“I see where she gets her beauty from. She has her father’s eyes, though, doesn’t she? Would you like to see her, Synthia? Kahleena’s waiting for you. All you have to do is close your eyes and stop resisting me.” Eyes the hue of recently polished silver bore into mine, and he tightened his grip on my jaw before shifting his mouth to my ear. “Or fight me and see which of us will win. I assure you that it won’t be you or your husband who feels victorious after I destroy the entire kingdom because you refused my offer. I guarantee you, Kahleena’s within your grasp.”
“I’ll fucking end you if you touched her,” I hissed, trying to jerk away from his touch.
He smiled before his fingers bit into my jawbone and his other hand cradled my throat in a silent threat. “She’s mostly unscathed, Momma. Nevertheless, she wasn’t in agreement with my extending this offer to you, and it took some manipulation to get her to concede to my plans. She’s a fighter, but she whimpers and cries so exquisitely that I just can’t help wanting to hear those noises from her full, fuckable lips.”
“You’re fucking dead,” I snapped, smashing my palms into his chest with ample force to jolt him. If he felt it, he concealed his reaction before I got the gratification of seeing it flitter over his features.
“Ironically, that’s what she claimed as well. Right before I had her in my lap, squirming in torment while I played with her wet, weeping cunt. Tell me, Goddess, if I were to do the same with you, would you succumb as readily as your daughter did?” he inquired with amusement dancing in his penetrating stare.
“You fucking wish, don’t you? Men like you are nothing but a waste of space and air. You think women should serve at your feet, but more often than not, it’s how you wind up having your balls chewed off.” His hand dropped to my midsection, causing me to tense against his probing fingers.
“It appears you’re only days away from giving birth to your bastard king’s child, aren’t you? Have you even tried searching for her? Or did you seek to replace what I stole from you?” He demanded as his palm pressed firmly against my abdomen and the babe moved. “He’s active, isn’t he? Pity I’ll be the one to end his life. His sister would probably enjoy meeting him first, wouldn’t she?” he quizzed, driving the hand back to my throat.
“You can go straight to hell, asshole. I’ll drive you there myself.”
“Tsk-tsk, anger makes you sloppy and normally gets you killed. You wouldn’t want to die before the fun begins, would you?” When I just continued glaring, he proceeded. “The longer you oppose me, the longer my men get to have your daughter’s silky, generous curves. Choose which option you prefer: abandon Kahleena to their insatiable lust or come with me. You won’t be harmed—not yet, at least.”
I slipped my stare to Ryder, and pain tightened in my chest. I wasn’t certain if he could hear what was going on, but Zahruk turned his head, which I caught out of the corner of my eye. His lips ticked at the corners, but by the time I’d fully turned to look at him, he was as he’d been before.
With no other choice but to agree to whatever this madman wanted, I gave a single dip of my chin.
“Good girl, Momma. Kahleena will thank you for choosing her over the alternative.”
The room spiraled around me as if I’d stepped on a Tilt-A-Whirl ride. Once again, the sense of weightlessness exploded through me, and I shrieked as red-hot pain slashed against my flesh, jerking me forcibly from consciousness.
Chapter Fifteen
The sound of water dripping against rocks caused my eyes to drift open. Rot, mustiness, and something I couldn’t distinguish offended my nose. Blinking rapidly past the haziness swimming in my vision, I slipped my palm over my curved belly, pushing hard against it to ensure the babe still moved. A soft kick caused relief to flood through me, but that was short-lived when the noise of something scraping beside me had me scrambling in a crabwalk to put distance between me and whatever it was.
Multiple men were perched on boulders, scrutinizing me quietly and smirking at my retreat. I memorized each of their faces as I slowly pushed to my feet.
They were dressed richly instead of in the worn clothing I’d expected them to be wearing. Tiptoeing back, my spine struck the cool, rough wall of the cave we were in.
The entire cave was saturated with powerful magic, overwhelming me until I felt I’d suffocate under its weight. Electrical currents crackled in the air, deliberately dipping to touch the uncovered skin of my arms and shoulders. It reminded me of the warded caves and passageways inside the seelie prison that purposely led you down the wrong tunnel. It meant this shithole was rigged to play with your mind, and I was over dimensions fucking with my head.
“Welcome, High Queen of Faery, though I believe you won’t carry the title for much longer, I’m afraid,” the male sitting between the others announced, causing the men around him to snicker cruelly. “I must say that you’re slightly unremarkable in the flesh. I was expecting someone more . . . powerful.”
“Interestingly enough, I don’t think your welcome is sincere,” I returned frigidly before buffing my nails on my shirt in boredom. “I’m supposed to just believe you have my daughter? I don’t believe, or trust anything I have not seen with my own eyes. How about you send me back before you and I get a lot more close and personal than either of us want to be.”
The area we were in was cramped, and stunk of mildew and animal grease from the few candles burning, and I barely contained the urge to throw up from the array of mixing aromas caused by the lard used. There was insufficient light coming from the small flames high on the walls for me to see everything around me. My eyes weren’t adjusting to the murky dreariness of the darkened cavern either.
“This is the goddess we intend to slaughter?” one man inquired, gradually sauntering closer to where I calmly stood. “I say we bend her over and make the bitch bleed for us as she screams.” He paused in front of me, and I struck my fists into his sternum, savoring his confusion as he sailed through the air and collided into the far wall. The harmony of bones snapping and breaking crowded the space long after he’d collapsed to the ground.
A few of the men shot inquisitive glances between the man writhing and contorting in agony, to where I stood nonplussed by his pain. The prick who brought me here regarded me with an intensity that had my warning bells trumpeting noisily inside my head.
He rose to a towering height that matched Ryder’s. Dark, inky-black hair settled over his brow, and wings stretched from his spine. I unleashed mine, hearing the gown splitting as they spread behind me. Where his were dark and ominous, mine were almost luminescent and fragile in comparison. His skull dipped, and a devilish smile stretched over his mouth.
Power slithered over me, and I shuddered inwardly at the sheer force of it. He wasn’t just powerful, though. No, he was ancient and unending. I felt it to my marrow, and he wasn’t even trying to intimidate me yet. If he could unleash that much magic and power without exerting himself, how fucked were we?
“Delicate things you’ve got there, goddess. Do you even know how to use them?” Then he exploded toward me as I twisted, sending the wings blasting in a rapid motion that forced him to shift defensively to avoid them.