Destruction’s Desire (Broken Souls Trilogy #2)

Chapter 45

Rule forty-five: Save as many as you can.

I wake up to Sin’s body cocooning mine, and I’m nestled into his arms, enveloped by his heat and the smell of woodsmoke. My eyes flutter as I look up at him, only to find he’s already awake, watching me.

Last night was intense. Perfect, but intense. I made some sounds I didn’t think could come out of me, and the thought has my cheeks flaming.

“Good morning,” I whisper.

Sin smirks at my tone, before leaning in to kiss me soundly. It takes only a second before I kiss him back, and the kiss grows more carnal. He claims my mouth until I start to move restlessly against him, craving more, before he pulls away.

He takes in my flushed cheeks and aroused expression before smirking again. “ Good morning.”

My heart thumps inside my chest, and the now familiar feeling of warm electricity tingles across my back, reminding me that our souls are now knit together.

“Last night…” I start.

“Wasn’t nearly enough,” he notes gruffly, bending to kiss my collarbone.

I bite back my smile. “That too.”

He kisses me again, and I pull his face to refocus his attention. “You said our souls knitted together.”

His gaze drifts longingly over my body before he props himself up beside me. “That’s what happens when you complete a mate bond. The action merges your souls, binding them as one.”

His fingers ghost along my waist like he can’t help but touch me, and I warm further. “So that we can find each other?” I ask.

“Amongst other things,” he notes lazily as his fingers drift lower, and my breath catches in my throat.

“Want to elaborate on that?” My legs fall open as his fingers move to my pussy. I’m not sure I’ll even be able to walk properly today, but my driving need for this man overrides any soreness.

“It’s different between mated pairs, depending on how their souls and energies combine. Fae bonds typically involve being able to sense each other’s emotions. Irena is the only other mated Destroyer, and the bond she built with Rosie allows them to pass memories between each other,” he answers, his fingers brushing gentle circles over my clit, drawing out my whimpers .

“And now you built a mate bond between us?” I ask, just making one thousand percent sure that I didn’t miss something. To make sure he’s truly mine.

Sin hums, lowering himself down my body. “I warned you, kitten. The moment you gave yourself to me fully, I wouldn’t be able to let you go. We are mated. You’re mine.”

His tongue drags against my pussy, drawing out a moan from me. “If you’re having second thoughts…” he adds, his eyes darkening as they fix on mine, “I’d be happy to fuck them out of you,” he notes, finishing in a low growl before thrusting his tongue inside of me.

“No second-guessing,” I gasp. “Just clarifying. But you should probably fuck me anyway, just in case.”

Raw hunger crosses his face like we didn’t just spend the night having sex, and he flips me onto my stomach. He pulls me to the edge of the bed and stands, lifting my hips until his cock is at my entrance. He thrusts into me hard, bottoming out against me and hitting my G-spot. I open my mouth to scream, but his fingers are there, driving into my mouth, gagging me. I suck on them as he sets a punishing pace.

“I want to be inside of you, every fucking moment of the day. And if I can’t be, then I want to be dripping down your thighs every time I’m not fucking you,” Sin growls.

His thrusts grow more erratic, and I’m already trembling against him. When my pussy starts to flutter around him, he releases my mouth, fisting my hair to drive into me even harder.

“Yes! Please, yes, Sin. I’m yours. Take me, please. I’m yours.” I beg through my screams, and Sin’s thrusts become harder, fucking me punishingly before he groans, and I feel his warm seed spilling inside of me. His release triggers my own, and we both grind harder against each other, trembling until the waves of pleasure have passed.

Sin takes a shuddering breath, his hands cupping my ass, massaging it while he’s still buried deep within me. “You are so fucking beautiful. You’re fucking perfect, kitten,” he whispers the words, and I feel his cock twitch, starting to get hard again.

“Perfect is a strong word. I’m pretty sure I drive you crazy,” I say as I crawl forward on the bed, effectively pulling him out. I look over my shoulder at him, smiling, only to find his gaze locked on my ass. Pursing my lips, I turn, sitting on my knees.

Sin’s eyes finally flick back to my own. “You do drive me crazy. That doesn’t make you less perfect for me.”

I lick my lips at his answer, and Sin’s eyes fix on the gesture, flaring for a moment before stalking towards me on the bed. Giggling, I scramble back. “Sin, at some point, we’re going to need to leave your room.”

Sin reaches the center of the bed, and I dash off it. His answering smile is dark and predatory as he tracks my movement. “Go ahead, kitten, make my day and make me chase you.”

My heart thunders in anticipation. Sin is insatiable when it comes to my body, and I love it. I back up to his door, turning the knob and taking a second to peek in the hall, finding it empty. Sin is still on the bed, watching me, and I smile sweetly at him before sticking out my tongue and dashing back into my own room.

I barely make it inside before Sin apparates in front of me, slamming me back into my door, his mouth claiming mine in a wild and uncontrolled kiss. When he finally pulls away from me, I let reality inch back into our lives.

“We should get dressed, I’m sure the team is waiting on us. After all, today is…” I stop at the dark look that crosses Sin’s face.

“Please. Please don’t do this,” he whispers, his eyes pleading.

I swallow. Why does the thought of dying hurt more today?

I cup his cheek. “I need to do this, Sin. I need to be free.”

He takes my hand and kisses my knuckles. “Do you have any idea how hard it is for me not to use my influence to change your mind right now? The idea of losing you is enough to make me want to un-exist the entire Otherworld Realm because that’s better than risking your life. I am holding on by a fucking thread.”

My throat feels tight, and I blink back tears. “You won’t lose me. I’ll come back to you.”

He shudders against me but says nothing.

“I won’t be long,” I say softly, and my heart shatters at the broken look in Sin’s eyes.

He apparates out of the room without another word, and the second I’m alone, I let myself sink down against the door, curling my arms around my knees.

This is it. Morgana is going to kill me today .

I wonder if it will hurt. Death seems like a pretty painful experience.

I’d rather not get stabbed or choked to death. Especially the latter. Assuming I do come back, I’d rather not picture dying if Sin chokes me the next time we’re together.

At the thought of Sin, my tears start to fall freely. I’m hurting him, and it’s killing me to do it. I love him. So much it consumes me, and while I have no regrets over sealing our mate bond, I can’t help but feel guilty about doing it right before I die. That thought only has me spiralling harder.

I cry because I’m going to die today, and I’m scared. I cry because if I don’t come back, my friends, both here and in the Mortal Realm, will be crushed to lose me. I cry because I turned out not to be broken and finally found a way to love someone, even though Sin will likely never love me back.

The wording of the prophecy is all too clear to me. I will be the one doing the loving. Not the powerful creatures. Leon never loved Cassandra. He loved a lie. It seems logical to assume that Sin won’t love me back, either. But whatever we have now, it’s more than enough. It’s more than I ever deserved.

I don’t move until I finally feel like I’ve gotten enough of my emotions out to face the others. If I get the crying out now, I can put on a brave mask. I refuse to break down or show any reluctance in front of the others. That will only make them more upset, and I can’t do that to them .

After freshening up in the bathroom, I pad over to my dresser. My breaths are back to normal, and I’ve shoved down the fear and the guilt.

I’m functional again and ready to take on my problems.

First up, what does one wear on their last day alive?

My eyes catch the tight gray dress folded neatly in my bottom drawer. I can’t look at it without shuddering since it reminds me of Leon. The mere thought of him touching me has my skin crawling.

It sounds like the perfect thing to die in. Why spoil other clothing?

I’m just pulling the last strands of my hair into a French braid when Sin apparates into the room. He looks like he’s about to speak but stops short when he takes in what I’m wearing.

“Fuck, kitten, you…” he starts.

“I hate this dress,” I interrupt, frowning.

He looks me up and down. “I would be more than happy to remove it for you. Preferably while you sit on my face.”

I laugh. “I wore this with Leon. It has bad memories for me. I figured I may as well spoil it further.”

Sin stalks towards me, all predatory intent. “When you come back to me, kitten. And you will come back. We are going to burn this dress, and I’m going to fuck you in front of the flames.”

Butterflies flutter in my stomach as his hand comes around the back of my neck, and he pulls me in for a steaming kiss. When his lips release mine, he adds, “ And after that, we are buying you more of these. One in every color.”

I giggle, warmth spreading throughout my body. “That sounds perfect. Now let’s go find the others so I don’t need to wear this any longer than necessary.”

Sin and I head over to the dining room, hand in hand. The butterflies in my stomach show no signs of slowing. It’s almost enough to make me forget that I’m going to die today.

When we enter the dining room, we find Rosie, Magnus, and Arianna seated and having lunch. At the sight of us, they burst into applause, catcalling and hollering. My cheeks heat, and I wonder how they could possibly know what Sin and I got up to last night.

Arianna grins at me. “In case you guys are missing them, we picked up your clothes off the beach this morning when we cleaned up from the party.”

Sin laughs, and I groan as he pulls me over to the table. He doesn’t let go of me, taking me to his seat and settling me on his lap.

I might feel more mortified if he wasn’t looking at me with such heated tenderness. I smile at the others. “Thank you for getting our things. We appreciate it.”

There.

No hiding, no feeling embarrassed.

Arianna wrinkles her nose at me and Sin. “I love you both, but gross.”

Magnus stands to clap Sin on the back, and Rosie is beaming, telling us how happy she is for us .

Sin pours me some coffee while I chat with the others about the party, and I sip at it, letting the contentedness linger a while.

I manage to eat a chocolate croissant, even though I was sure I’d be too nervous to eat. Sin holds on to me the entire time, his hand running up and down my back in a soothing motion. My pulse flutters and I steal glances at him, always finding his eyes on me.

When the others have eaten, I finally ask the question I’ve been holding on to since my cry session. “Do you have any poison here? The kind that will put you to sleep, and you die painlessly? I know Morgana agreed to kill me, but I’m just hoping we can find a pain-free route to do it.”

Sin’s fingers tighten against my thigh and his tattoos flare, but he says nothing.

Arianna and Magnus look at a loss.

“I could scan the markets…” Magnus starts.

But Rosie’s whisper stops him. “I do.”

All eyes turn to her, and Rosie looks like she might wither under the attention. “There’s a flower in the garden. It only blooms under the light of the moon. But if you harvest it when it’s blooming and brew it into a tea, just a few sips will kill you.”

Magnus gapes at her. “Rosie, why in the Fates do you have such a thing? Are you growing more poisons?”

Arianna lifts her hand to give Rosie a high five. “Way to grow a useful plant, Rosie.”

Rosie gives a slight shrug. “It was a gift from Irena. She touched the seeds when she gifted them to me. I’ve been cultivating the vines ever since. ”

“That sounds perfect. Thank you, Rosie,” I say, and she smiles at me.

“You’ll have to wait until tonight, but then…”

She’s interrupted by Morgana entering the room. Her face is ashen like someone has died. Sin immediately goes rigid. “What is it?” he demands.

Her eyes find mine, and my heart sinks.

This can’t be good.

“There’s been a breach in our wards. Someone has weaved in a curse, and I think it’s set to demolish the rest of them. The Council must be using it to help them invade. Vivian, I’m sorry to say, but your death is going to need to wait until we fix this,” Morgana says. There’s fear in her voice, and Sin immediately stands, holding me to him.

“I’ll go remove the curse and fix any damage to the wards. Where is it located?” he asks, his grip on me tightening.

“The Eastern Coast, close to where we had the emissary party. I believe someone in attendance is betraying us,” Morgana answers.

“Sit tight, kitten. This won’t take long.” Sin smiles at me reassuringly before kissing me soundly and apparating out of the room.

The moment he’s gone, I turn to ask Morgana what this means when she levels her eyes on me, looking even more afraid than before.

“That will take him at least an hour to sort out. I’ve bought you as much time as I can,” she says, and I don’t miss the slight waver in her tone.

I frown. “What are you talking about? The wards – ”

“I’m the one who messed with them. It was the only thing I could think of to get him out of here long enough for you to decide. I received a message from Need this morning. She says we must return you to their care. You have just under an hour left to get to them. The handoff will be at the beach where you freed Leon. They have your friends, Vivian. Need has Conner, Isaac and Sarah. If you don’t go, she’ll kill them,” Morgana answers, gripping the table.

All the blood drains from my face.

No, this can’t be happening.

Morgana swallows, “That’s not all. Need is demanding we return you as a mortal and notes that if anything is to happen to her or Leon, she has mages stationed around your realm to kill as many mortals as possible.”

My hands shake, and my vision starts to darken at the edges.

Need has my friends. I tried so hard to keep them safe, to stay away. But Leon must have told Need about them so they’d have a bargaining chip.

“This is clearly a trap! There’s no way we’re going along with this,” Arianna yells as she stands from the table, a black mass of darkness swimming under her feet.

Magnus agrees, “Need is bluffing. She’s already under scrutiny from the other Council members about her reckless use of power.”

I focus on Morgana, who still looks stricken. “Is she capable of this? Of killing my friends or murdering countless innocent mortals? ”

Morgana worked alongside Need for millennia. I trust her judgement on this.

“Yes,” she whispers. “She’s absolutely capable of it. Especially since Vivian is an uncollared Creator. She cannot risk Vivian coming into full power while in our hands.”

Knowing the decision has been made, I nod, and Morgana gives me a grim look before heading to her chair.

Rosie chimes in next, “How do we know for sure she even has Vivian’s friends. Maybe she’s lying.”

But Morgana shakes her head. “I already looked. All three were absent from their classes today. They’ve plastered their phone numbers around campus with posters looking for you, Vivian. None of the phone numbers were answered.”

My heart feels like it’s shattering at her words. My poor friends have been worried sick for me. I stayed away, thinking I would keep them safe, and in doing so, I’ve only managed to hurt them more.

I choke back a sob.

“So, what’s the plan then? How do we get back Vivian’s friends without handing her over to the Council?” Magnus asks.

Morgana and I lock eyes, and I know we’re on the same page.

“We don’t,” I answer. “That’s why she distracted Sin.”

“The only way we can save her friends is to make the trade,” Morgana continues. “You and Sin, you’re bonded now. Aren’t you?”

My heart thumps, and it’s almost painful. “Yes. ”

“If he comes back before the handoff, he will murder Leon and Need before they ever lay a hand on you,” she warns. “He will start this war and end it before ever risking you. But in doing so, he will turn the other realms against us, and that will lead to the loss of millions of lives.” Her words are strained like she is fighting with herself from speaking them into existence.

“I won’t let that happen,” I whisper, letting out a shuddering breath.

Arianna’s corner of the table is growing darker and darker. “Vivi – I’m begging you. Don’t do this. You have no idea what these people are capable of. What they’ll do to you if you don’t follow their whims. They will break you, shatter you, only to bring you back and do it again, more painfully, every time. You don’t come out of there whole. Even if we get you out, you won’t be you anymore. Trust me.”

More darkness pours from her hands, and I stand to hug her. She clings to me, shaking.

“The Guardians tried to break me. The things you experienced – Cassandra did, too. But she got out, and I will, too. They can break us all they want. We will always rise from the shattered pieces.” I squeeze her tightly before pulling away to look her in the eye. “We come back stronger, Ari. Always.”

Her lip quivers, and she nods. “Promise me you’ll come back.”

“I promise.”

I don’t focus on how sour the lie tastes as I turn to the rest of the table. “I’m going to get dressed. We’re doing the handoff. I refuse to sacrifice my friends. ”

I don’t wait for more argument. I just leave.

I hurry to pull on my fighting leathers. Corrupted bond or not, I’m going in armed. My thoughts drift over to possible avenues of escape until the crushing realization hits.

If I leave, Need can just pull more hostages from my realm. She knows how to get to me now.

I swallow thickly.

I’m not getting out of that castle unless it’s crumbling behind me.

I touch the necklace Sin gave me, and my hands shake as I pull it off. I don’t want Leon to get his hands on it. It’s precious to me.

Oh god, Sin.

He’s going to be devastated. Not only that, but he might just go ballistic enough to use his Destroyer powers and murder the Council. My pulse races, knowing I have no time, but I run to the cloak I took on my first day here, digging into the pocket and pulling out the notebook. I scrawl out my note, unable to stop the tears streaming down my eyes.

Sin,

By the time you see this, I’ll already be gone. Need has my mortal friends, and I can’t let her kill them. I’m going willingly. I’m so sorry for leaving this way.

They won’t hurt me, not when they need me. Please don’t come for me, not when this is the only way to keep everyone safe.

I love you. I wish I could have told you in person.

I’m yours, and I love you. Always .

Your Kitten

I leave the note on the table next to his bed, laying the necklace he gave me on top of it before finding the others. They’re all waiting in the sitting room for me, looking sombre.

“Who’s taking me there?” I ask, not wanting to waste another second.

“Me,” Arianna and Morgana answer at once. They turn to each other, surprised.

“The second Need sees you, she will murder you, just so Sin is out of a Keeper,” Arianna snaps.

“And the second Sin returns home today and finds that Vivian was handed back to the Council, he will MURDER whoever did it,” Morgana snaps back. “With the Keeper bond, I have the best chance of coming out of this alive.”

Magnus distracts me by handing me a small comb. It’s the enchanted one that I’d joked was Fae birth control when I first saw him here. His gaze locks on mine. “Just in case, my little enigma. Until we win this war, and you return to us.”

I smile softly at him and nod, not trusting my voice. I tuck it into one of my pockets and try not to focus on if I’ll ever see him again. Our allies are waiting to see who I’m aligned with. If the Council has me, then I don’t think there will be much of a war.

He hugs me, and I turn to Rosie, who is fighting back tears. She pulls me into a hug, both of us shaking, but neither saying a word.

When she releases me, I step back, looking at Morgana and Arianna. “Well, who’s it going to be? ”

“I’m taking you,” Arianna notes.

“I’ll wait here for Sin,” Morgana adds.

Every motion feels like it’s slowing as I nod at Morgana. Arianna takes my hand, squeezing it tightly, and I look at my new friends one more time.

“Thank you, for everything,” I whisper.

And then we’re gone.