Page 9 of Darkest Heart

Chattering and laughing boomed through my door as a band of Blood Brothers left the main rooms where we kept the mortals and liquor to keep their minds hazy and tongues loose. Sargon nor my father liked that we kept some mortals for ourselves in the rooms, but it was a good thing we did. Without them, we would have no supply left at all. I was only glad Sargon believed our story, that they’d escaped.

Adrian’s voice sounded as he and a couple of others hurried past my door. I thought back to my agreement with Azia. I couldn’t even trust my friend with what I was doing. Everyone was under suspicion, even Adrian, until proven otherwise. I was alone in my plan.

This was me earning my kingdom. Every lie, consorting with a sorcerer, would be worth it. Deceiving the ones I loved had never bothered me, anyway.

Love.

I corrected myself. Cared for, not loved. I didn’t know what that felt like, but I was certain if I was in it, I would know. What I had with Gwen was perhaps more than that. It was an obsession. A need to collect her. To have her as my own.

I stood from my bed, running my fingers through my hair, which waved down over to my shoulders. I had to find Sebastian and give him that final push to go south. He’d only hesitated because he didn’t know where they’d taken her. Sargon insisted that leaving would make things worse for Seraphina and rumors swirled that she could be in so many places.

But I had a name; Dragoirmer. It was the major city in the south. A place made of nightmares. The rumors Azia spoke of suggested they were hiding something there, and even I didn’t feel it myself; I knew all about love. It was the most powerful motivator, so if anyone could find her right now, it was Sebastian Vangard.

I’d warn him of Astor, and with Zach, the mortal-loving idiot soon to be back at the castle, he’d have his little gang to go with him. He was going crazy without her, barely drinking, weakening himself. I’d watched as he’d threatened almost every noble for information. But they knew nothing. They were far too happy with their luxuries to get involved in the south’s problems.

I needed to motivate him. His success was mine. I attempted to blink the tiredness away and moved to the door so I could feed. I still didn’t understand how they lured the mortals outside, which told me someone here was involved.

I’d requested more be brought in from the shores of Salvius. We’d taken too many from Baldoria recently, and if we weren’t careful, we’d ignite a war with them, too. The situation with Asland had been mitigated for now. My betrothal to Penelope was held off until Seraphina was found. The stall was more for her benefit than mine. I’d kill Penelope before I ever placed a ring on her finger.

I glanced at the black windows and let out a tense breath. It was time to find Sebastian and his friends. Then I’d stop by the Blood Brother’s rooms for a pick-me-up. We held the few mortals left in the castle, making our club more elusive and desired than ever before.

As I walked the corridors to find Sebastian, I swept toward Seraphina and Sebastian’s room and paused by the door. Slowing my breathing, I listened carefully, but not a sound came from inside. The door creaked open as I peered inside. I spotted the princess’s dressing gown slung over the chair of her dresser and wondered if the prophecy was true. Because if it was, then whatever they were doing to her right now, could cost us all our lives.

THREE

Sebastian

I looked out over the forest and mountains as we stood on the rain-soaked castle grounds, waiting for Zach to arrive. I turned to tell Erianna she should go find Azia when I was forced to my knees by a wave of fear.

It had been three days since I’d felt anything from Olivia, but the pure terror aching through my bones was not my own.

Erianna’s hand entwined with mine, her touch grounding me as the pain singed my veins. Everything in me begged to cut away from our bond, but I delved deeper, desperate to keep my connection to Olivia strong. Even if it meant feeling her torture. In some sick, twisted way, it made me feel better. That even if my love didn’t know it, she wasn’t completely alone. It was better than feeling nothing.

My stomach knotted as the last wisp of the dread left my body, and my bond to Olivia had severed once again. “She’s alive,” I spluttered as my emotions returned to normal. I sucked in a deep breath and opened my eyes.

Erianna blew out a sigh of relief and sheathed her blade as the sky lightened to an ashy gray. She knew I could feel powerful feelings through mine and Olivia’s soulmate connection, but it had weakened more each day. “Can you sense anything else?” she asked.

I shook my head, pushing down the odd mixture of relief and worry. Olivia was breathing, and that was all that mattered. I couldn’t afford to be emotional. I had to be on top of my game. If I was to find her, I needed to hone my skills and follow my instincts. Now that Zach was arriving, we could fly south. I’d been forced to remain at the castle for too long, knowing she was gone. If I’d have even the slightest inkling of where to look, I’d have flown out immediately.

I’d never liked Niall much, but he was the only one who’d told me anything regarding her whereabouts. Normally, I wouldn’t take his word. But I was desperate.

She’s in Dragoirmer.He’d advised it was a rumor, but even Azia confirmed it was a lead worth following. At least now I had awhere. We’d all assumed she’d been taken south, into aniccipere territory, but the area was too huge to search with no direction.

Some nobles had whispered that they heard Olivia was moved out of the kingdom. A few even suggested she was close by, in the mountains. Someone was spreading as much misinformation as possible, confusing us so we couldn’t track down her whereabouts. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone in the castle was working with the aniccipere.

“At least she is alive,” Erianna said, pulling me out of my racing thoughts.

“She’s hurting,” I replied, my voice cracking despite my best efforts. “I swear to the gods, I will tear apart this whole fucking world until we find her.”

“We will find her,” she assured, and looked around as a few nobles stepped out into the wintry afternoon. Their wings extended, and the two men and a woman took flight, heading toward the mountains. They were probably going to the Black Mountain Retreat, an elite hotel between here and the City of Nightmares. It was where I’d spent my first night alone with Olivia, when we planned on taking down the king, and me regaining my mortality.

Another ache of terror chilled my bones. I reached for it, but it was gone before I could use the heightened emotion to dig myself deeper into her.

The bond only told me how she was feeling. It didn’t help with finding her as I couldn’t sense her thoughts. I didn’t fully understand the soulmate connection, although Zach had tried to explain as much as he could. Olivia’s being an empath, sorceress, and immortal, only enhanced it. It’s why I couldn’t feel anything before she’d gone through the Shadow Kissed ritual, but the feeling of home I felt when around her was present from the moment I laid eyes on Olivia, running for her life when Nightshade attacked the guild in Baldoria.

She clung to me, tired, but when I’d flown her back to the city, I had felt something unexpected. I wanted to protect her, no matter how much I tried pushing the feeling away. I desired to be close to her, and every time we pushed each other away, it was like invisible strings were pulling us back together.

A flurry of snow drifted over the drawbridge as it lowered, and a carriage pulled inside. A small man with a goatee and faded, purple wings stepped out. He was a Blood Knight, the ridiculous title the king gave to traffickers.

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