The Vampire's Bride (Atlantis #4)(86)

He had forced her to want him as surely as the demon queen had forced him to her will.

With that thought, Zane leaned over and emptied the contents of his stomach. He heaved and heaved and heaved until there was nothing left. Until he was empty. Until every ounce of his energy seeped away.

If Nola was not the female for him, why did he still want her? He had no answer. Did she desire the dragon? That, he thought he knew. Of course she did. Brand was strong, untainted, and honorable.

Zane's entire body tensed, a surge of fury giving him momentary strength. Nola had indeed seemed attracted to the dragon warrior - as she wasn't to him. Was Zane not allowed to even experience that sweet, basic attraction?

Was he to suffer forever and still another lifetime?

Probably. He wasn't worthy of anything else. He was nothing, no better than the stinking, bile-laden sand he now lay upon. After all, he'd willingly done those things with the queen for all those years. For his woman, yes. For her freedom. But he had still willingly bedded the bitch when he could have found another way to save his loved one.

But maybe, just maybe I could be worth something. If he won this ridiculous competition, became the last warrior standing, thereby proving he was stronger than all the others. Maybe...

Yes, maybe.

NOLA HAD HAD ENOUGH.

She wanted off this island of torture, away from the men. Just...away.

Had she been in Atlantis, she might have explored the flutters in her stomach that appeared every time Zane the vampire looked at her. But not here, not now.

She just wanted to go home.

She would have searched for Delilah because she needed her sister right now, but she didn't bother. Most likely Delilah was with the hated vampire king, a man who would betray her, ruin her. Men always did. So did women, for that matter. People simply couldn't be trusted. The moment you turned your back, they would hurt you. Her own mother had taken her to the Outer City and sold her to any creature who wanted an Amazon but didn't want to be enslaved in the Amazon camp. She'd fought them - at first. But they'd held her down, allowing more and more people to witness her humiliation.

Nola's teeth pulled back from her lips as she strode past a thick grouping of trees, daggers clutched in both of her hands. Vampires. How she was beginning to despise them. Zane had no business making her feel this way, confused and achy, unsure and hopeful. So many times throughout her life she'd hoped for something better, only, always, to be let down.

I should kill Zane and his king. Delilah had never acted so...soft before. Clearly all Delilah could think about lately was that bastard king. Every time Nola looked at her, she was looking at him. Why? Delilah was hard, reliable, caring to all of her sisters. Nola had always been a little jealous of her. Everyone loved the warrioress, thought she could do no wrong. She'd never known any hardships that Nola could tell.

As for Nola, she'd always existed on the outskirts, afraid to be a part of the tribe. Afraid they, too, would use and hurt her. That hadn't stopped Delilah from trying to protect her, both in battle with the dragons and on this island. Despite the distance Nola kept between herself and the world, Delilah had truly thought to help her.

For that, I owe her. And there was only one thing Nola could think to give the warrioress. Freedom. As long as the vampire king lived, Delilah would be ensnared by him, a victim who accepted everything her man did to her in the name of love. "Love," she scoffed.

"A weak and treacherous emotion," a soft voice whispered.

Nola stiffened, spun around, searching for an intruder. There wasn't one. "Who are you? Where are you? Show yourself, coward."

"Kill the vampires, my beloved," the soft yet somehow powerful voice continued. "They deserve it, as you know, and you will be handsomely rewarded. I'll even help you in your quest. Bespell you to heal as the other creatures heal, fast and without any lingering discomfort. Surely your leg is paining you even now?"

"What kind of reward?" she asked, realizing she could only be speaking to one of the gods.

"Should you succeed, I shall grant you a boon. Anything of your choosing..."

Anything? Nola licked her lips in growing excitement. More than anything, she wanted her mother brought back to life - so that she could kill the bitch again. I'll kill the vampire king for Delilah, as well as for the reward.

Zane she would simply destroy for fun.

DELILAH SPENT MOST OF the morning contemplating what to do about Layel. Once she'd thought - hoped, tricked herself into thinking - a single night with him would be enough.

It hadn't been.

Now she wanted more. More of him. More of everything. He'd touched her body, but he had branded her soul. She thought she might even...love him. Love who and what he was, who and what he'd been. Who and what he would be. The darkness of him, even. And she wanted him to love her in return, to desire her as a mate. To make love to her and hold her afterward, not run away as if she were poison.

She wanted him to cherish her as he still cherished the other. I am a prize, damn it!

Delilah was jealous, she admitted that. And even though she craved Layel all to herself, she would not ask him to forget his first love. Provide Delilah with a place in his heart, yes. She suspected a small part of his heart would be better than the complete devotion of a thousand others.

Had Delilah been less of a warrior, she might have said the task of winning him was impossible. Already her teammates were turning on her, thinking of her as the helper of their enemy. And Tagart had warned her. To engage the vampire king was to nullify their alliance. More than that, Layel himself seemed determined to push her from his life.