CHAPTER 24
Frankie
I t’s only been a few days since Zarreth snuck into my room, but I miss him. Where is he? I know I’ve been a bitch, but I didn’t expect him to give up on us so easily. I should have listened to Jess when she told me to be nicer to him.
Thankfully, Ronin and Jess have been keeping me busy. Every day we come to the same spot and train. We’ve been working on sword fighting, throwing knives, hand to hand combat, and controlling my magic. Zarreth would be proud of me. I’m actually picking up on everything quickly, well aside from my magic.
So far, It’s as consistent as a broken compass. I’m more successful at making plants wilt instead of grow, just like my relationship. That may be a testament to my mental health, being my powers are based on emotion.
Nights are the worst, almost unbearable. That’s when my mind wanders thinking about everything Nate is going through, wondering where Zarreth is. My chest throbs. There goes my mating mark, aching again. Zarreth said mates could die from a broken heart, but that’s only if the other mate dies. I know he’s alive, so why does it feel like I’m dying?
“Focus, Frankie,” Ronin says for the fourth time.
“I am! The stupid flower won’t grow,” I growl.
“You need to control your emotions. Think of something that makes you happy.”
I glare at him, stomping on the flower. “There, that makes me happy.” I give him a smart-ass look, satisfaction setting in now that I don’t have to look at the fucking thing any longer.
Huffing, he closes his eyes, his jaw flexing. “I get you’re not in a good place right now, but you need to stop acting like a fucking child and take this seriously.”
Woah, Ronin is usually so patient with me. “What the hell, Ronin?”
He walks over to the bag of weapons, running his hands through his hair. “I’m done for the night, Frankie. I have a lot on my mind, and I don’t feel like babysitting tonight.” He swings the bag over his shoulder and traces away.
Shocked, I look at Jess. “What the hell was that? I know I was acting childish, but I’ve been trying so hard these past few days.”
She shrugs her shoulders. “I don’t know. I mean, you haven’t been yourself lately, but I don’t think it’s you. Something’s really bothering him.”
What if it’s Zarreth? What if something happened to him? “Ronin would tell me if something was up with Zarreth, right?”
Jess rubs my shoulder. “Yeah, I’m sure he would. He’s probably just pissy because he hasn’t gotten laid in a while.”
I rub the back of my neck. My muscles have been so tense lately, between stress and working out. “Pizza at my house?” I ask as we walk toward my car.
“Hell yeah!” she responds.
Back at the house, we scarf down a taco pizza. If my appetite keeps up like this, maybe I should consider adding protein and veggies to my diet.
Ms. Kitty is roaming around the house meowing. She’s been doing that ever since Zarreth left. I side-eye my traitorous cat. “We’re mad at him, remember?” Why isn’t anyone on my side about this? Nate would be.
I get it, though. I miss him too.
“I got you something.” Jess reaches into her purse, pulling out a black bag that says Fun Factory on it. “I figured you could use a little pick-me-up.”
I open the bag to find a pink box with the words ‘Fulfill your biggest sized fantasies with this 11” whopper. The bestselling dong just got even bigger.’
I giggle at the ridiculously enormous dildo. “Is this for real? I don’t need this right now.”
“Sure you do, poor B.O.B.’s not going to cut it anymore now that you’ve had some demon dick.”
Sex is the last thing on my mind. However, it might come in handy if my powers don’t come. “If nothing else, I can whack Aradon on the head with it when he comes for me.”
“Stop talking like that. You got this, Frankie. Ronin’s on our side, and Zarreth won’t let anything happen to you.”
I huff. “If Zarreth cares as much as everyone thinks he does, then where the hell is he?”
Rolling her eyes, she scoffs. “You literally told him to leave. If you want him back, maybe you should consider being nicer to him.”
I finally get the monster dildo out of its packaging and bonk Jess on the shoulder with it. “Maybe I would if I knew where the hell he is.”
A smile slowly stretches across Jess’ face. “I fucking knew it! I knew you would come around. Ronin owes me five bucks.”
As if we summoned him, Ronin walks in with his duffle bag over his shoulder and sees the dildo. “Oh man, you guys started the party without me.”
Jess chuckles. “That’s for Frankie, get your own dildo.”
He eyeballs the pink piece of silicone, raising one eyebrow. “Not bad,” he says, throwing down his duffle bag, this one not full of weapons.
“What’s the bag for?” I ask.
“I’m moving in,” he says. “I know you don’t want to hear his name, but I promised a certain someone I would look after his mate, and it’s a lot easier to do it from here.”
A small amount of tension melts away. I feel safer having Ronin in the house. “You can have Nate’s room.”
His eyes widen. “No arguing? I had an entire speech prepared.”
I roll my eyes as he heads toward Nate’s room. Jess hops up and catches him before he makes it down the hall. Holding out her hand she says, “She caved. You owe me five bucks. She lasted longer than you thought she would.”
“What?! I didn’t cave.” Even though I do miss him. “I just said I wish I knew where he was so I could be nicer to him.”
Jess scoffs. “Same thing.” She turns toward Ronin, holding out her hand again. “Now pay up.”
Ronin reaches in his pocket, pulling out a crumpled five-dollar bill, he places it in Jess’ open palm as he looks at me. “About time—I can’t believe you held out this long. The females in the Dark Realm throw themselves at Zarreth’s feet.”
I snarl, a pang of jealousy running through me. “Those whores.” But I can’t blame them. Zarreth is irresistible, and he treats me better than I deserve.
Ronin chuckles as Jess walks over to me, throwing her arm around my shoulder. “I have to go, but let’s do a sleepover this weekend. We can show Ronin what it’s like to have fun for a change.”
“You’re NOT painting my nails,” Ronin says, making his way down the hall.
“Oh, I have something special planned for you,” Jess yells at his back.
Ronin grins over his shoulder. “I can’t wait,” he says before disappearing into Nate’s room.
Jess leaves and I take a shower. When I exit the bathroom, I find Ronin looking at photos of Nate on the wall.
“Did you know I met your brother?” Ronin asks, walking to the fridge, grabbing two beers.
He hands one to me as I hop on the kitchen counter. “I wondered if you met him. Obviously Zarreth has.”
Ronin settles himself on a bar stool before taking a swig of his beer. He sighs heavily before speaking. “Aradon forced me to work for him. I’m one of the few demons who have a traveler’s mark, so he allowed me more freedom than most. Part of my duties were to check on the captives held in the dungeon. Every night I would tend to Zarreth’s wounds. He had it worse than other prisoners. Aradon loved giving him special attention.
“One day I went to check on him, but he wasn’t there. Aradon probably had him delivered to his private chambers. Instead, I saw your brother. I could tell he wasn’t fully human because of his scent, but he had no powers. I wasn’t sure why he was being held captive. Then I remembered Aradon talking about a secret weapon and the prophecy about a powerful half-breed who would alter the realms forever.”
He glances over at me. “Do you want to hear this? I know Zarreth likes to treat you like a fucking snowflake, but you need to know.”
Finally, someone willing to tell me everything. “Yes. I want to hear it all.”
He nods. “Zarreth and your brother became close in the weeks they were imprisoned together. One time when I was patching Zarreth up, Nate told us he had a sister whose eyes would glow when she was upset. That’s when we knew Aradon had the wrong sibling.”
I continue listening in silence. I can’t believe Nate never said anything about my eyes glowing. How much did he know?
“We knew you couldn’t fall into the wrong hands, so we decided now was the time to finally escape.”
“And you guys just left him there?” Tears burn the back of my eyes. I’m so fucking sick of crying. It’s time to pull up my big girl pants. I am NOT a delicate snowflake.
“We didn’t have a choice. We needed Nate to stay behind so Aradon didn’t suspect anything while we searched for you,” Ronin explains.
“So, my brother was still alive when you saw him last?” I’m afraid to hear the answer, but I need to know.
“Yes, Frankie. He was still alive. Aradon won’t kill him until he discovers Nate has no powers, which could take months still.” Or until he finds out about me, but that part was left unsaid.
“Why did you and Zarreth wait so long to escape?” It sounded so easy when they talked about it.
He leans back, glancing away, as he rubs the back of his neck. “Zarreth is too loyal to our horde. As long as Aradon had us, he promised to leave the Recreants alone.” Ronin brings his eyes to mine before he continues. “You can’t imagine what Aradon did to keep us in line.”
Stealing my spine, I prepare myself to ask a question I don’t want to know the answer to. “Is that how Zarreth lost his wings? You said Aradon loved paying him special attention.”
Ronin studies me for a minute, like he’s debating if he should tell me. “You might not want to hear this, Frankie,” he warns.
“I know, but I need to.”
With a sharp exhale, he continues. “In the Dark Realm, there are two poles standing fifteen feet above ground. Every month, Aradon would nail Zarreth’s wings to the poles, letting him hang until his body weight gradually ripped them away. Demons from all around would gather, throwing rocks at him for days to prove their allegiance to Aradon. Eventually Zarreth would fall to the ground, laying there covered in blood, limp and lifeless, until Aradon sent his servants to retrieve him. For twenty years, the cycle would repeat every time Zarreth’s wings grew back.”
A wave of horror washes over me as his words sink in, leaving me paralyzed. My mate! How did he endure that type of torture for twenty years?
I dart to the bathroom, my stomach churning. Ronin follows me and holds my hair back while I empty the contents of my stomach into the toilet.
“I’m so sorry,” he says. “I never should’ve told you.”
My throat burns as I push through the nausea and sit back on my heels. Without realizing it, I place my palm over my mating mark as I often do when I think of Zarreth. I need him.
With tears in my eyes, I wipe my mouth and look at him. “I can’t believe I pushed him away.” Standing on wobbly legs, I hurry from the bathroom to find my phone. “I need to call him.”
I’m so fucking mad at myself. I was so focused on my own grief that I didn’t stop to think about everything Zarreth went through. I may not have known the extent of his torture, but I knew it was bad. I was so selfish. I frantically search the kitchen until I spot my phone on top of the microwave.
Ronin grabs me, making me face him. “Frankie, you can’t do that.”
I rip my arm from his grasp, grabbing my phone. “He’s my mate, Ronin. I know he’ll forgive me, even if he’s angry with me.”
“There’s nothing to forgive. Zarreth isn’t mad at you; he’s fucking obsessed with you.” His eyes hold nothing but the truth but doubt still lingers in my chest.
“If he’s so obsessed with me, then why did he ditch me after one fight?” I know I told him to leave me alone, but I didn’t think he’d listen. He told me nothing could come between mates, but then he just disappeared.
Ronin sighs. “Do you honestly believe Zarreth is capable of leaving you? He suffered decades of torture to protect his people. What makes you think he would give up on his mate so easily?”
He’s right. I need to find him. Grabbing my keys, I hurry toward the front door. “Where is he?”
Ronin stands in front of it, blocking me from leaving. “Frankie, you can’t go to him.” I shove him, meeting more resistance than expected.
I look up at him, gritting my teeth in determination. “Get the hell out of my way, Ronin.”
“He’s not here, Frankie,” he states, getting in my face.
“What do you mean he’s not here? What aren’t you telling me?” I’m sick of people treating me like a child. Like I can’t handle the fucking truth.
His eyes soften as he looks at me. “He’s not in the Human Realm. He went to save your brother.”
I stumble back, the weight of his words crushing me as they sink in. “No!” I scream. “No, no, no, please tell me it’s not true.” The only way to save my brother is to go to the Dark Realm and kill Aradon, the one responsible for Zarreth’s torture.
I can’t let him do that. I won’t just sit here, helpless, while both my mate and my brother sacrifice themselves for me. I won’t lose them both.
Tears spill down my cheeks, but this time, they’re not tears of sorrow. Rage builds inside me like a volcano about to erupt, heat building within as my powers spark to life.
Ronin must see the determination in my eyes because he blocks the door again. The rational part of my brain knows it’s not his fault, but I’m afraid of what will happen if he doesn’t move out of my way.
“Get. Out. Of. My. Way,” I breathe out, trying to calm my rage as my palms burn with dark magic.
“It’s okay, Frankie.” He takes a tentative step forward, approaching me cautiously like I’ll erupt at any moment. “Take a breath. Try to calm down.” He brings his hands up, as if to soothe me.
“Calm down?” I squawk. “My mate is in the Dark Realm where he was tortured for two decades, and you expect me to calm down?” Fury bubbles beneath the surface of my skin. FUCK HIM.
“Poor choice of words, I admit.” His eyes go wide as I feel my gaze sharpen. The slight pressure behind my eyes lets me know they’re glowing. “But you need to control your emotions, Frankie.”
I struggle to keep my magic in check. “Bring me to him,” I demand, taking a step closer to him.
“You know I won’t do that. You’re my friend, but Zarreth is like a brother, and I would never betray him. I promised to look after his mate, and I meant it.”
I lunge at him. Screaming, I pound my fists into his chest. I can’t stop thinking about everything Zarreth has gone through. Everything my brother is probably going through. And it’s all my fault. They’re both sacrificing their lives to save me.
Red blurs my vision, my hands burning as if they’re on fire. Pressing them against Ronin’s chest, I release an ear-piercing roar. When I look up, I see blood dripping from his eyes, ears, and nose. He’s begging me to stop, but I can’t.
“Frankie, please,” he slurs before going limp, collapsing to the ground.
I rummage through his pockets until I find his phone. If Ronin won’t take me to Zarreth, maybe Dante will. Finding his number, I press the call button. I will go to the Dark Realm one way or another.