Venomous King (Venom #2)

8. Issy

Chapter eight

Issy

“Endure and persist; this pain will turn to good by and by.”

Ovid

M y feet slide underneath me on the slick, rough ground, threatening to take me to my knees. My chest is on fire with my labored breaths, and the coppery taste of blood coats my lips. I’m terrified, but I have no idea what is even chasing me, or why I am so scared.

My bare feet come to a sudden halt at a sharp ridge with a daunting drop, and I have to pull myself back before I careen right over it. My arms windmill, as a strangled scream exits my mouth, and I pull back from the edge. Jesus fuck, that was close!

The sound of something crashing through the thick, dark green foliage behind me penetrates my brain, as I force my eyes away from the escarpment. The sky looks dark and ominous, as if it, too, knows that evil is on the prowl. The sudden urge to throw myself over its sharp edge, rather than face whatever is chasing me, fills me. Death. That’s what’s chasing me. I’m not sure how I know that, but I feel it deep inside of me, an oppressive storm that is brewing and threatening to drown me, as it adds to my terror. I can’t allow it to catch me, it will destroy me, body and soul.

“Why are you running from me, Princesa? You know you’re mine. You will always be mine,” a distorted voice calls to me from the shadowed darkness. I can feel malevolent eyes caressing my skin, and they cause all the hair on my body to rise, and my knees to tremble. I search desperately right and left for a way out, for an escape from whatever is coming towards me. Evil. Pain. Despair. My mind fills in the blanks, and my throat tightens painfully, as my mouth goes desert dry. I’m going to die. Whatever is coming for me means me harm.

A branch snapping on my left rips a scream from my lips. Get it together, Issy! You have to be strong, you have to fight whatever is coming for you! My mind commands me, but it only helps to instill further fear in my bones. Whatever strength I had is fleeing me faster than my sanity. It’s coming, shit, I am going to die.

“You are my little delicate doll; weak, broken, and ready for me to bring you to your knees, aren’t you, Princesa? Back to where you truly belong,” the voice hisses.

“Stay... stay the fuck away... away from me!” My words choke me as they leave my lips, as the shadowy form moves closer, and the air becomes stifling as it tries to vacate my lungs.

“Never. You will never get away from me, Issy. You are MINE!” The voice roars, and a massive man-size cobra snake slides out from the darkness. Its immense flared head catches the dim light, and its scales seem iridescent and beautiful. A forked tongue slithers from its open mouth, displaying viciously sharp venomous teeth. I’m momentarily stunned by the vision before me; this can’t be fucking real!

“No, this is not real... it fucking can’t be,” I gasp, and take a hesitant step backward, and the back of my foot meets with air. I correct myself, even though my blood is pounding like a war drum inside of my ears. I take a step to the right, and the giant snake’s head follows my movement, as a hissing sound escapes its large mouth.

“Did you think you could be free from me, my pretty? That I would allow you to survive in the world without me?” He strikes out, coming closer to me, and his tongue lashes at my arm. “You left me, you’ve hidden from me, Issy, but I’m coming to reclaim what’s mine!”

One moment, I’m standing, paralyzed with fear, as the snake comes towards me and its large fangs descend on my arm, and the next, I’m airborne and free-falling down from the cliff, with it dropping with me. “AHHHHHHH,” a scream rips from my mouth, and my body hits with a hard thud. I’m momentarily stunned, and a burning sensation on my arm has me panicking, and swatting at whatever is holding me.

“Jesus, Issy! It’s me, Mia! You’re safe, breathe, you’re safe!” My sister’s frightened voice fills my ears, and helps to push back the darkness that has enveloped me. I force my eyes open, and they meet with her large blue-green eyes. In their deep depths, I can see fear. Fear of me, fear of what is haunting me. “Nightmare, sister. You are having a nightmare. Breathe, please!”

I lift my body from my sprawled position on the floor with a groan, and drag both my hands down my face. Shit , it was just another nightmare. Every time I close my eyes now, I’m getting them. The closer we get to the wedding, the more unsettled I feel lately. “I’m... I’m sorry, Mia. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

“Frighten me? Girl, you just took a few years off my life with that scream. What is going on in that head of yours, Issy? Are you alright?” My sister gives me her hand, and I grasp it as she pulls me up to my feet.

I take a deep breath and then plop myself back on the sofa I must have rolled off in my confused, nightmare-induced state. My hand rubs at my temple, the throbbing that never entirely leaves me now causing my eye to twitch, and I blow out a huge, frustrated breath. “No, Mia, I am not fucking alright. I’m terrified all the time. I’m living in fear, constantly afraid of my own shadow.”

Mia sits beside me, grabs my hand, and threads our fingers tightly together. Her strength tries its best to pour inside of me, to reinforce my own. Once, I believed myself weak and inferior, and wished desperately to be her, but then I survived the unimaginable, and realized I was always strong. I just hadn’t been tested. Now, I no longer covet my sister’s, or even my grandmother’s, strength. I am a Stratford, and each of us stands firm against our enemies.

“Diego, I’m guessing, is the one who is starring in all of your nightmares. He hasn’t found you, Issy, and he won’t. You and Kai have been very careful, and Grandmother has done everything possible to hide your tracks. You’re safe.”

I turn towards her, glancing at her serious and sincere expression. She truly believes I am safe, but she doesn’t know Diego like I do. I will never be safe as long as he’s still breathing, and neither will my daughter. Even knowing that with certainty, I can’t give my grandmother the go-ahead to murder him. Even though that would be what is best for my daughter, and would allow us to finally stop hiding. It would enable us to live a life without the fear of every shadow hiding a monster. A final shudder runs through my body, as the remnants of the nightmare finally loosen their grasp.

The memory of how I finally revealed myself to Stella three years ago pops inside my head.

“Are you sure about this, Isabella? We never have to let her know you are alive. We have managed to live without her thus far,” Kai implores me, with his beautiful blue eyes filled with concern. I know he disapproves of this plan. He’s made his feelings towards Stella abundantly clear over the last few years. He doesn’t trust her with my life, or Julia’s.

“Kai, we have tried everything we can with our resources, and they haven’t been enough. You know as well as I do, that if she doesn’t get a heart soon, she will die. Her best chance of getting one is Stella, and the Stratford resources.”

“There has to be another way, little rose. This will put both of you at so much risk. He could find you, I am sure he has people watching Stella.” His hand slides around my neck, gripping it and pulling me flush against his large, warm body. His scent immediately envelops me, and I inhale deeply, needing the strength his presence always provides me. He is my constant now, my shoulder to cry on, my white knight standing guard against anything that would harm me, and our daughter.

“There is no other way. We have tried everything, and I won’t deny her this chance at a full life because I’m frightened of Diego. My grandmother will never hurt her, and she will move heaven and earth to ensure that her great-grandchild gets the best care. Care we cannot afford, Kai. We don’t have the resources.”

I know that my words hurt him. He has done his very best to provide for us. He is the reason that Julia survived past her very tumultuous birth. The surgery he performed, when she was two days old, allowed her tiny heart to keep beating, but it hasn’t been enough. She needs a heart transplant, and she can’t wait any longer. We need Stella, and the Stratford power and wealth.

“She will never forgive you for faking your death, and hiding. Stella holds grudges like a fucking maniac, Isabella.” He pulls back from my embrace, and his mouth descends into a deep scowl, while his thick, golden eyebrows form an irate ‘v’.

“She loves me, Kai. She raised me, and although she will be furious, she has every right to be. I can’t even imagine the pain I have put her through, but she will forgive me. There is nothing more important to Stella than her family. Julia is now her family.”

My eyes slide over the stiff form standing against the wall: Clark, my grandmother’s ever-faithful shadow. There was only one way to get to my grandmother without the possibility of Diego learning that I am alive. I had to get to someone quietly, and secretly, who has my grandmother’s ear, and whom she trusts. Someone who moves within shadows, and can ensure all of our safety, when I reveal myself to her.

To say that Clark was not amused, and was thoroughly shocked, was an understatement. Yet, he came when I contacted him, meeting with me, without knowing if it was a trap set up by my grandmother’s enemies. I’d never seen the man display any emotions before that night in my in-laws’ barn. Yet, when he got a first glance at me, a tear slid down his cheek, and when he got a look at Julia, his face broke from its usual mask, and emotions crossed his usually stoic features.

Here we are a week later, with my grandmother, who is due to arrive at this secret location in the Washington mountains at any moment. Clark looks a bit nervous, and that is stressing me out. Fuck, if he’s frightened of her reaction and wrath, what chance do I have of leaving unscathed?

High heels form a staccato-tapping noise, as they approach across the scarred hardwood floor, from the direction of the back door of the cabin. “What is the meaning of this, Clark? You’ve had me thrown onto the damn private jet without an explanation!”

My grandmother’s angry voice carries down the hallway, and a thrill at seeing her again slides down my limbs, accompanied by a sense of dread. My breathing becomes shallow, and my hands become clammy. Kai reaches down and threads our fingers together, giving them a squeeze in a reassuring manner. “It will be fine, little rose. I will protect you from that dragon,” he whispers in my ear with amusement.

Stella comes to an abrupt halt, and I get my first glimpse of my grandmother in over three years. Her hair is streaked with a lot more gray, and there are deep lines on her face that weren’t there before. She looks older and smaller, as if time has somehow crushed her, and taken a part of her fierce spirit. Her arm rises, and she clutches at her chest, a gasp leaving her with a wheezing sound. She sways momentarily, and Clark immediately grabs her arm to stabilize her. Holy fuck, I might have just given my grandmother a heart attack.

“Isabella...” A sob wrenches from her lips, and diamond tears slide one after the other down her face in rapid succession. She pulls away from Clark’s supportive grip, and moves shakily towards me, and I leave the comfort and support of Kai’s side and meet her halfway, where she throws her arms tightly around me, and sobs into my shoulder, her whole body trembling against mine.

We stay like that for long minutes, neither of us willing to break the embrace, both of us seeking comfort for all that we have lost in the years that we have been apart. Regret and pain fill me, as I see the toll of what I have caused on my strong and fierce grandmother. The knowledge that if I didn’t need her to save Julia, I would still be hiding, and hurting her, fills me with self-loathing.

“Where have you been, child? Why have you hidden from me?” Stella finally pulls back from my embrace, but her arms remain locked around me, as if she fears that I will somehow disappear if she lets me go.

I swipe at my own tears and meet her dark, arctic gaze. “I had to hide, Grandmother. Diego had trapped me in that jungle, and although I managed to escape with help, he would have dragged me back against my will, if he had managed to get his hands on me again. I couldn’t risk it, or him hurting you or Mia to get to me.”

“You would have been safe, child; I would have ensured it with my very breath.” Her head turns away from me, and she stares at Kai, her eyes filling with rage. “You! Kai Joliette, I will have all of your limbs ripped from your body, while you are still breathing, for hiding my granddaughter from me!”

Kai shrugs his shoulders, as if my grandmother is not currently threatening him with torture, as he moves closer to us, his head held high, and a look of malice across his usually docile features. “You can try, Stella, but I won’t be leaving Isabella’s side for anything, and your fucking threats don’t work on me. I’m not scared of you, dragon queen.”

“Mrs. Stratford. I have not permitted you to address me by my first name, Kai, nor are you worthy of such a privilege, and if I deem it, you will die a painful death regardless of your wishes.”

I pull myself away from my grandmother, and use my body as a wall between Kai and her, as they both prepare to be irrational lunatics who won’t back down. “Enough, the two of you. No one will be doing anything to harm the other. Grandmother, Kai has kept us safe from harm all this time. He’s helped us hide from Diego and from you. I love him, and you will not harm him.”

“Us. You keep using the word ‘us’, granddaughter. Who is us?” At a nod at Clark, he opens the bedroom door he was standing in front of. Rachel, my former roommate, walks out with my daughter cradled, and sleeping, against her chest. The expression on Rachel’s face is fierce, and I know one wrong move from anyone in this room will have her committing bodily harm to anyone who threatens Julia. She is her designated fierce protector, and loves my little girl as if she were her own.

If I thought I had seen shock cross my grandmother’s face at my sudden reappearance from the dead, it’s nothing compared to her reaction to my daughter. She stumbles back, and has to be assisted to a chair by Clark. Her eyes are too large on her pale face, and her mouth opens and closes without any words escaping it.

“What... what is the meaning of this?” Her voice cracks, as if she’s struggling to form words.

I reach forward and take my sleeping daughter from Rachel, cradling her tiny form in my arms. I lay a kiss on her pale forehead, and she squirms in the blankets she’s wrapped in, as I move towards my grandmother. I place myself on my knees, holding her out to my grandmother, like one does a priceless jewel to a queen, and she hesitantly takes her from me. She holds her with such gentleness that my heart swells with love seeing them together.

“That is your great-granddaughter, Julia Stella Stratford Joliette, and I’m pretty sure she’s pleased to finally meet her gammy.”

Julia’s little, pale face pinches, and her lips pucker before her thick, dark lashes lift, and her stunning, bright green eyes gaze up at her great-grandmother. They stare at each other, neither willing to break the connection. A fierce queen staring at her future generation, who will carry her bloodline forward. “Hello, Julia Stella; it’s my honor to meet you, little one.” My grandmother kisses Julia’s forehead, as tears slide down her age-lined face.

I release a breath I didn’t even realize I was holding, and tears leave my eyes as I watch them together. It’s as if peace has come over my grandmother, and smoothed away some of her hard edges. This right here is what I have longed for, to see my daughter with her family.

“She is Diego’s daughter?” My grandmother inquires, never taking her glance away from Julia, but cataloging her features that make it impossible to disguise her parentage. Her finger strokes down the side of my daughter’s small cheek, and Julia’s mouth opens as if seeking nourishment.

“She is my daughter; I have claimed her, not that demon. I will raise her. I am her father,” Kai says with angry, clipped words, the fury in his crystal blue eyes causing a chill to race down my spine.

Stella raises her eyes from Julia and glares at Kai. For a moment, I am afraid that she will rebuke his statement, and all hell will break loose. Kai won’t back down from his claim on Julia. She’s his in every sense of the word. My grandmother’s frigid glare appears as she narrows her eyes in his direction. “So be it. You’re a slight improvement over that demon, but only minutely, and I can always make you disappear if you disappoint either of them.”

Just then, Julia releases a little panting whimper, and my grandmother’s attention immediately returns to her. “She’s very pale, and her lips have a slight blue tinge to them. Is she ill, Isabella?”

My eyes meet Kai’s, and he gives me a nod. Here goes everything. “Yes, she has a heart condition. She’s very ill, grandmother. She needs a heart transplant.”

Stella cradles Julia closer to her chest, as if there was suddenly a threat in the room, and Julia releases a whiny whisper of a cry. “That is why you have suddenly revealed yourself to me. You need my assistance to get her a heart.”

“Yes,” I don’t bother to attempt to deny the accusation I hear in her tone. I need her to save my daughter. It’s why we have taken this huge risk to come to her. A moment passes, and then another, while Stella stares down at Julia, her thoughts hidden firmly behind that mask she knows how to wear so well. For a brief moment, I fear we have made a mistake, perhaps Kai is right, and she will be unable to forgive me. Will she allow my daughter to suffer in order to punish me?

“I promise you I will move heaven and earth to ensure she gets whatever she needs. She is a Stratford. She will want for nothing in this lifetime, not even a heart.” Stella coos at Julia until she settles. “You are my little princess, aren’t you, beautiful girl? I will never allow anyone to hurt you.” All the air that was suffocating me leaves me in a whoosh, and as I look up at Kai and Clark from the corner of my eye, I realize I was not the only one who was filled with apprehension.

“When will you be returning to Manhattan? I need to make arrangements immediately. We will need a larger army to protect her. I will reinforce all the walls and gates of the family compound, and hire more men.” Of course she wants to discuss a battle plan; Stella is a force of nature, always ready to take on her enemies.

Fuck. I hoped I had more time to answer this question, but before I can utter a single word, Kai interjects gruffly, “We won’t be returning to Manhattan, and neither my daughter nor Isabella will be prisoners behind your palatial armed walls. If you are willing to help us save Julia, you can do it while we remain hidden, and on our terms. We won’t risk being put in the crossfire of your enemies, Stella.” Oh Shit.

Stella raises a dark, perfectly manicured eyebrow at Kai, and I watch as she clenches her jaw. I’m pretty sure the only thing keeping Kai safe at the moment, and preventing her from ordering Clark to murder him, is her hold on my precious daughter. “Is that so? And if I refuse to comply with your demand? We both know I can force you all back to Manhattan if I choose to.”

“You would lose us forever, Grandmother. I will never willingly return there, and I would lose all respect for you if you forced us back.” I hold my breath, hoping she sees the plea in my eyes that I don’t wish to walk away from her ever again, but I also can’t return to a place that once crushed my soul. Whatever she sees in my eyes has her unclenching her jaw, and rolling her eyes at Kai, before she once again lays a sweet kiss on Julia’s dark head.

“I agree to your terms, for now, Isabella. I don’t wish any harm on either of my grandchildren, and you are right; you are safer in hiding for the moment.” She dismisses Kai with a snarky and hostile look, and my poor lover takes a step back as if he’s been slapped.

Jesus fuck, she agreed. Has hell frozen over, or did a miracle just happen? Either way, we are going to save my daughter, and that is all that matters right now.

I snap out of my memories, and meet my sister’s frightened eyes. “Where did your mind just go, Issy? I’ve been trying to get your attention for a few minutes. You seem so lost, sister.”

“I was reliving the moment our lives changed; the moment I got my family back, and Stella met Julia for the first time. I can’t believe it’s been three years since that moment, and here we all are, still hiding, and I am about to get married.” I sigh and rake my hands through my short blonde hair.

“You’re about to marry the love of your life, Issy, and live happily ever after. You are safe, Julia is healthy, and Kai adores you. Even Grandmother Stella has mellowed a bit toward him; she no longer demands that Clark shoot him whenever Kai steps into a room. That’s progress, sister. All’s right with the world. Diego is your past, and Kai will always be your future.”

My sister is right about so many things. Grandmother has relented a bit, to all of our surprise. She even agreed that I should marry Kai, and remain hidden here in Oregon with Julia, allowing the world to continue believing that Isabella Stratford had perished in that jungle. My darling Julia is well and thriving. She has a wild and strong spirit that will rival Stella’s as she grows. I am sure that will give us lots of trouble in the future. Kai is terrified of the menace she may become under Stella’s tutelage. My grandmother is determined to teach my young daughter about the art of war.

What she hasn’t gotten entirely right is that, while I am about to marry the love of my life, he’s not the only one. As much as my heart and soul still fear Diego, they also still long for him. He is never far from my thoughts, and I can see him in his daughter, who is a mini replica of him. Diego is my past, and Kai is my future, but just over four years ago, I believed the opposite when I was in Diego’s arms. Before everything went terribly wrong with us, and he showed me his true colors; black like his soul, with his obsessive need to control and own me, to make me his by any means necessary.

The truth is, a part of me desperately wanted to be owned by him, I can’t lie to myself. Some part of me still craves his harsh hand, and the control that he wielded like a collar around my throat. Where Kai is light and love, Diego is darkness and depravity, and I fear I am missing an integral part of myself without him.

Will I ever be free of him, or will my heart still call for him for the rest of my days? Is it fair to Kai, that my heart will never solely belong to him?

Am I making a mistake?