The Darkest Craving

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

KANE STOOD BESIDE Tink’s throne, and watched as she resolved disputes between the Opulens and poor alike. She had settled into her new role quite nicely, having taken charge of the palace staff and tasked the high and low court with the reconstruction of the garden. There had been several riots, and one male had even snuck into the palace and tried to assassinate the new queen.

Kane and the guard now under his command had quelled the riots, and killed the male. He had not died easily—because Kane hadn’t let him.

Word of Tink’s feats the day she’d fought her father had spread, gaining her more and more notoriety and support. These people had grown up on the exploits of Lords versus Hunters. They prized cunning, and she’d displayed ample.

Now, only a few weeks into the new regime, the people were beginning to prize Tink.

“Next,” the guard manning the line shouted.

Two Opulens stepped to the bottom step of the dais.

Tink shifted uncomfortably in the throne. How beautiful she looked. She wore a new gown of pink silk, with pearls falling over her shoulders, and velvet rose vines hanging from her waist.

The same roses were woven through her dark hair, making her look as if she’d just stepped from a magical forest. Even her makeup added to the illusion. Bold, glittery eye shadow formed catlike points at her temples. Her cheeks were bright with color, and her lips bloodred.

“Tell me your problem,” she said to the pair.

The woman on the left raised her chin. “No. I won’t do it. It’s bad enough I was dragged here, but you’re nothing more than a servant. I don’t care that you’re married to a Lord. There’s no reason I should have to abide by your judgments.”

It wasn’t the first time words like those had been spoken to her, but suddenly Kane was determined that it would be the last. He marched forward, only to stop when Tink held up her hand. She stood, a study of elegance, and glided down the marble steps until she stood in front of the fuming female.

He doubted anyone could see the slight tremor in her limbs, but he could. He knew her—every luscious inch of her—and watched her more intensely than most. She was nervous, but angry. Sad, but determined.

The guards stealthily closed in. They’d been warned. If anything happened to Tink while they were near, they would die. Painfully. No questions would be asked. No excuses would be heard. And yet, Kane struggled to remain in place. He wanted to be down there, by her side, protecting her as instinct demanded. He was her man. But he’d taught her to look after herself, and now she was queen of an entire nation. He couldn’t swoop to the rescue without damaging her credibility.

Any other time, that might not have stopped him. He would have killed anyone who questioned her credibility, and that would have been that. But this time, he had to know. Could she survive without him?

Every day, Disaster weakened a little more.

Every day, a single fact became clearer. For Kane, the end was near.

Tink lifted her ungloved hands and cupped the offender’s cheeks.

The woman gasped, tried to pull away, but failed. Her skin grew pale. Her mouth floundered open and closed. Then, her knees buckled and she hit the ground, unconscious.

“I’m no servant,” Tink called loudly. “I’m queen, and I will be obeyed.”

Head held high, she strode from the room. Kane followed after her, the Opulen lucky he didn’t stomp on her as he passed. He didn’t say a word as he sidled up to her, and she didn’t, either. They made it into their room, and Kane shut the door.

“I shouldn’t have done that,” she choked out. “I was angry and I overreacted and I could have seriously hurt her.”

“You left her alive, and taught her a valuable lesson in the process. That’s more than she deserved.” More than he would have done.

“All I taught her was to fear me. And that would be wonderful if I wanted her fear. I don’t. That’s what my father had.” She wrung her hands together and paced in front of the bed. “I should have done to her what I’d done to the others. Sent her away without a verdict. One day she would have come back and she would have been willing to listen to anyone to settle the dispute. Even me.”

He shrugged. “Maybe you’re right.”

She stopped and peered over at him. “Wait. You’re not going to defend my actions, no matter how foolish I was?”

Can’t grin. “Cut yourself some slack. You’re new to this. And you’re doing better than I would have done. If I were queen, everyone would have received a death sentence at minute one.”

She rolled her eyes. “While you would make a very sexy queen, I know you’re just saying that to be nice.”

Her definition of “nice” was a bit skewed. Adorable, but skewed. “Sweetheart, when have you ever known me to be nice?”

She thought for a moment, nodded. “That’s true. You’re the meanest man I know. I’ll probably be known as the Mad—but Wonderful—Queen in all the history books, just for staying with you.”

Won’t laugh. “Well, well. Someone has a smart mouth today,” he said, stalking forward. “And that someone is getting a spanking.”

She yelped and darted around the bed. “Kane!”

“Silly Fae. You can’t get away from me.”

“But I can try.” She quickened her pace, and the chase was on.

She ran around the dresser, the vanity, through the bathroom, the closet, and anytime he would get his hands on her, she’d manage to wiggle free. Soon they were both laughing, out of breath, but he wasn’t one to give up—not when she was the prize.

He caught her, and they tumbled to the floor in a tangle of limbs. Her laughter died as he pressed his lips to hers.

“Kane,” she breathed, melting against him.

“My Tinker Bell. I’m going to have you.”

“Yes. Hurry. I want you.”

“No, I’m going to savor you.” He took his time undressing her, every moment a new revelation of his feelings for her—because he loved every inch of her. Every curve. Every hollow. Every scar.

He kissed his way down her body, treasuring her breathy sighs, her heated touches, the languorous way she moved, clutching at him, as if touching him was something she’d been born to do.

He would never get enough of her.

And he would never forget her, not even in death.

In a way, they’d grown up together. When they’d met, they’d both been in a very dark place. They’d lacked hope. Their fears had overwhelmed them. Together, they’d climbed out of the depths of hell—literally and figuratively. They’d found reasons to laugh. They’d let go of hate and embraced love. The weaknesses they’d had had been blasted by fire and were now strengthened with steel. They hadn’t broken. They wouldn’t break.

He couldn’t even imagine what would have happened to him if he’d never gone back for her. Disaster had tried to stop him, and maybe the Moirai had even tried to stop him, but there was something in him that was greater than both. Love. And love couldn’t ever be stopped.

Kane parted her legs and slid inside her—home, this was his home—then set out to slowly drive them both insane. She writhed against him, losing herself to the pleasure, the passion, the moment, the inexorable connection.

He was the one to beg for more. He couldn’t get enough.

His control began to fray. Always she had that effect on him. His motions came quicker, harder. And when he began to surge so forcefully her head banged into the wall, her lips parted on a scream of pleasure. She arched her back, taking him even deeper, and he found himself following her over the edge, growling and shuddering with the force of his release.

He wasn’t sure how much time passed before he recovered enough to pick her up and carry her to the bed. He only knew he didn’t want to let her go. Touching her was a need, a requirement. And not knowing how much longer he would be with her made the thought of separation so much more difficult.

But he had to go. She needed sleep, and if he stayed, he would take her again.

She snuggled under the covers and gazed up at him sleepily.

“Do you still love me?” he asked.

“Always.”

“I love you, too.” He kissed her brow. “So much. You’re my number one.”

“Number one,” she said on a contented sigh. “What I’ve always wanted to be.”

By the time he straightened, she was already asleep. He dressed, stepped into the hall. When he stepped forward, intending to return to the throne room, Malcolm appeared just in front of him, stopping him.

Startled, he furrowed his brow. “You want to tell me what’s going on and why I keep seeing you?”

“Want? No. Will I?” Malcolm shrugged. “In a moment. First, tell me why you’re so unhappy.”

“Unhappy? When I’ve done everything I set out to do, giving Tink a new life, a reason to live?” He tried to scoff. He failed.

“Yes,” the Sent One said.

“Why do you care?”

“We will get to that, as well.”

He popped his jaw, and admitted, “I don’t want to ever leave my wife. I’d return to the way things were, with Disaster, but I also don’t want the demon able to hurt her. Basically, I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t.”

“And that is the crux of a curse such as yours. But perhaps I can soften the blow.”

“What do you mean?” Kane demanded.

You’ll never be rid of me, Disaster said, his low, whispery voice wafting through Kane’s mind. Determined as he was to survive, the demon had lost his fear of Malcolm.

Kane’s hands fisted.

“I will kill Disaster, once and for all,” Malcolm said. “I will burn the evil out of you. No demon can withstand the sword of fire. The problem is, this will—”

“Kill me, too,” Kane said hollowly. Everything always came back to that. “How does that help me get what I want most? A demon-free future with my wife?”

“It doesn’t. But at least your spirit will live on.”

“That’s exactly what would happen without your sword of fire.”

“Yes, but without the fire, the essence of the demon’s evil will remain inside you, and when you die, your spirit will go down rather than up.”

Meaning, if he died the way he’d intended, his spirit would go to hell. For all eternity. Trapped with more demons. Suddenly Kane had to fight to breathe. He hadn’t considered such a consequence. “My friend Baden was beheaded while he was possessed. He went to another realm.”

“Yes, and that realm is located in a corridor of hell. The people there don’t know it yet, but they will. Every day the walls thin a little more.”

Kane tangled a hand in his hair. Poor Baden.

“If I do this,” Malcolm continued, “I could be kicked from the skies. Killing a man is against the rules.”

“I’m not exactly a man.”

“Close enough. Probably.”

“So what do you want in return?” he asked again.

“Your wedding ring.”

“My ring?”

The Sent One gave a single, stiff nod. “You heard correctly. And keep in mind, Disaster is about to take a final stand. He’s weak, but he won’t die calmly. I have a feeling the chaos he caused in New York will seem like child’s play.”

And Tink would be at the center of it.

“So do we have a deal?” Malcolm asked. “You will give me the ring, and I will kill you and your demon before he has a chance to act out one last time.”

If he said no, Tink could lose her kingdom amid the chaos Disaster caused. She could be hurt. Or worse.

Was there really a choice here?

“Give me one more night with my wife. I’ll meet you in the garden at dawn. So, yes, we have a deal.”

JOSEPHINA LOST COUNT of the number of times Kane made love to her that night, before he fell into an exhausted sleep, but she never grew tired of his advances—because she knew what he was planning to do. Connected to him as she was, she had been waking up inside his head. She didn’t even have to try anymore. This time, she’d overheard his conversation with the Sent One.

She’d thought she’d known just how badly her husband wanted Disaster killed. But she hadn’t. He was willing to die himself.

Die.

Tears filled her eyes, and her chin trembled. Did he not understand she would be lost without him? That she would be right back where she’d started—praying for death?

I can’t let him do it.

But...more than she yearned to have him at her side, she yearned to see him happy. To know he was living the life he’d always dreamed.

She couldn’t have both. Not as long as the demon was inside him. Because, the only way to keep him here, with the demon, was to guilt him, and that she wouldn’t do. She wouldn’t trap him with her emotions the way the minions had once trapped him with their chains.

She had to let him go, didn’t she?

Her heart drummed into a too-fast beat. No. She didn’t have to let him go, she realized. Not when she could save him and finally set him free, giving a life for a life.

Her life for his.

Almost every day of her existence, she had been punished for other people’s crimes. The past few weeks, she’d done what she’d done to stop that from ever happening again. She’d planned and she’d fought and she’d conquered. But now, she had a chance to end Kane’s pain once and for all.

If she took the demon inside herself...if she met with the Sent One...

She could receive the final blow, saving Kane.

She would die. Once, a part of her had been resigned to such a fate. Now? All of her rebelled. But for Kane, she would do it. She would act as a blood slave was meant, and willingly take the punishment of another.

He deserved a chance to be the man he’d always dreamed of being. He could rule these people better than she ever could. And he would. He wouldn’t shrink from the duty just because she wasn’t here. He had too much honor.

I have to act now. What had her mother used to say? A horse had to be saddled before it could be ridden.

Knowing she only had a few hours until morning dawned and he would be expected in the garden, she slipped from the bed to quietly dress. Then, using the secret passageways her father had been so fond of, she made her way to the dungeon. Two guards stood sentry at the entrance. They nodded when they spotted her, and moved their crisscrossing swords out of the way. She soared past.

She had examined the cases of the men and women her father had kept down here, and had found out that most had done nothing more serious than annoy him...or have something he’d wanted. So, she’d released the “offenders” and given them bags of gold from the royal treasury. The money couldn’t make up for the pain they’d endured, and the years they’d lost, but it was a start.

Rather than keep the remaining prisoners out front, their arms shackled above their heads for all to come and view, she’d placed each individual in a cage, and she’d made sure they were far enough away from each other that they couldn’t talk and plan an escape.

The first cage belonged to her father.

She peered through the bars. He paced at the far wall, muttering to himself about the injustice of his circumstances. His clothes were ripped, dirty, and his hair tangled.

He spotted her and froze. “You,” he said on a sizzle of breath. “Let me out. Now.”

“No.” She shook her head. “You earned your place down here. I’m still trying to fix the messes you created for an entire race of people.”

“People that belong to me. I can do whatever I choose with them.”

“Not anymore.”

His eyes narrowed to tiny slits. “Did you come down here hoping to buy my love? To taunt me with what I lost, and promise to give it back if only I’ll acknowledge you?”

She laughed without humor, and he blinked in confusion. “The time for that passed long ago. And no, I didn’t come down here to taunt you.”

“Whatever your reason, it was a mistake.” He raced to the bars and reached through, wrapping his fingers around her neck. She could have avoided contact—but she hadn’t wanted to.

As he squeezed, she curled her ungloved hands around his wrist and drew from him. Strength. The abilities he possessed.

He tried to sever the connection, but the suction was simply too powerful.

When finally she released him, his knees collapsed and he toppled to the floor.

“Thanks for that,” she said. Her muscles buzzed with energy. Her blood crackled. “It’s why I came. You see, I’m not going to survive the morning, and I’m hoping your abilities will die with me, leaving you as helpless as the people you’ve hurt.”

As he roared a denial, she moved on to the next hall of cells and came to the queen’s personal quarters. The female was just as dirty as the king, but she turned her back on Josephina, as if she still couldn’t bear to speak with her.

“I’m proof of his infidelity. You hate me. I get it.”

Silence. Not even the rasp of breath.

“I was an innocent party in all of this,” Josephina added, determined to say her piece. “I was a child. I was lonely and scared, and desperately wanted someone to love me. My mother was a woman trapped by circumstance. No one in this realm said no to the king, and you know that. She didn’t want a married man, but rather than help her escape his notice, you shunned her.”

Annnd, still nothing.

In a secret place in her heart, she had wanted an apology. An acknowledgment. She would never get it, though, and wouldn’t spend another second hoping for it, wasting this precious energy.

Sighing, she moved on to Synda’s cell. The girl had heard her and was waiting for her, fingers twined around the bars.

“Let me out,” the princess begged. “Please.”

Josephina opened her mouth to pour out every hurt this girl had caused, to voice every wrong she’d had to endure, but she stopped herself. Synda would listen, but she wouldn’t hear. She would nod, but she wouldn’t truly understand. She would tell Josephina everything she longed to be told, Josephina would free her, and Synda would forget what she’d promised. Unlike Kane, the girl had never fought the evil inside her.

“I’ll let Kane decide what to do with you.” She reached through the bars and cupped her sister’s cheeks. “You need help. I don’t know who you are without the demon, and maybe you don’t, either, but it is possible to fight the demon’s whims.”

Tears cascaded from the corners of Synda’s eyes. “I know. I just don’t know how to do that.”

“Talk to Kane. He may not like you at first, but if you’re honest with him, if you’re sincere about wanting help, he’ll come around. Goodbye, Synda.” With that, Josephina released her and walked to her brother’s cell.

He was sitting in the corner, close to the bars, and facing her. His knees were drawn up, and his head propped against the wall.

“You look well,” he said.

She ignored the compliment, saying, “You aren’t going to beg me to free you?”

“Why should I? For the first time, I’m not looking over my shoulder, expecting death.”

“Oh, please.” He’d had the pampered, privileged life she’d always envied.

“It’s true, Josephina. Every day I expected death to come for me.”

“I don’t see why...unless you treated other girls the way you treated me. You should have been my friend.”

He shrugged. “I wanted to be more. I still do.”

“You’re my brother.”

“I’m not.”

She frowned. “Of course you are.”

He laughed bitterly. “You think you were the only child born out of wedlock? You think the king was the only one to have affairs in the years of his marriage? He let me know in no uncertain terms that I wasn’t his child, I was the queen’s, but that he was keeping me because he needed an heir.”

She...actually believed him, little facts sitting up in her mind. He looked nothing like Tiberius and never had. The king had always been distant with him. Had always chosen Synda over him. Why had she never suspected?

Shock rattled her knees. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Had anyone found out, I would have been killed.” Another bitter laugh. “Actually, if any of his women had ever had a boy, I would have been killed. I lived day by day. I knew you understood that, and thought it bonded us.”

It would have. If she’d known. “I would have kept your secret, if only you’d been my friend. I needed your support, not your lust.”

He traced a symbol on the floor. “Does your...husband treat you well?”

“He does.”

“And you like him?”

“I love him.”

Sadness darkened his features. “If you ever want him killed, come see me. I’ll take care of it for you.”

She stood there for a moment, thinking about what could have been between them. Not romance. Never that, even without the blood tie. But companionship. Affection. Support. “Tell Kane what you told me. I’m not sure he’ll show you mercy. You forced your attentions on me, after all, but he might let you live. A part of me likes the thought of you finally finding peace.”

He smiled sadly. “I never would have forced you, you know. I just wanted the chance to prove how good we could be, despite what you believed about us.”

Maybe it was naive of her, but she believed that, too. “Goodbye, Leopold.”

He shouted as she walked away, his voice dripping with concern—that sounded like a permanent goodbye, Josephina—but she kept going.

Back in her bedroom, she found Kane sleeping soundly on the bed. She reached out and removed the ring from his finger, the key to his future, then smoothed her hands over his brow, the need to touch him too strong to ignore. He leaned into her, his lips curling at the corners.

Goodbye, my love.

As if he’d heard the heart-wrenching cry inside her, he cracked open his eyelids. “Tink. Get back in bed, sweetheart. Let me hold you.”

“Sleep, darling,” she said.

“Hmm.”

To ensure he stayed down, she used the same move he’d used on her, squeezing his carotid until he returned to his dreams.

Then, she wrapped her fingers around his wrist, closed her eyes and drew the darkness out of him and into her, just like she’d done that night in the forest. Before, the demon had entered her with a vengeance. This time, he was too weak to scream obscenities. He was merely a heavy weight inside her, a presence in the back of her mind.

She released Kane the moment she knew the demon was with her, not wanting to take his strength, too.

His features smoothed out, and he smiled again, so peaceful her chest ached. He must have sensed, on some level, that he was now alone.

No question, she’d made the right decision.

“I love you,” she said, and kissed his temple. “Never forget.”