Chapter 50

Taunting Nessa with the location of my final and most advanced camp did not go as planned. I thought these kids would be loyal to me. I have fed them, housed them, and guided them for most of their lives, yet Nessa’s friends still found a way to get them on their side.

Not only that, but I cannot find Sullivan. He’s been unreachable for the past two weeks, and I am beginning to worry if someone got to him.

My hope is that he is there when we arrive back as he tends to have a two-week rager here and there.

I might kill him when he shows up again.

Sighing, I look over at the passed out kid sitting across from me. His hair is longer than I remember, his skin slightly tanner. He looks healthy, well taken care of, and that has a smile forming on my face.

At least something went right. I knew this little shite of a kid would come in handy at some point.

“You did good, kid,” I say as he begins to wake up. We’re close to landing back in Ireland, just a few minutes from my home.

“What?” he asks groggily, trying to process the scene around him.

I laugh as if he doesn’t know. “You were the perfect bait tonight. I never thought you would fight me so hard there, though. Did you need to put on that much of a show for the white-haired one?”

I can see as the pieces begin to connect for him, his eyes widen as reality sets in. “You kidnapped me.”

I chuckle, leaning my chin on my fist. “No, I came back for you. Just like I promised I would.”

Kai settles back in his seat, looking out the window.

“Ireland?” he asks as he takes in the land before us.

I nod. “I always wanted to bring you here. I told you we were alike and I meant it.”

He stretches, as much as he can anyway, spreading his legs wide. I made sure he had enough room not to feel too cramped during the ride. I couldn’t dare hurt my last asset, and definitely not my most useful one.

I knew one of these insolent brats would bow to me one day, and the leaders are always my favorite to manipulate. I want to know everything. How he got them to care for him and accept him into the fold, what meetings he was part of.

Maybe, if he knows enough, I can still take the children back to resell them. This is all coming together perfectly.

“How close did you get to them?” I ask, ready to hear everything he did for me.

A blank stare meets my eyes. “They adopted me, so I would say I got pretty fucking close.”

I grin. “I only wish I could have seen their faces when they found out you were gone. A car chased us all the way to the airport, we barely made it out.”

Kai twists his neck, stretching. “That likely would have been Nessa. She is one hell of a driver.”

I chuckle to myself. I knew about her little obsession with her vehicle, but she just added another skill I could use in my ranks. “You know,” I say, tapping my finger on my chin, “maybe if all goes according to plan, you can still be Nessa’s son. Although, the heir to my throne will have to be our blood child, even if you are most like me already.”

Kai glances at me, then out the window again as if he were contemplating telling me something. I give him time, knowing how calculated he is. He will want to give me the right words. Staring out the glass, I watch the clouds roll by when a sudden pain lances my stomach.

Dark hair covers light brown eyes as I gaze up at the boy who will one day be a mirror image of me. His hands may be tied behind his back as two of my guards attempt to restrain him further, but the venom he lances me with in stare is enough to make me pause. That, and the knee he has pressed to my gut.

“I am nothing like you. I never want to be anything like you. I will never be your son, and you will never have a blood heir with the woman you stripped of the ability to have children!”

Spit flies from his mouth as he continues to throw insults at me until my guards have him pinned back in his seat. I stand, straightening out my jacket while looking down at this ungrateful child.

Processing the information he so kindly gave to me, I smile down at him. “If Nessa can’t have more children, then you can be our heir. Wouldn’t you like to rule Ireland with us together one day?”

When he realizes what I can offer him, maybe he will see reason.

“There is just one problem with your plan, Ronan.”

Tilting my head to the side, I ask, “And what might that be?”

“I am the son of Boris Mikhaus and Cillian Kelly. There never has been, nor will there ever be, room for you in that equation. And Nessa would rather die than ever be attached to you.”

I get down in his face, and he laughs before landing a wad of spit right between my eyes. I stumble back, wiping at the saliva as if it were acid.

He laughs. “And you can kill me now because I would rather be a demon rotting in Hell than someone who rules by your side.”

Though I am someone who believes control and perfection go hand in hand, something in me snaps as I grab Kai’s face so hard I think I break part of his jaw. He winces, but I only squeeze harder.

“That can be arranged.”

Snapping my fingers, a cloth is immediately handed to me. I shove it in Kai’s mouth until he gags, then tape it shut so I do not have to hear another word come from his mouth.

He will learn. They both will .

Soon, my little doll will be in my hands for the taking. I will train her to be the servant I have always wanted, and her submission will bring me all the satisfaction I could have ever asked for. When Kai follows suit, I will finally have the perfect family to rule with and an unstoppable army.

We will be the picture of royalty and fear. The King, Queen, and Prince of a kingdom I created. I will have all the power, and all of Ireland will kneel at my feet.

I’ll be waiting for you, my little doll.