Even then she got the better of him and once again, he ended on the flat of his backside, staring up at the amused twinkle in her eyes.
Until he swept his feet out from under her.
With a shriek, she crashed down on top of him. Laughing once more, he rolled and pinned her beneath him. “Draw, is it?”
With an indignant hiss, she reluctantly ceded his victory. “That was an unfair attack!”
“Really? You dare accuse me, given what you just did?”
“A little. Aye.”
More amused than he should be, he rolled off her and helped her up. “I’m still impressed. And perhaps we can find a place for you in the guard, after all. Regardless of what they told you. Would you like for me to speak to the commander on your behalf?”
Her hopeful expression did the strangest things to his gut. Honestly, he’d never seen anyone more beautiful, nor had she been boasting about her skills. She was an accomplished fighter. “Could you?”
“Sure. On one condition.”
“What?”
“Have dinner with me?”
Nick let out a deep breath as he realized he was seeing how Monakribos and Rubati first met, and how they started their doomed relationship.
Monakribos was the original Malachai who’d founded his lineage before recorded history had begun. It had been Rubati’s vicious murder at the hands of her drugged and deranged husband as decreed by treacherous gods that had led to Nick’s curse and prophecy.
His forefather had sworn his vengeance against them all for what they’d taken from him. He’d vowed to see the entire world burn over it.
The heart and soul of her husband, Rubati had been the anchor who had kept the first Malachai sane and manageable. She alone had made him “human”. Once she was gone, he’d lost all shred of humanity and caring.
It was her DNA that she shared with Kody’s mother that allowed Kody to be Nick’s anchor in the future. And it was why he was their one hope of thwarting the Malachai curse. Because Kody’s mother had been created from Rubati’s blood, she, alone, calmed him. All because her mother had been born out of the injustice of Rubati’s murder.
The gods had wrongfully taken Rubati’s life and so to balance it out, Bethany had been resurrected without a heart to provide justice to the universe.
That was the legacy of Kody’s bloodline. Her family were all gods of justice and balance. Chthonians or demigods.
Protectors of man.
Meanwhile Nick’s were the destroyers. They were hatred and all the darkness of the universe.
By reuniting their two bloodlines, Nick and Kody stood a chance at laying the hatred aside and allowing Nick to live out his lifetime not as a destroyer, but as a protector too.
Haven’t you figured it out yet?
Nick gasped as he heard his father’s voice in the aether around him.
“Adarian?”
Something slammed into his chest, knocking him down. It felt as if he’d been hit by a truck. With a gasp, he forced himself to his feet, and braced himself to take another hit as he realized this wasn’t who and what he thought.
This was the other Malachai.
“Where are you?” he roared. “Face me, you coward!”
Light blinded him.
And out of the searing brightness came the red and black winged beast who haunted his nightmares. The one with red, glowing eyes that hated him most.
Not his father.
