by Cate Corvin
Melisande sighed, but she’d given in. “What she’s going to be is spoiled if you keep going on like this.”
“Let her be spoiled. She’s my only daughter.” The baby had stopped moving. I wondered if she dreamed in there while she grew. “Goodnight, baby. Sleep tight and dream of pointy things and kicking ass.”
I finally raised my head, and met Melisande’s eyes. She held my hand, clearly not unhappy with the pre-birth spoiling of the baby.
“What will we call her?” she asked. “I’ve thought of it here and there, but… I don’t even remember my own name before I was reborn. I want something that won’t stand out in Hell as being out of place.”
“It has to be a name fit for a princess.” I thought for a moment. It was never something I’d given any mental space to before, and I couldn’t pick something I’d name a horse or a hellhound, which were the only things I’d named in recent memory. “Hmm… Glorpis. It’s a very traditional demonic name…”
Melisande gave me a look of utter horror.
“I’m just joking.” I shook my head. “The only name I can think of that calls to me is Sarai.”
“Sarai,” Melisande repeated, her brow creasing. “Princess Sarai of the Seventh Circle…”
“We’ve got months to think about it. Don’t worry about it now. When this is all over, we’ll have all the time in the world to just enjoy being together and collecting all the swords she’ll have when she’s older.” I kissed Melisande’s knuckles, then flipped her hand over and kissed the mark on her palm. Her emotions came through the bond loud and clear: she was exasperated, but she seemed pleased with the name I’d come up with.
“All the time in the world,” she echoed, looking happy for a moment.
The sooner Satan was dead, the sooner I could get on with spoiling my child. It couldn’t come fast enough.
25
Melisande
“Glorpis,” I muttered under my breath. “I’ll Glorpis him the next time he comes up with something that ridiculous.”
I wanted to just sit out there all day in the quiet with Belial, talking about the future of the baby I was slowly coming to accept as a factual being, but there was still too much to be done.
Belial had been called away from our five minutes of peace by the Overseers. Azazel was placing the Grigori in their positions, and Lucifer was using his own magic to lay down new, fresh wards around both arenas. I passed both Watchers and Chainlings in the halls, the latter of which kept bowing to me apologetically as they passed.
It wasn’t their fault Satan had made it in. Nothing could keep the Dragon out in his own city when he wanted to create an illusion.
Besides, I’d had the satisfaction of beating his little puppet to a pulp.
I found Vyra in the training room again, already pacing around a dummy with a dagger in her hand.
“You started without me,” I said, pausing in the doorway.
She gave me a deer-like look. “Every second counts, right?”
“It’s a good thing.” I came in and found a dagger for myself, and dragged another dummy nearby. “I’m going to get out of practice myself, so we’ll both run through the basic movements together.”
Vyra nodded, her ponytail swishing. She was already covered with sweat from a flight and her wings were still trembling slightly, but she had a determined look in her eyes. “Let’s kill some inanimate objects, then.”
I hacked and slashed alongside her, staying mindful of my footwork and feeling the burn in muscles unused for too long. I desperately missed the fervor of the arena, the roar of crowds… maybe when this was over and after I’d delivered Belial’s little princess into the world, I could go back in as a competitor myself.
No matter what became of me, the art of war wasn’t a skill I wanted to lose.
“You’re doing great,” I gasped, wiping sweat off my face half an hour later. “Let’s fly a few rounds and come back to it.”
We flew five circuits of the arena’s grounds, and when Vyra started lagging in the air, losing altitude every few yards, we touched down and marched right back into the training room.
I understood then how much I loved my friend. She knew people looked at her strange for the way she was, but she didn’t so much as groan even when her arms were shaking with tiredness, or say a single thing against flying when her wings were aching.
As long as I knew she’d have a fighting chance at protecting herself, I’d be happy.
An hour later the dagger finally slipped from her fingers and clattered on the floor. She winced, shaking her hand out. “My entire arm feels like it’s about to fall off.”
“Then let’s break for the day.” I wiped down my own dagger and passed her the cleaning cloth. “You’re packing a ton of training into a short amount of time, but you don’t want to overdo it or you’ll end up learning sloppy methods.”
Vyra hung her dagger on the wall and we slogged out, both of us covered in sweat and panting.
“I’m going to shower, then I need to talk to the Chainlings about some new security measures,” she said, clinging to the rail as we oozed up the stairs. “Then I might collapse in a corner and just not move for six hours, so if I disappear, that’s where you’ll find me. Slowly dying in a dark, dusty corner.”
“Please don’t die.” I stretched my arms and held back a moan. I needed to do more of my own flying before I lost all muscle tone. “We still have so much left to work on.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” she said with a snort. “I’ll see you in a little while.”
I waved and disappeared into my own room, shedding clothes the minute the door closed.
The shower was heaven on my back and shoulders. I closed my eyes and tilted my head back, letting the water pour over my face and hair.
Soft, tentative hands touched my shoulders. I knew who it was without even opening my eyes. “I’m glad you finally came to me.”
“I’ve had a lot of time to think,” Tascius said, wrapping his arms around my shoulders and chest and resting his chin on top of my head. “I’m still sorry for what happened. It was too close for comfort.”
“What did you decide?” I asked, leaning back into him. He still had his clothes on but paid no attention to the water soaking them.
His fingers traced little patterns on my skin, sending water beads sliding down my arms. “We don’t know if we’ll survive this, any of us, but I know you will. None of us will let you come to any harm.”
My heart sank. “We’ll all be fine. I know it.”
“And no matter what I am or how monstrous I feel, I’m only a monster who wants to keep you safe.” Tascius squeezed me a little tighter. “I want to mark you and bond us. Maybe you’re right and the bond will keep my head clear when I’m not myself anymore, but most of all, if the worst comes to pass, you’ll always have something of me with you.”
I wriggled out of his grip and turned around, glaring up at him. “You make it sound like you’re planning on dying in this battle.”
A faint smile crossed his lips. “I’m not planning on it, no. But I do plan on being in the thick of it. I’m too dangerous to be close to you, and too useful to stay far from the worst of things.”
“I’m not going to tell you where you should go, considering what I’m planning on doing.” I touched the dark feather in his hair, so inky amidst the silver strands. “But if you die, I swear to every god out there that I will raise you from death just so I can kill you again myself.”
“That’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me, little friend.” His smile was real now, no longer a ghost of itself.
“I mean it. There’s nothing I want more than your mark on me, too, but that means you’re promising to try your absolute hardest to come back home at the end.”
“The same goes for you,” he said, midnight eyes dead serious. “Just because you can wield the Sword doesn’t mean you’re indestructible. Don’t be reckless, don’t take chances if you don’t have a cle
ar strike.”
“I promise.” I gripped his hand tightly. “I get one shot. I intend to make it count.”
Tascius wiped droplets of water off my cheek, examining my face. I hated that it felt like he was looking at me for the last time.
And just as bad, the midnight blue of his eyes was different. There was a faint metallic sheen to them that disturbed me.
He was changing, and I didn’t know what he would be in the end.
“So… where would you like it?” He traced a slow trail over my jaw to the nape of my neck, touching Azazel’s star, then around to the hollow of my throat, where Lucifer had emblazoned his cross. His hands slid down my arm, running over the swirling sigil of Belial on my palm.
“Wherever it feels right to you,” I said, shivering under his touch.
He thought about it as he ran his hands over me, searching my bare skin for the one place that made sense. His touch tickled me as he grazed my stomach, hips, and finally came back up and ran over my shoulder and down my right arm.
“The Sword already marked you here,” Tascius said, lifting my flame-scarred hand. “But I think I want to put my mark where it might bring you good luck.”
“Where might that be?” I asked.
He touched the inside of my wrist over the tracery of blue veins. “Right here. Your sword-arm. Every time you swing, I’ll be with you.”
I exhaled, my heart pounding harder than usual. A feather was one thing, but once I had his mark, I’d be able to feel him through it. I wondered if I’d feel him when he was overtaken by Nephilim rage, and if it would become part of me, too.
“Then that’s where I want it,” I said, and tugged at his shirt. “Now take this off. If we’re doing it, we’re doing it right.”
He peeled off his clothes and picked me up, walking forward until my back was braced against the wall. I took his face in my hands and kissed him, putting every drop of love I had for him into it.
No matter what he said, he would never be a monster to me. Not truly. Like the Visionary had told me, there was happiness at the end of the leap of faith. There was hope to be found.
His warm lips moved over mine and I gasped against his mouth when I felt him enter me. Tascius moved slowly, driving his cock upwards until he completely filled me. I shivered, heat pooling in my stomach despite the chill of the air on my wet skin.
“I love you so much,” he breathed in my ear, his breath ragged. “No matter what happens, I’m always with you.”
I wriggled against him, wrapping my arm around his neck as he lifted my wrist to his mouth. “I love you, too.”
Tascius pulled out and pushed into me, and when his hips thrust into me hard enough to make me jump, he pressed his lips to my wrist, closing his eyes.
Fire spread through my hand, swirling through my fingertips. The magic buried inside me felt it and unfurled, reaching out to touch this new magic that was binding itself to my soul, creating an invisible but unbreakable bond between us.
I drew in a breath, hissing at the sudden sharp sensation. Unlike the others, Tascius’s inherent magic had a different feel to it; his angelic nature was stronger than ever, and the light of it pierced through the dark places that had grown in my soul, lighting everything up.
Just as soon as it started, the pain faded again. I felt the bond just like I felt the others, like a line connected to my heart. His own emotions slowly blended into mine, separate and distinct, but linked with mine all the same.
He was deliriously happy and terribly sad, fearful that this was all I’d have left.
“Don’t think like that,” I said, moving against him. “We’re bound forever now. We’ll always be together.”
Tascius released my wrist and braced himself against the wall, pushing into me harder and angling his hips to move across my clit. I gasped and swallowed my words, holding onto him for dear life as he moved.
With the last of Tascius’s holy light glimmering in my veins, I felt more connected to him than ever. It seemed like only seconds passed before the first rippling wave of my orgasm tore through me, seizing up all of my muscles and filling my head with stars.
My heartbeat hummed in my throat as he groaned, feeling me tighten around him. With several hard strokes, his cock hardened even more, and he released himself inside me while I was still shaking from the climax.
He breathed heavily, leaning against the wall so I couldn’t fall or slide away. I felt like I was in the world’s safest place when I was in his arms, cradled away from everything that weighed on me.
I rested my head on his chest and brought my wrist to eye-level, examining the new mark that bound us together.
It was a perfect circle, with rays of light piercing it. Against the darkness of the ink-like lines, faint bits of light glimmered, creating an almost rainbow-like iridescence.
“It’s beautiful,” I whispered. “It’s perfect. Just like you.”
Tascius kissed my entire face, from forehead to nose to cheeks and finally my lips. “I feel you on the other end of it,” he said. “Like an anchor in my chest.”
I hugged him tighter. “Then hold onto it when you’re not yourself. I’ll always be there.”
And when I was in battle, in my native element of wrath and destruction, everything he was would be with me, his power in my blows, his rage in my fury. Just as it should be.
26
Melisande
We spent another hour in the shower, until the water started to wrinkle our fingertips, and we finally left the sanctuary of silence. Tascius got dressed as I pulled a new set of training clothes from my dresser. It felt like no matter how intense a bubble of peace surrounded me at times, we were always having to run right back to the problems at hand.
I held up my arm and traced the mark on my wrist as Tascius tied the straps of my shirt between my wings.
“I think it’s beautiful,” I said, tilting my arm this way and that to reflect the shimmers of light in the darkness. “I’m so happy you decided to do this.”
The words weren’t enough, but I knew he’d feel my emotions through the mark.
“It only seemed right.” His fingers lingered on my back as he finished off the knot. “I’ve spent years being unhappy with who I was, and it was only worse after I found out where I really came from, but… in the face of everything else happening, it didn’t seem like anything at all. I’ve spent all that time being angry over shit that doesn’t matter in the end.” He kissed my bare shoulder. “I’d rather just spend what time I have being happy with you.”
I was about to tell him we could be happy for a little longer alone in my room, but someone knocked on the door. A muffled voice made it very clear that Adranos was waiting for Tascius over in the Consortium.
I smiled up at him ruefully. “We’ll have time. Is it weird talking to another Nephilim who’s… sort of like you?”
He looked thoughtful. “It’s rather nice, actually. Adranos was lucky enough to be born outside Acheron, but his parentage is unfortunate. I guess we have that in common.”
I squeezed his hand before I started braiding my damp hair out of the way. “Well, you’ll both be lucky for us and that’s what really matters.”
“Sir?” the messenger called through the door.
Tascius grumbled low in his throat, kissed me hard, and then raised my hand to kiss the new mark. “I’ll be back as soon as possible.”
“It’s okay. I’m going to try to pull Vyra into another round of flying, anyways.”
She was going to be so happy to hear it right after she’d gotten clean and changed. It wasn’t like we had anything better to do with the men making all the concrete plans; I just wanted to make sure that she was ready for anything Satan threw at us.
Tascius opened the door and gripped my hand before following the Overseer sent to fetch him. I waved, watching as he walked down the hall before turning my steps towards Vyra’s room.
I knocked on the door and got nothing but silence. It was unlocked whe
n I opened it, but there was no sign of my friend amidst the explosion of fabric and jewelry.
“You’d better not be actually dying in a corner,” I muttered, closing the door.
She wasn’t in the infirmary, where I half expected to find her putting salve on her aching wings. I frowned and headed downstairs, trying to ignore the growing ball of anxiety churning in my stomach.
There was no reason to worry now. She’d probably just managed to work up an appetite with the incessant training she’d committed to.
Haru was passing with several Chainlings when I descended into the arena below.
“Haru. Have you seen Vyra?” I asked, trying to keep calm. Panic would help absolutely nobody.
The kitsune shook his head, ears twitching. “Not lately, no. She’s been spending all of her time in the training rooms. Tell her she’s free to come train in my room any time.”
Despite my nervousness, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. “I won’t be telling her that. Thanks, anyways.”
There was a chance she’d gone back to the training rooms. She’d been completely fired up, almost obsessive with learning how to fight.
But they were empty. I searched every single room, the armory, and even checked inside the closets for good measure. Maybe she had passed out in a corner from exhaustion.
There was no sign of her. Nothing. Nothing at all.
I was breathing quickly, my heart pounding in my throat when I swept out of the arena doors and went to the stables. Capheira was wading through the lily pond in the back, her brilliant blue light flickering through the air, but she was alone too, chewing lily roots in peace.
I stroked her soft nose before I continued on, rounding the arena and searching the uprooted garden for any sign of her.