Hanging above them were Devyn and McKell. They were inside a cage, gripping the bars and staring over at her, as if they'd been expecting her. The princesses De-Ella and Jalyn were underneath them, laughing and throwing little pieces of human food at their feet.
A whimper escaped her as her gaze met Devyn's. Oh, my love. I'm so sorry. Her arm extended of its own accord, reaching for him, desperate to feel his skin against hers. Devyn reached out, too, but there was too great a distance between them.
Manus grabbed her wrist. "This way."
"No." He wanted to take her from Devyn? The rage she'd been suppressing these past three days boiled up, overflowing, burning ... sizzling. It was like acid in her veins. And yep, there were those burning thorns, as eager to cut at her as always. "I will stay here."
"We aren't leaving the room," the king told her, exasperated. "You have my word."
Still the rage churned, free now and unwilling to hide any longer. Her gaze never left Devyn's as she stumbled her way to the dais, where two empty thrones waited. Manus motioned for her to take the one next to his, and she did, her motions jerky, clipped.
"What are you doing to them? Why are you treating them like this?" Two proud men, imprisoned, objects of ridicule. I have to do something. Today. But what? She was strong, but she couldn't defeat the hundreds of vampires in this room. Not at the same time. And not without getting Devyn killed. As his safety was the only nonnegotiable part of her escape strategy, that wasn't an option.
Manus tapped his fingers impatiently against the arms of his throne. "I called this gathering together to show you a softer side to this great city and its people. Look how much fun they are having."
"Yeah. At Devyn's expense."
"As well it should be. He is a traitor."
"No. He's not." There was so much rage now, it seeped from her voice, hummed from her skin. The thorns sharpened, cutting deep and hard, and warmth spilled between her br**sts. She glanced down and saw that she was actually bleeding, crimson soaking the material of her robe.
"Why do you like him so much?" Manus asked, unnoticing.
She dabbed at the blood, her hand shaking. "Why do you care?”
“I don't. I'm merely curious."
"Well, for one, he would give his life for mine." Not that a man as self-absorbed as the vampire king would understand that.
"You are sure of this? The Devyn of Targonia I know is always greedy for the next female to bed.”
“He was. Once," she said. "And yes, I'm sure." Look what he'd done for her already.
"I could prove that, you know? I could let him die for you." Manus clapped his hands and commanded the night's entertainment to begin. "I mean, if I were to leave him out for Fiona, a sacrifice, if you will, and she were to do to him what she did to my brother, you would do anything necessary for vengeance. You would find a way to slay her."
She ignored the new string of dancers on the floor. "I would find a way anyway, to save him from such a fate. But you know what? Now you've reached the limit. That's the second time you've threatened him, and I won't stand for another." The pain ... oh, the pain ... it was eating her up, consuming her. Killing her.
For the first time in her life, she embraced it, didn't try to fight it. More and more blood spilled from the wound in her chest. "The first I allowed to intimidate me. This one, I will not. This one, you will pay for."
He laughed. Actually laughed. "Already I can hear death in your tone. Perhaps I am finally on the right path."
How dare he calmly speak of Devyn's possible torture. How dare he even consider using the man she loved like that.
She sat there, panting and sweating and bleeding. "You. Will. Not!" The last was said on a scream as the rage exploded inside her. It was a bomb, destroying everything in its path, even the thorns. It destroyed who she was, what she was, dousing that inner fire with flames of its own, melting her, making her into a new creature.
"Oh, do calm down," Manus said without facing her. "I have not decided to venture down that road yet."
Her pain—gone. Her strength—unparalleled. She felt it sweep through her, a strength so potent she could taste it on her tongue, feel it singing in her blood, vibrating in her bones. She was drunk on it, dizzy.
"No. No!" Manus said, and she heard the fear in his voice. Her body is vibrating like Fiona's, he thought. She is nefreti. How could I not have known?
Bride could read his mind.
Still she sat, now as motionless as stone, gripping the throne, silent. A sea of other thoughts filled her head, rolling through her, some violent, some sweet, some hungry, all drifting from the dance floor. She was inside the head of every vampire present.
They were maddening, almost deafening, but she managed to ignore them. Her hands were hot, so hot, anything they wanted theirs for the taking. And they wanted vengeance.
"Guards," Manus shouted, his voice trembling. Because of the noise, no one heard him. He jumped up, meaning to run from her.
"Quiet," she told him, and his lips pressed together. "Sit." His expression was shocked and horrified as he fell into his throne.
No longer was her ability to make wishes come true muted. No longer would there be consequences. Anything she wanted, she could have. The knowledge was there, screaming from Manus's thoughts as he recalled his time with Fiona. She could stop time, as McKell did. She could create fire with her bare hands. She could erase memories and suppress another's powers.
"Bride. Bride!"
Devyn. She recognized his voice and turned toward him. Colors winked around him, twinkling stars of crimson and azure. His energy, she thought, awed. So lovely. So pure.
Love, love, love, he thought, his voice already so much a part of her that she had no trouble distinguishing him from the others. Thank God you're all right. I'll think of a way out of this, I swear I will. If that bastard touches you ...
No thoughts for his own comfort. No regrets for the torment he currently endured. All his thoughts belonged to her, for her. He truly did love her. Saw her as a cloud of bliss in the bleakness that was his life.
I'll get us out of this, she projected at him. His eyes widened. He'd heard her, she knew he had.
And now to save him. Her gaze narrowed on Manus. As she studied him, she saw that his energy pulsed erratically, scattering all the other energy around him. Except hers. Hers was too strong. This was how he'd stopped Devyn, she realized. Through a potion that bounced particles off of each other.