I’d have to speak to Anjani about all this. She needed to know. We’d come far in a short span of time, and I feared the news of my future death might hurt this fragile thing between us. It was too early in the game for us to say our goodbyes. There was so much left to discover about each other. She rattled me, and I made her glow, and every time I felt her lips on mine, the world around me disappeared.
How could I ever part with that? How could I ever be okay with losing her?
I took a deep breath, trying to tamp down my panic. I was strong. I would find a way out. I would fight, and I would reshape my future. There was too much at stake. Too many moments that I didn’t want to miss out on. I longed to discover the million ways I could make Anjani simmer and melt in my arms.
The sound of her calling out my name. The look she gave me when I annoyed her with something trivial. The way her hair fell down her back in a cascade of ink black curls. I didn’t want to lose that. No. I would fight.
Once Vita had finished her gut-wrenching revelations, the group scattered around the house—some getting supplies ready for Draven’s next mission, while others kept watch of what was going on outside or assisting the incubi in preparing the weapons.
Serena, Draven, and Hansa kept to their side of the table, further discussing mission details, going over every angle in order to increase their chances of survival once they passed through the passage stone.
My future situation made it hard for me to keep a clear head, so I decided to take it one task at a time. I needed to speak to Anjani first and tell her about Vita’s vision before she heard it from anyone else in the house.
I found her in the greenhouse, clipping leaves off a small potted tree. The heat and humidity quickly seeped into my bones, making me break into a sweat. I loosened the top buttons of my shirt as I stepped toward her.
“Can we talk?” I asked.
She looked up at me from her crouched position, then stood to face me.
My stomach felt sour with pain. I looked into her eyes and found it incredibly hard to speak. It took a lot of energy and willpower to tell her something I had trouble saying out loud for myself.
“Vita had a vision of the future,” I said.
Anjani was quiet, waiting patiently for me to tell her the whole story. A frown pulled her eyebrows closer together, signaling that she was bracing herself for bad news.
“There will be a siege on Azazel’s castle. You and Hansa will be among those leading it. We’ll bring an alliance together as we’ve planned.”
She didn’t say anything. I had a feeling she knew I wasn’t done yet.
“There will be an explosion. I’ll be in it,” I finally said. “I’m predicted to die.”
Anjani was quiet. Her eyes moved, gaze shifting all over my face. Tears shimmered in the corners of her eyes, and she swallowed them back, her lower lip trembling slightly.
“It’s what Vita saw?” she managed to ask.
I nodded slowly.
“I need some air,” she said and walked out into the garden.
I followed, unable to say anything else. I watched her as she stepped over the tall grass, looking around. Destroyers kept circling the property while green fireflies flew in thick swarms above. The protective shield glistened gold whenever one of them made contact.
“It’s just a probable future, though, isn’t it?” she asked, watching Goren in the distance.
“Yes,” I replied. “But it’s not the first time Vita has seen me die. Before this, she had another vision of a Destroyer killing me. It’s not looking all that great from where we stand right now.”
“No, Jovi,” she said, her voice wavering. “There are millions of possible futures. The one that Vita saw is just one of them. The one most likely to happen. We just have to make sure we avoid it. That’s all.”
“You make it sound so easy. I like your spirit.” I smiled.
“Do I have any other choice?” Anjani turned to face me, and I was stunned.
Her skin glowed an incandescent silver. Powerful emotions moved through her as she looked into my eyes. I felt my chest cave in. I was head over heels with this marvelous creature, and her refusal to accept my fate gave me even more strength to fight whatever was coming to get me.
“I have never allowed fate to bring me to my knees,” she said. “If I did, I would have never considered your presence in my life. And yet, here you are, in front of me. My heart tells me that there is no way I will ever allow anyone or anything to take you away from me.”
I’d gone through different stages of acknowledging death as a part of my future. I’d experienced pain, sadness, and anger, the latter driving me to find the determination I needed to fight back. The moment I’d laid eyes on Anjani, my resolve had grown even stronger. Just the idea of never seeing her again floored me, but her reaction was truly astounding.
Anjani didn’t let death scare her off. It obviously hurt her. I could tell from the way she was glowing that she wasn’t taking the news all that well, but at the same time her ability to stand up and tell death, “No, you don’t!” made me want to fight with an extra kick in my heel, knowing we’d be in this together.
“Glad to hear you say that.” I smiled. “We’re on the same page. I’m not ready to say goodbye to you just yet.”
Her eyes glimmered as she looked down, glowing even brighter. I’d made her blush again.
“Good, because you won’t get rid of me that easily.”
My heart stopped.
With a single sentence, Anjani managed to pull me out of my gloom and spark new fires in me. My gaze settled on her lips. I moved to take her in my arms and kiss her and revel in her scent.
Twigs cracked nearby.
Our heads turned simultaneously, watching Hansa as she walked down the front steps of the porch, followed by Sverik. Her hand settled on the hilt of her sword as she reached Goren. She stayed close, inside the shield, but walked along with the Destroyer, who kept sniffing the air with his forked tongue.
“I told you, I won’t do anything stupid,” Hansa told Sverik as he reached her.
“I can’t leave you on your own, Hansa. I’m sorry. There’s too much at stake here.”
“I’m well aware of that, incubus. That doesn’t mean I can’t tell this serpent what’s waiting for him once I get my hands on him.”
We didn’t say anything, as Hansa looked at Goren, pointing a finger at his head.
“First, I will peel the skin off his face, to get rid of that disgusting grin of his,” she said.
“It’s taking her a tremendous amount of self-control to not charge him right now, you know,” Anjani murmured, leaning into me.
My hand reached up behind her, finding a good resting spot between her bare shoulder blades. The feel of her skin against my fingertips made my heart flutter, as if nothing could take that feeling away from me. It felt good.
“What about you? I wrestled you away from him once. I don’t want to do it again,” I quipped.
“You won’t. I’ve made my peace with his death already. His head will roll under Hansa’s blade. I’ll just slaughter every Sluagh I come across, instead. I’ll get my vengeance another way. But Goren is hers, as our leader, our mother, and our sister. I was foolish to attempt anything myself.”
“Then I will slice him up, inch by inch, each strip of his filthy flesh will pay for each of my daughters, my sisters, my mothers, and my friends. By the time I’m done with him, he’ll be begging for me to kill him,” Hansa continued, a few yards away from us.
Goren kept walking, unaware of what was happening just a few inches away from him beyond the shield.
“But I won’t kill him. He might pass out from the pain, but I will make sure he stays awake and feels everything. I will burn him alive and watch the flames eat him. I will listen to his screams and wails of death as if enjoying a beautiful song. And when he gives his last breath, when his corpse is charred and lifeless, I will tear it apart and feed it to the worms. Only then w
ill the Red Tribe be avenged.”
“Wow, you sound worse than Azazel on a bad day,” Sverik replied bluntly. “I thought he had a vivid imagination, but you certainly take the crown on cruelty.”
“And he’s never seen her actually do such things.” Anjani chuckled. “I’ve seen my sister exact her revenge on others before. Sverik would probably crumble if he could see what she’s capable of.”
I couldn’t blame Hansa when it came to a creature like Goren. All those innocent lives lost, and for what? For a crazy former Druid who was so addicted to power he didn’t care how he got it?
Come to think of it, watching Goren as he strode along the shield made me want to rip his head from his neck. But Anjani was right. His death belonged to Hansa.
Serena
I took Draven aside amidst the preparations, as I could no longer stand the angst that Tamara and Eva’s presence gave me.
“We need to talk about the Lamias and their alliance condition, Draven,” I said with determination.
He took a deep breath and looked to his right. I followed his gaze and saw Tamara and Eva talking by one of the tall French windows of the banquet hall.
“You’re right. We can’t postpone this conversation any longer,” he replied, his voice low. He looked at me. “What are you thinking?”
“What do you mean what am I thinking? What are you thinking? Will you accept her terms?”
He shrugged, somehow adding to my aggravation. It was bad enough we had Destroyers stationed outside the shield waiting to kill us all when Vita’s vision came true. I didn’t have the patience to leave this loose Lamia end lying around for us to trip on later down the line.
“I don’t think we have a choice right now,” he finally said.
A heavy iron ball dropped inside my stomach. We’d briefly considered this already when Tamara had first mentioned it, but it wasn’t any easier to swallow an hour later. I still hated the idea, but we needed the Lamias to fight against Azazel, to increase our chances of survival.
“How will it work, then? You and Eva get busy now or set a date or something? How does it work?” I growled, unable to hide my discomfort.
Draven’s eyes lit up, and a grin slit his face.
“Did I ever tell you how brilliant you are, Serena?”
My mind was blocked. I blinked fast several times, trying to process the question. I must’ve said something that sparked an idea in that twisted Druid head of his that I could no longer live without.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Eva and I set a date. We say yes to her proposal but postpone the mating part,” he replied. “We’ll tell Tamara that Eva and I will mate once the war with Azazel is over. From their perspective, there’s no point in making a baby now, anyway. We’ll flat out lie.”
“That’s your solution?”
I failed to see what the brilliant part was, until Draven pointed it out, making me feel silly for a second or two.
“It gives us time to figure out a way to avoid this. Maybe there are other Druids out there still. Maybe we could reverse Azazel’s spell on a Destroyer and give Eva another Druid. Maybe Eva won’t live to see the end of the war, although that would be a tragedy.”
If our situation hadn’t been so dire, I would’ve found his dark humor to be charming. But, given the circumstances, grim giggles were the last thing on my mind. I secretly gave him brownie points for trying.
“Draven, let me be clear,” I said. “I will never let you do this for her. Why are they imposing any conditions on us to begin with? They’re trapped in here with us, aren’t they?”
“Not so much,” he replied. “They could transform into serpents and find a way out, although it’s extremely dangerous. Tamara wouldn’t put the Lamias’ lives on the line just for this. If we want them to join willingly, we need to persuade them and we need to appease them. The Lamias don’t respond to threats or conditions, they respond to trade. And ultimately, they’ve been unable to mate with Destroyers. Whatever Azazel did to them, it rendered them sterile, I guess. I really am their last chance at conceiving, at least at this point in time, and believe me when I say that the Lamias place their lineage above everything else.”
He came closer, his gaze searching for mine.
“We need to be shrewd and leave our ethics at the door on this one, Serena. We need the Lamias because they are fast, strong, and they have numbers and some minor Druid magic tricks which will come in handy. We need all the help we can get right now. Most importantly, I can convince Tamara that I’ll go along with it. But I won’t. We lie. Simple as that. We say whatever we need to say to get their allegiance.”
“What if this all ends well and Eva expects you to come through?”
“I won’t. And Tamara will not go to war over it either. It will just have an impact on my credibility but, by then, Azazel will be gone and I will not care about anything else other than being with you, anyway.”
I stared deeply into his gray eyes and found myself ecstatic to be near him, to face all of this with Draven by my side. We made a good team.
“You have a point,” I conceded with a dry smile. “We should also consider that there may still be Druids out there, hidden somewhere. We could look for them and convince one of them to take your place in the bargain, once all this is over. Provided I live to see it.”
“Don’t say that.” His gaze darkened. “Of course, you’ll live to see it. You and I have a lot to do after we destroy Azazel.”.”
“Whatever we do, Draven, there is no way in hell I’m letting you anywhere near Eva. She may be quite the babe, but still. No. Just no.”
“She’s nothing compared to you. I’d rather hug a flaming Deargh than touch her.”
In spite of everything, I enjoyed our little back-and-forth moments. Draven always found a way to knock the air out of my lungs and soften my knees with a well-aimed remark.
“Besides,” he added. “Circumstances will most likely change later down the line. For now, even lying is better than the absence of allies.”
I nodded in agreement, prompting Draven to take my hand and walk us over to Tamara and Eva. As soon as we reached them, Eva’s face lit up, her yellow eyes wide open at the sight of Draven. I would’ve done anything to wipe that lascivious smile off her face. But my mind shouted the word “alliance” on repeat to keep me in check.
Draven wasted no time in communicating the decision. “We agree to your terms. I will mate with Eva in exchange for your unwavering support against Azazel.”
Tamara beamed at us both and tilted her head to one side. “You’ve made a wise choice, Druid. You have my word. The Lamias will fight for you.”
“I do have my own condition to append to this agreement, though,” Draven added.
Tamara’s smile faded as swiftly as it had appeared, waiting for him to state his terms.
“The mating will happen after we defeat Azazel. There is absolutely no point in bringing a Lamia child into this world when Azazel is out to kill anyone and anything that defies him. You and I both know that your kind is on his death list.”
It took her a moment to process the information, but when it fully registered, her lips pursed. She looked first at her daughter, then at Draven.
“That is fine, Druid. Provided you keep your word and don’t backtrack at the last minute,” she replied, her tone firm and sharp.
“You have my word, and my word is my bond, Tamara.”
A moment passed before either of us said anything. The silence was awkward but understandable—in this agreement, each side had different interests but a common enemy. Eva, however, seemed thrilled by the result. She ran a finger down Draven’s chest, fiddling with one of his shirt’s buttons.
My blood boiled.
“I guess it’ll be you and me later, then.” She smiled seductively.
I balled my fists at my sides, trembling in an effort not to smack that smirk off with a carefully launched punch.
“I suggest you wait until
after the war is over,” I said, gritting my teeth. “Not sure you’ve noticed, but he is with someone. He’ll only be doing you a community service.”
“We’ll see about that, little girl. No creature has ever resisted my charms.” She grinned at me.
“I’m not sure what creature would find you appealing without your hands, because I will chop them off if you don’t keep them away from Draven until your term is due.”
There was no way for me to back down. I was the stranger, the outsider, in a world that was made up of creatures as wild and beautiful as the very jungles that surrounded them. I couldn’t allow myself to come across as weak, especially not in front of a Lamia as brazen as this one.
“You would die before you even think of touching me,” Eva hissed.
“Well, at least there would be one person here actually thinking of touching you,” I shot back.
She took a step forward, but Tamara’s arm stretched out and pushed her back gently, giving both Draven and me a most condescending smirk.
“Now, now, Eva darling, please be mindful of this precious alliance. There is no room for wounded egos in a war against Azazel, so let’s be respectful of all those fighting with us,” Tamara said in a dry, polite tone. “Even those from the outside who are unlikely to survive.”
She looked straight at me.
My blood simmered, and I clenched my teeth, swallowing back a horde of insults. I felt Draven’s hand settle on the small of my back, instantly soothing me. She was, after all, due for a major disappointment once this was over. I decided to save my strength for that day, as I considered that I may have to use force to persuade her to drop her mating claim once Draven broke the bad news.
“I suggest you both make yourselves busy elsewhere now, as this conversation is over,” he interjected, his voice loaded with ice and contempt.
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