Inferno of Darkness (Divisa Huntress #2) - J.L. Weil Page 0,70
she said to Ashor. “But I’m a queen.” As if her title alone gave her enough magic to defeat him in a battle.
My money was on my mate. I had felt the swell of power that churned like the ocean inside him. Vast. Endless. Turbulent. Just waiting, begging to be unleashed on the world. How the hell he kept it contained, I’ll never understand. It felt as if he could destroy Verena’s entire kingdom, perhaps the entire underworld if he chose to fully release the darkness within him.
Ashor gained control of himself, once again the picture of calm to the point of boredom. “As I said before, I came to offer you my alliance. Perhaps I’ve wasted my time.”
“Why would I need it?” the queen spat back, insulted at his offer.
“My mother wants war. She is determined to have your throne,” he replied.
Verena blinked, and her eyes returned to their natural demon color, all traces of the eerie white gone. “And you expect me to believe you came into my court to warn me?”
Ashor shrugged. “Believe me. Don’t believe me. It makes no difference to me. I’m not the one with a crown to lose.”
She thought carefully over his words, mulling them around in her pretty head. “And say I accept your offer of alliance, what assurance do I have that you won’t turn on me in the tide of battle?”
Ashor gaze landed on me. “She is standing in this room with me.”
Me? I nearly squeaked, but managed to keep myself from making any kind of sound. Inside my head was another story. How am I an assurance?
Verena’s gaze slid to me, and the glint in her eyes made me squirm.
“My primal need to protect her will be your weapon. As long as my mate is inside your kingdom, I will fight anyone who tries to harm her, including my own mother. Just ask your guard,” Ashor proposed, referring to the demon whose neck he had cracked for touching me.
The prince had already deceived and betrayed the Queen of Darkness, but Ashor couldn’t have known that I would find him in the Court of Envy, that I would search for him. He was using my presence to aid whatever scheme he was concocting. I wasn’t sure how I felt being his bargaining chip, but Ashor never failed to shock and surprise me.
It was something I would have to get used to, being his mate.
“I will think over your proposal,” Verena said. “And in the meantime, you and your mate can enjoy the offerings of my court. Or have you already?” The gleam in her smile hinted she knew what Ashor and I had done in the early hours of dawn. “There are many forms of pleasure to be found, as the prince can contest. He has spent many nights in my kingdom. My demons will be all too happy to accommodate your needs. They’ve missed you.”
Jealousy slashed like a whip across my heart.
Ashor’s fingers ran up my spine to the back of my neck where his demon mark was inked onto my flesh. “That won’t be necessary. I’m not in the mood to share.”
The queen only continued to grin wryly. “As you wish. But know the offer is there if you change your mind.”
A muscle along my jaw ticked as I stared down the queen. I wanted her to know that I didn’t fear her, not as a smart girl should. Beside me, Ashor chuckled.
We were about to leave when the sunlight streaming from the windows faded. Darkness reigned over the sky, spilling like ink into the clouds and erasing the sunlight, and I glanced sidelong at Ashor. I couldn’t sense the tendrils of his power, which confused me. Where was the darkness coming from?
“My mother,” Ashor whispered, eyeing the storm as it rolled in above the castle. A slash of lightning lit up the dreary room.
“She is here?” I squealed, panic barreling inside me. I wasn’t prepared to face her. Not yet.
“No,” Verena replied, also watching the sky. “She is sending me a message. She wants me to return her son.”
The storm continued to rage that night in Gardeness, slashing lightning, icy rain that plummeted from a plume of black clouds beating against the windows. Kali’s message was received and ignored. I couldn’t help but be reminded of my time at the Court of Darkness. A thickness of night coated in the air, and I squinted through the lashing rain outside the window. “Is it just me, or did