Chapter 4

4

J inx was nervous as she made her way through the royal palace. She had been inside many times over the last few months and even had her own guest suite. It was outrageously extravagant, and some would say, obnoxiously so. But then, it was a palace. And she was more than happy to play pretend whenever she stayed in the luxurious set of rooms.

She pretended she belonged there. She pretended she wasn't just a random shapeshifter from the slums of Purgatory. Her worn Doc Martins squeaked on the polished marble floor of the long corridor, making her grimace. Maybe I should have worn different shoes , she mused silently. After all, it wasn’t every day one entered the royal suites.

Brax’s rooms were in an entirely different wing from the rest of the areas that housed the royal members of the line of Cerberus. Jinx knew he’d bucked tradition in favour of the only suite that had a turret. She smiled, shaking her head. He was kind of dorky. And she absolutely loved that for him. He was endearing as hell. She also loved it for Sabre because the grumpy assassin really needed some dorkiness in her life.

So, even though she had become familiar with a few parts of the palace, the royal suites were a whole new ballgame. And so is the man waiting in those suites , Jinx’s brain reminded her unhelpfully.

Instead of breakfast being served in Brax’s homey dining room, which she had become semi-accustomed to, they would be eating in the palace’s family dining area. It was sure to be more formal. It also consisted of officially meeting Mikhail. The rightful king. Which is why Jinx was shitting her pants.

She wiped her uncharacteristically sweaty palms on her dark jeans, wondering if, in addition to the shoes, she should have thrown on something other than faded skinny jeans and a simple black tank. She huffed out a frustrated breath, annoyed with herself. Since when did she care about how she looked?

Since you’re meeting the man that you outrageously flirted with, believing he was nothing more than a rebel with a cause, her annoying inner voice reminded her.

“That’s right, Jinx. You tried to dry hump the King of the free world,” she muttered, her cheeks heating in mortification.

She paused, her head falling back on her neck as she groaned. At the time, the attraction she felt for the bald, built rebel leader had been a breath of fresh air in an otherwise desert wasteland of involuntary celibacy. Sexual sparks for her were few and far between, so it was always fun to discover someone who gave her a tingle. And the man she knew as Hound had given her more than a tingle. The problem with that? She’d told him so. Multiple times. In hindsight, it wasn’t the best first impression to make.

“He must think I’m a total hussy,” she told the ornate ceiling.

“You are.”

Jinx jolted, suppressing a growl when her inner tiger bristled. It wasn’t just the words; it was the mouth they came out of. Lowering her gaze, she found a familiar and unwelcome form in front of her. Carrick. The fae was tall and slender, with almost delicate features. But there was nothing delicate about the man, Jinx knew. In fact, he was particularly crude behind closed doors.

How did she know? Because he had been a patron of Asmodeus all those years ago. It was a small mercy that Carrick had never been a ‘client’ of hers. But she had seen enough of his predilections at the brothel to know what type of man he was.

A fucking terrible one.

Despite her time spent as a sex slave, she liked to think she was open-minded when it came to other people’s sexual desires. If someone wanted to be tied up and covered in buttermilk, it had nothing to do with her. But Carrick had attended the brothel specifically for the Black Room, where the more twisted forms of BDSM were conducted. Again, she could have shrugged that off. She appreciated a good praise kink. But she knew that not all of the Subs were willing participants. And that made Carrick a piece of shit.

“Excuse me,” Jinx muttered, attempting to step around him.

Carrick moved with her, blocking her path. “I’m sorry, am I interrupting you? Do you have somewhere important to be?”

For a moment, Jinx pictured him with his guts spilling out thanks to her claws and staining his perfectly pressed slacks. But instead of following through with her daydream, she pasted a fake-arse smile on her face and answered cheerfully. “As a matter of fact, I do.”

Carrick smirked, crossing his arms over his chest. “Oh? Do tell.”

Jinx dug deep for patience, demanding, “What do you want, Carrick?”

The fae shrugged. “I’m just wondering if the new king knows he’s getting cosy with a whore.”

Inside her mind, her tigress snarled, all but begging to be unleashed. The tiger had been wanting Carrick’s blood for a long time. Jinx did her best to keep the animal contained. For now. “I don’t know,” she replied sweetly. “Why don’t you ask him?”

“I would,” Carrick retorted, his handsome face twisting into a cruel frown. “But Abraxis doesn’t receive his subjects like the kings that came before him. They actually cared about the kingdom they were running. But not him. All he cares about are his dead brothers.”

“Is that so?” Jinx murmured softly. Although Mikhail was back in residence in the palace, it was still a secret. The circumstances of his return needed to be revealed to Purgatory appropriately. It was one of the items on the agenda of their breakfast meeting. “You don’t sound too fond of our monarch,” she pointed out.

“I would be if he gave me a chance,” Carrick said. “I could be far more useful than a diplomat for the fae. I could help him be a real ruler.”

Jinx raised an eyebrow, her bi-coloured eyes glinting with suspicion. Carrick's words dripped with ambition, and she could almost taste the barely concealed disdain in his voice. He stood before her, his ethereal beauty marred by the haughty tilt of his chin and the cold calculation in his eyes. She shivered.

“A real ruler?” Jinx echoed, her tone deceptively light. “And what, pray tell, would that entail?”

Carrick's lips curled into a smirk, revealing perfect, pearl-white teeth. “A ruler who understands the intricacies of power. One who isn't afraid to wield it with an iron fist when necessary.”

Jinx snorted with derision and shook her head. He was really showing his true colours today. “And you think you can help King Abraxis with that?”

“I know I can,” Carrick replied adamantly.

“You’re an idiot,” Jinx stated, loving the way Carrick’s self-satisfied smirk fell away. “Not only does Abraxis not need or want help from the likes of you, but you have it all wrong. Purgatory doesn't need an iron fist,” she said, her voice quiet but firm. “It needs compassion, understanding, and balance. Those are the qualities that make a true ruler.”

He stared at her for a moment before bursting into laughter. “I had no idea you were so funny,” he told her. “How did someone like you get such grand ideas?”

“It’s called having morals,” Jinx replied blandly, refusing to get drawn into Carrick’s nonsense further. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to see King Abraxis.” She stepped around him and began walking backwards, maintaining eye contact. “Hey, while I’m there, I’ll be sure to let him know that he has an ambitious, disgusting rapist working in his palace.”

“I’m not a rapist!” Carrick spat, turning red.

“But you are disgusting.” Jinx nodded knowingly. She continued before he could spew any further nonsense. “And for your information, having sex with someone without their consent is called rape.”

Carrick stepped closer, lowering his voice. “I pay for it. It’s their job .”

Jinx raised her chin. “A job that isn’t always voluntary.”

The fae rolled his eyes. “Like you, you mean? Please, we both know you liked working for Asmodeus.”

“I wasn’t an employee, you fuck,” Jinx snarled lowly. “I was a prisoner!”

Carrick sniffed, stepping back and smoothing his palms over his perfectly pressed shirt. “Whatever.”

Before she acted on her impulses and castrated Carrick, she spun around and began walking swiftly down the corridor. Over her shoulder, she shouted, “Stay out of my way, Carrick.” She didn’t receive a response, and for that, she was grateful.

She made her way swiftly through the halls now, her adrenaline pumping. The only reason she hadn’t told Sabre or Gage about Carrick was because she didn’t want to dredge up her shitty past. She knew her friends would have her back and, very likely, break Carrick’s back. But that part of her past was over. And other than in her nightmares, she had no desire to relive it.

Finally arriving at the gold-leafed doors, Jinx shook off the unpleasantness of the morning, told her tiger to chill, and smiled at the familiar faces of the guards. Besides the small rebel entourage that had been with Mikhail for the past year and a half, there were a select few privy to the true king’s return. Hugo, the handsome phoenix, and Uno, the hulking cyclops, were two of them.

“Jinx!” Hugo greeted her happily. “How are things?”

Jinx grinned back. “Things are fine.” She turned to Uno only to wince. “Uh, you have a little something in your eye there, big man.”

Uno looked surprised, raising a giant fist to rub the piercing blue eye in the centre of his forehead. A leaf the size of Jinx’s thumb came out. “Thanks. I didn’t even notice.”

Jinx shared an amused look with Hugo but didn’t comment further. There was nothing to be achieved by making the lovely cyclops self-conscious. “Am I the last to arrive?”

Hugo nodded, already moving to open the double doors for her. “Yep. Draven and Gage have been in there for a while. But Brax, Mikhail, and Sabre only arrived a few minutes ago.” He winked at her. “There should be plenty of bacon left.”

“Thank the gods for that,” Jinx said with a laugh before striding through the open door.

She paused just inside the threshold, taking in her surroundings. The long table gleamed, its surface meticulously set with dishes that probably cost more than Jinx's annual salary. Lounging in a high-backed chair at the far end, feet propped irreverently on the table, sat her best friend and saviour. Sabre was grinning at something Gage said, seemingly at ease with life.

Jinx sighed, feeling endlessly grateful for Brax. So much so that she wrapped her arms around him when he walked over to greet her. His arms encircled her in return, radiating warmth and strength.

“Jinx, my favourite!” he exclaimed, ruffling her hair affectionately. “” was beginning to think you'd stood us up.”

Jinx raised her eyebrows. “Your favourite, huh? Since when?”

“Since Sabre ate all of the bacon,” Gage replied with an eye roll. He walked over and claimed a hug of his own.

Jinx leaned into him, absorbing the easy affection. “The bacon is all gone? Hugo assured me there would be some left.”

“All I did was blink, and it was gone,” Gage informed her.

“Hey, you snooze, you lose,” Sabre informed them all.

Jinx waved at Draven, receiving a warm smile and a head bob in return. She was dying to know how things were progressing with Phaedra, but it probably wasn’t the right time to question the staid angel’s love life.

“Come eat,” Brax invited her, leading her to the table. “And meet my big brother.”

Her heart thundered in her chest, her eyes immediately drawn to the figure standing with his back to her at the opposite end of the table. King Mikhail turned, his piercing green gaze locking onto hers, and Jinx felt the world tilt on its axis.

A heady scent of sandalwood and spice washed over her, igniting every nerve ending in her body. Her tiger roared to life, clawing at her insides with a primal need she'd never experienced before. Her breath caught in her throat, and a warm flush spread across her cheeks and down her neck. Her palms grew damp as she clutched them to her chest, suddenly hyper-aware of her every movement.

Mikhail’s eyebrows furrowed slightly as he regarded her, no doubt sensing the shift in the air between them. “Hello, Jinx. It’s a pleasure to see you again.” He chuckled, the sound a little strained as he ran his hands over his tousled brown hair. “I have a little more hair this time.”

Jinx flinched. It was like the sound of his voice pierced her flesh to settle in her body. And my soul, she added as realisation dawned. This man—this king —was her fated mate.

“Jinx?” Sabre questioned, hopping up and walking to her briskly. “Are you okay?”

“I …” was all Jinx was able to manage. She took a single step forward. Then another, her eyes locked onto the brilliant emerald of Mikhail’s.

Joy bloomed in her chest for a blissful moment, a delicious warmth spreading through her veins. But then cruel reality came crashing down, extinguishing that fledgling spark of happiness. She couldn’t have a mate. And certainly not one who was the ruler of their realm.

“Jinx. What is going on with you?” Sabre questioned, gripping her upper arm.

Jinx stared at Sabre. “He’s my mate.” The words were out before she could stop herself.

The silence in the room was deafening.

Sabre’s mouth hung open in shock for a moment before she closed it with a snap. “Uh, care to repeat that?”

I really don’t, Jinx thought silently. But try as she might, she couldn’t look away from the demon who was born to be her everything.

The moment Mikhail took a step toward her, she regained the ability to move. And she did the only thing she could do. She fled.