Between Imminent Fates (The Immortal Accords #12)

45. Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

Derikles

Derikles knew the exact moment that Celeste became unconscious. Despite the incomplete bond that connected them, the sudden inability to sense her and to reach out to her telepathically made the possessive beast inside him rage.

The last emotions that’d barreled through their bond were of shock and debilitating agony. His mate was wounded and unreachable in another Raeth’s territory—one that Celeste had warned him was on the edge of instability.

Derikles’ mind fired on all cylinders, forming and picking apart plans to retrieve her from Zeke’s clan lands without starting a Raeth war.

What he hadn’t intended on was the lieutenants teleporting into his home. All five of them, Jaeda included, had apparently sensed his fear through clan bonds and came to his aid. Sia flanked the healer as they moved closer.

“What’s happened?” Jaeda asked.

Derikles didn’t stop strapping blades to his body. “My mate is wounded and unconscious and I can’t reach her. I’m going to retrieve her.”

“Wait—your mate?”

All of them stood in a loose circle around his living room, their reactions trifling with his emotions.

“We found each other last week; Jaeda saw the bond between us.” Derikles made a cutting gesture with his hand. “We don’t have time for a full update. Celeste told me Zeke’s clan network is too much for one sovereign alone to bear. It’s becoming unstable. If it ruptured, everyone there is in danger.”

“Derikles, you can’t go charging into Zeke’s territory,” Jaeda warned, looking at him like he was the one who’d gone insane. “You’re a sovereign now; it could be seen as an act of war. Besides, the treaty—”

“I’ve agreed to no such treaty with the other sovereigns,” Derikles reminded her. “Zeke is skirting the line, Jaeda; it’s plain as day. Celeste is hurt—I know that much—and if she’s in trouble, nothing will stop me from going to her.”

“Be smart about this, Derikles,” Sia warned. “We need a better plan than going in there, guns blazing.”

He hesitated. What they said was true. If Celeste was the only one injured, charging into Zeke’s territory would be dangerous, especially given his instability. But if the clan’s network had been compromised, he’d need all the backup he could get.

In the seconds that followed, he sent a mental ping to Zeke with an urgency that would demand an immediate response. He waited for several moments before his patience waned. His hail to Kaien only seconds later also went unreturned.

“I’ll reach out to Nero. If the psychic bonds have ruptured, he’ll be able to call for additional aid,” Derikles said. He didn’t hesitate to send an urgent psychic call to the other sovereign, and Nero responded readily.

Yes, Derikles?

My mate is wounded and unconscious on Zeke’s clan lands, Derikles explained, attempting to withhold the beast in him snarling with fury. I need your assistance to secure her safety—and that of her clans. There’s no response from Zeke or Kaien.

Derikles, what happened? Who is she?

Celeste, one of Nina’s lieutenants. I’ve no idea how she’s been wounded, but I know she was in agony only minutes ago. She’s mentioned the psychic bonds of the clan were unstable, and I fear the worst.

I’ll come with you.

Without asking for permission, the Osé sovereign manifested beside him. Nero eyed the lieutenants around the room with a diplomatic nod.

“If the clan is compromised, I’ll call in senior healers from every other clan of the Accords. If it’s only Celeste, Zeke may see this as a threat,” Nero warned. “Don’t bare blades unless you intend on using them. Don’t make any threatening moves. They’re defending Nina and their territory—don’t get them a reason to attack.”

They acknowledged the wisdom with a nod.

“On your mark, Derikles.”

Derikles teleported all seven of them directly into the heart of Zeke’s territory. The Ontario landscape was windy but warm around them, but the urgency of Derikles’ need to see his mate made him immune to the beauty of the territory.

Their intrusion was met with a near-instant response. Within moments, ten battle-ready Raeths appeared in a loose circle around them, outnumbering them. Swords drawn, Zeke and Nina’s lieutenants were fraught with tension. A single unintentional movement could see this end bloody.

At their center stood Zeke, staring at them with a bewilderment that meant only one thing: Celeste was the only one wounded here. Though the other sovereign stood tall, his cheeks were sunken, and his eyes were hollow. What Celeste had said was true: the dual sovereignty was too much for him.

Derikles felt pity for the man who’d taken the brunt of his mate’s trauma and still had tried to carry their clan through it.

“You dare enter my lands?”

Derikles straightened. “I’m not here to bring war, Zeke. I come in search of Celeste.”

“She’s indisposed.”

“Take me to her,” Derikles insisted. His patience was already dissolving, the need to see his mate trumping his civility. If Celeste was in danger, there was no place he wouldn’t go.

“He has every right to see her, Zeke,” Nero added.

Zeke’s attention swung over to the other sovereign. “You’ve sided with Derikles instead of me? Perhaps we should re-examine our vows, Osé. It seems you’ve forgotten where your loyalty lies.”

“I’m here as an impartial party,” came Nero’s calm words. “Derikles makes a compelling case. Hear him out.”

A tick worked in Zeke’s jaw, but when he refocused on Derikles, his sneer was gone. “State your case—and quickly. I don’t tolerate threats to my clan.”

“Celeste was in pain before she fell unconscious less than twenty minutes ago,” Derikles said. “I’ve come to ensure her wellbeing.”

“And how could you possibly know that?”

“Because she’s my mate,” Derikles hissed.

At the revelation, the lieutenants surrounding them jerked in surprise. One by one, their blades lowered, and they shifted their attention to Zeke. Their sovereign frowned, bewildered, but Derikles didn’t care.

“You’ll take me to her now.”

“When did this happen?”

Unwilling to expand on the groundwork of their budding relationship, Derikles stated the facts. “Our bond is unfinalized. If you don’t take me to her— right now —I’ll take it as an act of war.”

Zeke’s expression grew stormy before he dipped his head in agreement. “We were attempting to split the networks. Celeste volunteered, and she’s no longer connected to my clan. She remains linked to Nina, and the psychic imbalance pulled her under.”

“Take me to her.”

None of them spoke as Derikles trailed the other sovereign to a home near the center of his clan. Kaien opened the door, letting Derikles and Jaeda in as the rest of them remained outside.

“I separated her from my clan,” Zeke said, his voice full of apology, “but Nina’s net didn’t let her go. I’ve tried cutting the bonds, but I’m unable to.”

“The psychic kickback caused her to lose consciousness,” Kaien explained. “She might recover with an Amp, but we can’t afford for Zeke to expend additional energy right now.”

The moment he saw Celeste, Derikles sucked in a breath. She looked merely asleep, but he could already sense the devastation that the severed bond had done on her.

Kneeling beside her, he pressed his hands to her cheeks. Funneling his strength into her through his Amp ability and their bond, he worked to right the imbalance. The shock of her trauma had slightly altered her psychic signature, but he quickly reacquired it.

Her eyes flared open.

“Derikles?”

He tugged her into his arms, needing her close to assure himself she was alright. She clutched at him. “You came for me?”

“Of course I did.” Derikles switched to telepathy. You’re everything to me, Celeste, and there is nothing I wouldn’t give to keep you safe.

I’m yours, Derikles. All of me.

Without warning, the mating bond exploded between them. Their souls unconditionally opened to each other, linking them together for eternity. Derikles held her close as she trembled, the vastness of their connection sprawling out before their psychic eyes.

Celeste was the one shining ray of light in a field of shadow, and she was his .

Belatedly, he registered the fact that Nina’s clan mark sizzled painlessly onto a previously untattooed part of his shoulder, marking him as one of hers.

Mine .

We belong to each other, she replied telepathically .

After Derikles claimed her lips in a chaste kiss, he pulled back to confirm she was healthy. Beside them, Jaeda and Kaien reached forward—both intent on verifying the same.

“The bond to our clan steadied her,” Jaeda announced, “but we’ve work to do yet.”

Kaien nodded. “We need to cut her from Nina’s clan or reintroduce her to yours, Zeke.”

Zeke’s weary gaze cloudy with regret. “Celeste—I’m sorry.”

She loosened her hold on Derikles before standing and striding over to her sovereign. Celeste locked her arms around her sovereign’s neck, letting him apologize to her on repeat.

“I volunteered, Zeke. This isn’t your fault. None of it is.”

Beside Derikles, Jaeda cinched an arm around his shoulders and hugged him. “I’m happy for you, Derikles. You’re deserving of happiness.”

All five of them slowly made their way back to the other lieutenants. Though it would’ve been obvious to Derikles’ clan, he announced it for the sake of the others present.

“Our mating bond has finalized.”

A round of congratulations was the response, and before long, they were swarmed by a host of immortals offering their support. Remmus, one of Celeste’s close friends, approached them.

His seafoam green eyes were suspicious and protective, as if he was seeing Derikles in a new light. “Congratulations on your mating.”

“Thank you,” Derikles said. “I’m afraid I’ve gotten the better end of the deal.”

A wicked grin that promised pain spread Remmus’ lips. “As I’ve told Celeste, if you hurt her, I’ll eviscerate you.”

“Duly noted.”

“I look forward to getting to know you better, and in the meantime,” Remmus pressed a kiss into Celeste’s forehead, “this one will tell me all about you, I’m certain. Celeste here can never resist good gossip.”

Of that, Derikles had no doubt.

With Celeste on his arm, he closed the distance between him and Zeke. The weariness the other sovereign wore only seemed to have magnified.

“My intent was never to begin war between us, Zeke,” he said.

“You were worried for your mate—and rightly so.”

“In any case, I apologize from intruding on your clan lands without permission.” Derikles offered him a tight smile. “I’m new to this role.”

“It’s not one to take lightly.” Zeke shifted his attention to his audience. “We need to call a meeting of the other delegates. With this effort ending in failure, I’m uncertain how long the dual networks will remain viable.”

Despite the heaviness of the statement, the other sovereign offered them genuine congratulations in the next breath. After they’d been paraded among their peers and given the obligatory congratulations speeches, Celeste and Derikles retired to his home in Utah. Dead tired from the day’s trying events, neither felt particularly inclined to do anything but sleep.

Celeste was notably worn out. “Can I borrow one of your shirts for the night? I don’t even want to try to teleport one of my shirts over here. I’m sure it’d be disastrous.”

“Of course.”

Derikles retrieved one from his dresser, holding it out to her with a sly grin, but the woman gave him a mock reprimanding look before disappearing into the bathroom.

Chuckling to himself, he tossed his shirt into the laundry and sprawled out on the bed, his eyes closing. Only when he heard Celeste re-enter the room did he open them.

He gaped.

Her long, lean legs disappeared beneath the hem which hung to her mid-thigh, and her shock of dark pink hair curled around her shoulders and hung nearly to her waist. Celeste was perfect. And more importantly, she was his.

***

Derikles and Celeste woke early after a restorative sleep. He clasped hands with his mate as they strode toward Isaiah’s home, trying to block the fact that he’d nearly lost her the previous day.

Their mating was met with both tears of happiness and congratulations by the Sylth clan. Such was the clan’s response that it took them nearly three times as long to arrive at Isaiah’s room.

Seeing his sleeping sovereign made Derikles’ chest tighten, but he didn’t let himself falter. Jaeda would be by later to check his vitals, but for now, he could provide Isaiah with the psychic energy that he needed.

Resting a hand on Isaiah’s breastbone, he grinned as he sensed his former sovereign’s psychic reservoir was nearly full. He loosened the psychic boundaries between them to push additional energy into the other man, taking full advantage of the kick he’d gotten from mating with Celeste.

Things degraded quickly.

Instead of the leisurely sip he usually supplied Isaiah, the draw changed, altered into something that began gulping desperately at his psychic stores. When he lurched backward, he found he couldn’t release Isaiah from the connection, nor himself.

Though Isaiah remained still, the lock tightened, and the fissure that opened between them guzzled Derikles’ psychic energy. The pressure on his mind increased twofold, making him stagger beneath the intensifying drain.

Celeste gripped his arm where the muscles had corded. “What’s happening?”

Unable to speak through gritted teeth, he could only shake his head. When she tried to move toward Isaiah, he warned her away. “Don’t hurt him. Just— wait .”

Shifting uneasily on her feet, Celeste hovered as closely as possible while heeding his request. Then the unthinkable happened.

The pressure on his mind crawled over the psychic network within, snatching at the well of his power. But instead of evening out, it heaved the neural net backward.

Jolting, Derikles gasped as the mental web that’d embedded in his mind abruptly uprooted and dashed down the connection into Isaiah. The power shifted from him to his sovereign with little delay.

He could only tremble as the aftermath of the psychic change ran through his veins. His body attempted to restore what’d been stolen from his psychic stores.

“What happened?”

Celeste’s soft voice echoed in his ear, gently supporting his weight as her worry funneled through their mating bond.

“He’s taken back the network. Isaiah is sovereign again.”