The Darkest King (Lords of the Underworld 15)

His jealousy helped sooth her temper. “How cute are you. Look at me,” she said, doing her best impersonation of him. “I’ll kill anyone who looks at my woman.”

Steam curled from his nostrils. “I’m not—never mind.” Gentling his tone, he told her, “If I move in with you, sundae, you’ll fall in love with me. And I...” He shook his head. “You’ll cling.”

“Me, cling to you?” And her temper redlined again. He’s going to pay for that comment. I’m going to plant a verbal dagger in his heart. But...what if he’s right and I do cling to him? No. No! He’d never been more wrong. “If you’re secretly hoping I’ll start clinging, I suggest you watch a few how-to-kiss videos on YouTube first.”

“I know how to kiss!” He huffed and puffed like a big, bad wolf. “But you’ve given me my marching orders, and I—”

“Hold up. I’m not done.” Gotta twist the knife. “Since we’re committed and all, you must remain monogamous or I’m out of here.”

Inhalations ragged, he slapped his hands on the arms of her chair and leaned close...closer...getting in her face. “Very well,” he said, shocking her. “You have a deal, sundae, but I don’t think you’ll be happy about it when all is said and done.”

15

“If I have a sword, and you have a sword, then I have two swords.”

William resettled against the desk, struggling to maintain a stern, even angry, expression. Sunny thought she’d gained the upper hand. Instead, she’d done exactly as he’d hoped. After killing the poacher early this morning, he’d wanted to move in. The closer he was to Sunny, the better he could protect her if anyone managed to make it past the traps outside. Like, say, a certain witch.

Lucifer is a liar. Lilith is dead. Surely.

So why did foreboding sting his nape?

A mystery for later. When he wasn’t verbally warring with his unicorn. During their “negotiation,” Sunny had revealed more than she’d concealed, and he’d realized she’d pushed his move-in as another punishment, not because she’d wanted a roommate. That had angered him.

I want her to want me to move in? Who am I?

Why did he look forward to her next punishment? And what the hell had she written in that diary? He would be reading those fantasies of hers just as soon as he moved in. His house, his rules.

“Now that I’ve agreed to your terms, sacrificing my desires to fulfill yours,” he intoned, “you will tell me where the medallion is located.”

She chewed on her bottom lip, as if nervous about the conditions of their bargain. Too late. No take backs.

In the end, she whispered the coordinates to a realm tucked and hidden inside the mortal world. Her realm. Mythstica.

Intrigued, he stood, took her hand and drew her to her feet. He didn’t release her right away. She was so close, so soft, and she could give him more pleasure than anyone else.

Sunny Lane was his lifemate. No longer could he doubt it.

She’d translated a small section of his book, proving herself to be his one and only codebreaker, and his one and only lifemate. William still reeled.

He remembered how blithely he’d told Keeley he would kill his lifemate. How he’d later balked at the idea. How he now seethed at the thought. No one harmed Sunday Lane. No one. Not now, not ever. Not even William.

Shit. Shit! Trembling but trying to hide it, he waved, unleashing a stream of magic. Embers sparked and spread, burning a seven-by-seven-foot hole in the atmosphere. Through it, he glimpsed a mossy, rocky cliff teeming with different-colored flowers, white trees and countless rainbows.

Just in case Sunny decide to bolt, he tightened his hold. “You will stay in the stable,” he told her.

She sputtered, “How are you going to find the medallion without me? For that matter, you might want to stay here. Rainbows burn demons the same way sunlight burns vampires, so it’ll probably burn a prince of darkness worse.”

“Or,” he continued, as if she hadn’t spoken, “you can vow to remain my side.” As for the rainbows, parts of William would burn, yes. Other parts would not. Most likely he had a demon in his lineage. Perhaps the reason Hades had gone searching for him as a boy? When he returned home, he would ask Axel how he reacted to rainbows.

William went still. That’s right. Axel had moved into the underworld. They’d met; they’d interacted. Hades’s prediction was null and void. No part of William had died; no part of him would die. His love for the male was as strong as ever.

Now that he thought about it...who had made the death prediction in the first place?

“I vow to stay by your side,” Sunny snarled. “Okay? Happy now?”

Yes. Very. “Do you miss this realm?” he asked. The scent of orchids, earth and rain wafted into the stable—Sunny’s scent, only jacked up a thousand degrees. Instant hard-on. Again.

Was he ever not hard around her?

“I do.” She peered at the rainbows, her eyes soft with longing. “My pack ran faster than the wind and loved to frolic in the meadows. We helped people in need and even granted wishes.”

Longing coated each of her words, too, causing unease and guilt to hammer at William. Once, she’d warned him unicorns and captivity did not work. As if it worked for anyone. Now, though, he thought he understood better. To unicorns, freedom was life. But...

Can’t let her go. Just...can’t. Not yet. He couldn’t risk losing his codebreaker or his lifemate—the one destined to murder him.

He needed Sunny to break the curse. Then he could take her in every possible way, as many times as he wished. He could talk to her without reservation, fearing he would reveal too much and aid her crusade, if ever she turned on him. And damn, did he enjoy talking to her. He loved her wit, and thrilled every time she surprised him.

The woman constantly surprised him.

Does she thrill every time she talks to me, her captor?

She continued, “I was married here and planned to rule over—”

“Married?” William bellowed. Aggression seared his limbs. Once, he’d preferred married women. Wham, bam, go back to your hubby, ma’am. But no longer. The thought of Sunny bound to some piece of shit male... Fuck!

With a snarl, he released Sunny, grabbed a chair and tossed it across the stable. It hit the wall and shattered upon impact.

Tonight, Sunny becomes a widow. His codebreaker, lifemate and temporary, live-in girlfriend would not have divided loyalties. By the Hell kings, I will be her one and only.

“Shall I fetch another chair, or are you done with your tantrum?” she asked.

“Fetch. Another. Chair.”

She rolled her eyes. “I was married, yes, but I’m not now. Blaze was the son of the unicorn king, killed in the battle with Lucifer.”

A heavy breath escaped William. Okay. All right. The urge to commit murder faded. Now he only wanted to dig up the bastard’s grave and spit on his corpse. “Do you miss him?”

“Not even a little. We never liked each other and only wed for duty.”

Appeased, William took her hand once again and tugged her through the portal. He wanted that medallion.

They emerged onto a cliff situated between two rainbows. Gusts of floral-scented wind nearly flung him over the ledge, as if the realm itself wanted him gone ASAP. Tree limbs clapped together, and leaves glittered in beams of sunlight. He sensed life, but didn’t know if that life was animal, insect or unicorn.

“Mmm.” Azure hair whipped around Sunny’s face as she closed her eyes and breathed deep. “Home. There’s nothing better.”

He observed her, entranced.

When she opened her eyes, she said, “I gave you coordinates to the medallion, not just the realm.” She leaned over to reach inside a rainbow, then withdrew a small golden disc, exactly as she’d described.

Exactly like the one she wore around her neck, he realized now. What did thi

s—

His mind short-circuited. Her hair. Her hair had changed. She had touched the rainbow, and the blue locks had become neon pink. Her eyes had changed, too. Once amber, now a pale but vivid green. Her skin acquired more glitter.

Glorious female. “How? Why?”

“Unicorns absorb the essence of the rainbow.”

The Sphere of Knowledge had failed to mention this, a trait he found fascinating. Sunny looked more delicate, even dainty. Fragile. No one would suspect her of being a hard-core demon slayer.

When she held out her hand, offering the medallion, he accepted, trembling with desire. I want to watch this pink-haired, green-eyed vixen shatter.

Focus! As he studied his new weapon, a mix of light and dark magic prickled his skin. Powerful. Ancient. No wonder Lucifer had hunted it. And now I have it. William grinned. He would safeguard it with his life.

Instinct flared. I’m fated to wield this medallion.

An instinct he didn’t understand, but would. “Now we have his and her matching medallions,” he said with a wry tone.