Blood Flows Deep in the Empire

by N. Isabelle Blanco

  Her blood sang inside of him, coating every bit of his code. Changing it. Marking him. He tried to open his mouth. To say something. But he realized that he was seconds away from blacking out, that he—a being of infinite power—had been overloaded past the point of endurance.

  Dyletri fought to stay awake, fought to finish what was started and not stop until he was completely owned. He couldn’t. The only consolation he had was that she was in his arms. That she’d collapsed on him and was trembling against him.

  The last thing he heard before his brain shut down and he was dragged into oblivion were her frantic apologies.

  Chapter 21

  -Earth. Astoria, Queens, NY. (USA)

  A rollercoaster ride didn’t have shit on this.

  Ismini was a blur of particles moving faster than light. Even though she lacked a physical form, she could still see the swirling mass she’d dematerialized into. There was no pain this time. The fabric of space rushed by her without incident. Lights zoomed in the periphery like cars on a highway at night.

  Ismini forced herself to focus, knowing she had to visualize where she wanted to go. When she was sure she was close enough, she slammed the brakes on her ride and rematerialized.

  She should have gone slower.

  Her numbness receded, her body slamming together on a rush. Dizziness assailed her, the shock of solidifying slapping her in the face. She heard her sneakers screech against the cement as she stumbled. The symptoms of the mating had been lying in wait, anticipating the moment her body went solid so they could strike.

  The roar of Dyletri’s blood sprang up inside her, a burn that attacked her throat and stomach and demanded more. Feeling that hunger brought back the memories, memories that had tormented her since the moment she left him in that temple. They collided inside her mind, images and sounds that had Ismini doubling over.

  Even before the first heave left her, she realized she was in an alley, but and it wasn’t the one near her building. His blood continued to swirl within her, but not nearly enough of it. The small amount she’d taken from him waged a war against her. Mounted a rebellion that she somehow knew wouldn’t stop until she returned to Dyletri and finished what they’d started.

  Fucking hell. Why couldn’t her body understand? Why had it tried to force him to be hers?

  Ismini stumbled again and slipped. She barely held on as another wave of nausea hit her. She felt detached from her body as she distantly watched the blood rush out of her. Blood. Not bile, but blood. She watched it stain the bricks. Watched it hit the concrete under her.

  It didn’t take a genius to figure out what was wrong, to realize that Dyletri had claimed her when he drank from her and now her body wanted the same in kind. It wanted its mate and was now turning against her.

  You shouldn’t have left.

  But she had. She had to leave. She couldn’t stand the idea of facing him; of facing his guilt over being with her, his guilt over Dimithinia. She didn’t want to be there when he realized he’d bitten her. What if he didn’t want her? Sex was one thing, but eternity was another.

  She didn’t even know what had happened to him. For all she knew, something was wrong with him, too. He’d passed out, and while she was no expert, she was certain that wasn’t normal.

  The need to go back to him became overwhelming, just not enough to stop what was happening to her. She continued to retch, the sounds vicious and frightening. Ismini was scared someone would hear her. She was spilling enough of blood to rival a massacre.

  Wasn’t the capacity of a human being around five or six quarts? She was a little human being, too, damn it. Where the hell was it all coming from? Had the powers Nylicia given her somehow multiplied that shit?

  She had to get to her freaking apartment. It was the only place she had to go. She just prayed Dyletri wouldn’t search for her there. She couldn’t let him see her like this.

  The blood loss been on and off since she’d dematerialized out of Enzyria. Ismini wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and forced herself to keep going, one step at a time. Her vision blurred, and she tripped. She managed to catch herself against the wall and thanked the Gods that it was nighttime outside, and that most of the alleys of the buildings around her apartment building interconnected.

  She was probably five minutes from her house when she heard the footsteps behind her. She almost panicked, but then she recognized who was calling for her.

  Evesse.

  “Stop! I had a hard enough time tracking your energy signatu—Oh my fucking god, Ismini!” Evesse reached Ismini, grabbing her and turning her around. “What the fuck? What is this? What’s wrong?”

  Ismini fell against the wall and slid to the ground. Her body began convulsing. “Eve, I . . . I . . .” She didn’t get to finish.

  Evesse’s worried eyes went wide, and a scream ripped from her mouth. She fell limply on her side next to Ismini as pulses of what seemed to be dark lightning danced all over her skin.

  Pain exploded in Ismini’s neck then. Despite the new powers she had, her spine almost snapped in two as what seemed to be polluted electricity shot through her. The jolts were cold, yet they burned her flesh as they rushed through her neck. The miasma spread, coating every inch, every atom as it slid further into her body.

  She screamed, her voice joining Eve’s. Ismini expected people to run out and investigate, but they didn’t.

  “My, my . . . what have we here?”

  Pure evil washed over Ismini on a dark, painful breeze. One that was somehow even more potent than the pain already surging inside her.

  “Enteax! Get over here. We’ve found her. And I think we’ve hit the jackpot with this one.”

  As soon as he spoke, a wave of energy slammed Ismini into the brick wall behind her and held her in place. Evesse was lifted off the ground and pinned to the wall next to her.

  They exchanged a glance and, as one, began struggling. Their efforts were in vain, though. The more they struggled, the denser the energy became. It bit into Ismini’s skin and prickled.

  Another voice reached Ismini’s ears, just as raspy and odd sounding as the first. “Holy shit. Look at all this blood. What the . . . does this mean what I think it means?”

  “I’m about to find out. Shit. I smell him in it. There’s no way she isn’t his. Throw up a Gnetica, Enteax. As hungry as I am, we don’t want the humans interrupting this.”

  Out of the corner of her eye, Ismini saw a tall, lanky, effeminate-looking thing walking toward them. It was monstrous, and in a moment of shock, she realized it was one of the things that had been after her on the night Dyletri had found her in an alley not far from where they were. It appeared before Ismini, a slow smile spreading across its beige face.

  “Vomiting blood? You poor, pretty little thing. What has he done to you, huh?” He mocked Ismini with his snakelike eyes and an orge-toothed mouth. His damned breath rivaled an upturned cemetery.

  Its eyes focused on her neck, and its smile widened. “Tsk. Tsk. Did he really reject such a gorgeous little thing? Maybe I can take what he was too stupid to appreciate, hmm?”

  “Don’t fucking touch her!” Evesse yelled, struggling.

  It turned its head in Eve’s direction and bit its lip. “Oooh. A feisty one. I’d love to take a bite out of you, too.”

  “Calm down, Lisrn. If you touch either of them, you’ll kill them.”

  Lisrn glared in Enteax’s direction. “What do you mean? Okay, fine. I’ll leave Salicyar’s female alone. We need her for the sacrifice, but this one . . .”

  “Belongs to the one now known as Zeniel. It’s faint, but I can sense it on her from all the way over here.”

  Evesse’s gasp echoed Ismini’s. Even through the pain, the fear in Evesse’s eyes was obvious. She felt it herself. The idea of Evesse being in the same situation she was in broke Ismini’s heart.

  The one with the light blue skin walked toward them with a lazy gait. He had a more masculine body than the other one, and his bla
ck hair sat in a short Mohawk on top of his head. With eyes the same color as his skin, he stared.

  Ismini wanted to cringe away from him. He had no irises, no pupils, and his black teeth stood out sharply against his light blue skin as he leered at them.

  “Hello, ladies. I’m Enteax. This is Lisrn.”

  “What the fuck do you want with us?” Evesse asked, her tone shaking with fury.

  A soft chuckle rumbled out of Enteax’s chest. “Brave, this one. Tell me, will your friend here be so brave when she has to face her death?”

  Evesse cringed when he got too close, but she didn’t look away, not even as realization dawned in her eyes. Somehow, Ismini already knew.

  “You’re making sure I get sacrificed,” she said, staring right at him.

  He met her gaze with a smile. “Yes. Yes we are. Especially now that we know what you are to him. This is going to break him.”

  “What do you mean? Isn’t the R’mannev unrequited? She’s sick,” Lisrn said, his fugly face confused.

  “Not exactly,” Enteax said, walking up to Ismini. He grabbed her face and forced her head to the side. “Her R’mann claimed her. His teeth marks are still fresh in that pretty, juicy skin. Right where his mark is. White, silver, and blue. There is no doubt.”

  “What?” Evesse screamed, her voice cracking with fury. She must’ve seen what Enteax was talking about though, because she quickly broke off into a rant about Dyletri being castrated.

  “You’re right,” Lisrn said, his smile delirious. “This is perfect. She’s the one, then. Not the ex-queen.”

  Enteax nodded. “Tell me, do you think he’ll survive the guilt of knowing we took you? That we made every one of your last seconds sheer hell before destroying you?”

  “Get the fuck away from her!” Evesse screamed.

  Ismini spat in his face. “I’m not the one he loves, so do whatever you want. It will all end the same anyway.” She tried to make her words sound believable although she had doubts.

  “Now that’s where you’re wrong . . . or in supreme denial. Or maybe just ignorant. That bite wouldn’t be on your neck if Salicyar didn’t want you. He might have already begun mating to you, and I’m going to make sure you die.”

  Ismini shook her head, seconds away from denying it when something Vedlyl had said to her a few days ago pricked her memory.

  They only desired blood when they wanted to mate.

  But no . . . it couldn’t be. It just couldn’t. Dyletri couldn’t have wanted that.

  Could he?

  Nylicia’s voice came to Ismini then, whispers she had ignored because she hadn’t wanted to hear them. Dyletri hadn’t really loved Dimithinia, and according to Nylicia, Dimithinia hadn’t truly loved him.

  “This is fucking perfect.” Lisrn freaking giggled. “If Dyletri is mated to her and we let her be sacrificed . . . fuck. What are the odds that Mavrak is mated to this one, too?”

  “Mavrak?” Evesse asked, at the same time Ismini said, “Why do you need to take both of us? Why not just kill me instead?”

  Lisrn spoke first. “That’s Zeniel’s first form. Big monster, that one. Physically, he always looked better than us, but internally? Indiscriminate punisher, that’s what he was. Not even the children were safe.”

  Enteax stepped closer to Ismini. “You’re being sacrificed to the Universe, girl. And I’m pretty sure that Salicyar is going to end up dying with you.”

  Ismini’s thoughts raced with disbelief and fear.

  Not because she was going to die. Oh no. Because she was praying that Fate wasn’t so cruel. That Dyletri wasn’t mated to her.

  Please, no. Please, no. Please.

  But she knew in the end that Fate could indeed be that cruel.

  Chapter 22

  “Iss, can you hear me? Ismini . . . for fuck’s sake, open your eyes, girl.”

  Ismini heard a groan, and it took her two seconds to realize that it had come from her. She rolled onto her side and ended up with her face pressed into stone. Gritty, painful stone. “Fuck.”

  “Yeah. Wrong way, smartness.”

  Eve helped Ismini turn over, making sure she was on her back. Ismini blinked, her lids feeling heavier than the stone she was lying on.

  “You’re getting paler. Even though it’s dark in here, I can tell.”

  Eve came into focus, her worried face right above Ismini. “Ah, shit,” Ismini cursed, everything coming back in a rush.

  “Yup.” Evesse held her hand out, slowly helping Ismini into a sitting position. “I was starting to think you were in a coma or something.”

  Ismini clutched her stomach, looking around and trying to ignore how everything was dipping and spinning. They were in some sort of cave. One dimly illuminated by a yellow glow that seemed to have no actual source. “Where the fuck—”

  “There’s no way out. I already checked. And if you get too close to the walls, that dark energy, or whatever the fuck it is, attacks.”

  She turned to Evesse. “They threw us in here?”

  “Apparently. I was knocked out, too. Woke up way before you did, though.”

  And just like that, Ismini’s world dissolved into panic. “You . . . you shouldn’t be here. They’re only supposed to sacrifice me.”

  Evesse’s jaw twitched. “No one is doing anything to you. I’m not going to allow it.”

  “And how do you plan on stopping them? They’re obviously more powerful than we are.”

  “Only because of that dark energy shit. We just gotta find an opening. Wait ’til they aren’t using it. Everyone slips up eventually, and we didn’t get these powers for nothing.”

  That was Evesse. Always ready to fight. Ismini would have loved to believe it would be so easy, but with every second that passed, she was getting weaker. And it wasn’t because of whatever Enteax and Lisrn had used to subdue them. The R’mmanev was spreading within her, attacking her cells en masse.

  Another wave of lightheadedness hit her, and Ismini almost doubled over.

  “Jesus. That mating shit is no joke, huh?”

  She nodded at Eve, unable to say anything as her throat convulsed.

  “This is bullshit. But I’m sure they’ll search for us. They’ll find us.”

  “I have to be sacrificed, Eve. Even if they do find us, I . . . I need you to accept that if I don’t die, the Fates will hurt a lot of innocent people.” Ismini gazed up at her best friend. “We need to worry about you getting out of here. That’s it.”

  “Bullshit. That is the most fucked-up thing I’ve ever heard. You’ve never done anything to anyone. You’re one of the most amazing people I know. So you have to die because it’s destined—”

  “And because now it’s promised, and no one has a choice over it—”

  “Again, bullshit. And I . . .”

  Eve trailed off. A familiar and stubborn expression crossed her face.

  Ismini grabbed on to her arm and forced Eve to look at her. “You what?”

  Eve sighed. “Why did I have that dream if I have no future?”

  There was no doubt in Ismini’s mind that she was referring to the dream where Nylicia had shown Eve Zeniel and the portal. The portal Evesse had obviously walked through. “Because you do have a future. I’m the only one that is meant to die.”

  “I don’t want you to fucking die!”

  The words bounced off the cave walls around them, echoing back at them over and over. Ismini fought back tears as she stared into Eve’s furious, watery eyes. “Eve, please . . .”

  Air blasted them. Both of them turned, eyes landing on the beige-skinned freak with the red hair. He stood before them, a smile on his fuck-ugly face.

  “Hello, there.”

  Eve tried to fling herself at him, but Ismini held her back. Something about the way he was staring at them made it very clear to Ismini what was on his mind.

  Lisrn sneered at Ismini, his eyes raking over her. The way they did so almost made her start throwing up again. “You . . . I can’t touch. Y
ou’ll fucking die on me right here.” He turned that hungry stare on Evesse. “But you . . .”

  Ismini pulled Eve against her and forced both of them back even though her friend was fighting to get at him.

  “I want to see you try,” Eve growled, managing to break Ismini’s hold.

  “Eve, damn it. No!”

  Something about Ismini’s voice got through to Evesse. She froze, eyes darting between Ismini and Lisrn. “You’re not touching me. Or her. Period. Do you fucking understand? Come near one of us and I’ll feed you your cock.”

  Evesse’s warning only seemed to excite Lisrn. He hummed, running his tongue across his teeth. “I’m going to enjoy taming you. When I’m done with you, there will be no fight left in you. Hell, you might even beg me for more.”

  “Never,” Ismini and Evesse said as one.

  Lisrn took a step toward them, his sword hissing out of its sheath. His left hand was wrapped around a semiautomatic.

  His advance scared Ismini, but his weapons actually gave her hope. If he felt he needed both against them, that meant he knew they could cause him harm.

  She stepped in front of Evesse, adrenaline spiking and pushing past her weakness. “Forget feeding you your dick. You touch my friend and I’ll make you watch me cut it up piece by piece.”

  “Now you’re just making me want you more.”

  Eve growled behind Ismini. “Oh my God, I’m gonna shove my foot through his teeth.”

  She stepped around her weaker friend, and Lisrn smiled wider, his expression morphing into something that resembled lust. “And I’m going to shove my—”

  Another gust of wind shot through the cavern, this one pushing both girls a step back.

  “Lisrn, what the fuck are you doing?”

  He threw his head back and groaned. “Stop being such a pussy. There’s no fucking reason I can’t have the black-haired one.”

  Enteax stormed around Lisrn, his onyx eyes narrowed and matching teeth bared. “Don’t go there. Just don’t. You don’t need to rape her—”