Masters of Seduction: Books 1-4: Paranormal Romance Boxed Set Page 26

  With Jian, however, it sounded…perfect.

  “Obviously he didn’t succeed.” She soothed his ruffled emotions. “I preferred to be sent to Hell rather than be forced into an eternity with an angel who viewed me as nothing more than a means to procreate.”

  His fingers trailed down the line of her jaw, his thumb absently brushing her lower lip.

  “So you’re paying the penalty for not being an obedient daughter?”

  She instinctively stepped closer to his comforting warmth, oddly chilled by the unwelcomed memories of being sentenced to the Oubliette.

  “That was my assumption.”

  “And now?”

  She shuddered. For so many years she’d simply done her time as the Warden, telling herself that she would eventually be returned to her family and this would all become a distant nightmare.

  Only now did she allow herself to truly consider why the Conclave had been so insistent that she be disciplined for her refusal to accept their arranged mating.

  “My family isn’t particularly powerful, but they have spoken out against the Conclave in their desire to expand their powerbase,” she said slowly. “I’m beginning to suspect that I’m a lesson to the other families who stand against them. No one wants their children taken away from them.”

  Without warning he leaned down to brand her lips in a kiss that seared through her with shocking heat.

  She blinked, grabbing his upper arms to keep her balance.

  So that’s what it felt like to be struck by lightning, she inanely acknowledged.

  “You won’t be their pawn any longer,” he promised, lifting his head to study her with a brooding gaze.

  Her fingers dug into his arms as she was overwhelmed by the urge to try and shake some sense into the stubborn male.

  “You can’t alter angel politics.”

  “No, but I can take you away from them.”

  Muriel hesitated. It was one thing to fantasize about a future with this gorgeous, insanely sexy Incubus. Hell, what woman wouldn’t dream of having Jian as her mate?

  But it was quite another to actually walk away from any possibility of returning to her home.

  “My family—”

  “Allowed you to be their sacrificial lamb,” Jian interrupted, his voice filled with disgust. “They don’t deserve you.”

  She couldn’t argue.

  She might not know exactly how the Conclave had threatened her parents, but whatever it was had obviously been worth forfeiting their only daughter.

  “And you do?” she tried to tease, not wanting to dwell on the thought her family would turn their backs on her.

  “Probably not.” He placed a soft, lingering kiss on her lips. A silent promise of devotion. “But I intend to dedicate each day to earning the right to call you my mate.”

  She trembled, feeling as if she were the most important person in the world when she looked into his eyes.

  “You are very good at this,” she breathed.

  Another long, lingering kiss. “Be mine.”

  How could she resist?

  Even if she hadn’t been abandoned by the angels and left to rot in this hideous place, she would have followed Jian to the ends of the Earth.

  He was her mate.

  It didn’t matter that he was an Incubus. Or that her family would never, ever accept their union.

  This was the male who her heart had been searching for since the beginning of time.

  “My mother warned me that demons would come and steal me away if I didn’t behave,” she murmured, her hands stroking over the hard muscles of his chest.

  “True.” He nipped her bottom lip. “But isn’t it much more fun being the bad girl?”

  It wasn’t just fun, it was addictive, she conceded as his fingers caressed her sensitive wings.

  Still, she wasn’t foolish enough to think they could waltz out of the Oubliette.

  Especially not if Jian was determined to search the dungeons.

  She wrinkled her nose. “That depends on if we get out of here alive.”

  His expression hardened with a grim determination. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you, sweetheart.” With one last kiss he stepped back. “Are you ready?”

  Was she?

  With an effort she tilted her chin and moved toward the doorway.

  She’d allowed her life to drift from day to day because she lacked the courage to stand up to those who put her in this prison.

  She wasn’t going to waste another second.

  “This way,” she murmured, leading Jian down the narrow staircase to the tunnel that wound its way through the Oubliette to the lower chambers.

  They moved in silence, both focused on their surroundings.

  The thick air tainted with sulfur. The screams of the prisoners. The heavy sense of doom.

  All familiar to Muriel, although there was a strange vibration that was making her wings twitch.

  Continuing past the rows of cells, she gave a sharp shiver.

  It wasn’t sympathy for the prisoners. They were some of the most heinous in the Oubliette.

  Murders. Rapists. Traitors.

  But instead it was a chill of premonition.

  “I feel…” Her words trailed away as her powers focused on the source of her discomfort.

  Jian was instantly at her side, his hand grabbing hers in a gesture of comfort.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Someone’s entered the Oubliette,” she said, fear spreading through her like a virus.

  Jian stilled, his hand reaching to grasp the obsidian dagger he’d tucked in the waistband of his jeans.

  “The Sovereign?” he asked.

  “No.” Her mouth felt dry, her heart pounded. “The Conclave.”

  Jian grimaced. “Shit.”

  “Yeah.” She squeezed his hand. “Shit.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Jian urged his companion to continue their trek down the tunnel, smoothing his expression as he sensed her terror.

  Muriel was on the edge of panic.

  No surprise, considering what she’d endured over the past few hours.

  He had to keep her focused if they were going to discover what was hidden in the dungeons and then escape the Oubliette.

  “Can they locate you?” he asked, relieved when she managed to suck in a deep breath and once again take the lead as they hurried into an adjoining tunnel.

  His brave, beautiful angel.

  “No, the magic of the Oubliette will protect me for now,” she said, her voice pitched so it wouldn’t echo through the spiderweb of passageways. “But they’ll eventually track us down.”

  “We’ll be long gone before then,” he assured her, sending a silent prayer that he could keep his promise.

  “I hope so,” she muttered, pressing her wings back as she squeezed through a narrow opening that led to a steep flight of stone steps. “I really, really don’t want to go back to the abyss.”

  “Never again,” he swore, wincing as the screams from the prisoners echoed through the tunnel. “Are they always so loud?”

  “Unlike you, they can’t see through my illusions,” she muttered. “Each of them believes that their cell is filled with whatever they fear the most.”

  He gave a shake of his head. “You are a dangerous female, sweet angel.”

  She sent him a glance over her shoulder, lowering one wing to make sure he didn’t miss her warning expression.

  “Don’t ever forget.”

  He chuckled. There was nothing sexier than a strong woman who wasn’t afraid to speak her mind.

  “Believe me, I won’t,” he growled in appreciation, before his brief distraction came to an abrupt end as they entered a cavern that was shadowed in utter blackness.

  For a disturbing second he was completely blind, then Muriel whispered a soft word and she was glowing with a silver light.

  At any other time he would have been in awe at the sight of her ivory beauty illuminated in the soft radi
ance.

  This was why angels had been worshiped throughout the centuries.

  Unfortunately, he couldn’t afford to bask in her loveliness. Not now.

  Instead he studied the massive cave that seemed to have no end.

  “Have you ever been down here?” he asked, his gaze skimming over the jagged stalagmites and stalactites that made it impossible to see more than a few feet in any direction.

  She shivered. “No.”

  “So there are no illusions?” he pressed.

  “Not that I’ve created.”

  “Damn.” He cautiously moved forward, peering behind the rock formations. “I sense—”

  She moved to stand at his side. “What?”

  Jian gave a frustrated shake of his head. “Nothing,” he muttered. “I sense nothing.”

  She wrinkled her nose, allowing her silvery glow to spread further through the cavern.

  “So what is the Sovereign hiding?”

  That was exactly what Jian intended to discover.

  Ignoring the feeling of emptiness that filled the air, he continued to search behind the stalagmites. Dammit. There had to be something here.

  It took nearly a quarter of an hour before he at last stumbled on shallow trenches that had been dug into the hard stone floor.

  “Muriel,” he called softly.

  The angel hurried to his side, her light revealing what he’d already suspected.

  There were three body shapes heavily wrapped in white shrouds.

  “Oh.” She sent him a worried glance. “They look like mummies.”

  Crouching down, he tugged aside the thick material to reveal the man hidden beneath.

  “Not mummies,” he muttered, continuing to pull off the shroud.

  Muriel made a sound of surprise. “An Incubus.” She leaned forward, her brows drawing together at the sight of the man’s pale face that was surrounded by hair so dark red it appeared crimson in her silvery light. “Is he dead?”

  “No, but he’s been heavily wrapped in Nephilim magic,” he said, struggling to accept what he was seeing.

  She pointed to the other bodies that were laid side by side.

  “What about the other two?”

  He scooted to the shallow graves, swiftly unwrapping the Incubi from the shrouds with a growing anger.

  “Watchmen,” he ground out, his fingers twitching with the fierce need to wrap them around the throat of the Sovereign and squeeze…

  Someday he was going to make the bastard pay.

  Someday very, very soon.

  “Do you recognize them?” Muriel demanded.

  His gaze moved to the distinctive tattoos that circled the Watchmen’s upper arms.

  “Not personally, but I suspect that I know exactly who they are.”

  “Who?”

  “The Master of House Akana and his bodyguards,” he said, unable to believe he was saying the words.

  For centuries they’d been told that the House had died out. And no one had ever questioned the Sovereign when he’d announced the last Master had been destroyed.

  Now he struggled to accept that the poor bastard had been held in this cavern as some sort of…what?

  Hostage?

  Sacrifice?

  It made no sense.

  “A Master?” Muriel took an instinctive step backward. “Why would they be hidden in these dungeons?”

  “I intend to find out,” he snarled, pulling out his phone in an attempt to take pictures of the unconscious Incubi. “But not here.”

  Muriel frowned in confusion. “What are you doing?”

  “Sending proof of the Sovereign’s treachery,” he muttered, hoping to upload the pictures to Taka. His bodyguard would know to take the evidence to the ruling Houses.

  “I don’t think that…” Muriel waved a hand toward his phone. “Technology will work here.”

  Jian muttered a curse. She was right. The screen remained blank.

  “I’ll have to try to carry them out of here,” he at last conceded, slowly straightening and turning to the female standing at his side. “But not until I’m certain you’re safe. We need to return to the gateway.”

  She bit her bottom lip, her face pale as she studied the unconscious Incubi.

  “I can try to hide them with an illusion until you can come back for them.”

  “Will it hide them from the angels?”

  She gave a slow nod. “My powers of illusion are my natural gift,” she said. “I should be able to create an illusion that only I can see through.” She sent him a wry glance. “And you.”

  Jian frowned, not needing the mating bond to realize there was something troubling her.

  “You’re worried,” he said, reaching out to brush his fingers down the chilled skin of her cheek. “Why?”

  She hesitated, as if she was going to foolishly try and deny her concern. Then, with a grimace she turned her head to glance toward the opening of the cavern. “When I weave the spell it’s going to attract the attention of the Conclave. We have to be quick.”

  No more anxious than Muriel to give away their location to the approaching angels, Jian leaned down to slide his arms beneath the limp body of the closest Incubus, cradling him against his chest as he straightened. Then, with as much care as possible, he carried him across the cavern to tuck him behind a large stalagmite.

  Swiftly he had the second Watchman and the Master placed next to him on the ground.

  “Ready,” he muttered.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Muriel wiped her damp palms on her linen shift, struggling to ignore the prickles of magic dancing over her skin. The angels were coming closer, their power a tangible force in the air, but with a stern effort she concentrated on the three unconscious Incubi that Jian had piled next to the stalagmite.

  The sooner she could finish her task, the sooner they could leave.

  Or at least, she hoped they could leave.

  If the Conclave managed to catch them, they would…

  No. She held out her hands and released her magic. She wasn’t even going to consider the varied and gruesome ways they could be tortured.

  Not when she needed to concentrate.

  With controlled bursts of power, she disguised the males in layers of illusion until she was certain no one would be capable of seeing more than a large rock that matched the other stones throughout the cavern.

  “That should keep them hidden,” she muttered.

  Jian nodded, rubbing the tense muscles of his nape, as if he could sense the approaching danger.

  “I don’t suppose you have a secret way out of this place?” he asked.

  She shook her head, for once in her life wishing she weren’t quite so efficient.

  “No, after your friend’s escape I made certain that there were no more opportunities for random gateways.”

  “Damn.”

  “There’s an opening to the Sovereign’s fortress as well as one to my homeland,” she said. “That’s it.”

  Reaching out, he grabbed her hand in a firm grip. “Then we go to the fortress.”

  Another wave of energy prickled over her skin. “We have to hurry,” she breathed.

  Easily sensing her fear, Jian tightened his hold on her hand and jogged toward the opening to the cavern.

  Together they climbed their way out of the lower chambers, Muriel pointing the way when they came to crossroads. Around them the prisoners screamed for mercy, and those servants who’d earned her trust scurried to complete their duties, but they managed to avoid the angels as she took them through the heart of the Oubliette.

  Muriel was entering the cavern that was just below the gateway when she felt as if someone had reached inside her and ripped away a vital organ.

  Halting in shock, she waited to see if she’d been struck with a fatal bolt of magic.

  It didn’t feel as if she were dying.

  Instead she felt…empty.

  Oh.

  “Wait,” she breathed, trying to keep her balance a
s her body readjusted to the sudden change.

  Whirling around, Jian studied her with sharp concern. “What is it? Have you been hurt?”

  She licked her dry lips. “They’ve taken my powers,” she said.

  He frowned. “You’re no longer the Mistress of the Oubliette?”

  Dear heavens.

  It’d been so long since she’d been a simple angel with no curse to carry that she’d forgotten just how heavy a burden her position as Warden had truly been.

  Now she felt free.

  As light as air.

  Of course, she also had no means to control this particular dimension, which was no doubt the reason the Conclave had stripped away her powers.

  “No.”

  He ran a comforting hand over the upper curve of her wing. “Are you in pain?”

  “Actually…” She gave a shaky laugh. “It’s wonderful.”

  He pressed a swift kiss to her forehead. “How much farther to the gateway?”

  She pointed toward the staircase. “It’s just above us, but the Conclave is close.”

  He held his dagger in one hand, his features tight with grim determination.

  “How close?”

  She shivered, no longer capable of feeling the life forces spread throughout the prison.

  “I’m not sure.”

  “It doesn’t matter.” He placed another kiss on her forehead before tugging her toward the stairs. “Let’s get the hell out of here,” he muttered, taking the steps two at a time.

  Muriel remained close at his side, her heart racing as they entered the large cavern above.

  “There it is,” she said, pointing toward the shimmering opening only a few feet away.

  Jian nodded, holding tightly onto her fingers as he sprinted across the wide cavern.

  A few feet from the opening, however, there was buzzing sound from behind them, and with a low curse Muriel was knocking him to the ground.

  Just inches from their heads a bolt of white-hot magic sizzled past, slamming into the wall with enough power to make the entire cavern shake.

  “Damn,” Jian muttered, hurriedly following Muriel as she darted toward a nearby rock. “What was that?”