The Darkest King (Lords of the Underworld 15)

My woman. Mine! I’ll protect her with my life. But he had to do something fast, or he would die in this room.

Die? No! Not today, not ever. Determination hardened his heart into stone. Today, he killed. Them. All. No mercy. “The venom,” he bellowed for Pandora’s benefit. She’d lived in the underworld for a very short period, and she had yet to learn about the different demon breeds. “It causes hallucinations. Feel the skin. If it’s rough, deliver a death blow, no matter who it is.”

* * *

Something came up, but I’ll return to the stable in an hour. Be ready.

Be ready for what? Sunny had received William’s text message three hours ago. That “an hour” had come and gone without another word from him.

I’m not good enough to meet my fake boyfriend’s beloved father or get an explanation for his tardiness.

Hurt pricked her, but so did worry. Where was he? What if something bad had happened?

She sent a message, asking for an update but...another minute passed. Then five. Ten. Thirty. No response.

Hellebore! Daisy! Sage! Freesia! Something bad must have happened. But there was nothing she could do about, trapped in a stable.

She paced, her emotions running the gamut. Everything from paralyzing fear to righteous anger. She wanted him here with her now. She wanted to hug him and patch him up if he were injured. And then she wanted to throat punch him for making her worry.

Desperate for a distraction, she opened her diary and ripped out the list of sexual positions. Magic supplied a brand-new page, only blank.

She wrote a new list titled All the Ways to Punish William for His Poor Treatment of Me.

—Staked to a wall naked.

—Orgasm denial.

—Chained to bed and whipped.

“I’m sensing a theme,” she muttered. She created a second list of made-up sexual positions. Things he couldn’t possibly have heard of, since she’d just invented them. Fingers crossed he would feel totally inadequate. Read ’em and weep, big boy.

Another half hour passed, but still no word from William.

Why was she still sitting here, doing nothing? She was a freaking killer unicorn, not some lame-aster princess in distress. If her prince charming needed aid, Sunny would provide aid. If he needed a reminder that he’d acquired a vengeful superhero vigilante of a girlfriend, she would provide a reminder.

She strapped on a pair of daggers she’d lifted from William during his last visit, then stuffed his photos into a backpack. With the pack anchored to her shoulders and the daggers in hand, she kicked open the barn doors. There had to be a way around the invisible block. And if not around, over. If not over, under.

Nobody locks me in a glorified barn!

Despite the legions of demons William had killed, more fiends already congregated in the area. They stopped what they were doing, turned and faced her. As countless red eyes looked her over, rage coursed through her veins, hot and hungry. Hate demons! Evil must be eradicated.

One of the first lessons taught by her battle instructors: Never leave an evil being behind. They’ll only slither away and return with friends at a later date.

Her heart thudded as she took a step forward. Let’s do this. She’d take out every fiend and—

A calloused hand snagged her bicep, squeezing tight, yanking her backward and spinning her around. William! Silent, he removed and dropped her backpack, then kicked the doors shut.

Eyes narrowed, still silent, he stalked forward, backing her against the wood and flattening his palms at her temples to cage her in. Her heart thudded harder and faster, snatching the air from her lungs. He looked like a man possessed, dark and sinister, with streaks of black all over his body. Dried demon blood. She’d worn her fair share, too. His raven locks stuck out in spikes, framing a beautiful face littered with gashes and bruises. His clothes were ripped, the scent of sulfur and death emanating from him. But hidden beneath the stink were hints of his innate fragrance. Mouthwatering.

Finally he said, “Safe word. Tell me. Now.”

Uh, what the what? “Your penis is cute?”

Relief softened his harsher edges. Within seconds, however, fury eclipsed the relief, and he snarled, “Where the hell were you going?”

Oookay. Splatters of red, green and rusty yellow glowed in his blurry aura. His emotions were as interchangeable and turbulent as hers. But his eyes...his eyes became two open wounds, bleeding pain.

“Tell me,” he croaked.

The thought of her absence upset him that much? “I planned to find a way past your barrier, kill the demons, then find and save you,” she admitted softly.

He did that surprised-blink thing.

“You messaged to say you’d be here in an hour,” she reminded him. “That hour passed almost five hours ago without another word from you. So, you had better be mortally wounded or something.” She searched him for an outside sign of injury, but found none. All right, then. Her rage returned and redoubled. “What in hellebore happened to you? Why didn’t you respond to my text?”

Another blink of surprise. “I was ambushed.” He popped his jaw. “Lucifer sent a horde of Hallucina demons. Their fangs and claws produce a hallucinogenic venom, and I only just recovered.”

Now her rage switched targets. I’ll slay them. Slay them all! “Take me to them. Now.”

“Can’t. They’re dead. Killed by my hand.”

Okay. Fine. But now he’s even sexier!

William ran his tongue over his perfect white teeth. “No questions about my state of being? No fawning over my wounds?”

“Why? Do you have hidden owies in need of tending?”

“Yes,” he hissed.

Finally, she had a legit excuse to run her greedy hands over every inch of his sculpted body. Maybe, just maybe, she could turn off her paranoia, if only for a bit, and have fun. Had she ever had fun? Other than killing demons, of course.

No. Now wasn’t the time for fun. As a child, the king had loved telling her that her duty came before everything. And right now, Sunny had a duty to perform. A lesson to teach. William might have a good reason for failing to update her, but he’d still caused her unnecessary worry. For that, he would pay.

Let’s get started.

17

“Love without might is misery.”

Sunny delivered a quick jab to William’s throat. “That’s for making me worry.” As he gasped for breath he couldn’t catch, she slammed her fist into his nose. Cartilage snapped, and blood trickled from his nostrils. “That’s for being too embarrassed to introduce me to your dad.”

Her knuckles pulsated. He had a freakishly hard head.

With a growl, he got in her face. The tip of his nose brushed hers, and he blinked. Between pa

nting breaths, he grated, “I’m not embarrassed of you, sundae. I just don’t want my father trying to recruit you. I’d have to decline on your behalf, and our relationship is already strained.”

Really? He’d been protecting her? Softening, she flattened her hands on his chest. To her surprise and delight, his heart raced against a palm.

He heaved a heavy breath. “I’m sorry I hurt you.”

See! A little punishment, and he’d learned. So had she. Never assume I understand his motives. Always ask.

“Why don’t you hop in the shower?” she said, feeling magnanimous now. “Afterward, I’ll—” A dog barked, and she yelped, jumping up. A peek beyond William. The cutest two-headed, red-eyed dog in all of creation raced through the still-open portal.

Sunny went soft and liquid against him, peering up at him with what had to be the dreamiest eyes ever. “You brought me a puppy?” That was, hands down, the sweetest, kindest thing anyone had ever—

“Her name is Dawn. I saved her from the demons, and now she follows my every move. Typical female,” he grumbled. “There was a second one, but I don’t know where she—”

Dawn barked louder and shot through the portal, reentering what looked to be a bedroom. The little sweetie turned to face them and barked again.

“I think she’s trying to tell us something.” Sunny darted through the portal before William had a chance to stop her. “Show me, girl. What’s wrong?”

Dawn moved to the closet and barked again. Sunny crouched beside her. Movement underneath a rumpled coat. She pushed the material out of the way...and gasped. The second dog. This one flicked in and out of view, blood spurting from her head. The poor, sweet darling had been mutilated. Her throat had been slashed, and her lungs wheezed every time she tried to breathe. The death wheeze.

Too far gone to heal with magic. “Oh, baby. I’m so sorry for your pain.” As she gathered the wee darling close, tears welled in Sunny’s eyes.

William flashed to her side, the color in his cheeks dulling. He attempted to take the dog.