Page 64 of The Fated and the Damned
I looked around me at the expanse of nothingness and yelled my frustration, the sound seeming to echo back to me in mockery. It was the wrong question to ask.
The question I should be asking wasn’t what kind of man I would be, but instead …
“What kind of husband would I be if I gave this to my wife?!”
“I guess you’ll never know.”
I swivelled, turning to see Fate stepping through the portal into the pocket realm. My skin prickled as she perused me, those sapphire eyes cutting like knives before her attention shifted to the item in my hand. “The crown,” she said, her voice awed, her gaze reverent. “How long I have wished to possess its power.”
I stepped back, hackles raised like a cornered dog as I drew my blade. “You’ll have to wait a little longer.”
She smiled, the sharp cut of her blonde hair swaying as she cocked her head, a hungry gleam in her eyes. “You would stand in my way? I am immortal, boy. No mere blade can score my flesh.”
“Who said anything about swords?” I let my power rise, basking in the pleasure of its eagerness to maim and murder.
Fate fell preternaturally still as she spied the black and red whisps. “That’s not possible. Magic cannot be traded like common goods. How did you get this power?”
“Blood.” I sneered, stepping closer, my smile widening as she stepped back.Interesting.“The answer has always been written in blood. And you shan’t spill a drop of it. ”
Her lovely face twisted into something dark and menacing. “I won’t need to. The crown will destroy you and that wretched witch. It was not made for mortals.”
“Neither was it meant for your pretty head, but it didn’t stop any gods before you. Kitarni and I will end this war, Sylvie will pay for her crimes, and you will remain in this realm, tied to a husband you do not want, trapped in a world you did not choose. I’ll be sure to give Kitarni your best when I make it back.”
The shadows pooling at Fate’s feet deepened and her face flashed ever so briefly into something monstrous and dark. “Foolish táltos. You aren’t going back. You aren’t going anywhere.”
Death stepped through the portal beside her, his robes billowing. He lifted one skeletal finger and wagged it just once. “You come into my realm uninvited, murder my guards and my pet, threaten my wife, and attempt to steal my crown. Now that’s just bad manners.”
I dropped to my knees as my throat closed, agonising pain rippling through my veins, crippling as my body bent against my will to bow before his feet. My teeth gritted together so hard I thought they’d snap.
He stalked closer, his hand outstretched for the crown still clutched in my fingers. Everything grew cold and impossibly dark as stars flashed behind my eyes and my vision blurred.
I sensed my end approaching and, for a moment, the paralysing fear of being stuck in this place seemed to reverberate tenfold in my mind. “You knew I was here,” I managed to choke out as I clawed at my throat.
His voice sounded triumphant as he smoothed his robe down. “From the very moment you arrived. The dead guards … well, an unfortunate, but necessary evil. The crown is worth more than every soul in this plane.”
I squeezed my eyes shut. I’d walked right into their trap even knowing something wasn’t right. It was so blatantly fucking obvious now that I wanted to roar. They’d not been able to enter the pocket realm without Sylvie’s blood or, in this case, that of her descendant. We may as well have handed the crown over on a silver platter.
My words were little more than garbled rasps as I struggled to speak. Death waved his hand lazily and I sucked in air, gasping and spluttering as I placed a hand to my throat. When I spoke again, my voice was hoarse and cracked.
“The demons … you could have closed the gate Caitlin opened, you bastard. There was never any risk of them getting into the Middle Word. You manipulated us into coming here, hoping we would fall into your trap.”
“Right again, wolf pup, though I was expecting the girl instead of you. Still, I’ll take what I can get. My wife is ever so eager to exact her revenge. I expect it’ll break Kitarni more to see you suffer.”
Anger had my power flaring in an explosion of red, but Death simply waved his hand once more, erecting an invisible barrier which my magic splashed against harmlessly. He laughed cruelly. “You have no power here. You are mine until I tire of your existence and my wife requires a new plaything. Now hand it over.”
Fate grinned and I shook my head slowly. They were all the same. Sylvie, Death, Fate … Time had done nothing to temper their greedy, petty natures. Quite the opposite in fact. But I would not rot in a fucking cell in this godsforsaken place. I would not forsakeher.
“You want the crown?” I asked, rising to my feet. “You’ll have to pry it from my head.”
“No!” Death hissed, floating towards me, skeletal fingers reaching out. It all happened so fast I didn’t have time to really register my movements.
What does a predator do when cornered and afraid? They bite. So I did the only reckless gods damned thing I could think of.
I put the crown on my head.
THIRTY
Kitarni
