Forty-Two Vincent

I stood in the massive refinery, a large building off the west wing of Nismera’s palace. At times, I admired her reasoning. She had everything she could possibly need in one place. I shuffled on my feet and stared out the window, watching the sun lower. It had been another failed hunt for Dianna and her fate, and I had barely made it back in time.

It was a study in frustration, following breadcrumbs that led nowhere. I was surprised she had not told her brothers what she had me doing, but I didn’t care too much. I would do what she asked like I always had. There was no choice in the matter. I blew out a slow breath, sorry I’d missed lunch. Dammit.

“Need to be somewhere?” she purred behind me.

Her hand ran along my shoulder plate, but I stayed still beneath her touch. “No, my liege. It’s just smoldering in here.”

It was only half a lie. It was blistering hot in here, her workers working away at whatever device she was building, but it was true I had plans. Camilla and I had lunch every day at the same time atop the fortress. It was the only time either of us knew peace, and I enjoyed it. She laughed the other day over a stupid remark I’d made, sending my blood boiling. It was so easy with her. It always had been. I had visited her on the remains of Rashearim for the same reasons. When I was with her, I could just relax and be anything but myself, just existing in her presence. She asked nothing of me but that.

I was in way over my head when it came to her. I knew it now, and I’d known it hundreds of years ago, yet I couldn’t help myself even if I wanted to. She was like a magnet, drawing me in, and I was helpless to resist her pull.

“Don’t worry, we won’t be here long.” Nismera dropped her hand, offering me a coy smile. It did nothing for me, and it hadn’t in a very long time. I remembered those days back on Rashearim, and how I’d hung on every word she spoke, every move she made. I thought I loved her then, and she loved me, but like a flower unattended, that love wilted. I saw the signs too late, promising myself to her in an unbreakable bond, and now I was stuck. Until death.

Sometimes, I wished she’d struck out in anger toward me, wished she would free me from her servitude, but it never came. So, I did what she said and lied, manipulated, and hurt because I had no choice. Her will was my will.

My thigh still burned from the memory of when she stuck me, binding my will to hers. No longer was I just a celestial under her guard, but as she put it, her pet. I couldn’t break a command of hers even if I dared. She had tricked me then, claiming love, and I believed it so fiercely. I wanted love like any breathing fool. A part of me still craved it. But now all I thought of was how sick and twisted it was, how it could bring the greatest to their knees, and I hated it.

My heart thudded as I remembered how she had taken me away from Rashearim for what I thought was a night of passion, only it soon turned into a living nightmare. She rode me until I was blind with bliss, then stabbed me as a hundred witches descended on us. I still dreamed of the chanting and the burn of that binding spell. In my nightmares, I remember begging her to make it stop, but she didn’t listen. She never did. I hated it, hated her.

Machines screeched to a halt, yanking me from the memory. I shook my head, thinking of the one witch who only ever touched me with care. She was my salvation, my peace.

Quill approached, shuffling his feet. He was covered head to toe in grease as he knelt before Nismera. “It is done, my liege.”

Nismera squealed, clapping her hands. “Excellent, Quill. Let me see my new toy.”

“Yes, yes.” Quill turned, motioning to his staff, and they pushed a cart toward us. On top sat what appeared to be a piece of armor wrapped in cloth.

“What is it?” I asked.

Nismera stepped forward and yanked the cloth off of it, revealing a shiny steel gauntlet. She picked it up, turning toward me.

“It’s for you, pet.”

“Me?”

She nodded hopefully. “Hold out your arm.”

I swallowed the bit of apprehension I felt and did as she commanded, just as I always did. She slid the gauntlet into place, and my skin tingled as raw power ripped up my arm.

I grunted as the sensation became nearly unbearable before it eased. “What was that?”

Her smile made me afraid to know more as she clapped her hands together. “I received word that a certain prisoner reached Flagerun.”

“The prison in the mountains?”

She nodded. “Yes, the fate is there. He was captured in Jade City before it fell. With the way she has been tirelessly looking for him, I’m assuming he is her new lover. I need him dead, and you’re the one I trust the most to get the job done.”

I shook my head. “You have the Kings of Yejedin, Kaden, and Isaiah. They are much stronger.”

She placed a hand under my chin, forcing me to meet her gaze. “You dismantled and destroyed my greatest enemy. Not them. You can do this, and I made the perfect weapon to help.”

“It can kill a fate?” I asked, flexing my fingers in the gauntlet.

“It can kill anything.” Nismera stood on her tiptoes, placing a kiss on my lips, but I felt nothing, no spark of lust or pleasure, just her lips on mine. She pulled away, and I nodded, forcing a smile to match hers.

I DIDN’T KNOW WHAT EXPRESSION WAS ON MY FACE, BUT EVERYONE made way for me as I headed to my quarters, giving me a wide berth. The sun had already set, which meant I knew where she was. The guards outside her door saw me and bowed their heads before removing their helmets and striding away. Their shift was over once I was back in my room.

I was in front of her door the moment they turned the corner, my knuckles dancing across the wood.

“One second,” she called.

I heard her footsteps, but a heavier tread accompanied them. My brow furrowed, and I didn’t wait before turning the knob. I pushed the door open and froze in the doorway.

Kaden stood near her bed, his hands in his pocket as she adjusted the sides of her nightgown. A gown I thought was too sheer for her to wear around company, especially his. The scrunched look on her face and the slowly fading mark under her chin made me see red, and I was across the room without remembering how I got there. My fist cracked the side of Kaden’s face, his cheek splitting under the gauntlet. Kaden laughed, his eyes flaring red as he reached for me. I lunged for him. One moment, we had our hands on each other, and the next, we were on opposite sides of the room.

“Vincent!” Camilla snapped, her emerald magic holding us like a vise.

Kaden snarled, exposing his fangs. “Could you be any more obvious?” he spat.

I couldn’t hide my hate. “Don’t touch her! Don’t ever touch her.”

His teeth snapped at me, fangs elongated and sharp. “Don’t worry. I had my fill of witch. Wasn’t anything to write home about.”

I writhed within the grip of her magic, grunting with the effort to free myself so I could rip his face off, but her hold was too strong.

“Both of you!” Camilla snapped. “Stop before the guards end up in here.”

Kaden stopped growling, and I lowered my lip, concealing my teeth. No matter how much I hated him, I wouldn’t risk anything happening to Camilla. She nodded as we both agreed in our own way, then she let us go. Kaden scoffed before running his hand across his healing cheek, and I froze.

“If you say anything . . .” I said, pointing a finger at Kaden. Camilla placed a calming hand on my arm.

“You’ll what? You couldn’t take me on my worst day. I could beat you with both arms tied behind my back,” Kaden taunted.

“Seriously.” Camilla tossed her hands up. “Fine, fight, get us all killed, or worse.”

I didn’t want Nismera here, neither did she, and he knew it.

“You’re both pathetic.” Kaden chuckled and shook his head. “Don’t worry, lap dog. I was just leaving,” he said, walking past with a shove to my shoulder.

“Oh, and make sure my sister doesn’t know you are sneaking into witches’ chambers late at night. I’m sure she’d hate that.” Kaden strolled out and shut the door quietly behind him, leaving Camilla and me alone.

“He won’t tell,” Camilla said. “I know that much.”

I ignored her, gently cupping her face. I swore I’d seen the bruise, but now nothing remained.

She rolled her eyes. “Vincent.” She placed her hand over mine. “I’m fine.”

“I hate him,” I hissed.

“Who doesn’t?” She smiled.

“Since when do you trust him?”

She shrugged. “Since I have something over him.”

“I don’t like it.” The words left my lips before I could tell my brain to shut up. Thoughts and words like that usually stayed in my head, but I was too wound up from imagining Kaden and Camilla together.

Her lips turned up slightly. “I didn’t know you cared.”

I took a step back, then another, allowing both of us some breathing room. “That’s a lie.”

Camilla shook her head. “Not really. I haven’t seen you in days.”

I took a shuddering breath, knowing I couldn’t tell her where I was or what I was doing, all because of Nismera’s will.

“What does he have you looking for, anyway?” I asked, scratching the side of my head.

“In simple terms, Dianna.”

Her name still made my skin crawl. Regardless of any good Samkiel had seen in her, she was still Ig’Morruthen and pure fucking destruction. She was like Kaden. Their attitudes changed so fast, whipping out and killing without a second thought. I hated her, too.

“Do you let him touch you?”

Her gaze widened a fraction, just as surprised as I was. I had no idea where this was coming from, the words, or why I was acting out of control, but it seemed I couldn’t help it, not with her.

“Careful, Vincent. It almost sounds like you are jealous.” She tilted her head ever so slightly.

She adjusted the strap on the thin, black camisole nightgown that cupped her curves so well the sight could bring any being to their knees. My body heated, and I envied that damn fabric. I envied it so much because I knew my hands could never touch the spots it did.

Maybe it was how she looked now, the half-tousled look as if she’d just climbed out of bed. Half of her hair was tied back, other parts escaping their entrapment. Was this what she looked like after sex? I wondered if her lips would have the after-kiss puff when they had been thoroughly and properly kissed. Would her cheeks turn a shade darker if I said filthy things to her? I grew hard at the mere thought and turned away from her.

“I wanted to check on you,” I said, hoping there wasn’t any hint of how I truly felt in my voice. “I had planned for us to eat lunch together again this afternoon, but I was busy.”

“It’s okay.” She sighed, and I turned toward her. “I assume Nismera took you for some mission. I know you always have to choose her.”

I’d choose you!I wanted to say it, to scream it, but my voice wouldn’t allow it.

“Speaking of missions.” I raised my hand, showing the gauntlet. “This is what she showed me, what she had made.”

Camilla’s eyes widened as she took a step forward. “Oh my. Well, at least we know it’s strong enough to cut Ig’Morruthen skin.”

I couldn’t help but grin when I looked at her. Not that it seemed I wanted to.

Camilla reached out, her fingertips just grazing the metal before she yanked her hand back.

“Are you all right?”

She nodded, placing her thumb in her mouth and sucking slightly as if the gauntlet had burned her. Her lips wrapped tightly over the pad of her thumb, and I fought back a shudder of desire, trying to keep my cock under control. I took a deep breath and forced myself to focus.

“Let me see,” I said, able to hear the roughness of my voice.

I nearly groaned when Camilla’s thumb left her mouth with a wet pop. She held up her hand to show me she was okay. “I’m fine. That thing just has a shit ton of magic on it. What’s it for?”

I started to tell her it was to slay a fate, but I remembered how she spoke of Roccurem and how she liked him. So, I lied to her once more.

“A mission. It’s classified.”

Her smile was short-lived. “How long will you be gone? Do I need to plan new lunch dates with different guards?”

A smug smile pulled at my lips. “As if they would be better company.”

Her smile damn near crippled me. It was so genuine, so bright as if the sun itself would hide from it.

“Was that humor?” she asked, her eyes sparkling up at me.

I said nothing, but hope flared in my gut at her words. They sounded like she’d missed me, and no one had missed me in so long. I had hurt my family, destroyed them for Nismera, and I knew they would welcome my absence.

“It’s late,” I said.

She nodded, glancing toward the door. “It is.”

Silence fell, the spike of tension between us jagged, sharp, and deadly. I swore if I moved just a fraction closer, it would spear us both. Her eyes widened again, and she licked her lips, a blush touching her cheeks.

“Wait,” she said, breaking the tension between us.

I tried my best, I truly did, to not watch her walk away, but that thin material outlined the most perfect backside I had ever seen. My eyes were a helpless slave to its movement. When she turned, I had forced my hands behind my back, and my eyes were back on hers as if I hadn’t just been ogling her ass.

“Here,” she said, holding out a circular disk. It had small shapes carved into it and swirled with her magic.

I slid my finger over the cool surface, and the power in it flickered, licking against my skin as if tasting me, leaving a tingle in its wake. It settled again, but I felt a thin thread of connection to it now. “What is this?” I asked, staring at it.

She shrugged, her smile a little shy. “I made it. My family and I have made these for ages. I used what I had here, but it shouldn’t affect how it works. Think of it as a tool to absorb bad dreams or things of that nature. It will protect the one who owns it.”

I cradled it in my palm. “You made this for me?”

She fidgeted with her thumb as she spoke. “I know you have nightmares. I don’t know if it will work, especially when you’re gone on those gods awful missions she sends you on.”

A thousand and one words were stuck in my throat. “Thanks.” It was all I could say as I wrapped my fingers around the metal disk in my hand. I needed to leave, but I didn’t want to.

“You’re welcome.”

“I hope I won’t be gone too long. Try not to replace me.” I smiled, and she returned it.

“As if I could.” She half turned, raising her thumb toward her bed. “I’m tired. It’s been a long day. Can you just say bye to me tomorrow before you leave?”

“Of course.”

She nodded, placing her hand on my armored arm. A fine tremor ran through me. Her touch wasn’t cold and lifeless like Nismera’s but warm with the offer of succor. She was comfort, and she felt like home. “Goodnight, Vincent.”

“Don’t let Kaden be alone with you anymore, Camilla. I don’t trust him.”

Her eyes were soft as she looked at me, and she nodded. “I don’t trust him either.”

I left her room, making sure the door snapped closed behind me, but I didn’t go to mine for a long, long while. Instead, I did what I had on Rashearim and sat outside her door, listening to her sleep. I slid my thumb over the disk she gave me, enjoying how her magic nipped at my fingers with green sparks, and for once, I felt peace.