One of his eyes is swollen shut, but the second he sees the blade, he starts thrashing, screaming into the gag Dean tied behind his head.
Anxo hands the sword to Dean so he can roll his sleeves up.
“Most people think torture is supposed to be quick and brutal,” Anxo says calmly. “But it’s far more effective when you take your time and do it right. Cauterize as you go, and the victim lasts longer. And the longer you live, I get to do this…”
The hot iron presses into our intruder’s arm, and he breaks instantly. He screams, trying to get away, but the movement only drives the heat deeper into his flesh.
I tilt my head, trying to get a better look at our guest, when I catch Anxo’s expression. His eyes… they’re no longer bright green butgold. Not as rich as Nevaeh’s when she channels her Divine, but paler, almost white, but impossible to miss.
I knew Divines merge after mating, but this is different. It’s still Anxo’s Divine, but now it carries a trace of Nevaeh’s essence in it.
The Fates were dead right when they paired them together. They’re both a bundle of positivity and warmth until something switches the flip inside them, and their demons take over.
Nevaeh never learned to hide her darkness, while Anxo built a mask even his demons can’t touch. He can perfectly split himself in two—Horseman on one side, mate, friend, and father on the other—and still thrive on both fronts.
People often mistake his patience for his weakness, but one wrong step towards his loved ones, and the chains snap.
Anxo spends the next half hour tearing through the man’s mind, but whoever sent him planned ahead. His memories are scrambled beyond repair.
There are only a few beings who can manipulate someone’s mind like that, and my gut keeps screaminghisname.
But it can’t be him. Tiberius would never set foot on the surface. He despises this world more than anything.
When Anxo fails to find anything important, blocked by magic he hasn’t seen before, the feeling in my gut increases. His eyes find mine, probably coming to the same conclusion, but I’m frozen in place.
An hour later, we’re walking back to Conquer in silence, all of us lost in our own heads.
I’m scared to admit it, even though we’re all thinking the same thing.
It’s him. Tiberius is getting creative in his efforts to reach me.
“We knew this day would come.” Anxo’s voice cuts through my thoughts.
I swallow. “I thought I had more time.”
“We’ll figure it out.”
He sounds sure, and it eases the pressure in my chest even when I’m still on edge, scanning everything, everyone, not sure what’s out of place—if anything even is.
That’s the worst part about people like Tiberius. They get into your head long before they get close enough, and by then, you’ve already driven yourself insane with what-ifs.
I won’t let him ruin this. I built this life brick by fucking brick, and I’ll bash his head in with those same bricks before I let him tear it down.
“I saw your eyes… that’s new.”
“Uh, yeah.” Anxo scratches the back of his neck, suddenly shy. “It happened after Nevaeh and I… you know…” He clears his throat.
This is the same man who shattered someone’s mind without lifting a finger, not even ten minutes ago.
He’s a mountain of contradiction.
We sit through another two hours of court before the last person leaves.
Thank Lucifer, Anxo is handling everything because my mind is a mess.
I’m already running through scenarios where Tiberius breaches the portal and declares war. The good thing is, he loses in every single version.
I know both kingdoms’ forces inside out, and the Tetrad kingdom has more allies than Tiberius has warriors.
