Blood of the Infinity War (Afterlife saga Book 8) Read online

  I was the only liar in the room.

  I also couldn’t help but wonder about my own time. Would he listen to my reasons, being the same as his own and therefore understand why, if I ever made it home, of course? Would he find it in him to forgive me, the way I eventually forgave him?

  Oh god, and what if he found out all this on our wedding day? I don’t think I could bare to witness the pain in his eyes, one I would have put there myself. Well, all I could hope for now was that it wasn’t all in vain, which it was quickly heading down that route if the pissed off Demon above me was anything to go by. After all, it wasn’t exactly the position I was hoping for, even if he was half on top of me!

  “I don’t know where to start,” I told him honestly and finally this was when he took pity on me and granted me some much-needed space. He sighed and sat next to me, so the space he gave me ended up being as minimal as possible. Then he took my hand in his and positioned it in his lap, so that his fingers could rest over the inside of my wrist. I raised an eyebrow at him in question.

  “I may not be able to read you, but your fluttering pulse will tell me when you lie,” he told me completely unashamed as if this was his right and well, I guess right now it kind of was.

  “Now you will answer my questions and be warned Little Lamb, you will continue to answer them until I am satisfied,” he told me sternly, momentarily tightening his hold on my wrist in warning. After this I really wanted to point over his shoulder and shout ‘Fire!’ and then leg it, but I doubted first, he wouldn’t fall for it and second, he would catch me in a heartbeat, so what was the point.

  “When you first set foot in my palace, you knew what I was…yes or no?” Okay, so I wanted to point out that technically I was carried by Ranka, so did this count as lying if I said no? Oh, who was I kidding!

  “Yes,” I told him and at least he looked pleased that I had answered his first question truthfully.

  “And did you also know what you were to me when you did step into my domain?” he asked next and I feigned being a dumb blonde, stalling for time.

  “What I meant to you?” I asked shaking my head a little and pressing my luck, something he knew I was doing as he tightened his hold on my wrist again.

  “Play fair Electus, for I know of your intelligence and that you are far from being a half-witted fool.” I released a sigh in return, letting him know that okay, so it was a long shot. But then I decided to mentally slap myself and put some of that intelligence to good use…finally. So, I reached out my mind to the only one who would know what to do.

  “Sophia help me! Your brother has his interrogating boots on and he’s stomping all over my willpower! What the Hell do I say?!” I spoke to her in my mind, hoping…no, scratch that, actually praying for some Demon backup here. Of course, Draven noticed something was going on as he first looked down at my wrist as if he could feel my pulse going wild and then back up at me.

  “What are you up to, Nāzanin?” he questioned and I laughed once nervously and said,

  “Nothing, just…um…I’m sorry could you…you repeat the question?” I said stumbling on my words thanks to the dark look he was giving me.

  “Come on guys! Anyone listening out there!? He is getting impatient and also royally cranky.” I said trying again, but once again Draven looked down at my traitorous pulse as if it was acting like damn Morse code or something! Then he raised his gaze to mine and his eyes said it all, I had lost his trust.

  “Now who might you be talking to, I wonder?” he asked tilting his head ever so slightly and his tone was suddenly laced with a lethal edge that matched the demonic flash in his eyes.

  “Talk…talking to?” I asked nervously and then suddenly he was on me. His hand circled the column of my throat and he tapped his fingers against my pulse point that was beating wildly.

  “You won’t hurt me.” I challenged, surprised when my voice didn’t waver, no matter how quietly I said it. He seemed amused by my statement and somewhat happy, so I had to say his reaction confused me. He smoothed his thumb up and down by my ear, watching his own actions before he raised his eyes back to mine where he smirked before he spoke,

  “No, never. But don’t forget, my sweet one… I still have your chains,” he warned seductively with that velvet voice of his, sending a shiver through my body at the obvious threat. Because if there was one thing I could be sure of about Draven, it didn’t matter what time he lived in, if I was in it, then he knew my weakness. After all, there was only one…and it was him.

  “Now, answer my question,” he snapped, in a clipped hard tone that told me this was my last chance.

  “I…well okay, so the thing is…um…” I was just about to cave when he growled my name in warning, only it wasn’t the right one.

  “Now, Nāzanin.” It was at this very moment that my mouth opened ready to give him what he asked when in the end I didn’t have to. The door opened behind us and Draven snarled at the interruption like a wild beast being disrupted in the middle of devouring his kill. It was my saviour Sophia, who stood there now in all her kick ass female glory, obviously not about to take any shit from her brother.

  “That is not her name,” she stated and I frowned as my mouth dropped open. I was about to speak, about to say anything to cover my own ass, when she just walked right in and added the last thing I ever expected her to say…

  “Her name is Keira.”

  Chapter 2

  A King Obsessed

  I suddenly wanted to scream out ‘What the Hell!?’ but thought better of it, so decided to quietly seethe whilst I sat there looking at Sophia. Finally, Draven removed his hand from his primal restraint around my neck. Then he looked at me as if remembering that I had mentioned this to him before I had passed out on the battlefield.

  “Keira.” He uttered my name as if testing it out for himself and it sounded both foreign and sexy the way he said it. I bit my lip and struggled through the mixed emotions hearing him say it for the first time, suddenly catapulting me back to my own point in history and when I first heard it being said by a very different Draven.

  Of course, the first time he had said my name I had cruelly been led to believe it was just a dream, when he had commanded me to sleep after meeting me for the first time in the woods. Well, thanks to Sophia, it had been more like a little jungle oasis or some reincarnation of the Garden of Eden, something I suppose she had seen as quite fitting at the time. Which brought me back to the present and once more I had my little interfering cupid to thank for the mess she was currently getting me into.

  “Ah yes, I remember now, this was the name you gave me,” he said as if playing it back for himself. Granted it was unusual for Draven to forget something like this but I think considering the circumstances and just finding out that not only was I still alive but also his Chosen One, then who could really blame him.

  “Which begs the question, how you know this, Saphira?” he asked now turning his attention to his sister and the cause of my new nightmare. She simply shrugged her shoulders and said,

  “We were imprisoned together and she thought she would never see you again. So, she confessed everything to me, in hopes that I might escape and relay the message to you. She wanted to die with the knowledge that you knew her real name and who she really was to you,” Sophia said with such ease, as if this was something she had spent the morning rehearsing with Pip! I could almost picture her clapping once in a little mad director’s chair (one possibly created by Tim Burton) and saying, ‘Excellent, now once more with feeling!’.

  “Is that so, Little Lamb of mine?” He turned his questioning back to me and I briefly managed to see Sophia giving me wide eyes and telling me silently to nod my bloody head and say yes before shit got worse. So, hoping that she had an end game in all this and knew what she was doing, I nodded slowly. Then, as if he didn’t fully believe me, his hand snapped out again and he shifted closer to me. Once more he was feeling my pulse as he demanded,

  “Words little one, I wan
t your words.” Damn demanding men, I thought with a grinding of my teeth. So, I took a deep breath and just hoped that my pounding heart didn’t give me away again.

  “Yes.” One simple word said yet it left my lips like it was being ripped and dragged out of there. He raised an eyebrow to me and I couldn’t tell with his look whether he believed me or not. I looked to Sophia and for a brief moment she looked worried, then something dawned on her, so she added something quickly,

  “It’s all right Keira, they can’t hurt you again.” I frowned at her but thankfully this was overlooked by Draven who was now shooting his sister a deadly look.

  “They hurt her!?” He demanded to know on a growl, one that made him tense his hold on me before realising what he was doing. He felt me go stiff next to him before trying to pull away, something he of course, wouldn’t allow.

  “Ssshh my skittish little Lamb, nothing can hurt you now,” he cooed bring me closer and into his protective hold. Then he started caressing my neck as if to rid the memory of his actions only seconds ago.

  “Unfortunately, brother, I am afraid so…they, well should we say, they toyed with her,” Sophia said, leaning forward slightly, whispering this last part. Then she simply straightened and waited for it and as usual with Draven’s temper, she didn’t have to wait long. He stood and erupted into his other form, bellowing,

  “TOYED WITH HER!” I flinched back but he was lost to his murderous thoughts enough to snap,

  “Saphira, a word!” he said motioning his head towards the door.

  “But of course, Brother,” she replied calmly and now I knew that this had been her plan all along. Draven started to follow her when he suddenly stopped before walking through the door. Then with what sounded like a foreign spoken swear word, he stormed back over to me and for a moment I feared he would verbally take out his anger on me but if anything, what I received was the complete opposite.

  He stood directly behind where I was sat and he ran a gentle hand down my cheek before gripping my chin and turning it to the side so that I could look up at him.

  “You are not to leave…understand?” I bit my lip at the hidden severity in that demand and I nodded quickly, obviously making him happy with my acceptance.

  “I will return to you shortly and take my heed little beauty, we will be continuing where we left off…” he told me and then bent at the waist getting close enough so that I wouldn’t miss the whispered promise,

  “…for I will know you, Electus of mine.” And then he was gone and I was left shivering from his words. The last thing I heard was his harsh issued demands to the guards who no doubt stood like an impenetrable force outside the room.

  “No one enters this room but I, and under no means is she to leave, understood?!”

  “Yes, My King.” This reply was heard from at least four different men and my shoulders slumped as I realised a new vital flaw in my plan…

  I was now Draven’s prisoner.

  “Yo, Tootie Trotter, you awake or what?” Hearing this my head suddenly snapped up and thankfully my eyes weren’t deceiving me as I saw Pip climbing through a window. I ran over to help her but as she swung her little legs over like a gymnast on a wooden horse, it became obvious that I wasn’t needed.

  “Jeez, what were you in another life, a cat burglar?” I asked on a laugh.

  “You know, I never get that…why cats? Why not dogs, or chickens…I mean them little peckers are faster than a pair of wet knickers dropping at the sight of a big pecker!” I burst out laughing and shook my head, wondering where she came up with half of this shit. I gave her a hug and said,

  “I am sorry Draven was being an ass.” I told her making her bat her hand and say,

  “Yeah but he’s a barbarian hottie, so whatya gonna do? Besides, he’s King so it kinda comes with dick status privileges.” Well yes, I had to agree with her there.

  “Anyway, we don’t have long, I mean mushy dates on a cracker girl, that guy has got it bad for you! I thought Adam was jacked up on the possessive juice but cheesy biscuits that guy is bathing in the stuff!” she said making me frown and, if I was honest, giving me a bit of a headache trying to decipher what the heck she was going on about.

  “What are you talking about, Pip?”

  “What am I talking about, seriously girlfriend and booby bitch of mine, I am talking about the King with his breastplate in a twist!” Needless to say, after this I had to rub my forehead just to ease the pain before saying in a dry tone,

  “Words I understand, Squeak.”

  “Caveman has the whole kingdom on lockdown just in case you manage to get away from him again.” At this my head snapped up and my mouth dropped.

  “You’re shitting me!”

  “I shit on you never, my friend. He has taken his obsession to new heights of insanity and thanks to now knowing you are his Electus, well let’s just say he isn’t taking any chances. He has even forbidden you to be seen without him by your side.” Okay if I was shocked before then now I thought I would collapse to the floor. So instead I backed up a few steps and held myself up resting a hand to the wall.

  “That’s…that…”

  “Insane, OTT, madness, stalker on a whole new level.,” she offered and I had to nod to all four. Right, well if I thought Draven could be overbearing in my own time then this took that to a whole new crazy level. Jesus, I knew that Draven could be a little protective and had a jealous streak that could murder on sight but this…

  “This is insanity.” I finished my thoughts out loud.

  “No, this is simply a King terrified,” she informed me softly, touching my arm and getting me to look at her. Her beautiful forest green eyes were sparkling under the hot Persian sun and I suddenly wished that her husband was here so that he could see the beauty staring back at me now for himself.

  “You understand this don’t you?” I asked, remembering all those times when Adam had burst into a room with nothing short of panic written across his features at the thought that his wife had been taken from him. And that was normally after she was only gone for an hour or two.

  “I do. It’s not easy for our big hunky men to love but when they do, it’s not only forever, its forevermore and when I say more, I mean it in an ‘I will destroy the Earth to get my woman back’ type of way,” she said nodding. I suddenly thought back to the story she had told me back when imprisoned about Adam destroying a whole island in his rage to get Pip back.

  “So, what you’re saying is…”

  “Since he found out you’re his Electus, that yep, we are royally screwed,” she finished for me.

  “There must be another way?” I asked knowing without her needing to explain what she meant. Since he found out about who I really was to him, that when the time came to leave the city, he had just made it so it was now firmly labelled ‘Mission Impossible’ in my mind. She shrugged her little shoulders and said,

  “We will think of something, after all we usually do, plus we are awesome!” I gave her a little smile.

  “But Toots, this is why we can’t let him know you’re from the future,” she told me in all seriousness, one that for Pip was a big enough warning in itself.

  “Why?”

  “Because all we can hope for here is that he starts to relax, enough for you to see the light of day again. But think about it with your mushy pink brain, if he knew your main goal here was to get back home, to your own time, what do you think he would do?”

  “Build me a pretty gold tower and keep me there?” I answered knowing it wasn’t exactly an exaggeration, not when I briefly looked to the door, knowing there were four guards out there for a reason.

  “Yep, pretty much a bingo moment. The only thing we can hope for is that he lets Tittanian see her Boobateers, otherwise I see myself climbing through that window as my new hobby.” I had to laugh at that.

  “So, tell me, what is the story here, because no offence to your awesome ‘Sad, sad, merchant’s daughter gets sold as a sex slave story’ I don’t
think that is going to fly now.” I told her after a sigh wondering when… seriously, when did the life of a Scouser get so damn complicated…? Oh wait, after I took my first step into Afterlife, that’s when!

  “Okay so you have a point, one we little girly scamps already thought about, so step closer chicken little, this is your new savvy story.” Pip said pulling me closer and telling me exactly what new story I was going to tell the King, one I might add, would quickly make him realise how much I had lied the first time. And well, for someone who sucked big time at the unconventional art of lying, then this wasn’t going to be easy. Especially not with Draven’s new technique at playing big city cop! That being able to read my reactions via the damn blood pumping in my veins…I mean how unfair was that?

  “Look Tootie cake, you wanna know the best way to beat a lie detector?” she said just as she had one leg over the wall of the window. I crossed my arms over my chest and said,

  “And what’s that?”

  “It’s simply Genie’tastic…just believe what you say is real,” she told me and I wanted to roll my eyes but instead found myself asking,

  “And how would you know this?” This was when she winked at me and said,

  “Oh, my little Tootie Lamb, you really, really don’t wanna know…now get your lying ass in gear because here comes King Goat Herder now!” she said nodding to the door and then when I looked back to the window she was gone, leaving me inwardly laughing at her calling Draven a royal goat herder. Well, with the amount of times he called me ‘his little lamb’ then I couldn’t say it was a bad nickname for him. Which had me wondering if it meant something greater here, like the way Ragnar and Sigurd always called me ‘their little apple’? I couldn’t say I was best pleased about everyone adding the word ‘little’ in their nicknames for me…I mean who was I, Thumbelina for Christ sake!

  “Anything I should be aware of, General?” The sound of Draven’s authoritative voice drew my attention to the door as I could hear him checking up on me.