Free The Warlock King (The Kings) by Heather Killough-Walden

“You’ve got magic leaking out of your pores. What can we possibly do that you can’t?”
    “You don’t fight fire with fire,” said Jason. “And you don’t always fight magic with magic.”
    “You want us to protect her when she gets to LA. With strength and might, not magic,” said Dannai.
    Jason looked down at her – and that tender smile he saved only for her curled his lips. “It couldn’t hurt. The force we’re up against is sure to have realized that the queen to the Warlock King will most certainly be surrounded with an abundance of magic. He’s sure to take measures to counteract this.”
    “You’re right,” said Lily. “It stands to reason. And everything we can do to help the 13 Kings protect their queens will ultimately help us as well.” She looked at the others. “Like Lalura told us.”
    Dannai considered this. Lalura Chantelle and Jesse Graves had called a meeting with the entire werewolf council and all of the more powerful members of the werewolf community several days earlier. There, she’d filled them in on what was happening with the 13 Kings, their fated queens, and the “force” of unseen and unknown darkness that was determined to claim them himself. This mystery force seemed to be pulling everyone’s strings as if they were puppets in an unscripted play. No one knew what his plan was; no one knew his design.
    Dannai had a feeling Lalura knew something she wasn’t letting on. But then Dannai always had this feeling about Lalura Chantelle.
    It was imperative that the kings find and “claim” their queens before this dark force did. The wellbeing of the entire supernatural world rested in the balance.
    “You don’t have to convince us,” said Katherine, cutting to the chase in the no-nonsense way that was so like her. “I’ll go personally.”
    Byron placed his hand atop hers on the table. “We both will.”
    “Cole is in LA,” said Lily. “We’ll contact him and Charlie. I’m sure they would be willing to help as well.”
    “Why don’t you just kidnap her and tie her to your bed?” Lucas suddenly asked. Dannai’s stomach clenched. Her husband’s dark eyes were burning with memories. The table had gone quiet. “Don’t tell me you’ve lost your romantic touch, Alberich.”
    Dannai prepared for a fight deep down in her soul. She was pretty sure everyone else at the table was doing the same.
    But Jason wasn’t the man he used to be. In a move that surprised them all, he neither rose to Lucas’s saber rattling nor even paid it all that much heed.
    Instead, he slowly stood. “Thank you for your offer of help. In the meantime, if something should happen to me, I would like for you to give Chloe this.”
    He extended his arm, opened his hand, and a black diamond the size of an apple appeared in his palm.
    Dannai’s jaw fell open. The werewolves around the table stilled. Black diamonds that size were not supposed to exist. What’s more, everyone there, Dannai in particular, was well acquainted with what they signified in the warlock world. Jason had once given a black diamond to her , in fact. In another, less friendly time.
    “You’ll have to trust me in this,” Jason said, looking down at Dannai as he spoke. Their eyes met. It was like he was talking to her alone. “I promise it’s a good thing. If I can’t be there in the end, please be sure she gets it.”
    Dannai almost didn’t want to touch the black diamond. As inanimate objects went, their potential for darkness was unsurpassed. At the same time, she very much did want to touch it.
    But Lucas spared her from having to make the decision. Before she could take it, her husband reached out, grabbed it, and snatched it from Jason’s han d. He stared up at Jason with frank distrust.
    Jason’s expression was unreadable. “It’s a house key,” he said. “Whatever happens to me, Chloe Septeran was destined to be queen. She should have a fitting home.”
    Dannai felt a stunning sensation rip through