Happily Ever Crowned Read online

  The queen grabbed her husband’s arm, causing him to turn toward her with a warning glance. She said something too softly for me to catch, her imploring gaze making the king’s mouth to flatten.

  “Even now, my wife forgets her place,” Necros boasted, his tone filled with disdain. “Which is why I offer her lady’s maid for entertainment tonight, to those who prefer a quick fuck over the fight for a taste of royalty.”

  I set my glass down, the power play souring my stomach. This was all a ruse, a way to weed out the weakest among the herd before we even began. And already several were taking the bait.

  Such a sad group indeed.

  To think, Grigory had worried about me.

  Tears blossomed in the queen’s eyes, her mouth moving almost silently to plead for the female she clearly cared about above. The king ignored her, signaling for Maximus to bring the shaking girl down to his level. She appeared so young, maybe twenty at most. Her fearful gaze sought out the queen, a look of misery passing between them, much to the amusement in the room.

  Jeers began, salacious commentary littering the air, leaving only a few of us silent in our preparation for the true prize.

  A prize that was visibly breaking only twenty feet away.

  The little bird’s wings were clearly clipped before she’d ever learned to fly. She attempted to move forward, as if to shield her lady’s maid, but the king held her back with a hand on her shoulder and some stern words whispered into her ear.

  Whatever he said had her posture falling into perfect submission, her beautiful face angling toward the ground.

  There was nothing she could do.

  Nowhere to run.

  And yet, a slight clench in her jaw indicated her opinion. Hmm, was that the fighter inside teasing her way to the surface? Or a way to keep herself from sobbing before the room of hungry males?

  The lady’s maid screamed as her clothes were ripped away, the men already on her for their bout of enjoyment.

  Necros observed the debasing act with a serene gleam, revealing the king’s perverse side. He enjoyed harming those beneath him, mostly as a way of remaining in power.

  But what he adored more was to take out potential contenders. Hence, tonight’s little game.

  I slowly removed my suit jacket, folding it over a nearby chair, and began rolling the sleeves of my dress shirt while I waited. By my count, there were fifteen of us who could potentially compete. None of them posed a threat to my ability and status. But there were a few I wouldn’t mind removing from the equation, mostly because I wanted the queen to remain intact and not everyone here would have her safety in mind.

  Sure, the king would provide us with rules. I just doubted some of my contenders’ abilities to abide by them.

  Particularly, Thortus—the bulky brute with the football-shaped head. He was notorious for kidnapping humans from Earth just to rape them to death. Necros no doubt considered the asshole to be a suitable candidate for breaking his pretty little wife.

  I disagreed.

  Rolling my neck, I ignored the muffled cries coming from the lady’s maid and focused on Necros. He held the queen’s arm tightly while conversing with two of his men. Whatever he was saying had painted her skin in shades of gray.

  Then he released her with a clap of his hands. “It’s time.”

  A gladiator ring formed throughout the middle of the room, dividing those who wanted to watch from the candidates, while those seeking more sadistic entertainment played with the lady’s maid in the corner.

  I suspected most of those men would find their ties to Necros loosened in the coming days, their weakness for a bit of free flesh denoting them as useless to anyone in power. Because everyone knew a prize was worth fighting for, not one you won just by being.

  Two lines were formed, eight on each side. I stood near the end, hands tucked into the pockets of my dress pants, bored. Weapons were wheeled out as Necros and his queen took their seats on the outskirts of the ring. She no longer cried or blinked, her skin ashen, her mouth pressed to a fine line.

  The harsher Necros was to her, the easier he made my job. She needed a knight, someone willing to help her, and I would prove to be that male. Then destroy everything she’d ever known.

  “The rules are simple,” Necros said, commanding the room with his deep tenor. “The last six left standing win. All weapons are accepted, including any that were carried in tonight. I’ve also provided a few items for those who didn’t arrive prepared.” He relaxed into his throne, his hand clasping Queen Valora’s tightly. “Any questions?”

  I palmed my blades, my targets in sight.

  No one spoke, the anticipation thick in the makeshift arena.

  Not even the lady’s maid cried now. Or perhaps all sound was drowned out from the rhythmic beating in my ears. I began to count, my instincts taking over and leading my expectations.

  Three.

  Two.

  Necros’s hand sliced through the air, igniting chaos throughout the room. “Begin.”

  Thump.

  Thump.

  Thump.

  The beat of my heart rang in my ears, the noise akin to a bass drum sounding out my death.

  Had my husband just made an announcement beyond cruel?

  Zaya screamed louder, the noise filled the room and mixed with the sound of men who fought to win me for one night a week. Six unknown males and, on the seventh night, my husband would take me.

  Immortality suddenly didn’t seem like a gift. A lifetime of hell all because I saved a realm I didn’t even know.

  Every inch of me wanted to scream and shout, but I knew I had to play the perfect wife.

  “Why are you doing this?” I kept my face neutral for everyone in the audience but addressed my husband. “Why do this to me? To Zaya?”

  “You don’t get it, do you, my dear wife? I do it because I can. You don’t seem to understand how to satisfy me, and I want you to learn the art of sex so you will better please me.”

  His statement caused my composure to slip. “Bullshit.” The people nearest to me jumped at my words and the venom dripping from them.

  Necros waved away their attention with a flick of his wrist. “Remember your place, Valora. You wouldn’t want me to have to beat you in front of the assembled guests for disobedience.”

  My temper spiked and I stood up. “Go to hell.”

  Necros grabbed my arm and yanked me back into my seat. “Big mistake, little one.” He stood and clapped his hands, causing everyone to stop midfight. Even the two men raping Zaya halted, their lustful gazes causing my stomach to churn. I recognized them—they had watched me on my wedding day.

  Dampness pricked the corners of my eyes, but I refused to let it fall. I’d not give my “loving” husband the satisfaction of victory over me now. How I thought he had a heart, I didn’t know.

  “Bring her to me,” Necros demanded, his focus on Zaya.

  The shorter of the two pulled out of my lady’s maid, his cock covered in blood.

  Maximus stepped in and pulled Zaya up by her long hair. She was covered in bruises, bites, and unspeakable fluids. Her eyes full of tears, my fun-loving maid was seemingly replaced by a woman longing for death.

  “Please,” I whimpered, hoping to change my husband’s mind from whatever he was going to do even though I knew it was futile.

  “It seems my wife hasn’t learned enough yet to believe my intentions are for her benefit,” Necros explained to the observing crowd. “Perhaps a demonstration will help?”

  Approval radiated through the air, the roughened fighters on the floor gleaming up at the king with deep appreciation. These were the men he’d chosen for me, all of them brutes and covered in warrior wounds. Two of them were already dead. But I couldn’t pay them much mind, not with Maximus pushing Zaya to the ground before us.

  Oh God… Please no...

  Necros removed his member from his pants. Maximus then held Zaya’s mouth open while my husband forced his dick inside it.

/>   I fell to my knees next to my maid, the only person in this land who’d ever shown me kindness. I needed to save her from any more suffering.

  “Please, she’s had enough. I’ll do it instead. Here, in front of everyone.” I waved my arm around, showing off the assembled crowd.

  Necros shoved himself down her throat, suffocating my maid, and paused, calculating his next move.

  “All right.” He withdrew from Zaya’s mouth and shifted in front of me. I opened my mouth wide and shut my eyes. “No, keep your gaze on me.”

  I opened them again and looked up at him. “My Lord.”

  Maximus dropped Zaya, half-unconscious, onto the floor of the ballroom and came to stand behind me. Necros thrust into my mouth at the same time as Maximus secured my head. I was nothing but a toy to my husband now, taking everything he gave me.

  “Thomas, Demetrius, you can take the maid back and finish what you started,” my husband announced at the same time as he thrust deep, halting my ability to breathe. “To the remaining fourteen, continue. Unless you no longer find my errant wife worthy.” He withdrew and sheathed himself in my mouth again, causing me to gag as the men chuckled at his crude words.

  Zaya yelped and my focus shifted toward her, earning me a slap against my cheek. “Eyes on me, little whore,” Necros ordered, and I flicked them back up. I didn’t want to watch him, but I knew I had no choice.

  He pumped his hips into me like a wild animal. Rough, hard, and with no thought for the fact that every time he pistoned forward, I coughed and choked around him. He was too busy watching the chaos below where the men fought for a chance to fuck me.

  Bile rose in my throat, forced back down by the impact of his cock.

  I wanted to scream, to bite, to hurt.

  But I could do nothing other than accept his filthy torment.

  It didn’t take him long to bury himself deep in the back of my mouth and eject his venomous lust down my throat, spurt after spurt of hot and salty cum that left me retching. Eventually he withdrew and tucked himself back in his pants.

  Necros shook his head, disdain coloring his features. “Pitiful and exactly why I require help in your training. You couldn’t even swallow properly.”

  I yelped as he pushed me to the floor, Maximus’s fingers still twined in my hair. Wincing, I glared up at them both, unable to speak beyond the throbbing in my throat.

  “Remain there where you belong,” Necros demanded, retaking his throne.

  My husband was sick.

  He was worse than Lucifer himself.

  I wanted him dead, and one day I’d be the one to do it. One does not require power, only the right opportunity to take it.

  Wrapping my skirt around my hand, I used it to wipe my face of saliva and the evidence of my husband’s assault.

  I would not let them break me.

  Ever.

  Zaya’s shriek sent a chill down my spine. I couldn’t see her, but I knew what they were doing to her. All because my husband could. I’d try to help her later, return her to her family, something to get her out of this hell.

  Assuming she survives the night.

  Oh, I hated Necros. Loathed him.

  Whatever good I tried to see in him was gone, just like my dignity as I sat on the floor, awaiting my fate.

  I took in the men fighting, willing them to just kill each other to end this charade so I could return to my room and hide.

  The men on the ground were highly skilled, battling fast and hard. All with individual styles that echoed their upbringing. One of the males was twice the size of my husband, with a scar down the center of his face. His crooked nose and beady eyes terrified me just as much as watching him take down opponent after opponent with a weapon that killed immortals. I had to turn away from him, the thought of having him touch me sending shivers down my spine.

  How would I manage to do this?

  They are going to break me.

  My eyes flitted to another man next, one of similar size to my husband but with a hint of coldness to his features. I frowned at him, curious. He possessed the kind of face that would have women throwing themselves at his feet, his dark features and pale skin a contrast most would find desirable. Why was he here? Surely he did not require a fight to bed a woman. And oddly, he didn’t have a speck of blood on him. How strange.

  Part of me was surprised my husband allowed such a specimen to join the battle.

  The other part didn’t care. Because what did I know? I was just a woman meant to please her husband.

  Fuck them all.

  My hand shook, my brow beading with sweat. I gripped my skirts, willing my limbs to cooperate. Nobody can see my fear. It will only weaken me further in their eyes.

  “One left and then we’ll know your men,” Necros informed me.

  My stomach churned, thinking of the six men who would take me one after the other. Brand me as a whore and destroy the virtue I was brought up to believe in. “Will I be given to the victor tonight?” I wondered quietly, then flinched at the thought of further punishment.

  My husband’s lips curled into a cruel grin. “No time like the present. I mean, surely you want to reward one of the hardworking victors with your body, right? Or would you prefer all six to share Zaya tonight as a warm-up?” He turned his attention away from the fight and to me, with a questioning eyebrow raised.

  I swallowed. I will kill you. “I prefer to reward one myself, My Lord,” I managed to say, my throat dry.

  “Or perhaps all six at once?” He smirked evilly. “Decisions, decisions.”

  Defeat.

  There was no question for me to answer, his attention already drifting. What could I say? Nothing. He owned me. I’d never been my own person. Never controlled my fate. And tonight would be no different.

  I refocused on the bloody arena, waiting for the inevitable.

  The handsome man wielded his knife with an adept skill, but I was shocked when I saw he focused his attention on the man with the crooked nose. He’d lose, the fool.

  Arrogance was always a downfall, especially in the Underworld.

  I sat stunned when he leaped quickly and soundlessly into action and surprised Crooked Nose with a slice to his throat. I leaned forward, watching every move with awe. I’d never seen a fighter with such skill.

  How was that possible?

  Crooked Nose grabbed his neck and tried to speak, but no sound came out. The entire room stopped while the giant fell, leaving six victors in his wake.

  The handsome male looked down at his knife and wrinkled his nose. Leaning over, he wiped it on the jacket of the dead man before him and then tucked it away like he hadn’t just used it to kill someone.

  “Excellent. I see some of you came prepared.” Necros stood while I remained at his feet, where he’d commanded I stay.

  The six men shifted forward, five were covered head to toe in the blood of those they’d defeated, but the man I’d just witnessed kill someone twice his size still remained untouched. He appeared as though he’d been out for a short jog rather than engaging in a bloody battle.

  Something about him unsettled me. Perhaps it was the lethal gleam in his gaze or the way he stared stoically at the king. Regardless, Crooked Nose no longer scared me most. This champion did.

  “Congratulations.” My husband descended the stage like the powerful ruler he was, everyone moving out of his way and bowing in deference to his power. “You’ve all earned at least one night with my wife, subject to more if I believe you a suitable candidate for her training.”

  Necros stopped in front of the handsome man.

  No. I couldn’t call him that.

  He continued to scare the hell out of me with his calmness, and he’d just fought a battle for my body.

  A person’s character was what made them handsome, not the way they looked.

  “Hmm, you all fought hard, but one stood out above the rest.” Necros’s gaze fell to the male I feared most—the lack of blood on his attire likely the reason for my
husband’s attention. “Prince Adrik of Noxia, I presume?”

  Lethality loomed in the male’s dark gaze as he gave a subtle bow. Not the full kind as most did in my husband’s presence, but a partial bend to imply respect more than servitude. These men were closer to equals. Although, despite Prince Adrik’s royal vampire lineage, Necros sat at the top of the throne. Mostly because both kingdoms were allies, with the Queen of Noxia bowing to Necros’s will rather than contesting it.

  “A pleasure, King of the Dead,” Adrik replied, his deep baritone sending a shiver down my spine.

  Necros took his measure once more, stroking his bearded chin all the while. “How is Queen Lux?”

  “She’s well, My Lord, and she sends her warm regards.”

  “And she approves of your attendance here?” Necros pressed.

  Adrik’s full lips curled at the side into a devastating smile. Handsome had been too tame a term for him. Sinful seemed more accurate. Tempting, too. “I doubt she will when she finds out, but I desired a challenge.” His dark eyes flitted to me, his expression intensifying. “A beautiful one.” He returned his focus to Necros. “Your offer was too enticing for me to resist.”

  Necros chuckled, glancing over his shoulder at me. “Well, a challenge she certainly will be.”

  “Fortunately, I have experience in that realm.” The lewdness in his tone caused my stomach to churn, as did the evil victory radiating from Necros’s features.

  “So I’ve heard.” My husband shifted back to Adrik. “Would you like to taste her first?”

  My breath hitched.

  No.

  Not him.

  A vampire? That was too dangerous. He could kill me. Didn’t Necros realize that?

  “It would be my honor, My Lord,” Adrik replied, licentious energy rolling off him in waves. “I will just need limits addressed.”

  “No limits.” The severity in those words had my heart leaping into my throat.

  “You’re sure? Because I enjoy sharp elements in the bedroom.” Adrik twirled a blade skillfully through his fingers to drive home his point.

  My lips parted. No way would Necros allow him to—

  “She’ll heal,” my husband said emotionlessly. “Valora, come say hello to your first trainer.” He snapped his fingers behind him as if to beckon me like an animal.