The Darkest Craving

CHAPTER ELEVEN



KANE STOOD BESIDE the bed and peered down at Tink. Sunlight streamed in from the window, and, as if drawn to her, enveloped her and her alone. Spotlighting her. Highlighting every luscious nuance. She exuded peace to an astonishing degree. A peace he craved for himself.

She was Sleeping Beauty. Or, more accurately, Cinderella, complete with an evil stepmother and half sister.

Too bad for her, Kane was to be her Prince Charming.

He hadn’t meant to, but at some point, he’d fallen asleep. A nightmare had awoken him—and he’d found Tinker Bell asleep on his chest.

Had she rolled there on her own, or had he pulled her over?

The contact had hurt him in more ways than one. His lust had returned full force.

After he’d eased her aside, he’d been more diligent, and remained awake, listening to her every breath, waiting for her every movement, remembering the way she’d made him smile, dying inside because he’d still wanted to roll over, on top of her, and strip her, and touch her, and do things to her, even though the very thoughts had him fighting back an all-consuming panic.

He didn’t deserve her. His moods were too mercurial. He was happy one minute, ticked off the next. He was decided on a course one minute, confused the next. She needed someone solid. Dependable. Like Torin.

She had no faith in anyone, she’d said, and that was downright sad. Whether Kane deserved her or not, he wasn’t going to let her down.

Kill her, Disaster said. It’s what she wants.

What she wanted wasn’t what she needed.

Tink’s lips parted on a breathy sigh, and his chest constricted. How innocent she was.

Kill her!

Kane turned and stalked from the room, the demon cursing him with every step.

* * *

JOSEPHINA HAD MANY duties, and serving breakfast to the royal family was one of them. A decree straight from Queen Penelope, meant to humiliate her at the start of her day, every day.

Waiting to begin, Josephina pressed against the far wall in the dining room, holding a pitcher of freshly made pomegranate juice. She should have been finished already, should have returned to her housecleaning, but no one had arrived. Everyone was probably busy congratulating Kane and Synda on their upcoming nuptials and the happy couple was probably gorging on the compliments.

Oh, Kane. Everyone’s right. We’re so beautiful together, Synda was probably saying. So perfect together.

I’m perfect for everyone, Kane was probably replying. But I’m glad I ended up with you.

The pitcher shattered in Josephina’s hands.

Cold liquid seeping through the fabric of her gloves and making her gasp, she rushed to the kitchen and gathered the rags she needed, trying to evade Cook’s eye. He welcomed any chance to lash out at her.

Once, as a means of punishment for one of Synda’s crimes, Josephina was starved for a week. Three days in, the hunger pangs had become so severe she’d snuck into the kitchen and stolen a hunk of bread.

Cook had caught her, but had vowed to remain silent if she would spend the night in his bed. She’d turned herself in instead, and he’d never forgiven her.

So, maybe she hadn’t been entirely honest with Kane. Maybe some of the men—other than her brother—did see her as more than a blood slave.

Annnd...Cook cleared his throat, and she glanced over.

“What did you do now? What new problem have you caused me?” He stomped over to her. He grabbed her by the wrist, only to rear backward with a wheeze. “You’re wet.”

“And your cooking sucks. So?”

“How dare you! I don’t care who you are, you will not insult my divine cuisine.”

“I just did.”

“Do it again. I dare you.”

Okay. “Your pies are flavorless, and your cakes are hard as rocks.”

His palm flew up and out, swiping over her cheek. Her skin instantly flamed, stinging. Josephina slapped him back. As he gurgled his outrage, she blew him a kiss and flounced away.

Maintaining a brave face, she cleaned the mess in the dining room and donned a fresh pair of gloves. Only after she had made a new pitcher of juice, with Cook avoiding her, did she return to her post.

The royal family still hadn’t arrived.

Inconsiderate toads!

She flinched at the uncharacteristic outburst. The ache in her cheek must be making her cranky. And, well, Kane had no business marrying Synda after he’d forced Josephina to spend the night in his room. He should have called off the nuptials with the rising of the sun!

And I never should have gone to him. Never should have thought to take him up on his offer, hoping to get him away from Synda.

Josephina had been mad about his engagement before, but standing there, thinking about last night, she became enraged. Kane probably didn’t remember, but he’d suffered from terribly violent nightmares last night. He’d cried out and he’d thrashed, but she had managed to calm him.

She had. Not Synda.

He’d held her for a long moment, his arms tight around her, as if he couldn’t bear to let her go, then he’d rolled her to her side of the bed. Obviously, he’d gotten over his aversion to touch somewhat—and yet, he hadn’t tried to kiss or touch her.

He must be saving that kind of thing for the princess.

Why did that tear her into so many ragged pieces?

An engaged man shouldn’t share a bed with anyone but his intended, and anyone that did should be...should be...castrated!

I could help him with that, she thought. I have no experience with knives, but a quick slice and dice shouldn’t be a problem.

Contemplating mutilation? I don’t know who you are anymore.

I’m you, dummy.

What if Kane was already in love with Synda?

Why do you care?

I don’t. Okay, fine. I do.

She had lain awake for hours, trying not to enjoy her first taste of luxury, all the while hoping to sneak out of the bedroom the moment Kane fell asleep. But he’d lain awake for hours, too, and her eyelids had eventually become too heavy to hold up. Then, his thrashing had woken her, and she’d cuddled him, and she’d liked it far more than she should have. Had even been tempted to ask for more.

If Synda found out...

She raised her chin and focused on the here and now. Four small chandeliers dripped with hundreds of opals and hung over a long, square table hewn from gold, diamonds and sapphires. The chairs were carved in the shape of dragons, with cobalt velvet lining the seats. Colorful murals of naked, frolicking Fae decorated the walls, and a soft white rug lined the floor.

There were three windows, each overlooking the flower garden out back. She adored that garden, and allowed herself a peek outside—wait. Armed guards were running toward the gate.

Something was happening. What—

King Tiberius strolled inside the room at long last, his latest mistress on his arm. Josephina snapped to attention. The mistress was lovely, to be sure, but only seventeen years old. She’d had a bright future before the king had taken notice of her, and most likely would have married the richest of the Opulens; she would have had a family and never would she have wanted for anything.

Except, perhaps, love and fidelity.

But now, no man would have her, not even the lowest of the servants. When the king discarded her, and he would, no one would want to risk his ire by pursuing what he suddenly deemed “unworthy.”

The king’s expression was troubled as he claimed the seat at the head of the table. He motioned for the scantily clad female to take the seat at his left—the queen’s seat. Josephina groaned. Queen Penelope knew of the king’s affairs, of course she did, everyone knew; in public, she simply pretended not to care. But in private, when only Josephina was around, she ranted and raged.

“—not sure why an army of Phoenix warriors are attacking us,” the king was saying. “Do they really want to start another war? They have brute force, but they haven’t the numbers.”

Oh, no, no, no. If the Phoenix were here, they were here for Josephina. And if her father found out she was the reason, he would unleash a torrent of wrath upon her.

A tremor rocked her, and liquid sloshed over the sides of the pitcher.

Tiberius cast her a reproachful glance.

“You have nothing to fear, my darling,” he continued, patting his mistress’s delicate hand. “The soldiers will be dead by the end of the day, their heads sent back to their people.”

“Thank you, Majesty” was the soft reply. The girl kept her gaze downcast. “You’re so strong. Utterly undefeatable.”

Kane strolled inside, and Josephina quivered with the memory of his embrace. His savage beauty had never been more apparent than at that moment, as morning light streamed over him. The two guards were stationed at his back. His gaze swept the area, and Josephina was certain he’d somehow managed to catalog every detail at once, though she fought a wave of disappointment when he simply skimmed over her.

Good morning to you, too, she thought, trying to ignore a fresh tide of hurt and resentment.

“Lord Kane. We’re pleased you’ve joined us.” The king motioned for Kane to take the chair at his right. Synda’s chair.

Kane sat, putting his back to Josephina. He held up his arm and cocked two fingers. Was he...summoning her over?

Those fingers moved again, more adamantly this time.

He was. He really was. I’m going to smash his face!

Teeth grinding, she moved forward and poured three drops of juice into his goblet.

When she tried to move away, Kane grabbed hold of her wrist. Startled, she almost dropped the pitcher. His grip was strong, his skin white-hot.

“There’s a mark on your cheek,” he said with the stillness she’d come to recognize as dangerous. He looked up at her, the thick shield of his lashes hiding whatever emotion gleamed in his eyes. His lips pressed into a thin, hard line.

“Well, yeah,” she replied.

“From?”

“A hand.”

“I get that. Whose?”

She licked her lips, and his gaze followed the motion. “Doesn’t matter. I took care of it.”

He squeezed her wrist harder. “Whose?”

“Why?”

“So I can kill him—or her.”

She had no loyalty to Cook, but she wouldn’t allow the man to be put to death for so minor an offense. So, she remained silent.

Kane released her and glared at the king. “If she’s hurt again, I’ll make sure everyone in this palace regrets it.”

Unused to such irreverence, Tiberius blustered for a moment. “My admiration for you won’t save you from my wrath, Lord Kane. Tread carefully.”

“Do you want an enemy you can’t afford to have? Because you’re walking the line with me,” Kane snapped. “You’ve got Phoenix running wild out there, and your men will never be able to take them down. You’ve allowed the army to become lazy, living off of the triumph of past conquests.”

“How dare you! My men are as strong as ever.”

Kane smiled, but it wasn’t a nice one. “If I were to walk out there right now, I could slay every single male under your command and not break a sweat. Want me to prove it?”

What was he doing? She wanted to jump in front of him and shield him from the curses and punishments about to start flying, but it was no longer her place to protect him. She returned to her spot against the wall.

Tiberius leaped to his feet, planted his palms on the tabletop and peered down at Kane with undiluted rage. “A dead man can’t prove anything.”

Kane stood, too, refusing to back down from the mighty king of the Fae—something very few had tried and none had survived. His chair toppled over, one of the legs poking him in the back of the knee. He didn’t seem to notice.

“I have some experience with the Phoenix, and I know they’ll play with your men these next few weeks, testing their abilities. Then, the Phoenix will seem to vanish for a few weeks more and you’ll relax. Then, the warriors will return with a vengeance and torch the palace and everyone in it.”

Crystal eyes narrowed. “If that’s the case, the problem will be yours as much as mine. Your engagement ball is set for eight days from now, and your wedding nine days from now.”

Just enough time to plan a feast but not so long the bulk of Synda’s personality flaws couldn’t be hidden.

I can’t watch their courtship. I just can’t. And she couldn’t allow herself to be drawn in and spit out by Kane anymore. From now on, it would be better for her if she kept her distance from him.

Maybe she should run away. She’d done it before. Of course, she’d been captured swiftly and disciplined severely, and had later vowed never to take such a risk again.

A silly vow, she realized now.

Leopold strolled into the room, and Synda skipped in behind him, branching off to close in on Kane.

Tiberius sat. Kane righted his chair and settled down.

“Good morning, warrior.” The princess tried to kiss him on the cheek, but he reared back, stopping her.

Perhaps he hadn’t gotten over his aversion, after all.

“What are you doing?” he gritted.

“Making your morning even better, of course,” she said, unperturbed as she smoothed her skirt around her chair.

Gag.

“Next time wait for permission.”

The queen was the last to enter. She spotted the king’s mistress and stiffened.

Trembling, Josephina filled her goblet with juice.

The queen sipped—and spit the liquid out on Josephina’s shoes. “This is horrid swill. How dare you ruin the start of my day with it!”

“I’ll get you something else,” she muttered, her cheeks burning hotly.

“You’ll stay here,” Kane growled. “The juice is fine.”

Penelope looked to the king, expecting him to side with her. Tiberius nodded to Josephina to continue with her duties.

Josephina’s stomach threatened to rebel. The queen would make her suffer for this.

Her trembling increased as she moved to Leopold’s side and poured his measure of juice. He pressed his hand against the small of her back, as if holding her steady. Meanwhile, he spread his fingers to cover as much ground as possible, even daring to delve between the cheeks of her bottom.

She tried to shift out of the way.

Kane unleashed a stream of dark curses, and all eyes swung to him.

His gaze was locked on Leopold, and slitted.

Her brother shifted uncomfortably, lowered his arm.

What had that been about? Kane hadn’t been able to see her brother’s hand, had he? And if he had, he hadn’t cared about it. Had he? He’d simply wanted to...what? Confused, she flittered away to the kitchen to gather the food.

“Hurry up, you lazy cow,” Cook snipped.

She stuck her tongue out at him before returning to the dining room.

“—take me shopping tomorrow? Please!” Synda was saying to Kane.

“An excellent idea,” King Tiberius replied, as if the question had been directed at him.

“Josephina will go with us,” Kane said firmly.

Her birth name on his lips just seemed wrong. She wasn’t fond of Tinker Bell or Tink, but she also kind of loved them. They were special, meant just for her. He’d never used a nickname with Synda.

The king opened his mouth to reply—probably a refusal, considering the glint of anger in his eyes. But Synda clapped happily, and said, “Of course she can come. We’re going to have the best time ever!” so he remained quiet.

“What about the Phoenix?” Leopold asked tightly. “A woman of royal blood shouldn’t be wandering about town with such a threat on the loose.”

“The king has assured me your men can contain the threat. Besides, the ladies will be with me,” Kane said. “They’ll be protected.”

Tiberius thought for a moment, nodded. “You will accompany the pair, Prince Leopold, and ensure nothing happens to Warrior Kane and Princess Synda.”

The pair, he’d said, rather than the threesome. As if Josephina didn’t count.

The truth was, she didn’t.

The prince looked ready to argue, but quickly thought better of it. “As you wish, Majesty.”

Kane grinned without humor. “Until tomorrow.”

* * *

KANE SPENT THE rest of the day doing a bit of investigative work, questioning every servant he came across. The moment he learned the cook had been the one to put the mark on Tink’s cheek, he locked the kitchen, preventing anyone from escaping, and beat the man senseless.

He whistled with satisfaction as he went in search of Tink.