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“It’s ironic, actually. He was the one who removed mine, and now here he’s placed one on you.”
I wrap the towel around my body and follow her into the bathroom. “You had one?” I ask, stepping into the warm water. Slowly, I sink below the surface, letting it take my worries with it.
“I did. My father put one on me and my sisters. Kai found out that he was keeping us captive and killed him for it, then offered us a chance to have freedom and live in the castle, in exchange for,” she gestures to her clothes, “helping tend to it and the people within. My sisters were so ecstatic. We were just happy to have a home.”
Tilting my head, I study her face. There’s no pain, no sadness…
“I thought you were the only empath in Hell Hold? Do your sisters not share your gift?”
“No… I was my mother’s firstborn and never met my biological father.”Hmmm. Closing my eyes, I relax against the pool’s edge and let the steam dance around me. “I can help you with that, you know.”
Lifting my head, I meet her gaze. “How?”
“You won’t like it, but there’s no way to remove it painlessly–as painless as it was to go, I should say. The person who placed it would have to do that, and there’s no loophole, but… Kai helped me remove mine and it hurt like hell. On the upside, you’ll heal quicker than I did and once it’s over, it’s nothing more than a bad memory.” She lifts the sleeve of her dress, showing me the blockish, shiny patch of pale skin.Scarredskin.
My lips tip into a sinister grin. I could fucking kiss her right now. She’s going to be the reason I save Luri.
“Let’s do it.”
11
Kai
The village masters were no more willing to hear me out than they had been during our first chat, but my father wouldn’t condone anything being done to or about Alice. Thank the gods. Had he taken their side, I might’ve exploded. Of course, the masters didn’t like it, but once the Devil’s eyes glowed red and the twisted horns appeared, they fell in line. Luri, on the other hand? He didn’t bat a fucking eyelash in an attempt to save her.
Fucking bastards… All of them. What do they know? Had they been in her situation, they would’ve fought like hell to save their ass too, then gone out for a revenge stroll. Just as they are now.
I push open the door to our room, pausing at the eerie quiet that surrounds me. I know she’s going to be pissed, but I didn’t decide to mark her lightly. I chose to do so because if I’m going to have any hope of saving both her and her cat, I need to know she’s in the castle.Safe.
If she goes out there, ready to shed blood, my father’s commands won’t stop the uproar that will follow and the pitchforks that will be aimed at her throat. I can’t risk it and I don’t trust her a lick to keep to the castle grounds. I get her fire because I have the same wicked rage twisting inside of me. As much as being a man of your word matters, if it meant saving someone I loved, I’d lie until I’m blue in the face. My loyalty lies with my heart. It’s just harder when two people who hold a piece of it are moving in different directions. My father, siding with the village folk, and my future wife, against them.
It puts me in an odd situation, but I know my father will stay out of it. He won’t join the villagers in their hunt. Alice? I can’t say the same. She’d move mountains for those she cared about, regardless of how many bones she broke under the weight. She wouldn’t trust anyone else to oversee this chaos, not even me. I needed an insurance policy and as much as she’s going to want to come at my throat later, that mark gave me one. It gave me time to come up with a bloody plan. I can still stop this…
The room is empty, but she might be hiding in another part of the castle, trying to stay the hell away from me. I expected it. All I need is one night, then I’ll remove the spell and she can go about her merry business. I’ll be leaving soon anyway, to hit the Elven kingdom that I missed on my last trip, and that will give her time to cool down. Hopefully.
I remove my thick jacket and undo the top three buttons of my blouse. I hate these things, but my father’s insistent that if you’re going to play the part, you’ll look like it too. Royalty should appear like royalty, and it requires regalia and crowns. Kicking off my shoes, I lay down on the bed, staring up at the high posts that curve into the shape of dragons near the top. Something feels wrong, but I can’t place my finger on it.
Propping my head up with my hands crossed beneath it, I scour the room. Then I see it. The golden dagger stabbed into the backside of our bedroom door, the writing that’s gone from a sharp crimson to a mucky, flaking brown color, and the slab of skin skewered on the knife.
My eyes double in size as I sit up, leaning closer to get a better look.No… She didn’t. How would she know…I don’t need to finish that thought. There’s only one person besides myself who knows of barrier spells.Clamara.
I stand, moving toward Alice’s not-so-subtle love note. The ‘Fuck You’ written in her blood across the wall. Snatching the dagger, I pull the evidence free, staring at the twisted snakes and roses of the mark I placed.Fuck!
This I didn’t anticipate. I never thought she’d have this in her. That she’d maim herself just to sucker punch me in the emotional balls. I knew she didn’t want to be confined to the castle, just as she didn’t want to let me handle the cat situation, but this…Fuck, this is a whole new level of maniacal and I don’t even think I could’ve severed my flesh had I been in her shoes.
When I removed Clamara’s mark, the girl thrashed and screamed. I remember the way her wails seemed to slash my heart in two. It was the only way, seeing as her father wouldn’t remove them, and you can’t exactly force someone to speak the words. I tortured him for days, trying to get him to do so, only for him to swallow his tongue. We had no choice but to cut the spell out.
Why would she put Alice through that pain?
Rage flairs beneath my skin, stoking my flaming pulse until it echoes in my ears. She can’t be out there. Alice can’t fucking be there when the villagers show up. If she hurts a single hair on any of their heads, then she’ll be proving the village masters right. I can’t let that happen. Yanking open the door, I head to the maid’s quarters. Someone is going to pay for this.
I stalk down the hall, the sound of my footfalls bouncing off the walls. Sure, I could’ve teleported, but I needed the moment to get my shit together because right now, my shit isnottogether. Not in the least. Making my way down to the first floor, I barge through the door to her room and find Clamara freshly bathed, wringing her hair out with her towel. Wide, owl-like eyes meet mine as she squeals and jolts backward.
“My prince!” She snatches the towel around her naked body. Right now, I could give a shit less and it’s nothing I haven’t seen before.
“Where is she?” I seethe, stepping inside and closing the door.
“I don’t–”
