Blood of Two Crowns (Hallowed Fates #2)

Chapter 11

Chapter

Eleven

KERES

F or some reason, I was nervous. I didn’t even know this female. Gods knew why my heart was fluttering like a bird caught in the winds of a storm. Zurie’s lips parted in shock as I neared her. She sat staring up at me with big, beautiful, blue, doe eyes.

“Proposing?”

“Soon, I will take Ishra’s throne, and I would love to make you a Queen.”

Zurie’s mouth snapped shut, gaze shifting to some distant spot on the wall behind me. “I have no desire to be a queen.”

Fuck.

What the fuck bargaining chip did I hold if she wanted nothing I had to offer? What more do I have to offer other than… Power?

“I am tired of being manipulated. Tired of wearing masks. Of dealing with people who wish to do nothing but exploit me. And while I may not deserve it, all I want now is peace.”

My heart clenched as her eyes lifted to mine, glistening and pregnant with tears. “Take me from this place. Give me freedom and comfort to do as I please, and I will advise you to the best of my abilities. That is all I have to offer.”

Three objectives led me to Atratus. The first, I already accomplished by killing my former soulbound so that she would reincarnate and forget all about my bother, Mors, who stole her from me.

The second was to ally with Zurie once I took Ishra’s throne when Thalia’s father passed away. However, when my niece and her soulbound suddenly overthrew Zurie I was forced to rethink my plan.

Initially, I thought I’d considered ingratiating myself with Nakoa, the soon-to-be King, but I’d never been particularly partial to males, and he seemed irreversibly obsessed by my niece. Not to mention, the idea of stealing away someone’s soulbound was something I was having a hard time stomaching, considering I knew just how horrific it was. I was a monster in many ways but there were at least some things that even my conscience couldn’t bear.

And then I realized Zurie would be perfect to rule beside me. I didn’t know the first thing about ruling a kingdom. She could advise me. Granted, I would take her advice with a grain of salt because I wanted to be loved and adored by a kingdom—not hated—like her.

My final and third objective in coming here was to find Miroslav so that he could tell me where Persephone, the Goddess of Life, was hiding in exile so that she could tell me where and when Soteira, my former soulbound, would reincarnate. Perhaps even convince her to expedite the process if such a thing were possible. However, I would still be forced to wait at least thirty or so years for her to grow into a relatively mature female who would be mentally and emotionally compatible with me.

And now, this wicked female in front of me was tugging at my heartstrings.

Messy. This is going to get very, very messy, Keres, a distant voice in my head murmured, in a bored tone if I’d interpreted it correctly.

Emotions were such fickle things, and I was already so prone to impulsivity. So what if we shared a dalliance? It might last a day or a decade. There was little good in worrying what the future would bring when it came to such matters. I had been betrayed too many times by the people I’d loved most in all the realms. If we shared a deep connection and mutual pleasure could be had, I would take my joy where I could find it.

In my hesitation to reply, something like exhaustion and disappointment settled on Zurie’s face as her eyes drifted towards some distant point on the wall behind me. I dared a step closer, between her parted thighs. With the back of my finger, I swiped up a tear caught in her lengthy, pale lashes and brought it to my tongue. The faint scent of Zurie’s sweet arousal curling through the air made my heart riot in its cage.

“I will provide you with everything you could ever possibly need and want so long as you remain loyal to me. Loyalty, above all else, is what I value.”

Zurie’s eyes lifted to mine, widening with some unreadable emotion.

“Why is it that you wish to be a Queen?”

My heart gave another stutter as the truth slipped past my lips before I could stop them. “I wish to be loved.”

Zurie’s expression hardened, making my stomach lurch with the need to gain her approval. “I want to do good in the world and be appreciated for it…”

I held my breath as Zurie openly studied me for several moments. “Ruling a Kingdom is a thankless job. Even when I tried to rule with a gentle hand, I was met with hatred and opposition.”

Zurie’s hand lifted to twine her fingers with mine beneath the water and tugged me gently into her lap. My heart leapt into my throat as I straddled her, and something painfully familiar tightened in my chest as if trying to close the distance between us. With each breath, my breasts grazed hers, stoking our arousal further as leaden butterflies swirled in my belly.

“And if you wish to be loved by a Kingdom, I am the worst of all to advise you. I fear I have nothing to truly offer you other than companionship, but if you are willing to swear your loyalty to me, I will offer you the same.”

Something fierce and possessive rose within me as my hope blossomed. My free hand curled around her throat, and my fangs lengthened in anticipation. With the urge to claim her. Something I hadn’t experienced since Soteira, my soulbound.

“Where is your soulbound?”

Her brows pinched as if I’d ruined our moment, but I couldn’t help but ask. “If I have one, I have seen no sign of them. Where is yours?”

Numbness stilted my emotions at the thought of her. Soteira.

“Dead.”

Zurie’s brows tightened further. “Oh… I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I killed her.”

Zurie’s breath caught, eyes lifting to mine. I closed the small distance between us, and for the first time in nearly a millennia, my heart soared. Her lips were plush and tender. A sweet respite from the harsh world around us that seemed to fade away all at once. Reality narrowed to only her. The sensation of our hearts beating as one, the sweet glide of our lips and the caress of our tongues, the tingling arousal pulsing between my thighs.

I groaned as I forced myself to break our kiss. There were a number of matters to be taken care of before I would give myself to this female, body, soul, and vow.

“Let us dress. Azrael will return any moment.”

The disappointment in her gaze was blatant. I couldn’t help but grin and rewarded her by biting her bottom lip hard enough to break the skin. Her blood blossomed on my tongue to bestow a sweetness like raw, dark amber honey. Zurie moaned a sigh of pleasure as I sucked her bottom lip into my mouth to steal a few more drops, releasing it with a loud pop and licking my lips. “Delicious.”

Zurie arched towards me to capture my mouth again, biting viciously into my bottom lip. Surprise was swiftly replaced with desire as blood spilled freely down our chests. My grip on her throat tightened as my other hand reached between her thighs and possessively cupped her pussy.

“Clean it up,” I purred in her ear. I pulled back to take in her reaction and found a grin that matched mine. She leaned forward, licking thick stripes up my chest, throat and mouth. When her tongue reached the stiff peaks of my breasts, she held my gaze as she continued to lick up our blood.

Oh my fuck.

I rewarded her obedience by steadily circling her clit and dipping two fingers into her clenching pussy. She whimpered against my throat as her hips thrust against my hand in time with my strokes. It took nothing more than a single whispered word for me to realize I would kill for this female.

“Keres.”

Her tongue flicked against the peak of my breast before sucking it into her warm, wet mouth. Her fingers reached the throbbing center of me in a soft, teasing caress that made me desperate for more. Dutifully, she continued licking up the remainder of my blood. “I want more,” she murmured against my throat. My heart pinched.

“Sorry to interrupt but you do realize I’ve been waiting for over an hour.”

Azrael.

Neither of us faltered in our ministrations of one another, though I couldn’t help but hum my pleasure as Zurie growled. “Leave us.”

“Well, that’s one way to talk to people,” Azrael remarked in a bored tone. I turned my head to glare at him standing beside the bathing pool. “I need to find your niece.”

“How would I know where she is? I’ve barely met her.”

Azrael’s gaze settled on Zurie. “And would you happen to know the whereabouts of your daughter-in-law?”

Zurie pursed her lips, eyes narrowing. “Don’t tell me your people are still revolting.”

Heaving a sigh, Azrael slipped his hands into the pockets of his strangely fashioned black trousers. “Well, if you ever learn to take away someone’s free will, you let me know.”

Zurie’s lips tipped up in a smile that looked nothing short of villainous. “Sounds to me like you require a rather large favor then, doesn’t it?”

Azrael’s expression hardened. “As was liberating you from likely spending the rest of your life rotting in a dungeon and giving you relief from your withdrawals.”

Zurie hummed thoughtfully to herself before returning to her task of suckling at my breasts and teasing my clit. I’d never be able to cum if Azrael didn’t leave. He’d told me something of his situation, though I didn’t know the details or the severity. Still, he had been kind to me when few others had. I stilled Zurie’s motions by tilting her chin up with a curled forefinger. “Tell us where she is, my darling.”

The vulnerability that passed over Zurie’s expression made my heart squeeze. Her throat worked on a swallow, hesitating. I leaned in to whisper my reassurances against her cheek. “Remember what I said? So long as you’re loyal to me, I’ll give you everything you need. You don’t need to wear a mask or manipulate anyone to get what you need or want.” I punctuated my promise by pressing a lingering kiss to the corner of her lips.

Zurie studied my gaze for a moment as if having some internal debate before finally speaking. “I have no way of tracking her, but I’m certain that if you find my former general, Malekai Theikos, she won’t be far behind.”

As she provided Azrael with directions to General Theikos’ home, my heart swelled with affection for taking this leap of faith. In me.

I internally vowed to prove to her that it was not misplaced.

“He’s one of yours anyway, ” she added.

Azrael’s eyebrows leapt in surprise. “Oh?”

“His parents moved here from Hades… I believe you’ll recognize him too.”

Azrael’s lips parted as if in realization. My gaze danced between the two of them in silent question and Zuried answered. “The last time Azrael was here, he bargained with me that I allow a few of his people from Vassileo seek exile here. In order to protect their identities, we had all their documentation state they were originally from Hades… And in return, he gave me aetra.”

Azrael huffed. “You thought I’d given you a weed.”

Zurie frowned. Azrael set a bottle of something down on the floor beside the pool. “Do try to ration it, or it won’t last you through the rest of your withdrawals.”

At that, Azrael folded away, leaving Zurie and I to ourselves. Her gaze lingered on the bottle beside the pool. I traced the tip of my nose against the column of her throat.

“Come to Ishra with me.”