His gaze raked her body. “Do you know where my Intended is right now?”
“Nope. She’s mated. It’s too late for you to find her.”
He leaned closer, staring at her. It was an intimidating look. “My Destiny. I can’t wait to have her back in my hands.”
Dessie was currently mated to Garrett Kayrs, which meant there was no way she’d end up anywhere near Ulric again.
“You keep telling yourself that, buddy.” Hope tilted her head. “You know, I do wonder though. Since she’s an immortal mate who will live forever, does that mean you won’t get another Intended?” To her knowledge, there could only be one Intended living at any given time.
“I’ve found my one. I shall retake Destiny as soon as I finish our current campaign.”
“What is that campaign?”
He looked her over from head to toe. “You appear mighty breakable to me, Lock.”
A frisson of fear crept down her spine, but she didn’t let him see it. “I imagine most females look breakable to you.” It was good that he underestimated her. She didn’t know how, but if the chance came to kill him, she would take it.
“Tell me about the final ritual. Do you know how to kill me?” He drawled the words as if playing with her, but an intense curiosity swirled in his creepy purplish red eyes.
“Yes,” she lied. “We’re ready. In fact, I’m not even needed.”
His smile showed razor-sharp yellowed fangs. “That’s what I thought.”
It was odd they were in the same space while she was wide awake. In the dreamworld, there had been a haze between the two of them. With no haze, she could feel the evil emanating from his pores. Centuries ago, the only way to contain him was to mess with the laws of physics and create a prison world. Now they had the Keys, Lock, and the Keeper of the Circle. “You must be terrified that the Realm has the ingredients to destroy you.”
“Yet you’re here,” he said. “I don’t feel terrified. Rituals always work in my favor.”
“You know, I’m fine with dying if it means you go with me,” she admitted.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he said. “But I will tell you a little secret. I do plan on performing the ritual again, for all of my Cyst soldiers. They need to be invincible as well.”
Her stomach lurched. “You’re going to kill hundreds of enhanced females?” It had taken the blood of a hundred women to make Ulric’s body impenetrable. “You can’t.”
“I shall. Just for a chosen few.” His smile revealed sharp fangs.
“Why tell me your plan?” It didn’t make sense.
His chuckle poured evil around the room. “I want you to dream about it. When it happens, and it will, I’ll let you have a front-row seat.”
She needed to throw up. “You’re evil.”
He shrugged. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.” He grinned at his own joke, because he obviously didn’t care if she excused him or not. “There are two more enhanced females we just found in a nice little tavern outside of Anchorage, Alaska. You may meet them when I bring them here.”
“There is no need to perform that ritual again, and you know it. After spending centuries in a hell world, didn’t you do any introspection? It’s not too late for you to do the right thing. Save your soul.” She threw up her hands, noting how the long sleeves bounced and flounced and sparkled.
His gaze caught on the sparkles and then traveled to her breasts. “My soul will live forever back on this world. You’re such a pretty pet. I wonder what it would take for Drake to let me spend time with you before he mates you. You’re not safe right now.”
It was true. She wasn’t safe until she mated somebody, and then anybody who touched her would get a horrible rash. She met his gaze directly. “You’re not my type. Way too old.”
“That is permissible. I could live with the age gap,” he said.
Her knees trembled, but the stupid skirt hid the weakness.
“For now, your king awaits.” Ulric stepped to the side. “You should hasten to obey his orders. He may appear patient, but you’ve only witnessed that side of him. I look forward to your meeting his true countenance. You may then come crawling to me for solace.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The guards escorted Hope across the main living area to a heavy, shielded door on the far side of the fireplace. They knocked before opening it and then gestured her inside. She followed their directions and stopped at the sight of Drake sitting on a heavy leather sofa across from two matching chairs. The room was a large office complete with a conference table and several monitors on the wall.
An unmanned computer area formed an L-shaped desk in the far corner. “Come in,” he said, gesturing toward one of the chairs. His gaze swept her. “You look beautiful.”
“I feel like I’m dressed up for a Halloween party,” she said, holding the skirt so she could walk across the floor without tripping on the voluminous folds.
He poured two cups of tea, his gaze heated. “If you were, you would be dressed up as a queen.” Next to his cup sat a glass full of what looked like Scotch.
“I’m not a tea drinker.” She sat gracefully in the seat and stared at him before leaning forward and snagging the glass. The liquid heated her stomach, and she’d bet it was Glenlivet from a good year. “Not bad.” She placed the heavy crystal down.
His eyes warmed, and he sat back, smiling. “We need to speak before making our announcement tomorrow at dawn.”
“Speak?” she repeated, her spine straightening. There had to be a weapon in this room somewhere, although she wasn’t quite sure what she would do with it. “What would you like to talk about, Drake?” Sarcasm loaded her words.
“I can tell you’re upset.”
“No shit,” she snapped.
His nostrils flared. “There’s no reason to swear. Queens don’t swear.”
“How do you know? Have you known any queens?” She gestured around the room, her attention focused on the large monitors in the corner. “What are those yellow dots?”
“They’re enhanced females,” he said, his gaze remaining on her. “We have systems all over the world, and now we’re using satellite technology to identify them by energy signatures.”
So he admitted to tracking them. “We’ve done the same by hacking into the sensors you placed in various cities,” she admitted. “We know about the satellites too. What we don’t know is why.” She focused on those greenish purple eyes she’d known since childhood. If he wanted to kill Ulric, then he didn’t want the females so Ulric could allow his soldiers to partake in the devastating ritual. “Why are you kidnapping enhanced females?”
Drake waved a hand in the air. “It’s irrelevant. It doesn’t have anything to do with you, so you don’t need to worry about it.”
“You know, as a condescending dick, you’re doing a great job.” The skirt was hampering her movements. If she needed to kick, it was going to be difficult.
“I hardly think name-calling is necessary,” he said. “If you’re trying to get me to lose my temper, I don’t have one.”