Chapter 4 Four

ARIA

The Fae king had been calm and charming from the moment he arrived. Well, up until now. His previously soft eyes were now glazed with annoyance.

“You have got to be kidding me.” He grumbled.

I noticed a pool of black swirling on the marble floor. The air grew heavier by the second, filled with a certain weight I couldn’t explain. Slowly, the black began to dance around each other and soon enough, something started rising from it.

My breath hitched when a figure slowly manifested from the black. He made a show of brushing his dark tendrils back, giving me a better view of his face.

Red eyes, a lazy smirk that stretched over his face, and an energy that seemed to crackle with sin.

He was the embodiment of what it would feel like to stand before a devil. every single one of my senses screamed to get away. But I couldn’t. I felt tied to where I stood and bound to stare.

Kael wasn’t too happy. “Did you let him here, Draven?”

“You were all duly informed,” Draven answered back in annoyance. “Don’t go acting all prickly now.”

“You—” Kael bit back the curse that would have probably left his lips. He turned to the man, fixing him a scathing look.

“Draven.”

The man’s smirk deepened. “In the flesh.”

“Don’t you have some souls to put to eternal damnation or something?” Kael chuckled. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same.” The man’s gruff voice made my knees weak. “You’re all gathered here and didn’t even think to invite me.”

“And why would we invite you?” Draven fixed him a look.

The man made a show of putting his hand over his heart. “You wound me.”

Ronan stepped closer to my side protectively. He leaned closer to my ear. “The fourth king. Lucien Valak, Demon King of Chaos. Lesser asshole compared to these two. Overall shit head nonetheless.”

Lucien’s eyes flicked to us. “Thanks for the wonderful introduction, Ronan.”

The Demon King slowly made his way to me, stopping just an inch away. Kael hadn’t budged from where he stood. It was obvious he planned on standing in the way of the man.

And yet, Lucien didn’t seem the slightest bit moved. His eyes remained on only me, eyes holding a certain glint that sent all my insides into disarray.

Everything about him screamed sin. And any normal person would run the other way. But something about the way he stared me down had me glued to the ground. Maybe I’d been cursed the moment he manifested from darkness.

Slowly, a grin spread over his face. “Little soul thief. I’ve been looking all over for you.”

“Me?” A small breath left me. “You’ve been searching for me?”

He nodded. “Yes. The crash shouldn’t have killed you. But somehow it did. And as unfriendly as it sounds, I am glad it brought you to me.”

The others stared quietly, watching the exchange between us. He seemed to know me—or rather—he looked like he remembered me. Unlike the rest who seemed to just work on surface knowledge only.

“You still look just as I remember you.” It was then I noticed the long tendril snaking from his cloak.

A small gasp left my lips when it snaked itself around my waist pulling me closer to him in a second.

His lips were barely above mine, gently brushing over them. “Beautiful.”

This snapped the rest out of her daze. The first to move was the vampire king, grabbing Lucien’s shoulder hard.

“I think that’s enough for an introduction.”

“Oh?” Draven sent him a bored look. “And I still have so much to say.”

He slapped the man’s hand off in a not so gentle way before turning back to me. My stomach did another flip when that lazy smirk appeared.

“What do you mean ‘just as you remember me’?” I slowly pulled away from the tendril. “I’ve never seen your face before.”

Lucien chuckled, eyes seemingly unravelling me on the spot. Slowly, he began to pace, circling around me like I was prey.

“In a past life,” he started. “I was blessed with the pleasure of your company. Your…warmth.”

“A past life?” I wracked my head, trying to think of where and when I’d have met him. I didn’t have such memory. A loner like me never really mingled with anyone. All I had was Stevie Rae. And now I would never be able to see her again.

Lucien stopped, lips barely brushing over my ear. “You chose me first. Remember that.”

The other kings bristled at that, the small thread of calm immediately snapping. Ronan moved this time, pushing Lucien away from me.

“Act within your limits, Demon.” Ronan growled.

“Or what, mutt?” Lucien chuckled. “You’ll call your little nighthowlers on me?”

Lucien’s hiss cut through the air. “You’re in my palace. You’d do well to remember that.”

“I should have buried that spear in your head the moment I had the chance.” The Fae King’s calm sent a cold chill down my spine. There was something scary and empty in his voice. It made my skin crawl instantly.

“Spooky.” Draven made a show of shivering, the smirk coming back to his face instantly.

My head was spinning with so many things at once. Four kings. And they all claimed I was theirs. I needed a moment.

“Oww,” I winced as the mark began to throb again.

They stopped their bickering, eyes turning to me in concern. Another wince left my wince as the mark slowly split into four glowing sigils.

It wasn’t just the crescent anymore. There was now a wolf head silhouette, a four-pointed star with curling vines, and a flame within an inverted triangle.

I didn’t need a soothsayer to know what it all meant. The four sigils for each king. This alone meant whatever happened next, my fate would be bound to theirs.

“No,” I shook my head, trying to scratch the mark clean. “This can’t be.”

Lucien’s eyes were unreadable as he watched me. Kael tried to reach out but I put my hands before me. I needed space.

I let out a scream as a sudden image struck my head. Everything burning in flames. And the kings—each of them dying.

“Stop!” I screamed out, hands gripping my temples tightly. It all hurt so bad. The searing pain seemed to rack through every crevice in my head.

“Get the healer.” Lucien barked out an order.

I barely registered when hands grabbed my shoulder, or when someone else moved to my front. All I could focus on was the nauseating pain.

Black dots began to dot my vision and my knees grew weaker in an instant.

“You either choose, or all will die.”

And before I realized, everything went dark.