“Complicated?! Hah! What’s so complicated about it? I couldn’t handle you as a human so you went to an immortal succubus-nymph-bitch to give you what I couldn’t.”
That’s right. By now I’ve learned the immortal world’s dirty little secret. Succubi and nymphs are one and the same, seductive, compulsive cum-eating, always-down-to-get-fucked groupies.
AKA: The Homewreckers, as Ismini nicknamed them.
“Cyake prophesied a curse on me when I was twenty-five.”
His solemn words stop everything. Even my justified, righteous indignation as well. “What? But that was . . . around the time . . .”
“It was right on the final day of that battle. He was forced to use his powers of Fate to kill the enemy, it left him vulnerable . . . or maybe my destiny was that undeniable. Either way, the Fates got hold of him. He found me in D’vuirn—”
“Where?”
“The realm of these shifters known as the Baesams.”
“What kind of shifters?”
“The legends of dragons came from them. Although, to be honest, they were much slicker, more futuristic versions of what ancient man imagined.”
“So he caught you there and did what?”
“He didn’t do anything. The Fates funneled their sentence through him. The prophecy was obscure about some shit, misleading about others.” He laughs bitterly. “Conquest was named clearly, and I still never connected it to Desian’s powers. It fucking mentioned crimson, too”—his eyes flicker to my hair—“but for months I convinced myself you couldn’t be the one. You couldn’t be the female the prophecy mentioned.”
“Why not? The weak mortal isn’t good enough for you? Or simply because you weren’t ready to let go of your hoe-ish ways?”
He ignores my bitterness and stares at me sadly. “Because for fourteen millennia we interpreted it to mean that the female I’d come to love would be the death of me.”
Pin drop silence.
And the roar of my blood in my ears. “So you . . . to protect yourself?”
“I admit all parts of my fuck-up. I was fucking beyond stupid. Probably for also going so long without sex—”
“Excuse me?”
“Sol, did Cyake ever tell you about our species? What that means for us?”
“What do you mean?”
“Hyrens, male and female, need sex all the fucking time. Nonstop. Everyday. If not, for some fucking reason we haven’t been able to pinpoint yet, our bodies start going rabid.”
“Rabid? Like a dog, rabid?”
He clearly doesn’t like the comparison again, eyes flashing. “Yes. Like that. And it’s bad enough with a regular werewolf. My kind? We’re also gods. So our powers start corroding as well.”
“So you’re literally telling me that unless you get your whore freak-on constantly, you’re dragged into the dark side?”
“Sol . . . that night I left you, before I went to Talila—”
“Great. Thanks. I really needed to know her name.”
His eyes flash apologetically, but he speaks over me regardless. “Before I went to her, I killed a human man.”
Shock. I remember the body, how mangled it was. Now to have it confirmed it was Ian?
“I think it might’ve even been two,” he finishes in a low voice.
“I’m sure they did something to deserve it,” leaves my mouth on a reedy whisper before I can assimilate my defense of him.
“I remember bits of the first kill. The human approached me aggressively. Still doesn’t make what I did right.”
“So you were going rabid and you were afraid I would be what killed you.”
“Not to mention I was going to kill you. Baby, I went a month without sex. The limit for my kind is two weeks to three months, depending on age and therefore tolerance. I’m ancient and a god.”
“Why the fuck did you do that then?”
Expression very solemn, he raises his chin. “I lost my ability to get turned on for another female the moment we had that first dream. I went that night to Sphynx but I left within half-hour the moment I was given an excuse. I couldn’t bring myself to be with anyone else. I denied it to myself up and fucking down, even when Cyake kept rubbing my face in it, but—”
“You had zero problem going to Talila that night.”
“I ended up there by blind, idiotic instinct. I needed to fuck and I was petrified of killing you—and of you, period. But even as she was kissing me, I realized she wasn’t you. I know you saw me push her away before I noticed you were there.”
It was a split-second moment, but I did. “Doesn’t matter. Don’t you get it?”
“Don’t you? You’re going into fucking heat soon. It’s either me or it’s another male!”
“I should have more of a choice in my baby daddy and when I get pregnant in the first place!”
“Like you had becoming immortal? That’s how you ended up in Brownsville, right? Nylicia told you that’s where you’d become immortal, and you went!”
No. To be more exact, Nylicia told me there was a fifty-fifty chance I’d either become immortal or die. And what did I do? Turned around, calmly walked into my house, checked my will (I made one early due to the fact I own property and a restaurant), made sure all my paperwork was in order.
Then I sat down to wait until Dimi flashed me over to the battle.
“Tell me something, Soleria.” Suddenly he’s in my face. “Did Nylicia tell you the catalyst for your transformation would be death? Did she?”
“That’s none of your business. You want me to be yours without understanding what you would be taking from me!”
“Spell it out for me then.”
“The male for me, the one for me, won’t be another idiot who made the same mistake. The day I settle down for immortal life—although I had this belief when I was mortal, too—it’ll be with someone that valued me enough to not betray me with another female. Someone who values me from day one. Not after he’s gotten a taste of someone else and decided it couldn’t compare with me!”
“I understand that. I do. But my fuck up doesn’t erase the fact I’m the one for you, baby girl. I just need you to give me a chance to prove to you how I feel.”
“Are you listening to me? Ugh! I’m the one for you? Are we mated to each other?”
He stares at me stubbornly, jaw clenched.
“Exactly! We aren’t. So what’s with all this ‘I’m the one’ for you shit?”
“You don’t have to be mated to be in love,” he grits out.
“Stop saying you’re fucking in love with me!”
“No. Because I am, gods damn it!”
Once again, I throw the first object I find at him—a golden sculpture.
“You fucking went to kiss Rick, and you fucking love me! Beings make mistakes!”
I gasp, then throw another object at him. “I don’t love you. And I went to Ricky after you went to Talila. So fuck you.” I turn to leave, so mad I can’t even dematerialize.
“Sol, I’m telling you. When you go into heat, it’s either me, or no one.”
“I have a meeting with the council. Leave me alone.”
He chases after me. “You’re postponing that coronation, Sol. As a matter of fact, you’re not going out in public from here until your ovulation cycle is over.”
“My ovulation cycle is none of your fucking business!”
“It’s all my fucking business!”
“Leave me alone!”
“Sol, I’m telling you! If you go into heat during that coronation, I’m killing every single one of your male subjects before I let them get to you!”
“Only in the immortal world would a psycho like you get away with saying something like that!”
“Sol, you’re not having kids with anyone but me. You hear me?”
“Go. To. Fucking. Hell!”
Chapter 42
DIMITHINIA
“D on’t you? You’re going into fucking heat soon. It’s either me or it’s another ma
le!”
“I should have more of a choice in my baby daddy and when I get pregnant in the first place!”
Dyletri’s lips stretch into a smile. “Hell of an argument to be having with your female.”
“Word,” Zexistr chimes in.
They are three floors above us and the sound of them arguing is clear as day.
Ismini is the only one in our current group that does not seem amused. “I’m worried what Sol’s gonna do to him.”
She should be. Not that Ianthen does not deserve it. He does after what he did.
So why am I helping him behind Soleria’s back?
The question bothers me every time I ask myself. My loyalty is to her, of course. In the month I have known her, she has become a good friend. Just as Ismini, Evesse, the twins, and everyone.
Being connected to her soul as I brought her back to life solidified our friendship.
Yet, Ianthen is mated to her. She does not know this. Unfortunately, I do. I cannot tell her, although it haunts me that I have not.
How could I not feel sympathy for him? He caused his condition on himself, unlike me. Does that change where he and I both are? Mated to beings that are not mated to us.
Due to his circumstances, he is much farther along than I am. Once more, no difference. My future is looking a lot like his.
And Ianythi’s.
I suck another small, squishy dark ball through the straw. The humans call them tapioca pearls. The drink itself is named “bubble tea” in English.
Such an odd name.
I am not sure if I like this beverage or not, but the tapioca pearls are definitely addicting. Either way, I cannot stop drinking this.
Lounging on the large arm chair, I scroll through my phone. Dyletri and Ismini are sharing a loveseat in front of me. Zexistr is sprawled in a chair next to mine.
Three floors above us, the soon-to-be crowned queen lets out another shout.
“My ovulation cycle is none of your fucking business!”
“It’s all my fucking business!”
Ismini seems as taken aback as I am.
Zex and Dyletri nod, as if what Ianthen is saying is simply a matter of fact.
“Leave me alone!”
“Sol, I’m telling you! If you go into heat during that coronation, I’m killing every single one of your male subjects before I let them get to you!”
“Maybe we should just knock Soleria out and isolate her ourselves,” Ismini whispers worriedly.
“Only in the immortal world would a psycho like you get away with saying something like that!”
I meet Zex’s stare. “She is not lying.”
He arches his pierced brow in amusement.
“Sol, you’re not having kids with anyone but me. You hear me?”
“Go. To. Fucking. Hell!”
Dyletri brings his R’ma closer, staring at the ceiling with concern. “We’re definitely going to have to isolate her if we can’t get her to see reason. Either that or prepare ourselves for the annihilation of half the males here. Which could either be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how bloodthirsty the war Erencei are on that day.”
Zex scoffs. “Good luck with that. He’ll break through whatever barrier or kill anyone trying to keep her from him. Trust me on this. That female will be pregnant by next month whether she wants it or not.”
IANTHEN
My argument with Soleria yesterday gnaws at me. She’s already dealing with more than any being should in a short amount of time. Do you honestly think I want to add to it? Hell no. Yet her own DNA is forcing our hand.
Fuck that. I’ll call this what it is. It’s the Fates. They’re the ones with the most power to trigger these kinds of events.
They’re demanding the new Goddess of Conquest brings forth life. Sol doesn’t know this, but I am hers on two catastrophic levels, and I couldn’t stop my current path even if I wanted to.
Which of course I don’t.
As I said, fuck that. I regret the fact I’m causing her extra stress by taking her choice away, but someone will have to kill me first before I allow another male between her thighs.
Planting his motherfucking seed in her.
My nostrils flare, heart thundering.
Yeah. Whoa. Best to push that back. The whole point of controlling my mating systems isn’t just to keep me alive; it’s to stop me from going rabid.
Guess what thinking of another male fucking my female does to me?
“I don’t know why I agreed to let you do this,” Soleria mumbles next to me.
I ignore that beautiful, pouting face because if I get fixated on those lips one more time, I’m taking them.
And then I’m taking her.
I can feel her watching my fingers fly across the touchscreen keyboard in a blur. “How exactly are you doing this?”
“The viewing chamber in Enzyria is a mixture of what humans would consider ancient technology as well as energy.”
“Magic. Just say it.”
My lip curls into a smirk. “Nope. I refuse.”
“But that’s just technology you’re working on, right?”
“Which is a conduit for . . .”
“Magic.”
Another smirk. “Keep that up, and I won’t just stop what I’m doing. I’m going to switch over to something else entirely.”
As expected, she puts distance between us as fast as she can. “We’re in the command room in front of everyone, genius.”
“There’s a Gnetica surrounding us. Now let me concentrate so I can get this done.”
“What exactly are you doing? How does that have to do with magic?”
“Energy. And it’s in the code.” The one I wouldn’t have been able to install if Soleria hadn’t ordered Halamar to turn off their firewalls and protocols. I shouldn’t be surprised, but gods damn, this is some complicated shit.
I’m starting to suspect that war Erencei have been spying on their intellectual cousins.
“A spell within a code? Are you serious?”
“Baby, as sexy as it is when you get all witchy on me, I already told you. It’s energy. Like the electricity that powers most of your shit on Earth.”
She humphs. “You said you wanted to give me my own version of the viewing chamber for security reasons. Seems to me that’s not all there is to it.”
“Oh?”
“You’re acting like you have long term plans of sticking around.”
I stare at her incredulously over my shoulder. “Come on, now.”
Dressed in another indecent gown—this one dark purple, a color that brings out her normal, baby blue eyes—she’s leaning against the counsel behind me, arms crossed.
I want my fangs deep in those plump tits.
“My face is up here, asshole.”
“I told you about wearing those dresses.”
Glistening pink lips stretch into a beautiful, mocking smile. “And I told you to go to hell. Also told you to leave me alone. Thanks for all the upgrades to the kingdom, now set yourself a departure date.”
“Soleria, if you want me to leave you alone so badly,” I mumble, fully aware that she can hear me anyway. “Why don’t you command me to go?”
“I shouldn’t have to. You know you’re not wanted.”
It’s cruel of me to mock her, and it isn’t my intention, but holding back my laugh is impossible. “Lie to me about anything you want, but not about that. You want me. Maybe not as much as I want you, but you do.”
“I’m not the one that ran off to find someone to fuck after our first attempt failed.” Her contained anger isn’t lost on me at all.
“No. You just went to do it after I did it.”
“And I couldn’t go through with it!”
“Neither could I,” I reply evenly. The biggest mistake I always make is letting her engage me in the argument. She knows just what buttons to press. This time, though, I plan to keep a level head.
Or at least try.
I need to get
through to her. The hours are ticking by.
“You initiated it,” Soleria refutes.
Stubborn as ever.
I exhale a slow breath. Got a feeling we’re going to be arguing about how I started it for the next two centuries at least.
She isn’t wrong.
Her refusal to let me prove to her she’s the one, however . . .
“You want me gone, baby. You know what to do. Say the words,” I dare her without looking her way.
“No.”
I hear her start to walk away.
Yes, I willed an energy shield around us, but Soleria learned a new trick in the last twenty-four hours.
She can now walk through Gneticas.
My female can’t be contained. “We’re aren’t done discussing us,” I tell her before she clears the barrier.
“There is no ‘us’.”
“Keeping telling yourself that.”
Another day in desert paradise.
In the far distance, a third eruption of power can be seen lighting up the night sky—a small speck considering how far away the rebel base is located.
“They’re definitely mobilizing,” Zexistr says as we stand in front of the glass wall.
Word reached the kingdom earlier that the rebels had begun engaging in military exercises.
Soleria’s been queen for a week and they’re gearing up for war.
Took them longer than expected. They mobilized within two days when Cilpera arrived here all those eons ago. They still can’t flash directly to the city limits. They can’t even get within two-thousand miles of it.
They’ll have to hoof it over here and they’ve barely begun to prepare.
Regardless, I give them a week at most before they arrive here looking for their deaths.
Not just at my hands. Zex has pledged to remain and end them, too.
Soleria wants to try the diplomacy route. After a week of watching her flex those powers with utter impunity, hearing that from her was like getting clocked in the face.
She’s about to go into heat and now she wants to play diplomat with those vicious males?
“It’ll take them a while yet to reach here,” Zexistr comments calmly.
I nod. “And as you were saying earlier, you’ve been getting more information on the Watcher?” Not a word of her. Not from her, from anyone. Not even Vedlyl. She’s up and vanished, leaving only Ved and the Sesengts to search for her.
Blood Drenched Conquest (Ryze Book 3) Page 36