Blood and Reign (Cassandra Myles Witch Series) (7 page)

I felt lightheaded. This was to
o awful to be true. Our foreheads touched. He was the only thing that was keeping me on that bench. Dominick continued, his voice barely a whisper.

“Killian
broke his silence and let out a scream that tore through me. Quintus quickly muffled it with his hand and then gagged him. He wasn’t done. He then took his forearm and broke that too. Three times and I heard each terrible crack. He did that over and over and in between, he railed on and on about how betrayed he had been and how he hated to have to do this, but he couldn’t allow him to go unpunished. Killian passed out from the pain a bunch of times and Quintus would just sit there, waiting patiently for him to wake again. I begged him to stop. I pleaded for him to have mercy.

“Cass… He did this to every bone in his body.
Methodically just going to the next and the next. At the end, Killian was in some sort of haze, but you could tell he still felt every break. He just moaned around the gag. Quintus left only his head intact and I think that was so he could suffer longer.

“I wanted to go get you right away, but Killian begged me to leave you out of this. He said you didn’t need more on your plate. He thought if you saw him and it got back to Quintus
, he would come and finish the job. I honestly don’t know why he wanted to live in that moment.”

There was a tear rolling down his cheek. I brushed it away. I couldn’t believe Quintus had been so crue
l. “I need to see him. Is he healing? I’m so sorry this happened. So…”

My world tumbled around and I found myself under a large shrub behind the bench we had been sitting on. Dominick’s strong body covered mine.

“Did you see that?”

I was about to answer when something flew past my head and into the shrubs. “What the fuck was that?”

“That was an arrow.”

“Really
? Could I go just a couple of days without someone trying to kill me? I don’t think that’s too much to ask, do you?”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

“No fun, but I might have time to take up a hobby. I’ve always wanted a hobby.” Dominick’s very naked, very hard body pressed against me and he was clearly happy about it. “Ummm…so while you seem to be enjoying yourself, I am not. Any ideas?”

“
Spoil sport. If we crawl to the end of this hedgerow, we should be pretty close to the door that enters into the kitchen. The angle should make hitting us almost impossible.”

“Almost?”

“Got a better idea?”

“No
, not at the moment.”

Dominick sheltered me
with his body. The bush we were lying under was riddled with thorns and as we squirmed our way under the low-growing shrub, his bare back was being raked raw. It was slow going, and we had a few more close calls. I was leaving scraps of my dress behind like a fabric trail. Arrows struck the exact area where we had been moments before. If we had stayed, we wouldn’t be making it back to the castle. Sweaty and dirty, we lay there catching our breath.

His lips tickled
my ear as he whispered, “Are you ready?”

I turned my head and kissed his cheek. His eye
s widened and then he smiled. “No, but we can’t live under this bush.”

He edged out and raised himself as much as he could. Crouching over me
, he slipped his strong arms around my upper body. My view was not something I’ll describe, but at that point, I wanted a change of scenery quite badly.

“Okay
, then, on three; one…two…three.” He pulled me up and out.

As we emerged
, an arrow set off from the castle again, but it hit far behind us. We ran for the door and barged inside, tripping over the threshold and sprawling onto the floor, startling the three brownies on the other side. I had never heard of them before and now they seemed to be all over the castle.

A stout male brownie stood in front of us. “What a pleasant surprise
, Your Majesty. You seem to be in a bit of a fix. Is there anything I can do?”

He wore an immaculate apron and a miniature chef’s hat. His beard and mustache were neatly trimmed and his blue
eyes sparkled. His wide-open, friendly face made me smile.

“I think we are okay. Thank
you so much, Mr.…?”

“Ewan McCloud at your service. If it’s okay
, I’ll ring up to Ruby and get her to gather some healing supplies. I’ll send up some soup and some tea too, if it please ya?”

“That would be amazing. Thank
you, Ewan.”

He beamed at the compliment and we made our way through the kitchen and back up to my room.
Someone was looking out for us because we didn’t run into a single person on our way. I was sure the fae would love to see their new human queen running around like an idiot with a naked man all over the castle. Ruby met us at the door with a worried look and an armful of bandages.

“What in the name of the Goddess happened to you and why
, young man, are you naked?”

Dominick and I started to laugh. Hysterical laughter until we ran out of breath. We must have been quite the sight.
I was glad nothing seemed to phase Ruby in the slightest.

“I was wondering the same thing.”

I turned to find Lucius behind us. He stood there, glaring down at us. My dress was torn and did little to cover my body. I pulled it around me as best I could and moved further into the room.

“Ruby
, can you get us each a robe or something to cover us?”

“You really need to
have those scratches tended to, Your Majesty.”

“I will
, Ruby, I promise. Right now, we need to talk with Lucius.”

It took no time for us to be covered and eat our soup in my sitting room while Lucius paced back and forth in front of us.

“What did you do to her, wolf?” He spoke through gritted teeth.

“Lu
cius, don’t embarrass yourself by blaming this on Dominick. He saved my life. He was outside in wolf form. I came out to see him. He changed to human form so we could talk. Then someone shot arrows at us. He pushed me out of the way and protected me. We had to climb through those thorny bushes in the garden, which reminds me, everything in this world dies and the thorns don’t fall off. Where is the justice in that?”

“Where was your King Kael?”
His words dripped with anger.

“I… I don’t know why he didn’t come.”
He was supposed to save me in these situations. It had been Dominick who had saved the day.

“Call him
, Cass. If he can’t protect you, then I’m going to, whether you want me to or not.”

“Don’t order me around
, Lucius. I will call him, though, not because you told me to, but because I want to.” I cleared my throat. “Kael, please come; I need you.”

There was a second
, no more, and then he was in front of me. His white eyes took in the state of me and Dominick. “Little Queen, what has happened?”

Lucius pointed to him. “I want to know where you were when Cassandra was being shot at. She was attacked by arrows in the courtyard.”

“Don’t point your finger at me, dead one, or you will lose it.” Kael didn’t even raise his voice, but I hoped Lucius would back down. The slaugh could kill him and not even break a sweat. Kael knelt in front of me and took my hand. “I’m so sorry, Cassandra. I can’t understand why I didn’t feel that you needed me.” Looking at the half moon he had burned into my hand, his large thumb rubbed over the scar. He kissed it, his lips hot and stinging against my skin. I had to force myself to remain still.

When he let me go
, I saw that the crescent moon was deeper into my skin. “Someone has broken our connection. I’m at a loss. That shouldn’t be possible.” It was odd to see a puzzled look on the giant slaugh’s face.

“What if it breaks again and this time she dies. Will you just say
‘oh well’ and go on with your life, slaugh?”

“Lucius.”

“Cassandra, he’s right. I have made you a promise that I don’t think I can keep. I will have to be by your side all the time. I can’t rely on our connection.”

I did
n’t think I wanted that. Kael was my protector, but he still scared the shit out of me. I had enough to worry about. “I don’t want you to have to do that, Kael.”

“I promised to protect you and I can’t be sure I can do that if I’m not with you.”

“I can’t expect you to be with me all the time. You have your own kingdom too.”

“I’m needed in my own realm
, that is true, but I gave you my word and I intend to keep it.”

“There must be a middle ground.”

“Well, you should be safe here in your rooms. Summon me if you need to leave your suite. I will come at once and keep you safe. I’m truly sorry, my queen. A slaugh who doesn’t keep his word is worth nothing. I failed to protect you.”

I still
found it hard not to stare. A cross between an angel and a demon came close, but he defied description. “I promise to summon you whenever I leave. I believe you, Kael. I know this wasn’t your fault.”

“
See that you do, Little Queen. Anyone powerful enough to break our bond would have no trouble killing a human. You are as immortal as the dead ones, but just like them, you can be killed. I have made you stronger, but not invincible.”

He left me alone with Dominick, Ruby
, and a very angry Lucius. I was thinking that maybe I was too hasty getting rid of King Kael.

“So before the albino bat flashed in and out, I asked you a question and I wasn’t very happy with the answer. I saw you in the courtyard with him, Cassandra. You seemed very comfortable with him.”

“Dominick and I have become very good friends. He helped keep me safe and sane when I was being kept here.”

“Do you always kiss your friends?”

“I do when they’re telling a story that is so savage and horrible that it makes a wolf go pale.”
I recounted what Dominick had told me earlier.

“Cass
, I don’t condone what Quintus has done, but he promised you he wouldn’t kill him and he kept his word. Killian had to be punished.”

“He had to be tortured
, you mean.” I couldn’t believe he had said that.

His face flashed with anger and then he was sad and reaching out to me. I shook my head. I wanted very little to do with anyone who defended what Quintus had just done.

“Can we talk in private, Cass…please?”

“Dominick
, can you and Ruby go check on Killian and let me know how he is and then we can get a plan together on how we can heal him.”

“Are you sure?”
Dominick’s eyes looked a little too wolfy for my comfort.

“She’s sure
, dog. Now go.”

I gave Lucius my death stare.
“Yes, Dominick, I’m sure.” I was angry with Lucius, but I owed him a chance to explain himself. “Ruby, I would love to have a new set of rooms. These remind me a little too much of Mab. Is there anything that might have an extra bedroom? I want to have Killian close to me. I would imagine he’ll need twenty-four-hour care.”

“I’ll arrange everything
, Your Majesty. I know just the suite. Your friend will be as comfortable as we can make him. I promise.”

I leaned down and hugged her. I think I took her by surprise
, but she hugged me back after a few seconds. When I stood back up, she looked a little flustered, but happy.

“Ruby
, you are the best.”

Lucius
was silent until they both left. “Cass, please tell me if you are sending me away because you’ve fallen in love with Dominick?”

“No, don’t be ridiculous. I care a lot for Dominick, but my reasons we can’t be together have nothing to do with
him.”

His feelings for me were written all over his face and the raw emotion brok
e my heart. “I would leave here if I knew you loved each other and he could protect you.”

“Dominick is my friend and I’m very close to him because of
what we had to endure together, but that is all.” It really wasn’t all, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell him what had happened between Dominick, Killian, and me.

He nodded and was quiet for a very long time.
“I love you, Cass. I want you to be mine and I know the consequences of that. I don’t care.”

“I do care
; I care that you seem to think it’s okay to have Quintus torture someone and I care that us being together might make him do something even more horrible. What if he tortured you?”

“He wouldn’t and
, if he did, it would be worth it so I could be with you.”

“No. It wouldn’t. Declan was killed saving me, you almost went mad and you almost died.
We can’t be together. I love you, Lucius. I have since you took care of me when I found out about Declan. I need you to believe that it’s not because I want someone else, but because I know we have no chance at being happy together.”