Chapter 15

Eyes narrowed into thin slits, I held up my index finger. "Number one, don't call me little." Holding up my middle finger, I added, "Number two, don't call me little if you want to live." I didn't give the King a chance to respond. I wasn't in the mood to be toyed with. Especially when the hunger raging inside, that constant, never-ending, hellish hunger threatened to chew me up and swallow me whole. But something the King had said piqued my interest. "What do you mean you saved Vycandor?

The King's eyes went wide. "Vycandor didn't tell you?"

I shook my head impatiently and tried to think beyond the hunger. "He told me his Uncle Edgar raised him and taught him how to be a Drainer instead of a Drinker."

"Ah, yes," the King mused to himself. "Vycandor was born a Drinker, as are all Underlings. They rely on blood for survival after they shift from animal into human for the first time. It took great strength and determination for Vycandor to resist his true nature. Not many have the mindset, or the physical ability to be able to feed off psychic energy alone and survive. Most fail, or go insane."

I digested that in silence and chewed on my lower lip as a distraction. Part of me, a really, really big part teetered on the edge of insanity myself. So I basically knew exactly how he felt.

Like shit.

"If it wasn't for me," the King admitted, breaking into my thoughts, "Vycandor wouldn't be standing here today. While it's true that Lisette followed in her father's footsteps and collected animals as trophies, it wasn't until after her father's death that she placed a curse on the animals she'd collected to do her bidding. I was the first one she turned. A mighty panther. I didn't know how to be a man. We were like caged beasts fighting to survive inside a human body. The others, they naturally looked to me for guidance. Lisette put me in charge of training all new Underlings to carry out her orders. Punishment for disobedience was swift, but never quick. Failure to comply came in the form of a man-eating manticore that hunted them down, feasting on their helpless bodies while they were still alive. As the number of Underlings grew to ten thousand strong, so did the difficulty of the heists Lisette ordered us to pull off."

I tilted my head in confusion. "Heists?"

The Kind nodded. "If there was something Lisette wanted, she simply sent us to retrieve it."

A chuckle bubbled up in my throat. "So what, your like bank robbers?" The thought was ludicrous. "What did you steal?"

The King shrugged. "Priceless works of art, diamonds, gold bars, weapons of all kinds, you name it. Whatever she wanted, she got. Lisette sold everything of value on the black market, and stockpiled the weapons."

"For what?" I asked.

"She never told me, but I know she's planning something big." If possible, his obsidian eyes darkened. "Greed and power has gone to her head. She answered to no authority, until now." 

I was only just morbidly interested. "What do you mean, until now?"

"Don't you get it?" When I failed to respond, the King pressed on. "You killed the monster that kept the Underlings under control. We're free now, thanks to you."

I craned my head to the left, and craned it some more to look up. Vycandor stared back at me, his handsome face fighting to remain neutral and not quite making it.

I turned my head to the right and gazed up at Thomas. He was so insanely hot and he smelled so good. They both did. The combination of leather and vanilla mixed with apples, musk and...blood was beyond drool worthy. Seriously! If someone had told me last week that I would have to drink my boyfriend's blood at the same time to survive, I'd have said they were on drugs. I mean, it's not like I didn't care that the King and his Fantasy Island of shape-shifting animals were safe. I'd killed the beast that had kept them enslaved to Lisette. But only because it tried to kill me first. It was just that simple. I wasn't trying to play the hero. What thanks did I get for my efforts? Cursed with the worst hunger ever, times a bazillion. And now, the combined scent of my boyfriend's blood was making me desperate to taste them. I stared at Thomas' neck and liked my bruised lips. "You smell divine."

He grimaced. "Thanks, I think."

Vycandor cleared his throat. "Your Majesty, has Chaos not earned the right to ask how to break the curse?"

"Yes, of course," the King said dismissively. "If she didn't have to be so temperamental, I would have told her already."

I waved my hands in the air. "Um, hello. Standing right here."

The King smiled slightly, showing his pearly fangs. I gave him a slight nod. He nodded back. I decided to take it as a sign of respect. Either that, or he was toying with me again. As the King continued to stare at me, his obsidian eyes went suddenly cold. In fact, his face and entire body seemed different. Hell, even his muscles had muscles. He embodied more beast than human with his huge panther head and those strange black eyes that stared directly into my soul. There was no expression in those eyes. Just an awful coldness. An emptiness. He looked like he could kill me simply because that's what hungry animals do. Either that or because I had annoyed him too much.

"Are you willing to accept my help?" the King asked, voice dark and menacing.

I didn't faint from the fear of being eaten alive, or run screaming from the throne room to save my life. But, let's be honest, the thought did occur to me.

I swallowed hard and nodded. It took more effort than was pretty. I didn't like asking for help. Period. But hunger and desperation were taking over. Winning was more like it.

"Fine." The King agreed. "You name the place and I will send Robert to meet you."

"No! Not Robert," Vycandor shouted.

"Silence!" the King commanded. "He's her only hope."

I managed to speak up at last. "Who's Robert?"

The King stood up from his throne and stalked toward to me. His face was almost touching mine. "Robert is the only Underling who has remained in human form. No one knows what kind of animal he is. He's extremely introverted and doesn't like strangers. Robert is also very cagey. Since he's never met you, he's probably going to want to meet in a public place."

"But why him?" I insisted. "Don't you like have a cure? Something I can drink?"

"This isn't a Disney movie, my little..." His voice trailed off before he quickly changed it to, "this isn't Alice in Wonderland. You don't get to drink something to make all your problems disappear." The King smiled again, a broad expanse of super sharp teeth. "I'm sorry, but there is no cure. You see, once cursed, Underlings must learn how to shift into human form when they come of age. Well, everyone except Robert. They must also find their familiar. The one they are destined to serve. Again, everyone except Robert. His power lies in his ability to restore. At least temporarily, that is."

I didn't have to ask him about familiars. Jade was Vycandor's servant. I admit, I didn't have a perfect understanding of the concept. But I did know that one could not exist without the other. Plus, I reminded myself, Jade was the King's daughter. Not to mention the fact that she was still missing. The three of us would most likely be out searching for her right now if Vycandor hadn't brought me here to Fantasy Island to find a cure. I was the one holding up the process.

The King seemed to sense my hesitation. "Let me be very clear, Chaos. Robert and only Robert has the power save you."

I decided to cave. After all, what choice did I have? "What-ever."

Satisfaction lit up his eyes. "Where shall I tell Robert to meet you? Remember, it has to be somewhere public. With a lot of people," he added, almost as an afterthought.

The hunger made it hard to think. Serenity had managed to wipe out most of the adult population. Teenagers were now basically free to run amok. Until Lisette figured out a way to wipe them out too, that is. I had to press my fingertips into my temples hard. Think. Think!

And then it hit me.

I snapped my fingers together. "Tell Robert to meet us at the Electric Forest."

The King nodded. "Done. Your message has been sent."

My eyes narrowed. "Ah, do you like have a barking chain or something?"

That made the King laugh. When he finally spoke his voice went from dead serious, to flat out arrogant. "Do I look like I bark?"

Vycandor bowed dramatically. "Thank you, Your Royal Highness." Grabbing my hand he said, "It's time to go."

The King gave a royal nod. "Goodbye, Chaos. I hope you enjoy 80's music."

"Er, I'm more of a Billie Eilish fan myself," I admitted. "But I'm super excited to see where this is going, King sir..."

"It was nice meeting you," he said, in return.

I waved goodbye as Vycandor continued to half pull, half dragg me out of the throne room before I had a chance to say anything stupid. Too bad he wasn't fast enough.

"It was nice being insulted by you."