if her body would erupt into flames at any second. It was a familiar sensation, the same one she’d encountered with the other Phoenix.

With Anya, she felt as if she had been invaded by a mighty wind.

With Haidee, there was freezing cold.

Gilly tried to step up to the line. “My turn,” the girl said.

William appeared at her side and tugged her to the far corner of the room, saying, “Not going to happen, Gum Drop.” To Josephina, he called, “She’s only human.”

“Being human isn’t synonymous with weakness,” the girl said.

“
Synonymous
is a big word for such a small child,” he retorted.

“Hey! I’m not a child. I’m old enough to carry my weight around here.”

“Well, then, I guess it’s a good thing you don’t weigh very much.”

She pointed a finger in his face. “One day I’m going to show you just how strong I actually am, William the Idiot.”

He shrugged, as if he didn’t care, but the hard gleam in his eyes said otherwise.

“I don’t think I can hold anything else,” Josephina said. She could burst at any second. Never had she felt this strong. This...invincible. And...and...she couldn’t just stand there. She had to move.

“What are you doing?” Kane asked after she’d leaped into motion.

“Running around the room.” She was too hot....too cold...too everything. Could fight any enemy. Conquer the entire world. And she wouldn’t even chip a nail, she thought with a maniacal laugh. “Are the women okay? Do you think they’re okay? I really hope they’re okay.” The words poured from her, coming faster and faster. Just like her steps. Soon she was sprinting—and not even winded.

“William,” Kane called, watching her. His lips twitched at the corners. “We’re ready.”

The warrior glanced away from the teenage girl, and said, “Just a sec,” before turning back to the girl and getting in her face. “Go to your room and wait for me. We’re going to discuss the whole proving-yourself thing and put a stop to it now, before I’m forced to clean up a mess I’ll make you wish you hadn’t made.”

“Stop telling me what to do. You aren’t my father.”

“How many times do I have to tell you I’ve never wanted to be your father?” he yelled, raising his voice for the first time since Josephina had met him. “I want you safe, and I’ll do whatever is necessary to see to it, even hurt your feelings.”

All of the Lords watched with unabashed shock.

Cheeks reddened from the force of her anger, Gilly marched from the room.

William watched her until he could watch her no more. Then he tangled a hand through his hair and faced the men, his expression devoid of emotion.

“Let’s do this.” He strode to the center of the room and withdrew a few things from his pockets. Pieces of gum?

He held the—no, not gum—
whatever
up, and when he let go, the small, chewy-looking objects actually remained in midair.

“Incoming,” he shouted, and everyone in the room turned away.

Kane threw himself at Josephina, knocking her into the ground, absorbing most of the impact. What—

Boom!

A hot gust of air licked over her, then Kane was rolling away from her and helping her to her feet. Or rather, trying to. She accidentally jerked him down beside her, and he hit with so much force he might have punctured a lung.

“Sorry,” she said. “Sorry.”

He laughed. Actually laughed. “Don’t worry about it, sweetheart.” He stood and motioned for her to do the same.

She hopped to her feet and saw that William had somehow blasted through the realm to create a doorway into Séduire. Night had fallen—the time for parties. The entire Fae court would be gathered in the throne room. The moon was out, a crimson sliver in the blackness of the sky. A walking path was lit by torches.

“Maybe we should think about this,” she said, suddenly nervous.

“No more thinking.”

What about stalling? “What happened to the key?”

“Apparently, if you aren’t a Fae, they break down and stop working,” Kane replied. “Mine stopped working.”

“All right. Okay.” If she didn’t act now, she wasn’t going to act at all. “I’m ready.” She raced forward.