The Darkest Warrior (Lords of the Underworld 14)

Demons always came with a price.

Anytime Winter had defied Selfishness and acted altruistically, she'd descended into a week-long odyssey of madness. Just long enough to rip an entire realm apart, leaving zero survivors...and Winter with violent memories she could never shake.

Puck had helped the siblings in ways no one else could, and shared his ice.

Had the siblings suffered without him?

Maybe, probably, but at least they had each other, the way Puck had once had Sin.

Puck! Puck! Another memory surfaced, eleven-year-old Sin sobbing at Puck's bedside. You had better heal from this injury, or I'll be forced to kill...everyone. I can't do life without you.

Oh, how Puck missed the boy Sin had been. The friend he'd become.

Indifference purred louder while slithering through his body and siphoning more and more of his strength. Tremors cascaded through his limbs. One by one, his bones seemed to morph into noodles, and his muscles into soup. Every step forward became a lesson in anguish.

When his foot met a rock, he tripped forward. Though he tried to steady himself, his knees gave out. He toppled, grains of sand clinging to his sweaty skin. Darkness teased the edge of his mind, quickly gaining new ground.

No. Fight! Out in the open like this, he was a target. An easy target. But even as he struggled to stand, the demon drained the rest of his energy, turning breathing into a chore.

"There you are. Finally!" Feminine laughter filtered into his awareness. "I was starting to think I'd gotten the days mixed up, but then I remembered the only time I've ever been wrong was when I thought I was wrong."

He recognized her voice. Keeley, the Red Queen. Gillian and William's friend. The one who'd given Indifference to Sin, with instructions to possess Puck, then commissioned Hades to offer aid to him.

What fresh horror did she have in store for him today?

"Torin, a boost, if you please," she said.

Torin, keeper of Disease. The one who expected Puck to attack at the first opportunity.

He was too weak to protest as rock-solid arms wrapped around him and swept him up, up, against a muscular chest. Inside, though, he fought like the beast he'd become--to no avail.

"Where do you want him?" Torin asked. "And don't you dare say in my pants. Not again."

"Whose pants? Yours or mine?"

"Either," the keeper of Disease replied.

Keeley humphed. "I like him right where you've got him. Look at you, darling. Your biceps are bulging!"

A soft pff left Torin, as if he battled a mighty urge to laugh and curse at the same time. "Concentrate, princess, and tell me where we're going."

"To our secret love shack, of course."

The patter of footsteps blended with the snap of twigs, creating an ominous chorus. Puck loathed this with every fiber of his being. The helplessness. The uncertainty. The way the darkness around his mind taunted him, threatening to send him into oblivion at any moment.

"My sexy beast is magnificent, isn't he?" Keeley said. Warm, soft fingers traced his brow.

A growl reverberated in Torin's chest, no hint of amusement. "Hearing you wax poetic about another man tends to put me in a murderous mood."

Sexy--Puck? Her beast? Did the couple know about his plan to bond with Gillian, blackmail William and slay Sin? Had Keeley truly known what would happen all those centuries ago when she'd given the box to Sin? Hades seemed to think so.

"Aw, my baby's self-esteem is smarting." Her voice was low, raspy. "Here, let me help make you all better."

Whoosh. The sound of a palm slapping skin.

"Ow." Torin's entire body jerked. "That hurt."

"And there's more where that came from," Keeley said, and Puck imagined her wagging a finger at her husband. "You're the most incredible male in the history of ever, and I'm the most faithful woman. Act like it."

"Yes, ma'am." Torin chuckled, only to sober. "William will be tee-icked if he finds out we're helping Gilly's future husband."

Helping the girl's future husband--me? The Red Queen had predicted even this?

Of course me! I've got this in the bag.

She heaved a weighty sigh. "I'll deal with William when the time comes. You know, when he realizes I saved Gillian's life, and his eternity, and his true mate, and he begs for my forgiveness. Oh! So, check it. Earlier this morning I spoke with Hades's magic mirror."

"The one containing the goddess of Many Futures?"

"Exactly. Now I have a pretty good lead on Willy's best path and oh, wow, is that boy in for a world of hurt. His mate is going to lead him on a merry chase. Which reminds me. I'm supposed to tell Gideon and Scarlet about their baby."

"Is something wrong?" Torin asked, his concern evident. "Or are you trying to tell me Gideon and Scarlet will give birth to William's mate?"

"No, nothing like that. But they need to know illusion isn't just illusion but also vision, and William needs to know...what? I've forgotten. Something about the code breaker...an illusion..."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, princess."

Nor did Puck, and he didn't care enough to expend energy to fit the puzzle pieces together.

Torin sprang over a rock, the abrupt motion ramming Puck's brain into his skull. The darkness stopped playing and started cloaking his mind. He slipped in and out of awareness, only coming to when his rescuer placed him on a hard, flat surface, cold rocks digging into his back.

"--doing this?" Torin was saying.

"He was almost my stepson," Keeley replied. "I want to see him happy, which means he has to be shoved onto the right path. But I love Gillian, too, and I want her happy. I also love Puck, and want him happy. Or I will love Puck, one day. This is the only way to achieve the perfect end for all three players, a plan I put into motion a long time ago."

She loved Puck--or would love him--even though she didn't know him? She'd thought forcing him to host Indifference would help him achieve the perfect end?

Crazy female. She'd ruined everything.

"You were wrong before, you know. He won't thank us," Torin muttered. "Ever."

"Have I taught you nothing?" Keeley said. "We have to do what's right, no matter the reaction we'll receive from others. Besides, people can surprise you."

"You're right. People can surprise you--with a knife in the back."

Darkness closed in once again...

As Torin unleashed a string of profanity, Puck's eyelids popped open. Through a haze, he thought he spied rocky walls, the shadow of a warrior and the profile of a busty blonde.

"She's not going to thank you for this, either," Torin said.

"She will," Keeley replied, then sighed. "Well, maybe not at first but one day. If the payout wasn't worth the pain..." Soft fingers tap, tap, tapped against Puck's cheek. "You had better be worth it, Plucky. Time is running out. She's dying. You're almost too late. Or maybe you're already too late. Life and death are so confusing for the psychically inclined."

Though he fought to rise--must get to Gillian!--darkness descended once again.

*

Gillian fell in and out of consciousness. In her feverish daze, she thought she maybe/maybe not, probably was/probably wasn't having a conversation with Keeley.

She couldn't decide what was real and what wasn't because, for once she had no idea if she was dreaming or awake, or if she was confusing present with past and past with future, just like the Red Queen, who had lived for thousands of years, memories and predictions stacking on top of each other, details getting lost in the mire.

Was this a taste of immortality? Could Gillian live this way forever?

Would she even remember this odd interaction, or would she forget, as the Red Queen often did?

"You forgive me, right?" her friend asked, sounding nervous and unsure. "I'm not just a stranger, remember. I'm your best friend. And I did save your life."

"Forgive..." Why? Oh, wait. Keeley had tricked her into drinking an eternal curse. "Should have...let die..."

To be saddled with her fears and phobias forever? No, thanks.

"Nonsense! Now be a good girl, and say yes to Puck, okay? You're going to be such a lovely bride."

Okay. This had to be a hallucination. None of the Lords or their mates would ever encourage her to wed Puck.

"You've got some growing up to do, of course," her friend continued. "Let's face it, baby girl, you're immature and rash. You do foolish things. You're confused. You change your mind in a snap. See if this rings a bell." In a falsetto, she said, "Oh, William. You're so perfect for me. No, no, William, I'm determined to remain alone all the days of my life. William, I want you. William, I'm not interested in any kind of romantic relationship with you."

Fire spread over Gillian's cheeks, and she doubted it had anything to do with her sickness.

"You don't know what you want, or what you need," Keeley continued. "You just know you need change, right? Well, ta-da! Today is your pucky lucky day. You just have to fight for better. Fight, Gillian. Fight!"