Zane sat up in his bed, narrowing his eyes at me. He couldn’t see me, but he knew someone was there, as the air trembled discreetly whenever I moved. My heart thudded at the sight of him. Stockholm Syndrome or not, Zane took my breath away. It wasn’t just his impressive physique or his handsome face and piercing red eyes. It was his character, his choice to help me and my friends over his kingdom. He’d gotten himself imprisoned for it.
“It didn’t take you long, Fiona,” Zane said, a grin stretching his lips. He lay back, supporting his weight on his elbows.
I scoffed, then grabbed a pitcher of water from a small table nearby to reveal myself. Draconis was naturally hot, due to its surrounding lava lakes, so I welcomed the cool liquid pouring over me. Zane’s gaze darkened as I came into full view.
“How did you know it was me?” I asked, setting the pitcher back on the table.
“I knew you’d be the one coming back for me,” he replied. “You can’t deny this thing between us anymore, Fiona. You and I… We both feel it.”
I rolled my eyes, then crossed my arms in an attempt to look cool and reserved. There was absolutely no reason for me to prove him right. At least, not as far as my ego was concerned. There wasn’t much of it, but Zane had this way of making me want to stand tall and not let myself be intimidated. It was something I both appreciated and disliked at the same time.
“Don’t be foolish. I’m only here to help an ally,” I retorted.
He smirked, then darted out of bed and reached me in a split second. I had barely registered the movement before he pushed me against the door and—kissed me. My brain stopped functioning altogether. His mouth claimed mine, and it lit devastating fires inside me. He caught me off guard, his tongue working mine. I lost my breath.
His hands cupped my face, holding my head at a slight angle, as he deepened the kiss—hungry, passionate, and determined. I had absolutely no reaction, other than my pulse quickening and my stomach tightening under his grip. His broad frame cast a dark, heavy shadow over me, making me feel tiny and deliciously helpless, as his lips massaged mine.
He pulled back suddenly, his red eyes flaring like two suns at dusk, and smiled. It took me a couple of seconds to react. I punched him in the shoulder, though not as hard as I normally would’ve, had it been anyone else trying that move on me. My cheeks burned. I was flustered and panting, as he chuckled and stood his ground.
Zane towered over me, but I held my chin high. “You didn’t even try to make me feel that,” he said, his voice low and spine-tingly.
“I told you not to be foolish,” I replied. “I did warn you.”
He shook his head slowly, the two inches of space between us compressing. The air thickened around us, supercharged to the point where I could almost hear the crackles of electricity. My breath got stuck in my throat when he smiled again.
“When will you stop lying to me, Fiona? Or, better yet, when will you stop lying to yourself?”
“You’re confusing my attempt to help you with something that isn’t—”
He didn’t let me finish. He kissed me again, and the ground spun beneath me. This time, however, he wasn’t possessive, though it felt even more intense than before. No, this time he was tender, his lips soft against mine, while his hands gently gripped my waist and pulled me in to him.
I melted like butter in a perfectly heated pan. Zane tasted like figs and spices, throwing my senses into utter disarray. I felt soft against his rock-hard torso as he wrapped his arms around my body and tightened his hold on me. He was so tender and yet all-consuming. It was enough to fully disarm me.
Who was I kidding?
I parted my lips and welcomed him, giving in to everything he caused me to feel—the rush, the head-spinning dazzle, the liquid heat pouring through my veins. I welcomed it all and more, as I rested my palms on his muscular chest, my fingers digging into the thin leather layer of his princely tunic.
He groaned softly and took the kiss to a whole new level, holding me so tight that the prospect of being crushed against his body flickered in my mind—for only a splinter of a moment, before I surrendered and responded to his deepening kiss with equal desire. This wasn’t just something that I longed to get used to. It was something that opened me up to the entire universe. I could see stars through my closed eyes.
Zane’s hot breath tickled my face, warming my body as he lifted his head to look at me.
“Do you agree with me now, Fiona?” he asked softly.
Every fiber of me wanted to say yes. To shout it from the rooftops, if given the chance. But I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. Not yet, anyway. After how he’d played with me, with his swamp witch powders and downright predatory stalking, Zane deserved to be kept on his toes. I may be small in comparison, but I can give you a good run for your money.
“Get over yourself,” I replied. “I only gave in so you’d shut up.”
He raised his eyebrows, the corner of his mouth twisting into a playful smile. “Still playing hard to get, then? That’s fine. I love a good game of cat and mouse.”
“I think we need to focus on the more important stuff, like getting your royal ass out of here,” I shot back with a grin.
His gaze dropped to my lips, his eyes catching a dark crimson hue. “You really are blissfully unaware of the effect you have on me, huh?”
I scoffed, then motioned at myself. “Sorry, Your Royal Highness, but I can’t turn this off.”
He chuckled softly, then hid his face in the small space between my neck and shoulder, breathing me in. His lips tickled my overly sensitive skin. I instinctively arched my back, and his arms constricted around my waist.
“Nope, clearly you cannot,” he muttered, lifting his head to face me. His gaze softened, and he gave me the single sweetest smile I’d ever seen, especially coming from a daemon. “I am glad you’re the one who came for me, though. Thank you, Fiona, for doing this.”
I stifled a grin. “Well, you know, I couldn’t just sit back and leave a damsel in distress.”
Zane laughed wholeheartedly this time, throwing his head back. I took a moment to watch him, his long black hair braided back with gold thread, his twisted horns dressed in an intricate gold pattern with tiny red gemstones sprinkled around the curves, the blade of his nose and his incandescent red eyes, his soft, tanned skin and slightly reddened lips…
I was in so, so much trouble.
And, dammit, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Fiona
We gazed at each other for a while, as if rediscovering ourselves in our embrace. Zane’s smile faded, the red in his eyes darkening to almost black as he analyzed every line, every curve of my face.
“I’ve already gotten myself in a lot of trouble for you, Fiona,” he breathed.
The intensity between us grew to the point where my heart threatened to rip its way out of my chest. How had this come to happen? At what point, from the moment he’d abducted me to now, had I fallen? What was it that made him look at me like that? So many questions about us that I had yet to find an answer, and yet there was so little time to address them.
“Well, then, it’s time we get you out of it,” I whispered.
He lifted his head suddenly and frowned, sniffing the air. “Cayn is coming. Hide,” he said.
I instantly reached for one of my belt satchels and scooped up some of my invisibility paste. I swallowed it and backed into a corner as I disappeared. Zane walked over to the foot of his bed and took a seat, looking as casual as he could, given the circumstances.
The lock clicked, and the door swung open. Cayn walked in. Zane greeted him with a contemptuous smirk. “Coming here alone is unlike you, Brother,” he said. “You usually have your goons to back you up, in case I beat you into a pulp.”
“They’re just around the corner, feeding,” Cayn replied bluntly. “I took the liberty of handing one of the rebellious Exiled Maras over to them. I like to reward my people once in a while, especially since they only get to eat
Imen souls otherwise.”
My blood boiled with rage, but I couldn’t do anything. Cayn was Zane’s brother, and his alone to deal with. He deserved the satisfaction.
“How generous of you,” Zane retorted sarcastically. “Killing innocents just to get that... high.”
“Spare me the self-righteous crap, Brother,” Cayn hissed. “You think you have the moral high ground because you feed on criminals, rather than every other creature we capture? Don’t kid yourself. You’re as dark and as filthy as the rest of us. At least I have the decency to admit it and embrace who I am.”
A couple of seconds went by as the brothers glared at each other. Blood ties or not, they’d clearly been taught that only the strongest and the fittest survived. For daemons like Cayn, nothing stood in the way of success, not even his brother.
“How’s the hunt going? I heard you lost the outsiders. Again. Father won’t be pleased, you know,” Zane said.
“It’s only a matter of time before I get them, rest assured,” Cayn shot back. “Then I’ll toss them all in meranium boxes. They’ll be your neighbors for as long as they manage to live. No one who conspires against the king will ever experience freedom again, not even you, Brother.”
“I don’t get why you’re so heated up about me. I was never a contestant for that crown you so desire,” Zane replied, crossing his arms.
Cayn sneered, his hands resting on his hips. I measured him from head to toe, counting his weapons and trying to guess what sort of swamp witch magic he had tucked away in the satchels mounted on his gold-plated belt. I didn’t move, just to make sure he wouldn’t catch a glimpse of my eyes in motion. “You’re a prince, Zane. You were a member of the Council. You advised Father with the rest of us. Then you betrayed us all. Of course I’m angry. I should’ve killed you years ago, when you first started defending the pacifists!”
“You continue to misunderstand my actions,” Zane said. “I had nothing to do with the outsiders, and I have nothing to do with the pacifists, either. I only advised Father to listen to them before tossing them in prison.”
“Listen, you lying bastard!” Cayn spat. “You might’ve had Father fooled with your I-only-feed-on-the-souls-of-convicted-criminals crap, but I can see right through you! I could always see right through you. I know that the only reason you remained on the Council for so long was to keep your mother safe in Father’s harem. I know you’ve been fraternizing with the pacifists. The latter I was never able to prove, unfortunately, but you did my job for me when the outsiders escaped from the palace.”
“You were never able to prove my link to the pacifists because it doesn’t exist, you bumbling fool,” Zane replied, slightly amused.
“I don’t have to anymore.” Cayn grinned. “You’re here now, and that’s what matters. Oh, and that warden of yours, Velnias, has been declared a pacifist. As soon as they find him, he’ll get to experience life in one of these boxes, too. I had all the charmed locks changed. You’re getting a new warden tomorrow. I hand-picked him myself and made sure he’ll make your existence as miserable as possible. I’ll take care of your mother, too.”
“You’re not touching my mother, Cayn. The moment you come near her, she will slit your gullet and have you for dinner.”
I could feel Zane’s anger dripping from his voice. He seemed calm, but his tone carried the thrust of a thousand thunderstorms gathering over Cayn, who laughed. “I would love to see her try. In fact, I look forward to it. I promise I’ll end her quickly, though, and I’ll bring you her severed head as a house-warming gift.”
Zane was a master of self-control. I had to give him credit. It took a lot of willpower on my end to keep my position and my mouth shut. For him, however, it seemed effortless. He gave his older brother a cold grin, following it up with words that cut deep. “I take it you’re still pissed off about Father killing your mother after she tried to have mine poisoned, huh?”
Cayn growled, then drew his sword. I lifted my right heel off the stone floor, ready to dart over and slit his throat, but Zane shot to his feet first.
“Father wants you kept alive,” Cayn muttered, “but he didn’t say I can’t maim you and make you suffer for your insolence.”
“By all means, give it a try. I haven’t plastered you over the wall in a long time. I miss the feeling of your bones cracking beneath my fists,” Zane shot back, raising his arms to his sides.
That was all it took to get Cayn riled up enough to attempt a strike. He brought his sword down, but Zane dodged, and the wide blade missed him by an inch. In the split second it took for Cayn to lift his sword back, Zane delivered a rib-crushing left hook into his side. I heard the bones break, and Cayn grunted from the pain.
Zane then brought his left knee up and rammed it into the same spot, further debilitating Cayn. He followed it up with a flurry of punches both to his face and already-broken ribs. The last one was the decisive blow, an uppercut that threw Cayn’s head back with an audible crunch. He fell flat on his back, his lights out as his eyes rolled back in his head, while Zane towered over him, panting. Blood trickled from his knuckles. He bent down, removing a red lens from his brother’s tunic pocket, then put it on so he could see me.
I moved out of my corner, unable to take my eyes off Cayn and highly satisfied by the sight of him sprawled and unconscious on the floor. The guy was huge, and I knew exactly the amount of strength it had taken for Zane to knock him out. “That didn’t take long,” I muttered.
Zane chuckled, then ripped a long piece of fabric from his bedsheets and used it to tie his brother’s hands behind his back, after I rolled him over. “He looks big and menacing, I know. But his technique is garbage,” Zane replied. “Unfortunately, I can’t bring myself to kill him. I could never kill my own brothers. But I was always great at humiliating them,” he added with a smirk.
He then ripped the leather satchels from Cayn’s belt and showed them to me, grinning. I could see traces of yellow, orange, and red powder on them, and immediately rolled my eyes at him.
“Please tell me you’re not knocking me out again,” I scoffed.
He stood and walked over, closing the distance between us. I could feel his hot breath on my face, and his musky, masculine scent invaded my nostrils. “Why would I? I don’t have to go to such lengths to get you to listen to me now. All I have to do is kiss you, and you unravel like the southern summer wind.”
He didn’t let me reply, just covered my mouth with his. It was a short, but hungry kiss, a preview of what was to come once we were alone and safe again.
“Cayn said he had the locks changed,” Zane then said, nodding at the door and pulling me back into the present. “How’d you get in?”
I showed him the skeleton key that Laughlan had crafted for us, then smiled. “We freed one of the delegation Druids when we last came by,” I replied. “He’s a crafty one, and he’s had thousands of years at his disposal to listen and overhear all kinds of useful things. He couldn’t find a way to get himself out of here, but when we rescued him, he was more than happy to show us a few tricks.”
“I knew you were a resourceful little fighter, but you continue to exceed my expectations, Fiona.” Zane chuckled softly, seemingly impressed. I took a couple of steps back, needing some space between us in order to think clearly. He had that effect on me.
“Okay, we need to get you out now,” I said. “Discreetly.”
“I agree, but we can do something really smart and useful while we’re here.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, frowning slightly.
He sighed, then straightened his back, looking somewhat amused. “Well, I’ve clearly joined this resistance of yours, since A: it’s not in my nature to go back to my father groveling for forgiveness, and B: it’s not in his nature to forgive me or grant me a second chance, either. Also, C: I’d rather be with you and burn this whole place down than watch it as it continues to suck the life out of innocent creatures. I never agreed with that.”
“But you e
at souls.”
“Only the souls of convicted criminals,” he replied. “I have a very specific diet, and I promise I will tell you more about it when we’re alone. Provided I can keep my hands off you for long enough,” he added, making me smile, before he switched back to his serious mode. “There are daemon pacifists here that we could release. They know Velnias for sure, and they have this secret way of communicating which I was never able to figure out. They’ll find him wherever he’s hiding, and they’ll reinforce their resistance.”
“How many of them?” I asked.
“Four that I know of,” he said. “They will come in handy later, especially since your plan is to bring the system down. If we’re to get out of Draconis, we need to make sure we disable this city from the inside. It’ll annoy my father like crazy, and it will give us the head start we need to get to safety. Once Cayn comes to, all the alarms will start blaring, and they’ll go into lockdown mode. We need the pacifists to stick around and do some serious damage from within and cripple the daemons’ forces.”
“The pacifists’ ranks are the ones we need to replenish, I agree. I now see why you had a seat on that Council,” I replied, nodding appreciatively. “You’ve got a tactical mindset. We’ll need it later.”
“You most certainly will, my little vampire.” He gave me a soft, seductive smile.
Deep down, it lit a fire I knew I would never be able to extinguish. Not that I wanted to, anyway. It felt too good, and it fueled me in ways I’d never thought possible. I gripped the back of his neck and pulled him into another short kiss, then headed for the door.
“Let’s go, daemon prince. We’ve got work to do,” I said, my lips still tingling. I glanced at him over my shoulder and tossed one of my invisibility spell satchels at him.
He caught it and ingested half of its contents, then stood there, half smiling and smitten, watching as I opened the door. I loved that look on him, even as he vanished. Though, I could still see him through my red lens. It sent heatwaves through my body, and it made my heart flutter like a fiery butterfly.