Happily Ever Crowned Read online

  I did nothing but watch as bones protruded from his body, singeing away into unspeakable ash.

  This had to be a figment of my imagination, a way to reconcile the torture he was inflicting on my body. I’m going insane.

  I supposed it was only a matter of time.

  Lavios disappeared into a pile of dust, the smoke-tinged air all that was left of my unbridled flames.

  Soon I would wake. Feel the pain. Wish this was all true. And die a little more inside.

  “Valora,” Adrik’s voice came from the shadows, his expression one of pride.

  I canted my head, confused. “Why are you here?” Had he sent me into another sleep state to protect me from the horror happening beyond the dream realm?

  “Helping you,” he said, a smile on his beautiful lips. “You feel it now, right? The power residing inside you? I can teach you how to use it.”

  I blinked. “What power?”

  He glanced pointedly at the ash littering the floor. “That power, little bird. You destroyed him.”

  My eyes fluttered, my torso wavering beneath the onslaught of exhaustion. I needed to sleep. To cry. To hide. To rule.

  So many conflicting desires.

  So much… energy. Or lack thereof.

  I yawned, lying in the filth of Lavios’s bed. One would think my mind could at least teleport me back to my own rooms. But that wasn’t how the world worked.

  I lived in a true hell.

  In Caluçon Kingdom.

  Where I served as queen to a monster.

  I’ll kill you someday, I vowed. Just wait.

  “And I’ll help you,” Adrik murmured, sounding closer now.

  My heavy lids slid open, my eyes finding his. “Why are you here?” I asked again on a sigh.

  “Because I want to kill him, too,” he admitted softly.

  That only proved this to be a dream. No one wanted Necros dead. No one but me. Yet I allowed the proclamation to lull me into a state of contentment. “We can kill him together.” I didn’t mean it, of course. Prince Adrik wasn’t real. But perhaps in this world of make-believe, we could formulate a plot, one that could provide me with a hint of satisfaction for the months to come.

  “It’s a date, little bird,” he said, his strong arms coming around me to lift me from the sanctuary of sheets. “You can rest. We’ll talk more when you wake.”

  Not likely, but I smiled anyway. “I’d like that.”

  Even if it was a falsehood.

  For I knew that when my eyes opened again, I’d awake to a horror I’d never escape.

  Until death.

  Grigory is going to kill me.

  All my training went out the window over a woman in literal flames. But watching her destroy had been worth every second of reprimand my oldest friend could ever inflict upon me.

  Because wow.

  Valora coming into her power had been a sight to behold. I’d known for years of her potential. However, seeing it in action provided an entirely different understanding.

  I brushed her damp hair away from her face, watching her sleep. It’d been easy to take her back to her quarters. This palace was littered with passageways not even the servants knew about, all old tunnels from a time before Necros’s reign. But Lux had access to the original architectural plans, something I’d spent years memorizing.

  It was how I knew Lavios’s quarters lacked cameras, unlike the guest areas. Necros trusted his lieutenant implicitly, which had made my job easier. Of course, Necros would be wondering what happened to his favorite warrior come morning. But that gave me a few hours to work with Valora on a plan. I just needed her to wake first.

  She’d remained unconscious through the bath I’d administered, her supple form putty in my hands. The wounds on her back healed nicely under her display of power, leaving only blood behind—blood I’d carefully scrubbed from her skin.

  I could practically hear Grigory growling in my head, berating me for showing kindness to a woman I intended to kill. But I felt compelled to help, and after that display of power, I had something new to consider.

  She wanted her husband dead, as did I. What if we worked together to achieve that fate? She certainly possessed the ability, but it needed to be honed—a task I would willingly accept.

  I ran my fingers through her luscious brown stands while considering my proposal.

  It would require removing the other men from her nightly regimen. Easy enough. We just needed to ensure Necros’s distraction, which happened to be working in our favor even now. He had no idea she’d destroyed his lieutenant, too caught up in his debauchery to care.

  Oh, I’d been invited to join his brand of fun. But after making a brief appearance to check on the king, I’d returned to Valora.

  She snuggled into my side, seeking my warmth, her arm sliding across my lower abdomen. I’d kept my suit on to avoid potential distractions, needing the barrier between us. This only worked if I maintained my focus. Although, her leg inching up my thigh seemed to have other intentions.

  “Mmm,” she murmured, nuzzling into my pectoral.

  “Did I not satisfy you enough last night, little bird?” I wondered aloud, grinning. She wasn’t fully awake yet, her lithe form stretching alongside mine. I’d dressed her in a nightgown, but it didn’t do much to hide her body. Pretty much everything in her evening wardrobe appeared to be chosen for an audience with the king.

  She mumbled something incoherent, the sound decidedly sweet.

  So innocent, Valora was.

  So beautiful, too.

  I’d known all of this, of course. To be presented with it altered some of my earlier bravado regarding this situation. Breaking her heart could prove to be a harder task than killing her husband. If I allowed my emotions to dictate my resolve, anyway.

  Which wouldn’t happen.

  I refused.

  Still, we could work together, grant her the opportunity for a little revenge, and strengthen her along the way. “Watching you kill Lavios was, well, arousing.” I combed my fingers through her silky strands, adoring the way it clung to my skin as if longing for my touch. “I worried you might have suppressed your inner strength for too many years, but Lux was right. You’re finally growing into your power.”

  I pressed my lips to her forehead, holding her close as she slowly stirred, my voice drawing her from her dreams. Whether she heard me or not, I couldn’t say. But she deserved the truth. At least part of it.

  “For whatever reason, your parents and husband have chosen to keep you in the dark about what you can do. I think it’s fear. Given how you burned Lavios alive, I can understand why. Oh, but I’d like to see more, little bird. And I can help you, too. Together we can destroy them all.”

  Except for her husband.

  No, that bastard was mine. He needed to pay for his sins and the horrible pain he’d inflicted on my kingdom.

  I wanted him to live long enough to watch me return the favor.

  Then he could die.

  Painfully.

  Light blue eyes flickered up at me, shrouded in a thick dusting of lashes. “Adrik?”

  My lips curled. “That is my name, yes.” And I rather adored the way it sounded coming from her alluring mouth. “Do you feel well rested?” It’d been a few hours since her energy outburst. Long enough for her to recover.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked sleepily. “Am I dreaming again?”

  “Hmm, are you?” I asked, guiding her back into the mattress and hovering over her. “If this was a dream, what would we do?”

  “Run,” she breathed. “Leave this place.”

  “Wouldn’t it be far more fun to kill them all first? And then run?” I drew my thumb across her cheek as I balanced on my elbows above her. “Paint the city in blood. Destroy everyone in our path. Watch it burn. That would be my dream.”

  She swallowed, her pupils dilating. “I like that dream.”

  “You have the power to achieve it, Valora,” I said softly. “With the right tra
ining.”

  “Power,” she repeated on a wistful sigh. “Power is something I don’t have.”

  “On the contrary, sweetheart. You’re brimming with energy. That’s how you killed Lavios.” I tilted my head, holding her gaze. “You can feel it now, can’t you? The fiery energy warming your veins? You incinerated him with it. The heavens above call it angelfire.” And it was exquisitely rare in the Underworld.

  “I don’t…” She frowned, her delicate hands roaming up my arms to my shoulders. “I killed Lavios?”

  “You did,” I confirmed. “It was a beautiful sight.”

  “And you were there?”

  “Lurking in the shadows, yes. It’s where I enjoy playing.”

  “You watched him…?”

  Some of my amusement died. “Beat you? Yes. It was why I urged you to retaliate.” For which I was grateful she had. Otherwise, I would have had no choice but to intervene. “You’re stronger than you know, Valora. I can help you nurture that strength, help you hone it and use it to take them all down. But only if that’s your wish.”

  Her eyes searched mine, the dazed quality in her icy blue irises fading into understanding. “This isn’t a dream.”

  “No, it’s not.” I again traced her cheek, my thumb lingering near the edge of her lips. “You killed Lavios, and it was one of the most exquisite deaths I’ve ever witnessed.”

  “I killed…” Her nostrils flared, her pulse jumping in her neck. “Necros—”

  “Will have no idea what you did,” I finished for her. “After tucking you into your bed, I went back to Lavios’s quarters to draft a note about taking a week of leave to procure his own toy. Then I compelled two of his men to leave on a false mission. They’ll return in a few days with the news that their commander was killed in another realm.” Not the best of cover stories, but it beat informing the king that Valora’s powers were awakening.

  Her mouth worked without sound, her brow crumpling in confusion. “I…” She cleared her throat, trying again. “Who are you? No, what are you?”

  I smiled. “I’m the one who is going to help you kill them all, little bird.”

  “That tells me nothing.”

  “And yet everything at the same time,” I mused, cupping her cheek. “Together we can defeat everyone.”

  Distrust cooled her features. “But I hardly know you.”

  “True,” I agreed, brushing warmth into her skin with my thumb. “What would you like to know?”

  She swallowed, her gaze dropping to my lips before slowly lifting back to my eyes. “What did you do to me?”

  “Depends on which instance,” I murmured, amused. “Last night or tonight?”

  “Both.”

  “I tasted you last night, which granted me access to your mind and life energy. And tonight, I used that connection to help you recover after your burst of power.”

  “T-tasted me?” she repeated, her cheeks pinkening.

  “Your blood,” I clarified. “I’m a Prince of Noxia, remember?” Which was technically only a partial explanation. Yes, my father’s side of the family possessed vampire-like tendencies that allowed me to pass as a member of Noxia. But my kind embodied a much darker purpose, one underlined in death.

  “Vampire,” she breathed. “You can compel?”

  “Yes.” I caught the flare in her nostrils and cut off her accusation before she could even word it. “I only compelled you to sleep, not to kill Lavios.”

  She narrowed her gaze, her expression so easy to read. “How would I know the difference?”

  “You chose how he died,” I said simply. “Had it been up to me, I would have slit his throat with a blade and watched him bleed out. You turned him to ash in a wave of power unlike anything I could control.”

  “Because I heard you in my head telling me to ‘cultivate my fury.’ ” Fire simmered beneath the surface of those words, her energy swimming around us in a lethal wave of warning. One wrong move and she’d ignite again, her grasp on her gifts too fragile and new for her to understand. “You’re commanding me about like a puppet.”

  I very slowly shifted back to my knees, my legs straddling her hips while my hands hung loose at my side. “My intention is not to demand anything from you, Valora. I only meant to help.”

  “By forcing me to kill someone?”

  “Would you have preferred him to fuck you?” I countered, arching a brow. “I merely meant to embolden your resolve, to encourage you to realize your inner strength. Never once did I recommend killing him. That was your choice.”

  Flames licked across her skin, singeing the air. “You manipulated me. You… you made me kill him.”

  I shook my head. “No, Valora. I simply encouraged a queen to put her subject in his place.”

  She blinked. “But you’re part of all of this; you’re one of them.”

  “Am I?” I asked, placing my palms upward on my thighs. “Do you think I’m like them?”

  “You’re worse.”

  “How?”

  “You’re in my head.” She shook it as if that would be enough to force me out. “You… I don’t know you.”

  “But you could,” I pointed out. “From what I’ve observed, you need an ally, Valora. I can be that ally.”

  She scoffed at that. “And still rape me one night a week? No, thank you.”

  “Did I rape you last night?” I studied her, watched as a flush painted her porcelain skin, disappearing into the translucent negligee covering her breasts. “Yes, I penetrated your mind, but I also provided you with peace. Then I feigned a show for the camera in my quarters while doing my best to maintain your dignity. And I only did that to appease your bastard of a husband so he would allow me to stay, thereby granting me access to you.”

  Some of her fire died, not that she seemed to notice. “Access to me? Why?”

  “Because you’re the key to bringing them all down, Valora.” I captured her gaze and held it, needing her to understand. “What you did to Lavios is child’s play compared to what I sense inside you.”

  “But I have no powers.”

  I gestured to her upper arms with my chin. “Then why are you on fire?”

  She glanced down at the embers floating above her skin and gasped. I leapt backward as her body went up in blue flames, her eyes widening in confusion and horror. “What are you doing to me?” she breathed, her pale cheeks a stark contrast to the energy dancing around her.

  “Nothing,” I said, forcing a calm into my voice that I didn’t quite feel. “Your emotions are taking over and creating a defensive layer.”

  Panic radiated from her, the inferno growing.

  “I need you to breathe, Valora.” It took serious effort not to dive into her mind and compel her into submission. But she needed to do this on her own, to realize it was her, not me, driving this force. “Listen to my voice, little bird. Your upbringing smothered your flames, but experience is awakening the storm inside you. Everyone has told you what to do, how to act, who to serve, while your blood qualifies you to be far more than a queen. However, you have to control it, not the other way around.”

  “How?” she asked, tears streaking down her cheeks. “I don’t understand what’s happening.”

  “You’re finally allowing yourself to feel,” I told her softly.

  “I’ve always felt!” she shouted.

  “Yes, but this week more than most, right? What Necros has chosen to do to you is a nightmare, one most women wouldn’t survive. But you’re not most women, Valora. You’re a queen. No, you’re a fucking goddess. You have every right to be furious and punish them for thinking they could belittle you in such a way. What’s happening now is your emotions taking over and forcing the outlet, but if you’re not careful, it’ll consume you, Valora. So I need you to listen to me and let me help you.”

  “Why?” she asked, her voice crackling like the fire circling her being. “Why should I trust you?”

  You shouldn’t, I wanted to say. “Because I’m the only one willing
to try,” I said instead. “I already helped you with Lavios. I can help you with the others, too. All I need is a chance.” It would be so easy to instill a sense of trust inside her, to take advantage of the link between us and force her compliance. But I needed to earn it, to strengthen the relationship between us to ensure that I obtained her love.

  It was the only way to truly win.

  And I never lost.

  Valora remained quiet for a long time, a battle raging inside her as her skin blazed. That she kept it contained without igniting her nightgown or the bed spoke volumes about her ability. She didn’t realize it yet, but she already commanded her own spirit, ensuring her own safety.

  That didn’t mean I trusted her not to engulf me in angelfire the same way she did Lavios.

  Although, unlike him, I could vanish into smoke, which blended beautifully with fire.

  If I desired a mate, Valora would be a fantastic candidate.

  Alas, I was not destined for such a future. Only death.

  I didn’t move, my eyes unblinking. The flames gradually died, her tears continuing to fall, until the blanket of heat suffocating the air completely diminished, and she collapsed onto the bed on a groan. Exuding that kind of energy took too much out of her.

  “Valora,” I reached for her, partially afraid I might ignite another maelstrom.

  “I don’t know what to do,” she whispered, broken.

  My heart ached for her in that moment, for this female I hardly knew who had been hurt in ways I couldn’t even fathom. “I do.”

  Her vibrant blue eyes lifted to mine, a pleading quality lurking in their depths, her wish for me to give her all the answers. “Tell me.”

  I smiled and repeated my words from earlier. “We kill them all.”

  “We kill them all.”

  Were those the words I’d really heard from Adrik last night, or were they born of another dream?

  I frowned. I don’t like the way he controls me. It wasn’t natural to be so far inside my head whispering thoughts of treason. That had to be why I’d killed Necros’s lieutenant. Those flames shot from my body, but I didn’t recognize them.