Chaos Descending

Every Fire Needs Its Spark

Chapter 14

The King tossed his head back and laughed. The deep guttural sound was strangely menacing, but then not all at the same time. Almost as if he was purposefully toying with me. "Vycandor, I thought you told me Lisette's curse had made her as docile as a lamb."

Vycandor gave an almost defeated shrug. "Wherever Chaos goes, chaos follows."

I took that as an insult. "Uh, technically speaking, I don't have a docile bone in my body. Never have and probably never will. But, yeah, I haven't ripped out anyone's throat yet...so there's that."

The King climbed the stairs leading up to his throne ever so slowly, never taking his obsidian eyes off mine. "If you're sitting on my throne then you must have a royal title. Tell me, my little strawberry. What is your official title, exactly?"

I was willing to bet he knew damn good and well I didn't have a title. Actually, I was the farthest thing from royalty.

If he thought I'd come here to play games then so be it.

I smiled, but it didn't reach my eyes. "My mom says I'm a royal pain in the ass. My best-friend, Carmen, calls me a Drama Queen. So, yeah...I guess that makes me Queen adjacent."

The King nodded his head to one side. Clearly, he was not impressed with my lack of royal status. "Kindly remove yourself from my throne, and I won't have you killed for your continued defiance in front of my subjects." 

That sounded like a threat. I don't do threats. From King of the Shifters, or otherwise.

My voice dripped with scorn. "Awww, did somebody get their chocolate stuck in their peanut butter? Gee, I hate when that happens." I paused to glance over at Vycandor. "Does King-ey here know I can make his head explode without lifting a finger?"

Vycandor looked like he was about to pass out from stress and anxiety. To say he'd turned paler than usual was like calling water wet. It took him a few failed attempts to find his voice. "I...um, I...mean...ah, I apologize your Royal Highness. I'm sure she doesn't mean that."

"The hell I don't!" I yelled, standing my ground.

"As you can see," Vycandor continued, "Chaos is still obviously suffering from the effects of the curse Lisette placed on her."

The King inhaled deeply in an attempt to control his anger. Unlike me, he exuded a kind of quiet strength with a strategic intelligence. In short, he was a master manipulator. It was almost as if he was purposely trying to push my buttons. "If you want my help, kindly remove her from my thrown." 

"She is quite the handful, I'll give her that," Thomas agreed. Marching up the stairs, he grabbed me by the elbow and pretty much dragged my happy little ass back down to stand tightly sandwiched between him and Vycandor. Truth be told, the only reason I was putting up such a fuss about giving up the throne was so I didn't have to stand beside them. Being in the same room as the two of them was one thing. Suddenly standing this close, the scent of their blood was calling me. The scent so sweet, so enticing lingered in my nostrils to the point I felt punch-drunk with desire.   

The King sat silently studying the three of us before addressing only me. "I take back what I said earlier, my little cherub. You are extremely confident. Confident to the point of your own detriment."

I decided to take that as a compliment. "I make a point of practicing reckless optimism."

"That may be true," the King agreed. "But my help does not come without a steep price. A price I'm not sure you will want to pay."

I'd heard enough. The King was right. With this curse, I'd already paid the ultimate price. How much more could I afford to give? I licked my dry lips in mounting hunger and thought about the times I had allowed Vycandor to feed from my neck. Even now I felt a strong pulling, a tingling of sorts where the wounds had been. Inhaling deeply, the combined smell of their blood was beyond intoxicating. Never before had I ached to sink my teeth into them. Just the mere thought alone was disorientating. Like a bee drunk from a flower's nectar. I swallowed past the hunger I could no longer bear and lied through my teeth. "I don't want your help. I don't need your help. I'm fine!"

I turned to flee, but Thomas grabbed my bare arm by the wrist. "Chaos, you're not fine."

I met his piercing hazel eyes. "Yes, I am."

He paused to trail a path up my arm with his free hand, fingers lingering with a seductive touch that produced bright red flames that began at my wrist and licked higher and hotter all the way up to my bare shoulder. "Yeah, every fire needs its spark."

Irritated, I yanked my arm free but couldn't put out the flames. Vycandor came to my rescue and blew them out in one frosty breath, like he was blowing out candles on a birthday cake.

Brrrr.

He had some serious glacial skills. But that didn't mean he had to use his snowy powers to turn down my thermostat. I was just about to tell him so when the King paused to clear his throat. Glancing up, there was a suspicion of a smile in his eyes and around the corners of his lips that he tried hard to hide.

"Look, my little hasty pudding.  You've suffered the ability to control your many powers due to the curse. That much is obvious. All I'm saying is, I can help you."

I took turns glaring at Thomas and Vycandor before returning my attention on the King. "I already told you. I don't want your help. I can do this on my own."

"Really?" the King chuckled. "Because it doesn't look like it from here. Believe me when I say you are in no condition to confront Lisette. However, if you accept my help, you will surpass her power in every way imaginable. You just have to trust me."

My breath huffed out. "Look, I don't know what you're up to in your little Magic Kingdom here. The way I see it, Lisette has you under her finger. Why should I trust you? She's pushing for the global extermination of humans. First, she started with adults. After she wipes them out, she'll move on to teenagers. What makes you think your animals aren't next?"

The King continued to stare at me like he was on his very last rope. "You are incredibly rude. Do you have any manners whatsoever?"

I smiled sweetly. "If I did, I had them removed."

"You think this little bad angel act is going to work on me, don't you?"

I slowly shook my head no and said, "Yes."

"Well, I've got news for you. I'm in the transformation business."

Narrowing my eyes, I said, "And that's supposed to impress me because..."

The King continued to explain despite my lack of enthusiasm. "Take Vycandor here, for example. He is the master of composure." Hesitating, he added, "most of the time, anyway. But he wasn't always like this."

I glanced up at Vycandor as a bead of sweat trickled down his finely chiseled cheekbone. It was the only sign of the inner turmoil that raged beneath his carefully hidden mask of perfection. I know because I could feel it. Outwardly, he looked like my Prince Charming. Inside, he was the beast I'd first met and fallen madly in love with behind all that hidden beauty.

"Before Vycandor came to this island," the King continued, "he was raucous, rebellious, and lacked refinement. Quite frankly, there was nothing redeemable about him." Pausing for effect, the King's obsidian eyes met mine in a not so silent challenge. "In other words, my little temperamental moody vixen, Vycandor was exactly like you. Indignant, ill-tempered, and highly impulsive. But I took those weaknesses he was born with and turned them into strengths."

I nodded in understanding. "You brainwashed him."

The King shook his head. "No. I saved him."