Blood Chained (Dark Siren Book 3)

by Eden Ashley

  All that happened next seemed to be experienced remotely, as if from some other part of her. A full armor of scales took over Kali’s flesh. Her teeth elongated, doubling in number, as her nails lengthened to razor sharp tips. Black fire exploded around her form, sprouting wings that lifted her several feet off the ground.

  The siren’s cry continued, building in decibels, while the flames surrounding her body matched its intensity. She folded her wings inward, calling the darkness to her as if it were her offspring and nurtured it to full nuclear potential.

  And then she released it.

  Abandoning their spell, the Builders scattered. Three were too slow to escape, and Kali’s devastation consumed them. Transforming their mass into figures of light, survivors fled in all directions. The siren levitated into the valley, choosing the one who dared the path closest to her fallen mate and quickly cut off his escape. Reaching into Builder’s golden radiance, she seized his spark and crushed it.

  The Builder dissolved into a shimmering mist that floated slowly to the earth. It fell like glitter onto Rhane’s body and gradually faded into nothingness. Seeing Rhane again stilled the rage in the human part of her that remained. Her mate was gone.

  The siren retreated from the pain, and it was Kali who stumbled to Rhane. Sobbing, she fell next to his side and pulled him into her arms. He was still warm. As she closed the lifeless eyes that once shone so brilliantly and pressed her cheek against his, Kali wondered if she would ever breathe again.

  #

  Clutching his side and gasping for air, Wesley ran through the woods. Rocks tripped him. Branches clawed at his face, drawing blood. The uphill climb sapped the last of his strength. Wesley was mortal. Their last desperate act had cost them all dearly. Worse yet, their attempt to unite the immortal with the child had failed. Somehow the boy had resisted the wolf and rejected the gift of immortality. They had not counted on such a resilient bond between the immortal and Rhane, reaching even beyond death. Centuries ago, when the same ritual was performed on Gabriel, the connection between mortal and immortal had not been so strong. But the separation had nearly drained their powers completely, making him and his brothers easy fodder. And then the siren had nearly destroyed them all.

  Wesley knew running was the coward’s way out. But he couldn’t face her. Despite his claims to humanity, he had committed a monstrous, unforgivable act against the one person who cared for him in this entire world. Seeing the reflection of what he’d done in her eyes would be worse than death. So, Wesley ran.

  Picking his way over the remains of a massive tree, Wesley slid down the trunk, carefully letting his feet touch the earth again. Turning around, he saw Bailen had appeared like a phantom and now stood stock still, blocking his path. Wesley smiled. The child looked so much like his mother. And if his suspicions were correct, Bailen possessed the same streak of ruthlessness that belonged to his father.

  “Bailen,” he said tenderly. “Why have you done this? We could have won.”

  “I have no interest in your games, Builder.”

  “We didn’t raise you to pursue such a selfish course.”

  The boy’s eyes grew unbelievably colder. “You shouldn’t have raised me at all.”

  Wesley spread his arms. “I guess you are here to exact vengeance for all the wrongs you suffered. Just know, what we did was to serve a greater good.”

  Bailen’s hands balled into fists. “All you ever did was to serve yourselves. You tore my family apart. We never had a chance thanks to your meddling.” Just as suddenly as the anger had flared, calm settled over the boy. His face became serene. “You destroyed my family, so I set out to destroy you. But the only way to annihilate such a mighty race was to let you wreck yourselves. So I escaped. I found my parents, waited until they were strong enough, and then dangled myself in front of you, knowing you wouldn’t be able to resist taking what you wanted.” The boy’s lips curled cruelly. “You took the bait. And now you’re weak.”

  “Go on then. Have your revenge,” Wesley said. He was ready to be out of his unbearable misery. “I am mortal now. You can kill me easily.”

  “Revenge is not what I want.”

  “Then what do you want?”

  “Bring him back.”

  Wesley recoiled. “You know that’s impossible.”

  “The immortal clings to his side, so there is hope. Bring him back.”

  “I can’t.” Wesley shook his head. “Even if I were strong enough, the process would surely kill me.”

  Bailen’s head tilted to one side. “There is no scenario in which you do not die, Builder. How would you have my mother remember you? Will you be the man who professed to love her and yet destroyed her world, or will you be the one who gives everything her back to her?”

  “Bailen, this is wrong. Please, remember your brother. Remember how the restoration changed him. It corrupted his very soul. The act is forbidden for a reason.”

  The boy was unmoved. “You will bring him back,” he said as sparks of fire twinkled from the corners of his eyes. “Or I will drag you to my mother and let her kill you herself.”

  Wesley understood then exactly how wrong he had been. Bailen’s ruthlessness far exceeded his father’s. “Okay, Bailen. I will do this thing you ask. Perhaps when we are all gone you will at last find peace.”

  “I will find peace when my family is returned to me…my entire family.”

  “Bailen—”

  “Walk.”

  Wesley bit his tongue. He’d known from the beginning the folly in separating mother from child. But what other choice had they? Builders were never meant to raise offspring. Treated like one of their many experiments, Bailen had not received nurturing or affection. His pitiless nature reflected that. Wesley could only hope the boy’s alleged love for his family was not false. If the Faction’s champion could not be defeated by strength alone, love would be the last hope to temper the abomination.

  The trek back to the gorge was a long one. Unsympathetic to Wesley’s weakened state, Bailen urged him forward with all the patience of a rabid sheepdog. As they reached the valley, Wesley grasped the boy’s urgency. Human again, Kalista cradled Rhane’s body, weeping into his hair. The great wolf stood over them like the most terrifying of all guardian angels. But the immortal’s light was fading.

  Kalista lifted her head at their approach. Instantly darkening, her eyes narrowed into slits. Patches of scales spread across her exposed skin. Hissing, she uncoiled her body and began to rise.

  “Wait,” Bailen called. “He can help.”

  “He has taken everything from me.”

  “He can help,” the boy repeated.

  Chapter 49

  It took every ounce of will not to lash out at Wes. He was clearly hurt. Killing him would have been easy, but Bailen had asked her not to. His manner showed a mastery of the same quiet authority Rhane displayed on countless occasions, and he seemed confident in the Builder’s ability to help somehow.

  Hugging Rhane close again, Kali leveled a glare at Wes that dared him to take one step closer. “How could you do this? You said you were my friend. Did my disobedience anger you so much?”

  Wes swallowed. “Kali, I can make this right. Time runs short, but please let me explain so that you may not see me for a monster. I am mortal. Returning Rhane to you will take the last of what I am. No further punishment can come to me for giving you the truth. After all these years, I owe it to you.” He paused. “I wish I could give you your memory too, and make you what you once were. But I’m afraid I have not the strength to perform both acts.”

  Kali didn’t care about her memory. She knew enough of who she was. Builders were powerful, but could he really do what he claimed? Could he return Rhane to her?

  “Fine. Give me the truth. All of it.”

  “I never lied to Rhane. Everything you know from him is true. Everything we’ve done was to right a wrong committed long ago. You have seen the catacombs—our laboratories. No creation we ever designed wa
s eliminated. Destruction is against our nature.”

  “And yet you killed my mate.”

  “Rhane’s death was a last resort, and it cost us greatly. Before that we sought a loophole that would not warrant immediate punishment from our masters. We created you to destroy our mistake. Blight is a force that has decimated this world again and again. It must be stopped. Sadly you were not strong enough to do so—even with your full powers. We knew of the immortal’s existence and hoped a pairing with a creature of your sort would produce an offspring with power that could match Blight’s.”

  “Are you saying Rhane and I did not meet by chance?”

  Wes nodded. “We caused the storm that wrecked his ship. Though your introduction was arranged, that you two fell in love was not. Rhane fell in love with you entirely on his own. When Rhaven died and your life became in danger, we had to act. We took you and your unborn child. We stripped you of your memories once the infant was born and kept you separated through the centuries. We believed that Bailen could be strong enough to face the enemy, but he ran away from that destiny, and so we reunited you with Rhane in order to stop Blight’s awakening. Unfortunately, Rhane failed as our champion, while the Faction only grew stronger. So we implemented Plan B. For that we needed the immortal itself.”

  “Why didn’t you just take it? You didn’t have to kill him.”

  “It’s not that simple. We did not create the immortal and therefore cannot control it.”

  “But you did so with Gabriel. The wolf was stripped from him, and he was left alive.”

  “Kalista,” Wes said gently. “The immortal is blood chained. When we broke the bond between Gabriel and the wolf, the immortal passed to Rhane.”

  Kali’s heart skipped a beat. “What are you saying?”

  “Gabriel is Rhane’s true sire.”

  She looked down at Rhane. “Holy shit,” she whispered and suddenly understood the loss she’d sensed in him. “You wanted to give the immortal to Bailen to make him stronger, so he could kill your mistake.”

  “He possesses strengths from both of you. Only he can face their champion and stand a chance against Blight when it awakens.”

  “Who is their champion?”

  Wesley smiled, but there were tears in his eyes. A red glow shone beneath his skin. “I’m out of time.” He looked up at Bailen. “He should, and will, tell you the rest. Be careful, Kalista. Other forces will seek to destroy you.”

  The crimson light became him, surrounding them, and then centered over Rhane’s body. Entering into him, Kali saw the strange glow spreading beneath his skin. The wolf’s radiance joined it, making the glow more powerful. Burns that covered Rhane’s chest began to heal and were gone in seconds. Starting as a twitch, his limbs jerked and flailed uncontrollably. As Kali moved to give him room, Rhane sat up and gasped in a huge lungful of air.

  His beautiful eyes saw her. “Did you kill them all?”

  Speechless, Kali shook her head. Rhane stood up and held out his hand to her. He didn’t ask what happened. Maybe the burns on his ruined clothing told enough of the tale.

  Wrapping his arms around her, he buried his face in her hair. Then he pulled Bailen to one side and kissed the top of his head. Bailen started to tremble as tears sprung to his eyes. The words just began pouring out. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it—any of it. Dmiri said they were here and I couldn’t let them attack the manor. I didn’t want anyone to get hurt. They weren’t supposed to kill you.”

  Rhane rubbed Bailen’s back in slow circles while shushing his sobs. “It’s alright now. We can talk about this later. Return to the manor with your mother and do not speak of what happened here to the others.”

  Sensing a goodbye, Kali was confused and clung to him tighter. “What? Where are you going?”

  “I can’t let them live, Kalista,” he said, stroking her cheek. “They tore our family apart and will do so again if it serves a purpose. This ends now.”

  “We can help.”

  “If I am to catch them, I will have to move fast. You can’t come with me.” He pressed his lips into hers in the most tender kiss ever shared between them. “Take Bailen and go,” he said, releasing them both. “I’ll return when I can.”

  “Okay,” she whispered, as her fingers slipped from his hand. “As long as you come back to us.”

  THE END

  NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

  If you’ve made it this far, then you must be enjoying Rhane and Kalista’s exciting journey! Primed Son, the fourth and final book in the series, will continue their story in 2015.

  Please, if you love this series, don’t forget to leave reviews and recommend it to friends!

  I love hearing from readers, so don’t hesitate to find me on Facebook:

  https://www.facebook.com/EdenAshleyAuthor

  Or my blog:

  edenbynite.blogspot.com

  And if you’re an aspiring writer, follow me on Twitter (@Eden_byNite) for writing tips, daily updates, and self-publishing help. #DarkSiren

  Thanks for reading!!

  ~E

  Their journey ends in 2015

  Primed

  Son