TWENTY-ONE

TWENTY

LIAM'S ROAR WAS abruptly cut off as the veil closed around me. Endless night swept over my vision.

The veil resisted my passage. Pressure grew, threatening to tear me in half.

The power at my core flared, pure and containing the potential to break me down to my base molecules. It was excruciatingly intense, riding the line between pleasure and pain.

Then I was through, gasping for breath, my muscles still twitching.

The force around my waist held me up as I hung limp. It dragged me down the stairs, past piles of stark white bones. I had a feeling I now knew what had happened to those other magic breakers they employed.

The tentacle pulled me through a window, lifting and cradling me to the chest of a monster who was the size of the castle he stood next to. Thousands of eyes watched me from his face and body. A swarm of tentacles extended from his lower half.

He was one of the last king"s forgotten monsters, I realized. He"d also been the one who tried to pull me through that first portal.

It seemed Don hadn"t been lying when he said he wasn't responsible for trying to kidnap me. The realm was.

There was a flutter of wings above me as the shadow bird landed on a tentacle a few inches above me.

It cocked its head, beady eyes staring into mine. Finally, it hopped closer. When I still didn"t react, it hopped onto my chest and settled down, glaring at me the entire time.

That was how our passage went, the tentacle monster mostly ignoring me and the bird watching me intently as we made our way through a realm that seemed to be encased in permanent twilight, endlessly caught between the transition of day to night.

From my vantage, it was hard to see, but what I caught was strange and beautiful.

Trees of crystal and glass. Hills with the features of an old woman.

The passage of time slipped and slid around me, holding no meaning. I couldn"t tell how long we"d been moving when the monster came to a stop at the edge of a forest.

He set me down in front of a tree that was the older sibling of the one leading to Arlan"s barrow. Its limbs gnarled and heavy with age, massive roots feeding into the ground. Its trunk was wide, the bark wrinkled and curling.

The place was how I imagined ancient oak groves to be like, before man came and tore most of them down to clear way for their farms and cities.

At the oak"s base was a circle of stones, their placement specific.

A tentacle nudged me forward a step when I didn"t move.

I looked back to find another tentacle pointing at the circle in an unmistakable message.

One guess what he wanted me to do.

Still, I was reluctant. There was power in that circle. This place might be old, but it wasn"t restful. Pain and betrayal lurked here.

The bird took flight, circling the stones once before settling in the branches of the ancient tree. He ruffled his wings and cocked his head, waiting to see what I would do.

The tentacle nudged me again, this time more insistently.

I had a feeling I didn"t have much of a choice in this matter. I could walk forward of my own free will or the monster could force me. At least doing it on my own gave me a running start if I needed it.

Reluctantly, I took a step forward and then another.

What was this place?

"My prison." The voice came from the shadows between the monolithic stones. Its owner had gone unnoticed until now. He looked around at the old forest. "Or at least this is how your mind chooses to perceive my prison. Mortal minds have their limits. This allows you to be here without breaking."

This stranger was different than the monsters and birds around me. There were no dark shadows cloaking his power. Nothing crouched deep inside. He was simply a man.

And that was how I knew he was nothing of the sort.

No mortal could exist here.

"It"s a beautiful scene you"ve built for me," he said.

When I still didn"t say anything, he looked at me. Familiar eyes met mine. Memories of a dark stranger crouched at the end of my bed who told me stories of blacksmiths and knights surfaced. Those stories always had the bad guy emerging victorious in the end.

They"d been warped and slanted toward the antihero before I even knew what that meant.

"You"ve grown. Much more than I imagined in this short time." Moonlight slid across his face to reveal twin abysses where his eyes should be.

I didn"t have to ask who he was. I already knew.

"You"re their king," I guessed through numb lips.

"And your grandfather," he finished, hands clasped behind his back.

"This form is an illusion," I realized.

It had to be. He carried no smell and when he moved, the grass didn"t bend. He felt like a ghost to my senses, yet appeared solid.

Approval shown in his eyes. "Very good. My true form can be a bit hard on the mind as you"ve already discovered."

This was another aspect of that black void I"d found crouched at the base of this world. The one that had nearly fried my brain.

"What do you mean prison?" I asked suddenly.

Sadness touched his features. "Suffice it to say that the man you call Travis didn"t give you the full story of how this realm fell."

Not surprising really.

"I doubt any of my former court know the full truth besides your father," he said.

"You want me to free you."

His laugh welled from his chest, the sort of sound that made you want to join him. He sobered after several long seconds. "No, my dear, you don"t have that kind of power."

That had me relaxing.

"Though if you wanted to, it wouldn"t take much work on your part," he added.

"What"s the full story?" I asked, not wanting to pursue that line of thinking.

He waved my question away. "It would take far longer than you have to understand."

"What"s with all the monsters?"

"Ah." He glanced around, his gaze fond.

I could feel other monsters hiding in the forest, watching and listening to our conversation.

"They"re good company, if a little lacking on conversation. When you were a child, you enjoyed them immensely."

I remembered that. At the time they"d been no bigger than cats, coming out only when my mother turned off the lights for the night. Unlike most children, I"d never required a night light and now I knew why.

He lifted a hand and there was a rustle before one of the shadows dispersed, the light fueling it shooting to his palm. He closed his fist around it and squeezed. I felt the shift as the light winked out.

"Easily made, easily destroyed."

I stared at the remnants of the butterfly as they floated to the ground, feeling a surprising grief for its passing. "You didn"t have to do that."

A soft understanding filled his face. "You feel pity for them."

I flattened my lips, not answering.

"You"re kind," he said, almost as if to himself. "That trait doesn"t usually last long in my offspring."

I was careful to keep my sarcastic response to myself, trying not to even think it. Whatever he was, my mental defenses didn"t seem to work against him and aggravating him for petty reasons seemed like a fool"s errand.

The quirk of his lips told me I hadn"t quite managed to keep my thought contained. "I can take away your vampirism if you want. You"d be something else, but you would be free of the curse that was thrust upon you."

I considered him for several long moments.

It was true I"d often railed against what I was, using it as an excuse to pull away from the world. I mourned my humanity and the choices that had been taken from me.

Now he offered to undo what I was.

To do so felt like going backwards. This was a bell that couldn"t be unrung. I"d gone too far down the path, gained too much.

Becoming human meant losing all that.

"No, thank you," I said at last, feeling like a giant weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

"Are you sure? You"ve never embraced what you are, and I"m offering to change that."

"I"ve come to accept what I am."

"Very wise, granddaughter," he said with a small smile.

"Why did you make me forget you?"

I"d loved him. When he stopped visiting, I"d cried myself to sleep for months, never knowing why. It got to the point my mother took me to a therapist.

"I felt it best to obey your father"s wishes. My presence was making it difficult for you to blend."

And now we came to the proverbial elephant in the room.

"Did he really do what they accused him of?" I asked.

The king skated the perimeter of the stones. "That is a difficult answer and as with most things depends on your perspective."

"I want to know what you think," I said.

His gaze lifted to the starry sky. There were many more stars than in the human world, the constellations unfamiliar.

"It"s true I gave him my crown. I"d grown weary of the constant politics, the infighting. I hoped he would take my place or choose a new successor."

"But he left without doing either."

The king"s gaze fell to meet mine. "That is one way to look at it."

But likely not the right one, if the things I"d put together were to be believed.

For one thing, that chain of events didn"t explain how the king came to be imprisoned.

"One could also say he chose the lesser of all evils," he said, stopping in front of me.

"You were betrayed," I said.

His eyes slid closed on a slow blink.

I looked around his prison. "Why haven"t you broken free yet?"

He could have. Of that I was sure.

He grimaced and shook his head. "Being king comes with so many rules. There was a reason I abdicated. Besides, it's much more interesting to watch you lot stumble and falter. Besides, this peace is pretty much the outcome I wanted."

I shook my head. "No, I don"t believe you."

The king stopped, arching an eyebrow at me. "Oh?"

Just that one word, but it held a warning.

"No," I said, ignoring it. If I was going to die here, it was going to be under my own terms. "No, I don"t believe you"re weary of this world."

He wouldn"t have interfered when it looked like I might die, and he certainly wouldn"t have visited all those years ago.

No, if I looked at him like any other Fae I could almost see the agenda beneath the agenda. He wanted something and would manipulate events until he got what he wanted. I just needed to find out what that was.

"And you know so much, an infant that has been alive for a mere blink of an eye?" Power cracked in his voice. A warning and a reminder.

He was the equivalent of a god in this place. Crossing him would have very bad results for me.

Still, I didn"t let myself back down, firming my shoulders. "Why did he really leave? What"s your real reason for bringing me here?"

He studied me, the feeling of a predator drawing near impossible to ignore.

Abruptly, he smiled. "You"re nothing like him, are you?"

"I"ve never met him, so I wouldn"t know." But if this was what he"d had to deal with on a regular basis, I could see why my father had walked away from it all.

"I won"t tell you why he did what he did. That is his story to tell—or not."

Fair enough.

"My meddling right now has a simple reason. I am concerned about my former subjects. Calliope wasn"t lying when she said many had already faded. I"d like to prevent any others from following."

I lifted a shoulder. "Then open the realm up again."

His sigh was frustrated. "It"s not that easy. To do that, there must be a king—or queen—" he gave me a meaningful look "to feed the land."

I shook my head. "No, absolutely not."

I wasn"t going to slide into those shoes. I"d likely be dead in a week. Not to mention I had a life to get back to.

He contemplated me for several seconds. I held my breath, sure he was going to try to force the issue.

"Fine." He waved a hand. "You choose then. I"m sure there is one among the Scattered who kidnapped you and would have tortured you to force you to retrieve the crown suitable as a king or queen."

I stared at him, not missing the gleam in his eye. He thought he"d force my hand with this.

I shook my head and let out a soft snort. "You do it. You"re the one who wants to save them."

"Ah, but you see, the last time I chose, I ended up here." He indicated the stone prison. He leaned forward. "Now what will it be? You? Or one of them?"

I couldn"t hold the realm even if I wanted to. This was a no-win situation. If I accepted, I burned myself out trying to defend it and proved myself unworthy.

If I chose, he and everyone else got exactly what they wanted—except Travis.

"Fine, but you will appear and confirm my choice."

His smile was dark, as if I"d done exactly as he expected.

"Deal struck." He considered me. "A word of advice—listen to your instincts."

I didn"t have time to ask what he meant as his hand breached the stone"s perimeter, a fingertip touching my forehead. The world dissolved around me.

I stumbled out of the veil, falling to my knees.

The stark relief in Liam"s eyes, as if he was witnessing a miracle, would live with me for the rest of my days. He looked like a man whose world had burned down around him only to find his greatest treasure survived.

His arms closed around me. I pressed my face into the crook of his neck, the comfort of him whispering in his original language washing over me as he rocked us back and forth.

"I thought I"d never see you again," he said in broken voice.

"Same."

He pushed a piece of hair back, his gaze searching mine.

Someone approached. Liam lifted his head, a snarl twisting his features.

Nathan held up his hands. "It"s just me."

Liam went silent, but he didn"t retract his fangs. His eyes were still wild amid features that were nearly feral.

Nathan looked at me as if asking me to help out.

I nodded, patting Liam"s chest.

Vampires, contrary to myth, were beings of immense passion. Everything we felt was more intense. Sadness. Happiness. Hatred.

It was no wonder he was a little off balance. I was too.

"I"m okay," I told him. "We"re okay."

Finally, he looked down at me, an emotion as immense as the night sky in his eyes, coupled with a defenselessness that made my stomach flutter.

I pressed my forehead to his. "Thank you for coming for me."

"Always." One of his hands stroked my cheek. "To hell and back if necessary. If you hadn"t come out, I was going in."

His words resonated with promise. I believed him.

I let my lips quirk up. "Good thing that wasn"t necessary then."

Liam was powerful enough that he might have forced his way past the veil, but it would have cost him.

"Cute as this reunion is, we should probably get going before they realize we"ve rescued the fair princess," Nathan quipped.

I raised an eyebrow at him.

He lifted his shoulders. "What? We did rescue you."

"That"s debatable."

The real threat had always been what was beyond the veil. I liked to think this was a team effort.

"He"s right. We need to get out of here." Liam helped me stand.

"Too late." Inara darted in from the hallway.

Travis followed, a naked blade in his hand. His gaze dropped to my hand and what I only just now realized I held.

"The crown," he breathed.

A crown, more delicate and intricate than any I"d ever seen on a human monarch"s head, rested in my grip. It was topped with three gems. The one in the middle a deep onyx and dark as night. Flanking it on either side were two diamonds that twinkled like they"d caught starfire in their depth.

Despite the swirls and swoops of thinly braided metal, it had a solid weight.

"You found the king"s prison."

I fixed a stare on him. "Now, how would you know about that?"

According to him, the king abdicated his crown to his son. He"d mentioned nothing about a prison during story time.

His expression froze before it was wiped clean. "I guess if you spoke with him, there"s no reason to hide the truth anymore."

I was getting a bad feeling about this.

Liam hovered protectively at my side, Nathan beside him.

"You see, I helped the other high kings imprison him. Unfortunately, he"d already passed his crown to the weakest of his offspring."

"Let me guess. You"d planned to take the crown for yourself," I said.

His lips twisted and he shrugged. "If Brin hadn"t cast it aside and closed the realm, I would have succeeded."

That was what I was afraid he"d say.

"You have no intention of letting the others live when this is through," I said flatly.

He shook his head. "No. The summer lands High King already has soldiers waiting to invade and slaughter everyone when I get that crown."

Too bad for him that even if he managed to kill me and take the crown, it wouldn"t stay with him. It needed someone to choose. I"d cast it aside again before I let him have it.

"I hope you have an exit strategy," I said to Liam.

He didn"t answer.

"I take it you"re planning to be stubborn about this," Travis guessed. "You never could do anything the easy way."

"And here I was under the impression you thought that was charming," I said dryly.

He bared his teeth. "That was when it benefited me. You were so easy to fool, you know. It was child"s play."

My teeth clenched.

Liam"s hand brushing against mine calmed me.

I glanced up at him, grateful. One of his eyes slid closed in a wink. It was unexpected enough that I almost smiled. Instead, I dipped my chin in understanding.

I was the decoy.

Projecting confidence, I stepped in front of the other two and held up the crown. The captain was nothing if not laser focused.

"This what you want? You betrayed everyone for a hunk of metal?"

Power pulsed from the crown.

His past and future unspooled before me like a highlight"s reel.

The possibilities that lay ahead, the small boulders in his history that had changed and warped him.

Once, he"d been the most loyal of the king"s inner court. Disappointment and bitterness had led him to his current course. He"d believed he was right all those years ago when he imprisoned my grandfather. The years since hadn"t been kind. He"d had his heart broken over and over again, until his hatred had curdled and he'd wrapped it around himself like a blanket to ward off the cold.

If he got this crown, our futures would be filled with nothing but blood and death. He sat on a throne of bones, his armor stained red. All paths led to war for him.

"Aileen, I don"t want to hurt you. Don"t make me." There was pleading in his expression as he lifted his hand again.

I shook my head. "You don"t have to do this. There"s a way back."

I saw his decision, felt his resolve, and knew I"d lost him again.

"This was set before I met you," he said in apology.

Damn. He really was going to do it.

"I understand." I showed him the crown. It drew his gaze like a magnet. "You want it. Come and get it."

I hurled it into the air. His eyes followed.

Liam and Nathan charged forward. Travis whipped up his hands, a web of magic pulsing.

I yanked, using my ability to call it toward me.

He cursed as his magic sputtered.

Then Liam was on him, fangs sinking into his throat. Nathan caught Travis"s arm as he tried to lift his sword to stab him.

"Shit." I started forward. "Wait, Liam. That"s a really bad idea."

I grabbed at his shoulders, trying to move him.

The lines of fate changed. In them, I read Liam"s death.

Frantic I started yanking at him. Fuck. He was stronger than me.

"Nathan, help me!"

Nathan looked confused.

"Now!"

Slowly, Nathan began to comply. Too late, as Liam"s fate was practically assured.

Desperate, I touched the other side of the captain"s neck, visualizing the power flowing into me instead.

It came with startling ease, flooding up from his vein into my fingers. It roared through me.

The fates reversed. Only this time it was my death I saw written.

The power would burn me up from the inside unless I did something to stop it.

The metal of the crown grew scorching hot against my fingertips.

Yes. That might work.

With a thought, I reversed the course of the power, envisioning a net to capture any of the spare. I fed it into the crown. It gulped the power down like it had been starved for centuries, a black hole where Travis"s power was a mere drop.

Yes,it seemed to breathe.

I felt the veil withdraw several steps, pulling back as the crown absorbed power it had long been denied.

This was the missing piece. The crown needed to be fed or the realm shrank. Whoever ended up wearing it would be a constant source of energy for it.

No wonder the king had accepted my rejection so easily. He had to have known I could never have sustained the crown for long.

He would have let me try though, if I"d been so greedy and arrogant as to think I could.

A test, I realized. The only question was whether I"d passed or failed.

The captain slumped to the ground, his power guttering. Between Liam and I, we had taken a significant chunk. If we took anymore, I risked the crown falling to him by default. It could decide only his power would do.

I let Travis go and grabbed Liam. He resisted. Filled near to bursting with power as he was, I couldn"t see us forcing him to stop.

Not letting myself think, I dragged a finger across one of my fangs, a drop of blood welling. I waved that finger under Liam"s nose.

"Wouldn"t you prefer something a little sweeter?"

His head lifted, his eyes glazed.

"You let him go and you can have your dessert." I dragged that finger along my neck, smearing the blood there.

I didn"t even see him move before he was on me. His fangs gently slid into my skin, causing no more than a prick of pain. Sensation burned through me; my core tightened as lust rose with a white-hot fury.

Liam had somehow wedged his hips between my legs. He ground his hardened length against me, the sounds he made against my throat erotic.

I struggled to push past the haze of passion, dimly aware of Nathan yelling at us.

Only the knowledge of the incredible danger we were in kept me from giving in to my need.

As if sensing the shift in my mood, Liam unlatched, his tongue licking the twin punctures he"d made, its warmth pulling at things low in my center.

He raised his head, his gaze searching. "I thought I lost you."

I ran a thumb across his cheekbone. "Me too."

Nathan"s face appeared beside us. "This is nice and all, but we need to go. He wasn"t the only Scattered here, and I"m not sure how long our primary force can hold the door."

"I second this notion," Inara said from his shoulder. I"d forgotten her in the battle.

"Watching a pair of vampires go at it isn"t why I came on this little trip." She made a face and shuddered. "Besides, fang boy is right. Lowen just messaged to say more Scattered have ported in. It won't be long until the rest can't fight them off."

Liam started to climb to his feet. He stumbled, only catching himself at the last minute.

"I agree. We need to rendezvous with the rest." He took a step, nearly falling again. Nathan caught him.

Something was off.

It was Inara who put it together. "I"ll be damned. The vampire"s blood drunk."

Liam shook his head. "I"m not."

He pushed away from Nathan, moving carefully to the sword the captain had dropped. He nearly toppled over trying to grab it, reaching and missing more than once.

"She"s right." At least I no longer felt so bad about my time as a statue. "You"re drunk."

Liam straightened, smoothing down his shirt as he met my eyes, his attempt to appear professional and sober more than a little adorable.

"Come on, killer, let"s get out of here," I told him.

"I"m not drunk," he insisted.

I nodded, bending and grabbing the sword he"d had trouble with. "Oh, I believe you."

He pouted when he saw me holding the sword. "Why do you get the sword and I don"t?"

I smothered my laugh, knowing I shouldn"t encourage him when we were in a life and death situation.

"Touch your nose," I told him.

Hey, sobriety tests worked for cops. No reason to think they wouldn"t for vampires too.

Liam, in a rare show of compliance, followed my order. He touched the tip of his nose, the carefulness with which he did speaking volumes.

"See, not drunk," he said around a pleased smile.

I nodded.

I shoved him lightly. He staggered back like I"d put all my strength in it.

"That"s why," I said.

Nathan watched it all with the excitement of a little kid offered a gift he'd never known he wanted. "I am never going to let him live this down."

"Good." Maybe it"d keep Liam humble. He needed that arrogance put in check every now and then.

Liam frowned at me. "Mean."

I smiled at him. "You love it."

He shot me a sultry look. Had the circumstances been different I wouldn"t have hesitated to take him up on his offer. This version of Liam was surprisingly irresistible.

"I do indeed," he purred.

Inara made a rude sound. "If you two are done flirting maybe we can get on with it."

Nathan sobered. "Right. You"re going to take point. I"ll follow you. Aileen, you bring up the rear with Liam."

"Got it," I said.

Inara shot out of the room without another word.

Nathan bent a long look on me. "We"ve got this."

"Yes, we do."

Liam let out a war cry, causing both of us to flinch. He gave us an innocent, goofy smile.

I shook my head as Nathan eyed him carefully.

"Maybe don"t do that again," Nathan suggested.

Liam swayed, his attention already wandering.

Nathan and I shared a long look.

Nathan shook his head, muttering, "This is going to be interesting."

He followed Inara as Liam and I brought up the rear.

I"d say this for Liam, he had the drunk walk down. I"d seen enough of them in my time to know a master when I saw one. The walk consisted of a loose-limbed saunter that had a tendency to wander. It was followed by wall bumps and then over corrections.

I steered Liam away from one of the night clad doors that the twins had warned me about.

He patted my hand in gratitude.

"Aileen, Aileen, the beautiful Aileen," he sang with a slight lilt. He brushed against me and smiled, reaching up and pushing back a piece of hair that had fallen forward. "All my centuries and I"d do it all again if it led me to you."

"You say the sweetest things when you"re drunk," I told him.

His smile came again, happy and effervescent. "You"re worth the wait. She always told me there"d be a woman I would need more than breathing."

Liam lifted one of my hands, pressing his lips to my knuckles.

Normally I would have laughed at such an over the top gesture, but when Liam did it my breath got fast and my skin flushed.

"I"m so glad she was right," he finished.

Nathan whistled from up front, holding his finger up to his lips.

"As fun as this is, we need to be quiet now," I said.

Liam"s smile died, and he stared at me like a drowning man. "Kiss me and I will."

I knew him well enough to know he wasn"t going to let this go. Blackmail in a dangerous situation? Check. I"d be madder if I didn"t want to kiss him too.

I leaned forward.

His lips met mine, the kiss quickly turning heated.

He was the one who pulled back first. His expression one of torment and bliss. "What luck is mine that you fell into my life."

"I seem to remember you didn't think so during our first meeting."

"I should have realized then," he murmured.

His hand closed over the sword and he pulled it from me.

His smile was filled with regret as he raced away, a roar of challenge leaving him.

Ambush.

Magic burned everywhere. Arrows raining down.

Liam charged a group of Fae, laying waste to any who got in his way. Nathan joined him, killing any who got close.

"This way, Aileen." Inara went right, keeping to the edge of the room.

For a moment, I hesitated. Leaving Liam and Nathan to fight alone felt wrong.

One of the strange Fae spotted me and pointed.

Others joined him. I knew the second they spotted the crown. Greed filled their faces.

I whirled, darting after Inara.

How the hell was I supposed to choose an heir with everyone trying to kill me?

I didn't get far when a body tackled me. I hit the floor hard, somehow the crown staying in my grip. Inara cursed, circling us as I maneuvered onto my back, kicking up while scooting across the floor.

Callie appeared over my attacker's shoulder; her face merciless. Her snakes struck and the Fae went limp. Callie grabbed him and hurled him across the room.

Facing me, she froze, her eyes on the crown. Yearning filled her expression.

"Aileen," Inara warned.

"Find help," I told her. Inara wouldn't be able to fight Callie, not with her snakes.

With a nasty curse, Inara spun, darting into the hallway.

Callie's gaze held me mesmerized as she crouched. She touched the hand that held the crown, a question in her eyes.

Like with the captain, my vision expanded, her potential fates unfurling.

Unlike Travis, she wouldn"t go blindly to war. She"d resist the crown"s darkness harder than most, but eventually she would fall. I saw her walking amid a hall filled with the statues of her former friends. She was consumed by a loneliness so absolute it burned her soul with cold.

My lips parted. She must have read something of what I'd seen in my face, because regret and disappointment moved through her expression before she nodded.

The paralysis that had held me vanished.

"Go. I"ll protect your back," she told me.

"You"re not going to stop me?"

She touched my hand again. "If this came to you, it"s for a reason. If I"m not it, then you must find the one who is. It"s not my place to stand in the way of that."

Don hovered behind her. The shadows he normally used to cloak his face were gone. His horns now resembled tree like antlers curling from either side of his head. Tentacle like shadows drooped in place of hair.

The same power I"d used on Callie started to bloom. With a gesture, he gently pushed it aside.

"No need, little niece. I"ve never desired that crown. Such things are for beings much more foolish than me." His last words seemed to be aimed at Callie.

"Can you stop this?" I asked them, gesturing to the fighting.

The Scattered Fae had multiplied even in the short time we'd been occupied. Liam and Nathan were holding their own, but it wouldn't be long before they were overwhelmed unless we got reinforcements.

Callie and Don weren"t the allies I would have chosen, yet they were only ones I had.

Callie shook her head. "We"ve been without a home for too long."

"The crown will not let you leave until someone is chosen," Don warned.

I"d begun to suspect as much.

Which meant running would only delay the inevitable and get others killed. Perhaps even those I loved.

The crown was tired and lonely. It craved a companion. For it to survive, it needed someone on the throne.

If I didn"t give it one, it would keep me instead.

Callie"s snakes slithered over her shoulder. They butted my face and shoulder, their tongues flicking out in small kisses. "Little hatchling, fate has not been kind to you."

"She never was."

She was a cold hard bitch who took too much delight in upending my world.

A dagger flew from the side. Don"s horn extended, catching it before it could impale itself in my throat.

Travis limped into view, his eyes burning and his front coated with blood. "Step away. That crown is mine."