Seduced by Darkness (The Seduced Saga)(24)

The edges of my world blurred and my heart dropped to my feet. I lunged for Sam, but the chains around me jerked to keep me in place. Her face was a mask without emotion, and I knew she was trying to be strong for us both. I couldn't.

"She's no danger to you!" I screamed at the Queen. "You have no right ending her life like this."

"I have every right," the Queen said in a quiet voice. "I am your Queen."

Sam stepped forward, a single tear falling down her cheek. "Please. I have a child who needs me. Let me return to her, to my family. I won't harm the Nephilim Court."

"That may be," said Queen Seraphina. "But the law must be upheld. If anyone could create Nephilim without my approval, what would stop them from creating an army? What would stop them from turning all of mankind?"

Sam's voice broke as she pleaded once again for mercy. "Please."

"You shall both be punished," said the Queen. "Emzara, take them—"

The door to the throne room burst open and Beleth flew in, wings larger than normal. "Queen Seraphina, you must suspend your judgment."

"Beleth," she said. "How good of you to come. But this changes nothing. She must die. It is our way."

"They knew nothing of our way, and you and I know that I am exempt from the Nephilim ways. I am of the Old Ones."

"You are still under my rule," she said, though she shrunk back slightly. "That was our agreement."

He bowed his head, in a small gesture of submission. "It was. With provisions. All I ask is that you hear me out. There is a beast killing Nephilim, killing your subjects. These two are not your enemies, but victims to a monster. Will you punish your people? Will you condemn them?" He stepped forward. "Or will you protect them?"

"The Emzara shall search for the beast," she said, "but an example must still be made."

Beleth's voice grew louder. "I've fought for you. Destroyed your enemies. Silenced you—"

"You fight for me because I am your Queen. You breathe because I say you may."

With her words, he fell to the ground, his feet landing hard on the stone. He dropped to his knees, bowing to the Queen. "My Queen, I implore you, show mercy. They are my family. They are… all I have left."

"You have a granddaughter, do you not?"

"Yes. And she needs her parents. Please, if you spare them, I shall hunt down the beast myself. I shall rid our people of this threat."

Seraphina chuckled. "I've never seen you sentimental, Beleth. It's amusing. Very well, I have decided." She stared at Sam as I held my breath. "Sam Davis, you should have died that day. You should not exist as one of our kind. But, since Beleth has sworn to hunt down the beast, I shall be merciful. You are free to go. After all, you had no choice in the matter."

I nearly fell to the ground from relief. Sam smiled, and held her hand out to me. It was over.

The queen looked to me and a small smile poisoned her lips. "But you still must answer for your crimes. Drake Davis, son of Beleth, you are sentenced to eternity in the stone prison."





TWENTY FOUR





Put a Thief





ROSE





I would not put a thief in my mouth to steal my brains.

— William Shakespeare, Othello




THIS TRIP HAS taken too long. That's all I could think as first we flew to Italy, then drove as far as we could before we had to hike through the woods and mountains. It would be easier if we could shift, but I still couldn't bring myself to try.

Even with Derek and Talon with me.

So we hiked each painfully slow mile through the remote mountains of Italy to a place that Sam insisted we meet. A place Derek and I had never heard of, but Talon nodded in his knowing, enigmatic way.

The Forgotten City.

We followed vague directions that took us into the heart of the end of world, or so it seemed. By the time we arrived at the correct mountain, I felt tired, cold, hungry, scared and determined to let none of that slow me down.

The mountain looming before us looked part majestic creation of nature and part man-made, with tunnels and passages carved into it.

I felt the energy shift around us, the hair on the back of my neck standing on end. If I'd been in wolf form, my spine would have stiffened as my fur rose in alert. I would be growling. But as a human, I stood still, waiting, nerves prickling with the anticipation of danger. I wanted to run back down the mountain, down the trails, back to the safety of a city, but I stayed, side by side with Derek as we waited.

In a sudden gust of wind and air, Nephilim surrounded us in the sky, wings blazing around them, gray rags hanging off their bodies in lieu of armor or clothing. They landed lightly, encircling us.

Before we could focus on them, a werewolf emerged from a hidden tunnel in the mountain, its fur dark red, its size massive. One paw was easily larger than my head, and I imagined it swiping at me and knocking it off my neck like a cat playing with a mouse.

I felt like a small, defenseless rodent in that moment.

Derek's muscles tensed and I could feel him resist the urge to shift.

The werewolf in front of us growled and raised its nose, sniffing. "Halflings," he said. His voice tugged at a memory in my mind, but I couldn't place it.