“He was your greatest enemy. You had the chance to kill him, but it seemed you never tried.”
“Lysander was never my greatest enemy. My greatest enemies have always been Apophis, the god of Chaos, and Orion, the lord of dragons, for thousands of years. Lysander was just the one standing in my way when I decided to extend my power to the other realms and, eventually, the human world. I never feared him, or even doubted that I would win against him, but he did prove a worthy opponent in many ways. It would have been a shame to kill someone with so much power and character.” I fold my arms across my chest, not wanting to admit this, but here it is. “By the time it came to that confrontation I’d decided not to kill him, but to try and get him on my side in some way. I would have only tried after I’d taken over the realms, though. I knew he wouldn’t see reason before that.”
“Lysander would have never joined you.” Her tone prompts me to turn around and face her, as much as I wanted to avoid it. She’s staring daggers at me, her cheeks burning. I think she even forgot all about Marayke, who’s still tending to Kareim’s wounds, now that the others have provided water and a healing potion.
“He hates everything you represent, all of us do,” she spits.
“What do I represent to you?”
“All things evil.”
“And what have I done to deserve such a rank?”
“Oh, you mean like besides the fact that you tried to take over all the realms, and overthrow every ruler? That you went after the Winter Realm, even though you needed it in order to keep the realm of Hell in balance?” She rises slowly to her feet, her pretty face shining with magic. “I don’t know, maybe that you created entire armies of Undead fae, by killing living, breathing creatures! Only here, in Edinburgh, there have been dozens of murders in dark alleyways.”
“And you know for a fact I was behind those murders?”
“Who else was building an army like yours, Xerxes?”
I listen to her with my arms folded across my chest, not responding to any of her accusations. She sounds so convinced, that I don’t see the point in trying to persuade her otherwise, to explain to her how things actually happened. Besides, it might be better that she thinks the worst of me. It will help to prevent the connection between us deepening. She will sure as hell never want to bond with a cold-blooded murderer, which is what she’s convinced that I am.
She keeps talking, and I take in every word without responding.
“I understand,” I say when she’s done, breathing hard from how much she spoke, her chest heaving. “But none of that matters anymore, because I lost everything, and I don’t have that kind of power and influence anymore.”
“No, but once you recover it, you’ll try again. You’re the most ambitious creature, we all know that much.”
“Maybe. But let me remind you, you don’t really have a choice. Either you help me, or you remain my prisoner forever.”
She bites her lip, hating that she has no way out of this.
“I will help you,” she declares. Then, unwillingly, as if she hates having to say it, “And I think I know where we can begin looking for the Firestone. The faster we’re through with this, the faster I can have my freedom back, and never see you again. He’ll also be able to help us with the blood oath.”
CHAPTER III
Cerys
I have no choice but to go through with this. I decided it’s not such a bad thing, after all. If I help Xerxes, I will regain my freedom—I know he’ll keep his promise, I sensed it when his aura encapsulated me, and Nazarean did, too. The blood oath will help strengthen that conviction even more.
But I’ve also discovered another advantage. The time spent with the King of Flames will also help gather vital information about him. I’ll know what military forces he commands, who his allies are, how his powers work, and I’ll get a pretty good feel for who he is as a person, too. With a little luck and a lot of observation, I might even find a weakness.
For a moment back in the dungeon I thought his weakness might be Marayke, and my heart twisted painfully at the idea, but in the end it proved wrong. I can’t deny that I’m attracted to Xerxes because of this stupid connection between us, and the idea that he might prefer someone else over me does nasty things to me. But I swear I’ll take better care of my heart during the time that I have to spend with him. I won’t develop feelings for him, I’ll fight against that with all I have, even if it feels like swimming against the current.
“The Grand Mage of the Dark Warlocks,” he says as we stare at the cathedral-like mansion in front of us. “He swore he knew nothing about the Firestone when I first spoke to him about it.”
“Of course he did. Imagine what it would mean to him if you recovered your powers. He played on both sides all along. He fought on Lysander’ side, while making deals with you as well.”
“Well, then, I’m looking forward to speaking with him again.”
I scratch the back of my head. I desperately want to avoid violence, or any conflict for that matter. “It doesn’t have to come to a confrontation. It’s past midnight. The Grand Mage is surely engrossed in one of his rituals, he won’t be obstructing us.”
“We’re not here to get out of confrontation’s way,” he says through his teeth.
“I think it’s better if he doesn’t even know we’re here,” I argue, noticing how his jaw is ticking. “We’ll have more freedom to search for what we need.”
“It would be easier to get the information directly from him. We’re not even a hundred percent certain he knows something, we could be wasting time looking for information that doesn’t even exist.”
I turn to him, holding Nazarean in my arms. His sleek, black fur under my palms feels reassuring.
“Let me put it this way,” he continues. “The Grand Mage has spies everywhere. I can’t imagine anything going on in the Flipside without him knowing about it, even if it was centuries ago.”
“Even if he knows, he won’t give the information up easily. Or he’ll try to use it as leverage. It’s better that we search for it on our own, and I think I know where to start.”
We start towards the mansion. It looms high and intimidating in the darkness, its spires piercing the clouds. One thing is for sure, we can’t take the main entrance. The place is heavily guarded, and even though no spirit or guard is strong enough to take on the King of Flames, the Grand Mage can quickly assemble a small army against us. Things can get bloody, which I’m determined to avoid.
As we hide in the shrubbery, I touch Xerxes’ arm to draw his attention. It feels hot and hard as iron under my palm. In fact, he is entirely hot, like the cauldrons of the underworld, and I can’t imagine how any woman could ever resist him. He changed clothes back at the castle, and now he’s wearing a pair of ripped jeans, army boots and a leather vest with blades strapped all over it. He’s sex on a stick, and I can’t blame this crazy attraction I feel entirely on the connection between us. I’ve seen how the witches looked at him back in the dungeon under the Edinburgh castle. Marayke, for example, is downright in love, it’s so obvious that I feel sorry for her.