Page 94 of Fated In Forever
And now, I was proud to say I was my father’s worst enemy.
Oh, I still knew how to kill. Silas had taught me to do that efficiently.
But not to mount heads on my walls. Not for glory or some fucked up ideal of righteousness. Only to defend those I loved.
Because sometimes, you need someone who has known the darkness to protect the light.
45
RIORDAN
“My sister might seem... peculiar,” Nikolai warned, looking like he was going to his own execution. “Try not to take anything she says personally. Or piss her off.”
Before I could ask what that meant, a voice echoed from somewhere ahead of us, dripping with malice. “Oh, Wolfie, you know I love meeting new people like I love trying new foods. Please tell me it’s the possessed king, I have so many questions.”
“My sister doesnotlike trying new foods,” Nikolai muttered out the side of his mouth.
“Thepossessed king? Seriously?” I gave him awhat the fucklook, and he just shrugged.
“This had better be worth the wait,” Blake hissed, breathing hard at my side.I am done with games. I am done with magic and trying to save this fucking world.His eyes met mine for one strung out second.If Evie survives, I’m taking her away, Rohr. Far away from all of this. She needs to be somewhere safe.
For a moment, I could hardly breathe at the thought of losing her…but Blake was right. Evangeline never asked to be vampire, she never asked foranyof this, and yet, she had given all of herself to protect us. I dipped my head, a draining, hopeless rage turning my muscles to water.
Once we get her back, I will make sure that happens.
We rounded the corner and I stopped short. The willowy female sitting cross legged on the dining table looked like she'd stepped out of a fever dream. Her ball gown was a deep midnight blue, all flowing silk and intricate beadwork, but she'd paired it with combat boots that had seen serious action and were caked with mud.
At least, Ihopedthat was mud.
Her classical beauty was ethereal, a tangled nest of pale hair was piled in an elaborate updo held together with what looked like actual thorns, and she was wearing a diamond necklace that…couldn’t possibly be real.
Wolf lounged against one of the windows, such an agonized expression on his face, I wondered if he was thinking of throwing himself out.
“Sabine,” Nikolai kept his voice carefully neutral. “Thank you for coming.”
“Always so polite, Nik. Such good…manners. But then again, you are a prince.” She laughed, the sound like shattering crystal. “Darling brother, you practicallybeggedfor my help. And I must admit…I was curious to see what is dire enough for you to ask me for a favor, when you well know the cost. Mmm…” Her light brown eyes, somehow wilder than her brother’s, swept over Blake and me with predatory interest. “I smell desperation in the air.”
Blake stepped forward, impatient. “We need to?—”
“Save it, gorgeous.” Sabine waved a dismissive hand, rings glinting. “I know exactly why you're here. Your girlfriend is dying because her soul-mate got himself trapped in the Underworld and now you think you can just pop down there and fetch him like he's a lost puppy.”
“I’mher fucking mate,” Blake growled, and her eyes positively glowed.
“There are mates….and there aremates.” She told him enigmatically, her grin turning darker. “Each bond as strong as the other, but different in origin. But I did not come here to give you a lesson in love, did I?”
“Can you get us there or not?” I growled and Sabine's weighty gaze snapped to me. Magic crackled around her—and I resisted the overpowering urge to take a healthy step back. Or pull up my own.
“Oh, look, Nik, the king has fangs,” she purred. “No pleasantries, no dancing around the subject.”
She leaped down from the table with impossible grace, her ball gown a swirl of tulle around her, caked mud sloughing off all over the expensive rug. “Yes, Riordan Graves, King of the Nocturne Clan, it will be child’s play to get you into the Underworld. The question is whether you'll survive.”
“That's our problem, not yours.” Blake said firmly.
“Is it though?” Sabine circled us like a shark, leaving a trail of dirt behind. “Because when you inevitably get yourselves killed, and this entire world goes to shit, who do you think will be blamed?”
“We're not asking you to—” Nikolai started.
“Me.” Sabine spun to face her brother, eyes flashing. “I’ll be at fault, and you know it. You're asking me to open a gateway to the most dangerous realm in existence, to bypass every ward and protection the Underworld has in place, to essentially commit an act of magical treason. And for what?” She laughed again, the sound sharper this time. “Love?”
