by Tigris Eden
I will survive this.
It was the only option. The other, she refused to dwell on.
She wouldn’t succumb to the pain, Hades wanted to inflict. Not just for herself, but for Enri. He’d come for her. His feelings for her outweighed the feeling of love. He’d told her as much. She didn’t want to be like everyone else. Leave, or be taken from him when he was starting to trust her at her word and accept her intentions to be there for him. Hold on a little longer. Pulling up a recollection of their last time, Yewa drew strength from it.
Gregor proved relentless with the whip. He wanted to cause harm, she could feel it with every lash and hear it with every grunt he exerted. He wanted her to pay for the part she played in the death of his family.
“That’s enough, Gregor,” Erebos warned.
Gregor struck three more times.
She could feel Enri. He’d entered Hades’s realm. Yewa let her head rest against her arm. She’d be in his arms soon. The thought barely surfaced when the door to the room she was in, burst open. Too tired to lift her head or open her eyes, she waited.
Enri’s roared filled the room, shaking the windowpanes with such force, shards of glass exploded into the air, digging into her skin like tiny daggers.
“You three subdue him, and be weary of the whip; it’s coated in cosmic dust. It’s painful for me, but deadly to you.”
“Fuck,” Yewa heard someone yell. Things were happening fast, but she couldn’t pinpoint any of it. What she did feel was the warmth Enri offered while he pulled her down from the beam she was hanging from.
“Yewa, baby, can you hear me?”
She tried to speak but no words came out.
“Shhh, don’t try and talk. Let me get the glass out.”
Her body lay limp in his arms, and she wanted to hold him, she did, but her limbs were too heavy. Enri lifted her into his arms. He was taking her somewhere safe. Away from the fighting that she could still hear. One of the voices she knew belonged to her brother, Omari.
“Yewa, open your eyes baby. Sundara, look at me, please,” Enri whispered against her forehead. “You’re not allowed to leave me. You said you’d never leave me.”
She had.
But she was too tired to do anything about it. She had endured so much pain over the years, and although this time proved to be less intrusive on her mind, it had invaded her body.
Sleep.
That’s what she needed.
Sleep.
Enri held Yewa’s unconscious body in his arms, her skin flayed open at the hands of Gregor. This is all my fault. He’d never wanted to take back the things he’d done to wrong others the way he wanted to undo the current situation. But if he hadn’t done what he’d done, he’d never had gotten the chance to know Yewa the way he did. This situation couldn’t get any more fucked than it already was.
“Chaos,” Erebos hissed.
No, it could get worse.
Enri didn’t spare his father a glance. He had eyes only for his mate. Her breathing was shallow, and even if she could bring in the dawn, she didn’t need a solid form for that. He could give her another one, but it wouldn’t be her body. It be a facsimile. He wanted her in the skin she lived in now, not a new one. The scars, the attitude, the shyness in her actions, and the strength in her intentions all lay wrapped up in the package currently in his arms.
“You will pay for this.”
“Hardly.” Erebos scoffed. “I will win. As was my intention.”
That’s what Erebos thought. He’d find a way. Somehow.
“I will never allow you to win.”
“You want her to remain with the living? Then you do exactly as I say.”
“Fuck him, don’t listen to him,” Dietrich yelled.
Dietrich and the others had a tight hold on Gregor, who foamed at the mouth as he tried to break free. Styx and Acheron stood in the back, unmoving. They were there only as escorts, not active participants.
“What will you do, Enri, to ensure she lives?”
He didn’t hesitate. “Anything,” he thundered.
Erebos nodded, pointing in the direction of Hades who sat in a high back with Persephone in his lap, both wearing triumphant grins.
“You will hand over the map and relinquish your claim to the throne.”
“Fine.” Enri gritted.
They could take it all. It no longer mattered. What more could his father do to him that hadn’t already been done? He’d have nothing left to live for if she left him.
Tahl appeared. He took the form of the club owner he would masquerade as and knelt next to Enri.
“You did nothing. You watched.”
“As I always do. I told you, everything goes in its right place. Are you sure this is what you want? To give up your immortality for her?”
“I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it.”
“Fair enough, but remember, there are consequences for every action.”
“Fuck it. She’s all I care about.”
“Very well, I’ll not intervene. You are free to leave.” Tahl looked over at Erebos, who stood tall grinning from ear to ear. “The boy and his friends are free to leave.”
“I’m not gonna stop them,” Erebos answered.
“You would let him off so easy?” Gregor hedged, struggling between Black, Royce, and Dietrich. They had him on his knees. Enri helped a bit with a mental push. Dietrich pulled some salted rope from the table that Hades used to keep his playthings captive. The rope worked well on preternatural beings. Gregor was subdued. Black, Dietrich and Royce stepped away from Gregor, leaving him on his knees. With the rope in place, the male wouldn’t be able to move.
“This doesn’t concern you, boy,” Erebos insisted.
Enri gently placed Yewa on the ground at his knees. He removed his shirt and presented his back to his father. Darkness wasted no time cutting into his flesh. When he held the map in his hand, he presented it to Hades.
“As promised.”
“What happens to him now?” Hades asked.
“Now he takes his woman and leaves here to live out the rest of his miserable existence.” Erebos spat.
Tahl glared in Hades’s direction. “I always thought your purpose was wasted. Talk again, and I’ll see that your life comes to an abrupt halt.”
“How do I ensure Yewa can be with me in this state permanently while bringing in the dawn?” Enri asked. He barely kept a tight leash on his anger.
“Tahl can assist with that, I’m sure that’s the only reason why he’s here,” Erebos responded.
“I’m here for many reasons; that’s only one.” Tahl agreed.
Enri picked Yewa up in his arms, bringing her to his chest. He didn’t feel any different, but he didn’t suspect he would. He was like the rest of them now. His immortality taken. It was worth it for her. Yewa moved slightly in his arms, moaning his name, and at the sound, blind relief and an overwhelming amount of sympathy poured into his soul.
“Baby,” he crooned. “I’m going to get us out of here. Take us home.”
Her response was a quiet moan, and then she was out again.
His back was to Gregor, which is why he didn’t see the other man gunning for him. Somehow, he’d gotten out of his bindings. But Royce had, and he stepped right in the path of Gregor’s clawed hand. Dietrich and Black were too late, and Enri stood, not surprised, but reflective. He’d told their females he’d bring them all home safe. It’s not the first time you lied. It wasn’t. Wouldn’t be his last either.
Royce’s body collapsed to the ground, the gaping hole in his chest, missing a heart. Enri’s reaction was fitting. His wings were still his own, and they were still a deadly force to be reckoned with. The clawed tip pierced the side of Gregor’s neck, incapacitating the hound as he flung his body into the back wall. Dietrich was at Royce’s side seconds later.
“Fuck man, what am I gonna tell Belinda and Ronin? The babies?”
But Royce couldn’t respond.
Styx ste
pped forward.
“Give him to me.”
“Are you fucking mad? He’s coming back with us.” Dietrich yelled.
“Yes, his body can come back to you, but I can hold onto his soul, if he wishes it.”
“Bitch, he’s fucking dead.”
“Not completely. Not yet.”
“Do it, Dietrich,” Black advised. “Let her try to help.”
Dietrich backed away from Royce’s body and watched as Styx touched Royce’s prone form. She bent and whispered something in his ear. Nothing happened, but nothing would. Enri couldn’t tell if Royce accepted what Styx offered, but they’d find out soon enough. Especially when it came time to cross back over to their world.
Dietrich helped Black carry their fallen brother back to the River of Lost Souls. Kharon waited as they all boarded. Enri talked with Tahl briefly before it was agreed he’d go back to the Unit with them. Enri wanted to be the one to explain to the others what happened. Dietrich might not have liked Enri, but he agreed. Enri’s actions were a direct result of what happened back in that joke of a hotel.
Tartaros was a mind fuck. Upside down mountains, freakish vortex’s. Streets paved in gold, but held together by blood. And what the fuck was up with the entire inner city looking like Las Vegas, of all places?
Enri explained there were replications of past worlds, as well as cities all over the place. A dying version of what rested above in the land of the living. Dietrich saw it for what it really was: carbon copies of everything that was wrong with the entire set up of things. The flaws, the desires, the needs, and those forever chasing the hope that someday, the world—or worlds, for that matter—would be a better place.
Dietrich could almost fool himself into thinking they’d all be better off in this version of the world. But when he watched the way Enri handled his sister, he knew them leaving was for the best. Royce would be returned to his family where he could be properly mourned, and Black hopefully would take a back seat once again, allowing Draven to take the lead.
“You all have a visitor,” Kharon informed their group.
Sitting behind the ferryman, was Royce. But it wasn’t Royce.
“You’re dead,” Dietrich said.
“No shit wise-ass, I’m fucking dead and Kharon here is giving me my last words as it were. I need you to get a message to my brother and mate.”
“What?”
“Tell them I said to come and find me. I’ll be here waiting.”
Chapter 30
No one expected a welcome home party. When they walked through the gate, there on the other side was Gabe, Ronin, Belinda, and Jes. Belinda fell to her knees and a sound Enri would never forget for as long as he lived froze the marrow in his bones. It was the sound of grief, defeat, and utter despair. Ronin tried to hold his mate, but she wouldn’t let him. Instead, she cradled Royce’s body, rocking senselessly back and forth as if the action alone would bring him back.
“Deva,” Ronin grunted in a pained voice.
“Don’t.” Belinda hissed. “Don’t fucking say a word to me. None of you, this is all your fault.” The venom in her words had the desired effect. Inconsolable and drenched in desperation, she wanted nothing to do with anyone.
Ronin aimed his anger toward Enri.
“How did this happen?”
“It was Gregor.” Dietrich answered for him. “Leave him alone. This time, I can say it’s not his fault. He took care of Gregor man, he made sure the bastard paid.”
“That doesn’t help me or my family.”
“Royce is alive, well sort of,” Black supplied.
All eyes went up to the male who spoke in a voice none of them ever thought to hear again. Draven and Black sounded the same, but different. There was no warmth in Black’s voice, no feeling.
“What the fuck is he doing here?”
Black shook his head, and then Draven spoke. “I’m here. We both are. It’s hard to explain. There is no separating us anymore.”
“Baby, your eyes,” Jesminda whispered. “One’s green and the other is black.”
Duality at its finest, or its worst. Enri couldn’t be sure, but time would prove to be the deciding factor.
Belinda looked up between the group, her breath coming in short pants as she tried to control herself.
“What do you mean Royce is still alive?”
“He was there at the River of Lost Souls, we had his body, but it was like his spirit or some shit, Belinda, I don’t know. He just told me to tell you both to come for him.”
Ronin grabbed Dietrich by the collar, lifting the other man off the floor.
“Come for him? How?”
“Styx touched him. He’s agreed to her terms in exchange for his life. If I know Styx, it can’t be anything a normal person would sign up for, but we all know Royce isn’t normal. You’re going to have to go after him if you want him back,” Enri supplied.
“And just how the fuck do we do that? We’re powerless down there.”
“I understand. But if you truly want him back, there’s no other way.”
“We’re going,” Belinda claimed vehemently. “We’re going, and no one had better fucking try to stop me.”
“Deva,” Ronin argued.
“No! My children are not growing up without their other father. Ece and Erastus will have you both in their lives. Especially now with the shit going on around us.”
“What the fuck is going on now?” Dietrich fumed.
Jorunn stepped forward. “You’ve all been gone for the better part of a month.”
“We weren’t even gone six hours.”
“Time is different there.” Black answered. “Hades has a copy of the map.”
“Fuck, what the fuck do we do now?”
“What we always planned on doing Ronin. We go in search of it,” Black replied.
“How? The Agency has declared martial law. They are trying to round us all up. We’ve all been called back by our elders. Jesminda has been summoned.” Jorunn watched Black for signs of a freak out, but when there wasn’t one she continued, “I have to go back to Fion; Gregor left the place a mess, and the others look to me for guidance now.”
“That’s not even the worst of it,” Jesminda supplied.
“Of course, it’s not,” Dietrich blurted.
“The Agency has Adam. We’ve been trying our best to get him back, but so far, we got nothing. Gabe and Xee will be leaving now that you’ve returned to handle things within his family. Xee’s agreed to keep working on the map. The entire community is up in arms. Hawke’s left us to go and be with his family and to seek their council.”
“The Unveiling was inevitable.”
“We knew this. But it’s a nightmare out there. The veil’s already been lifted for some. Humans who are sensitive to our kind can see us for what we really are, and we’re being blamed for the perpetual darkness.”
“I’ll have that problem solved as soon as Yewa is ready and able to take on her duties.”
“Can’t we get a stand in? Does dawn really have to rise to bring out the Sun?”
“Light cannot be coaxed. My mother tends to lean on the side of stubbornness.”
“We need to leave for Fion now, Dietrich.”
“Peaches, we can’t leave before I know my sister is okay.”
Yewa moved in Enri’s arms at the sound of her brother’s voice. “Omari, go. Take care of things in Fion. I’ll be fine with Enri. We will see each other again.”
“I know. I’ll make sure of it,” Dietrich promised.
“Where is the Pack?” Black questioned.
“They’ve all gone back to your father. It took so long for you to return, they’ve left. Pledged their allegiance. Your father works with the Red Hand. Sam is the only one that stayed.”
“Are you going to the council?” Black asked.
“I don’t know if I have much of a choice, considering what’s happening now. But I need you to come with me.”
To that request, Black nodded,
but it was Draven’s voice who answered. “Where you and the kids go, Petal, I go.”
“Kids are staying at the Enclave with Belinda and the others; we don’t know that it’s safe, and the council still believes Caleb is no longer alive.”
“My father will see to their care, and I can make it to where you’re both able to visit the Enclave whenever you want,” Belinda agreed.
Enri watched as each of them said their goodbyes. The Unit was disbanding. Going to their respective groups to figure out their next moves. It was all agreed they’d keep in contact, and when Xee finally deciphered the Sahidic, they would go in search of it.
“Tahl, we’re ready,” Enri said into the quiet darkness of the room.
Chapter 31
“You’ve almost got it.” Tahl cleared his throat and gazed in Enri’s direction. “She’s going to do it this time.”
Both men were patient to a fault. She’d been at this for two weeks now, and each time she tried to rise, she’d been too exhausted. Tahl had taken her and Enri to his world, a place green, and lush with life. There were no others besides the three of them. It was quiet and peaceful. Tahl had not figured out a way for them to be together once she transformed into the dawn. They were still going over all manner of readings. There were texts Tahl had access to that no one else ever would. Symbols on parchment she’d never understand. Even to Enri, it was unreadable.
Enri had given up his immortality, but Tahl assured them both that as long as they dwelled in his home, they were safe from harm. It gave Yewa mild comfort. They couldn’t stay forever. Although she knew Enri would be more than agreeable with the option, she wasn’t. Eventually, she’d want to see her family. She missed Omari. She missed Jorunn and all the people she knew in Fion, especially Taea. But for now, she was content.
Her journey seemed long and undesirable. Twisted, and deformed. The Unit was no longer together, they’d been scattered to their own respective corners, but not to hide or lick their wounds—a necessity to overcome their current situation. A situation Yewa was a part of. She would do her part and she knew Enri would do his. He’d given up his throne; he’d forgone vengeance against Hades, and all because he chose her. He wouldn’t admit it, but that was love.