The tub shattered beneath their feet. He slipped and caught himself on the curtain rod above their heads. Her legs were still wrapped around Kane"s waist, her feet protected from the shards. But not his. Blood welled from several incisions.
"This will pa.s.s," she said.
"I know." Scowling now, Kane carried her out of the debris. He set her on her feet, and they dressed as swiftly as possible and rushed to the ballroom to meet with his friends.
The women formed a line in the center, their men behind them.
"I don"t like this," she muttered.
"Trust me." He gave her a swift kiss. "Your family will never see you coming."
And she had to do whatever was necessary to defeat them. That way, they would never again think to use her.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked the women. She was to borrow the strength and power of everyone but Scarlet, who was demon-possessed, Ashlyn, a nursing mother, and Danika, whose visions of the future could distract her.
Each female squared her shoulders, raised her chin.
"Very well." Trembling, Josephina reached toward Gwen. She stopped just before contact. "Last chance to back out. When I"m done, you"ll be weak. It could last a few hours or a few weeks."
"Weak schmeak. I know the problems dirtbag dads can cause."
"Her father is Galen, keeper of Hope and Jealousy," Kane explained, stepping up beside her to offer moral support. "Though he doesn"t carry the kind of hope you might think. It"s false hope that Galen offers. Real hope is essential...miraculous." He looked at her, his hazels bright. "The kind that you gave me."
The kind he"d given her.
She melted into him.
"Do it. Drain me. You"ll need what I"ve got," Gwen added as Sabin came to stand behind her. "I"m amazingly strong and faster than light."
Sabin placed his hands on his wife"s shoulders. "Just don"t hurt my favorite toy, and we"ll be fine."
Gwen preened as she tapped her thumb against her chest. "Today I"m his toy." Next, she hitched that thumb in Sabin"s direction. "Tomorrow he"s mine."
Toy. Yes. The perfect word to describe such a delicate-looking female; Josephina wasn"t sure how much strength she would be able to take without putting the girl into a coma.
"I"ll be gentle," Josephina promised, wrapping her fingers around Gwen"s wrist. "And thank you for this. I don"t know how I"ll ever be able to repay you."
"I"m sure I"ll think of something."
She closed her eyes, flipped the mental switch that she now knew caused her pores to open and create suction...pulling...pulling on the strength the female possessed.
Energy fizzed in her veins, as potent as if she"d stuck her finger into a light socket, and she reeled at the force, feeling shocked and giddy.
When she released Gwen, the poor girl sagged into her husband"s arms. "Wow! That was amazing."
Kane urged her to turn to Kaia.
"You"ll want what I"ve got most of all," Kaia said. "I"m part Phoenix, and I start fires when I"m angry."
The moment they touched, Josephina experienced the same crackling surge of energy, but also a flood of warmth. Heat...so much heat swept through her, and she felt as if her body would erupt into flames at any second. It was a familiar sensation, the same one she"d encountered with the other Phoenix.
With Anya, she felt as if she had been invaded by a mighty wind.
With Haidee, there was freezing cold.
Gilly tried to step up to the line. "My turn," the girl said.
William appeared at her side and tugged her to the far corner of the room, saying, "Not going to happen, Gum Drop." To Josephina, he called, "She"s only human."
"Being human isn"t synonymous with weakness," the girl said.
"Synonymous is a big word for such a small child," he retorted.
"Hey! I"m not a child. I"m old enough to carry my weight around here."
"Well, then, I guess it"s a good thing you don"t weigh very much."
She pointed a finger in his face. "One day I"m going to show you just how strong I actually am, William the Idiot."
He shrugged, as if he didn"t care, but the hard gleam in his eyes said otherwise.
"I don"t think I can hold anything else," Josephina said. She could burst at any second. Never had she felt this strong. This...invincible. And...and...she couldn"t just stand there. She had to move.
"What are you doing?" Kane asked after she"d leaped into motion.
"Running around the room." She was too hot....too cold...too everything. Could fight any enemy. Conquer the entire world. And she wouldn"t even chip a nail, she thought with a maniacal laugh. "Are the women okay? Do you think they"re okay? I really hope they"re okay." The words poured from her, coming faster and faster. Just like her steps. Soon she was sprinting-and not even winded.
"William," Kane called, watching her. His lips twitched at the corners. "We"re ready."
The warrior glanced away from the teenage girl, and said, "Just a sec," before turning back to the girl and getting in her face. "Go to your room and wait for me. We"re going to discuss the whole proving-yourself thing and put a stop to it now, before I"m forced to clean up a mess I"ll make you wish you hadn"t made."
"Stop telling me what to do. You aren"t my father."
"How many times do I have to tell you I"ve never wanted to be your father?" he yelled, raising his voice for the first time since Josephina had met him. "I want you safe, and I"ll do whatever is necessary to see to it, even hurt your feelings."
All of the Lords watched with unabashed shock.
Cheeks reddened from the force of her anger, Gilly marched from the room.
William watched her until he could watch her no more. Then he tangled a hand through his hair and faced the men, his expression devoid of emotion.
"Let"s do this." He strode to the center of the room and withdrew a few things from his pockets. Pieces of gum?
He held the-no, not gum-whatever up, and when he let go, the small, chewy-looking objects actually remained in midair.
"Incoming," he shouted, and everyone in the room turned away.
Kane threw himself at Josephina, knocking her into the ground, absorbing most of the impact. What- Boom!
A hot gust of air licked over her, then Kane was rolling away from her and helping her to her feet. Or rather, trying to. She accidentally jerked him down beside her, and he hit with so much force he might have punctured a lung.
"Sorry," she said. "Sorry."
He laughed. Actually laughed. "Don"t worry about it, sweetheart." He stood and motioned for her to do the same.
She hopped to her feet and saw that William had somehow blasted through the realm to create a doorway into Seduire. Night had fallen-the time for parties. The entire Fae court would be gathered in the throne room. The moon was out, a crimson sliver in the blackness of the sky. A walking path was lit by torches.
"Maybe we should think about this," she said, suddenly nervous.
"No more thinking."
What about stalling? "What happened to the key?"
"Apparently, if you aren"t a Fae, they break down and stop working," Kane replied. "Mine stopped working."
"All right. Okay." If she didn"t act now, she wasn"t going to act at all. "I"m ready." She raced forward.
"Aren"t you forgetting something?" Kane called, stopping her.
"What-" Oh, yeah. "Sorry." She backtracked and grabbed Kane"s hand. He cringed, and she realized she had to keep her newfound strength in check or she would crush his bones. "Sorry again!"
His grin returned, wide and toothy and full of good humor. "I told you. Don"t worry about it. Now do what needs doing."
They marched toward the Fae realm.
"I"ll give you thirty minutes, then I"m coming in," William announced.
"We"ve got this," Kane replied without turning back.
His friends were staying in the Realm of Blood and Shadows to protect their weakened women. William was their backup.
"See you in thirty," William said with a wave.
"I said no."
"Twenty-five, then."
"Frustrating," Kane muttered.
They pa.s.sed through the doorway, entered the charred remains of her father"s garden. Dark smoke still wafted through the air.
Josephina"s heart thundered in her chest. What if she failed, like she"d done during much of her training today? What if Kane got hurt? She would forever blame herself-and rightly so.
Yeah, but what if you succeed?
From the corner of her eye, she thought she spotted the warrior with white-and-gold wings, the one who"d brought her new clothing. But...surely not. That would mean he was following her.
She searched the darkness, but found no other sign of him.
"This way," Kane said.
He led her toward the palace. Whenever a guard pa.s.sed, he would shield her with his body, doing his best to hide them both. Finally, they reached the door to one of the secret pa.s.sages.
Inside, Josephina took the lead. Down the hall. Up a flight of steps. Down a flight of steps. Around a corner. Around another corner. Trading one pa.s.sage for another, moving at such a rapid pace, never giving herself time to think, until they reached their destination.
Her heart drummed as she stopped. Through the two-way mirror, she saw the throne room was as crowded as she"d expected.
"You ready?" Kane asked.
No. Yes. She had better be. "I am."
"You"ve got this, sweetheart. I believe in you."
Now, to believe in herself. Josephina pushed open the door, and with her head held high, entered the throng.
Two girls spotted her and gasped. They told their friends, and their friends gasped. One set of eyes after another found her.
Josephina walked forward, Kane behind her; the crowd parted, making way. Soon, the royal family came into view, each member perched on a throne.
Leopold spotted her and stood. Synda waved and smiled, as if Josephina hadn"t ruined her wedding. The queen scowled.
"Well, well," the king said, rubbing his jaw. "You have returned." His gaze slid to Kane and filled with satisfaction. "Tired of her already?"
Kane wound his arm around her and kissed her temple. "I"ll never be tired of her. She"s mine. I chose her then, and I choose her now. I"ll choose her tomorrow and every day after."
Sweet heat. No one had ever... He"d just said...
Murmurs swept through the crowd. Josephina turned in a circle, meeting the stunned gazes of the Fae. These people had ignored her and talked down to her and laughed at her pain. No one had ever offered to help her. Now, envy looked back at her.
In a single moment, Kane had undone years of rejection. He"d given worth to the female no one had wanted. This man... He wasn"t a disaster. He was a savior.
And he"s mine.
King Tiberius frowned. "Then why are you here, Lord Kane?"
Do it. Finish this. "He heard you were looking for me, coming for me," Josephina said. "I decided to save you the trouble and settle things."
"You want to settle things?" The king perked up, motioning to the s.p.a.ce at his feet. "Then bow before me. Offer your apologies for the destruction of the garden and accept your sentence when it"s p.r.o.nounced."
"And what, exactly, did I do wrong?" she asked, lifting her chin.
A pause. Then, "Just like your mother...everything."
Anger torched any remorse she might have entertained over this. Bludgeoned any sadness, strangled any guilt.
But then, realization struck her. He blamed her for her mother"s decline and death, and always had. Always would.
Had he actually loved the woman, in his own warped way?