“What does mistress hear?” the creature squealed.
She glowered at him. “Do you know what ‘hush’ means?” she hissed.
“Rem sorry, mis—My Queen.” Looking contrite, his wings drooped and he hung his head.
Could he be any more of a fool? She would punish him later for his stupidity, and for calling her his mistress. How many times did she need to tell the little scab she was a queen? She’d been heir to the throne of Delfi until that stupid Fae bitch and her warriors defeated her father, the greatest king who’d ever lived. Though she never knew him, her mother had told her he’d ruled Delfi with an iron hand for nearly a hundred years and would have ruled longer if the deceitful Fae hadn’t turned his citizens against him.
“Is someone there?” a female voice called. “Can you help me?”
Gae surged forward. The woman was in peril, vulnerable. Good.
The woman was at the edge of a collapsed tunnel. She was a hybrid of some sort, half-cat and half-human. Covered in black fur, she had long pointy fangs that curved down over her lower lip, triangular cat ears, paws for hands, and a long curled tail. She had the distinct shape of a human woman, with generous hips and breasts. There were cuffs around her scarred wrists, with dangling chains attached.
Gae wondered how the feline had broken free, though it mattered little to her. The creature was absolutely breathtaking. Gae instantly felt a connection with her, for she was also half-human. Most people looked upon her dragon features with shock and horror. She wondered if the pretty kitty was treated with the same disdain.
When the woman blinked up at her, with wide, watery yellow eyes framed by impossibly thick lashes, Gae had her answer. She was too beautiful to be reviled, and Gae’s fingers itched to stroke her soft fur.
“Can you help me?” she asked with a trembling lip, pointing to the landslide of stones.
Gae kicked a stone, doing her best to sound concerned. “Is someone you care for buried here?”
The she-cat nodded.
Anger reared like a spitting cobra, making the ruff around Gae’s neck rattle and a vein above her eye pulse. Her rage surprised her, and she realized it had been fueled by stirrings of jealousy. “No one could survive such a collapse.” Her voice held little inflection. She stood stoically, offering no comfort while the feline cried. She would recover, and Gae would offer to be her new lover. “What is your name?” she asked, growing impatient with her sobs.
The she-cat looked up, wiping her wet eyes with the back of a paw. “Demonique.”
“A demon cat,” Gae purred, licking her lips. “How delightful.” She could think of no better lover than a demon. She froze when someone moaned on the other side of the collapsed stones.
The disfigured griffin jumped into the air. “Rem see light above. Rem save him!”
“Rem, wait!” Gae called, but the foolish beast flew away, panting and squealing. She repressed a snarl and smiled at Demonique, who clasped her paws to her heart.
Rem reemerged atop the rubble, carrying a thin, grimy man. Her nostrils flared when she scented the man’s Fae blood. Dragon balls! She would slit that Fae’s throat before rendering him aid.
“Alexi!” Demonique cried, running to him when Rem unceremoniously dropped the Fae on the ground. She held him tightly, purring against his hair, which was crusted with dirt and blood. “Are you okay?”
He clutched Demonique’s wrist in a too familiar gesture. “I am now.” He flashed Gae a wobbly smile. “Thank you for freeing us.”
Gae’s ruff pulsed with hatred. Never would she willingly free a foul Fae. “Why were you prisoners?” she asked Demonique, purposely avoiding looking at the Fae.
“We were being held for ransom,” he said, struggling to stand.
Demonique held him down. “Don’t try to stand, my love. You’re too weak.”
My love? Gae bristled, jealous. They would be lovers no more. She would make sure the kitten only had eyes for her, and she knew just the spell to do it. She chanted the words in her mind. The kitten would be hers by the next full moon, but first she had to eliminate any threats, and not just from the Fae.
She looked around the cavern, her dragon-touched senses catching the faint odor of a rotting corpse. Hopefully, Demonique’s captor was dead. “Where is your jailer?”
Demonique stood in front of the Fae and pointed. “There.”
Gae squinted at what appeared to be a human foot sticking out from under a pile of rubble. Her nostrils flared. This was the source of the stink. Whoever the foot belonged to was obviously dead. “Who was that?”
“Nathaniel Goldenwand, the evilest mage that’s ever lived,” Demonique said.
They’d obviously never heard of her legacy if they thought another mage more evil. She walked over to the foot. Already it was decomposing, and she wasn’t about to unearth the rest of the corpse. This was the evilest mage in the world? He certainly wasn’t powerful if he couldn’t deflect a few rocks. She spit on the appendage.
Turning to the she-cat, she held up the pearl wand. “Do you know how to use this?”
The she-cat’s eyes widened as she backed up a step. “No.”
Liar. She would have fun forcing the truth out of her.
Demonique eyed her suspiciously. “You never told me your name.”
“Oh, how rude of me.” She splayed her talons across her chest. “I’m Morgaena Milas, daughter to King Ahri and Queen Demendia Milas, rightful Queen of Delfi and the most powerful mage who’s ever lived.”
The Fae swore and painfully moved back against the cave wall. Gae inwardly laughed. As if he’d have a chance to escape.
“I’ve heard tales of you.” Demonique balled her paws into fists, the fur on her neck and shoulders standing on end. “That you’re the most evil mage who’s ever lived.”
“I thought you said Goldenwand was the evilest.” She laughed. “That’s not a nice thing to say to the woman who holds your life in her hands.”
“My life means nothing,” Demonique said through gritted teeth. “All that matters is the cause.”
“And what is your cause?” Gae asked.
“Don’t tell her anything else,” the Fae said.
Black smoke trickled from Gae’s talons. She wanted to choke the life out of that Fae. Instead, she concentrated her energy on Demonique, inwardly chanting the love spell and smiling when the she-cat swayed toward her.
Demonique looked as if she was in a trance, her eyes glazing over into two milky pools. “To kill him,” she murmured, pointing at the decomposing foot.
“He seems dead enough to me.” Gae laughed. “What will your new cause be?” She eyed Demonique with eagerness.
“To ensure shifters are treated fairly by witches.”
Shifters? So was Demonique a shifter? Why was she half a cat? Had a spell locked her in her current body?
“You are not treated fairly now?”
She held up her wrists, chains jangling. “Does it look like it?”
“No.” She bridged the distance between them, releasing her sexual pheromones. “What if I promised to treat you fairly?”
“No, Demonique!” the Fae shrieked.
Gae wanted to cut out his tongue.