King of the Unblessed Read online

  Merrick couldn’t suppress his small chuckle at that. Lucien shrugged, as if to say, what can I do? Unfortunately for the obstinate woman at his side, Lucien could do much. Merrick’s smile died and he pitied the creature, just as he contemplated doing the same thing to Juliana. At least then she’d be marked by him, publicly claimed, chained to his side. Just as quickly, the idea left him. He wanted her willing. Lucien would never comprehend such a thing, but Merrick wanted Juliana bound to him by her own resolve, her own honor. He would never chain her thus. Well, Merrick did consider chaining her to a bed, but for a whole other purpose.

  Instead of standing, Lucien lazily motioned his hand to the side of the throne. From the stone another throne chair grew, twisting and spiking to match the outside of the castle. Merrick took a seat, reaching his hand to produce a chalice of wine. He handed it to Lucien, who took it with a sly grin. Merrick produced one for himself as well.

  “What honor is this?” Merrick asked.

  Lucien sipped the drink once before giving it to Mia. She took it, gulping heavily until it was gone. Merrick unconsciously refilled it for her. She blinked in surprised, but didn’t thank him. Lucien frowned slightly at the action, but didn’t comment.

  “King Ean plots your death for taking his ward from the mortal realm,” Lucien said. Mia choked on her wine. They ignored her. “I can see by your face you didn’t know. Lady Juliana of Bellemare, I believe she is called. My spies tell me she is beautiful, though I have not seen her. The entire Bellemare family is blessed. I’ve been trying to get at them for decades, but they just don’t seem to corrupt like most mortals do.”

  “You wish for me to corrupt them?” Merrick asked, swirling his drink in feigned boredom. Lucien’s dark presence drew upon his emotions, which he carefully hid under a wall of complete indifference.

  “Nay,” Lucien said, to his surprise. Merrick stopped to study him. “My interest in them has been merely a diversion. I really don’t care one way or the other. Eventually, every bloodline calls upon me. Theirs will too. And what do we immortals have if not time to sit and wait?”

  Merrick didn’t answer.

  “King Ean has sent you a dispatch, has he not? To meet him on neutral ground?” Lucien smiled, though it hardly looked like concern that brought forth the question. Mia tried to slide away from his seat. Without looking at her, he lifted his hand and stopped her. She struggled against his power, but had no choice other than to give in. Nearby, goblins laughed, pointing at her. She ignored them, again staring into the fireplace.

  “Aye,” Merrick answered, sipping his wine.

  “Will you go?”

  Merrick shrugged.

  “Merely a warning.” Lucien chuckled.

  Merrick nodded once, the gesture brusque.

  “Ah, as I said, I’m bored.” Lucien waved his hand. “Methinks King Ean loves the mortal and seeks to marry her. I hear he watches her, or did before you took her from him.”

  Merrick stiffened, as Lucien tried to hide a smile behind his hand. Mia made a weak noise, but didn’t speak.

  “Strange that he would marry a powerless mortal rather than an immortal,” Lucien continued. “Then again, the blessed always did choose with their hearts and not their heads.”

  Merrick didn’t move. If what Lucien said was true, and he saw no reason for the Demon King to lie, then Ean’s message made sense. With Juliana under unblessed protection, Ean wouldn’t be able to find her as easily. Juliana knew nothing of Ean’s supposed affections, but she also knew nothing of his.

  Merrick let his lips curl at Lucien’s expectant look. “How very interesting. My diversion just became more diverting, didn’t she?”

  Lucien chuckled, low and dark. His black eyes lit with pleasure. “You can understand my interest in Ean never finding love, can’t you?”

  “Aye,” Merrick said. “You think I’ll help you?”

  “Oh, I’m betting on it.” Lucien smiled, gesturing with his hand. He disappeared, taking Mia with him as he left Merrick alone on his new throne.

  Lucien’s motivations were apparent, but it didn’t mean Merrick completely trusted them. Lucien would do anything to keep Ean from happiness. Happiness would only make the King of the Blessed more blessed.

  Merrick frowned. If Ean loved Juliana, it was a pure emotion. Merrick’s heart wasn’t so pure, couldn’t be because of who he was, yet he’d never step aside. Juliana was his, more so now than ever before. Such a blow to the heart, as lost love, would hurt his brother’s power, weaken him. It was an odd coincidence that Juliana was one of Ean’s blessed wards, though not completely improbable. Perhaps that was what had drawn Merrick that first night. Perhaps he’d sensed her goodness like a light in the darkness that was his existence. Perhaps he’d known somehow that she was blessed.

  It wasn’t really improbable that Ean had fallen in love with a human. It had happened oft enough in the past between the elfin and humankind. It was said, if the love was pure and the elements right, the mortal would change and live forever. Since he saw no immortal humans living amongst them, he could only assume they were rumors.

  Merrick sighed. There was only one way to discover what Ean and Lucien were about. He’d have to accept Ean’s invitation. His gut tightened. It had been a very long time since he’d faced his younger brother and he wasn’t sure he wanted to do so now.

  * * *

  “Why did you lie to him?” Mia stared at Lucien from the end of his bed, her fists planted on her hips. He rested on the bed, looking very pleased with himself. She shivered, hating him for what he was capable of and unsure how to stop him. His naked body drew her even now. She wanted him. That was her curse to bear. Some days she just wished he’d let her die, take her soul and be done with it.

  “What, in your entire knowledge of me, makes you think I’d ever tell the truth?” Lucien asked, grinning. “Unless it suited my purpose. Confess it, Mia. It will be fun to watch what comes of this. Can you not see the humor? Ean wishes to know why his brother kidnapped an unknown ward. Even now he’s convinced it’s an act of war and will be on the defensive. Merrick, the fool, is enamored with the girl.”

  “Nay, he loves her,” Mia interrupted softly.

  Lucien frowned, eyeing her. “You’re sure, nymph?”

  “As sure as I can be with only half a soul.” Mia turned to the fire. It blazed orange over her skin. It heated her in waves and she knew Lucien made it hotter so she’d draw closer to him. She knew his games well. Taking a deep breath, she did move closer to him and away from the fire.

  “Hmm, no matter. Merrick can’t really love anyway—not in the way that you think of the emotion. He’s like me in that regard,” Lucien said, not sounding upset. “As I said, Merrick’s enamored with the human, Lady Juliana of Bellemare. He now believes his brother feels the same. Did you see the possessiveness in him when I mentioned it? Oh, he’ll claim her for his own very soon. That is, if he hasn’t already.”

  Mia visibly swallowed, edging closer still to Lucien on the bed. She stood by his head, gazing over his muscular body. Just the sight of him aroused her. Figures made of fire danced over his naked chest like a play, their flaming, miniature arms twined together. Then, suddenly, the figure of the man tossed the woman down onto her back before falling on top of her. It looked like rape and the faint echoing of a scream sounded as if from the back of her mind. Mia reached her hand out and squashed the flame couple, resting her fingers on the chilled flesh covering Lucien’s beating heart. Too bad the organ was black, just like his soul. Lucien furrowed his brows as he studied her hand, his fire play interrupted.

  “And Juliana?” Mia asked, her tone soft. “What is your plan for her? Is she merely a pawn?”

  “They’re all pawns.” Lucien tilted his head back to study her, even as his fingers moved to trace the outline of her hand on his chest. It was a rare moment that he didn’t look full of contempt. “Lady Juliana no less so. Right about now, her brothers are explaining to her how Merrick killed Lord Eadw
ard, her betrothed. She’ll believe them, because she is human. Before long, she’ll realize that it is Merrick she seeks in his little adventure, not I.”

  Lucien didn’t take his eyes away as heat grew under Mia’s palm. She jerked her hand from him as the flames once more grew on Lucien’s chest. His mouth curled up at the side. He didn’t look at the flames, but instead studied her face as she watched. The flame man had the woman on her hands and knees and was taking her from behind in rough, angry thrusts, as her tiny orange hands dug into Lucien’s flesh.

  “I thought the Bellemare souls were what you were after,” Mia said, pulling her gaze away from his sick little fire show. “Why not let her come here?”

  “It is so much more fun this way.” Lucien chuckled. He lifted a finger to Mia’s breast, running it along the bottom edge, tangling it in the leather strips. Her nipple budded and her breath deepened with her arousal. “Besides, you should know. The soul can only be given if the asker begs me to take it in trade. Merely coming here is not enough. They need to be desperate.”

  “Why do you watch such things?” Mia motioned to the burning couple, changing the subject in exasperation. Lucien had shown her many things with his fire and she never could tell what was real and what was part of his sick imagination.

  As if reading her thoughts, he answered, “Usually, I do not make the fire but merely watch the cruel actions of others with it. You cannot condemn me for what others do.” There was a mocking to his tone. She knew he had the power to control the fire to his will, should he so choose. Again, as if reading her, he whispered, “This was not one of those times.”

  “You sound so sure your plan will work,” Mia said to get back to the topic at hand.

  “It’s what I do.” Lucien’s face became marred with the beast inside him. He drew his finger over the flames, rolling the couple together into a ball before pulling the flames into his fist, smiting it. When he opened his hand, a little puff of smoke was all that was left. “It’s what feeds me. Merrick’s convinced her he’s kidnapped the human children—ingenious, really. She’ll think the worst of him. When she rejects him, he’ll come to me for help. Rejected lovers always do.”

  Mia gently stroked Lucien’s dark hair, listening.

  “After I deliver the woman to him, the Unblessed King will be my ally. Merrick will sever all ties to his brother.” Lucien grabbed Mia by her top and pulled her down in one swift jerk so her breasts hovered over his face. Her hands fell flat against the mattress along his waist as he breathed deeply. His voice gravelly, he said, “Darkness will rule.”

  “Methought Merrick already on your side.” Mia frowned. She didn’t push up as Lucien slowly licked the valley of her breasts. Her heart leapt in her chest. “He is the King of the Unblessed.”

  “The unblessed will always cause mischief and mischief can be fun.” Lucien drew his tongue to encircle a nipple. She gasped as pleasure shot through her body. She was a nymph and it was a sin for her to find pleasure in his arms. He kept kissing her, tempting her to sin with him yet again. As he spoke, he kept his lips moving over her flesh, pulling at her bodice so she was forced to crawl slowly forward, over him. “But until Merrick finds his hate, embraces it completely, he’ll always be torn between good and evil. Right now he can feel Ean and me both.” Lucien licked a fiery trail down to her belly. Flames teased her skin, following his tongue, but didn’t burn. “Ean’s refusal to sever their tie is what has kept him from slipping, because the lingering of his former self is in that tie. Regardless, he was falling into despair, so close to joining me until he saw the human. Juliana is his balance. When he loses Juliana, he’ll belong to me.”

  Mia gasped as Lucien’s mouth worked between her thighs. She straddled him, helpless to crawl away as he kept her chained to him with his will. His hips wiggled beneath her, tempting her to his arousal. She tried to resist, but the need in her was strong. His breeches dissolved into mist, leaving hard, naked flesh. His erection poked up at her. Lucien dipped his tongue beneath her short skirt, finding her naked sex wet and ready.

  “Come, Mia,” she heard the whisper in her head. “Succumb to me.”

  Mia obeyed, for she could never resist. Lowering her mouth, she kissed his shaft, rolling her tongue over the sides. Lucien adjusted his hips and moaned, urging her on. Sin or no, she couldn’t reject him. His embrace was dangerous, dark, and she wanted more of it—always more. She rubbed her hips against his face, moaning softly at the pleasure he gave. As always, the pleasure was mixed with pain. He bit her, hard, making her squirm. She rocked faster, taking him deep into her mouth.

  Lucien tensed. With supernatural ease, he slipped from beneath her to stand on the side of the bed. She didn’t move as he grabbed her hips firmly in hand. With a thrust he was deep inside her, riding her hard. Mia made soft noises, the sound clashing with the harder, demonic sounds of his grunts. She knew without looking that the beast was coming out. His body expanded inside hers, almost painfully large.

  Lucien came with a jerk, bringing her to the edge, but not letting her fall over. She was so close. She panted, squirmed, wanting release.

  “Tell me,” the Demon King ordered. So long as she always gave him what he wanted, always submitted, he’d give her what she wanted.

  “I love you, Lucien!” she screamed, hating herself for her need, her weakness. Lucien chuckled darkly behind her. He thrust his still hard shaft again, letting her meet her climax.

  * * *

  Juliana looked across the campfire to her brothers. It was late, but none of them felt like sleeping until their situation was understood. The three men were having a hard time meeting her eyes. She couldn’t blame them for being disappointed in her. She was disappointed in herself.

  Domovoi had taken her clothes, only to return them clean. The men stared at the gnome, but handled it better than Juliana thought they would—especially Hugh, who’d never given her stories much credence. He depended on the rational and nothing about this world fell into that category. Halton and Gorman didn’t come back for her, and she secretly worried about them—even if she was mad at them for leading her in circles.

  The men told her about William’s abilities. She wasn’t shocked so much as surprised. He’d never let on about them. A sinking feeling came over her as she was told of Rees. By the description, she vaguely remembered “imagining” him as a young girl. The stories she knew were not made up with her imaginary friends. They were actually told to her by her invisible friends. As a young girl, she’d been told so many times that Rees, the faeries, the goblins, the whatever else she saw, simply weren’t there. In time, she’d stopped believing they were, convinced she had a vivid imagination. Their conversations had turned into stories. As she grew older, she told the stories to other children, embellishing them and making more up.

  No wonder she’d thought Merrick wasn’t with her in the pond. How foolish she was! It turned out that her imagination wasn’t vivid at all. If her childhood friends were real, then she’d truly given herself to Merrick completely. She shamed her family’s name, as well as her honor.

  “And that is how we came across you in the pond,” Thomas said, finishing his tale. “Now it’s your turn, Juliana. What has happened? Why are you here wandering about the forest?”

  Juliana quickly told them about the children and of her task to get to the King of the Unblessed. A knot formed in her gut, but with Eadward dead, most likely killed by Merrick, she knew she didn’t have much choice. She needed her brothers’ help. “I have to find King Lucien or Merrick will—”

  “Don’t you mean King Merrick?” Nicholas demanded, his eyes burning.

  Juliana swallowed, trying to force down the heat in her face. “Methinks I’m not explaining this well. King Lucien controls the demons. Merrick is the man from last night. I believe he is one of King Lucien’s demons.”

  “Juliana,” Hugh said softly. “I believe you mean King Merrick of the Unblessed. According to William, Merrick is the Unblessed. King Lucien i
s the Damned.”

  “King Merrick?” She repeated, feeling like a fool. She hugged her cloak tighter to her body. Her limbs still ached to hold him, even as she hated him. “I’m such a fool. There he was, right before me. All I had to do was ask him to free the children and this would have been over.”

  “I don’t think it’s that simple,” Hugh said. “He said you needed to go to Valdis. I’m assuming he wants you to journey to his palace and ask there.”

  Thomas nodded his agreement. “Aye.”

  “Why? To what purpose? I don’t understand it.” Juliana buried her face in her hands before glancing through her fingers at Nicholas. “I’m sorry. This is all my fault.”

  Nicholas studied her with his hard, silent eyes. She wanted for him to yell at her, condemn her for Lord Eadward’s death. Without comment, he stood and walked into the forest.

  Thomas sighed. “He’s taken his father’s death hard. I don’t think he’s slept. At night I’ve seen him pacing the forest.”

  “I should go talk to him,” Juliana said, standing. Her brothers didn’t stop her. Finding Nicholas easily in the dense trees, she made sure he heard her footsteps. “Your father was a good man, Nicholas.”

  He nodded, not looking at her.

  Juliana swallowed. She couldn’t blame him if he hated her. “He would have made me a fine husband and yet I brought about this. I asked for an adventure. It’s my fault King Merrick…” She took a deep breath, brushing a tear off her cheek. “It’s my fault. I foolishly begged him to come. I just wanted something to happen before my marriage, before becoming a wife. You’re a man, so I don’t expect you to understand it.”

  Nicholas didn’t move.

  She took a hesitant step toward him and placed a light hand on his shoulder. Nicholas was stiff beneath her palm. “You always warned me to be careful what I say lest the devil hear me and answer. I should have listened.”

  Slowly, his hand covered hers. He pulled her in front of him.

  “Nicholas?” She blinked, seeing his intense stare.