Chapter 2

Chapter

Two

~ Princess Blake ~

C rack! I slam my shoulder against the bedpost for what feels like the hundredth time, and I’m rewarded with a resounding crack as the wood splinters. I’m making enough noise that the guards stationed outside my room must hear, but no one comes to check on me. When the Perstalian ruler, King Celzar, dropped the news of who he is and how he’d kidnapped me, I’d been disorientated, but after he left the room, I wasted little time in setting about my escape. It helps that I heard his command to the guards before he left. No one is allowed to enter my room without having direct orders to do so. Which is perfect. Because now they won’t enter, not even when I’m destroying things.

If it weren’t for the cuff around my ankle blocking my magic, I could have easily done this with one blow, but now, sweat beads on my forehead and my limbs shake from exertion as I try to free myself from the bed. “Finally,” I huff, feeling accomplished that the wood of the thick post has cracked, though I’m sure Dad would be appalled by my efforts if he could see me now. Then again, it’s his fault I’m even here. It was Dad’s stupid competition to find my fated mates that led to this. At the thought of the four males I’m destined to bond with, my stomach twists, everything inside me rebelling at the idea that we’re apart. Anger heats my blood, and I force myself to take a deep breath and remind myself that they’re alive. At least, they are for now. If they were dead, I would feel the hollowing pain that comes when a demon loses her fated. But despite knowing they’re alive, fear slides down my spine. I have no idea how much time they have left. Days? Hours? King Celzar’s words from not too long ago float into my head: You won’t have to worry about them any longer. From what I’ve seen, you should be thanking me.

Gritting my teeth, I slam into the post again. My mates might be complete assholes, but they’re my assholes, and I’m not about to let them die at the hands of an unhinged king. “I mean, sure, not all of them want to bond yet, and truthfully, considering I accidentally killed my last lover, Kai, I’m a little afraid to even try, but we’ll get there. Right?” I say that last bit out loud and look over to where my best friend, a crow named Shade, is perched in her cage. She squawks, staring back at me, but she doesn’t reply in my head. Without my magic, my mind is as quiet as it was before I met her. And I hate it.

Grunting, I drive my shoulder into the bedpost again, and this time the wooden support snaps into two. Shade squawks a warning, and I twist out of the way as the top half of the wooden beam falls onto the mattress along with the bed canopy. Balancing on one leg, I lift my cuffed ankle, sliding the chain free of the post, and I grin as I plant both feet onto the floor.

“Well, I can’t do much about the cuff, but at least I’m no longer chained to the bed,” I say triumphantly.

Shade flutters her feathers to show her happiness at this tiny bit of progress, but there’s no disguising the anxiety that shines in her beady black eyes. I move toward her gilded cage, ignoring the way the chain connected to my ankle drags on the floor as I walk.

She shuffles along her perch, closer to the bars, and I poke my fingers through, stroking her black feathers. “Sorry, girl,” I tell her. “I’ll get us out of this.” Of course, I still have no idea how I’m actually going to free us, or even where we are. King Celzar said we’re in The Haven, which sounds a little pretentious if you ask me, and it doesn’t actually explain our location. All I know is that we’re not in the allied realms. One problem at a time, Blake. One problem at a damn time.

Turning, I scour the room we’re in. There isn’t much here besides the beautiful wooden dresser on my left with a chair encrusted with crystals, and a narrow door which leads to a simple washroom. I’m busy running through my extremely limited escape options in my mind when the door to my room opens.

Swivelling around, I tense as two guards in royal armor march into the space. Their eyes widen when they take in the destroyed bed and my position in the middle of the room, but they don’t say anything. Like the king, they have a half horse form with wings tucked at their sides, and I wonder what the full extent of their power is. Not that it’s going to stop me. Dropping low into a fighting stance, I mentally prepare myself to fight, but just as I’m about to lunge forward, and most likely get my ass kicked, I notice the female standing behind them. She’s small and thin, and she stands meekly with her head down and one hand wrapped around the handle of a thick silver case. From her size, I’d have thought she was a human if it weren’t for the cuff visible around her ankle. A cuff that looks identical to my own.

“Do your job,” barks one of the guards. “We’ll be outside.” Then, giving me one last wary look, the guards both march out of the room as quickly as they came.

I tilt my head to the side, staring at the female and her silver case. “If you’re here to torture me, you should know I’m not in the mood,” I say, still in a defensive stance. She doesn’t look like much, but I know more than anyone how looks can be deceiving.

It’s not until the room door clicks shut that the female lifts her head. Her gaze travels over the black wings folded behind my back, and then she peers over at the broken bed. I’m sure I’m imagining it, but I swear the hint of a smile teases her lips.

Starting forward, she doesn’t speak as she makes her way to the dresser and places her case down. With a click, she opens the lid and rifles through the contents, taking out colored bottles and brushes, and arranging them in a specific order on the dresser.

I groan, unable to believe what I’m seeing. “You can’t be serious,” I comment, relaxing my stance.

She finally turns to look at me again, her pale blue eyes fixing on my face as she beckons to the chair with slender fingers. “His highness has requested that you be made presentable for the party this evening. Please sit.”

I don’t move because getting ready for a party is the last thing on my list of my priorities. Oh, who am I kidding, it’s not even on the list. I cross my arms in front of my chest, jutting out my hip, but the servant holds my gaze. “If you are not ready by the allocated time, we will both be punished. Please.” She indicates to the chair again. “Sit.”

That softens me up a little, but I still hesitate, and it’s not until Shade squawks that I start moving. “Fine,” I mutter, reassuring myself that if nothing else, I might be able to get information out of the servant while she works.

She styles my hair first, detangling the knots and arranging my black waves into a loose bun with white crystals pinned amongst the strands. When she appears satisfied with my hair, she focuses her attention on my face, adding color to my cheeks and lining my eyes with kohl.

“So…what is this party?” I ask as she brushes powder over my eyes. “Is this something to do with the, uh, wedding?” I’m still in disbelief that King Celzar plans to make me his bride, something that I’m definitely not going to let happen. Just saying the word ‘wedding’ makes me scrunch my face, and the servant clicks her tongue showing her disapproval. I smooth my features, not wanting to piss her off in case it makes her less likely to talk.

When moments pass and she still doesn’t speak, I sigh heavily. “You do realize I could kill you, right? Your king doesn’t care very much for you if he’s willing to leave you in here without the guards.” I expect that to get a reaction, but she doesn’t look fazed by my comment, continuing on with her work. To be honest, I’m a little impressed.

She finishes my face, and I’m about to press her harder for information, when she says softly, “Actually, I’m the one who requested the guards wait outside.” Instant regret flashes on her face the moment the words are out, and she presses her lips tightly together.

My brows lift. “What? Why?”

She gestures for me to look in the mirror again, clearly trying to distract me, but I’m too focused on what she’s said. My only guess to explain her response is that she’s excited she’s able to tend to the new queen-to-be, and she didn’t want the guards hovering over her while she worked. But perhaps, she was supposed to let the guards stay. “You know, I’d make a horrible queen for your kind,” I tell her. “I don’t know what your king has told you, but I’m not meant to be here. I already have my own kingdom to run.”

She goes to fix a stray strand of hair that’s dropped near my eyes, but I jerk my head back.

“Are you listening to a word I’m saying?” I ask her. “This is all a mistake. Whatever this party is. This place.”

Ignoring me, she forgets about the hair and starts packing up her powders, stacking them neatly in her case. I clench my jaw in frustration, and the gleam of something silver in her boot catches my eye. In a swift motion, I lean down, snatching out the small dagger she’d had concealed there, the metal hilt only just visible.

A surprised noise escapes her throat, and there’s expectation in her eyes, like she expects me to drive the dagger into her chest, but I turn from her, slamming the hilt of the blade hard onto my cuff. I’d hoped to weaken the metal. I’d thought perhaps a blade that’s forged in this land might not be affected by the magic. Or maybe, I just wasn’t thinking clearly. Either way, pain races up my body, and I gasp as agony tears through me.

Breathing rapidly, I lift my hand, and the servant must think I’m about to do it again, because her pale blue eyes widen, and her fingers wrap around my wrist, stopping me.

“That won’t work,” she says softly. “Many have tried before you.”

I blink as I absorb her words. Many have tried? “Are you…?” I think about the cuff around her ankle. The one that looks nearly identical to mine. “You’re a prisoner, just as I am, aren’t you?” It’s more of a statement than a question, but she dips her head once.

Her gaze goes follows mine, going to her own cuff. “We didn’t realize what they were at first. But then again, we didn’t realize a lot of things.” She blows out a breath, and I’m still processing this bit of information when she reaches down. By the time I realize what she’s doing, it’s too late to stop her. Appearing from seemingly nowhere, she holds a white crystal in her fingers. As she taps the stone against my own cuff, bursts of color appear in the crystal, and I brace waiting for the pain. To my surprise, this time when a jolt shoots up my leg, the feeling is dulled, and the skin under the cuff warms accompanied by a prickling sensation. A faint burst of power goes through me, and I latch onto it, startled when a familiar voice enters my mind.

“Hurt her and you’ll be added to my shit list, right after the king, and the guards outside of this room!”

For a second, I can’t breathe. “Shade?” The word in my head is weak and tentative, but when small beady black eyes find me from across the room, I know she’s heard me. Nothing can stop the smile that spreads across my face.

“Blake? Oh god, Blake, is that you?” Shade flaps her wings in excitement, almost falling off her perch, and relieved laughter bubbles out of my chest.

“Merciful Lady, I’ve missed your voice,” I reply, because finally after hours of having a craptastic time, something good has happened. “Tell me you’re doing okay in there.”

“Better than you by the looks of it,” Shade teases. “Girl, have you seen yourself in the mirror?”

Grinning, I turn my attention to my reflection. My bright pink cheeks and the vibrant color on my eyes is a different look for me, especially accompanied by the white velvet dress I’m wearing, and I know my bestie is never going to let me live it down.

“Glad to have you back,” I say to Shade, and I mean it, too. The hours I just had to endure without her felt like some of the longest in my life. If I have my way, I’ll never let it happen again.

“I can’t take the cuff off,” the servant says, pulling my attention back to her as she pockets the crystal. “But we have found ways to return small traces of our power. If nothing else, but for our own…mental wellbeing. The king shouldn’t be able to detect it, but it’s best to be wary when using your power around him.”

“Thank you,” I say genuinely as I smile at her. “But why did you do that?” In Seral, demons don’t usually go out of their way to help others. Not unless they’re expecting something in return, or unless they’ve been given a specific order to carry out.

Her lips curve upward, and I get the feeling I’m about to discover this servant’s motivations. “You were right, you know,” she says, returning my smile. “You could have killed me. When I was told you were a foreigner, a creature from a demon realm, I knew it was a high possibility.” Her gaze goes again to my wings, and the next time her pale eyes find my face, her gaze is intense. Unsettling. “But it was worth the risk to see.”

I frown. “To see what?”

“To see whether you can finally be the bride we need.”

Ah, so this is all about her wanting me to be their next queen. I shake my head, not liking where the conversation is going. “I’ve already told you, I’m not?—”

“We’re all winged centaurs,” she says, cutting me off. “Most of us have the same powers. Enhanced strength and healing. Super speed, agility, and endurance. Some are able to do more. Or at least, they would be able to if it weren’t for these cuffs.”

“And you can harness the power of crystals?” I ask, thinking of the crystal in her pocket.

“That was a gift,” she replies, not giving anything else away.

“Okay,” I say slowly. “And when you say we’re all winged centaurs , you’re referring to?”

“My kind and the inhabitants of this place,” she says grimly. “Those who are left, anyway. But we can’t change into our centaur forms with the cuffs blocking our magic,” she adds, indicating to her lack of wings and two legs. “The only ones without cuffs are those favored by the king, or his warriors. He wants his soldiers strong so they can keep everyone else in line.”

“The guards,” I mutter, thinking of their half-animal forms. “So, given your two legs now, does that mean your kind are like shifters? That ordinarily you would be able to change your form at will?”

“Shifters? I’ve never heard of that term before, but yes, normally we can all change forms,” she replies.

I nod my head. Interesting. “Okay, but I’m still not going to be your queen,” I say. “I’m grateful for what you did to my cuff, but I still don’t see?—”

“He’s had many brides over the years,” she forges on. “But none of them survive. When the king proposes marriage, there is no refusing him. Usually, the brides are females of our own kind who he has selected, but sometimes, a female will volunteer. After what we’ve been through, some will do anything to taste the full power of their magic again, even if the moment is fleeting.”

My heart misses a beat as an important part of what she’s just said jumps out at me. “Wait. So King Celzar removes the cuffs from his brides?” I don’t care much for the vows of marriage. For demons, marriage is simply a piece of paper to divide assets. It’s the fated mates bond that holds real meaning. “Okay, so I marry your king, and I get my power back?”

She watches me carefully. “Yes, you’ll get your magic.”

I’m about to celebrate with a fist bump to the air, because I hadn’t thought it would be this easy, when she adds, “And then, you’ll have seconds to kill him before he has you.”

It takes me a moment to realize what she’s said. Seconds?

“I’m sorry, but what the hell did she just say?” Shade squawks in my head, her panic coming through.

“Kill him?” I clarify, darting a glance at the door, because surely, she’s risking death by suggesting this. If someone was saying this about me in Seral, I’d have to make an example of them. A bloody one.

“Yes,” she replies matter-of-factly and, like she didn’t just drop a bombshell, she goes back to packing up her things, carefully placing the different makeup brushes into her case. “That’s if you want to get out of here alive. And just maybe, the rest of us can be freed as well.”

“Well, that’s just great,” I send to Shade.

“And now we know why she helped you,” Shade replies blandly. “She thinks you’re going to save them. She thinks you’ll be the first bride to best the king. I knew she had an ulterior motive.”

“As is tradition,” the servant says, neatly arranging her items, “over the next two days, you will participate in certain activities before the wedding. Once they’re complete, there will be a big wedding ceremony held, with a lot of fanfare, I’m sure. When you say your vows, the king will remove your cuff.”

I shake my head. “But you said I only have seconds. What if it’s not enough time? I don’t even know what the king can do.”

Her lips thin. “It’s all the time you have.”

I frown, thinking about how I still haven’t bonded with my fated mates. “You don’t understand, I’m still not that strong. I’m not the bride you’re looking for. Can’t you find someone else? If you know how the king removes the cuffs, let’s find a way to steal whatever it is that he uses before the wedding?”

“None of us know how he removes them,” she replies. “We only see the cuff falling to the ground. This is the only way. You have a better chance than the rest of us. Even if we had our power, none of us can match him. There’s a reason he’s the king now.” Her eyes darken, making me wonder just what she’s seen over the years.

“You don’t even know me. How can you think I have a better chance?” I say. “And what’s to stop me from telling him about you?” I mean, of course I wouldn’t, but I’m interested to see how she reacts. She went from hardly speaking to me at all, to spilling all of this.

She stands a little straighter. “It’s unusual for the king to bring someone down from the surface. If you’re here, he must think you’re special. He must think you’re powerful.”

“It’s still a big risk,” I point out.

The servant doesn’t look the least bit cowed by my comments, and I can’t help but respect her a little for that.

“I have nothing to lose,” she replies.

I examine her carefully and pass back her knife that I’ve been holding onto until now. She doesn’t hesitate to take it from me and slide it back into her boot.

“Then it looks like I’m going to have to hope those seconds are enough,” I comment with a tight smile. Because right now, I don’t have a better plan.

“What? Blake that’s crazy,” Shade protests in my mind. “What if this is all a lie, and she’s setting you up?”

“She could be, but if she’s being truthful, I’ll have the element of surprise when the king takes the cuff off.”

“We’ll all hope,” the servant replies. “Please know that if you do this, there are many who would follow you.”

I don’t know what’s more unsettling, the idea that by killing the king I could make myself queen of a realm I want nothing to do with, or the fact that this servant makes it sound like the subjects here are so desperate they’d worship a stranger for killing their king.

She takes a pair of pearly white heels out of the case and hands them to me, then she snaps the lid closed. Realizing she’s about to leave, I blurt, “There were four males with me when I arrived here. Do you know where they are?”

Her expression is sympathetic. “If they’re not already dead, I’d guess they’ve been taken to the mines.”

“The mines? I don’t like the sound of that, either,” Shade comments.

The servant lifts her case.

“And these mines,” I ask, lifting to my feet and blocking her way, “how do we get there?”

Her expression is grim, and she purses her lips. “You don’t. If these individuals are important to you, the king isn’t going to let you near them. Even if you could break out of this palace, you’ll never get past the guards that patrol the prison. Like I said earlier, many have tried before you and failed.”

This time I don’t stop her when she steps around me and heads for the door. “I can’t linger,” she says when she’s still halfway across the room. “The king will be here soon to take you to the announcement party. Smile and agree to anything he says.”

“Agree to anything he says? Wow, she really doesn’t know you,” Shade snarks.

I keep my eyes trained on the servant. “Thank you, uh…”

“Sassia,” she replies. “Good luck. We will all be watching you.” Before I can say anything more, she wraps her knuckles on the door. The door swings open barely a second later, like the guard was waiting with his hand on the doorknob, and Sassia leaves the room before the door clicks shut again.

“And here I thought Seral had problems,” Shade says. “I still think this plan is a horrible one, and we should just escape from here and go find Dante and the others. You guys are stronger together, remember?”

“We’re stronger if we’re bonded,” I reply as I walk over to her cage. “And the last time when I saw them, not all of my mates wanted to bond. Besides, they’re imprisoned, and I can only assume they’ve been cuffed as well. We need our powers.”

Shade looks me up and down, observing the white velvet dress clinging to my form. “Some of your mates might not want to bond, but I’m pretty sure they’d be pissed if they knew you were intending to marry someone else.”

I stroke her feathers through the bars. “By the time they find out, the king will be long dead. Something tells me they won’t mind.” But even as I say it, I have a feeling that I’m wrong.