Treasure of the Fire Kingdom (The Elemental Phases Book 4) (10 page)

Every
muscle in Kingu’s body tightened, preparing to intercede as Lycus stopped in
front of the woman.  Lycus didn’t try to decapitate her, though.  At least, not
yet.  For the moment, he seemed as baffled by the woman as Kingu was.  She had
that effect on people, apparently.  The gladiator frowned like he couldn’t
understand why he was expected to slay a citizen of Munchkinland.

Meanwhile,
the girl blinked up at the desperate man sent to kill her and honest-to-gods
gave him small wave hello.

Kingu
heard the rushing sound of blood in his ears, a muted roar of frustration and
total disbelief.  The woman had to be deliberately setting out to torture him. 
He tried to make himself leave.  Tried to stop this crazed emotion swirling
inside of him that wouldn’t let him just watch her die.  For no logical reason,
at all, his powers were screaming that he had to help this girl survive. 
Screaming that she belonged to him and he had to protected her above all else.

Damn
it.

“Woman,
concentrate!  Stop
talking
to that son-of-a-bitch and pick-up your
sword.”

She
ignored him.

Kingu
needed to just walk away.  There was no point in trying to keep someone alive
when she was so determined commit suicide.  If she wasn’t even going to try and
defend herself, he certainly wasn’t going to waste his precious time saving
her.

She
was just a Phase.

If
he let her die, he wouldn’t have to worry about that midnight blue gaze somehow
stealing his freewill.  He could select a different woman.  No matter what his
powers were insisting, it didn’t
have
to be this oddly colorful creature
who seemed specifically designed to disrupt everything he was trying to build.

She
was so dangerous.

…And
so fucking pretty.

Zakkery
glanced at Kingu, seeing his faltering resolve, and decided to push him right
over the edge.  “Her name is Hope.”

Kingu’s
head snapped around to stare at him.

Zakkery
slowly nodded.  “She’s Hope.”  For once he sounded dead serious.  “She’s the
one you’ve been looking for.”

Kingu
closed his eyes in defeat.

He
believed in fate the same way he believed in the higher deities.  He knew they
existed
,
but he’d never considered that he might play a part in their plans.  Kingu was
beyond the scope of morals and laws.  It was the perk of not having a soul.  He
lived outside the natural order.  Divine providence didn’t play a part in his
world, because he never should have been created, at all.  And yet, he knew
that Zakkery was right.

This
woman was the closest he’d ever come to finding his destiny.

She
was his one.

“Hope.” 
He whispered and knew he was lost.

The only things which do not bother me are the elements.  I can
overcome

them without a fight.  All one has to do to get the best of the
elements is to stand

pat and one will win.

William Howard Taft

Hope
swallowed hard as Lycus, of the Metal House stalked towards her across the
sand.  This was not going to go well.  “Um, listen.  If you could just give me
a second here?  I’m kind of… um…”  She trailed off, unable to take her eyes off
the razor sharp point of his sword.  “You don’t have red frog juice on that,
right?”

Lycus
slowed as he neared her, his gaze narrowing in confusion.  “Hope?”  He said
blankly.

She
blinked.  “Yes?”

He
hesitated, a hand coming up to touch his chest.  “I’m Lycus.  Do you remember
me?  We met once, when you were very young.”

“Oh. 
Right.”  Her family knew so many mercenaries, it was hard to keep them
straight.  His face did look kind of familiar, though.  Kind of.  Wracking her
brain, Hope came up with some vague recollection of Oberon and this man
standing together.  With no context or associated memories, though, she drew a
blank as to when the meeting might have happened.  Oberon knew a lot of people.

Still
an un-Fire Phase impulse to be polite had Hope saying.  “Nice to see you,
again. Well, no.  It’s actually
not
, but…”  She blew out a nervous
breath and kept her eyes on the super shiny, super deadly weapon he carried. 
“Anyway, yeah.  Hi.”  The small wave was automatic.

Lycus’
squinted at her like he suspected this was all some kind of elaborate practical
joke.  He slowly lowered his sword.  “I have one more person to behead and I’ll
be free… And they send
you?
”

“Yeah,
I’m really not really happy about it either.”

“Woman,
concentrate!”  Kingu sounded like Hope was deliberately setting out to torture
him.  “Stop
talking
to that son-of-a-bitch and pick-up your sword.”

Hope
and Lycus ignored that.

“I
have to do this.”  Lycus’ tone edged into desperation.  “I
have
to get
out of here.”

“Oh,
I don’t blame you.  I mean, I’m ready to leave, too, and I’ve only been here an
hour.”

“Exactly. 
It’s you or me now, and I’m
not
going down for another lost cause.  This
is
not
happening, again.  I’m not….”  He trailed off with a violent hiss
as she continued watching him.  “What are you even
doing
here?”

“I’m
not sure.  I took a wrong turn and they kind of kidnapped me.  I think maybe
Oberon has some kind of plan and is like… guiding me, though.”  Hope liked to
think that her grandfather was still looking out for her, somehow.  Leading her
towards her destiny.

“Oberon.” 
Lycus’ wild eyes burned into hers as he finally made the decision he least
wanted to.  “
Fuck!
”

He
wasn’t going to hurt her.

Hope
saw the truth of it in his frustrated face; heard it in his bellowed
obscenity.  Lycus had no intention of going through with this fight.

“Thank
you.”  She told him sincerely.  “And I’m
so
sorry about this.”  She
actually felt bad for the guy.  He seemed really upset that he couldn’t kill
her.

Hope
reached over to give his arm a comforting pat.

Kingu
apparently gave up all hope for her, at that point.  “Woman, you are un-fucking-believable. 
Just forget it.  I’ll do it myself.”

Hope
glanced over her shoulder in time to see Kingu vault over the railing of his
box seat, without checking the distance first.  Even a Phase would have
hesitated before making that jump so quickly.  He dropped the three stories to
the ground, landing on his feet like he’d simply stepped off a curb.  His suit
didn’t even get wrinkled.

Wow.

Okay,
physical fitness clearly came easy to monsters.  Hope’s eyebrows soared as
Kingu swept forward across the arena, dusting his palms off as if paranoid a
grain of sand might have somehow touched his skin.

“Annnnnd
Kingu enters the arena.”  The announcer sounded utterly lost as to why, but he
gamely kept narrating.  “Another unexpected twist to this already legendary
fight.”

No
one in the crowd tried to stop Kingu, though.  Maybe they were afraid to.

“You
know that dickhead?”  Lycus switched his attention to Kingu even as he asked
her the question.  He shifted his weight defensively, obviously sensing a god
was a bigger threat than Hope.

He
was
right
, but it still bugged her.

“Yeah,
he sort of thinks I tried to assassinate him earlier.”

“Good
for you.”  Lycus muttered.  He scraped a hand through his hair and still seemed
pissed at the universe.  “Any idea why he looks like he’s planning to kill
me
,
now?”

“You’re
imagining it.  I think he just has one of those faces.”  Hope gazed at the
vicious, furious planes of it, once again struck by how marvelously fierce
Kingu was.  Her blood thickened in her veins as he drew closer, desire hitting
her like a freight train.  He was so
big
.  So unstoppably, wonderfully
huge.

The
Beast to Belle.

King
Kong to Fay Wray.

Godzilla
to Japan.

Hope
was dazzled by her good fortune.

She
never imagined being lucky enough to have a man like this for her own, but
there was no denying that this man was the monster Oberon told her about. 
Kingu was the one she’d been waiting for.  If her energy had been normal, she
knew
it would have connected with his.

In
that moment it was all so clear.

Kingu
was magnificent.  Primal.  Any woman raised in the Fire Kingdom would have been
drawn to this man.  He must get a lot of female attention.  No matter where he
went, he was the dominant male animal in the room.  Who
wouldn’t
want
him?

And
he belonged to Hope!

“You’re
an honest-to-gods, multicolored
disaster
area.”  Kingu jabbed a finger
at her as he prowled closer.  “Just come over here behind me and try not to
die.”

Wait,
was Lycus right?  Was Kingu coming over to
help
her?  Hope sighed,
dreamily.  He was such a heroic warrior.

Kingu
looked disgusted with the entire situation, but crimson eyes stayed locked on
Lycus.  “You.  Back… the fuck…
up
.”

Hope
eyed him with growing pleasure, his shouted complaints rolling off her like
water.  Warriors always bellowed.  “Oh, don’t worry.  I’m not going to die.  It
turns out Lycus and my grandfather were friends.”  She glanced over at Lycus, a
new thought occurring to her.  “Um… You did
like
him, right?”

Oberon
was one of those people you either completely adored or you plotted to murder. 
There wasn’t a lot of middle ground with the Fire Phases.

“No,
I
didn’t
like him, as a matter of fact.”  Lycus kept his attention on
Kingu.  “But, he was the only Council member who voted against my Banishment. 
It didn’t do any good, but I still owe him for it.  So,
fine
.”  He
slammed the blade of his sword into the dirt, so it stuck straight up, and
stepped back from the weapon.  “I won’t fight you.”  His voice was flat. 
Resigned.  “I won’t harm the granddaughter of that aggravating bastard.  Not
even for my freedom.”

“Lycus…
forfeits?”  The announcer made it a question.

The
crowd started murmuring in confusion.

Kingu
scowled suspiciously, first at Lycus and then the forsaken sword.  “Oh, you’ve
got to be kidding me.”  He glanced down at Hope.  “You convinced him to
surrender?
 
That’s impossible.  I know what it is to be a slave and nobody stays one
voluntarily.  Not even a creature as slowwitted as him.”  He waved a dismissive
hand at Lycus.  “Who the hell are you really, woman, and how are you doing all
this?”

“I’m
Hope, of course.”  The words were absent, because her mind whirled with what
he’d just revealed.  Someone had kept this man as a slave?  Who could be that
powerful?  That cruel?

Something
shifted in Kingu’s eyes when she said her name.  Something both focused and
untamed.  “You’re truly Hope?”  He asked softly as if he wasn’t sure she was
telling the truth.

“Yes,
I am.  And I haven’t done anything to anyone.  Lycus
voluntarily
stopped
the fight.  I guess he sees how ridiculous this all is.”

“Or
he sees that I’m standing right next to you, now.”

Lycus’s
mouth thinned.  “I’m doing this because I’m an idiot who never learns his damn
lesson.  Not because I fear an abomination like you.”

Kingu
snorted.  “Your motivations mean nothing to me, Elemental.  Just stay away from
the woman.”  He switched his glower down to Hope, his expression going cold and
resolute.  “At this moment, you have two choices: stay imprisoned by these
Phases or come with me.  Choose.”

Hope
tucked a stray curl behind her ear and wondered how her hair looked.  “Oh.” 
Excitement flashed through her.  He definitely felt this connection between
them, too.  Like most successful Fire House courtships, he was already planning
to kidnap her.  How romantic!  “Well, I’m perfectly willing to…”

“You
ugly bastard.”  Lycus snarled, cutting off Hope’s eager agreement.  He stalked
closer to Kingu.  “That’s not a
choice
.  That’s just switching
this
jail for an even worse one.  You think I don’t see what you’re after?  That I’ll
let you
touch
her?”

“
Let
me?”  Kingu taunted.  “Elemental, no one
lets
me do anything.  Not
anymore.”

Lycus
glanced over at Hope.  “He doesn’t want you to come with him because he’s a
real nice guy.  He’s gonna tie you to his fucking bed!”

Hope’s
eyebrows soared at that lovely idea.

No
man had ever wanted her before.  At least, no man who’d had the guts to admit
it.  Hope’s family and their well-known, well-used arsenal were pretty darn
effective chaperones.  Toss in her lack of powers and unremarkable looks, and
she’d always been the one standing by the wall at Elemental parties.  Well,
metaphorically, anyway.  The Fire Phases didn’t attend
actual
parties,
but if they
did
Hope would have been the girl no one asked to dance.

Fire
Phases were passionate beings, though, especially when they found their mates,
and they universally loved sex games.  Being tied to a bed sounded
awesome
. 
Now that she’d claimed her monster, Hope was ready to begin the fun.

She
met Kingu’s flame colored gaze.  The man was unrelenting and unfriendly.  He
could have lifted her with one hand.  He was a gigantic monster with
potentially world crushing powers.  And now there was the chance he was going
to make her submit to all his depraved sexual fantasies.

He
was
perfect
.

Kingu
glared down at Hope like he blamed her for Lycus’s words.  When she just stared
back at him, happily imagining him naked, he glanced away with an even deeper
scowl.  He didn’t like the sustained eye contact.

Hope
found his shyness sweet.

Lycus
wasn’t going to give up.  “Hope, he wants to rape you, murder you, and probably
cannibalize your flesh, not necessarily in that order.  That’s the
only
reason he’d offer to help you.  You’d be better off if I just killed you, now.”

Kingu’s
hand whipped out, seizing Lycus’ neck in one huge hand.  The suddenness of the
attack left Hope frozen for a beat, stunned by his effortless strength.  Lycus
was a gigantic Phase, but Kingu was like a mountain.  He ripped the sword out
of Lycus’ hand as if it was a popsicle-stick and lifted him right off the
ground by his throat.  Lycus’ face went purple-y blue, his boots dangling five
inches above the dirt.

Kingu
smirked.

The
crowd roared in renewed enthusiasm, eager for more bloodshed.

Hope’s
eyes went wide as Kingu defeated an undefeated gladiator.  It was amazing in
its very casualness.  He could strangle Lycus the same way someone else might
step on a beetle.  Impressive as it was, she didn’t want Lycus hurt.  “You’re
going to kill him!”

Flame
colored eyes slashed over to hers.  “Yes.”  He agreed calmly.

“
No
.” 
Hope had learned that particular tone from Teja.  It got pulled out of storage
whenever Djinn started reminiscing about how great burning people at the stake
had been.  “Put him down.”

Black
brows soared at the order.  Lycus kept dangling off the sand, but Kingu was
focused on Hope.  He looked absolutely amazed that she would try and interfere
with his murder spree.  “This asshole said he was going to kill you.  Did you
miss that or are you just immune to death threats at this point in your messy
little life?”