The Darkest Craving

“Yes, but without the fire, the essence of the demon’s evil will remain inside you, and when you die, your spirit will go down rather than up.”

Meaning, if he died the way he’d intended, his spirit would go to hell. For all eternity. Trapped with more demons. Suddenly Kane had to fight to breathe. He hadn’t considered such a consequence. “My friend Baden was beheaded while he was possessed. He went to another realm.”

“Yes, and that realm is located in a corridor of hell. The people there don’t know it yet, but they will. Every day the walls thin a little more.”

Kane tangled a hand in his hair. Poor Baden.

“If I do this,” Malcolm continued, “I could be kicked from the skies. Killing a man is against the rules.”

“I’m not exactly a man.”

“Close enough. Probably.”

“So what do you want in return?” he asked again.

“Your wedding ring.”

“My ring?”

The Sent One gave a single, stiff nod. “You heard correctly. And keep in mind, Disaster is about to take a final stand. He’s weak, but he won’t die calmly. I have a feeling the chaos he caused in New York will seem like child’s play.”

And Tink would be at the center of it.

“So do we have a deal?” Malcolm asked. “You will give me the ring, and I will kill you and your demon before he has a chance to act out one last time.”

If he said no, Tink could lose her kingdom amid the chaos Disaster caused. She could be hurt. Or worse.

Was there really a choice here?

“Give me one more night with my wife. I’ll meet you in the garden at dawn. So, yes, we have a deal.”

* * *

JOSEPHINA LOST COUNT of the number of times Kane made love to her that night, before he fell into an exhausted sleep, but she never grew tired of his advances—because she knew what he was pla

She’d thought she’d known just how badly her husband wanted Disaster killed. But she hadn’t. He was willing to die himself.

Die.

Tears filled her eyes, and her chin trembled. Did he not understand she would be lost without him? That she would be right back where she’d started—praying for death?

I can’t let him do it.

But...more than she yearned to have him at her side, she yearned to see him happy. To know he was living the life he’d always dreamed.

She couldn’t have both. Not as long as the demon was inside him. Because, the only way to keep him here, with the demon, was to guilt him, and that she wouldn’t do. She wouldn’t trap him with her emotions the way the minions had once trapped him with their chains.

She had to let him go, didn’t she?

Her heart drummed into a too-fast beat. No. She didn’t have to let him go, she realized. Not when she could save him and finally set him free, giving a life for a life.

Her life for his.

Almost every day of her existence, she had been punished for other people’s crimes. The past few weeks, she’d done what she’d done to stop that from ever happening again. She’d pla

If shetook the demon inside herself...if shemet with the Sent One...

She could receive the final blow, saving Kane.

She would die. Once, a part of her had been resigned to such a fate. Now? All of her rebelled. But for Kane, she would do it. She would act as a blood slave was meant, and willingly take the punishment of another.

He deserved a chance to be the man he’d always dreamed of being. He could rule these people better than she ever could. And he would. He wouldn’t shrink from the duty just because she wasn’t here. He had too much honor.

I have to act now.What had her mother used to say? A horse had to be saddled before it could be ridden.

Knowing she only had a few hours until morning dawned and he would be expected in the garden, she slipped from the bed to quietly dress. Then, using the secret passageways her father had been so fond of, she made her way to the dungeon. Two guards stood sentry at the entrance. They nodded when they spotted her, and moved their crisscrossing swords out of the way. She soared past.

She had examined the cases of the men and women her father had kept down here, and had found out that most had done nothing more serious than a

Rather than keep the remaining prisoners out front, their arms shackled above their heads for all to come and view, she’d placed each individual in a cage, and she’d made sure they were far enough away from each other that they couldn’t talk and plan an escape.

The first cage belonged to her father.

She peered through the bars. He paced at the far wall, muttering to himself about the injustice of his circumstances. His clothes were ripped, dirty, and his hair tangled.

He spotted her and froze. “You,” he said on a sizzle of breath. “Let me out. Now.”

“No.” She shook her head. “You earned your place down here. I’m still trying to fix the messes you created for an entire race of people.”

“People that belong to me. I can do whatever I choose with them.”

“Not anymore.”

His eyes narrowed to tiny slits. “Did you come down here hoping to buy my love? To taunt me with what I lost, and promise to give it back if only I’ll acknowledge you?”

She laughed without humor, and he blinked in confusion. “The time for that passed long ago. And no, I didn’t come down here to taunt you.”

“Whatever your reason, it was a mistake.” He raced to the bars and reached through, wrapping his fingers around her neck. She could have avoided contact—but she hadn’t wanted to.

As he squeezed, she curled her ungloved hands around his wrist and drew from him. Strength. The abilities he possessed.

He tried to sever the co

When finally she released him, his knees collapsed and he toppled to the floor.

“Thanks for that,” she said. Her muscles buzzed with energy. Her blood crackled. “It’s why I came. You see, I’m not going to survive the morning, and I’m hoping your abilities will die with me, leaving you as helpless as the people you’ve hurt.”

As he roared a denial, she moved on to the next hall of cells and came to the queen’s personal quarters. The female was just as dirty as the king, but she turned her back on Josephina, as if she still couldn’t bear to speak with her.

“I’m proof of his infidelity. You hate me. I get it.”

Silence. Not even the rasp of breath.

“I was an i

A

In a secret place in her heart, she had wanted an apology. An acknowledgment. She would never get it, though, and wouldn’t spend another second hoping for it, wasting this precious energy.

Sighing, she moved on to Synda’s cell. The girl had heard her and was waiting for her, fingers twined around the bars.

“Let me out,” the princess begged. “Please.”

Josephina opened her mouth to pour out every hurt this girl had caused, to voice every wrong she’d had to endure, but she stopped herself. Synda would listen, but she wouldn’t hear. She would nod, but she wouldn’t truly understand. She would tell Josephina everything she longed to be told, Josephina would free her, and Synda would forget what she’d promised. Unlike Kane, the girl had never fought the evil inside her.