His wife was useful to him with her ability to manipulate memories. He’d give her whatever she wanted so long as she used that power in his name, exactly as he requested. And she was so very obedient.
Her brother on the other hand…
“Vaeron.” The word nipped out, cold and biting. “Your task is imperative. We must know what these devious intruders are going to do. Don’t you want to protect your people?”
The Koron’s head tilted to the side, studying his wife’s kin for the slightest hint of deception.
Vaeron shifted his weight, an ache in his heel from a long-before injury clawing for attention. “Of course,” he managed to grind out. Then, he exhaled, a long, defeated sound. There was no use in protesting. In arguing his magic was more useful elsewhere.
The sounds would fall on ears deaf to anything but their own desires.
His sister’s grin grew. She sat upright, shrugging her dress back into place. From a pocket on her robe, she pulled out a scroll. “We got a report of an Elessarum settlement in the lake country. You’ll ride there immediately and capture their Seers. Kill the less useful ones. We can’t allow peace lovers to live in the midst of war.”
Vaeron swallowed and snatched the parchment from the Korona. Unfurling it, he glanced over its contents, noting the location and numbers in detail. “I’ll need more than my usual hunters for this.”
“Take whomever you need,” his sister purred, clapping her hands.
The door opened, revealing the sentries stationed outside. “Yes?” the leader asked, bending at the waist.
“See Vaeron’s horse readied. And wake the others!” she commanded.
“Right away, Your Radiance.” He disappeared, along with one of the other guards, down the hall.
The Korona rose from her seat and approached Vaeron. He tensed, attempting not to flinch as she placed her hands on either arm. “What would I ever do without you, brother?”
“I don’t know,” he replied automatically, suppressing his disgust. Emotion was weakness. All feeling had been beaten out of him long before a crown graced his sister’s brow.
She embraced him, then perched on the tips of her toes and kissed him on either cheek. “Go now. Bring my pets home to me.”
The Koron made no move to acknowledge his departure. Ice-blue eyes tracked with hawk-like intent as Vaeron strode from the room and left the two of them behind.
The moment the door closed, he turned to his wife, whose pleasant expression faded like the stars when the sun rose. He gestured for her to join him on the settee.
With a sultry sway of her hips, she approached, straddling his lap and raking her nails down his bare chest. The straps of her gown tumbled, revealing her prominent collarbone and the swell of her breast.
The Koron gripped her waist, dragging her lower on his groin. His hardness pressed into her. “Once we have them, we’ll be able to carry out all my plans.”
“The Goddess will be pleased when Her holiest are gathered under one roof,” his wife murmured her agreement, nose nuzzling his neck.
Wicked satisfaction curled through the Koron as he imagined himself striding through Uzhhorod, the capital of the Demon Realm, with it devoid of their evil lives. With the Kral’s head on a spike at the gates, and his evil cousins alongside him. That the female purported herself a Seer was the greatest sin.
One he couldn’t wait to eradicate.
Soon, his life’s mission would be complete.
Extermination of the Demon race.
1
The first time I Saw my fated mate, I was only one hundred and eleven. Too young for my power to have taken root. Far too young to have my heart shattered into a thousand pieces with the knowledge that if he ever found me, he’d rob me of everything I dared love.
Unlike most Angels, his hair was an iron gray. His brows, so serious, with one jagged scar, were a dark contrast to the glacial hue of the orbs beneath them. I knew not who he was, only that his gaze pierced my defenses and choked me of air.
I’d returned to reality screaming into the darkness.
I never wanted to meet him.
Whoever he was.
