We stormed the palace, and I let my darkness and blade work in tandem as I took out any who dared to stand in my way. A large guard stepped forward, daring to smirk at me. “King Calix, we were told to expect you. All this for some slave, huh? Bitch must be one great piece of ass to have two nobles fighting over her.”
A snarl ripped free as my fingers turned to claws against my will, the rage that rose in me at his words too great to contain. I let a hiss of fire escape my mouth, causing the man to flinch back warily. I smiled slowly, taking the moment to put my claws away so I could swing my sword. “You don’t get to talk about her, you don’t get to even think about her. You are a pathetic man working for a Fae who’s lost his damn mind, helping him hold an innocent woman captive. I’ll take great pleasure in killing you for Asteria. You can go to Tartarus knowing that your death was in that former slave’s name.”
I relished the look of horror on his face as I swiped my sword at him. He barely blocked it, and as I struck again, he parried, only to be distracted by the shadows tripping his legs. He grunted as he fell back, and I swiped my sword down his stomach, opening him up. He screamed as his innards began to spill out. I stood above him, smiling, listening to his cries as he begged for a death that wouldn’t come fast enough.
I kneeled down over him as I summoned my other power, the one I told Asteria I hated using. I despised the power much of the time, but this time—I thanked Erebus himself for gifting me with it.
“This pain?” I hissed, grabbing his face with one hand to keep him looking at me, as I began to let the power of Tartarus flow through me and into him. “This is what you’ll get to experience for the rest of eternity. I wanted you to know what you have to look forward to, what you could have avoided had you not been stupid enough to assist with holding her. Keeping her fromme.”I growled and left him to his screams as the flames and wretched agony of Tartarus consumed him from the inside out.
I wished him a fucking eternity of misery.
We fought on,fighting any in our path as we made straight for Cyrus’s rooms, where Kian said Asteria had been locked up since arriving.
The thought made my blood boil, darkness rising around me as the shadows leaked out. I let them cover me as I entered the room, but it wasn’t enough. My powers failing me for the first time in my life, when it was of the utmost importance they succeed.
And now, I stood facing the woman I had tried so hard not to love—only to feel my heart rip in half the way the knife ripped open her throat.
“NOOOOO!” I bellowed, the world shattering around me. “Asteria!” I tried to launch toward her as she fell to the ground, her blood spilling out much too fast.
But Cyrus was immediately on me. We battled once more, but desperation was now driving me, and whatever magic he was using had exponentially increased his effectiveness. Still, he was a sloppy fighter, and I had to get to my réalta. My light. My love.
It was then a bright flash of light exploded through the room. I instinctively held up my arm to block my eyes, Cyrus and I both freezing as we watched what was happening—or trying to through the blaze of light.
Fear overtook me once more. I couldn’t see Asteria through whatever the blinding light was. It began to fade after a moment, and I could only pray she was okay, that I had time to save her, to get her a healer.
“Erebus, Nox, Asteria, I beg of you, please save her.” I prayed, hoping the gods, my ancestor, answered me now. Liv saw herin her vision, which meant she couldn’t die—right? She just couldn’t. There was more for her to do, and I—I couldn’t do any of this without her.
“I’ll do anything.Anything. I know she is not the mate Ziva and Hedone chose for me, but she has managed to make me hers regardless—without a bond, without anything outside of who she is. I love her fiercely because she is fierce. She’s a dragon at heart, with starlight in her veins, and a soul that calls for darkness. I could not imagine a more perfect woman in all the kingdoms. Please, grant me this, and I will forever be your grateful servant.”
I felt a breeze sweep through the room, brushing against my cheek and shoulder. Like a delicate hand trailing down my cheek, while a larger hand clasped my shoulder the way Titan might.
The touch of the gods was a delicate, rare thing, one I wished I could savor, but my terror over Asteria was still thick in my throat. The light faded and a moment later, Cyrus ducked into the secret passageway. He skittered away like a rat from a sinking ship, but I couldn’t focus on detaining my enemy now.
A ragged gasp drew my attention.
Asteria!
Chapter 40
Awefilled me as I realized exactly what I was hearing. How I knew it was Arawn speaking to me, I wasn’t sure. Maybe only the confidence of the dying, recognizing he who would oversee them forevermore. But I knew what I was hearing—ethereal whispers coming from another place, certainly not of this world.
I listened to his whispers, confused by his message. It didn’t seem possible.
As the god of death whispered in my ear, time seemed to slow and stop—only to immediately start again and speed up in a dizzying rush once his voice faded away, the whispers of so many others fading right along with him.
I felt it then—through the agony, the burning heat, the feel of my blood and life ebbing out of me…
I felt it—the oppressive feeling I’d always carried with me. All my life, that ache, like my skin was too tight, had followed me. My body trying to break out of the shell holding it together—yes, it felt just like an invisible shell had surrounded me, pressing down and holding me in. I felt that nebulous shell now—and then, I felt itcrack.
The sound was deafening. A mighty roar whipped by my ears as that invisible chain binding me cracked in two and fell away.
Light blasted out of me, and I winced, expecting to lose my eyesight as the overly bright illumination blinded me—but I didn’t. Instead, I felt the life that was seeping out of me…stop.
I could feel the jagged slice across my throat, and the pull as it began to quickly knit itself back together. I blinked quickly, shock running through me as I spat out the blood in my mouth. A ragged gasp fought its way past my lips, and I began gulping in air, finally able to breathe once more.
Panic began to stir, not quite taking root—confusion was too heavy. My body, that moments ago was bleeding out on the floor, seemed to somehow be infused with life. The toll of blood loss reversing itself moment by moment.
I pushed myself to a sitting position. Eryx, whose slack face and gaping mouth would have made me chuckle under other circumstances, was instantly there to help. Despite his shock, he was there to support me, grabbing my arms and steadying me. I sat there for a moment, panting. Immeasurably grateful for his help.
