nothing more than to ruin him completely.
“Give us a moment,” I instruct both Cavon and Danser.
“We don’t have time for whatever nefarious deeds you’re conjuring up in that evil head of yours,” she teases, her lips curling into a brilliant smile.
I stalk over to her and then walk her back to the nearest wall. Pressing into her, I let her feel exactly what she does to me, simply by being near. She smells like the cinnamon apples we had for dessert.
Not billibone or voxin leaves or yellowberry.
No, she smells like life and power and a hint of rage.
Sliding both my hands into her hair, I draw her to me in a punishing kiss so I can make sure she tastes as she smells. One can never be too careful. I kiss her deeply as though I could consume her. I certainly try. Her moans are ones I swallow down greedily. My hips grind against her, desperate for the friction only her sweet body can provide.
“If I die on the battlefield…” she mutters against my lips.
Then I’ll die too.
The thought is sudden and fierce. All-consuming. The truest truth I’ve ever known.
It’s a good thing neither of us is dying anytime soon.
“Then I pity the one who lays a finger on you.” I nip at her plump bottom lip. “Because I’ll burn him alive slowly so I can savor the scent of his skin cooking.”
She laughs.
Wicked queen.
“And if I die…” I lift a brow at her in question.
Anger flashes in her blue eyes, the temperature chilling to an uncomfortable level. “I will send a thousand diamondblades to pierce his body and pin him to the earth while The Damned feed on his worthless king slaying body.”
“Are you sure we don’t have time?” I growl. “I really want to bed my dark, dirty, evil queen.”
“Yours?” she breathes.
“You better damn believe it.”
One of the men yells from nearby, stealing our moment, but not before I steal one more kiss.
“Let’s go slay, Punisher.”
Side by side, Elzira and I ride on two of my black horses. Our men, both in black and in white, are a united front behind us. Every single one of us is lethal. The roar from The Damned can be heard just beyond Norta Layke. They’ll have to go around the body of water to reach us, dividing their army right away. Men with arrows, waiting to be lit and expelled, wait in the cover of trees. Men all dressed in white, camouflage themselves in the snowy blanked landscape. And men with fiery torches stand behind me, luring the mad ones our way.
Time passes slowly as we wait them out. A massive silent army patiently standing by as ruthless, braindead monsters rush for us. The fire in my veins heats to incredible temperatures, just waiting to be unleashed.
I break from staring at the white beyond where the screams are growing louder, and look at Elzira. Her diamondblade crown sits proudly on her head and her black cape flaps behind her. She’s powerful and stronger than any other person I’ve met.
How dare they insult her?
How dare they try to keep her locked away in a tower, unfed and worse?
They’ll all pay with their heads in the end.
She must sense my eyes on her because she tilts her head to the side slightly, cutting her icy blues my way. A smirk plays at her crimson lips.
“They’re coming,” she warns, her voice hard and fearless. “Are you ready, fire maker?”
“The Damned is the only thing standing between me and the Hidden Lands. I was born ready, cruel queen.” I grin at her. “The Moral War awaits me. The end is near.”
She purses her lips together. “I still stand in your way. When they’re all dead and their corpses flood my land, it’ll be me standing in your way. You think I’ll allow you to marry my sister now?”
The horse she’s on snorts and shakes its head. She smooths her palm down the side of its head to calm it.
“Are you jealous, Punisher?”
“I’m smart, Volc. And letting you run off with my sister is not.”
“Your sister was always to be a business transaction. Nothing more.”
“And me?”
“You were supposed to die,” I tell her blandly, earning me a hateful look from Cavon beside her. “But you didn’t die, did you? Now what, Queen Whitestone?”
“I won’t let you go,” she utters.
To the Hidden Lands?
Or in general?
“Good thing I don’t bow to anyone, not even you,” I taunt, loving the way her lips quirk on one side. “I have