“Hello?”
“Dimithinia! What’s going on? Where’s everyone?”
“Ianythi? I . . . do not know. I was just seeing Vedlyl. Is everything alright?
Seeing Vedlyl? What for? Never mind, there’s no time for that! I rush back up to the end of the hall and catch a glimpse of Soleria running away from that guy, heading straight for the front door. “I need you over here. Please. Someone has to watch Soleria while I go . . . take care of something.”
Bless her heart, she doesn’t hesitate. “Where am I going?”
Has she even been to this part of New York before? “I’m texting you the address. Please find a way.” I send her the information and disperse my molecules.
A second later, I slam back to form, my boots slipping on inches of thick blood.
The succubus my brother came to see cries out at the sight of me. “Thank the gods!”
I throw her a glare before kneeling to place my hand on his back. “Fort’em, what have you done to yourself?”
Hacking, he forces out, “The prophecy. It comes true.”
Even as worried as I am, I can’t help but groan with annoyance. Not because Cyake’s powers aren’t real, but because prophecies are always open to interpretation.
And the Watcher practically confirmed his and Cy’s interpretation of that prophecy wasn’t quite true.
Please don’t let it be true. My brother will perish if so. “Let’s get you out of here.”
“What’s wrong with him?” the nymph asks, teal eyes shining.
“He belongs to someone that isn’t you, succubus,” I grind out before willing myself and my brother back to Enzyria.
- Enzyria
Hours of nonstop vomiting.
More than I have ever seen.
Not even I, a female stuck in a Fieren for eternity, have ever been this sick.
Then again, I didn’t mate and bond on the same night that I allowed another to touch me . . . while my mate touched someone else.
Oy vey. My brother’s love life, as ever, remains beyond complicated.
Stumbling, he makes it back to the marble sink, only to resume his heaving once more.
I watch his powerful shoulders and back jerking, my heart in tatters. Nylicia? I mentally reach out, even though calling for her only works three times out of ten. Tell me what to do. Please.
She actually responds. “I’ll be there shortly with something to help him.”
Exhaling a short, relieved breath, I walk up to my brother, rubbing his trembling back. “Nylicia should be here soon. She said she’d have something to help you.”
Ignoring the rapidly spreading river of blood all over the counter, he shakes his head and groans. “I don’t—” More blood, this time landing on the mirror before us. “I don’t give a fuck. Just leave me like this.”
So he can die and escape the heartbreak of losing his female.
I sigh. “No, you moron. You’ll die without help. And just because you fucked up, that doesn’t mean you get to be suicidal. Live with the consequences.”
The only response I get is the horrific sound of his throwing up.
“I love you, brother. You know that, right?” I ask him softly.
“I love you, too,” he forces out, right before his jaw unhinges for another round.
As much as this breaks my heart, I’m a firm believer in Karma. Yes, that ancient, primal force has been missing for ages, but that doesn’t change the laws of Cause and Effect, however screwy they may be. My brother’s inability to change his impulses led him here, and I can’t help my sad smile at the irony of that. “But, considering your track record, and the way you’ve treated females since you hit sexual maturity, and your stupidity last night, this is what I would call divine justice. What I’m saying is that I feel bad for you, but I don’t. Make sense?”
A garbled mess is his reply, what sounds like him trying to curse me out. Yet how could he ever expect me to feel any differently after what Kain did to me by choosing Axia?
His obsession.
His everything.
Oh yeah? Then why’s he been chasing you for fourteen millennia?
Not my fault he hasn’t found another god or goddess with super potent blood to drain!
And he didn’t chose her over me. That choice was made long before I came in the picture.
If Sol had been mated to Ianthen, it would be her dying today because of his actions. “She was devastated Ianthen. She tried to hide it, but I saw it. She was furious and heartbroken.”
“And you fucking took her to that asshole!” he roars at me like the beast he is.
His anger is both understandable and ridiculous. I tsk under my breath. “One, she only kissed him. I was sure she was going to fuck him just to get back at you, but she couldn’t go through with it. Two, I had no idea at the time that you were mated and bonded to her. Obviously, you had just found this out yourself. I mean, come on, we found you with that nymph’s hand down your pants and her tongue in your mouth, dude.”
No sooner do the words leave my mouth, then a blast of pure power slams into the room.
It’s Evesse, at the entrance to the bathroom, claws deep in the doorframe. Her aura flares with pure fury and something else that’s starkly familiar . . .
Holy shit. Are those the powers of Justice?
“What the hell did you do to Sol?” Eve demands, eyes bleeding red. She doesn’t wait for a response. Doesn’t need to. The red film covering her eyes expands and I see them flickering behind that.
Like my brother’s do behind the white veil that covers his eyes while he hunts.
But Evesse isn’t hunting. She’s seeing my brother’s mistake, her powers baring them for her.
Is Justice preparing to hurt my brother some more?
Eve shakes her head, gritting her teeth, but she doesn’t move from the door. “I’m going to fucking kill you, you asshole! Why? Why would you do that to her? I barely saw you guys eight hours ago, and you looked like you were dying for her. I thought you fucking cared for her!”
“I do!” Ian runs the water and wipes his mouth. When he raises his head to meet Eve’s stare in the mirror, I choke back a gasp at how fast his symptoms are taking over. How gray his skin already is. “I love her.”
The wall cracks as Eve struggles to hold herself back. “You have one hell of a way of showing it. Why would you go off with another female?”
And thus begins one of the most traumatizing tales I’ll ever bear witness to.
Ian curls over the sink. “After you left last night . . . we were hanging. Things got heated. I haven’t been with a female in over a month. Since I met her. I was out of control, and my bonded symptoms were starting to show. I knew. I fucking knew she was the one, but I didn’t want to admit it to myself. My body started calling for her and then she went crazy at the taste of my skin.” A massive shudder goes through him at the memory, one I feel vibrating into the palm of my hand.
Naturally, I ease back, praying he’ll leave it at that. I’ve already been traumatized via scent tonight, I don’t need—
“She went wild on me. How could I resist that? Fuck, she was delicious. Amazing . . . she was . . .”
“Brother stop.” I’m not above begging.
“Yes. Stop.” Eve might not be either.
Of course, he doesn’t listen. “I knew it wasn’t going to work out, you know? She’s still human. So fucking fragile.”
“Did you fucking hurt her?” Evesse shouts.
“No. But it didn’t work out. She was so freaking tiny.”
And there you go. Trauma achieved.
Slamming the heels of my palms into my eyes, I scrub, scrub, scrub, as if that’ll somehow erase the images in my head. “This is so wrong.”
My brother rambles right over me. “I was freaking on the verge of going rabid after we stopped. And I was scared, okay? Cyake prophesied that the woman I would fall in love with would come to destroy me. I never wanted to fall in love. Or bond. Or fuc
king mate.” There goes another round of puking.
“Is there a difference between mating and bonding?” Eve asks me.
“Yeah. Hyrens bond. Gods and other immortals mate. Different symptoms, but just as bad. And he did both in the span of one night, whilst allowing another female to touch him. Accelerated symptoms,” I say with a shrug.
Before anyone can respond, a deep, familiar voice calls out for her. “Evesse.”
Great. The awakening God of Vengeance has arrived.
Another being that’ll probably want to slay my brother.
Chapter 25
SOLERIA
“S oleria! Wait!”
Recognizing that accented voice, I jerk to a stop and stare behind me.
A short woman jogs up to me, the tail of her trench coat flaring with the wind. Her long, thick black hair does as well.
But my brain refuses to acknowledge who it is until she’s close enough for me to see those glowing, unholy blue eyes. “Dimi?”
She smiles sadly, studying me. “Hello, Soleria. Are you alright?”
Again with that question.
Again with the reminder.
Am I ever going to be as I was before? It doesn’t take a genius to guess the answer to that. It’s as obvious as my current emotional state. “If it’s okay, please don’t ask me that question.” No doubt about it. That’s sympathy I see. Did news travel that fast? Does the ancient queen already know what Ian did to me? Crossing my arms, I ask, “What are you doing here?”
“I was informed of your need for a comp—a bodyguard. As well as a ride.”
Nythi called her.
To come accompany me.
Normally, the idea of my needing yet another babysitter would grate. Now, I can’t bring myself to give a fuck. I just want a distraction. Anything to stop me from thinking about this night. “You mentioned something about a ride?”
She nods eagerly and I can’t help but find her cute. Ancient resurrected queen and all, yet she’s downright adorable most the time. “Where would you like to go?” she asks.
“I . . . I don’t know. Maybe home?” The memories of him will be there, as well, but so are the memories of my entire life. He’s only been in it for a few weeks. There’s no way I’ll let him stain and ruin the comfort of my safeplace.
My restaurant? That’s another matter. One I’ll have to face tomorrow.
“Fuck. Sorry, you haven’t been there,” I say.
Her hand curls around my upper arm. “Just tell me the address.”
Surprised, I do. The next second, when we appear in front of my house, I stare down at her with wide eyes.
The air around us shimmers as she lowers a Gnetica I didn’t even realize was around us.
“Dimithinia . . . did you just flash to a location by address only, while somehow willing an instant Gnetica around us at the moment of arrival?”
She blinks at me, nonplussed. “Yes. I believe that is what I just did.”
“Um . . .” A quick look over my shoulder at the quiet street. Down by the park, I can hear the cars idling, people hanging out. “My education of your world might still be sorely lacking, but I’m pretty sure you’ve only been back for a few weeks. And that what you just did—both things—takes an insane skill level.”
In that same calm tone, she adds, “I am that good.”
I glare at her. “Seriously.”
“Fine. I am that skilled but there is no answer as to why yet. I just keep learning new things left and right.”
What more is there to say about that?
Silent, I begin walking towards my house, intent on going inside. But I don’t make it farther than the white stairs leading up to the door.
How can I, when all they remind me of is that fucking dream?
And what I just saw less than an hour ago.
The female’s steps were a light beige color, nearly white. Funny, now I’ll have to live with my own steps reminding me of hers. Of what I saw on that landing.
Fucked, Sol. Ruined.
“I heard you became very ill upon dematerializing, but you do not seem to be anymore,” Dimi says behind me. Nythi commented on the same earlier. “You also sensed my energy shield. Mayhap your change has begun?”
The change into immortality.
The one I wanted so badly.
Now, all I can think is: an eternity with this feeling in my chest?
I’ll get over this soon. I know I will.
Won’t I?
You won’t. You really fucking won’t.
Extremities numb, I spin around and collapse onto one of the steps, my hands hanging limply between my bent legs. Sometime later, I’m still here, immobile, Dimithinia sitting on the step next to me.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see her shift closer. “Soleria . . . if you need to talk about it . . .”
“Do you know?” I ask her, staring straight ahead.
“Not exactly,” she answers softly. “But Ianythi reached out to me and I can guess. Tell me, do I need to hunt the primal God of the Hunt down and feed him his own testicles?”
No. She. Didn’t.
Barking a surprised laugh, I face her. “Really?”
“What?” Dimi asks, expression defensive and a little playful. “He clearly hurt you. From what I have learned of you, you are a great female, and I tend to have issues with males of his sort.”
Poking her arm, I smile. “You’re freaking cool. You know that? Were all ancient women as awesome as you? ‘Cause if so, we’ve devolved. Just saying.”
That brilliant smile of her seems to light up the whole night.
“Dear God,” I grumble. “You’re disgustingly attractive woman.”
“Coming from you, that is the best compliment anyone can give me.”
Damn it. Regardless of the yawning, evil emptiness in me, this chick is charming me. I can totally see how Ismini and her were once a single soul that split in two. “I heard a nasty rumor that Crius is breaking your heart.”
“Fuck him.”
Another surprised laugh from me. “I like you chick. I really do.”
“I like you as well, Soleria.”
“I’m keen to see Crius suffer.”
“As am I. As well as the God of the Hunt. Evesse has already given me some ideas for making Crius suffer. Would you like to tell me the best way to . . . get to Ianthen?”
“Let’s stick with Crius. That’s a sure thing.” Because I’ve heard the other rumors, the ones that claim he’s lost for this female and some bullshit history with another is the only reason he stays away.
Easier to hurt the one that cares.
As for Ianthen? You have to value something to appreciate the loss of it. His ability to leave my naked body and head to fuck another is a prime example of nonappreciation. He couldn’t have made my stance in his life any clearer.
The same stance I once predicted.
The unworthy mortal failed to handle him. Regardless, I still gave it up. Now, I’m just like all the rest.
Considering how fast he went to find another, I suspect I may be on a level much lower than the rest.
“I don’t think I can do this,” I confess, staring off blankly into the night once more. “I don’t think I can become immortal. I don’t . . . think I can live like this.” God damn it, is that more tears flooding my eyes?
“Oh, Soleria,” Dimi whispers sadly.
“Gnetica, Dimi,” Nylicia’s disembodied voice calls out of nowhere.
The air around us shimmers as another shield settles into place. A split second later, Nylicia appears in a blaze of glory.
No, literally. There’s lights, golden skin, glitter, and long flowing hair that shines bright in the moonlight.
With her face framed by her dark hair, those eyes of hers glow brighter than ever, seeming almost solid although she remains see-through.
Both arms are bent to display her accessories—a thin, gold rod in her left hand and a . . . is that a fucking bird floating above her r
ight hand?
Yup. Definitely a bird. A perfect little white one, its wings flapping manically to maintain its position floating above her fingers.
The Watcher of Destinies glides up to us, sporting her brand new look like the queen she is. Goddess, actually. Of what? No one knows, but there’s no doubt in my mind this female is one.
The sleeves of her dress are like gossamer wings that part down the middle and are decorated by intricate silver designs that sparkle like glitter. The rest of the dress is mermaid-style, fitting her like a second skin all the way to the end where it flares out. More designs cover the deep V of the bodice, continuing down to the hem of her skirt.
I’m nearly dazed by this version of her, and I don’t even swing that way. “Upgrade?”
Nylicia grimaces. “More like a glitch.”
“Glitch?”
A solemn nod. “I’m literally glitching. Can’t control it.” To herself, she mumbles, “Those last two experiments might’ve been a wee-bit much.” Stopping in front of us, she stares down at Dimi with a tender smile. “How you holding up?”
“They are working,” Dimithinia says.
What’s working?
Nylicia turns to me. “And you? How are you feeling?”
Ah, so she knows. There’s no way she wouldn’t. She probably had a front row seat as the Watcher. “I’m fine.”
The look on her face tells me she’s aware just how full of shit I am. “Dimithinia, can you please come back in like five minutes? I need a moment alone with Soleria.”
“I will just wait across the street, outside the Gnetica.” She disappears and reappears on the corner. Instantly, that smartphone she’s obsessed with appears in her hand.
“Now, let’s really talk,” Nylicia says.
“Sure. Why is there a bird flying above your hand?”
Nylicia blinks at it, as if surprised to find it there. “You know . . . I really don’t have an answer for that. All I know is I glitched and viola”—she widens her arms even more, displaying her get-up—“here we were. Rod, tits, bird.”
Her tits are obscenely on display. I won’t lie.
“But anyway. We have more important matters. Like your upcoming immortality. As in: today.”
Blood Drenched Conquest (Ryze Book 3) Page 22