Happily Ever Crowned Read online

  “And if you’re wrong?” was all he asked in response.

  “Then it’s a good thing I’ve had you as a sparring partner for the last twenty-odd years,” I replied, relaxing again. “The link gives me access to her thoughts, her location, and her feelings. Once I obtain a better understanding of her, I can master her.”

  He busied himself with his drink for a long moment, his black irises disappearing into his widening pupils, the blood satisfying him immensely. The flick of his gaze to the bar in the corner showcased the simpering waitress.

  Of course she’d used her own blood to taunt him.

  Desperate little demoness.

  She wasn’t even his type. Grigory preferred badass females who played hard to get, not little pixie toys who would strip on a single command.

  He set the mug down, his distaste evident in the downward curl of his lips, but he didn’t comment. We both knew he’d either let her down harshly or kill her, depending on his mood. She’d fucked up his drink. Grigory didn’t take kindly to that.

  “Did you prod her mind last night?” he prompted. “Dig deep into her conscious to learn her likes and dislikes? Determine how best to manipulate her?”

  “No. I fostered a healthy night’s rest.” Something she had desperately needed. “And put on a show for Necros.” Which had been a hell of a lot harder than I anticipated because all I’d wanted to do was fuck the beauty in my arms, but I refused to defile her in such a way. Pleasuring her in front of the masses had been degrading enough.

  “Have you considered why you haven’t dug into her mind?”

  “Because she’s not ready.”

  He tsked, shaking his head. “A poor excuse and you know it. Think harder, brother. I think you’ll find you pity her and wish to play the role of knight, not conqueror.” He held up his finger. “Emotions are circling you, Adrik. Specifically, fury. And considering your goal, I’d say it’s not your right to be pissed. Not when you plan to destroy her on a level she’ll never recover from.”

  “What is with the pep talk this afternoon?”

  “Isn’t that why we set up this meeting?” he countered, his tone knowing. “To ensure that I kept you in line? That you wouldn’t forget your overall purpose? Bonding to a female as you did fucks with the mind. We both know that. I’m here to keep you grounded and focused.”

  “By reminding me that I have a job to do,” I muttered, glancing upward at the purple-tinted sky of Noxia Kingdom. “I already miss it here,” I admitted, palming the back of my neck and blowing out a long breath. “Necros reeks of death.”

  Grigory chuckled. “Soon it will be lost to the sulfur pits of hell.”

  “Now that I can celebrate,” I replied, amused once more.

  Until I felt a pang rattle my chest—Valora’s panic. I winced beneath the onslaught, my heart racing in time with hers.

  Grigory frowned. “Is she all right?”

  I pulled on our tenuous tether, searching for the cause of her overwhelming fear, and growled at what I found. “He’s just informed her of who she’ll be bedding tonight.”

  “Already?” My best friend glanced at his watch. “It’s only five o’clock.”

  “Apparently, Necros wants her to get a head start.” The bastard planned to give her to one of his most lethal lieutenants. Lavios. I’d wanted to kill the sadistic demon last night but knew it would have infuriated Necros to lose such a valuable soldier. It also would have painted me in a suspicious light, something I desired to avoid. “He’s going to rip her apart.”

  Grigory sighed. “What can you do?”

  “Kill him,” I replied immediately.

  “And risk everything in the process over a woman you hardly know?” He shook his head. “You’ve done what you can, protected her in your own way. It’s up to Valora now. Maybe she’ll surprise you, brother.”

  Yeah, that was doubtful. I’d watched her shut down last night and accept her fate without much of a fight. Even the slight show of fury she’d given me died beneath my touch. “I need to get back,” I said, pushing away from the table. It would take me thirty minutes to traverse the realms via the teleportation network, but at least I would be nearby should she need me to intervene.

  Grigory gave me a look. “Don’t do anything stupid, Adrik.”

  “Like kill Necros’s favorite lieutenant?”

  “Yeah, like that,” he replied, his brow coming down sternly. “This girl has gotten into your head, and you barely know her.”

  “It’s not her, just the principle. What Necros is doing to her is wrong.”

  Grigory stood, his seven-foot frame towering over me by a good eight inches. “And I’ll remind you again, brother. You’re the one planning to truly break her. Which one of you is worse?” My fist cut upward of its own accord, only to be caught by his waiting hand. “Go watch over her, but watch yourself first.” He shoved me backward, a warning in his gaze. “And don’t make me come over there to rescue your ass, or I’ll kill you myself.”

  “You can try,” I taunted, knowing it would be a fairly even fight even if he bested me this time.

  “I’ll more than try,” he vowed. “You owe me a boon, Prince of Shadows.”

  “And you owe me a blade,” I retorted.

  He grinned, tossing me the knife he’d taken from my pocket during our minor spat. “There’s hope for you yet, brother.”

  I shook my head and sheathed the dagger. “See you in a week.”

  “I’ll be here.”

  “I know.”

  “I don’t think your time with my lieutenant will be as much fun as your night with Prince Adrik was.” Necros raised the goblet of scarlet liquid to his mouth and took a large gulp. His lips turned up into an evil smirk around the ornate glass. “His tastes are a little more violent.”

  I ignored my husband’s comment and concentrated on my barely touched dinner of raw meat and spices. He designed his words to hurt me, and I refused to allow him to rile me up. It was what he wanted, and he would not win.

  “See, Lavios? Unruly.” Necros whipped his hand under my plate and flipped it up in the air, the bloody steak hitting me in the face before flopping onto my dress. I didn’t move, although in my head I cursed painful murder on my husband.

  Why don’t you choke on your steak?

  Treasonous thoughts but I didn’t care.

  Lavios merely smiled, his gaze oozing lethal intent. “Don’t worry, My Liege. I’ll work that out of her.”

  My stomach churned at the words. “I’ll go change,” I managed to say, my throat aching with each word.

  The wooden legs of my chair screeched across the marbled floors of the banquet room as I pushed myself backward. It was only Necros, me, and Lavios here. My husband’s followers were to join him later for continued debauched behavior.

  Assholes. All of them.

  Thankfully, Zaya wouldn’t be a part of it tonight. She’d barely survived the torment inflicted upon her by my husband’s orders and now rested in a guest bed within my quarters, lulled into a state of sleep aimed at giving her body time to heal.

  Once her parents collected her—which they were on their way to do—my conscience would be clear. And I would be officially alone with no one my husband could hold over my head.

  “You don’t need to change.” Necros grabbed my hand and tugged me hard toward him. I stumbled on my high heels and fell into his side, knocking my leg into the table. I gnawed my lip to stifle the cry of pain. “Lavios doesn’t mind a little blood, right?”

  “On the contrary, I love it,” Lavios replied, his licentious gaze roaming over my cleavage with obvious need.

  “Hmm, yes, I believe he wants you now, Valora.” My husband’s lips twisted into a cruel expression. “And frankly, I would prefer a woman at my side who’s more willing to accept my advances and not a frigid, barren bitch.”

  I hope you die a painful death with rats eating your genitals, I thought at him.

  He threw me across the floor to where Lavios sto
od, the lieutenant’s arms folded over his strong chest, the medals of his victories—bones, skin, and hair—decorating his black uniform. Bile rose in my throat, and I was suddenly glad I hadn’t eaten much.

  “We’ll see you in the morning, My King.” Lavos bowed to my husband and then threaded his fingers through my hair and yanked me across the marble ground.

  I tried to scramble up onto my feet, but he was too quick. He dragged me through the corridors, demons jumping out of his way and gaping at my squirming form behind him. My scalp ached from the torture, my nails begging for purchase on the ground, anything to help me stand. But Lavios had no care for me at all, bumping me into wall after wall and covering my body in soon-to-be bruises.

  “Let me go!” I screamed. Several people in the corridor leapt away from us, not one person coming to my aid. I was their fucking queen, but they acted as though seeing me hauled around the palace was a normal occurrence!

  The sad truth—it was becoming one.

  I longed for the seclusion of my engagement to Necros. At least I didn’t have to face anyone and could hide away reading or enjoying time with Zaya.

  But she would be gone soon, leaving me alone to my fate. To be raped by men I didn’t know. To serve a king I loathed. To perhaps die in this wretched place.

  How had I never noticed his true intentions?

  Because I’d been hidden away. All this time, I thought it was to protect my virginity, but now I saw the truth. Necros had kept me sheltered from my future, knowing no woman in her right mind would accept such a course.

  I hated him even more in that moment, longing to burn this palace to the ground and all the men who resided inside it.

  Except maybe Prince Adrik.

  I frowned. He hadn’t taken me at all but had provided me with foreign pleasure and a unique sleep. Why?

  Could he be a friend?

  I barely know him.

  But maybe?

  Lavios brought me out of my reflection when he opened his bedroom door and threw me inside like a doll. I landed on the floor, and my cheek slammed against the cold hardness of the stone. My head swam, painting my vision in black.

  Ice hit my face, smothering me in a cool liquid that left me shaking in confusion.

  “Get up, you lazy bitch. You won’t sleep through this. I want you to feel every moment.”

  What? He must have knocked me out.

  Lavios didn’t give me a moment to process, his fingers digging into my shoulders as he lifted me from the ground and tossed me onto the bed. Every part of his countenance terrified me, from the sneer on his lips to the sadistic hunger radiating in his hazel eyes. The light glistened ominously over his bald head, providing him with a false halo where horns should lie.

  I’m going to die here, I realized. This man… I’m just a toy for him, a slave to accept his whims.

  Why would Necros do this to me? A queen? The female he chose to give him heirs? He accused me of being barren. Was it true? Did I hold no value beyond that of my womb?

  “How should I fuck you first?” Lavios sucked air into his mouth, making a clicking sound as he mulled over the possibilities. Then he circled me as a predator would its prey, studying me from different angles, his lustful intentions painting his features into an expression that would haunt my nightmares for years to come.

  Assuming I survived.

  “Do you know what we do to soldiers who don’t do as they’re told?” he asked silkily.

  I kept my mouth shut, fear holding my tongue hostage. I’d heard rumors of this man on the battlefield. He was ruthless, his men ruled out of terror rather than respect. He didn’t just kill his opponents; he annihilated them.

  My blood went cold as a memory stirred, one where I witnessed Lavios’s particular brand of punishment. He’d boiled a demon alive before the entire court for trying to poison King Necros. But due to our immortality, the demon remained alive through the entire demonstration, then writhed on the banquet hall floor while everyone enjoyed a feast around him. Lavios had dined on the male’s arm, claiming the demon meat to be tender, if a little crispy.

  And finally, after hours of agony, he’d put the man out of his misery. But not in a kind way. No, Lavios did not do kind.

  “I asked you a question, slut.” The crack across my cheek sent my vision spiraling once more, the world dimming, only to be stirred again by more of the icy substance. “Necros was right. You’re insolent and spoiled and untamed. You don’t deserve to be our queen. There’s no grace, decorum, or dignity with you. You’re nothing more than a whore, and there’s only one way to treat them.”

  His belt slipped from his pants, the hiss of it a taunt to my ears. “You are a lower rank than I,” I whispered, trying to find my grounding. He couldn’t do this to me. I was his queen. He had a duty to protect me from this insanity, not—

  The leather sliced across my cheek, just below my eye. “Whores don’t outrank lieutenants, bitch.” I raised my palm to my tender skin, only to find my wrist caught in his hand and twisted at an angle that forced me onto my stomach.

  His belt met my back, the lash harsher than the one to my face. I lay stunned, unable to make a sound, unable to move, unable to fight.

  He’s whipping me…

  That was unheard of. Unlawful. Punishable by death. Yet this man was the one destined to carry out the sentence.

  Did my parents know what fate they’d subjected me to when leaving me here? Would they even care if I told them?

  I pictured my mother from my wedding day, the cold calculation in her gaze, the warnings of my purpose to keep Graystall safe.

  No. She’d tell me to endure it. To bend over and take it. But who could survive such cruelty? Why me?

  The second lash of the belt slammed across my back. Its sting seeped into my pores, and I bit down hard on my lip to suppress the scream dancing in the back of my throat. I tasted blood where my teeth had penetrated the soft skin.

  Another blow followed, forcing me to bite down hard on my lip. Blood pooled in my mouth from how hard I clamped my jaw shut as strike after strike tore through the fabric of my dress to meet my bare skin.

  My entire body swam in an agony so painful I lost my sight for a short moment, only to be brought back by the feel of leather against my shoulder blades. It would be so easy to slip away, to fall into an unconscious state, but then what would happen? Would Lavios torment me into awareness? Yes. I knew he would. And then he’d destroy my mind.

  “Use that fire, that pain, that anger. Memorize it. Cultivate it. Sharpen it. Because it’s the fury that will keep you alive.” Adrik’s voice played through my mind, his words causing my heart to race.

  He’s near.

  I frowned. How do I know that?

  Cultivate the fury, I heard him saying. Fight.

  I shook my head to dispel the thoughts, blaming my predicament for my lapse into dreamland.

  “You take punishment well,” Lavios praised, drawing me back to the present and the sting against my back.

  What’s happening to me?

  Lavios threw the belt onto the pillow beside my face and yanked on my dress, forcing me closer to him. “A pretty pattern for a pretty whore,” he murmured against my abused skin, his tongue lapping at the trails of blood his belt had created. “Delicious, too.”

  He ripped off the remainder of my dress, exposing my ass. His teeth sank into my globes, causing me to flinch. This can’t continue. I have to do something.

  Fight, Adrik whispered again, confusing me greatly.

  How are you in my head?

  “I’m so damn hard right now,” Lavios groaned. “This first fuck will be quick, but we’ll experiment more later. I’ve got a whole cupboard of toys designed to teach you how to better please Necros. Guns, knives, any weapon I own can be used in a cunt, in my mind. You’ve just got to know what to do with it. How to make the pussy bleed.”

  Lavios forced me to my back—the fabric burning as it met my tender flesh. Tears filled my eyes, the
need to shriek taunting my throat.

  And then he freed his length from his trousers.

  Oh… fuck…

  The bastard had modified his cock with spike piercings covering his length and giving it the appearance of a morning star mace.

  Lavios would rip me apart if he fucked me.

  “No,” I protested, my thighs squeezing shut.

  But it was futile. I had no say. This was my world until Necros grew bored and killed me. All this to save a country I didn’t know.

  I hated my parents.

  I hated Caluçon.

  I hated Necros.

  But most of all, I hated myself for allowing this to happen to me.

  Cultivate the fury, I heard Adrik saying again. Fight, Valora.

  Fight, I repeated. Yes. I couldn’t let Lavios tear me apart, couldn’t allow anyone to treat me in this manner.

  Lavios grabbed my knees, prying them apart with his superior strength. His hardness met my entrance, the first sting of his spiked piercing pushing into my tender flesh.

  No!

  Use your fury, Valora! Adrik demanded. Use it now!

  Fire slammed into me and swirled around my body, anger overruling common sense.

  He’ll not take me this way, I seethed, pouring all my hatred and disgust into the fight for my life.

  The fire gathered at my shoulders and surged down my arms.

  I won’t bend to his will.

  My hands ignited into an inferno, landing on his skin.

  Die a painful death.

  The flames shot from my body and wrapped themselves around Lavios as he pulled back his hips and prepared to thrust inside me. His mouth fell open on a roar I couldn’t hear above the sizzle of flesh, his eyes wide with shock.

  I scrambled backward, the blaze intensifying around us and sending him to his knees.

  Is this a dream? I wondered. Have I already lost consciousness?

  Because I couldn’t be doing this. Not really.

  Except his expression told a different story, his skin melting around him in a way I’d never seen before. We were immortal. Fire didn’t kill us. But Lavios appeared to be dying.