After that, the Army of Disgrace would go in with the Elite Seven, weapons blazing, and capture the prince. Interrogate the prince. Find the other princes responsible for Germanus's death.
Then they would execute the final part of their plan. Kill. Them. All.
The only thing in question was what to do with Elin. Where would she be safest?
Thane's blood heated when he spotted her lounging in the center of the bed.
She was already naked.
She grinned when his gaze met hers. A truly wicked grin, like none she'd ever given him. He wasn't sure what to think.
"What are you waiting for, gorgeous?" she asked throatily, tracing a fingertip between her breasts. "I'm ready for you. I want to be chained and taken so hard I'll feel you for weeks."
Chained?
He frowned. Something was wrong with her.
The alcohol must be at work. Her behavior always underwent a shift when she drank.
He strode to the edge of the bed. She leaned up and tried to tug away the towel, but he held firm to the material and sat beside her.
"Kulta," he said gently.
"Kulta?" There was a flash of...something...in her eyes, but it was so quickly masked he couldn't identify it. "Don't you want me?" she asked with a pout. "Because I want you, and I don't want to wait."
"I do want you." Desire for her always simmered underneath his skin. Right now, concern proved stronger. "What's the matter? Did someone say something to hurt you?"
"What would you do if someone did hurt me?" she asked silkily.
"Avenge you." Brutally.
She blinked with surprise. "Why?"
"Because I love you." You know this.
Know what? she asked, the words wafting through his mind.
His confusion intensified. That I love you.
Of course I do, but I will never tire of hearing the words.
Even as her voice filled his head, her eyes narrowed. "Prove it. Prove you love me," she said, planting a series of kisses across his throat.
The stroke of her tongue was hotter than usual. Her lips were firmer than usual, and her scent was all wrong. She didn't smell like alcohol as she had earlier when he'd checked on her; but even more tellingly, her scent was missing the cherries.
And...the essentia had faded from her skin completely, he realized.
Suspicions danced through him.
This wasn't Elin. This couldn't be Elin.
He pinched her chin and held her face steady for his concentrated scrutiny. Smoked-glass eyes without any hint of warmth. They were wells of cold, hard determination, and the pupils were not dilated. Her delicate cheeks lacked the warm flush of arousal. Another sign of cold, hard determination.
The truth settled, and rage sparked.
This was Kendra.
Somehow, she'd removed her slave bands. Somehow, she'd found him. And now, she was trying to trick him into bedding her, so that she could enslave him all over again. That was how she'd gotten him last time. Eight times she'd come to him as a different woman, and eight times he'd spilled inside her, binding his soul tighter and tighter to hers.
Every fiber of his being longed to lash out, to hurt her in some way. But this time, he didn't react according to emotion. He was a different man, and he wouldn't make the same mistakes.
He breathed deeply, in and out, releasing the rage and concentrating on the regret he'd experienced every time he'd thought of his past.
What kind of life had Kendra led? What had brought her to this moment?
If he hurt her today, she would only want to hurt him another day, and then he would want to hurt her, and so on and so forth, and it would become an endless cycle of pain and remorse.
It was time to break the cycle.
Not knowing what else to do, he stood and stalked to the closet.
"What are you doing?" she demanded, unable to hide her irritation.
"What do you think?" He turned and held up four links of chains. "You wanted to be chained, did you not?"
At last, arousal came. He smelled it on her, and that saddened him. "Yes."
"Lie back," he commanded.
Instantly she obeyed, placing her arms over her head and spreading her legs. Goose bumps broke out over her skin as he clamped the metal on her wrists and ankles. A master at bondage, he had no problem anchoring the shackles to a bed not made for that type of activity.
Standing at the side of the bed, peering down at her, he sighed. He would talk, and she would listen. Hopefully he would get through to her.
"You overplayed your hand this time...Kendra."
He expected her to erupt in defense, or spill more lies. Instead, she returned his grin. "Did I?"
A gasp from the doorway had him turning.
Bjorn stood there--with Elin at his side. "Uh, I came to tell you I obtained a vial of Water," he said, holding the small, clear container up. "But we can discuss it later. I'll just take Elin--"
"No." Elin's skin paled. Betrayal colored her eyes. "I told you to come to me with anything, that I'd do anything to ensure your needs were met, and you said okay. You even said your tastes had changed," she rasped, the words rushed, as if she wanted to hold them inside but couldn't. "You said you were done with this."
"Well, he lied," Kendra responded, and she no longer looked like Elin. Or even like herself. Her hair was blond, her face that of a stranger.
Elin backed away.
"This isn't what it looks like," Thane said, desperate to make her understand.
She gave a bitter laugh. "Do me a favor and save your explanation for the next girl you're looking to fool." She pivoted on her heel and ran.
"Elin!"
Thane stepped forward, intending to chase after her. A single thought stopped him: he would have to restrain her to force her to listen to him, and restraining her would remind her of the chains, and he would do anything to make her forget what she'd just seen.
Kendra laughed. "Poor Thane. He finally falls for a woman, but she wants nothing to do with him."
He gritted his teeth. He'd tried to do a good deed, and this was how he ended up?
Kulta, he projected. I need you to listen to me.
Too bad. I need you to shut up.
Elin, I promise you. What happened wasn't sexual. Kendra was pretending to be you, but I realized her game and chained her up.
This time, she offered no response.
He tried again. Again, there was no response.
She'd blocked him. Probably hadn't heard a word of his explanation.
"Go after her," he commanded Bjorn. "Guard her. I'll take over as soon as I'm done here."
As the warrior rushed off, Thane turned his full, seething attention to Kendra.
Despite the implied threat--and his murderous expression--she gave another gleeful grin.
Calm. Just because you began poorly doesn't mean you have to end that way.
"You should have stayed away," he told her, his voice low. "I was done with my vengeance."
"Well," she snapped, "I wasn't done with mine."
"It will cost you. Because I will not allow you to leave until you understand the consequences of harming what's mine."
"I could say the same of you," a voice growled from behind him.
Thane spun.
Ricker the War Ender stepped from a thick cloud of black smoke--and slammed a sword through Thane's chest, the blade coming out the other side.
*
WAIT.
Freaking wait! Elin thought.
Truth began to seep past the veil of hurt. Thane wasn't a cheater. He wasn't dishonest. And he loved her. He loved her, and Elin loved him. She trusted him. Trusted him despite what her eyes had seen.
He always did everything within his power to protect her. He would never purposely chain a woman in his bed--especially a bed he'd planned to share with Elin--while she was nearby, able to stumble upon the scene at any moment...without a good reason.
There was an explanation for wh
at had happened, just like he'd tried to tell her.
Relief was a beautiful deluge, and she stopped running. She'd made it all the way to the front porch, she realized. The sun had gone down, and the moon had taken its place, high and full and silvery. She closed her eyes and breathed, her heartbeat gradually calming.
I'm sorry for doubting you, she projected to Thane. Or tried to project. There was some kind of wall in her mind, trapping the words inside. Thane? Can you hear me?
Silence greeted her.
Had he...blocked her?
"No," a deep, raspy voice proclaimed from...everywhere...nowhere. "I blocked you."
Her gaze darted left, right. Behind. No one was with her. Then something caught her eye in the distance. A shape. That of a male with long, pale hair. He was tall. Wide. The tallest, widest man she'd ever seen. Not fat, but muscled. Though he had no wings, he hovered in the sky, floating toward her.
His features came into view, and she could only gape. He was magnificent. Like a beam of radiant light, shining down with pure, undiluted beauty.
And yet, cold fingers of dread walked down her spine.
Fight? Or flight?
A friend of Thane's, or a foe?
Couldn't be a friend. Why block her from Thane?
Run!
No. No way. Never again. She stood firm.
As he settled a few yards away from her, she gawked. Handsome didn't even begin to describe him. He was gorgeous. No, that didn't fit, either. He was exquisite. Nope. Even that word failed to do him justice.
"Who are you?" she demanded.
"I am Darkness, Destruction and Doom. I am Death. Yours, at least."
Her throat went dry. Her skin tingled. And not the good kind of tingles Thane caused, but some kind of get-out-of-Dodge-because-it's-about-to-blow tingles.
"Why are you here?" Her stomach twisted as a terrible suspicion hit her. "Never mind. Just leave. Now."
His grin was slow--and pure evil. "Oh, I have no plans to stay...not for long, anyway. But like you, your precious Thane will be dead before I go."
The prince. This was the prince Thane, Bjorn and Xerxes had talked about.
She couldn't let him get to the Sent Ones. But what could she do? She was weaponless.
Actually, no. She wasn't. She swiped up one of the boulders beside the porch stairs. "You want Thane? You'll have to get through me first."
His grin widened. "I was hoping you'd say that."
"Because you're a fool!" She launched the missile, and he didn't even try to dodge, as if he found her effort amusing. But when the rock smacked him in the chest, he blinked. Shock filled his eyes.
"You are strong," he said.
"And ticked!" She swiped up another boulder.
Bjorn raced past her, catching her by surprise, and acting as her shield. He withdrew two short swords. "Go back inside, Elin," he commanded. "Now."
Not even if you pay me.
"But I'd like her to stay," the newcomer intoned.
Suddenly, her feet felt as if they weighed a thousand pounds. She tried to lift one, failed, and tried to lift the other. Another fail. Her shoes had somehow adhered to the pavement.
"I've summoned my entire army," Bjorn announced. "You may be a prince, Malice, but you cannot beat us all."
The male shook his head, his hair so long it danced over the flowers on the ground. "I can. I will. I'll just have to work quickly." His voice was a whisper on the wind, and yet, it was now laced with screams of anguish.
Elin cringed, certain her ears were bleeding.
For seemingly no reason, Bjorn's legs collapsed, the bones in his calves snapping and pushing through his skin. As he bellowed with pain, he threw one of his swords at the prince.
Rather than take the blow, as he'd done with the boulder, Malice easily glided out of range...
...and both of Bjorn's arms broke.
Another bellow sounded. Elin crouched and reached for him, thinking to grab Bjorn and yank him behind her. She would be his shield.
Malice laughed, and though the screams were thankfully absent, the gleeful cadence of his voice scraped at her nerves. "I didn't expect to have this much fun."
"Stop," she shouted. "Enough."
He smirked. "Is it?"
Crack.
Bjorn's neck twisted to an unbearable angle. His chest stilled, no longer rising and falling.
"No!" she screamed. He was...he was...
Dead?
Unlike the Phoenix, he wouldn't regenerate. But a Sent One couldn't be killed so easily, could he?
Acid replaced blood, rushing through her veins. "Free my feet and fight me. Or are you too much of a coward?"
His gaze raked over her, and he tsked. "So brave...with so little reason to be. Let's see what we can do about that."
The next thing Elin knew, she was being lifted from the ground, floating closer and closer to the prince. Instinct demanded she flail and try to stop the motion. But she didn't. She balled her fists, ready to throw the first punch when she got to him.
Of course, he stopped her just out of reach.
"Is the big, bad warrior afraid of a girl?" she taunted.
He pursed his lips. "You're beginning to bore me, my sweet."
"I'm devastated. Really."
"Not yet. But you will be." He glided forward, and just when he was within reach, he managed to immobilize her arms without even touching her. "I'm going to do Thane both a favor and a disservice. I will make you fully Phoenix, giving you an eternity with him...but he'll have to watch me kill you over and over again."
Fully Phoenix equaled fully immortal. It was what Thane desired for her more than anything. Once, she might have worried that he would freak out over the Phoenix aspect. Now, she knew him better. He loved her, no matter her race.
"Do it," she gritted. "Make me stronger. See what happens when I unleash my wrath against you."
He chuckled as he held out his empty hand. A syringe appeared in the center of his palm, crimson liquid swirling in the belly. "I had to trade a few favors for this. I know the Sent One has come to accept your heritage...but I doubt he'll be so forgiving of Kendra's ability to enslave. Unlike the princess, you won't be able to turn it off at will."
What! "No!" she shouted, twisting and turning, contorting her body to avoid the needle. Not the poison. Anything but the poison. Because he was right. Thane could get over anything--except that.
Grinning, the prince held her steady and jabbed the needle into her neck. In a blink, fire spread through her entire body. Screams reverberated inside her skull.
"Blood from the strongest of the Phoenix, as well as Kendra, with a little something extra from me to help speed the process along." He brushed a fingertip along her jawline, making the pain ten thousand times worse. "You will come find me when you revive."
"No."
"Ah, well, you'll soon discover otherwise. When next you wake, you'll be bonded to me. You'll do everything I tell you."
He was too smug to be lying. She longed to respond--every fiber of her being was screaming, "Never!"--but she didn't have the strength.
He held out his hand, empty now, and Bjorn's sword flew into his grip. Her eyes widened. What did he--
He stabbed her in the stomach, once, twice, a third time. Agony. Such agony. Blood burned a path up her throat and gurgled from her mouth. The moment he pulled the metal out, she tumbled to the ground, unable to hold herself up.
"See you soon, my sweet." He stepped over her.
From the corner of her eye, she watched, horrified, as he stabbed Bjorn in the heart. If the warrior had managed to survive the severed spine, he was a goner now.
No, no, no. He was a Sent One. Stronger than most. He could survive even this.
Please.
The sword clattered to the ground. Whistling, the prince entered the castle.
Bastard. As she writhed in burning agony, her mind locked on a single fact. If he wasn't stopped, he would hurt and kill everyone she loved. Can't let him.
She reached for the sword, but the action caused her heart rate to increase, and her blood to pour out faster. She stilled. I'm dying, my last minutes ticking away.
It was okay, she reminded herself. She would come back. Malice had seen to that.
In Thane's eyes, she would be a monster.
A whimper budded in the back of her throat.
Can't worry about that right now.
To face the prince, she had to be stronger. And she would have to face him, not just because he'd compelled her--she could feel the desire to find him already stirring in her chest--but to help Thane.
Elin wiggled, and kept wiggling, hastening the flow of blood. The darkness waiting on the periphery spilled into her mind, closing in...growing thicker...
What if the prince lied, and you aren't really immortal?
The thought hit her, and she stilled. It was a possibility.
No. No, it wasn't. I'm coming back, even if I'm not fully Phoenix. No matter what, she was fully determined. Nothing could pry her spirit's kung-fu grip from her body. Nothing.
...cold slithering through her limbs. Destination: her heart.
It was coming. Death was coming. There was no stopping it.
...pooling in her chest...
"Thane," Elin said with the last of her breath.
*
THANE FOUGHT TO remain conscious. Ricker had freed Kendra, and the two had chained him to the bed. Kendra had wanted to kill him, and Ricker, who was clearly in the throes of her poison, had wanted to please her, but besides binding him and stabbing him a second time, neither had made a move to end him.
"What has made you like this, Kendra?" Thane asked her.
"So amazing?" she replied, flipping her hair over her shoulder.
"So...twisted."
A flash of vulnerability in her eyes, gone so swiftly he wanted to convince himself he'd imagined it--he couldn't.
"Do you really want to hear the sob story of the poor little princess ignored by her entire clan, so desperate for affection she gave herself to a rival king at the age of fourteen, and he passed her around to his troops? Well, I'm not that little girl anymore. I've learned to take what I want. The clan. Men. It doesn't matter."
He should have seen. Should have realized. She had a past more terrible than his own, and he'd only added to her problems. "I'm sorry," he said, and this, too, he meant.
"You're sorry? You're sorry!" By the end, her voice was a screech. "He's going to hurt you so bad, and I'm going to love every minute of it."
"Who is he?"