The Darkest King (Lords of the Underworld 15)

William flipped off his boys before continuing. “I believed my magic somehow contained the essence of the horsemen of the apocalypse. Prophecies claim every set of horsemen will one day battle it out, the winning foursome compelled to ride across earth, spurring the end of the world. After what we learned about the Wrathlings, I think someone in my familial line was—is—a horseman.”

That tracked. “I’m kind of shocked that there’s more than one set.” But then, she’d bet Hell business stayed Hell business, secrets kept throughout the ages.

“The many different sets come from different species, at different times, in various ways, but they are always birthed in sets of four.” His voice hardened, like a sword dipped in fire, hammered, then finished in ice. Thinking about the loss of his daughter? “A multitude of oracles have claimed I can reincarnate White, the only reason I haven’t wiped the Fae from existence.”

Oh, yes. The daughter. “What’s the catch?” Sunny asked.

“I can only do it after my sons have died, or I’ll create a new set of four.”

The boys bowed their heads, taking a moment to mourn the loss of their sister. When they looked up, they glared at Sunny again.

Perhaps they were attempting to intimidate her? Maybe scare her away so she would never harm William?

Normally, she’d glare right back, hurling an insult or two for good measure. With a mantra of “be nice” screaming inside her head, she pasted on another smile. “Why can’t White be reincarnated the old-fashioned way, without the boys dying?” Sunny...pregnant with William’s child...

She shivered with one part shock, one part longing. She’d thought she wasn’t ready but...maybe?

How would William feel about the idea?

And what about Lucifer? As long as he lived, her children would be in danger.

Okay, time to change the subject. “Where’s Evelina?”

“The dungeon,” Green groused.

“Show Axel the way down,” William instructed. “Sunny and I will be along shortly.”

Uh, what the what? Why the delay?

The moment their companions exited the parlor, William spun her, pressing his chest against her back, and coiled his strong arms around her. He nibbled on her earlobe, his shaft hardening against her bottom. “Tell me what’s wrong so I can fix it.”

How did he know something was wrong? What were her tells? “If the underworld kings hated me, so what? They aren’t important to you. But your boys are, and they already dislike me, and I don’t know why. They don’t even know me yet.”

“You are extremely important to me. And they don’t dislike you. They merely worry you’ll succumb to the curse and harm me.”

Oh...daisy. They should worry. “Maybe I shouldn’t be important to you,” she said, sniffling. A freaking sniffle, like a freaking pansy. “We haven’t discussed the passage I decoded.”

He sighed, his breath fanning her nape. “Let’s discuss it, then. Tell me what happens when you work on the book.”

Being tucked up against him made her next words easier and more difficult. “A dark and dangerous force comes over me, whispering thoughts in my ear. Kill him. William must die. Maybe because you fall for me faster when I’m working, so the magic gets stronger? And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I just... I feared how you’d react. The good news is the urge goes away as soon as I walk away from the book.”

She wrung her fingers, awaiting his response. He hadn’t stiffened or—wait. She had one thing to add. “I’ll never give in to the urges, I swear! And I’m close to finishing, I know it.”

Tightening his hold, he said, “If I had a single qualm about your intentions, you’d be in the magically patched-up stable. But I trust you, just as you trust me, remember? Plus, you’re the strongest person I know. If anyone can overcome a compulsion, it’s you.”

She whimpered with relief. “Thank you for the vote of confidence, but, um, maybe you should stop falling for me. For now, anyway. At least until the book is decoded.”

His husky chuckle teased her ears. “I’ll agree not to fall for you anymore...if you’ll agree to stop being so freesia-ing magnificent.”

“I can’t promise that,” she said so seriously, so forlornly, he chuckled again.

He sobered quickly, grating, “Is the falling mutual?”

“Yes, you fool,” she said, sinking deeper into his embrace.

In response, he nuzzled his cheek against hers.

Mmm. “How did your boys act when they met your other women?” she asked, curious.

“You are the first.”

Really? Her heart leaped. “What about your friends? Have they met your sons?”

“A few of the Lords have, but I never made introductions. They stumbled upon each other.”

Hold up. “Not even Anya and Pandora have met your horsemen?”

“Correct.” He flattened his hands on her stomach and drew them up slowly. “I can tell my unicorn likes this news.” Up a little more.

“Of course I do!” I’m special to him.

Up...

Would he... Yes! He cupped her breasts, sending a delicious cascade of heat through her.

Panting, she turned to face him. While she would have given anything to stay in this position, she kissed his lips quickly and said, “Let’s go meet Evelina. The sooner we start, the sooner we’ll finish, and the sooner you can take me home and get me out of this dress.”

35

“Don’t beat yourself up. That’s my job.”

William leaned against a wall and crossed his arms over his chest. Green remained at his side. An underground catacomb stretched out before them, the air dank, musty and surprisingly cold considering their locale: the center of Hell. Dried blood stained the brimstone walls, and water dripped from a cluster of “screaming crystals”—prisms that trapped sounds of agony and misery inside; those sounds seeped out at different intervals, the volume cranked to full blast.

He watched, captivated, as Sunny did her thing—take over.

“You two. Out of my way.” She pushed past Red and Black to stand beside Axel at the door of Evelina’s cell, where the prisoner slept fitfully on a cot. “Why hasn’t she awoken? Why are her hands tied?”

“The little wildcat hurt herself trying to flee, so we drugged her,” Red explained, a little snippy for William’s liking. “And she’s bound so that she can’t wield magic or shape-shift.”

Sunny went ramrod straight. Uh-oh. Here comes trouble.

“She isn’t evil,” Sunny snapped. “I’m staring at her aura right now, and she’s furious, wounded, terrified and sad, but she’s not evil. So you won’t drug her again. Understand? Say the words back to me.”

Her defense of the witch reminded him of her kindness to the children who’d admired her hair, her sweetness with the dying hellhound and her instant love for Dawn.

The perfect queen. My queen.

“You cannot command warlords like us,” Black snapped back, “when you lack the strength to enforce it.”

A slow, confident smile bloomed, a wild gleam in those purple eyes, only fueling William’s hard-on. “Try me.”

Until now, he hadn’t realized he had a type, or that his type would be a pendulum of emotion, but he liked what he liked. He enjoyed soothing her temper. Thrilled when she donned her invisible captain’s hat, assuming control of a situation. Her fear that his boys wouldn’t like her? Adorable.

He’d never seen her so vulnerable, had never realized how desperately she craved a family of her own. He’d known she missed other unicorns, had known she was lonely, but he hadn’t computed the depths of that loneliness. As deep as his own had once been—before Sunny.

Both Red and Black peered over their shoulders, giving William an “is she for real?” look.

He played helpless, hiking his shoulders. “Consider Sunny yo

ur stepmother. Do what she says.”

Oh, she liked that as much as his earlier confession, her chin lifting.

The boys glared at him before muttering in unison, “We won’t drug her again.”

A smile teased William’s mouth.

“You are falling for her,” Green remarked quietly.

“Falling hard, yes.” Why deny it? “She is...valued.” Dare he say cherished?

“And yet, she has the power to kill you.”

More so than his boys realized. “She does, but she won’t.” As quickly as he was falling for Sunny, she was falling for him, the truth gleaming in her eyes every time she glanced at him. Or melted in his arms.

“Your woman’s idea about White,” Green said. “You think there’s a chance Sunny could...?”

“I do,” William replied more softly. The second the topic had come up, he’d imagined her pregnant with his babe—and he’d liked it. Wild possessiveness had surged through him, demanding he make imagination a reality. He thought he’d sensed longing in her, too.

With the start of mating season mere days away, they could do it. Maybe. Yet...

He knew it would be better to wait. He craved more time with Sunny, just the two of them. Look at me, planning for the future, rather than living day by day. But the war still raged, the curse still loomed, Lucifer still lived and William had yet to find the tenth Hell crown. So far, he had no leads.