4. A VIOLENT HEART

Chapter four

A VIOLENT HEART

I followed the vampire Lord closely through the winding hallways back into the castle's recesses. All the while, my blood boiled. How would I do it? Take the fucker out. Countless scenarios swam in my mind. Decapitation? No, too messy. Fire? Nah, I'd never get the smell of burnt hair out of my nose. Despite mortal belief, a stake to the heart wasn't necessary unless the vampire came from old lineages: pureblood. And based on the slightly dulled ends I'd seen on Lyvias's fangs, he was nothing of the sort.

"Sit," Lyvias demanded upon entry to his lavish suite overlooking the courtyard.

He pointed to the leather chair nearest the window. I bit my tongue and obeyed. I'd play along, if only to learn him better. His eyes never left me as he began to unbutton his shirt, pulling it away to reveal a plethora of vine tattoos winding up his neck and slithering back down his chest. They held an eerie resemblance to the poison ivy inked on my own arms. I studied the scars marring his rib cage, his shoulder, his forearm. Clearly he was no stranger to battle, and I wondered how many of those marks had ended in death for his opponents.

My chest tightened. Would I become one of them? A fallen, forgotten memory at the hands of this monster? Vampires were worthy adversaries, especially when trained in battle as he was, which made him a bit of a wild card. At least he didn't come equipped with rapid-moving venom like my last target; and without the need for a stake through the heart, I might stand a chance. His speed and strength would be a bit of a challenge, sure. But what he didn't know? Pureblood shifters were used to broken bones. My rubber ligaments were practically made to take a beating.

You can do this. Don't let him get in your head; just stay focused.

"What?" he asked, pulling me back to reality. "Do you like what you see?"

I dropped my gaze, my muscles tensing. "My apologies, sir."

He sauntered over—his dick perfectly aligned at my eye level—with an expectant smirk on his face. The arrogance.

"No need to apologize." He lifted my chin. "You wish to serve your future king, do you not?"

Shit. I swallowed hard. Death had offered me up as a personal masseuse, but he hadn't mentioned anything about a happy ending. My hands clenched at the memory of Lyvias looming over Lana's trembling frame. The only way I would ever touch him would be to wrap my hands around his throat and squeeze until bone snapped. Oh, there was a thought. Strangulation. I'd hold onto that one for later. Because if I allowed my mind to wander? Allowed my imagination to fill in the blanks on what may have occurred in private after he'd taken the girl away…my rage would win out. A rash choice could land me in the dungeon or worse, six feet under. I heaved a breath. I needed to remain focused, no matter how much I wanted to bury my fist in his face.

"Soothe me," Lyvias demanded, lying face down on the bed. "Show me what those hands can do."

The filth looming in his stare told me that with time, he'd demand much more of me than a simple rubdown. After all, a vampire's appetite was ravenous, and blood wasn't their sole means of sustenance. Some—not all—savored the emotional drain of breaking a person down to little more than a vessel on which to feast. Stealing a person's dignity first fed their predatory instinct. Their ego. It made them feel powerful and superior. I fought the bile rising up. An emotional vampire was just as dangerous as a starved one. Maybe more so.

"Come now," he cooed. "I don't bite…much."

A war raged within me. Serving him went against everything I believed in, but if I didn't play along, I risked blowing my cover. Kim, I reminded myself. This was all for her. And for her , I'd do anything.

"Yes, sir," I said, reluctantly making my way over to the bed.

I would be patient, for now. I placed my hands on his bare shoulders, and he flinched against my cold fingertips. Nausea swept over me on contact. Dark energy leached off him like thick tar set to consume. Devour. Intuition—a skill I'd worked hard to hone since discovering my lineage—told me this man was hiding much more than a simple sinister desire or kink. Whatever he was mixed up with had tainted his soul so deeply, it radiated against my fingertips. A sick, twisted evil controlled him. He bred anguish, spread it like a plague. I shoved hard against his shoulders, envisioning the ways I'd love to repay the pain he'd dispensed.

He moaned into the pillow. "Strong grip. I like that."

"I aim to serve," I lied through my teeth.

With a laugh, his hand snaked up my leg. "As you should. Tell me, how far would you go to earn my favor?"

His hand came to rest on my inner thigh, and I froze.

"I don't know what you mean, sir."

"Oh, don't play coy now." He pursed his lips, pushing to sit. "A man with such skillful hands has clearly pleasured another in his lifetime."

"I don't offer such services, I'm afraid."

I stepped back, his hold on me dropping. With a quickness imperceptible to the naked eye, he stood to glare down at me, snatching my jaw in a firm grip. I fought his touch, but his fingertips only buried themselves deeper in my skin the more I struggled.

"If you won't offer me pleasure freely, I could simply force your hand. Is that what you want? To be taken by force?" He grew eerily still, a grin splaying across his cheeks. "I do enjoy breaking a man, Addison."

I dared another step back, and his shoulders squared. Oh fuck. His sights locked onto me like a lion ready to attack. Not good. Not. Good! I hadn't planned to kill him so soon, but if this asshole was prepared to do what I thought he was, I'd have no choice but to fight. I planted my feet, narrowing my stare.

"I don't break."

In a flash, he pinned me against the wall, trailing his tongue up my throat, and I thrashed in his hold. His lips came to rest against my ear.

"You will bend to my will. No one says ‘no' to Lyvias Kraven."

His fangs punctured my neck, sending an unwelcome rush through me. A vampire's bite was known to cause euphoria, but like this…against my will? How could my own body betray me? Warmth washed down my shoulder, a throb emanating where his fangs tore through my flesh. I snatched his wrists, burying my nails in his skin.

He groaned and licked my blood off his lips. "I like them with a little fight. It makes my triumph far more satisfying."

"Get off me," I snarled.

Violent urges reared up in me. Murderous, demanding urges that warred with the mounting heat in my cheeks. Holy hell, his strength… I'd thought him pompous and narcissistic, certainly, maybe even a bit tougher than others in his league, but the lavish lifestyle of a royal oftentimes made one soft. Yet the sheer force in his grip had me reeling.

Don't be a pussy! Show him who he's messing with!

My confidence returned, and I shoved him hard, creating space between us. One foot over the other, we mirrored each other's steps. "Your move, sir ."

"I'm done with your games." He closed in. "Submit or—"

Three hard knocks silenced his demands. His eyes shot towards the door.

"Lord Lyvias." Lana's familiar voice rang through. "I've come to attend to you before your meeting with the advisor."

Lyvias's attention fell back on me, and he dismissed me with a wave. "Go. We will finish our dance tonight."

Head spinning, I took my chance and started for the door. Like hell we would finish later, psycho!

He caught my wrist and stopped me in my tracks. "And do not even think about leaving me waiting. Your life is of no consequence to me aside from pleasure. If that pleasure was to end? Well, I simply would have no use for you anymore, now, would I?"

He threw me against the door, my hand catching on the doorknob to break my fall. Oh, yeah, this fucker would pay . As I passed Lana—Suri waiting outside in the shadows—it took everything in me not to beat the son-of-a-bitch to death right then and there, even if it meant my own demise. Which it very well could. I pinched my brow, trying to silence the stupid voice in the back of my mind telling me that I was in over my head. That I was no match for Lyvias. Sure, he had me in the strength department, but I'd find a way, damn it.

"I know that look," Suri said, her expression even.

"I want his head on a fucking platter!"

She yanked my sleeve, ushering us around the nearest corner. "You'd be wise to keep your voice down. There are eyes and ears all over this place."

"I don't give a shit what anyone hears. He's a predator! How are you okay letting Lana attend to him?"

"Okay with it?" A cynical laugh slipped through her. "I am anything but okay with what happens behind those closed doors! But I'm not a fool. I know how little sway people like you and I have. We have to be sharper, smarter. We can't allow a momentary lapse in judgment ruin her chances at true freedom."

"She's at his mercy! What if he—"

"Breathe," Suri demanded. "I've taken great care in preparing Lana for this moment. She is a master of diversion and evasion. Do not underestimate her."

"But she's just a child!"

"She is no mere child, I assure you. That girl is a sharpened blade. We all become a weapon at one point or another in our service to the crown of Death. She knows how to protect herself, Addison."

I ground my teeth. "She shouldn't have to."

Suri rested a hand on my arm—a plea to calm down—and in that small touch, her energy coursed through me. She…she was letting me in. Letting me feel her true power. My skin pebbled; my heartbeat slowed. Profound pain—the kind that mars the soul and demands retribution—flowed in her veins. Whatever she'd seen and the things she'd been forced to partake in during her years in the castle had led her here to this moment, attending to Lana. Protecting her the best way Suri could at every turn. This woman…she'd seen some shit; and while her rage rivaled mine, an eerie peace encased her heart. I looked her over. Beneath the ache in her fuchsia stare lay a blatant truth: she wasn't about to let the sins of Anathema's elite go without a fight. She would have her revenge. And as I rested a hand over hers, I decided I was going to help her get it.

"Cooper," I finally corrected, running a hand through my hair.

She raised a brow.

"My name is Cooper."

"Ah, I see," she said with a nod. "And you're a shapeshifter."

I faltered. How the… "No, I'm—"

"Oh, hush. You can trust me. Your energy reading proved that much, did it not?"

She'd felt that? But that would mean… "You're a pureblood?"

"No, witch. Half, on my mother's side." She smiled, pride in her stance. "A tinctured witch to be exact, gifted in clairvoyance. I knew someone was coming who would help me, though I must say I didn't expect you this soon. Why do you think I let you go upon our first meeting?"

Her words settled around me. Tinctured magic. So she dabbled in the spiritual realm, unlike an elemental witch with an affinity for the physical. My mind recalled when I'd pinned her to the floor, how her eyes had drilled into me. She'd been reading me then too. Only this time, she had dropped her internal barriers so I could read her back in an exchange of fragile trust. Clever woman.

"Besides," Suri continued, "those sharp cheekbones give you away. Typical shifter trait. Others might have forgotten your people, your court, but not me. The corruption didn't end after the massacre; that was only the beginning. Nevertheless, we have to suss out our enemies before we can strike."

I turned to Suri, pointing towards Lyvias's door. "This bastard—"

"Will get what's coming to him," she finished.

"But Lana…we can't just leave her there."

"She's strong. Has to be, given her role."

"Role?"

"Spy. What, you think I'd allow her to attend to Lyvias without her consent? While the elite give no such option, those serving royalty are under my supervision." Her jaw flexed. " My protection. Lana serves the vampire Lord to unearth his weaknesses. She knows doing so will bring freedom to many, including her, and help end this blight of darkness once and for all. And now look, the Goddess brought us together. You and me: we can end him."

A child. A damn child had to make the choice to sacrifice a part of her young heart to set others free. Had to choose to leave behind her childish wonder before her time in order to strike down a "blight of darkness." I paced about the narrow hall, hands balled into fists at my sides. It wasn't fucking fair. I landed a harsh blow to the nearest granite stone; then another and another until my knuckles split and I could regain my breath.

Suri lifted an eyebrow with a quirk of her lips. "Are you finished with your tantrum, then?"

"Yes." I crossed my arms. "I'm done."

"Good. Now go. Find your leverage, Addison . I will alert you when the time is right, after I attend to the future queen."

A semblance of peace washed over me. Having Suri by Kim's side—watching out for her with a trained eye that was no stranger to the corruption lingering in Anathema—dulled the fear of Kim alone with Lyvias. At his mercy. With a nod, I took my leave. My attention would be better served in laying my trap than stewing in my anger. Though picturing Lyvias bleeding out at my feet did bring a smile to my face.

Shifting—while I'd done it more times than I could count—never got easier. The breaking and reforming of bone, the throb in my skull, the urge to throw up my guts: a torment.

But upon finding Suri and Kim in the castle courtyard prepared to embark on a tour about the courts, I had no choice but to take my alternate form: a raven. Poe , as Kimber had so deemed me. Transitioning back into my human form was bearable, mostly. But phasing into another form? That shit was rough . You know, considering the human body has two hundred six bones that have to fuse and condense into the mere twenty-six bones of a bird. That, and the size variation I suppose; but once the anguish subsided, I enjoyed my winged form. Flying was freedom.

I kept close watch, surveying the kingdom I'd been forced to flee far too young. Riding the wind, I soared over the towering buildings in the demon court, swept through the moonbeams in the vampire court, and savored a wild raspberry in the reaper court. To my surprise, things almost seemed safe, balanced. Almost .

But my girl didn't play it safe.

Barging her way into the shifter realm—well, I guess I should have expected it. Kim would never be satisfied with secondhand accounts of the events there. She had to see it for herself. But me? I was wildly unprepared for the devastation.

Flames. Screams. Death.

My people. I'd known about the desolation my court faced under Cadagon's rule, but reliving it in real time proved far worse than any portrayals I'd read. And Kim's anguish—the way her heart shattered in front of me—killed me inside. Death had handed her a broken kingdom. He had let her enemies infiltrate his ranks, setting her up for failure. I watched from a nearby tree as the two argued over the event leading to the brutal energetic imprint surrounding us.

"You expect me to turn a blind eye to all of this and join you for some damn dinner party?" Kim said with a cynical laugh.

"Please, Kimberly," Death sighed, "do not make me get harsh with you."

"Harsh? Is that what you call it to make yourself feel better in that shithead brain of yours?"

She rattled on, her sharp tongue jabbing at his failures and twisting the metaphorical knife until he'd had enough. Being on the receiving end of Kim's anger was not a place anyone wanted to be. The woman knew how to break you down, that's for damn sure.

"Watch yourself," he warned.

"You can't do anything to me." Her jaw tensed. "You need me. Tell me what the hell happened."

"Or what?" Death's shadows billowed around him. I am in control here, not you. Now accept your fate and join your guests for dinner."

Cadagon snapped once, and Kim's feet betrayed her, marching her back towards the courtyard. As I trailed them back to the castle—Kim's mouth sealed by Cadagon's unholy powers—the reality of my own uselessness ate at me. I was no match for Death himself. Regardless of how much I wanted to step in, to push back against the king's control, I couldn't. But wrapped in the silhouette of the castle towers, I realized I had a say in what happened next. I could watch for her enemies, strike them down in the shadows.

For example: the pompous vampire Lord awaiting her on the front steps.

As if I weren't already set on ending Lyvias's life, hearing the vulgar lies he spewed upon Kim's return set my resolve in stone. A disease, he'd called her . Screw finding answers. If I had to, I'd stab until the dude had no more blood to spill. Maybe I'd start with severing his fingers, then his toes, then his tongue. But as I watched Kimber crumble—tears trailing down her cheeks—I knew my revenge would have to wait a little longer. She needed me.

Catching a gust of wind, I found my place at her side. If I'd had arms, they would have sheltered her. Comforted her. My lips would have sung her praises to soothe every harsh lie spilled between the vampire Lord's fangs in an attempt to break her. It was a cruel joke. Because Kim? She didn't break. When presented with cruelty, she always took it in, letting it fester and strengthen her. Death's daughter was forged in fire. Alone, she let the tears fall and allowed herself to feel. I'd always envied her for that. At least it seemed—as small a gesture as it was—Poe's familiar presence brought her a modicum of solace, and her eyes widened at my approach.

"What are you doing here?" she chastised, shoving me under her skirt.

While getting in her pants consumed my thoughts a solid eighty percent of the time, I can't say I'd imagined it'd happen in such a way. A chuckle rattled through my mind, escaping as a croaky caw. After Kim saw to my safe travel to her suite and put me under the protection of Suri—who seemed to be in the right place at the right time more often than not—I heaved a breath and returned to my natural form. It was an easier transition considering my body was used to taking on my inherent shape, but not entirely painless. A dull ache. Nothing a long night's rest couldn't fix, whenever the hell I'd be able to do that .

"Holy—" Suri heaved, grasping her chest. "What in the damned did I just witness?"

"What, never seen a shifter in action?"

I cracked my neck and arms, turning to find a blush on her cheeks. I followed her sight line…straight to my naked frame. Clapping a hand over my junk, I snagged the throw from Kim's bed and tied it around my waist.

"Sorry about that." I laughed, tucking my hair into a knot atop my head.

Her smirk widened. "Don't be."

This little vixen. Of course Kim and Suri would form a friendship. She was totally Kim's type, which both turned me on and made me unnecessarily jealous all at once. "Hey now, don't go giving me those googly eyes. My heart is already spoken for."

"Who said the heart only has the capacity to feel for one person?" She winked. "But really, what was that?"

"Poe is my alternate form. I do it to keep an eye on Kim."

"You were with us during the tour?"

"Every step of the way. Or…wing flap, I guess?" I dropped my sore bones into the leather chair nearest me, cracked the window, and allowed the cool night air to sweep about my achy muscles. The scent of fresh rain tangled in my senses. Heavenly. Raindrops pelted the stained glass, almost lulling me to sleep. "After seeing what Lyvias was capable of? There's no way I was about to let you two wander the realm without protection."

"Mmm, a protector. Sexy."

"Sex appeal: it's a heavy cross to bear, but someone has to do it." I stretched, tucking my arms behind my head.

Suri snickered. "You poor thing. Well, sorry to inform you, but you must get off that tight ass of yours and get going. Now . Lyvias will be expecting Addison's presence before the ball tonight."

Of course. Royalty: ever obsessed with their social engagements.

She shuffled me to my feet, ushering me towards the door. Oh, I couldn't wait to teach him a lesson in respect, but I'd make him my bitch soon enough. Powerful vampire Lord my ass. I cracked my knuckles and reached for the door handle.

Suri cleared her throat. "Ahem. Forgetting something, are we?"

Clothes. Right. We wound down one level into what appeared to be her room, and she immediately starting digging through a clothes pile in the corner.

"Wait, you live in the princess's tower?" I asked.

"Yes. Kimber demanded it."

"Sounds like her." My fierce queen.

Suri froze for a second. "I've never had anyone care for me like she does. Is she always like that?"

"Always."

With a muffled "hmm," she tossed a towel at me and snatched a half-drank water glass from her side table. She motioned for me to turn around and guided my head back.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Addison had to bathe before being in the presence of his Lord. Uncleanliness would simply be unacceptable in the future king's presence. Hence why he showed up late, right?"

Ah, smart. I chuckled as I tied the towel around my hips and set out into the hall, hair dripping wet.

Suri stepped out behind me. "Listen, Lana confirmed Lyvias has no pureblood relation. How she found that out, I'm not entirely sure, but I trust her."

"So no stake necessary then?"

"Correct. You can take him out however that violent heart of yours deems fit. Play the helpless, fearful servant. Sell it. And then, when he lets his guard down, make that asshole pay for what he's done."

"With pleasure."

Murderous energy pounded through me with each step. Guards chastised as I passed, belittling me for my late arrival and lack of clothing. When that heavy mahogany door came into view, the world around me stilled. All noise fell away. My target lay just beyond, unaware I held his life in my hands; and while I hadn't planned on killing him yet, some opportunities were just too juicy to pass up. Time to end this prick. I knocked twice.

"Come in," Lyvias barked.

A crooked grin cinched across my face. Game on.