She hadn’t asked to come through the gate, but they sought me because they needed the Breaker. For reasons they weren’t sure of and still didn’t know.
Lord Cato keeping us caged wasn’t his fault. Until they knew what my purpose was. It was the only way they knew of to protect me.
And it might have worked.
What reason did they have to kill the druid who had put their shield up? Why had Lord Cato called him the king when Belshazzar was the king? They had a druid king ruling over the vampires? I had to think the vampire didn’t like that very much.
But to kill him?
Had he been married to Gwen? That would explain Belshazzar’s desire to kill him.
A small laugh escaped me at that thought. Bel was more than a little possessive of his queen. Having someone else intended for her would have pushed every single one of his buttons, and I was sure that murder buttons were standard on him.
He wasn’t bad. He was just focused on Gwen, and together they were focused on keeping the vampires safe.
As good leaders should.
The vampires and druids of this world were far more brutal than the ones I was used to. But considering this world and the hate, war, and destruction I’d seen so far, I couldn’t really blame them.
Another store had gorgeous jewelry in the windows, and the windows were made of dense, thick glass. Evidence that humans couldn’t even trust one another. The jewelers of S’Kir were happy to leave their doors open and their wares out where you could see them well.
One thing I could see both cities had in common: the street entertainers. They were everywhere, juggling, dancing, singing. Living statues dotted the road with containers asking for coins. With each coin, the figure would move, either a jerky little movement or a gesture of thanks. There were artists and crafters selling wares. There were peasants selling fruits and vegetables and baked goods, some of which were so tempting.
But I had no coin. Not from this world.
I didn’t even know if I had a care for this world.
Dorian had become something I didn’t recognize. I knew he was a jackass, but I had thought his care for me would have been enough for him to learn to at least tolerate Aiko.
Instead, he had dragged my handsome, dark vampire lover halfway across the world, intending to get him killed. He didn’t want the blood of another one of my lovers on his hands, so why not let the war take him?
I hated him for that. Hated him while still being in love with him. I didn’t want to hate him, but…
It had also been weeks since he touched me in any way. We had not had sex in weeks, not since his brother had shown up. While I understood this was a brother he hadn’t seen in literally thousands of years, how was that fair to either of us?
His actions were starting to void any profession of love he had made. I still wanted him, but I wondered if he wanted me. Or was I simply a pretty face to slip his dick into to bolster his power.
He was controlling me almost the same way Elex had.
I missed my prickly druid.
I missed my twins.
Suddenly overwhelmed, my footing went out from under me, and I hit the wall of the building I was walking by.
I missed my twins so much.
How could they be dead?
How could that bastard have killed them?
They were dead. Crushed.
They’d given their lives for that damn shield that shouldn’t have fallen.
The impatience of someone who had killed the very source of the shield that kept them safe, only to have my Rilen and Roran crushed, trying to put it back up.
The man who had done it was dead, but I would never feel that he had suffered enough, even laying disemboweled—even watching his head roll down the hill.
