BOUND TO THE POISON QUEEN

Chapter 3

Kael watched my hands. His fangs bared in a silent, murderous snarl. He expected me to grab the silver whip. He was bracing his body for the pain.

Instead, I stepped directly into his danger zone.

"What are you doing?" Kael barked, his voice dropping an octave.

I raised my hand. I jammed the largest brass key into the lock on his neck collar.

Click.

The heavy iron collar popped open.

I didn't stop there. I stepped down and unlocked the heavy cuffs around his ankles, then his wrists.

The iron chains fell to the stone floor with a deafening, metallic crash.

Kael didn't move. He stood there, completely unchained for the first time in six months. His massive chest rose and fell in heavy, disbelieving gasps.

He stared at his raw, bleeding wrists. Then he looked up at me.

Before I could take a breath, his hand shot out like a striking viper.

His fingers clamped around my throat.

SLAM!

He slammed me hard against the rough stone wall.

The back of my head hit the rock. Stars exploded across my vision. All the air burst out of my lungs in a sharp gasp.

Kael pinned me. His body was pressed flat against mine. He was massive, hot, and terrifyingly strong. The sheer physical pressure of his chest against my ribs made it impossible to breathe.

His grip on my neck was tight. Not quite crushing my windpipe, but squeezing hard enough that I could feel my own frantic pulse beating against his knuckles.

His face was inches from mine. I could see the tiny gold flecks in his eyes. I could feel his burning breath against my lips.

"You fool," Kael whispered. His voice was a dangerous, dark purr. "You actually unlocked me. You really think I won't snap your spine right now?"

I didn't hit him. I didn't claw at his hands. I didn't scream for help.

I just looked straight into his golden eyes. My face was completely expressionless. Cold as a corpse.

"You can snap my neck," I said, my voice raspy from the pressure on my throat. "It takes about five pounds of force to crush a human trachea. You have the strength for it."

Kael's eyebrows twitched. His grip didn't loosen, but his eyes narrowed in utter shock.

"You're not afraid," he muttered. It wasn't a question. It was a realization that terrified him more than the chains ever did.

"I'm a scientist," I whispered back, staring into his eyes. "Pain is just a nerve signal. Fear is just a chemical reaction. And right now, your heart rate is hitting 160. If you don't slow down, that aconite poison is going to paralyze your diaphragm in less than ten minutes."

Kael stared at me like I was a ghost speaking in a foreign tongue.

His chest heaved against mine. I could feel every hard line of his torso pressing through the thin silk of my dress. The raw, primal heat coming off his bare skin was almost suffocating.

His eyes drifted down to my lips for a fraction of a second, then snapped back up to my eyes.

"Who are you?" Kael hissed. His thumb pressed firmly against the hollow of my throat, right over my pounding artery. "You're not Aurelia. Aurelia is a coward. She screams when a drop of blood touches her dress."

"Aurelia is dead," I said softly. "I'm the one holding the keys now."

For three excruciating seconds, neither of us moved. The tension in the air was so thick it felt like static electricity, humming between our lips, burning through our skin.

He wanted to kill me. He wanted to crush me. But something in my cold, steady gaze was holding him back.

Slowly, his fingers loosened around my throat.

He didn't pull away completely. His hand slid down my neck, his hot palm dragging over my collarbone, leaving a trail of fire on my cold skin.

He took a step back, panting, watching me like I was a dangerous trap he couldn't figure out.

"Why let me go?" Kael asked. His voice was lower now, laced with a strange, dark hunger. "What do you want from me?"

"I don't like filthy cages," I said, wiping a speck of dust from my velvet sleeve. "And I don't like sloppy poisoners. Someone put that aconite on your collar to kill you slowly, and they used my dungeon to do it."

I turned my back on him and walked toward the wooden desk.

"I'm going to find out who did it," I said, opening a small glass jar of black ointment on the table. "And if you want to survive the night, you're going to let me neutralize that poison."

Kael watched me, his body still tense, his golden eyes fixed on my hands.

"And if I refuse?" he growled softly.

I picked up a clean linen cloth and turned around to face him.

"Then you die on this floor," I said. "And I go back to my tea."

Before Kael could answer, a heavy sound echoed from the top of the stone stairs outside the cell.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

Heavy armor. Slow, deliberate footsteps echoing down the spiral staircase.

A high-pitched, mocking voice drifted down into the damp air of the dungeon.

"Oh, sweet Princess," the voice purred with razor-sharp elegance. "The Emperor is asking for his little pet. He wants to know why you haven't executed the beastkin yet."

Kael stiffened instantly. His fangs bared.

A tall man stepped out of the shadow at the top of the stairs.

Pale skin. Silver hair cascading over immaculate black and crimson armor. Deep, blood-red eyes that gleamed with cold, sadistic amusement.

Vane. The vampire general. Aurelia's second bound mate.

Vane stopped at the bottom step. His red eyes swept over the room. He saw Kael standing completely unchained. He saw me holding the keys and the medical cloth.

Vane's lips curved into a cruel, beautiful smile.

"Well, well," Vane whispered, drawing a long, silver rapier from his hip. The metal gleamed wickedly in the torchlight. "It seems our tragic little Aurelia has finally lost her mind. Did you unlock your dog so he could bite your throat out before the executioner arrives?"

Vane took a slow, silent step toward us, the tip of his blade pointing directly at my chest.

"The Emperor is waiting upstairs, my dear," Vane purred. "And he brought the execution squad."

The blade pointed straight at my throat.

Silver. Sharp. Clean.

I looked at the steel tip. Then I looked at the man holding it.

Vane was ridiculously pale. Like a porcelain doll that someone dressed in expensive silk and black armor. His hair was silver, falling perfectly over his shoulders. His eyes were red. Not normal red. Crimson. Like a deep pool of fresh arterial blood.

He looked gorgeous. He also looked like an arrogant pain in the ass.

"Put the metal toothpick away, Vane," I said.

My voice was flat. I didn't even blink.

Vane froze. His dark eyebrows twitched.

Usually, the old Aurelia would scream when she saw a weapon. She would hide behind her guards. She would cry. She would throw a fit like a spoiled toddler who lost her favorite toy.

I was not going to give him that show. I had a headache. My dress was heavy. The room smelled like rotten wet fur and cheap wine. I was completely out of patience.

"Toothpick?" Vane echoed. His voice was soft. Smooth. Dangerous. "This blade has gutted three hundred men on the eastern front, Princess."

"Then you should clean it," I replied, crossing my arms. "It has dried fat near the hilt. It's disgusting."

Behind me, Kael let out a low noise. It sounded like a grunt. Or maybe a laugh that he tried to choke back into his throat.

Vane's eyes narrowed. The red glow in his pupils grew darker.

"You've changed your tone," Vane purred. He took a step closer. His boots didn't make a sound against the stone floor. Vampires were light on their feet. Annoyingly silent. "Did you hit your pretty little head on the dungeon wall? Or is this a new tactic to get my attention?"

"I don't want your attention," I said. "I want you to stop talking. Your voice is giving me an aneurysm."

Vane smiled. It was not a happy smile. It was the smile of a predator watching an i***t walk into a trap. His sharp fangs showed against his lower lip. White and deadly.

"The Emperor is upstairs," Vane whispered, leaning his face down toward mine. He smelled like cold iron and expensive lavender soap. Too sweet. Fake. "He heard you were sick. He brought his personal physician. And ten royal guards with cross-bows."

"How generous," I muttered. "A whole parade just for me."

"He wants the beastkin executed today," Vane continued. He flicked his red eyes toward Kael. "The court is tired of your pet project. You've kept him alive for six months. The Emperor thinks you're getting attached."

"I am not attached to anyone," I said.