Beguiled (Book 2 Immortal Essence series) (11 page)

I wanted to spit I was so
angry, so furious
he forced me to be
near
him.

Ramien lowered his head and kissed my nose.
Each of my cheeks.
And then my lips.
The worst part was h
e
made
my body respond,
take his tongue into
my
mouth.
Answer
his kiss
. Ugh, I wanted to bite his tongue
off. A roar reverberated through my mind. I wondered if it came from elsewhere or me.

Ramien lifted his lips, and gave me a knowing look. “Yes, I think I’ll enjoy your body and soul a great deal.” Th
en he moved away, and I was
again
in control
.

“You’re despicable. A disgusting, vile creature,” I shouted.

Ramien chuckled.
“T
rue.
Very true.
I’m also cruel, and
I
lack the ability to feel guilt.” He grabbed Michael’s arm and twisted, so it made a sickening pop
as the bone t
in his arm t
ore through his skin
.

I cried out.
Michael groaned. H
is features twisted in agony.
Ramien released him, and Michael’s arm knit
ted
itself back together.

Amazed wonder crossed Ramien’s features and in a hushed voice, he said, “
You’re
an enigma.
One like you has never before been created.” Then he grew angry. “
I had high hopes for
you
. Alas,
you
let me down. And I do not enjoy being let down.” He seemed lost in thought momentarily, and wistfulness relaxed some of his anger. As quickly as it came, it was gone, and his face turned hard.
“What I
do
enjoy
are
games. Especially w
hen the pieces are living.”
His empty eyes found mine
. “You defied me, Venus.
Resisting me
will never be tolerated. And you must suffer for your rebelliousness. I will not be mocked.”

My angry resolve grew stronger. “We’ll see,” w
as all I could utter through gritted teeth
.

“We certainly will.”

“D
on
’t do this,
”
Michael started.

“
Shut your mouth.” As Ramien spoke, Michael’s lips were sewn together. “You
petty
,
un-ferether
feelings
are an embarrassment
.
You are under oath to me, and will do what I command
,” Ramien spat out. “Be gone.”

Michael gave a brief nod, his eyes claiming mine with an emotion I couldn’t fathom. Then he disappeared.

“
This game consists of three rounds.
The first begins,”
Ramien
evaporated
, but his voice rumbled through the room. “Now.”

9.
Believe

Thick vapor
filled
the room making it difficult to see the others. The ground shook. Chev cried out, and I heard Dervinias
speaking
to her
tenderly
.

An arm rounded my shoulders and I flinched. “It’s me. Zaren. Are you hurt?”

“No,” I hissed. “But I should be. I’m sorry to bring you into this.”

He snorted.
“Don’t
say those things
. There isn’t a place in the U
niverse I’d rather be.” Zaren took my face in his hands and kissed me. It was full of a passion I hadn’t known he possessed. I melted into him, wishing with all my heart we were alone.

Seconds
later, he released me, leaning his forehead against mine. “I love you Venus
of Alayeah. With everything
I am.”

“I-I love you too, Zaren.”
My immortal heart, my
epsis
, thundered against my chest.
I did love him.

“
Awwww
, how very touching,” Palmo said, his voice like oil, thick and slippery.

“I concur, dear brother. Very romantic,”
Dervinias added.

Zaren
gripped
my hand, “Don’t worry
about them. They’re
jealous
.”

I nodded
. “Dervinias and Palmo are brothers?” I whispered, trying to stifle my shock.

“Apparently. Though it doesn’t surprise me. The king of
Canaru
has something of a
reputation
.”

“Really?”
I was beginning to realize I knew nothing about the other rulers of Kelari. I was like a
minnow
in a piranha tank.
The Chans, my tutors, and my parents had taught me much, but they hadn’t taught me everything.
That wouldn’t do if I wanted to keep my country thriving
.

The vapor clear
ed
and I looked around.
Zaren gave my hand a quick squeeze before releasing it. “Be ready.”

“For what?” Palmo asked, terror in his voice.

“Anything,” Zaren answered.

Zaren’s back touched mine. Whatever Ramien had planned, Zaren obviously believed it wouldn’t be good. I had no weapon but my body, so I widened my stance, and lowered my center.

We were no longer in the same room.
T
his one was perfectly circular. Thousands of dimly lit lights were
nestled randomly
in the rock walls.
A chilly wind blew
,
bringing with it the stench of brine. Water seeped in from tiny crack
s
in the rocky walls
. Above
,
water dripped in a steady beat.

On the floor
,
in the center of the room
,
lay a golden door.
Intrigued,
I bent down
to get a closer look
.
Zaren pulled me up. “Wait,” he hissed.

Palmo muttered, like a nervous old man, his lips flapping incoherently.
The last part I understood, no doubt because he meant for me to hear.
“It seems
, once again, I’m required to suffer
unnecessarily thanks
t
o you, Venus.
”
Palmo spoke
my name like it contained something
vile
. “
I don’t know why, but everyone is overly concerned about you—whether you live or die
, whether you stay on Kelari or not, whether we marry or not . . .
” Palmo gave me a once over. “You aren’t
the slightest bit impressive.
At all.
Amberlee is better suited to rule Alayeah.
”
He sniffed and shoved
his hands
into his armpits.
“
What happens to you mea
ns nothing to me, as
long as you don’t hurt Amberlee. So why am I
here
?
”
 

“I have no idea.” I shrugged. When we were younger, Palmo came to our families’ castle often, with hi
s parents, the king and queen of
Canaru
. He constantly teased me. I considered him a nuisance. My parents always made me behave nicely, since we were betrothed. He was always sweet to my sis
ter though. I was curious
why Ramien
brought him
here as well.
I gave Zaren a
n
inquiring
look
.

Zaren fixed his gaze on Palmo.
“
Ramien said you were here for a reason.
They matter only to you. Remember those words
.”

“They
should matter to you
as well
,
guardian.
” Palmo marched over, trying to
intimidate Zaren
. I covered my mouth to hide my laugh. Palmo was a head shorter than Zaren. He barely stood taller than me.
Not to mention Palmo’s body was . . . much more feminine than Zaren’s.
The boy went on,
“
As a Formytian, it is your sacred duty to protect royalty. At all costs.” Palmo’s eyes narrowed. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll do all in your power to keep me safe. Otherwise I’ll make sure you suffer
for your insolence
,” he said sharply.

“Stop being a baby
and see if you
can find a way out,” I snapped.
No need to mention
the obvious. I
f Palmo died, he wouldn’t have a way to make Zaren pay for his pretend crimes.
“And
,
for your information, Zaren isn’t—”

Zaren ran a hand along my
side
.
His face was impassive, but I understood he wanted me to stop. Zaren didn’t care what Palmo thought. I wouldn’t either.
Chev whimpered and Palmo’s insipidness was forgotten. The human girl was pregnant, by Dervinias, which shouldn’t be
feasible
.
Runnin
g to her side, I kneeled
.

“How did this happen?” I asked, tentatively touching her belly. A part of me wanted to believe it wasn’t real.

“Well Venus, when
a boy and a girl get together in
an intimate way,” Dervinias began sarcastically
.

“Shut up.
” I
glared.
Chev’s pregnancy was shocking
. She should’ve died. The mortal body of a human and the immortal “essen
ce” of a kelvieri should be
like
steel
toxin
in Chev’s body
.
But
here
she was,
a mockery to all the doctrine I was taught,
looking as though she were ready to pop. The gestation
al
period of a
kelvieri child
was two months. I knew it was a lot longer for humans.
It had
only been six weeks. What was she growing? She didn’t look very good.
Not to mention
the
issue of Kelari’s air. It was different from Earth’s. That alone should’ve killed her.

“How is she able to breathe without difficulty?”
I asked Dervinias.

“Earth’s air
became
poison
ous
to her. I think the child has changed her somehow, but honestly, I don’t know,” Dervinias said with quiet reverence. He
appeared
to be in awe of
Chev and
the child.

To Chev, I asked the obvious, “Are you pregnant?”
I really just wanted to verify the two of them had
sex
. “Dervinias didn’t
. . .
” I searched for a word that wouldn’t remind her she was a rat in Dervinias’s crazy lab of horrors. “He didn’t hurt you?”

“No. Venus
,
it was wonderful.” It l
ooked like she wanted to go on, like she desperatel
y wanted someone to confide in. A friend. But I couldn’t be that for her. Not now.
Maybe not ever.

“
I still can’t believe it,” Dervinias said, shaking his head, a goofy grin plastered on his face.

The two of them together was weird.
Dervinias, though he looked like a sixteen-year-old human teen, was actually much older. He was a killer. Chev, as far as I knew, was nothing more than a girl from Wyoming who loved to ride horses.

Zaren bent down and placed a hand on
Chev’s
raised abdomen. “The baby will come
soon
,
”
he said.

Dervinias pushed Zaren’s hand off.
“Don’t touch her.
”
D
esperation
throbbed in
his voice, along with something else.

“Do you mean to sa
y you have feelings for this
human?” Zaren asked
, indicating Cheverly
.

I
watched
Dervinias’
s face soften. “I do. It may be . . .
” he
stifled
before continuing, “difficult to believe, but it’s true.”

I rocked on my heels. Michael told me
Dervinias
killed his mother,
and
he’d been killing humans for a long time, so why would
Dervinias
care for one he impregnated?