“Are you sure you’re okay?”
I nod again. “Please . . . just . . . go find her. I need to know she’s okay.”
Zeniel kisses me on the cheek one more time before dematerializing.
I armor back up, making my way to my feet.
CHAPTER 43
– Enzyria, Main Hall
EVESSE
I dematerialize down into the main hall. Dimithinia is sitting on the last step of the stairs leading up to the second floor. Her arms are crossed and a miffed glare is aimed at me. The look in Dimi’s eyes says it all:
Fuck you for telling him. I barely got away in time.
Where is Crius though?
Beings are pouring into the hall by the dozens. Sesengts loiter on either side. There’s at least two hundred of them and counting.
They aren’t the only ones coming in either. Another wave of immortals is next, and this time, I recognize who’s leading them into the hall.
Dago marches in, his stride full of so much purpose that he looks like he’s about to lay a smackdown on someone. The Vy’shi behind him are just as determined, and all of their eyes are locked on one person.
Ismini.
They keep on going until Dago comes to a stop in front of her, and the female and male witches following him stop behind him.
Then, as one, they all fall down to one knee, bowing before Ismini.
Dyletri’s growl rumbles softly through the hall, but he has the grace to keep himself from attacking any of the males paying homage to his female.
“Flux,” Dago says, tilting his head back to stare at Ismini. “We are yours to command in all ways. It is our greatest honor to have you before us once more.”
Cyake has to smack a hand across Dy’s chest to stop the jealous male from taking a step forward. Although Cyake is holding Dyletri back from harming Dago, his golden eyes are anchored on the Vy’shi and are promising a world of hurt.
Dago’s light blue eyes move from Ismini to Cy, locking on him with the same exact message.
And I know instantly what all the aggression is about.
Spari.
Dago is rising to his feet when Crius materializes into the hall, Hades close behind. Crius’s eyes have returned to their silver shade, his pupils once more hidden, but there’s no mistaking where those eyes are focused.
Dimithinia pointedly ignores him, her arms crossed. She’s still wearing her black coat; her arms are hidden, as well as the cuffs that’ll give her away.
Shit. I’m almost one-hundred percent sure she’s mated to Crius.
I can understand her not wanting Crius to know about her being mated to him, but I witnessed how he reacted when he thought Dimi was gone.
As everyone is moving to the side, and a huge hundred-foot-long marble board table appears in the middle of the hall, XreakLi storms in, flanked by two other Sesengts.
One of them has golden skin, gorgeous hazel-green eyes, and tattoos going up the sides of his neck, where they become lost in his thick, black hair. He continues walking forward, even as Xreak and the other Sesengt veer off to the left. That stare of his is obsessed, borderline teary-eyed, and it’s also focused on—
“Agathen,” Dimithinia gasps, looking like she’s seen a ghost.
Agathen marches up to her, his face resembling stone even as he blinks back the tears in his eyes.
Dimithinia’s lips part, and her arms fall to her sides. She’s obviously struggling to breathe. “Agathen?” she repeats, dazed.
The guardian nods, then falls to one knee before her, bowing his head in total submission. “My queen.” His tone is as much a pledge of respect as it’s an affirmation of devotion.
The entire hall goes quiet.
I practically hear Crius’s blood pressure skyrocket.
Dimi’s lids slide over her eyes, threatening to dislodge the tears gathering there. Her skin is pale white and she begins to shake. “Agathen.”
Agathen remains as he is, leaning on the closed fist he braced on the floor, his other arm resting on his bent knee. His stare is locked on the floor in a show of utter reverence. “I had not known you had already been brought back amongst the living, your highness. Had I known, I would have come sooner. Much sooner.”
Dimithinia’s eyes focus back on him, relief starting to overcome the shock. “After you died . . . They made you a Sesengt.”
Agathen nods, not looking up from the floor.
“You survived,” Dimi whispers in a wet, grateful voice.
“I only regret that I was not able to save you that day. When they told me I could have a chance to protect you in the far future, I agreed to return to life and become a guardian. I had to make up for my failure. I was not worthy of being part of your royal guard.”
Dimithinia presses her hand to her mouth, her shaking intensifying. “That is not true. Please rise. I am your queen no longer,” she says, her voice muffled.
Agathen shakes his head vehemently. “You shall always be my queen.”
The tears Dimi’s holding back burst out of her, and she hugs herself with her free arm, her hand still cupped around her mouth.
The sound of a scuffle makes my head turn.
Hades wraps his arm around an extremely pissed off Crius, doing for him what Cy just did for Dyletri.
Holding him back.
Jesus. I’m practically choking on all the male aggression bouncing around.
“You were my friend,” Dimithinia whispers, lowering her hand. “Back then, you were my only friend.”
The fist Agathen is leaning on tightens and the sound of his leather gloves squeaking seems really loud.
“And you live.” Dimithinia’s lips part in a tremulous smile.
Then she decides to put the poor guardian’s life in even more danger, her arms wrapping around his head as she hugs it tight to her chest.
Agathen’s body goes rigid, right before his arms rise slowly off the floor, as if he’s too shocked to move any faster. Then they wrap around Dimi’s small body as she presses her cheek to the top of his head, her tears falling into his hair.
“I thank everything out there that you live, Agathen.”
“And I do as well when it comes to you, my queen. No one deserves a second chance more than you.”
The possessive, animalistic sound that leaves Crius is low and nasty, and still powerful enough to be heard through the entire hall.
Not that Dimithinia releases Agathen. Oh, no. She’s too lost in the fact that she’s been given back someone who was obviously a good friend.
Boots hitting the floor make my head twist around. Zeniel comes up to me, grabbing my hand and pulling me into him. “I checked on Soleria. She’s still unconscious, but she’s somewhat stable.”
I snuggle deeper into his side, feeling weak with relief.
“Alright. Alright. Break up the smushy shit. I don’t deal well with it unless it’s a special occasion,” Nylicia says, appearing in the hall. She sits at the end of the marble table that. “I convened this meeting for a reason. And pissing off Crius was only part of it.”
Twin glares are leveled at Nylicia, one from Dimithinia, and the other? Well, that’s obvious. Crius looks ready to commit murder.
Zen places his hand on the small of my back and leads me to the table.
“I need to see Soleria,” I whisper to Zen. That’s when I realize that Ianthen is nowhere to be seen. Is he already in the medical wing with her?
“Vedlyl is still looking her over. After this, I will take you right away.”
I kind of want to argue with that, but one look at Nylicia’s expression stops me. Any and all mirth is wiped clean from her face.
The female seems ready to destroy a planet, her multicolored-eyes staring unseeingly at the table as most of the beings in the hall sit down. Those that can’t fit at the table stand behind the seats, and everyone is watching Nylicia, waiting for her to speak.
Cyake breaks the silence, impatience morphing his features. “Where is she, N
ylicia?”
Dago, sitting across and eight seats away from him, tenses.
“This is not the time and place for that, Cy.”
Cy slams a hand against the table. “I don’t give a fuck. I’m going to start getting symptoms, Nylicia—”
If looks could kill, Dago would have Cyake melted into a puddle of blood and meat at his feet.
“And you will wait.” Nylicia continues to stare at the table, her voice as calm as her expression is dangerous.
Dago’s hard voice carries down the length of the table. “Is she alright, Nylicia?”
Cy’s eyes flash momentarily blue. Hades places a hand on his shoulder.
“She is none of your concern,” Cyake growls.
“There’s a reason she left with me when you went all barbarian–prophet on her. “
“Boys . . .” Nylicia says.
Hades rolls his eyes and shifts so that most of his weight is now on Cy.
Dago’s head swivels back around to Nylicia. “Why did you give her to him? We all know you sent her there that night on purpose.”
Nylicia slams her hand onto the table, and it shakes with the force, despite her being see-through. “This is not the fucking time for that!” She pauses, eyes coming up, and staring regretfully at Dago. “And it was destiny.”
Cyake throws Dago an insolent, pleased smirk.
“She is not yours, yet. There is still time.”
There is no mistaking what Dago means by that.
Cyake shoves Hades away from him and almost flies out of his chair.
Pink, hazel, aqua, and light blue energy shoots around Dago and Cy, anchoring them to their seats.
“I can will you dead, fucker. Don’t tempt me,” Cy growls behind the rainbow cloud, his eyes flashing metallic blue again. A part of the energy surrounding him breaks free, and slaps around his mouth like a strip of duct tape, shutting him up.
“XreakLi, please come up here and explain to them all you know.” Nylicia’s small face looks ancient right now.
Xreak nods and steps up to the table, standing besides Nylicia. “The Aviraji have declared all-out war with this battle. There is no doubt left.”
“But the treaty,” a male protests at the other end of the table.
“Is now null and void in every way that counts,” Nylicia counters, scowling. “They want complete control. They always did. And we all know where they’re going to start. Actually, considering who is the acting, reigning sovereign of South Eren, I can safely say they have already started.”
A male Vy’shi leans forward, eyes on Zeniel. “You are the son of Sophron, the last born to the royal lineage. That demoness only rules the war Erencei because you have allowed her to for this long. If you were to—”
Zeniel exhales, and I sense his dread, the sensation sinking deep into my stomach. I place my hand around his armor-covered thigh, staring up at his face.
“I don’t wish to be leader of the war Erencei. Never did.”
“It is not his destiny to be, either.”
All heads turn back to Nylicia.
“A female will take the throne of South Eren. And that female is in the medical wing as we speak.”
No freaking way. Sol?
“Soleria is descended of both the war Eren and the Vy’shi. She is the great-granddaughter of Mavrak’s brother, and part of the Vy’shi royal blood line as well.”
Murmurs break out, rushing like a tidal wave down the length of the table.
I still can’t believe it. Soleria is destined to become a queen?
“Cilpera must be dethroned first,” a female calls out.
Crius and Hades stare off into space with odd, psychotic expressions at the mention of that name.
Xreak’s hard voice cuts off all muttering. “We have more important issues to deal with first. The Aviraji have collapsed the entirety of the Kystm grid across the dimensions. We managed to seal the portals, but there are no longer any active gates between the realms. You can rest assured that they are going to start setting up their own Kystm grid, one we will not have access to.”
“What happens then?” Ismini asks from where she’s sitting next to Dyletri.
“We’re going to do our best to shut down their gates as they go up. But we also need to start setting up our own secret grid. And I’m going to need thousands of volunteers to help with that.”
“I’ll set up the ones leading out of Renentr,” Crius says.
Hades nods next to him, arms crossed as he leans back in his seat. Cyake is still trapped inside a swirling rainbow-colored twister next to him, looking pissed to high hell. “I’ll take care of setting up some leading out of Hades. I’ve never allowed anyone free entry into my domain. Don’t make me regret it, Sesengt.”
XreakLi returns his nod. Voices rise as others volunteer.
“How about Eren?”
Nylicia rises off the table. “The mind Erencei, element Erencei, peace Erencei, and all the other subspecies of demons have not come forward to join with us because they fear who is leading the war demons, and they don’t yet know that we are banding together. The peace Erencei are especially necessary to us. I will be dispatching emissaries to meet with them and bring them to our side. Zeniel . . . sorry to hit you with destiny when you least expect it, but you will be going to meet with the peace demons. As a war demon and God of Tranquility, you are the best suited to talk them into joining us.”
I grab his hand, squeezing it under the table. “You mean we’re going together.” Especially since I have a feeling that it won’t be as simple as Zen just meeting with the peace demons.
Zen all but lifts me into his lap, his arm snaking around me and his hand settling on my hip.
The energy that was holding down Cyake and Dago dissipates, leaving behind two sullen, nearly pouting males.
“A bunch of you are, actually.” Nylicia nods, giving me a small smile. “You’ll also be one of Soleria’s main advisors when we set her up on the throne, so get used to the idea that, in some way, you will be leading your father’s subjects soon.” She doesn’t give Zen the time to even make a sound in protest. Inhaling, as if she’s bracing herself, she looks up at the ceiling. “The humans are a bigger issue. Maeltzkon is back in the picture.”
This time, the voices that break out all over the hall are definitely panicked.
Dago sneers. “That cult was supposed to have been eradicated long ago.”
“That organization, as they now are, never disappeared. It’s been growing behind the scenes. They call themselves M-Kon now. And I can guarantee you this: They have amassed enough power and fortunes on Earth to give them all the technological weapons and advancements of all the world’s governments combined.” Nylicia shrugs one shoulder. “And now the Aviraji have tricked them into being on their side. So they have godly assets as well. Which means they’re also being given the technological advances of other planets, too.”
“You see the future!” One female cries out. “Did you know they were still in existence?”
“They caused enough damage in ancient times! Now you are telling us they have this kind of power?” someone else yells out, slamming a fist on the table.
“Yes. And they have something worse, too.” Nylicia pauses, her expression turning sheepish. I think no one is oblivious to the fact that she hasn’t answered the first question.
“What do they have?” Dyletri asks.
Out of nowhere, Cyake jumps to his feet, frantically looking around. “Where is he? He never came back, did he? Where the fuck is he?”
Nylicia cringes, nailing Cy with her big eyes. “M-Kon has him.”
“WHAT?” Cyake roars.
Nylicia cringes some more. “M-Kon captured him.” She bites down on the knuckle of her thumb, and her next words are strained. “They have Ianthen.”
An atomic bomb of blue, white, red, and black energy explodes in the direction of the table, and everyone is thrown out of their chairs as the hundred-foot piece of marble shoots
into the air.
It crashes through one of the walls, landing in the courtyard outside with a loud crash.
I fall on top of Zen, who latches onto me and braces my fall. Moving my hair out of my face, I try to find the source of that blast.
Oh, I find it, alright.
Standing by the stairs, fists clenched, and her body surrounded by a freaking twister of brutal, primal power in the same color as the blast, is Soleria.
A light-blue-and-black eyed Soleria whose cheekbones are sharper and who now has war demon markings all over her exposed skin.
She’s no longer human.
Holy . . . shit. Look at her.
“What the hell did you just say?” Soleria asks slowly.
Nylicia reappears, completely unruffled by the blast while Vy’shis and Sesengts struggle to their feet, every one of them staggering away from Soleria and the planet’s-core-worth of power that’s churning around her. “M-Kon has Ianthen?” This time, it comes out as a question.
The next blast that shoots out of Sol sends every single statue in the hall flying up towards and into the ceiling.
The fifteen-foot-tall statue of Cy breaks through the golden dome. Golden flecks and the satellites rain down in its wake.
Nylicia holds up a finger, meeting Soleria’s enraged black-and-light-blue stare calmly. “I can tell you where to find him. You just gotta promise me you’re gonna kill everyone that gets in your way.”
Soleria doesn’t even blink. No, she just continues to seethe. “Done.”
EPILOGUE
– Eighth dimension, Kremia
Cailyptsia’s Realm
SPARI
P ervasive darkness irritates the fuck out of my human eyes.
Funny how above ground this realm is like a tropical paradise. But down here, in this isolated pocket, everything resembles the Underworld.
Black marble walls that usually reflect back the light of thousands of candles surround me. The candles are currently unlit, which means that the realm’s ruler is off sulking somewhere.
No doubt she had another falling out with her could-have-been “daughter-in-law.”
She’s going to be your mother-in-law now, too.
Ryze Series: Books 1 & 2 Page 60