by C. A. Worley
Marrok almost hoped Dmitri wasn’t, only so he could kill the vampire himself. If Evelyn could be safe in the palace on her own, he’d already be out there searching.
Chapter 27
“Do you think my sisters and I should return to Sanctus Femina?” Evelyn pondered out loud, resting comfortably on her lover’s bare chest.
As soon as Hale departed, Marrok quarantined them both to their bedchamber. He’d yet to make good on his promise of a spanking. In fact, he’d been uncharacteristically gentle in their lovemaking this evening.
“No. Some of the rogues wouldn’t care if it was sacred ground. They cannot think rationally and would risk the wrath of the Goddess, likely not even able to consider it. Plus, Theron said you needed to be here. Maybe he saw Dmitri attacking the temple or intercepting you from there. Whatever it was, he was insistent you remain here.”
“Dmitri might never be found, Marrok. Is this how we will live if his body is never recovered?”
“It’s not how I want to live, either, my sweet. It’s only been a matter of days. Let’s let it play out a little longer before we worry about the rest of our lives, alright?”
“Alright,” she agreed, her warm breath blowing across his skin.
“What’s bothering you, Evelyn, aside from the obvious?”
“Nothing.”
“Damnit, Evelyn,” he cursed, sitting up and pulling her with him. “No lies, remember?”
“It’s a truly inconvenient skill you demons have,” she huffed. “For future reference, when a female responds to your inquiry with the word nothing, it means she doesn’t want to talk about it. How did you know, anyway?”
“I pay attention and I could feel it through the bond. Furthermore, if you don’t want to talk about it, use those words. Exactly.”
“And you’ll drop it?”
“Not a chance.”
“You’re impossible!”
“As are you.”
Evelyn covered her face, close to laughing at their absurdity. He could feel her concern, but he had no way of knowing what had her in turmoil. She wouldn’t want him to conceal anything from her, leaving her to worry and draw false conclusions.
“No hiding, Evelyn,” Marrok commanded, pulling her hands down.
Evelyn rolled her eyes. “Alright, Demon King, you win. You want to know what’s bothering me?”
“I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t.”
“You haven’t talked about it.”
“About what?”
“Don’t be obtuse. Melena. The memories? Aside from analyzing facts about the brotherhood, you’ve said nothing about how you feel. I know this has shaken you to the core, Marrok. You must feel something about your wife’s actions.”
“Late wife,” he staunchly corrected.
“Yes, your late wife, the one who took her own life. The one who was manipulated by your uncle and by her cousin. The one you loved dearly.”
“Did I? Or did she manipulate my mind into forming an attachment?”
His eyes had grown hard, his jaw set. He’d been holding in whatever he was feeling. Evelyn could sense his tumult through their bond and she thought talking it out might help him navigate his emotions. He obviously had a lot of resentment towards Melena right now.
“Marrok, she was in a difficult spot. You know this. You know what Brennen would have done if she’d refused to play his game. I think you need to forgive her. I don’t think you’ll get past this if you can’t.”
He stood from the bed, pacing. “You want me to forgive the person who helped Brennen find you? Who knew you were only a child, yet promised him information he demanded to obtain your identity and did nothing to stop him from reaching you?”
She grimaced. “I know it sounds terrible, but there was more to it. You’re just too angry to see it.”
“What is it you think I need to see?” he seethed, turning his back and staring out the darkened window.
Evelyn pulled the sheet higher. He was irate. Not with Evelyn, but with his past.
“You want me to see her betrayal? I see it. Her inability to handle being Caleb’s heir? I see it. Her visions which always pointed in one direction when it came to my future? I see it. Her promising to tell Brennen who my mate was if her visions revealed your identity? Trust me, I see it, and I refuse to see anymore. If I do, I might find a necromancer for the sole purpose of bringing her back so I can kill her again myself!”
Evelyn stood, slowly approaching his shadowy figure outlined in the moonlight. Her palm fell upon his muscular back and he stiffened.
“You’ve every right to feel deceived, Marrok.”
“Well, thank you for your blessing that I’m entitled to my own feelings,” his sarcastic tongue lashed out, moving away from her touch.
It hurt, but Evelyn wouldn’t back down. Like a festering wound, it needed to be flayed open and debrided so the healing could begin.
“I see some things, too, Marrok. I see that she ensured you would find me. If she hadn’t done what she’d done, I would not be here with you now. I’m not convinced if you were still happily married, you’d have been able to come to my aide that night. Fate wouldn’t let you fall in love, let you remain married to that person, and then find your saatus.”
“Then you have more faith than I,” he ridiculed. “Fate’s been nothing but cruel these past years. Even you’ve suffered at Her hands, Evelyn.”
Evelyn blinked away the tears forming, despising the pain in his voice.
“I disagree,” she countered. “I think Fate has been very generous with me.”
“How can you say that? I’ve seen what you had to endure, night after night, reliving my memories, my thoughts. You felt me fall in love with someone else. You were forced to watch it happen. It was callous at best. If I was to see the truth of my past, it shouldn’t have come at a cost to you. How can you possibly think Fate gave you a godsdamned thing?”
Her eyes filled to the brim, spilling over in rivulets streaking down her face. “Because I have you, Marrok. Whatever the price for that, I would gladly pay it. I know it’s not the same for you, that you don’t feel the same, but that’s how I feel about it.”
The air left his lungs in such a rush he was sure he’d taken a blow to his gut. His little mate took no issue with suffering whatever pitiless twist Fate threw at her. Because they were together, Evelyn accepted all the moments of heartache.
He’d been so wrapped up in the brutality of things hidden from him years ago, he’d failed to acknowledge the one beautiful truth in his sad existence. Evelyn was his. Melena’s death, as difficult as it was for him, set in motion the path to his mate.
“Evelyn—”
Someone hammered a fist against the door, startling them both.
“We’ve got problems, Marrok!” Danil’s muffled voice called through the wood.
“Get dressed. Hurry,” he marshalled, collecting his own clothing with demon speed.
She quickly threw on a dress, not bothering with her underthings. Once Evelyn was lacing her boots, she heard Marrok open the door.
Favin and Danil stood in front of a dozen others whose faces she couldn’t see. The two entered and Danil barked out orders to the others to be alert.
“What’s happened?” Evelyn asked, coming up beside Marrok.
“Lazlo sent a rider. The peninsula’s wall has been compromised. The barrier …” Favin took a breath.
“Which part is down?” Marrok asked impatiently.
“It’s gone. The entire colony rushed it at once.”
Marrok went still. The wall was gone. There was nothing holding the rogues on the peninsula. “It was coordinated. There’s no other way that would have happened. Someone has rallied them.”
Evelyn’s nervous gaze fell on Marrok. “Do you think it was Dmitri?”
“Maybe. They might be easily influenced by a vampire’s power of hypnosis. Those who are really far gone would have followed the crowd, feeding off the frenzy. Or Bogdan could ha
ve had an heir in place, planting ideas. Or both.”
Danil ran a hand through his white hair. “Bloody hell, this is bad. There are thousands of them.”
Marrok looked at Favin. “Is Lazlo alright?”
“Nevin, the rider, said the rogues were about a mile out from the fortress, on foot, when he departed. They would have reached it in minutes, and that was almost eleven hours ago.”
Demons could move incredibly fast. Slower than the rider would have been on horseback, but not by much. The fortress would have been inundated by the sheer numbers shortly after Nevin exited the outer gates.
He prayed Lazlo had either escaped or had secured himself and the men in the secret rooms under the tombs. Marrok and a handful of trusted males had built the hiding space themselves shortly after he took up residence in Terenuskit. Few would think to look for the living underneath the dead.
Marrok’s head was already running through defense plans he and Favin had hammered out days ago. They’d started preparations for a worst-case scenario.
Evelyn worried her bottom lip with her teeth. “Marrok, how long until they can reach Patria?”
“A few hours at most.”
“At best?”
“Within the hour.”
Evelyn’s stomach rolled. They were about to be swarmed by rogues.
“I need to change.”
“What?” all three males look at her as though she’d lost her mind.
“If we’re to stand our ground, I’ll not be doing it in this flimsy dress. Get out so I can change.”
Favin blinked. Danil smirked. Marrok frowned.
“You will not be fighting against rogues, little mate.”
Her eyes flashed, her hands pulling at the air inside the room. She created strong enough currents to push them back towards the door.
“I will not be a sitting target, either. If one of them gets past our defenses, I’ll need every advantage to protect myself. As the only female currently on the property, I would prefer to not be caught by a madman while wearing a dress with easy access to things he has no right to. My leathers will make it easier for me to move and better protect my skin from weapons, should they have any. If nothing else, I’ll feel covered and less vulnerable. Now, if you don’t want me to knock all three of you on your arses, get out.”
“Favin, Danil. Leave us.”
“I think I’m in love with your saatus, my liege.”
“Danil!” Marrok’s demon spirit thundered from deep within.
“Right. Apologies, Sire,” he bowed, backing out of the room.
The door clicked and Marrok turned to meet Evelyn’s heated glare.
“Go ahead, my little warrior. Change.”
“Why are you suddenly so accommodating?”
“Because you just gave me a reminder of how strong you are. You almost knocked three formidable demons to the floor, and you weren’t even exerting yourself. You’ve not used magic around me outside of the dreamworld, so it’s easy for me to forget you’re powerful in your own right.”
Evelyn beamed at his compliment.
“Now take off your dress.”
Her eyes widened and her smile disappeared with his change in demeanor. Now was not the time to be thinking of rolling around on the bed, as much as she would enjoy it.
“Are you just going to stand there and watch?” she mocked.
“Absolutely.”
Evelyn rolled her eyes, opening the armoire and pulling out what she needed. She made quick work of removing the dress, feeling her demon’s impassioned stare sliding over her curves.
“The world is ending and you want to watch me get naked,” she muttered, jerking up her pants.
“I have no intention of allowing our world to end. That said, if we were about to die, this wouldn’t be a bad way to go out. Buried inside you would be preferable, but I’ll take what I can get.”
Evelyn disregarded his claim. She needed to focus on her tasks or else she might remove her clothing again and jump into his arms. She finish strapping her shoulder harness and reached for her sword. Marrok’s large hand landed on it first.
“Allow me.”
He picked it up and she gave him her back. “Why do you not carry it at your hip?” he asked as he secured it to her back.
“Because I’m too short. If I bend enough, the tip of the scabbard drags the ground. Carrying it on my back, I have more freedom for movement.”
She added a short blade to her leg harness and turned to face him.
“You look …”
“Comfortable?” she offered. Unlike her sisters, Evelyn would choose to dress this way everyday if her father would have allowed it.
“Sexy. I was going to say sexy.”
Evelyn laughed. “I thought you didn’t like me—how did you say it? Dressed like a male?”
“I didn’t say I didn’t like it. I said I was going to start thinking you didn’t want me.”
Marrok cupped her cheek and lowered his lips to hers. One gentle brush and he nuzzled her cheek with his own. “I preferred your nightwear in the dreamworld because it was so easily removed, moj draga.”
Reluctantly, he took a step backwards. “We’ll explore what we can do with your leathers once this is over.”
“Seriously, how can you think about that when we’re about to be overrun?”
“Easy. It gives me something to look forward to and I have no intention of losing.”
Chapter 28
“Promise me you’ll remain out of sight, Evelyn,” Marrok requested, sounding far calmer than he felt. The scouts had reported a large mass of rogues were about to exit the woods south of the palace.
“I will,” she swore, looking between the arrow slits from her spot on the roof. Though the palace wasn’t a fortress like the one in Terenuskit, it wasn’t without some structural advantages in case of attack.
“Hale won’t be here for hours yet.”
After he and Evelyn finished dressing, Marrok had sent for the vampire, asking Thereon for reinforcements. His men to the south were cut off from him and he had already called for those available in the northern parts of Sundari. Still, they would be outnumbered if the majority of the rogues were headed this way, and it would take hours for his missive to reach Sanctus Femina.
He should have asked for one of the vampires to remain with Evelyn at all times, but he’d never thought the entire colony could have escaped at once.
Marrok had also been reassured by the priest this was where they needed to be. He wasn’t one for blind faith, but he trusted Theron.
“I want you to leave with Hale if we haven’t gotten things under control by the time he arrives. He can teleport you around the entire continent, if need be.”
As Viktor’s primary messenger, Hale had to be familiar with the geography of each kingdom. He’d visited as many locations as he could in his many years. He would be the best person to keep Evelyn on the move and away from Dmitri.
“I can only keep up the barrier if I’m here, Marrok.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Reluctantly, he’d agreed to allow Evelyn to use her magics to create a barricade, as she had done for years in her dreams.
“I don’t want to leave you.”
“I know. But Hale will take you away if I tell him to take you away. Understood?”
Evelyn didn’t reply, unwilling to lie to him. She slapped her hands on the side of his head and yanked him down for a kiss. She poured all her feelings into it, all her passion, her love, and her worry.
Marrok groaned, his heart constricting. His mate’s sugary lips unraveled him. Panting, he rested his forehead on hers.
“You’ll do whatever you have to do to stay alive, moj draga. I don’t care who you have to maim or kill, you’ll do it.”
“The same goes for you, my love.”
His eyes closed, basking in the sweetness of his mate’s affections. He wanted to return the sentiments. He would, after this was over and she was safe. For now, Marrok needed to ha
rden his heart. He would not enjoy killing his own people.
He turned to his men. The archers were in place, one for every other arrow slit. A dozen more were near with the sole purpose of protecting Evelyn. Hundreds more were below, spread along the outer walls, waiting for orders.
Marrok squeezed Danil’s shoulder affectionately. He knew his friend wasn’t happy to be on the roof instead of in the trenches with him, but he needed someone he trusted to stay with Evelyn.
“Guard her with your life.”
“I will, my liege.”
Marrok planted one more kiss on his mate and took off towards the stairs. He would be on the ground for this fight, needing to lead his men from the front. Unlike Brennen, Marrok would never hide behind others.
Evelyn watched Marrok’s retreating back until it disappeared through the door to the stairs. Four armed men quickly chained it shut, locking out anyone coming from inside.
The message on its way to Hale would instruct him to come directly to the roof. Before he departed, Marrok had him enter every wing and any other possible locations where Evelyn might be found, including the roof. The vampire might be the only way off the top of the palace for a while.
The brontide of rolling thunder carried over the large space from the woods to the outer wall. Evelyn could feel the vibrations under her feet and she placed her hands on the stone in front of her.
Danil’s shoulder brushed hers as he moved close to peer through the slit. “Here they come,” his low voice announced to those on the rooftop. “Hold steady.”
They’d rigged the ground with explosives, about fifty yards from the palace’s outer wall. Favin had instructed Evelyn to place her partition between the minefield and the wall.
Evelyn lifted her hands, gathering her powers to erect a barrier of air currents. The Southland was far more arid than the rest of Imperium so there wasn’t much water to pull from. She hoped she could move the wind fast enough to slow the rogues’ progression.
“Not yet, poppet,” Danil cautioned. “Let as many as possible set off the explosives first.”