Текст книги "Darkest distiny"

Автор книги: Pepper winters

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Chapter Seventeen

I GROANED AS ANOTHER BLAZE OF pain threatened to knock me out.

My hands balled where I sat outside in my private courtyard—the only place the little murderers couldn’t sneak up on me because none of them could enter the palace without Whisper ripping off a limb or two.

All day, the burn had been steadily getting worse as if they drip-fed me a bigger dose—as if they sensed I’d been talking to someone. Wanting—against all my instincts—to trust someone.

I couldn’t deny she did things to me. She muted the pain when I was with her somehow. She gave me a chance to breathe without agony. And I hated that I wanted to believe her. I wanted so fucking badly for her to be telling the truth that she wasn’t like the others, but I also couldn’t be the fool I’d been in the past.

I’d trusted Marcus would look after me after my parents died.

I’d trusted the board members who all came together to oversee Brimstone Industries until I came of age.

And look at what that trust got me.

The stars above twinkled as I slowly got a handle on the searing despair and sucked in a breath. Tipping my chin to the sky, I tried to imagine the brightly lit city skylines in Beijing whenever my parents took me on business trips.

For twenty years, the only society and cityscapes I saw were on the rare movies that Marcus uploaded onto a tablet for me. I had no idea what the world was like these days. No idea if flying cars existed or if humanity was on the brink of ruin.

Slipping off the deck lounger, I padded barefoot to the small cherry blossom tree that my father had planted when he first bought this estate for my mother. It didn’t like the English winters but in the summer, it did well enough.

Plucking a small twig off with a few green leaves, I spun it around as Whisper arrived.

The giant beast nudged me in hello before commandeering the lounger I’d just vacated. Turning to face him, I ran my thumb over the leaf and wondered.

Unfortunately, wondering always got me into trouble.

“If she’s not like the others...if she’s telling the truth...does that mean I could use her?”

Whisper yawned and rested his head on his huge paws.

“If she’s really not here to hurt me then...she could be the key to getting out of here.”

His eyes locked onto mine, his head coming up again.

Crushing the leaf in my fingers, I let it fall.

It didn’t matter if I didn’t trust her.

It didn’t matter if I still suspected her motives.

As long as I manipulated her, she could be useful.

My fingers tightened into a fist, once again glad that I’d systematically destroyed every camera and listening device in this place. They’d buried me under surveillance, and it’d taken years to uncover them all. But now...now I was fairly confident the only eyes and ears they had were the drones that flew overhead.

Looking upward to make sure the coast was clear, I whispered quietly, “I’ve had everything plotted for almost a decade. I’ve been ready to make this move for far too fucking long. I’ve just been missing the catalyst.”

Going to the panther, I sat down beside him and scratched his ear. He purred instantly but my thoughts were elsewhere. On potential freedom and possible escape.

It could go spectacularly bad or...deceptively easy.

Either way, my suffering could end forever.

Digging my fingers into his thick ruff, I muttered, “If I use her, I could be free.”

Whisper huffed under his breath, and I took it as approval.

“Alright then, let’s do it.” A wash of warmth crashed over me that had nothing to do with the drip of poison from the vitalsync core. I shuddered, clutching my heart, confused and afraid.

I braced myself for yet more pain. Perhaps this was a different concoction than usual, something that would deliver a different kind of agony, only...I burst out laughing.

“How about that?” I shook my head. “I’m actually feeling something other than hate and despair. I’ve completely forgotten what hope tastes like.”

Whisper rolled his eyes and stretched.

How sad was it that I barely remembered what hope felt like?

Fury and revenge kept me surviving but such things stole all joy from living.

But now?

Fierce determination settled in my bones.

No matter who she was.

No matter why she was here.

I would use her to escape.

And if the day came that I succeeded, I would thank her by not killing her.

All while I went on a killing spree to murder the rest.

Chapter Eighteen

I FELT HIM ARRIVE BEFORE I SAW HIM.

Felt the way the air flexed with warning that a predator was on the prowl, prickling my nape with instinctual fear to hide.

I guessed the time was close to two in the morning.

I’d heard a scream an hour or so ago and wished sleep would take me away. However, if Lucien was visiting me at this time...perhaps he’d rethought his command of me serving him and had come to end me instead.

Two golden orbs appeared in the dark, eyeshine acting like glinting mirrors.

“Oh, it’s just you.” I exhaled and rolled over, facing the giant beast as he padded across the cream and white woven carpet, leapt onto the bed, stepped over me like I was a log, then flung himself down with a dramatic groan.

Flipping over to face the panther, I grinned. “Hello.”

Whisper yawned, giving me a close-up look at his scarily sharp teeth.

My heart quickened but it didn’t stop me from reaching out and sinking my fingers into his thick, luscious fur. The faintest whiff of sourness and briny copper tainted him, the scent rather strong thanks to Whisper’s warmth.

My nose wrinkled and fresh fear ensured sleep would once again remain elusive. “Did you two go hunting again?”

Almost as if he understood me, Whisper licked his giant paw where something had matted his silky coat—removing the evidence.

So Lucien had killed another girl.

Was she one of the hopeful assassins or eager concubines? How could I stop him from harming the women who were like me and had been dragged into this mess by accident?

My head pounded at the thought, but the pain was nowhere near as bad as before.

Rolling onto my back, I stared at the lofted ceiling while Whisper had a bath beside me. “You know, after your master left this morning, I hoped it was just a coincidence that I was feeling okay. I’ve had a few of those blackouts before and I always come around without intervention, even if I do feel absolutely awful afterward. However...” I glanced at Whisper. “I can’t lie to myself anymore.”

Sitting upright, I hugged my pillow and rested my chin on it. “All day I’ve felt...better. Not the usual wiped out exhaustion. My headache has faded considerably. The pressure behind my eyes has gone. My stomach isn’t threatening mutiny. And I haven’t been dizzy.”

Whisper continued bathing, his ears flicking as he listened.

“Why is that?” I asked quietly, almost as if Lucien was close by and eavesdropping. Which he could be for all I knew. He could have cameras and microphones in every room. Those drones flying overhead could all report to him.

Yet...something told me that the fortified walls, electrified fences, and buzzing drones were part of the design to keep him in.

“What the hell did his blood do to me? What’s so different about him compared to every other human on this planet?” I frowned. “And if it actually does have healing properties, then why did those men throw so many women in here all trying to kill him?” I scowled. “Didn’t Lucien say that if he dies, Brimstone Industries dies too?”

I pouted, wishing for the first time in a very long time that I could access the internet. I wanted to research who Lucien Ashfall was. I wanted to start piecing together this puzzle before the mystery made me go mad.

“What exactly is Brimstone Industries?”

Whisper finished his bath and growled quietly.

“What?” I asked, reaching to scratch his neck. “Am I not allowed to ask questions?”

The soft burn of his eyes looked like smouldering coals. The faintest glint of red still lingered on his muzzle.

My stomach clenched, wondering which girl had died tonight.

“Your master’s a menace,” I murmured.

He chuffed and sprawled out, taking up most of the bed. His eyes closed and jealousy built. I was jealous of a panther as he slipped so quickly into dreams.

Snuggling down beside him, I tried to borrow his zen-like calm.

It was no use.

My eyes popped wide again. “He said he wants me to serve him.” I poked the panther. “What exactly does that mean?”

Whisper huffed and shifted, placing his heavy head directly on my belly. He weighed me down, claiming me as his eyes closed again.

The closeness of his teeth. The heavy anchor of his jaw. It ought to send my nervous system into a freefall and yet...as his breathing evened out and the softest purr vibrated in the night, my eyes drifted closed.

My questions unspooled into soft clouds.

And incredibly, I slept.

* * * * *

The black stone palace loomed up ahead.

I’d dawdled as much as I could. I’d gone the scenic way through the meandering pebbled pathways and tried to think up a way to refuse serving Lucien Ashfall.

But the reality was: if I wanted to stay alive, I had to obey.

And so...I’d opted for clothes that wouldn’t cling or make me feel claustrophobic, just so I could get through the day. A pair of loose linen trousers, white blouse, and leather sandals wasn’t exactly first-day work attire, nor was it professional to leave my long black hair loose, but I’d used every trick to ensure I wouldn’t suffer another episode and pass out.

Pressure and me? We did not mix.

If he expected me to be a good worker, then he’d be sorely disappointed because I’d fired myself from my own company because I was the most useless person on the payroll.

Balling my hands, I cut across the marble courtyard in front of the palace and stiffened as my eyes landed on three women sitting on the steps of the impressive portico.

They didn’t look up from their intense conversation; their knees touching and faces close with fierce whispers. I managed to get within a few metres before they finally sensed my arrival and their heads shot up.

Their double-take was comical as shock widened their eyes, and bafflement made their mouths hang open.

Two I recognised.

Evelyn and Lydia.

The third I’d seen but didn’t know her name. A dark-skinned willowy woman who looked as if she’d been a murderess in a past life with how intense and sharp her stare was.

“You,” Evelyn gasped.

Shooting to her feet, she brushed back her black hair and looked me up and down as if looking for fatal injuries. “How are you not dead yet?”

“Good morning to you too.” I crossed my arms.

Lydia strode toward me, her pretty lemon dress hinting she was one of the seductresses not assassins. “Why are you still alive?”

I frowned. “I have no idea how to answer that question.”

“I mean...how has he not killed you yet?”

“Again, not entirely sure what you want me to say.”

“Are you always this annoying?” the other girl muttered.

“I’m not the one asking how I’m still alive.” I held her piercing stare.

“Have you been hiding somewhere the past week?” Evelyn asked. “Is that how you’ve avoided his attention?”

My eyes flicked to the massive palace towering behind them and wished I could turn around and flee. My headache throbbed in my temples and the urge to get far away from these people made my heart pound.

The huge double doors, carved with oak leaves and oriental dragons, cracked open. I froze, waiting for Lucien to appear and kill us all. Only...Whisper appeared from the shadows instead.

The tame, gentle panther who shared my bed no longer existed as he lowered his head and stalked the girls, his eyes narrowed and ruthless.

“Eh...guys?” I backed up, not out of fear for Whisper but because I really didn’t want to be sprayed in blood.

Do you hear yourself, Rook?

In what world was it normal to accept panthers as pets and become pissed off at the thought of getting blood on my clothes if he decided to eat someone for breakfast?

Sucking in a breath, I pointed behind them—effectively saving their lives. Not that they’d thank me. “You might want to go elsewhere to finish your conversation.”

“Don’t tell us what to do,” the third girl snapped.

“It’s you who shouldn’t be here.” Evelyn sniffed. “The minute Mr. Ashfall sees you, you’re dead.”

I didn’t bother correcting them and didn’t care that they ignored my advice. Time was ticking and Lucien hadn’t told me what time to report this morning, so I was already probably late.

“I’m just going to go.” Moving around them, the girls spun with me only to freeze as they noticed Whisper directly behind them.

Skidding backward, they clutched each other as the panther bared his teeth and roared.

I fought a smile and dared, stupidly, idiotically, to run my fingers—just like Lucien did—down Whisper’s sinuous spine. I couldn’t decide if I’d done it to prove the point that I wasn’t dead or to warn them not to underestimate me.

Either way, their eyes bugged, and Whisper joined me in my little game by arching his spine, turning to rub against me like I was his new favourite thing, then took my hand gently in his mouth and tugged me toward the mansion.

His fangs pressed against my very breakable skin. The hot wetness of his mouth made me break out in goosebumps, unable to override my body’s reflexes.

“Eh, Whisper?” I breathed. “I kind of need that hand. Please, please don’t bite it off.”

He hmphed and dragged me toward the doors.

The girls erupted in chatter behind me.

“She—”

“It’s bringing her in.”

“What the hell is going on?”

“Why is it dragging her into the house?!”

“You can’t go in there! Everyone’s forbidden from entering Mr. Ashfall’s home!”

Whisper let me go and let loose another loud, ferocious snarl.

Turning to face the women, I asked, “Aren’t you all here to harm him anyway? Why stop at the front door?”

Evelyn strode forward, braver than the other two. Her black slinky dress would be better suited in a nightclub. “We’re not trying to hurt him. We’re trying to give him everything he’s ever wanted.”

“You mean sex.”

She scowled. “He’s been alone for twenty years. He’s lonely.”

“Do you know who he is?” I asked, genuinely, desperately wanting to know. “What makes him so important to you and those men outside? What makes him such a threat that people are trying to kill him?”

Lydia rolled her eyes and came to join Evelyn. “She doesn’t even know who he is, yet his cat is giving her a private invitation.” She flung her hand in my direction, pouting like a drama queen. “How is that fair?”

Evelyn never looked away from me, respect slowly building in her gaze. I waited for her to give me the answers I needed, but disappointment settled as she giggled and flicked her hair.

Fine, keep your secrets—

“He’s so important because his blood is the key to running Brimstone Industries. Every lock, vault, and code only operates with the Ashfall bloodline. He’s the last one, which means his board are running out of time to figure out a way to run the company without him. That’s where we come in.” She grinned and cocked her hip. “The more of us who manage to have his child, the more heirs there are with his blood.”

My ears rang and Whisper grabbed my loose shirt, trying to tug me into the palace. Fighting the panther, I asked, “And the ones trying to kill him? If he’s so important, why did those men allow assassins in as well as bed-warmers?”

“Oh, they didn’t.” Lydia smirked. “They snuck in under the guise of being trained courtesans like us. Some are from his own company who would rather destroy everything than have him in charge, but some are from his biggest rival.”

Whisper growled and tried to pull me again.

Holding onto the doorframe, I fought to stay. “His biggest rival?”

Evelyn shared a look with the dark-skinned beauty. “Care to tell her, Miram?”

Miram grinned. “Snowflake Corp has a lot invested in stopping the Ashfall lineage. Even if it means some of us die while trying.”

“Snowflake Corp?” My heart splattered against the marble. “A-Are you sure?”

The girls laughed as Whisper moved around me and headbutted me over the threshold. “Looks like you’re on the menu.” Evelyn wriggled her fingers. “Don’t worry. We won’t mourn you when your body is carried out in the morning.”

Whisper jerked me backward.

The door slammed closed.

And Lucien Ashfall’s palace swallowed me whole.

Chapter Nineteen

“YOU’RE LATE.”

I blinked and did my best not to look around in awe. Just like that first day I’d sneaked inside to join the others in the ballroom, the sheer size and splendour stole my breath. Dropping my eyes to Lucien’s where he stood in the shadows, I embraced my goal of getting this over with. “I knew you’d say that.”

He didn’t smile.

He stood with his hands behind his back. Dressed in billowing black trousers, black shirt, and black long coat, he looked like a nightmare—a soulless silhouette carved from the same black stone of his palace.

My heart fluttered and my head threatened to turn bad again, but I forced myself to march toward him. “If you want a maid, I’m not the one for you.”

“Oh?” He arched an eyebrow.

“I’m not...capable.” I tapped my temple as if that would explain everything. “I’m unemployed for a reason and as grateful as I am that you’re refraining from killing me, I truly can’t do whatever it is that you want me to do.”

“Come with me.” Spinning on his bare foot, he marched through the huge foyer toward the arched corridor beyond.

“Hey!” I trotted to keep up. “Were you not listening? I can’t work for you. I can’t work for anyone.” Pointing back the way I’d come, I added, “There’s three eager girls waiting on your doorstep. Let them help you.”

He didn’t reply or slow down.

Whisper prowled beside me, shooting me a toothy smile.

Fine.

I’d try again when I could look him in the eyes, and we weren’t marching through his home as if he’d set it on fire.

As we moved deeper and deeper into the palace, my mind ran away with me.

What had that girl, Miram, meant when she said Snowflake Corp was his biggest competitor and out to kill him? If that was true, shouldn’t I have heard about Brimstone Industries in every ROI meeting? We held numerous water rights and had successfully created clean, not-for-profit cold fusion. We’d become one of the top energy suppliers worldwide. I didn’t know of any company that rivalled us.

With a name like Brimstone, did his company deal with fire? Or something equally as destructive?

My pulse tapped a fast beat as we passed cavernous rooms with aristocratic furniture, ancient artwork, and overstuffed brocade couches, only to be assaulted by a different era as we cut through parlours with paper lanterns, potted bamboo growing as high as the chandeliers, and the soft wisps of incense.

Two worlds—blended and yet defiantly defined.

Despite the differences in decoration, a theme connected every room, thanks to the rows upon rows of security cameras. In every corner, above every painting, angled off every light fixture. A thousand pairs of eyes that had all been blinded and carved out, leaving the lenses shattered, cables severed, and most of them dangling as if they’d been yanked out by force.

“Did you do that?” I asked.

Lucien looked at me over his shoulder, his gaze following mine to the broken surveillance. His lips tipped into a thin smile. “I did.”

“Because they were spying on you?”

He nodded and continued walking.

“Are the drones theirs too?”

He didn’t respond for a while, leading me through another octagonal-shaped foyer that had eight paths leading off it. He took the northeast corridor, slowing slightly to say, “It pisses them off that they can’t see what I do on a daily basis. They’re nervous that I’m working on how to escape.”

“Are you?”

He grinned, savage and a little unhinged. “Of course.”

Our eyes held. A shiver ran down my spine. Once again, his beauty struck me speechless, all while a thousand questions weighed on my tongue. “If you’re the leader of your company and the last of your family, why—”

“So you do know who I am.”

“I...” I walked right into that one. Curving my shoulders, I said sheepishly, “I might’ve asked those girls outside about you.”

“How nice of them to gossip.”

“Are they right?”

He sighed heavily as if talking to me was a chore. “Probably.”

“Then why are you locked up here?”

“I’ve already told you.” Marching forward, he led me into another room.

The ceilings were just as high, the walls just as gilded with silk tapestries of phoenixes, dragons, and cherry blossom trees, but the aura was different.

The rest of the palace felt depressing and dark—a living mausoleum that was pristine and sterile, but this place...it seemed lived in.

The purple and black rug by the double glass doors leading into a private walled courtyard was sunburnt and fraying. A stack of books lay on a low table, their spines creased by careless hands. A chessboard sat mid-game, a few pieces tipped over as if the player had got frustrated halfway and swatted them aside. A water glass threw rainbows onto the polished wood where it sat on a windowsill, and a white knitted blanket was thrown haphazardly on the slouchy linen couch.

Glancing around was like peering into someone’s utmost privacy.

“You live here?” I asked quietly.

He headed toward a wingback chair by the huge stone fireplace. Sitting elegantly, his coat billowed around his legs, pooling on the floor. “Are you looking so intently at my home because you’re nosy or are you trying to find a weapon?” Slipping his hand into his coat pocket, he held up the dagger he’d stolen. “Because I hate to tell you, but this is the only weapon in this entire godforsaken graveyard, and I doubt they’ll let me keep it for long. They never do.”

Wait...did that mean they came and removed his possessions? Like he was a three-year-old who couldn’t be trusted?

“Graveyard. Interesting choice of words.” Drifting forward, I lingered by the couch. Whisper leapt over the back of it and sprawled in a divot that looked suspiciously panther-sized.

“It’s more a tomb than a home.” He shrugged, intriguingly chatty considering.

If he was willing to talk, then I wouldn’t stop him. Perhaps he’d fill in the blanks, and my throbbing head would finally stop hurting with mystery. “Why do they take weapons off you? Aren’t you allowed ways of protecting yourself?”

“Not when I could turn around and use those ways to end myself.” He flicked his thumb on the blade before stabbing it violently into the coffee table beside him.

I froze. “You’re saying you’d hurt yourself?”

He smiled and it wrenched my heart because it wasn’t morbid or callous or cruel. It was achingly lost and exhausted. “I bet you’re thinking why I don’t just lie down and let one of those trespassers kill me if I’m so suicidal.”

“No, I—”

“I have no intention of dying, just yet.” His eyes flashed. “Even if I could kill myself.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.”

Awkwardness settled and I struggled with something to say. I settled on a generic: “Okay, that’s good—”

“Why is it good?” he cut me off. “Your little performance of caring whether I live or die is starting to piss me off.”

“It’s not an act.” I scowled.

“Liar.”

My temper prickled but I shoved it back. I stayed as calm as I could, smiling brightly. “I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s glad you want to stay alive. You’d think, if your blood is so precious, that they’d give you the ability to look after yourself—minus your oversized cat. Especially when trapping crazy women in here with you.”

His eyes narrowed. “Careful. You almost sound like them.”

“Because I mentioned your blood?”

“Because you’ve learned what it can do and now you’re curious.”

“I haven’t learned a damn thing.” I clutched the back of the couch. “All I know is it did something to me last night and I’m grateful for your help.”

“Don’t you want to know exactly what it did?”

Bracing my spine, I nodded. “Of course I do. But I’m unsure if you’ll tell me.”

My eyes never left his. I was highly aware that by talking, it wasn’t just him who could reveal secrets. If he knew I was the sole heiress to Snowflake Corp...would he kill me? He’d spared me this long because I’d convinced him I was here by mistake but...what if I wasn’t? What if they’d somehow known?

Don’t be ridiculous.

Even if they had known who I was, what were they gaining by bringing me here? A stupid lamb to the slaughter?

It would mean Snowflake Corp loses their leader.

On paper, that would seem disastrous, but in reality, they’d lost their leader seven years ago and were still going strong. They didn’t need me in the slightest.

“You’re thinking something.” He dug his fingers into the chair arms, his knuckles going white. “What?”

“Nothing.” I cleared my throat. “Just trying to figure you out, that’s all.”

He narrowed his eyes, studying me just like his panther did. “Aren’t you afraid of what you’ll find?”

“Should I be?”

He smirked. “Absolutely.”

“In that case...can I return to my pavilion and continue being anonymous?” I glanced at Whisper snoozing on the couch. “I’m not lying when I say I’m far too hopeless to help you. I buckle under stress and would much rather nap, snack, and daydream...preferably in that order.” I backed toward the door. “So if you don’t mind—”

“Step out of this place without my permission, and I’ll kill you before you can beg for forgiveness.”

I stiffened.

My heart hammered but my head stayed weirdly pain-free. The ache remained. The pressure in my eyes hadn’t gone but it didn’t get worse or rise to a crescendo where I blacked out.

Why?

He set my system on high alert and made every part of me hum with stinging awareness yet...I wasn’t afraid of him. Which made absolutely no sense and gave me yet another clue that I was broken by his company.

Rising to his feet, his sudden motion caused Whisper to leap to the floor and prowl to his master’s side.

“Come with me,” Lucien commanded, marching through another archway into a huge kitchen. A basketball team could play in here and have plenty of room without bashing into the black-lacquered cabinets and grey-gold marble benchtop.

Wrenching the cupboards beneath a huge black sink open, Lucien sniffed. “You’re to do as I say when I say it. I don’t want to hear excuses. I’ll punish you if you disobey. Get to work.”

Moving toward him slowly, I eyed up the bottles, rags, and buckets under the sink. “What do you expect me to do exactly?”

He scowled as if I had zero intelligence. “Clean, of course.”

My mouth fell open. “You truly expect me to be your maid?”

“Do you want to stay alive?”

“Yes—”

“Then you’ll clean.” Pushing past me, he snapped his fingers for Whisper to join him and both man and panther vanished into the walled courtyard.

He left me wondering how I’d plummeted from being one of the richest women in the world—a woman who gave away her substantial wealth just because it stressed her out—to becoming a lowly maid for a reclusive, quite possibly insane prisoner.

A prisoner of his own company.

A prisoner with inhuman blood in his veins and a life story I really, really wanted to know.