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Led by Jade, Lorcan’s vampires formed a wall before their lord, their weapons drawn. As if he needed a protection after the badass moves I’d just witnessed.

  “Stand down!” King Dario yelled at his guards as he moved in front of Jezebel to shield her.

  His guards stepped back.

  “High Lord,” Dario said, bowing to his waist.

  Lorcan outranked the vampire king. That was interesting.

  “It was a mistake,” Dario continued. “My guards reacted instinctively when they saw my queen being attacked.” He eyed the panther. “Your beast needs a leash.”

  The panther snarled at the vampire king, ready to attack again.

  “Control your pet queen first, Dario.” Lorcan’s voice was devoid of all emotion as he focused on drawing the runes. He’d finished working on the top frame of the iron door. “If she gets in my way again, I’ll yank her heart out myself.”

  “She’s my queen,” Dario said in indignation.

  “Yet she hid and locked up what’s mine,” Lorcan said, cold anger flashing through his merciless gray eyes. “And I’m not sure how much damage she’s done to mine.”

  His? The word burned my mind. He was trying to bust me out of the cage, so he could transfer the ownership from my mother to him. No fucking way. I would never allow anyone to own me again. He would learn a hard lesson, but right now, I had to seem as submissive as possible.

  Dario opened his mouth to protest, but shut it just as quickly.

  “I would kill for a lesser offense if she weren’t your queen and Cassandra’s mother,” Lorcan said, steely. “Now, I want everyone the hell out of here. I have work to do.”

  He didn’t need to say it twice. The room cleared quickly.

  Lorcan was the scariest monster here, except for the panther. I could live with that.

  “Once it’s done, it can’t be undone,” Jezebel whined as Dario helped her up. “They’re unleashing a monster that will eat up the world. Once she’s out, I can’t control her anymore.”

  “Peachy, Mother darling,” I shouted at her as her vampire king urged her out of the room. “And goodbye.”

  I turned my attention back to Lorcan and smiled at him in encouragement, but he wasn’t looking at me, so I flashed a smile at the panther.

  The beast grinned back. I would steal him when I left here.

  Lorcan finished inscribing runes on three of the doorframes. He cut his palm once again for more blood, and the panther padded toward him and offered his own. With more mixed blood, Lorcan finally filled the bottom doorframe with runes.

  I hadn’t wanted to distract him while he was working, but now I could no longer hold back.

  “How do you know all the counter spells?” I asked with a positive attitude. Now that he was going to free me instead of interrogating me, I kept my foul mouth to myself.

  He ignored me, but I wasn’t discouraged. “I’ll be impressed if they work,” I said, my voice all sugary.

  I paced again, my heart pounding. I couldn’t take any more disappointment.

  A red light flashed along the doorframe. And the panther lunged. He opened his jaw, closed his fangs around the lock, tore it out, and spat it beside the cage in fury and disdain.

  “Yes!” I shouted, pounding my palm with my fist.

  I’d be out. I’d be free. Tears stung my eyes, but I forced them back. I wouldn’t show my vulnerability to anyone, not even my rescuers.

  Just when I was about to kick the cage door open, Lorcan seized the bars and tore the door off in one swift motion.

  Holy fuck! That was the coolest move I had ever seen.

  I threw him a thumbs-up. “You rock. Thank you.”

  I charged out of the cage and bolted.

  4

  The vampires formed a barrier of wall in front of me as soon as I dashed out of the underground room.

  Jade sneered at me. She hadn’t liked me at first sight. The way she’d stood beside Lorcan seemed territorial, yet he’d discharged her in front of me.

  “I was hoping you guys would do that, you know,” I said.

  My hands threw up, and a strong current of air blasted out of me, sending the roadblock of vampires flying in all directions. I had practiced with my power, hiding it from my mother, because who knows what she would have done to me if she knew. Besides, one could never be faulted for being prepared for all situations.

  They were lucky that I didn’t want to burn them with my dark fire since I was in an incredibly good mood.

  I tore through the cleared path and sprang for my freedom, only to be jerked back when I was halfway up the stone stairs.

  A strong arm wrapped around my waist with an ironclad hold.

  “What the—” I stopped mid-sentence, not expecting the touch to be pleasurable.

  “I don’t think so, Cass,” Lorcan’s masculine voice whispered in my ear, his cool, minty breath tickling my temple. A pleasant shiver rippled over me. “I didn’t free you just to let you run away from me.”

  He pulled me against his hard chest, his scent of pine and wine enveloping me, enticing and seducing. I could wrap myself around it to a sound sleep. But his pounding heart against my back jolted me back from the half-trance I was in.

  “Hey, you again.” I glanced up at him over my shoulder, even though I stood two stairs higher than him. “I still want to know why your heart is beating but none of the other bloodsuckers’ does.”

  The surrounding vampires heaved a breath. They glanced between their lord and me before their shock bled out of their eyes.

  “Trying to distract me, are you, Cass? It won’t work,” he said.

  I’d have run faster if I hadn’t been so weak from starvation.

  “You should let me go.” I sighed with a half-threat.

  “Why is that?” he said, taking every bit of challenge in my eyes with his own. “Didn’t I just tell you that I didn’t unleash you to let you run unchecked?”

  I chuckled. “You think you’re a comedian, I see.”

  I had showed him my courtesy by not using my power on him, because he’d done me a favor and set me free. But if he thought he owned me now, I wouldn’t hesitate to make a statement.

  “No one has ever said I’m funny, Cass,” he said seriously. “I don’t entertain people.”

  “I do,” I said, and pulsed, my air current blasting out of me and slamming into him.

  It passed right through him and didn’t cause so much as a ripple. The vampire lord didn’t move an inch.

  Shit! I must be too weak to throw another blast after I had hit his vampire horde, so Lorcan could diffuse it with ease. Well, then I’d let him have a kick of my little fire.

  I needed to pump fear into the vampires to stop them from pursuing me.

  It was my only chance to get away.

  A stream of black fire flowed from me and crept onto Lorcan’s arm that clasped my waist. But still he didn’t loosen his grip.

  “Are you tickling me, Cass?” he asked with displeasure. “Just so you know, I’m not ticklish.”

  This was impossible. My power couldn’t be so lame. I flicked a wrist, and a trace of dark fire flew toward a tall vampire close to me.

  He howled as the fire hit his face and peeled the skin from his cheek.

  I opened my mouth, dumbfounded. At the same time, I pushed more fire toward Lorcan, this time not at his arm but his chest that pressed tightly against my back.

  He pulled me tighter against him until he nearly knocked the breath out of me. “Are you trying to burn me too?” he whispered in my ear.

  Something clicked in my mind. The vampire lord was immune to my power, which was both unexpected and bad.

  I had one last trick. I counted to three and thrust my elbow backwards toward his face. When he covered his handsome face with his hand in surprise, I’d use the air current to make myself float to the ceiling and out of his reach. Then I’d find a window and escape through it.

  With my freedom at stake, I couldn’t play nice and be soft.r />
  He snapped his head back before my elbow touched him and his other hand lashed out. Before I knew it, he’d pinned me against him, both my arms locked to my front by his muscled arms. He had me in a death grip.

  Why didn’t my power work on him?

  Rage and raw fear surged in me, and I trembled at the thought of what he would do to me. I wouldn’t let anyone put me back in the cage again.

  The panther rubbed his side against my thigh. The beast had been watching my interaction with Lorcan the entire time, not aiding him but not helping me, either.

  Somehow his presence calmed me, and his rubbing sent another kind of shiver of pleasure all over me.

  Did both the beast and the vampire turn me on?

  I hadn’t had any contact with anyone except my mother. That might explain this fuck-up.

  I sighed. A straightforward escape hadn’t worked out. It was time to change the strategy. And it appeared counterproductive to fight the vampire lord again at the moment. The last thing I wanted was to piss him off and risk being dragged back into the cage. Plus, I was exhausted and starved, and my splitting headache still pounded my skull.

  I needed sustenance before any other escape attempts.

  “Do you realize it’s not nice to try to burn people, Cass?” Lorcan grunted.

  Even in the strange circumstance, I liked the way he said my name.

  “I was only teasing you, Your Lordship,” I said, my body softening in his grip to let him know I’d surrendered to him. “I was trying to have a bit of fun. Don’t you like a good chase?”

  He snorted.

  He didn’t believe me. I needed to prey on his sympathetic side. I believed he had it in him. Though he was cold steel through and through, I’d seen compassion spark in his gray eyes for an instant when he’d spotted me in the cage and when I’d told him I’d been in there since I was a child.

  “I just wanted to see the sky for the first time in my life,” I said. “I want to know how it feels to be in the open space and have the wind on my skin. I didn’t mean to bolt, but my body acted on the cravings.”

  Lorcan swallowed, and the panther growled.

  “Is that so?” Lorcan asked softly.

  “Please?” I said.

  He released my waist, but offered me his hand. “Come.”

  Just like that? My heart fluttered.

  No matter what the future held, I would soon have my first intake of fresh air.

  “I’m fine.” I didn’t want to have my hand trapped in his.

  Lorcan grabbed my hand in his and led me forward.

  I didn’t fight to break free of his hold. I didn’t want to anger him and put myself at a disadvantage. He was dangerous. He knew how to cast counter spells to the ones that had confined me for over a decade, he’d killed a few vampire guards as if snapping a twig, and he was immune to my power.

  And, his touch actually felt electrifying and pleasant.

  I jogged beside him, and the panther trotted by my side, rubbing and licking my free hand every now and then.

  Escorted by a vampire lord and a panther, I climbed the stairs and hopped down a few hallways, before I saw a glass door to the outside world.

  My heart burst in joy as it flew in the wings of the wind.

  5

  Before I could kick the glass door—I had a problem with all doors after my confinement—it slid open from the middle.

  Lorcan gave me a sidelong glance, probably perceiving my intention, but didn’t say anything.

  I strode out instead of shooting out. Quick, abrupt action would make Lorcan react. And he was too fast. He might trip me to the ground and frisk me if I pulled another stunt.

  The image of being frisked by him flashed by my inner eye, and my pulse spiked. I quickly shook off the unwanted fantasy.

  I was now standing outside the vast dome-like structure built as a fortress. Endless lush greens with clusters of red blossoms extended in front of me, and beyond the ridges of mountains sprawled under a faint crescent moon.

  Across the mountains, pink and orange clouds met the dark green grass in the horizon, and the sun had just set.

  I had dreamed about such a breathtaking view, but I had never seen anything like it in person, not until now.

  The cold air was rich with flowery fragrances, and it was so fresh—like nothing I had ever smelled before.

  I took a deep breath, letting the potent air into my lungs, then breathed out slowly. I repeated it several times. With my hand in Lorcan’s rough, masculine one, I shared this experience of pure joy with him. He didn’t let go of my hand but watched me with anticipation that was almost tender.

  I sank my fingernails into his flesh. Still he didn’t withdraw his hand, but merely frowned at me.

  “Just to make sure this is all real, and not some fucking dream,” I said. “I’m right here, breathing free air and looking at the stars.”

  Then I realized if I wanted to be sure it wasn’t an illusion, I had to let his fingernails cut into my flesh. Pain and reality went together. “Pinch me,” I ordered.

  “Don’t be silly, Cass,” he said, waving his free hand. “This is real.”

  I yanked my hand from his. He was reluctant, but he let me go. I kicked a rock hard enough to hurt. Yes, this was fucking real.

  With a smirk, I strolled toward the grassy land, my bare feet sinking into the soil.

  Lorcan didn’t stop me. He just watched, but the panther padded beside me. Where I went, he would go.

  However, the vampire lord’s calm didn’t fool me. As soon as I bolted, he would chase and catch me. After that, he would put tight security around me, even if he didn’t send me back to the cage.

  I held his gaze for half a second and knew he would never let me go easily.

  Gawking at me, none of the vampire minions intercepted me either, and they wouldn’t unless their lord ordered it. Jade stood near Lorcan, her gaze hot on me, all hostile and steely.

  I turned to the nature all around, absorbing its wild beauty. Its magic tugged at me from the deep earth, from the wind, from everywhere.

  The land was calling me.

  Home. A word sliced through my mind.

  Yes, I answered.

  In front of me, blossoms bloomed like raindrops, welcoming me, as if they’d been waiting for this day to come.

  The panther stilled and tensed, sniffing for threats. Lorcan stepped toward me, and the vampire horde in the perimeter sucked in a collective breath.

  I ignored them all. I was in my world. I was in my element.

  My arms spreading, I threw my head back and laughed.

  So this was how freedom felt.

  Rain started falling, and then snowflakes drifted down, landing on my lips and caressing me.

  They were all celebrating my freedom with me.

  How could Jezebel think I was a monster? Would a monster bring out such fineness from nature? Tears sparkled beside my eyelids.

  Thorny vines sprouted suddenly from the land, climbing on my limbs—not to harm me but to defend me. They sensed the vampires. And now they were waiting for my command. They were giving themselves up to me as my weapons.

  I could escape if I wanted to. My vines would trap and stop my foes, and everything on Earth would aid me.

  “Earth magic,” someone murmured in awe.

  “Cass?” Lorcan called, inching closer.

  I snapped my head to him, my eyes menacing, not pleased to be disrupted while I was connecting to one of my power sources. Responding to my mood, the vines around me rose into the air like living snakes, hissing at the vampire lord.

  “Come and play, babe,” I said in a dark, taunting voice I hadn’t known I possessed. I must have more layers than I’d thought, but none of them had had a chance to manifest while I’d been trapped in that fucking cage. “You think you can catch me this time?”

  Wind whipped around me. All of nature was at my command, and the vampires were at my mercy.

  Lorcan widened his gray eye
s before narrowing them, probably at my calling him babe.

  “Don’t run, Cass,” he said. “That’ll be a mistake. You know I’ll chase you to the ends of earth, and you don’t have a map of where you’re going. You don’t know this realm yet.”

  “What is this realm then?” I asked.

  “ShadesStar, one of the immortal realms,” he said. “There’s also mortal realm where humans reside on the other side of the veil.”

  I bit my inner cheek. I’d visited some mortal cities through my dreams and gained practical knowledge over the years. It was one of the abilities I’d hidden from Jezebel. But Lorcan was right. I didn’t know how to reach those places.

  “You’ll need me to survive,” he said, his voice all reason. “And right now, you’re starved. You’ve suffered years of malnutrition. You need sustenance, and I’ll provide for you.”

  I hadn’t paid attention to my appearance, but I must have looked really bad for him to mention malnutrition. Since he brought up food, my stomach started grumbling. And with that, I became more aware of my aching, exhausted body and pounding headache.

  He was making sense. I had no connection to the outside world. I had no experience in any aspect of life. I’d been raised like a beast, but I didn’t intend to live like one from this point on.

  I needed him before I grew strong. I could always ditch him and his horde later.

  My eyes rolled slowly as I regarded him, calculating. He looked sincere—and hot—but I would be a fool to trust anyone.

  “Fine,” I said, letting the vines slide down my legs. “Under one condition.”

  “Name it, Cass.”

  “You won’t put me back in any cage. No matter what I do and how mad you’ll get at me.”

  I was sure that would rile him up. It was in my nature to poke people and get them all worked up.

  His eyes turned stormy gray, rage inside, and the panther growled.

  Deal breaker? So be it. Over my dead body would I return to my cage. But I would not go down without a fight. My body tensed in battle mode. My power coiled within me, calling the wind, the earth below, and the vines to stand ready to help me fight my way out.

  “I won’t cage you. Ever,” Lorcan said icily, and a chill ran up my spine. “And I’ll kill whoever tries to do that to you again. Their death will be slow and torturous, and they’ll regret ever being born.”