Pleasure of a Dark Prince (14 page)

Where have you been that I could no’ find you? Why did you leave against our warnings?

Are the rumors of Demestriu’s tortures… true?

Yet Lachlain looked so tormented with worry over his mate, Garreth said, “But that can wait. You need news about her?”

At his nod, Garreth said, “She’s injured, Lachlain. She has gashes down her side, and she could no’ drink though she was… she was about to die in just the first couple of hours.”

Now the scent of blood arose. Garreth glanced down, saw Lachlain’s claws stabbing into his palms. His voice a rasp, he said, “What saved her?”

“An IV.”

When Lachlain’s brows knit in confusion, as if he’d never heard the term, a jolt of dread ran through Garreth. Where had his brother been? Lucia had said,
He could’ve been trapped somewhere, tortured.

Garreth explained, “They gave her blood through a tube that fed it straight to her veins. They think she’s stabilized, but the gashes will no’ heal. I suspect whatever got her had poisoned claws. Maybe a ghoul, but I doona know.”

“I do.” Lachlain ran his hand through his hair. “Demestriu did this to her. I saw it all.”

Demestriu. Garreth gnashed his teeth. For millennia that evil fiend had been a scourge on their family. What else had he done—what else
could
he do?
This time
I
will find him, destroy him—

Lucia entered then. His plans for revenge immediately shifted to concern for his mate. He could see that she’d been crying, and even after all she’d done to him, and to Lachlain, Garreth’s chest ached at the sight.

♦ ♦ ♦

As Lucia descended the stairs, Garreth shot to his feet beside his brother, both standing so tall and proud. She was struck by how similar they were in looks, with the same rich brown hair, the same intense golden eyes.

Absently, she wondered if Lachlain had told Garreth about the Valkyrie’s incursion yesterday at Kinevane— specifically Lucia’s own actions. And she might have felt a twinge of guilt that the brothers’ reunion had to be as prisoners in her basement.

“Lucia?” Garreth said, a question in his gaze.

Not wanting the Lykae to see she’d been crying, she tilted her head so her hair covered her face.

“She’s no’ better?” he asked.

Lucia shook her head.
“Aunt Luce, am I dying?” Keep it together, Lucia!

Lachlain clenched the bars, looking to be in agony over Emma. “She heals whenever she drinks from me.”

Garreth appeared stunned. “
You
let her… ?” When Lachlain nodded, Garreth said to Lucia, “Then Lachlain must go to her.”

“Annika forbids it. He’s not to go near her. Emma sees things that aren’t there, mumbles nonsense as though she’s gone mad. Annika puts the blame squarely on his shoulders.”

Garreth asked, “What does she see?”

“Emma says that Demestriu was her father, and he put her in the fire, so she killed him.”

Lachlain answered, “She—did.”

Both of them swung their heads toward him.

“She did. She killed Demestriu.”

Lucia shook her head. “Sweet Emma? Kill the most powerful and deadly vampire ever to live?”

“Aye. He hurt her. Do none of you believe her?”

Garreth gave him an incredulous expression. “Demestriu’s finally dead? Because of that wee thing? I’ve seen her—she’s as fragile as an eggshell.”

Lucia added, “Lachlain, when she finds a moth inside and tries to free it—well, if she accidentally dusts its wings, she’s distraught for an entire night. I just don’t see her killing this fiend on his home ground when our fiercest Valkyrie have failed to do so on a field of battle. And Furie, the strongest of us? If Demestriu could be killed by a Valkyrie, then surely she’d have done it.”

“You doona know Emma as I do. No’ anymore—”

“Then what does she mean when she says Furie is alive but shouldn’t be?” Lucia demanded, afraid to hope….

“She’s been imprisoned by the Horde. Demestriu never expected her to live this long.”

Lucia swayed.
Imprisoned? Perhaps trapped at the bottom of the ocean?
In a smaller voice, she asked, “And when she says King Kristoff has her blood?”

“They’re first cousins.”

Her lips parted in surprise.
“Furie lives.”

“If you doona believe me, there’s a video of the entire fight. I left it with Bowen, a member of our clan.”

Garreth stopped gaping at Lachlain and turned to Lucia. “Go get it. For Annika to see.”

She raised her eyebrows. “You want me to go to the clan?”
To the compound? The kennel?

Garreth said, “Tell them I sent you, and they will no’ hurt you. I vow it.”

Please.
“I know they won’t
succeed
in hurting me. But you’re sending
me
, who’ll be carrying a
bow
, among your people. They will not thank you for it.”

“I would do it myself,” Garreth snapped. “But I canna since I’ve been put in a cage after coming to
your
rescue.”

What if all he said was true? Then Emma desperately needed to drink from Lachlain. But Annika would never allow it without proof. “I’ll retrieve and review it,” Lucia said, “then give it to Annika, if it’s as you say.”

Lachlain growled low in his throat, straining against the bars. “Damn it, that will take too long. Can you no’ just take my blood for her to drink?”

“Annika forbids it. I’m… sorry.” She turned for the stairs.

Regin met her as she was hurrying toward the front door, about to haul ass to the kennel. “Where are you going?”

“Apparently I’m traveling to the Lykae compound. Lachlain swears there’s a film that shows little
Emma
killing
Demestriu
. Stay here and call me if
anything
happens.”

Once she was gone, Garreth continued to stare at the door, telling Lachlain, “Lousha will be quick about it.”

“How long have you known she’s yours?”

That obvious?
Garreth faced his brother. “A while now.”

“I wondered why you were so eager to remain,” Lachlain said, examining the cell for weaknesses. “You’ve no’ told her?”

“Lousha’s tricky. And I suspect she’s a runner. Tell her something she does no’ want to hear and she’ll disappear. And she feels no love for me. She’s the reason I’m here in the first place,” he admitted. “She’s an unmatched archer, but suffers agonizing pain when she misses her target—that’s why she’s so bluidy good. Annika set a trap, baited it with Lousha missing and screaming in pain, and I ran headlong. I should have known there was no way she’d miss again. You’ve never seen a creature shoot as she—”

“I have a good idea.” Lachlain drew his shirt aside, exposing a wound on his shoulder.

I’ll bluidy kill her. She went to Scotland and shot my brother!

“I harbor no anger toward her.” Lachlain fisted two bars, struggling to stretch them apart. “They’ve reinforced these?”

“Aye.” Garreth joined him, grasping the same bars Lachlain contended with. “These creatures ally with the witches. Annika told me nothing
physical
can bend these.”

When they both failed to make a dent, Lachlain began pacing, only stopping to punch one of the cement walls.

“I canna believe she shot you.” Garreth had known she’d been gone for an entire day before Emma had returned but hadn’t thought she’d been to Scotland and back. “When we get out of here, I’ll—”

“No, I doona care. Especially since you seem to accept that my mate’s a vampire.”

Not bothering to hide his exasperation, Garreth grated, “I would no’ give a damn if she was a Fury, as long as you are content with her. And it’s clear you are.”

“Aye, but I have to get to her.” Lachlain knelt down, clawing at the floor.

“At least we’re no’ chained. When they open this door, we can attack.”

“I’d prefer to be only chained,” Lachlain said, his eyes wild. “I’d take off my hands before I let Emma suffer any longer.”

Garreth studied his brother’s expression. Any Lykae would do the same for his mate. But Lachlain had made that statement as if he spoke… from experience.
What has happened to you out there, brother?

“Trust me, Garreth, it is no’ so bad as this feeling—”

When a whimper sounded from Emma’s room, Lachlain growled in answer, pounding at the bars. Then he deliberately raised his gaze to the ceiling. “I can dig through.”

“Lachlain, I doona think that’s wise. This house is centuries old and gets battered as you would no’ believe.”

“Doona care.”

“You might care that all three stories are tongue-and-groove construction. One piece falls, it’ll be like a domino effect. War, hurricanes, and constant lightning have made it unsound. I doona think Val Hall can take a Lykae biting through the first floor.”

“Support it while I’m gone.”

“Hold the floor? If I canna, you could be hurting both our mates. This place could come crashing down.”

Lachlain slapped him on the shoulder. “Be sure that you doona drop it.”

SIXTEEN

Princess freaking Lucia.

Her trip to the Lykae compound had been like a bucket of ice water tossed in her face. Because the denizens there had welcomed her—as Garreth’s “mate.” She’d heard the whispers, the truth out loud:
“That’s Princess Lucia, the Archer.”

He lied! I
am
his mate.
He’d deceived her to get what he wanted.
Typical male.

Now as she hastened out the door with the tape, she called Regin. “I’m walking out right now with the video—it’s all true. Get Annika to let Emma drink from Lachlain! Right now, Regin! Demestriu was the one who hurt Emma, and she did truly kill him.”

“You’re a little late. Take your time.”

Lucia froze, dread seeming to stop her heart. “Emma… ?”

“Oh, no, she’s bingo! Just like you said, she drank from Lachlain and healed right up.”

Lucia sagged with relief, sinking onto the front steps of the kennel.
Emma’s going to live!
Then Lucia frowned. “Annika allowed this?”

“Hell no. The wolves escaped. And then Emma the Timid bitchslapped me when I went after Lachlain!” she added happily. “I mean really hard, and didn’t telegraph the move—
at all
. Finally, all those years training her paid off.”

“What are you talking about? Where’s Garreth?”

“Holding up, like, the entire floor of Val Hall while we get repairs done. Lachlain tore and
bit
through the ceiling over the cage to get to Emma, and now our whole house is sagging, about to fall down. Just goes to show you, Lykae are
outside pets
,” Regin said with a snort. “And Em loves Lachlain, and they’re getting married, I shite you not. Annika is freaking. I myself am torn. I mean, if Emma’s going to be their queen, her first decree could be that all Lykae are the Valkyrie’s bitches. She’s resistant to the idea, but I’ll wear her down.”

Emma was safe—healthy. And in love. “How are the others reacting?”

“They’re kind of feeling that if Emma wanted the wolf bad enough to go tag Demestriu, then felicitations to them both. And Lachlain did just save her life. Also, no Valkyrie were injured in the making of their recent escape. Still, doesn’t mean we want to hang out or anything.”

Emma would wed Lachlain and be his queen. Now everything between the Valkyrie and Lykae would be different.

Didn’t matter. Garreth was a liar—and she wanted nothing to do with him. Most of the time. Except when he was touching her.

“So what’s the kennel like?” Regin asked.

Lucia turned toward the building with narrowed eyes.
Before or after I get through with it?

“Do they have food bowls and chew toys all around?”

“The ‘compound’ looks like a Scottish hunting lodge.” The whole vibe was so… normal. It’d rattled her all the more because she
could
see herself hanging out there. Yes, there were some claw marks on the walls, but hell, Val Hall had its own “love stripes.”

“And?” Regin asked.

“What?”

“What else happened?” Regin said. “I can hear something in your voice.”

“I’m definitely… his mate.”

Regin made a wincing sound. “Dude. Sorry.”

“I’ve known, but I’ve been in denial.
He
even denied it.” Which proved that he was a cool customer, able to control himself instead of bellowing
mine
as he demanded her eternity. “But to hear the reality said out loud, and to see his clan treating me like one of their own, like their
princess
… it was just too much.”

Before, as long as it hadn’t been acknowledged, she could pretend it wasn’t so.

Now, the truth sunk in, her suspicions were confirmed, his lie revealed.

“He won’t leave you alone. Especially not until he’s claimed you,” Regin said.

“I know.” Lykae simply didn’t give up. They were the living embodiment of obsession. Just like Lachlain with Emma, Garreth would never rest until he’d possessed Lucia completely.