Claimed by a Demon King (42 page)

He was young physically, appearing around her age, and was rash, energetic and eager, but his eyes held a wealth of darkness and cold detachment at times. Something she couldn’t name haunted them. Something he tried hard to hide behind banter, enthusiasm and empty smiles and laughter.

He had seen things in his years.

Terrible things.

And those horrors had given him purpose, a hunger and need that drove him to fight and prove himself.

If she had to put a name to that purpose, she would call it revenge.

Kyal wasn’t a pup or a cub, or a werewolf to take lightly. That was just his front. His perfect feint. No. Kyal was something else. It was right there in his eyes and the cold calculating edge they gained whenever he thought no one was watching him.

Kyal was a dangerous man—the proverbial wolf in sheep’s clothing.

His eyes met hers and she looked away, and wished she hadn’t. Grave stood opposite her, to one side of a trio of demon males, his flunkies still guarding his back. His pale eyes slid her way and a cruel smirk tugged at one corner of his mouth.

“You smell afraid.”

“Gross, and no, not afraid. Repulsed, maybe. Eager to kick some arse, possibly. Dreaming of ways to kill you while making it look like the enemy did it,
definitely
.” She grinned at him and he scowled and bared his fangs.

Sable noted it still wasn’t wise to piss off a vampire with bloodlust.

Unfortunately, noting it didn’t stop her from blurting out, “Know a guy named Snow? Cause, man, he makes your crazy look like sane.”

Grave’s expression darkened, his lips thinning and the dark slashes of his eyebrows meeting above eyes rapidly turning red.

“What know you of my cousin?”

Wow. That, she had not anticipated. “You guys are related? Because when I mentioned your name, he threw a fit and his brother had to chill him out.”

Grave growled at her. “Speak not of vampires above your rank, Commoner.”

“Nice. I’ll have you know, I’m a queen.” Sable beamed at him. “That makes
you
the commoner.”

“I will wait no longer. My men will walk before I stand here another second in the company of such impudence.” He pinned her with a look that left her feeling he was plotting her demise, and how to make it look like the enemy did it, and then swiftly turned on his heel and swept away from them, his lackeys following him.

Thorne, Bleu and Loren sighed.

“I know. I know.” Sable held her hands up. “Spare me the lecture. It’s not wise to piss Grave off… blah, blah, blah. But, seriously, what is with him?”

Thorne shrugged. “I have wondered that myself upon occasion.”

His tone said the occasion rose often. She tracked Grave, trying to figure out why he was so jaded and what he had against his cousins and his cousins against him.

All aristocrat born vampire males had to serve centuries as a Preux Chevalier. Had something happened between Snow and Grave in Hell?

“The bloodsucker will do as he has threatened if we do not leave now.” Bleu checked his black blade over, turned to his prince, and added, “We should not hold off any longer. The drums are getting closer.”

Loren nodded. “Much closer and we shall place the castle at risk. Thorne?”

Thorne closed his eyes, drew in a deep breath, and finally nodded too.

“It is time.” He took hold of her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. She looked up at him, meeting his gaze, losing herself in the rich crimson and dark pools of his pupils. “Your mortal teams will have escorts in the form of some of my men and some of the elves. I have assigned the strongest of my warriors to you. Do not hate me for it.”

Sable smiled to alleviate the guilt that flickered in his eyes and the trepidation that came through their bond. She couldn’t hate him for wanting to protect her. At least he wasn’t trying to stop her from fighting full stop. He was certainly learning the ways to please her, and get around her too.

“I’ll keep them nice and safe for you.” Sable rose on her toes and caught him around the back of his head, luring him down to her. She kissed him softly, savouring it and this moment of calm before the storm. “May your gods watch over you, Thorne, or I’ll kick their arses.”

Thorne’s sensual mouth curled into a smile and he swept his fingers across her cheek. “And may they watch over you, my queen, or suffer my eternal wrath.”

He pulled her closer and then the world dropped away, and not in the way she had expected.

Thorne’s huge leathery wings beat at the air, lifting them higher as he held her tucked in his arms, his crimson gaze scouring the land beyond his castle’s walls.

He spread his wings and they glided lower, over the dark stone walls of both the inner courtyard and the outer one, and out above the countryside surrounding it, heading towards the ominous sound of drums that rose on the warm air.

Sable stiffened at the first glimpse of the army marching across the dark land, heading directly for the castle. She had never seen so many warriors. They swathed the land, walking in regiments, blocks of soldiers armed to the teeth.

Armed with teeth.

“Most are demons, but I see shifters among them.” Thorne jerked his head to the right, towards a group that marched separately from the others, made up of mountainous bare-chested men. “Bears are here, and dragons too.”

“Dragons?” Sable whispered in awe. She had heard of dragon shifters but she had never seen one. They never came to the mortal world and Archangel had marked them as extinct, just as they had the elves. “Olivia would love to study a dragon.”

Thorne chuckled. “If we manage to injure one, I will have it sent to the dungeons, but do not count on it. They are notoriously robust when they shift, their scales almost impenetrable.”

“You’re telling me they’re pretty much impervious? How are we meant to take them down?”

He grinned. “Females. A dragon is easily distracted by and fears harming females.”

“I have females,” Sable said and decided to bag a dragon for Olivia. It would cheer her friend up no end. “Hell, I
am
female.”

Thorne growled. “And taken. If I receive word that you lured a dragon… do not test me, Sable.”

The air shifted violently off to her left and Thorne muttered something in the demon tongue, banked right and flew harder, coming around and away from the army amassed below them.

Another bout of turbulence jostled her in his arms. “What the hell is happening?”

“Witches,” Thorne sneered, his horns curling, and circled lower, heading back towards the army gathering several miles in front of the castle in the distance.

They landed gently near Loren, Bleu and the other leaders.

“How many?” Kincaid said the moment they touched down.

“Several thousand at my count, enough to test us.” Sable was glad when her feet touched terra firma again and stepped away from Thorne. “And they have witches, dragons and bears.”

“Dragons,” Bleu spat and rubbed his neck.

Sable frowned. She had been around him often enough to notice the scars he had there, long slashes that had left their mark. Had a dragon left his mark on Bleu?

Loren placed a hand on his shoulder. “We shall work with Sable and her team to tackle the dragons. They are vulnerable to our weapons.”

Thorne nodded. “The wolves will no doubt love to sink their fangs into the bears, would you not, old friend?”

Kincaid grinned, flashing short fangs. “Indeed. This battle is already looking up. It has been a long time since I have fought bears.”

“Bears?” Kyal looked off into the distance, a note of interest in his voice. The gold in his eyes increased. Tawny fur rippled over his forearms and shoulders.

Sable looked away as he transformed, not wanting to catch an eyeful of him this time. He snarled and growled, and the sounds of bones crunching turned her stomach. She hated the thought that her father might have been an angel, but she was damned glad he hadn’t been a shifter.

Kincaid transformed too, his shift far smoother than Kyal’s and over in a heartbeat. The two large wolves shook all over, and then one threw his head back and unleashed a howl.

Answering howls came a heartbeat later.

And then distant roars. The bears.

Kyal and Kincaid bounded off to join their fellow warriors.

Grave drew in a deep breath and swept away from them, calling over his shoulder, “I would advise against getting in my or my men’s ways.”

He disappeared before she could respond and his men followed, sweeping across the dark ground behind the wolves to meet the enemy head on.

They needn’t have rushed.

Sable ducked to avoid the tip of the blade that came out of nowhere.

The enemy had come to them.

CHAPTER 29

A
ll hell had broken loose the moment the first demon had appeared amidst their ranks. Sable had found herself thrust to one side by Thorne, his broadsword catching the enemy across his throat before he could teleport, severing his head. She had rolled and come to her feet to find herself surrounded by Thorne’s men and also the demons from the Fifth Realm. The battle had instantly absorbed all of her focus, the adrenaline dump quick to pass and the usual calm she experienced when fighting demons even quicker to come.

She slashed at all the demons who came too close, able to identify them by their dazzling jewel green eyes and painted black horns. A few had fallen to her blade so far, giving her confidence that she badly needed. Her demon escorts tackled any who were too strong for her but the enemy were gradually separating them and she needed to reach her team.

Sable ducked as a curved blade whizzed towards her, barely evading it, and swept her leg out, taking down the man. He pushed himself up onto his elbows and snarled at her, flashing rows of sharp teeth, his bright aquamarine eyes glinting dangerously.

Not a demon.

A handful of Sable’s team reached her, aiding her in her battle against the demons closing in on them. It was pandemonium and in the midst of it sat the shirtless male warrior, a hank of wild blue hair hanging across his forehead as he stared up at her and her band of female hunters with awe in his striking eyes.

“Dragon,” Sable muttered with a grin.

“Ooh, where?” Anais said and looked down at him.

He stared at the blonde huntress and swallowed hard.

“Amazons,” he whispered, his deep voice laced with the wonder in his gaze. He blinked, his jewel-coloured eyes flitting from one woman to the next, but always returning to Anais, lingering longest on her.

Flecks of gold shimmered in his irises like fire as he stared up at Anais and a scowl slowly drew his dark blue eyebrows together, his lips thinning in a look that Sable could only describe as displeasure.

Sable pressed her boot against his throat, pushed him down into the dirt and cocked her head to one side. “Not Amazons… just demon-hunters. How do you feel about being studied?”

He growled now, flashing sharp teeth that she had no desire to become acquainted with, and grasped her ankle. He shoved upwards before she could adjust her weight, flipping her off him. Sable landed hard on the uneven dirt, the impact rattling her senses.

There was a shriek and a muffled grunt of pain.

Anais.

Sable pushed to her feet and one of the demons came to her aid. She swatted his hand away and turned to look for her fellow hunter.

And found an enormous blue dragon looming over her.

He roared at her, his beaked snout opening wide to flash those killer teeth that were now each as long as her hand, and reared up on his muscular hind legs. He spread his wings wide and flexed them, each easily forty feet across, sending a gust of wind down at her that knocked her backwards, and swept his long barbed tail around, catching many of his side and hers with it, toppling them.

Another shriek caught her attention.

The dragon looked down at the same time as Sable did, her gaze zeroing in on Anais.

The blonde huntress repeatedly stabbed the dragon’s front paw that clutched her, the blows ineffective, the dagger unable to penetrate his scales.

“Sable, get me down from here!” Anais wriggled and reached for her.

“You heard her.” Sable turned to her team and the demons assisting her. “Get her away from him.”

The dragon roared at that, as if her words had caused him distress, and clutched Anais closer to his chest. Sable cursed. If Anais had a blade that could pierce his armour she would have had a clean shot at his chest or his throat. What would possess the dragon to place himself at risk like that? Was he so confident that Anais didn’t have a weapon that could harm him?

He answered her by tucking Anais against his scaly body, holding her with both paws as if shielding her, and beating his wings. The demons on her side attacked him, slashing at his hind legs and trying to slice through his meaty tail. He snarled and beat his wings harder, lifting off with Anais.

Abducting her.

“Give her back, you bastard!” Sable took her crossbow from her belt and loaded it with a dart. She didn’t know which and didn’t care. All she had to do was aim well and hit the dragon in the only vulnerable spot she could see.

His eyes.

She took aim as the huge beast rose higher into the air, each powerful beat of his wings buffeting her and making it hard to keep steady. The second she had locked on to his eye, she loosed the dart and held her breath.

He growled and jerked his head to one side, closing his eye at the same time. The dart struck, and bounced off his eyelid.

Sable unleashed a growl of frustration and ran after him.

She was damned if he was going to steal one of her team.

She hit a snag only a few metres into her sprint.

Bears.

They were too absorbed in fighting the wolves that were swarming around them to notice her. She had never seen a bear shifter and never wanted to see another in her eternal life. They were huge, towering furry behemoths that stood on their hind legs, swinging enormous clawed meaty paws at their enemies and growling the whole time. Their huge fangs dripped with blood and saliva, and several wolves lay dead or dying at their feet.