AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I wish there was some alcohol around here. It seems you and I are dying together.” The man’s accent became stronger. He’d said he wasn’t from this land. Was he even from this kingdom?
“Yes, I guess we are. I’m Gavin, former healer of the Valdor Assembly. Nice to meet you…?”
“Mios…” The man paused, and for a moment, Gavin thought he wouldn’t say anything else. Not that he needed to. If this was a lone wolf, he probably preferred to keep things to himself. “… Lionborn.”
The cold nipped at his skin as the ringing in his ears returned. Shock sliced through him.
“Lionborn? As in—the shifter royals from the Gold Kingdom?”
“Estranged royals.”
His accent made so much sense now. “But you aren’t a wolf at all.”
“That’s correct. Not that your commander stopped and asked what my animal side was.”
Surely Julius wasn’t oblivious to the fact that he’d start a war if this man was killed by a commander of the King’s army. He couldn’t be. Right?
Maybe this massive oversight wasn’t a coincidence at all. Maybe it was what his commander had intended all along: a war between rival kingdoms. A coup to overthrow the King.
16
VIOLET
The room’s walls were at least twelve feet high, with dark-stained beams and windows with black, criss-cross details. A warm, inviting place—now tainted because Julius was dragging her there to die.
The fire burst alive as he extended his hand toward the charred logs inside it and dropped her without a care onto a large, stiff leather sofa. She landed face down, pressed into the rounded cushion and unable to move away.
“Make yourself comfortable, dear, we have a long night ahead. I’ll have fun teaching you the true meaning of pain.” He laughed while patting her ass with fingers that lingered. Her skin grew cold and clammy under his touch, and her gut coiled as bile rose to the back of her throat. She tried to move, but it was impossible with every inch of her body still paralyzed.
Julius wandered away, leaving her alone in the sitting area. As the fire dried her damp coat and she closed her eyes, she registered the rustle of his clothes hitting the ground and the distant tapping of steps moving further away. Then a splash.
A bath. Julius was bathing, which gave her a window to escape, however small it might be. If her history with Dargan had taught her anything, it was that her life was important to the so-called gods of this world.
The God of Shadows demanded the second born in her bloodline, and if all else failed, he wanted her, which meant he wanted her alive. Even though she’d been caught by this cock of a man, and she was a lonely, miserable soul, she wasn’t alone in this.
Julius had misjudged her desire to live, and with it, her power. He’d been smart when he’d taken her ability to physically fight him, as that was her strongest suit. But since he hadn’t made sure she was unable to use her magic, he’d given her a chance. A minor mistake for him might mean the difference between freedom and escape for her.
Her fingertips twitched, and her skin glowed a pale gray that became brighter and bolder. Then Violet did what she’d avoided doing ever since she’d learned about Dargan’s claim on her. She prayed to the god she hated most.
“Are you going to let this man kill me and lose your slim chance of getting what you say I owe you, Dargan?”
Nothing happened.
She breathed out and focused on her memories of the emissaries, hoping that would somehow bring her closer to Dargan. The image of Cullen’s handsome face flashed through her mind, and her heart twisted at the vision alongside the hate that bubbled up like an old foe she’d never forgotten. Then Luelle’s hunched shape and the red aura that matched her tunic followed.
The older woman hadn’t cared about Violet slitting her throat open… because she was eternally cursed and forever claimed by a god. Violet didn’t have the same willingness to perish here, not when doing so would also mean Gavin would meet his own demise. All because of her.
She tried to close her fist, and nothing happened. Her frustration burned hotter. Would raising her body temperature burn away the poison that paralyzed her?
“Dargan, I don’t care if I die tonight. That way, you’ll never get what is owed to you. I won.”
The air swirled around the room, a cold blast that contrasted with the heat her magic called into being. The sound of steps followed moments later, muffled by the rug. Her eyes snapped open, her heart suddenly pounding like a hammer.
Was Julius back? Was this the beginning of her end?
Violet tilted her head to the side. Only a fraction… but she was moving! Her excitement didn’t last long when her eyes fell on a pair of polished black boots standing on the red carpet.
Fuck. He’d come.
