It’s still in that bastard’s mouth.
Furious, I shove my hands into the ceFtut’s mouth, not caring that its jagged teeth will cut me. I open its mouth with a snap, tearing its jaw apart.
Dimithinia’s head falls out, rolling in a pool of blood and saliva across the floor.
I have never felt such bloodlust. The rage is explosive, more than I can handle, and in a frenzy I begin kicking, punching, tearing. My fist goes through the spot underneath its chin and it bursts into nothing but dust.
I don’t stop. Can’t. I begin sobbing, so hard that my body aches as I continue to slam my fists into the ground. The entire parking level shakes as the floor beneath me begins to give.
Damn it. After everything we went through to bring her back. After Ismini and I both forged a fucking connection with her, and now she’s gone. Just like that! Why? How the hell can she be dead?
“Stop! Evesse, stop! Dimithinia’s body just disappeared!”
What?
I’m still sobbing, barely able to breathe, when I look over my shoulder at the spot where Dimi’s body had fallen.
It’s gone. Not even the blood is left behind.
Stunned, I wipe my hand across my mouth and turn to search out Dimi’s head. Same thing. It vanished.
Spari is shaking and wide-eyed. She takes a step in my direction.
I’m convinced my expression is just as shocked as hers. “Where did her body go?”
More shrieks sound from deeper within the parking lot, signaling the arrival of more ceFtuts.
I don’t even get a chance to react to that.
Fury cracks the back of my head like Thor’s hammer, and a world of agony unleashes itself upon impact. I’m thrown face-first into the cement by raw energy. The impact hurts, but nowhere near as much as what comes next.
The burn of my mating mark slices through the nerves of my neck. My stomach turns in on itself, twisting so viciously that I cry out.
Blood spews out of me like a fucking geyser. My body is lifted by invisible hands and slammed back down.
“Evesse!”
Spari’s cry is drowned out by the sound of the ceFtuts rushing towards us. Judging by the shrieks, four more are heading our way. Their thunderous steps shake the floor. For a split second, I wonder how Spari’s ears are taking the abuse.
“Sp-Spari. Run!” I choke out, before another wave of vomiting overcomes me.
In the next instant, images and emotions tear into my mind, brutally digging their way in until they’re so deep, I feel my DNA being altered.
Zeniel is in an alley with some blonde. The bitch has herself pressed up against my man, and her lips . . . God. The moment her lips touch his, the images mutate, a playback on fast-forward that ignites the bomb inside me.
I can see the female touching Zeniel. Her lips on his neck. Her legs spread on either side of him as she rides him.
Pain detonates inside my abdomen and shoots down my legs. More blood leaks from my mouth.
“Evesse!”
Ismini?
Pounding footsteps run by me, followed by a dangerous howl. Whatever it is collides with the ceFtuts.
“Baby! The structure is coming down. Keep it together!” Dyletri screams.
“But Evesse! What’s happening to her? Where is Zeniel?”
“There are innocent humans here, Ismini. Please. I’ll get to her after. Please!”
“Okay!” Ismini cries, sounding on the verge of tears.
Her tears are for me. Though, she should be crying for Zeniel, because if I somehow survive this, I’m going to kill him for allowing another woman to touch him.
Another image comes, and it’s Zeniel letting that bitch ride him again.
I torque off the floor, choking on my own blood. Slamming my hand down into the concrete beneath me, I dig my fingers in, and manage to push myself into a sitting position.
To my left, a massive, navy-blue wolf is jumping off the back of the ceFtuts and tearing off flesh with its teeth. The beast is nearly five-feet tall on all fucking fours. When its head turns in my direction, I find myself staring into its white eyes.
Dyletri is to my right. At least, I think it’s Dyletri. He looks more like a walking halogen lamp on full blast. His hands are extended and he’s shooting white energy from his palms like lasers. Each beam connects with a ceFtut, incinerating it instantly, just as a teret would.
Has he always been able to do that?
“Evesse! You okay?”
I turn to Ismini, my eyes filling with tears.
Ismini is next to the wall, her hands pressed against it, her head turned so she can see me over her shoulder. Pulse after pulse of energy shoots out of her, and her hair is doing that fluctuating thing. She’s keeping the mall together, forcing the molecules to stay connected.
If not for Ismini, the entire building would have collapsed already.
“Eve! Talk to me! Tell me you’re all right!” She demands angrily.
“No!” I cry out, shaking my head. “I . . . she’s dead, Ismini. I fucking let her die!”
“What are you talking about?”
“Dimithinia.” The tears start again, sliding hot down my cheeks. “Dimithinia is dead!”
“What on Earth are you fucking talking about? She’s right behind you!”
What in the—
“Come. We need to get you out of the way.”
I freeze at those words. Clutching my mid-section, I stare off into space, in disbelief. Two hands slip under my shoulders, pulling me backwards.
“Dimi, make sure to keep her out of the way!” Ismini calls out, her eyes on whoever is pulling me behind one of the parking lot walls.
I look over my shoulder.
“You are covered in blood. What has Zeniel done to you?”
“Holy shit.”
“He ‘holy shit’?” Dimithinia asks, looking behind her then looking back down at me.
Fuck. It really is her.
“I saw you die.”
Dimithinia stops in front of the only parked car still intact and collapses behind me, panting. I—as weak as I still am—end up falling back against her.
“I saw you die,” I repeat.
“I did. I think I did. I woke up in Renentr. Had to . . . how do you say? ‘Get the hell out?’”
CHAPTER 29
EVESSE
I can do nothing but stare at her for a few seconds. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“I did not want Crius to see me. Indeed, that is the last thing I needed occurring right then.”
“You freaking died. Head bitten off,” I reiterate.
Dimithinia blinks. “Thank you for the reminder. It had not been clear.”
“How? How are you here right now?”
“When I figure that out, you shall be the first person I inform. I promise.”
“You told that ceFtut to die.” I point at the lower half of the creature that’s still lying feet from us. “You told it to die, and it did so. No questions asked. No regenerating. Nothing.”
Dimithinia looks at where I’m pointing. The look that crosses her face is honest to God confused. “I . . . what?”
“Dimi, you commanded it to die. And it did. Just like that.”
She doesn’t remember that specific part. It’s obvious.
Dimithinia’s lips part. “I . . .”
A ceFtut shrieks before the sound is abruptly cut off. Dyletri unleashes more of that power of his. I hear every beam as it leaves his hand.
Something impacts the concrete.
Turning my head, I see a blonde male, crouched with his head down. The concrete beneath his feet was obliterated by his landing.
Tendrils of purple, light blue and aqua energy snake out, crackling across the cement floor, the walls, and even the ceiling above. I have a feeling that if it hadn’t been for Ismini forcing the atoms and molecules to stay together, the entire floor would have caved in from that male’s landing alone.
He’s wearin
g a black felt coat with the collar raised around his chin. His golden blond hair falls over his forehead. Then he moves, slowly, raising his head. A gloved-hand sweeps the hair off his forehead as he stands to his full height. A gorgeous, statue-like face comes into view.
There’s no emotion there. I’ve never seen anyone do stoic so well.
The newcomer’s eyes meet mine. They’re light blue and as beautiful as the rest of him, but they’re also the saddest thing I’ve ever seen.
Silently, without glancing behind him, he makes his way towards the destroyed mall entrance. His footsteps are light, every move fluid and controlled. He steps over the jagged pieces of metal and glass.
Once inside, he stops, looking over his shoulder at the battle starting to die out behind him. Fucking hell, those eyes. With a wince, I look away, turning to Dimithinia. In my peripheral vision, I see the blonde turn back around and continue into the mall.
Dimithinia’s wide gaze is frozen on his retreating back.
“Who is he?” I ask.
“That is Ryth,” Dimithinia says. “He still lives. I cannot believe it.”
“Who?”
“Ryth. The God of Memories. He was . . . he was going mad thousands of years ago because of his powers. There were rumors in my kingdom, and everywhere else, that he was going to destroy himself. That the memories he harbored were too much.”
That’s what I saw in his eyes. I’m sure of it. “Where is he heading now?”
“He is the only one with enough power to erase the memories of thousands at once.”
“You’re saying he’s going in there to erase the memories of the humans, right? Take away what they saw?”
“Yes.”
“And he does that how?”
Dimithinia shakes her head, her expression so full of pity that I wonder at the history behind it. “He takes them into himself. It is the only way.”
A cramp tightens my abdomen as the images of Zeniel and that woman come back full force.
“Evesse!” Dimithinia catches me before I can keel over and eat cement again. “Are you alright?”
Nothing about this situation is right. The world is being torn apart by zombie-like, gigantic creatures, my friends, gods, are fighting off said creatures, and I’m being destroyed from the inside out by a merciless entity that’s hell-bent on making me pay for something that isn’t my fault.
But damn it, did Zen really kiss that blonde?
“Evesse, what is happening?”
I can’t blame her for asking. Not only am I about to seize, but I’m coughing up blood. “I . . . I . . . ”
“Evesse. Whatever it is you are thinking of, try not to focus on it.”
“I am trying!” Covering my face with my hands, I curl into myself.
Until I hear a loud, dangerous growl that is distinctly canine.
I barely manage to squeeze an eye open. When I do, I see Cyake, just feet away from me. He’s frozen in place, facing the wall. In profile, I see his head thrown back, his enlarged, vicious teeth bared.
Fucking hell. Those canines.
I share a WTF look with Dimithinia before turning back to observe what seems to be a rabid god. Cy’s gaze is locked with the ceiling and his large ribcage pumps up and down with each hard breath. Up and down until I’m sure he’s going to hyperventilate.
Another unholy growl leaves him.
He lowers his head, rotating his neck slowly. When I see his expression, I move back into the wall, scared.
His golden eyes are enlarged, everything about them twice as big as usual. He looks like he’s in the grips of something unnatural, even for a being like him. He seems possessed.
I shift until I can see around the wall, wondering what the hell he’s staring at with those huge eyes.
Uh . . . Spari? Is he staring at Spari like that?
Cyake takes off, running so fast he flies by in a blur. I hear him break the sound barrier, and before I can blink, he’s in front of Nylicia’s human sister, grabbing her by the arms. He lifts the stunned-speechless girl off her feet, flips her around, and in a flash has her pressed against the wall.
Her feet are left dangling in the air as he lifts her to his height. Cy gets all up in her grill, baring those huge teeth and giving her a beastly growl.
“You.” He shoves his thigh between her legs, pressing every inch of himself on Spari without bothering to ask her consent. It’s like he wants to rub himself all over her and mark her with his scent. “It’s you. You’re the one.”
Spari gapes at Cy, fear in her eyes.
Cyake is oblivious, breathing so hard between growls that he sounds asthmatic. He lets go of Spari’s arms, and shoves his hands through her hair. Fisting it, he tilts her head back and brings her closer. His eyes grow heavy lidded and he leans in to scent her. One long sniff across her cheek.
Spari gives a little gasp.
“You,” Cy repeats, pulling back. “You will be mine.” His eyes have gone metallic blue, so blue that they give off a matching glow against Spari’s face.
Her next gasp is so loud that it echoes in the parking lot.
“My . . . my R’ma.” Cyake grunts, pulling her closer—pressing his nose up against her cheek and breathing her in hard. “My mate.”
“N-no. Not you. Never you,” Spari whimpers, staring unblinking over his shoulder.
“Yeesss.” He locks eyes with her, pressing his forehead to hers. “You will be mine.”
A dam seems to break inside Spari. The scream that she lets loose makes me cover my ears. In a rage, Spari begins kicking at Cy, beating on him with her fists.
She doesn’t stop screaming or beating on him until her hands break. I hear the bones snap all the way across the parking lot.
“Cyake!” Ismini cries, letting go of the wall and running towards him.
Dyletri and Ianthen come running around a corner on the other side, both crying out his name, too.
Holy shit. What’s going on?
“You gotta let her go, dude!”
Cyake swivels his head around and growls at Ianthen like he has every intention of biting his freaking arm off. Ismini and Dyletri skid to a halt, eyes wide as they take in Cyake’s expression.
It’s like some sick soap opera unfolding right before me. Hell, it even manages to distract me from the bullshit going on within me.
Until Zen appears out of thin air and falls to his knees next to me.
“Evesse.”
I jerk, that miserable fire sparking back to life inside me. As soon as he reaches out for me, the retching comes back harder than ever.
“Evesse.”
“Don’t touch me.” Don’t pay attention to the tone of his voice. It doesn’t matter!
Coughing and spewing blood I shouldn’t have anymore, I fall to my side.
Cyake growls and shouts. Ianthen and Dyletri shout back at him as they pull him away from Spari.
Spari’s sobs echo through the parking lot.
Ismini looks at the chaos around her helplessly before her gaze settles on me. Her eyes narrow. In a flash, Ismini is in front of me. “Evesse!”
Zeniel pulls me into his arms.
“Let GO of me.” I groan, lashing out. My fist connects with his head.
Zen grunts, but doesn’t let me go. After that, the last of my strength seeps out, taking most of my consciousness with it.
Ismini glares at Zen accusingly. “What’s wrong with her? What the fuck did you do?”
I’m too weak to fight Zeniel, even though the feel of his body is doing nothing to soothe me. Just smelling and feeling him against me unleashes a headache so intense that my entire back arches in a spasm. What feels like a thousand knives seem to slice into my brain, then cleave down the length of my spine.
“Evesse, baby—”
“Don’t you call me that.”
“I’m taking her,” Zen says, standing with me in his arms. I’m shaking, hard, but not so hard that I don’t feel him shaking, too.
Fuck, I�
��m so enraged at him I want to bite his skin off but I can’t move enough to do so. Between the tremors, and the migraine eating away at my brain tissue, I can barely stay awake.
“Zeniel, wait,” Ismini says.
Zen doesn’t. He dematerializes, taking me away from the parking lot as the sound of sirens blend with Spari’s cries.
Just as quickly, we come to a stop.
We’re back in the bedroom where Zen took my virginity. Thinking about him fucking me, though, only serves to bring back more images of him fucking the blonde. “You stupid fucking asshole. Let me go.”
If only I had the strength to back up that demand and force him to.
He inhales sharply, probably at the fact that I’m really cursing him out now.
I so don’t care if he’s offended. “Let me go!”
“Evesse, please. I’m sorry.” He presses his cheek against mine. His warmth shoots through me.
Yearning and hate twist gleefully in my gut, making me whimper. “Don’t touch me!” I press a hand against his neck, pushing back. Not that it does any good. “Let go!”
“Eve—”
“I fucking see you with her!” I have no clue how I’ll stop the images, but I do know that he can’t touch me until then. Feeling him is making it worse. “Now! Let me go now, damn you to hell!”
His arms slacken.
I all but spill out of them, landing hard on the floor.
He makes a low, rough sound, taking a step towards me with the clear intention of lifting me back up.
I scramble across the floor, nearly blind. I don’t stop until I hit the wall, literally. Zen takes another step and I almost howl with frustration.
“Stay away from me!” Clutching my head is doing nothing but giving me something to hold on to. “P-please.” The fact that I must beg him right now is all wrong. It rubs against me like granite grating on a wound. “Please, stay back.”
There’s a short pause and then . . . gods, he falls to his knees in front of me.
I squeeze my eyes shut, desperate to block out the visual. A tiny part of me feels bad. I can feel his own pain coming off him in dark waves. He isn’t as sick as I am, but he’s still affected.
Probably because he let that bitch kiss him.
Ryze Series: Books 1 & 2 Page 48