The Darkest King (Lords of the Underworld 15)

The male flashed his fangs, suddenly able to move, pain and fury pouring off him. “I know you murdered every last one of them!”

Maybe he had, maybe he hadn’t. “If you want to earn the right to crawl away from this interrogation,” William said with an evil smile, “you’ll tell us the rest, without delay.”

Withering, the vampire said, “You want to know about the babies.”

He stiffened. Babies? “What babies?” William and Axel?

“Thousands of years ago, there were rumors,” the vampire continued, his voice breaking. “Things I heard about but never witnessed. Only the higher-ups had access to the information.”

“Tell us,” Axel snapped, kicking a bloody stump.

The vampire screamed and gurgled blood. Between wheezing breaths, he said, “Experiments were done, certain species paired together to create immortal soldiers. Witches with vampires. Wolf-shifters with Harpies. Dragon-shifters with sirens. Sent Ones with demons. Fae with whatever else they managed to nab. When the children reached adulthood, they were then mated with each other. A witch-vampire paired with a wolf-Harpy. Those children grew up and were forced to mate with each other, too. A witch-vampire-wolf-Harpy with a dragon–siren–Sent One–demon.”

William shared a look with Axel. They must have been part of the experiments, must be a mix of supernatural species. More than they’d realized. “What else?”

The vampire glanced between them, finally admitting, “My job was...to steal DNA from...specific beings. Gods and goddesses. They planned to create a new godlike species with all the strengths of other supernaturals and none of the weaknesses.”

A shocking realization. If Wrathlings had worked with DNA, they might have artificially inseminated females, rather than having them get pregnant the old-fashioned way. Anyone could be in William and Axel’s family line.

You have his eyes.

Whose eyes, damn it? Whose?

Axel squeezed his shoulder, a silent request for a private meeting, and William nodded before leading his brother a few feet away.

Axel whispered, “What if he told the truth? We might not ever learn who our parents are. They could be anyone.”

“My thoughts exactly.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “We need to know if any Wrathling survived my murder spree. Maybe they kept records of their willing and unwilling donors. I’ll go to Hades and find out what he knows.” If he’ll see me. His chest ached at the thought.

Had Hades known about the stolen DNA? You have his eyes. If he had, then he’d betrayed William in the worst possible way, using him to slaughter his own people.

Danger! About to blow!

No. Absolutely not. This, William not believe without hard proof. No way Hades was so cruel. Did the king have a cruel streak? Yes. But not with William. There had to be another explanation for his selective mutism.

“I’ll get the vampire to a healer and question him further,” Axel said, “then meet you back at the stable.”

“No, not the stable.” William wasn’t ready to face Sunny. They’d been apart only a few hours, and he already missed her smile, her taste, her sass. Her everything. He needed to gain control of his desires first, and she made him feel like he was spinning out of control. Made him want what he couldn’t have. “Let’s meet at your cabin. We’ll flash to Lucifer’s palace and stake out his front yard.” What would they see?

Axel nodded. “We can portal demons to your dungeon for a chat.”

William grinned. “I like how your mind works, Sent One. I really do.”

* * *

Darkness crept over the land, only to be pushed away by spontaneous bursts of fire. Atop a pile of dirt and ash overlooking Lucifer’s territory, William lay on his stomach, shoulder to shoulder with Axel.

After Hades had refused to see William—again—he’d been a mess. He’d wanted Sunny, the very reason he’d stayed away from her. He’d visited the Lords instead to borrow their Cloak of Invisibility. Now he and Axel were invisible to all as they watched demons come and go.

This should have been an exciting and emotionally satisfying night. He’d reunited with his brother, and his woman had begun to decode the book. For the first time, his future had promise. Yet, judging by their last chilly text exchange, said woman was now pissed off at him because he’d canceled their plans.

Maybe he should have explained why, but... I shouldn’t have to explain anything to anyone!

Like Hades doesn’t have to explain anything to you?

Shit. His irritation with Sunny dissipated. He’d done her wrong, hadn’t he? He’d insisted they were a couple. Of course he’d owed her an explanation.

“Hades’s prediction,” Axel said, breaking into his musings.

“What about it?”

“Do you want to kill him and take his throne?”

Kill a man who’d provided shelter, prestige and training, who’d given him a purpose? “Not now, not ever. I cannot imagine a good enough reason to do such a terrible thing.”

Unless Hades did, in fact, order him to slay his own family.

He gripped his dagger so tightly, the hilt cracked.

“Had you heard the prophecy before?” Axel asked.

“No. I’m sure Hades, being Hades, murdered everyone privy to the details, ensuring word would never spread.”

A scream pierced the air, and he cast his gaze about, searching for the source. There. A demon tortured a human spirit.

On the outside, Lucifer’s palace looked like a haven. Both tall and sprawling, with marble walls, towers and a steepled roof made of precious gems. All a deception. Demons of every size and shape occupied the surrounding area, most joining in to torture the human. Fires burned here and there, filling the air with dark smoke.

“Who raised you?” he asked Axel.

“A nice married couple who’d had trouble conceiving a child of their own,” his brother replied. “Both were Messengers.”

Messengers were often tasked with guiding a specific human down the right path, by whispering instructions into their ears. Humans couldn’t hear spirits, but their hearts could receive a message from one; it was up to the human whether they followed any guidance or not.

“They were good to you?” Even nice people could do bad things.

“They were, yes, but I was too much for them. Too wild. Too rambunctious. Too everything.” Axel puffed out a breath. “How about you? Hades treated you well?”

His fingers curled into the dirt beneath him. “He did. In every way but one. He commanded me to keep my distance from you. I didn’t know why until today, when he explained the prophecy.”

William stared down at his curled fingers, watching as claws grew from his nailbeds. Ignore the pain in your chest. “As for life in the underworld,” he grated, “it’s not a pleasant place for a child. You can stand in a crowd of thousands and feel alone. Everywhere you look, someone is being mutilated, and screams of agony are background noise.”

Right on cue, a wind blew past, carrying a new scream.

“I wondered about you constantly,” Axel admitted softly.

“Just as I wondered about you.” Touchy-feely emotional crap wasn’t normally William’s jam, but he’d already missed so much with this male. Why not tell the truth? Even though they were related by blood, even though they were allies against Lucifer, they were also enemies. The respected one versus the dark one. Good versus evil. The demon assassin versus the demon prince.

Heartbeat...heartbeat.

“Your curse,” Axel began. “Whoever you love romantically will try to kill you, yes?”

“Yes. The witch responsible gave me a coded book, promising I can break the curse if I decode it.”

“You are certain she told you the truth?”

“The alternative leaves me without hope. So, yes.” Logically, he knew the odds were not in his favor. But magic wasn’t all-powerful. If something had a way into your life, it had a way out, as well. A door was a door. An entrance and an exit.

“The Sent Ones war with witches almost as violently as demons,” Axel said. “I’ll ask around, find out what other Sent Ones know about this kind of coded magic.”

The offer surprised him. He doubted Axel would discover anything new, but he appreciated the effort.

“The female. Sunny,” Axel said now.

Words barreled from him. “She is off-limits to you.” To everyone!

The Sent One snickered. “Defensive, are we? I’m not hoping to steal your woman away. Although I could, if I so desired. I just... I’ve been told you and I have a similar dating strategy. Get in, get out. And yet, you moved in with her. Why?”