Dammit, the Cursed One thought to himself as he regained control of Lorcan. That had been far too close. The Pathetic One had almost taken over again. If he managed to warn the other kings, they’d no doubt join their forces against him. He might have two courts under his rule, but the shadow fae could scarcely fight after everything they’d been through. Both armies had lost too many warriors.
He went to Thane’s room. It was empty. He tried Cos Darragh next, and then Murdock, the sea king. All of them had vanished. When he strode out into the courtyard, only vines and thorns welcomed him. The kings were gone, and so were there armies.
Rage rushed through him like a storm.
“Reyna Darragh,” he hissed, fisting his hands. This was all her fault. She’d rushed straight to the kings and convinced them to flee. Cowards, the lot of them. They couldn’t face an enemy, not even when he was right in front of them.
He would make her pay for this. With every last drop of her bitter blood.
Blood.
Desire bloomed in his gut. Twisting on his heels, he stalked back into the tower, finding several of his loyal guards waiting for him. They stood at attention by the throne, their eyes cast onto the carpet of moss.
“Where have the kings gone?” Lorcan barked, storming toward them. “Where are their armies?”
Maxis, one of the shadow fae warriors who had followed him from Falias, shifted uneasily on his feet. “They left in the middle of the night. We thought it was odd, but they’re our allies now, so we saw no reason to prevent them from doing what they wanted to do.”
“Youletthem leave,” he growled through gritted teeth. Reaching the guards, he grabbed Maxis around the throat and lifted him from the ground. His feet dangled beneath him like a mindless puppet. “Do you not realize what you’ve done?Traitor.”
“No, Your Grace,” Maxis sputtered, his eyes wide as Lorcan’s grip tightened around his throat. “I’m no traitor. I’m loyal to you. I’m so sorry, Your Grace. I had no idea that—”
Lorcan tightened his fist around Maxis’s throat and held him there until all the breath rushed from his lungs. The shadow fae warrior’s eyes rolled into the back of his head. His hands went still. With a smile, Lorcan dropped the fae. He crumpled onto the floor like a helpless idiot. One who was now dead.
The other two guards stared at him, mouths ajar. He whirled on them. “Did either of you have anything to do with this?”
“No, Your Grace,” one of them sputtered. A female with dark hair. He didn’t know her name, and he didn’t care to learn it. She was likely lying.
No matter. Maxis would give him enough blood for now.
“You’re both pathetic. I’ll have you replaced immediately.” He grabbed Maxis beneath the arms and dragged him from the room, depositing him in the meeting hall just beyond the throne. Hunger swirled in his gut as he stared down at the fallen fae. His teeth ached. His eyes burned. He’d never been hungrier in his life, and potatoes or rabbit would not do a world of good now. He needed blood.
Kneeling to the floor, he bent over Maxis and drove his teeth into his neck. The blood pooled on his tongue, sparking desire in his gut. He moaned as he drank deeply. The tang of iron coated his tongue, driving him into a frenzy. Teeth slicing into Maxis’s neck, he grabbed the body and hugged it tightly against him. My god, he’d never wanted anything more than he wanted this. The blood, the flesh, the bones.
He would cut off his own arm if it meant he could have more of it. He shuddered as he swallowed gulp after gulp. All of it, every last drop. Moaning, he ripped through the flesh, biting hard into it. When his teeth hit bone, excitement tripped through him. He’d never feasted upon bone. Not yet. In the back of his mind, Unseelie urged him on. Beautiful, mysterious Unseelie, with his untold power over all.
Together, they would turn this world to ash.
With a deep growl, Lorcan crunched into bone and shuddered as a new power filled his veins. Nothing and no one could defeat him now.
* * *
He awoke delirious, drunk, and craving blood and bone. The past few hours were a blur. All he could remember was Maxis and the way the power had sizzled on his tongue. At some point, he’d blacked out, lost to the frenzy of his feasting.
He’d never felt anything like it before.
And he hated it.
Lorcan bent over, wiping the blood from his face. There was so much of it. His tunic was drenched in it, and it coated his hands. Grief and horrible regret tangled together in his gut. Somehow, he had to stop this. The curse wanted to destroy him and everyone around him. And it would, if he didn’t somehow find a way to regain control permanently.
The only reason he had control now was because the Cursed One was so drunk on the power of the blood. Gritting his teeth, he stood, swaying on his feet.
“Reyna will stop this,” he whispered out loud, grateful that he could actually speak for once. “She won’t let you get away with this.”
The Cursed One slumbering inside of him had no reply.
Averting his eyes from the mess on the floor, he stumbled out of the meeting hall and headed to the Roost where the court kept their messenger birds. He had to find a way to warn Reyna of what was coming. The Cursed One wouldn’t stand for her escape. He would find her, and he would kill her. With this newfound power singing in his veins, she might not stand a chance against him.
What was worse, the Cursed One knew everything about Reyna Darragh. He could read Lorcan’s memories, his thoughts. He knew what made her tick. He knew her strengths. But he also knew her weaknesses. She didn’t have many, but it would only take one.
