by Stacy Reid
Protect.
Fire filled Ajali’s mouth and heat rushed across the coliseum to be stopped by the energy barrier that the chakra formed. With a blur, the other wolyve rushed in, and the two lunged, the battle intensifying. The coliseum trembled as Ajali slammed into the wall of the arena. Before the beast could rend and claw, Ajali flashed up, and with a whistle, fiery blades slung from his hand and embedded deep into the neck of the closest beast.
The railing crumbled under Tehdra’s claws as her mate ran with the grace of a jagyuar towards the wolyve pinned on his blade. With the embedded sword and the momentum of his chain, he pulled himself onto of the beast’s back and pulled out his sword to slash it deep again. With a roar, flames flicker so bright Tehdra felt blinded.
The beast turned to ash before her eyes. The beast however could not be killed. When weakened, the demon returned to its master, to be summoned again when the Darkan’s strength was restored.
Her mate was magnificent.
Ajali stood like a conqueror. A raw moan of pain ripped from her throat. She did not turn to look as Uriah flashed to her side. Her mate was bleeding and hurt. The scent of his blood reached her, and madness nearly overwhelmed her. Her mate bled. His flames had died down to a soft glow and a massive furrow opened him from chest to hipbones. Blood ran in torrents down his legs. The chains coiled around his elbows once more, and he held his sword ready as the master and his demon observed the King of Nuria.
“We need to get warriors in there,” Bastien growled. “Ajali’s strength wanes. It takes an inordinate amount of chakra for him to rein in what he has inside.”
Xian screamed, and Tehdra felt it to the pit of her soul. Beast and Darkan rushed together towards Ajali in a flawlessly coordinated attack.
Ajali and the Darkan fought viciously. Her darkness tried to reach out to what was inside of him and felt only suppressed rage.
“Why is he suppressing his Phoenyx?” Tehdra rasped to Uriah, maddened by the scent of his blood and the knowledge that he was hurt.
“The Phoenyx is pure rage and destruction. If my king were to lose control when battling there is no force that could stop his flame from consuming us all. We would turn to ashes in mere minutes.”
“The barrier…”
“The barrier can only suppress less than a tenth of the Phoenyx’s power, Tehdra. Ajali cannot afford to lose control for the sake of his people. He would burn and burn, but he would neither die nor would his powers. They would only be reborn from the ashes of destruction he would leave in his wake.”
The cry that ripped from Xian tore into Tehdra’s being. The beast’s movements were so fast and brutal, and it attacked Ajali’s flank while he and the master fought. Ajali’s body slammed into the wall, and her beast went crazy inside at the pain that bled from him to her.
Hundreds of warriors dropped into the arena and fire spewed at the Darkan and his summoned beast. She could feel their rage and despair, but it only fed the beast and its master, made them stronger, more powerful. Screams split the air as bodies flew. Within minutes more than two hundred warriors lay dead.
“We need to get Ajali out of the arena,” Uriah said, fear cracking his voice. “We cannot send in any more warriors. They will only die.”
“I will go….” Xian’s voice trembled with fury.
“No,” Gavyn snapped. “You will be no match for the Darkan and its beast, and you have no control of your abilities. You are a greater threat to your people than our king ever was.”
“His blades will respond,” Uriah said, and all ten flashed onto the balcony and looked down into the arena.
“Gavyn!” Xian gasped, fear tightening her features. “Please…be careful. I cannot lose you.”
He nodded and withdrew his sword.
The beast roared as it rushed towards Ajali’s fallen form. Hundreds of warriors kept landing in the arena between the demon and their King, and they kept falling. Tehdra’s throat clogged. So many fought and sacrificed for Ajali. No one wanted his death, and for her it would be unbearable. Yet they would not defeat them, because every lick of fear, anger and despair only made it stronger. Their very emotions acted against them. His blades would fall like the hundreds now battling and dying. They could have defeated the Darkan, but not a summoned beast. She could not hope to defeat a summoned beast, but Tehdra was willing to die trying to save her mate. The mate that would hate and revile her once she revealed her nature.
She would give her life to ensure Gidon did not fall…and what would she give for her mate? Her soul, her honor…everything. To render any aid would be to fail her realm and king. Once it was revealed a Darkan had been spying in their kingdom, the Nurians would demand blood. But how could she stand and watch her mate slain. The pain that clawed up the back of Tehdra’s throat almost felled her. She was just like her brother…placing her mate above her realm.
Darkans are our natural enemies and will never be our allies.” The coldly stated words reverberated inside her.
Still…
She leaped to the ledge of the railing with his blades. She heard Uriah’s swift intake of breath.
“Tehdra, stand down! Do not place yourself in the way of harm.”
She turned to him, and from the uncertainty that flickered over his face, she knew he glimpsed the darkness she no longer tried to hide.
“I will bring him in, Tehdra,” Gavyn barked. “Stand down.”
Her veil cracked. Without responding, she launched herself from the railing and landed into the arena as the last warrior fell under the claws of the beast.
***
Acheron’s stomach clenched in hard knots as Tehdra turned her head and her gaze encompassed the balcony. Profound evil stared back at them. Cold and pitiless. He flinched when she threw back her head, and emitted a deafening cross between a snarl and a roar. It resounded around the coliseum, and the earth trembled. The sound, powerful, terrifying and filled with rage, was a blatant challenge for dominion.
Charka roiled around her with menace. Fangs punched from her mouth, and vicious claws elongated from her nails. Sleek muscles bunched and contracted, and her eyes slitted and gleam a deep red that appeared to be alight with madness.
He heard Gavyn’s hard inhalation of shock.
“She’s a fucking Darkan?” It was an exclamation of raw disbelief and dread from Uriah.
The beast in the coliseum rumbled back its challenge, and rushed at their fallen king.
Tehdra moved with predatory speed to deflect its blow. Her grace and movement was superior to any fighting style Acheron had ever seen. He struggled to track their movements, their speed unfathomable.
“Why…?” a hoarse rasp from Uriah echoed Acheron’s confusion.
“She fights for us,” Gavyn said.
“She is the enemy!” The high chancellor snarled.
“Yet the enemy is fighting her own people for our king,” Acheron said. “Look at her prowess. Her rage is tangible—so tangible I can taste it through her chakra. Anyone that fights for our kingdom is a friend of the House of Thessaly.”
“And of Walkhyer.”
“And of Westk’arr,” Gavyn said.
Tehdra was a Darkan—their kingdom’s enemy. Acheron held Gavyn’s gaze as the import of what they were swearing hit him. Their cadre of blades stared in the coliseum as she battled with a corporeal beast and its master. Acheron swiveled his head to regard each blade as they spoke.
“And of the House of Tremayne.”
“And of the House of Thalame.”
“The House of Reyd is in debt to any kingdom that fights for the House of Haddin,” Atreus murmured without removing his gaze from the battle.
“The House of Tyrieon is indebted to Tehdra of the Darkage.”
“The House of Wylliam pledges support.”
“The House of Cathal pledges repayment.”
“She will not!” Acheron stated with such certainty that all beheld at him.
“How are you so certain?” Xian demanded.
“I can feel her spirit or essence. It is darkness in itself. Not a weak comparison to darkness, she exudes a pure darkness that the light cannot touch. Yet love for Ajali is streaming from it. Pain that he is hurt has her spirit warring, and the fury that is present before us now is for the thing in the coliseum, not for our king.”
Fifteen pair of eyes swung toward the battle arena, watching the tableau unfold, but waiting with battle readiness.
***
Tehdra’s darkness rolled inside her pushing away her humanity, her soul. She could not and would not lose him. A mate had the power to calm the demon inside of her and soothe its hunger. She craved him, his strength, his heat, his blood. Her beast lunged in rage cracking the psychic leash controlling it. They could not lose him.
Ours.
A malevolence she had never known permeated her being. Its evil was cold. Tehdra’s battle cry echoed around the coliseum as the icy coldness of her darkness encased her. Struggling with the rage that tried to suffocate her, Tehdra halted and knelt beside Ajali, checking his wounds. A strange lethargy filled her as she examined the extent of damage. Blood pooled on the ground, an inky blackness that seemed to soak the earth, leaving a stain that could never be removed.
Her beast lunged, trying to connect with her mate. She screamed inside as she reached out to Drac along their mental pathway. There was no connection. No soothing, no essence that she could affix with to find an anchor—any anchor against the abyss was better than none. With burgeoning madness distorting her thoughts, she tried to communicate with him.
With heightened senses, time seemed to slow for Tehdra as the wolyve attacked, driving straight past her to Ajali. She spun, meeting the Darkan’s blow with a savagery her beast relished. Tehdra struggled to separate her mind from its wash of evil. She could not. Its malignity held her mind, savoring the rage, feeding it, taking its joy in being freed to bloodlet.
“No!” The wail from the high balcony shook her, the agony in it feeding her darkness. She inhaled loving the pain, the rage, oh the agony. Sweet, delicious and the promise of more made her hum in beastly excitement.
Clawed hands ripped through the chest cavity of the Darkan, sliding inside as if it were not sinew muscles and bones she encountered. His flesh parted like the softest of silk. He drew the shadows to him trying to distort her senses. The laughter that emitted from Tehdra’s throat silenced the coliseum.
The evilness of it grated, she could feel shivers of horrors from those who heard.
Weak.
Yes, weak.
Lost in the haze of rage and madness, Tehdra agreed with her beast. The Darkan she held in her claws was weak. Without much ado she ripped him in two savoring the hot wash of blood that spewed on her.
Still struggling with the power that tried to dominate her mind, Tehdra turned to her mate and everything froze. Only a few seconds had passed since the combined attack from summoned beast and Darkan. Only a few seconds. She vaguely remembered the cry of agony that had pierced through her rage. It had been because the wolyves claws were buried into Ajali’s chest, ripping him open.
Tehdra stopped functioning—the psychic leash shattered. Her heart, her reason, her ability to focus, all connection to her soul closed down. Darkness simply took her mind under.
***
The Darkage—kingdom of darkness and shadows
Kerberos—Castle of the deep—main stronghold of the king
The roar that pelted from Drac stunned the small assembly into silence. He, Talon, and Gidon gathered to discuss strategy for bolstering the alliance with Boreas as well as the continued building of their nation. They stared at Drac in shock.
“My love, what is it?” Saieke cried and rushed to Drac as he held his head.
The king of the Darkage, his enforcers, and the high chancellor of the Northern Quadrant moved to stand before Drac.
“What is it?” Gidon asked.
“Tehdra…” Drac said, his voice distorted with malevolence. Even though Saieke knew him intimately, she flinched.
“What is wrong with Tehdra, Drac?” She asked as chakra pulsed black and menacing around Drac.
“She loses hold of her beast. The rage has consumed her.”
“We will not lose her! Where is she, Drac, and why is she in danger?” Gidon commanded.
“What could have happened for her rage to consume her?” Saieke fretted. Drac and his twin were close. Saieke could not even loosely contemplate Tehdra’s lost to madness. The pain and horror that Drac would endure, she doubted her love could soothe.
“Another Darkan has harmed her mate, and he bleeds before her eyes. Her distress and rage calls to me.”
Drac! A scream from Tehdra reverberated from hundreds of thousands of miles away travelled to Saieke through their bond. She could only hear because of her mental connection to Drac. The snarl that ripped from her love was one of vengeance at the pain and fear that radiated through the cry.
“I am coming for you,” he said, knowing she would still hear through the echoes of his thought.
They attacked my mate.
He continued to talk out aloud so that everyone comprehended what was happening, and to keep a greater leash on himself. The mere thought of his twin’s pain drove him to madness. Her torment was all consuming, only a feeling another Darkan could possibly understand.
“I know your mate is in danger, Tehdra. I understand your fury. For me, for your mate, for our kingdom control it, hone in, and do not let its evil take you. I beg of you sister.”
Drac’s back bowed and a cross between a snarl and a howl rose from the depths of his being. He gripped Saieke’s hands, and as he met her gaze, she flinched from the despair she saw there. She dropped to her knees and held onto him, offering warmth and love.
“Gidon,” Drac said. “Her rage has grown so cold. She will lose the psychic hold she has on her beast, and her essence will take over.”
“We must retrieve her at once,” Gidon said.
“She is on a mission in Nuria.”
“We need to rescue them both without Nuria detecting our presence.”
“Tehdra, hold on. I am coming for you. What is the name of your Darkan mate?” Drac asked.
He is not a Darkan! The roar that slammed through his mind was filled with so much power, such rage, that his knees buckled, and Saieke staggered.
“It’s all right, Tehdra. I understand he is not a Darkan. What is he?”
Everyone in the chamber froze, and Gidon scrubbed a hand over his face.
He is my Ajali.
“What did she say?” Gidon demanded.
“Just ‘he is my Ajali’.”
“What the fuck are you saying? Ajali, as in the king of Nuria?”
Obsidian eyes clashed with icy blues..
“Fuck!” Gidon roared.
“It could not be!” Saieke exclaimed. “There must be thousands of Ajalis inside of Nuria.”
Drac struggled to his feet. “Yes, but I sent her to infiltrate the main castle of the king of Nuria. King Ajali.”
“Retrieve the elixir now. We will need it to repair her psychic crack. Drac, move with speed. Reach her in time. If she loses control in Nuria, we are looking at war. Her beast will rampage and kill thousands,” Gidon commanded.
Saieke clasped Drac’s hands. “I am coming with you.”
“You will not. You cannot comprehend the dangers I will shadow into.”
“I do understand fully, Drac, which is why I travel with you. My elements can only aid you. I can fight. And I have learnt much from you, my love. I
am coming.”
Saieke swiftly cataloged the weapons she would need when they entered Nuria.
“Will you take her?” Gidon demanded at Drac’s snarl of frustration.
Saieke glared at the king.
Drac’s obsidian eyes settled on her face. “My mate is willful and impulsive. If I leave her she will travel on her own, splitting my attention. She will not wait idly at my keep for me.”
Gidon clasped Drac’s shoulder. “Can you bring your sister back without harming her? With the beast at the forefront it will only see you as something to be destroyed. Sisterly love will not be present. You must contain her without hurting her.”
“I will try my utmost best.”
“You must succeed, Drac. Your mother and sister, our kingdom would be inconsolable if we lost Tehdra to darkness or death.”
Chapter Seventeen
Blood.
Despair.
Agony.
The emotions soaking the air. So painful and dread-filled. The taste of pain, fear, hatred, so sweet and exhilarating. No longer cocooned by iron will and a desire to be good. Yesss! I have what I have always longed for.
Freedom!
The shackles of humanity that bound me have disappeared. I will walk the lands killing and devouring all in my path. Gaining the power and strength I seek from despair.
What is this scent? Blood? Why is it so sweet, so beckoning? Blood holds no enthrallment for me. Only the darker emotion satisfies.
This fragrance. Its allure more than I can resist. Pure, exotic. Sweeter that the darkest of emotions.
My mate is not a demon beast? He bleeds. My mate bleeds. It is this blood that captivates me. Ahhh, his smell is so divine. His blood, decadent.
A wolyve has harmed my mate?
Its flesh parted under my claws so easily, its head taken from its body with such ease.
Weakness is not to be tolerated.
What is this? There is something buried inside my mate. It lays dormant. Is it my other half? Trapped within a body as well.