Chapter 7

Seven

~ Princess Blake ~

“Istill think you should have let me give him a piece of my mind,” Shade grumbles as we make our way through the ruins with Prince Callan following behind. The housing is denser here, the homes right up against one another, and there’s something about this place that makes me feel like I’m being watched. The back of my neck prickles and I’d rather fly, but until we get provisions, I decide it’s better if we don’t draw attention to ourselves.

“I’m angrier at Lady Fate for picking wrong,” I reason, bringing my thoughts back to the prince. I wonder then whether he already has a lover back in Toralyn. I’ve never heard of any relationship getting in the way of a fated mate bond, but then again, I’m new to all this. The thought of Prince Callan with someone else makes my stomach churn, but I try not to think about it.

“Maybe Lady Fate doesn’t know he’s such a huge asshole,” Shade suggests. “Because you’re amazing! He should be worshipping the ground you walk on.”

I grin at that, and the delicious image of Prince Callan kneeling before me with his wrists cuffed enters my mind. I’m practically drooling when I shake my head, trying to dispel the image. Dammit. Stupid fated mate bond. Keep it together, Blake, I chastise myself. The prince has flat out rejected you, and you still can’t help but fantasize about him.

“He’s lucky he helped you out with that guy from Norso,” Shade prattles on, “or he’d be returning to Toralyn with only one eye.”

I stop walking, my boots stalling on the flat stones as I remember how he’d helped me recently, and how he’d dealt with the giant in the ballroom. Despite what the prince just said to me, my anger cools a little at the thought.

Prince Callan must be as distracted as I am, because he almost walks into my back. He steps to the side in time and stops beside me. Clearing his throat, he peers at the crumbling stone buildings lining the street. “Where are we headed?” It’s the first he’s spoken during the time we’ve been walking.

“There’s a theater not far from here,” I explain, though I don’t point out that I only know this because of Shade’s scouting session earlier. “If I’m right, the king has left provisions there. I figure it’s a good idea to get our hands on at least one of the packs before the alphas find them.”

I start walking again, and another few minutes passes before Prince Callan asks, his casual demeanor back in place, “Is this normal for you? Being gassed by your father and left in less-than-ideal circumstances?”

I think about snapping at him, but what would be the point. “We have a complicated relationship,” is all I say in response, and thankfully, he doesn’t ask more.

We walk the rest of the way in silence, not encountering any other alphas until we reach a large circular building made of stone and decayed wood. It’s two stories high, with a balcony along the top floor, and little square windows that look to the outside. When we fly above the building, I notice the middle of the structure is open, and I’m able to glimpse an expanse of bare sand that surrounds a stage in the center of the space. As I’d hoped, a black box trimmed with red sits on the platform.

“There it is,” I mutter under my breath.

Prince Callan hovers in the air beside me, staring down at the theater. “You do realize that’s a trap, don’t you?”

I keep my eyes fixed downward. “If I’m right, that box contains the medicine we need, and I’m not leaving here without it.”

“I figured as much,” he replies. Reaching down, he unsheathes a broad sword with an intricate golden hilt that perfectly matches his gleaming armor.

“What are you doing?”

“Collecting the box. Didn’t you say we need it?”

I narrow my eyes. “Yes, but—” Before I can finish, he drops into a dive, swooping low so fast he’s down near the stage in a matter of heartbeats.

“Callan!” I hiss after him, trying not to raise my voice. Great. First my mate doesn’t want me, and now he’s about to die.

“Uh, what does he think he’s doing?” Shade asks, flapping her wings beside me as I fly after him.

“I wish I knew.”

It’s too late for me to stop what’s happening, so I only watch as Prince Callan nears the box. His large wings flap steadily as he hovers before the box, not touching it straight away as he scans the theater. I look around us as well, noting the shadows clinging to the wooden beams.

I have no idea what kind of surprise the king has left here for us. In the past, I mostly endured physical challenges, but something about this place has me on edge. I try not to think about what will happen if Prince Callan really doesn’t survive this. Before I can call out a warning, the archangel leans down, scooping up the box with his free hand. I brace, ready to swoop down and fight, but the theater remains silent.

Prince Callan beats his powerful wings harder, rising again with the box pressed against his chest, and for a moment, I think I must have misjudged the situation. It wouldn’t be the first time. Years of unexpected trials and challenges have clearly made me paranoid.

I grin, relief coursing through me…and then the sand erupts.

~ Nate ~

I drop my nose to the street and a low rumble starts in my chest as her delicious scent fills my senses again. Like a beacon, it draws me toward an abandoned circular building that reminds me of a smaller version of the stadiums we have in the beast realm. I stare up at the dilapidated building. Hmm, why here, princess?

I’d woken in the city some time ago, and after getting over my initially wounded pride at having been blindsided by the king, it wasn’t hard to guess King Dalton’s intentions. The demon king is known for his games, and this city is like a giant maze with his daughter as the end point. I’d opted to explore the city in my beast form, and it hadn’t taken me long before I’d scented her, the mouthwatering smell of honey and cinnamon making my beast purr and leading me here. A flash of black wings draws my attention to the top of the building, but they’re out of sight soon after, and a thunderous hissing and clicking sound makes my ears twitch as the ground shakes.

“Callan!” a panicked feminine voice calls out, her husky voice making my body coil, and I bare my teeth as a primal urge to protect thrums through me. It took some time for me to admit it to myself, but after following her scent for a good while in the city, I slowly had to acknowledge that my compelling desire to find the princess wasn’t just because I knew she was my ticket out of here. The female is my mate. Bonding to the demon royal doesn’t exactly line up with my life plans, but for now I figure it could prove to be advantageous. If she stays alive, that is.

Leaning back on my haunches, I leap halfway up the side of the building, my claws digging in as bits of wood and stone fall to the ground. The clicking and hissing from inside the structure grows louder, and I move quickly, scaling the wall until I reach the roof. There, I crouch on the tiles, peering over the edge as my tail flicks with agitation.

In the middle of the space, giant insects slither from a wide expanse of sand. There are at least half a dozen of them, their long-segmented bodies and countless legs allowing them to move with frightening speed as they swarm the area and attack Prince Callan and Princess Blake.

Demon bugs. I recognize the ugly fuckers from a job I once pulled off along the border of Seral. They usually reside in the wild and only attack if you harm their offspring. And here I was hopin’ I’d never have to see them again. How King Dalton managed to transport them here is beyond me. My slitted eyes watch the sand, and I know all too well how bad things will go for me if I leap down there.

Hovering a few feet from the ground, Prince Callan blows back a bug before swiveling to pierce his sword vertically through the head of another. Not far from him, Princess Blake moves fluidly through the air, spinning as she drives her fist through a bug’s head, then uses her dagger to slice at another one’s belly. Yellow ichor sprays over her, but she doesn’t flinch as she takes down the insects one after the other, moving with lethal grace like she’s danced this dance a thousand times.

Together, the royals take down the last bugs around them, and like it has been timed, the creatures fall to the ground, unmoving on the surface and not sinking into the sand.

Prince Callan smirks and holds up the strange black and red box he’s been cradling this whole time. “Now that’s over, shall we get out of here?”

Princess Blake grins, but her smile falls as the ground begins to tremble again, the sand bubbling up as creatures move beneath the surface. The crow flying around them squawks in panic, and Princess Blake’s gaze narrows on the box in Prince Callan’s arms.

“They must be in there!” she shouts, realization taking over her features as multiple massive bugs burst from the sand, the creatures even larger than the last ones. Their clicking and screeching grows louder as they rise higher toward the hovering figures.

Before Prince Callan can react, one of the bugs swings its head into him, sending him flying into a wooden beam. The wood splinters on impact, and he rolls, narrowly avoiding the insect as it strikes again, its head smashing into the destroyed beam.

“Callan, let it go!” Princess Blake yells as she holds back another bug. Her dagger is no longer in her hand, and she braces against the beast, stopping the creature from puncturing her with its venomous fangs.

My muscles tense as the primal need to protect is like fire in my veins. I drop down onto the next floor, my paws light on the wooden slats of the balcony, but the structure groans from the weight of my massive body.

Princess Blake curses as one of the bug’s legs slashes across her cheek, drawing blood, and the scent of honey and cinnamon grows stronger in the air, all but sending my creature into a frenzy. She lets out a cry as she tears the insect apart, and it takes all my willpower to turn my attention back to the archangel.

Prince Callan dodges to the side, narrowly missing another strike, and as the insect draws its head back, preparing to attack again, I leap for him. My teeth scratches against the archangel’s armor as I take the box in my mouth, wrenching it from his muscled arm and falling to the sand below.

My paws sink on impact, the ground rippling beneath me, and I vaguely hear someone’s sharp cry as I’m pulled beneath the sand.