I can’t answer her right away. My thoughts race. Half of me is hellbent on staying in the bed with her. The other half has already started asking questions, putting together the pieces, and the conclusion staring at me isn’t fucking pretty.
Xreak watches over Earth, and Ismini is from Earth. Whatever is going on, I’m almost positive it has to do with Enteax and Lisrn.
Rage pummels my system, the memory that those two were after Ismini mixing with my frustration. As much I want to stay with her, I can’t, especially when I know that those two might still be causing trouble.
And there’s no way I’m letting them lay their filthy hands on her.
I move her off me, amazed at how my insides scream with outrage. The sexually frustrated creature inside me burns like hell, and its roar is so loud I can see the world around me pulsating in response.
“He’s a Guardian,” I finally answer, sitting up and cupping my pounding head.
“Dyletri, are you okay?”
I want to tell her that, no, honestly, I’m not fucking okay.
But I don’t say that. I sit up and rematerialize my jeans, looking over my shoulder at her. “I have to go and see what this is about. Are you okay?”
“I’m . . . I’m fine. Could you perhaps . . .”
I make her clothes reappear on her body, turning and avoiding her stare as I leave the bed. I have a moment of extreme light-headedness that I’m sure has everything to do with the amount of blood still being utilized elsewhere, but I keep walking.
I’m too fucking out of it, my thoughts racing. I don’t even have enough concentration to dematerialize into the main hall where I feel the energy signatures of the others gathered.
Thanks to what the girl’s done to me, I’m forced to open the door like a mortal and walk out of my room.
With each step I put between myself and the girl in my bed, my reemerging powers slam into the middle of my head. Every inch I put between us is that much more painful.
Realizations are dawning, becoming a backdrop for the guilt that blossoms and stabs me in the chest. Guilt at what I just did to her. Guilt at having broken a promise I upheld for millennia on end.
A promise I made to the woman I love.
Because I love Dimithinia, don’t I?
You know the answer to that. I haven’t gone to see how Dimithinia’s soul is faring. Not since Ismini came into my life. Almost all of my thoughts have revolved around her.
I shake my head, trying to clear it. Worse than hearing that voice telling me that my emotions are shifting, is the hunger for Ismini’s blood. A hunger that’s still burning inside me. A hunger that’s been wrecking me for days.
You know what that means, as well.
No. Fuck, no. It can’t be.
Yes. Go back, the thing within me yells, ignoring my higher thoughts, what I truly desire.
She’s it.
Bullshit! She can’t be.
Besides, something’s about to go down that might involve the two assholes that were after Ismini.
I don’t care about any of that, go back!
I slam my fist into the nearest statue as I pass by. The thing breaks apart before coming back together, one molecule at a time. It doesn’t do anything to ease my temper or the pain tearing apart my cells and whispering in my ear.
Hell, I almost fucking forget to rematerialize my shirt and shoes before stepping into the hall.
You want her blood. You know what this means. You know.
All the Gods are in the hall waiting for me, standing in a circle around the massive form that is Xreak. With long, dark green hair and aquamarine eyes, the man is something females either love or run from.
Ianthen is standing away from everyone, staring down at the floor. The male looks downright spooked.
Nothing scares Ianthen. He, like all of us, is brave to the point of foolishness. That’s what happens to immortal males.
One would think he’d faced his death or something close to it.
Go back to the girl. You know what it means.
I grind my teeth together and tell myself to fuck off. There isn’t time.
“Dyletri.” Xreak inclines his head when he sees me walk in.
The others in the room turn to stare at me, and their thoughts may as well have manifested themselves in the form of neon lights on top of their heads. I can practically see the words flashing from where I’m standing.
Say what now?
Oh really?
Asshole.
Details!
Clearly, they all heard what went down between Ismini and I upstairs.
Nosey motherfuckers.
Ignoring the looks, including the raised eyebrow Cy’s throwing in my direction, I address our guest directly. “What are you doing here, Xreak?”
“We have a very serious problem, as I’m sure you can surmise from my presence.”
“And that is?” Ian asks, sounding all ready for battle and shit. He’s gone from being scared to death to dangerously angry. The male is obviously ready to kill something.
“A Kystm has been ripped open.”
“Which one?” several of us ask at once, our voices on edge. The Kystm are the veils between the dimensions, and if any of them are ripped open, it’s a problem, to say the least. Depending on which dimension is on the other side, it can be an all-out apocalypse.
“The ninth one, boys. I wouldn’t be here if it had been any other.”
Apocalypse, it is.
While Crius' Renentr and all the other Underworlds are located on the eighth, the ninth is the darkest and vilest of all the dimensions. For its Kystm to have been ripped open . . .
“Who did it?” I ask.
“We don’t know. But some bad shit’s pouring out of it and into the other dimensions. Specifically, Earth.”
All of the gods let curses fly. I take a step closer to Xreak, ready to shake him and force answers out of his mouth.
XreakLi holds up a hand, looking calm despite the panic he just induced in all of us. “Get those battle weapons ready, you retired fucks. It’s about time you made your asses useful again.”
CHAPTER 16
ISMINI
T he moment Dyletri walks out on me, I’m in agony. I remain on the bed, biting down on my knuckles and trying to hide the sheer rage that’s reawakened in my cells. The pain multiplies with each step he takes, and about thirty seconds after he walks out the door, a punch of raw energy flings me back against the headboard.
I have to all but suffocate myself to stop my sharp intake of breath. If he hears me, Dyletri might return to investigate, and that’s the last thing I need. Not with the way my neck is burning, the lines of the mark branding my skin once again as they reappear.
So I stay like this, fighting back the need to breathe even as I fight the need to scream. It takes a while, but eventually I realize that his sheets are making the situation worse.
His room.
His presence remains in the form of his scent. It clings to everything. Everything.
Stomach heaving, I shoot up off the bed. I stumble and land on the floor in a heap. Just when I think I’m going to either puke up a lung or pass out from the pain, my brain seems to split in two.
I don’t have a chance to brace myself before visions start pouring in on me, whispers of a voice I now know so well.
It’s Dyletri. And I feel his guilt. His pain. His confusion. I can feel and hear ghosts of his anger because he betrayed Dimithinia.
A sob breaks out of me, the sound unstoppable. I clench my eyes shut, everything hurting as the ancient beauty’s face creeps into my mind through Dyletri’s. It’s like my soul is trying to escape my body to get away from his thoughts.
I damn myself to a million hells as the tears begin, leaking out hot and fresh. I pray that no one hears me as more small sobs escape against my will. Desperate to get out of the compound before they hear me, I try to drag myself across the floor.
I’m doing one hell of a job of it, too
, when I hear someone walk in behind me. I’m halfway between the bed and the exit to the balcony.
“Ismini!”
It’s Vedlyl. He appears next to me and I bite the inside of my cheek as he lifts me.
“Forgive me. Please. I need to—”
“Shhh. Please . . . he . . . he can’t know . . .” I cough, hating the fact that I can’t keep my traitorous body quiet.
“They left. They all had to leave. There’s an emergency back on Earth. By the gods, damn him. His scent is all over you. What was he thinking if he still plans . . .”
“No, I . . . I tempted him, Vedlyl. I . . . Salicyar. I think I met Salicyar.” We rematerialize into the medical wing just as I manage to get out those words.
Vedlyl pauses in his steps before continuing. “Stupid son of a bitch. I warned him.”
He’s practically growling, taking me by surprise. I’ve only ever known the God of Medicine to be calm, even when he’s concerned.
By the time he lays me back on my bed, I’m so cold that I’m shivering.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Evesse run in, and the horror of her witnessing this makes my eyes water.
“What the fuck?” Evesse yells when her eyes land on me.
“Evesse, please. Calm down. I didn’t ask you here to—”
I glare up at Vedlyl. “You told her to come!”
“What the fuck is wrong with you? What’s happening?” Evesse rushes to sit on the bed next to me. The moment her hand lands on my forehead, she recoils. “You’re so cold!” Evesse’s eyes dart back and forth between Vedlyl and me, obviously waiting for answers.
“Just give me one moment, I think she’s almost . . . ah, there she is!” Vedlyl says, ignoring Eve’s question. He pushes back the curtain that covers the opening to the balcony in time for me to see Nylicia’s form appear.
She seems a great deal more corporeal this time than she did during her previous visit.
“How much energy is it costing you to be here right now?” Vedlyl’s tone is worried and low.
Nylicia waves him off, walking closer to the bed. “Doesn’t matter. And it’s nowhere near as much as I’m about to use.”
“Oh my God . . .” Eve whispers. “You . . . you’re real.”
“Evesse Salazar, I’m sorry that we have to meet for the first time, in person, under these circumstances. If you will remain still for two seconds and trust me, I will give you all the answers you seek.”
I sit up and cry out, “Wait. Nylicia, what are you doing? No!”
Evesse’s angry, tear-filled eyes land on me. “I’m your friend, damn it! I deserve to know what’s wrong with you!”
“Evesse, please. I need you to look at me.” Nylicia stops in front of her. Evesse does what she asked, and this time, I don’t interrupt them. I know Evesse is right, and it isn’t fair to hide from her what’s happening anymore.
Nylicia’s shimmering, translucent hand comes up beneath Evesse’s chin and urges her to tilt her head back. She leans down and locks stares with Evesse. While I watch, Nylicia’s irises become a whirling vortex, the colors spinning at an alarming rate. Her black pupils expand until they resemble small typhoons that suck in all the color.
Nylicia pulls back and Evesse just sits there, trembling. Her face has gone red. Her hand shakes as she raises it to her face and rubs her forehead. Nothing can hide the rage in her eyes, even when she clenches them closed.
My heart breaks even more. “I’m sorry. I should’ve told you.”
“Don’t you dare apologize!” A single tear falls down Evesse’s cheek. “God or not, I swear I’m going to kill him. I don’t care if I’m just a human, he’s dead! And you,” she turns to Nylicia, “I don’t care what I said or did in that dream! I’m not going to belong to that red-haired asshole!”
Oh. My. God.
Nylicia visited Evesse in her dreams, too. Evesse? When? Why? And Zeniel? There’s only one “red-haired asshole” she can be talking about.
Did Evesse walk through the portal because Nylicia showed her Zen in her dream?
“I’m here to help both of you join the battle on Earth,” Nylicia says. “What if I could temporarily help you both be . . . more? What if you are both meant to be more? Well, Ismini would be getting it anyway, because if I have to see her suffer like this simply because he has one more thought about Dimithinia . . .”
Eve’s eyes widens. “Is that why she’s like this?”
“That and he left her unsatisfied,” Nylicia grumbles.
I groan, turning my head and burying it in the pillow. Can they please not talk about this as if I’m not fucking here?
“What! Is he fucking insane?”
Apparently, they can’t.
I raise my head off the pillow, ignoring the way my face burns, desperate to find a reason, any reason, to get Evesse to calm down. “Aren’t you on top of Destiny? Isn’t this all supposed to happen?”
“Yes. Yes it is. That doesn’t mean I have to fucking like witnessing it, though.” The edge in Nylicia’s tone surprises me. “And I am here on Destiny’s orders. All hell is breaking loose on Earth, and as far as I can see right now, you two are meant to be a part of this battle.”
“You said you had the power to make us ‘more’,” Evesse says, the need for vengeance glittering in her eyes.
“Evesse,” I warn.
“Nylicia.” Vedlyl steps forward, expression worried. “In this form you’re weak enough as it is. The amount of energy this would consume . . .”
“Is none of your business, Vedlyl. Destiny calls for this, a lot hinges on these two joining the fight. And you know what? This is one of those times that I am more than happy to oblige.”
Eve shares a look with me before turning back to Nylicia. “What do you mean a lot hinges on us joining this fight?”
“I can’t tell you everything I know. Not yet, but I can tell you that I wouldn’t be here doing this if there wasn’t a good reason for it. Now Evesse, get on that bed next to Ismini. It’s time you left these weak human forms behind for a while.”
Evesse gets on the bed next to me so fast that, for a moment, I forget about my agony and just glare at her.
Why? Because Evesse is a freaking comic book fanatic and I’m sure that at the mention of becoming more than human, she forgot about my agony, too.
“Now, one thing I will apologize for is the pain this will cause. I’m temporarily switching out your DNA. While you’re still alive. This will not be pleasant. Okay, I’m not being honest. It’s going to hurt like a bitch.”
Evesse interrupts Nylicia. “Who cares? Just do it already!” She stops right after, realizing the way both Nylicia and I are looking at her.
“Sorry?” Evesse smiles sheepishly at me.
My brain threatens to shut down at the mere idea of more pain. However, I trust Nylicia. Not only that, but every mated inch of my body screams that whatever danger Nylicia’s sending us to help with is the very same that called Dyletri from his bed.
It’s ridiculous and stupid, and yes, I’m up for Moron of the Year at this point, but there’s no fighting the instinct that’s ordering me to get to his side.
Nylicia walks around the left side of the bed where Evesse lies. Eve reaches for my hand, gripping it hard and holding on.
A surge of emotion tightens my throat.
Vedlyl steps towards Nylicia, his expression tormented. Then he takes another step and another, until he’s right behind her.
And that’s when it finally clicks.
Oh my God. He’s in love with her.
Nylicia leans over us, palms open, her fingers spread. My eyes widen as the lines on her hands begin to glow. Even through her translucent form, the light is powerful. It spreads into a spiral that grows until it resembles a weird version of a lotus flower.
Evesse gasps. Her fingers tighten around my own just as the “flowers” explode, sending hot, bright light straight into us.
We both arch off the bed. The agony is overwhelmi
ng, and for one split second, I have enough cognitive reasoning left to wonder if I’ll survive this. It’s like giant burning claws are gripping my bones and trying to rip my entire skeleton through my flesh.
My soul feels as though it’s being shoved backwards through my DNA. My stomach cramps. My lungs struggle to bring in air as they seem to harden. My bones seem to tighten and my skin, too.
Through my screams and those of my best friend, I hear what sounds like Nylicia groaning. Then the light around us morphs, becoming prismatic. It splits into the same colors in Nylicia’s eyes.
They swirl and spin, and soon I can see nothing but gold rushing through my mind. Gold with symbols and images embedded within, all of it going too fast for my brain to process.
As soon as the process—or whatever the hell it is—is complete and I begin coming to, it takes me a few tries before I can focus. When I do, I realize several things all at once.
For one, the R’mannev’s locked back inside my heart. And it’s a heart that’s grown stronger. I hear the organ pounding away like a racehorse, fighting back against the mating.
But that isn’t the only thing. I clearly hear my own harsh breathing. Evesse’s, as well, and something else. A rushing sound inside my ears that seems familiar. Not more breathing but . . . the air.
Just like when Dyletri dematerializes me.
I hear each heartbeat in the room. Evesse’s. Vedlyl’s. My own. And a weak but furious one that can only belong to . . .
Nylicia!
I fly off the bed fast. Too fast. My body almost shoots right out the entryway and I have to catch myself against the frame.
I jerk from the sudden stop. My fingers dig into the stone, making me go wide-eyed as I see it crumble as if it’s nothing.
As I stare at my fingers embedded inside the wall, I hear an amplified “Oomph!” followed by a slapping sound. I drop to the ground in a crouch, turning my head from side to side and trying to locate where the noise came from.
I find it.
Evesse is plastered to the canopy of the bed. The stone the canopy is made of has cracked, as well, and Evesse is stuck up there, glancing all around her with an expression that screams, “What the fuck?”
Ryze Series: Books 1 & 2 Page 12