Page 78 of Reign

I’d never heard B’nar ask for anything. It was a testament to how worried he was. Blue stared at him like she was seeing him for the first time. Her gaze didn’t stray from him, not even when I willed her to look at me.

Walker met Connor’s gaze, his lips a thin pale line. He nodded. “I will not end your life, Succubus.”

She smirked. “Oh, I am not that stupid, High King. Guarantee no other person in this gathering will either.”

Walker nodded. “Guaranteed. You will be freed from my bindings as soon as you tell me the truth.”

Her smile was satisfied. But she spoke to B’nar, not Walker. “Xania is old. She has spent years trying to find a way to kill not only herself but her master. She both loved him and hated him. Now that she has uttered his true name, your father is cursed. He cannot return to Faerie. As soon as he steps over the borders, he will die—slowly but surely. The curse will eat away at his body and mind until there is nothing left but a shell.”

“How did she discover his true name?” B’nar asked, his face paler and his eyes colder than ever.

The succubus shrugged. “All she told me was that she had the curse made by a shadow fae in Orth many years ago when he first rejected her, and she has kept it close all these years. All she needed to activate it was to utter his name. She didn’t know it until a few days ago.” She studied Walker, who stood with his jaw clenched and his hands fisted. “She asked you so many times to end her life, and you’d never do it. She had nothing to live for. A soul that broken is easy to manipulate. The only thing they crave is an end to their loneliness and suffering. I offered it to her. I can suck a soul from their vessel until there is nothing left.” She smiled, all darkness and cunning. “And be certain they enjoy it whilst I do it.

“How do we break the curse?” B’nar asked.

She laughed. “You can’t. A deal with a fae is binding. I answered your question. You get no more. My freedom and my life. Now.”

B’nar looked murderous. “No.”

“Let her go, son.”

B’nar turned his murderous gaze upon his father.

“Do not question me.” Walker met his son’s gaze—and neither backed down.

B’nar’s nostrils flared, his whole body tense, ready to kill the threat to his father and his King, even if it meant defying Walker himself. Blue moved her arm. Walker couldn’t see it, but I knew my friend. She had reached out, finally, to support or soothe, or perhaps both. I had no idea. B’nar’s jaw remained clenched, but his shoulders relaxed minutely. Silently, he nodded.

Walker unbound the succubus. She stood and turned...directly into Owen. He smiled down at her, his large body effectively stopping her escape.

Connor snarled. It was a signal.

Owen shifted. Before the succubus could blink, he snapped his jaws closed around her neck and ripped out her throat. Walker watched dispassionately as she fell to the ground in a puddle of her own bluish blood, choking to death.

Owen met Connor’s gaze, and my mate nodded. Owen shifted back and wiped his mouth. We all got used to the taste of blood in our mouths after a kill, but he spat hers from his mouth, his face contorted. “Ugh. She tastes disgusting.”

Remembering what Connor had said about Xania’s ability to regenerate, I unwound my arm from my mate’s waist and looked down at her ice-encased body. Without any regret, I called up Fire.

“Wait,” B’nar hissed. Green magic hit Xania with enough force to shatter her remains. His beautiful face didn’t alter. “Will that end her?” He looked to his father.

Walker nodded. “If Ember burns her and the ash is separated—yes.”

Without another word, I used my fast ebbing energy to burn her body to ash before turning and doing the same to the Overseer. “Deals with the fae are tricky things,” I murmured to her glassy eyes as my flames consumed her. “Specifics are what you need. Most of us in this room aren’t just people. You were in your ivory tower for too long.”

Connor eyed the grounded helicopters, then Walker. “So? The SBI, hm?”

Walker straightened his spine and nodded. “I’d suspected it was her causing problems in the SBI for a long time. Proving it was hard. She had files on us all, including me. This whole situation, from me being betrayed by Xania to the attack on Ember, was orchestrated by her. She wanted to do a deal with the Devil.” He huffed. “A succubus demon who wanted to return to her master with enough power and bargaining chips to dictate the terms of her existence. If we hadn’t ended her, Satan would have taken what he wanted and finished her, anyway.”

Connor nodded. “Well, it’s done now. Let’s get this place cleaned up.”

Walker took in everything as he observed the carnage. “Indeed. For now, I will be heading the SBI troops on Earth. We have helicopters. We’ll use them to ferry the injured to the nearest SBI hospital. Any who don’t want to be treated in a facility can be treated here. And then take their chances.”

For hours,I helped treat the injured, then got them into some kind of transport to be moved. Som and Ava arrived with our SUV’s. Ava’s face was dull, devoid of any emotion. She functioned like a robot, doing what was asked of her. I hated that emptiness in her eyes. It reminded me so much of how Rawson had been after Lyss had died. And I got it; I really did. She’d keep her shit together...until she didn’t have to anymore. And when that time came, I’d be there for her—we all would.

I forced my eyelids to stay open, my body to keep functioning, but I glanced at my battle worn and injured friends with concern. I wanted to talk with them, especially Alex, who smiled sadly at me, nodded, then disappeared into the melee. My gut twisted. Seeing your sister die, being a part of that, and hearing the lengths she’d gone to, just so that she could die? It must have destroyed him. I hoped he’d come back to us, but time had little meaning to an immortal. I swallowed hard. I might never see him again.

Blue sat with her back against a wall, watching B’nar and Walker as they talked, surrounded by royal guards and SBI agents. I wondered what would happen to the High King now.

Connor’s brothers stood around him like the protective wall of muscle and power they were. Even Jed was a part of that circle. Only Shannon and Stone were missing. Som and Ava had taken Stone, Shannon, Tyen and Zander back to the compound.

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