Tortured Royals (Game of Psychos #3)

Chapter 31

Chapter

Thirty-One

~ Princess Blake ~

“ B lake! What the hell is going on?” Shade’s shrill squawk sounds in my ears as she flaps toward me. “The demons down there have gone crazy, the witches are chanting like their lives depend on it, and I’m almost too scared to ask about your new floating friend who just busted out of the castle, quite literally.”

“Shade?” I say.

“Yes,” she replies, flapping her wings and staring at me with beady eyes. “Please tell me this isn’t as bad as it looks.”

I stare at my friend, and Reselle’s words repeat in my head: That bird is no more a crow than you are an angel. Reselle claimed that she felt no ill intent from Shade, but my mind is a mess of questions. The biggest one being: if Shade isn’t a crow, then what—or who—is she? But I don’t have time to try and figure it out now.

“That’s my mother,” I explain quickly, pointing to Reselle. “It’s a long story, but basically, she’s been corrupted by some dark creature from the Shadow realm. Oh and I’m half witch, not angel, and if Mom dies, I might become the new and last remaining witch anchor.”

Shade is silent for a moment as she stares at me. “Yep, I knew I shouldn’t have asked.”

“If you can get me close to her, I can use the blade,” Dad croaks, climbing from my arms to stand on his own. His body is mending quickly, though the black marks are still visible along his skin.

“How are you healing so fast?” Demons are the quickest at healing out of the different species in the realms, but Dad has been so weak lately, and he went down hard.

“Now that she’s out of the vault, Reselle is growing stronger, and somehow, her magic is sustaining me through the bond,” he answers.

“Okay, I’m still lost. Who the hell is Reselle?” Shade asks.

“The dark entity that has taken control of my mom’s mind,” I reply.

“Okay, this situation is messed up, but Blake, if that is your mom, can’t you try and get through to her?”

“I don’t know.” The building shakes more violently, and Mason’s hand shoots out, steadying me. Around the castle gates, the witches have formed large circles, and they sway from side-to-side chanting at the top of their lungs. The demons are all chanting along as well.

“Are they all dead?” I ask Shade.

“No, when you went inside the castle, whatever magic reanimated the dead demon soldiers, it also possessed everyone else.”

“It’s Reselle,” Dad says. “She’s connected everyone to her. If we can stop her, it should sever the link she has with them.”

Light flickers in the corner of my eye, and I turn my head as a large portal with silver fire opens up a couple of streets away. There’s a war cry and archangel soldiers flow from the gateway. Prince Callan’s brother, King Andal, is with them, along with a few legions of beast shifters that had been fighting in Toralyn, and a sizeable number of waterfolk from Norso. The only realm without soldiers in attendance is Rostof, realm of the giants.

They must have defeated the witches in Toralyn and come here.

“No, brother!” Prince Callan shouts, but we’re too far away for King Andal to hear us.

The soldiers of the allied realms surge forward, attacking the outer circles of witches, and above us, Reselle lets out a high-pitched wail. Streams of black magic shoot through the air, striking the soldiers and we watch in horror as they all fall as one, climbing back to their feet with unnatural, jerky movements. Slowly, they form up, creating more circles and chanting with the others.

Bile rises up my throat, but I swallow it down.

Prince Callan’s eyes burn with fury as he stares at his brother.

“We’ll find a way to free them,” I tell him.

“We have to get to Reselle, daughter. It’s the only way,” Dad tells me.

Reselle’s laughter crackles through the sky, and I look up as she floats down, landing on the roof of the castle with us. “Are you all still alive? Serafine is putting up quite the fight in my head, but I’m not sure why.” She opens her arms, taking a few steps on the shaking roof. “Look around you, Seral is ours. It belongs to the witches now, as do all of your friends.”

Dad coughs and wipes at the black ooze which drips from his nose. He moves closer to me, and I know he’s after the enchanted blade.

“We have to get her back,” I tell him. “There must be a way.”

Dad gives me a hard look. “Who Serafine was, who your mother was, no longer exists. This is the only way.”

“Blake!” Shade’s fearful cry sounds in my head, and I turn as Reselle sends a blast of power toward her. The dark magic slams into Shade, colliding with her small form. I go to run to her, but Nate grabs me, holding me back. I’m about to break free from his hold when Shade’s body changes. My crow grows in size, her feathers shedding, replaced with smooth skin. Where she had wings, arms form, and I gape as my crow turns into a woman. A human.

Reselle pulls her power back, still cackling as the strange human lifts her head, and blinks at me. “Blake?” She says the words aloud, and her voice is soft. Startled, the girl lifts her hand, her fingertips brushing against her lips. “What? I-I, I’m not a crow.” She peers down at her naked body, all smooth skin without a feather in sight. Her wide eyes are round with fright, and she stares at me.

“See, I told you this one was a deceiver as well,” Reselle says to me. “Now you can see for yourself, child. I’ve managed to manipulate the curse so you can see her with your own eyes. The world may not be as you perceived it, but in time, I trust you will adjust to your new reality.”

“W-what is she talking about?” the human girl says, unsteady on her feet. “Where are my wings?”

I open my mouth. I’m not sure what I plan to say, but Reselle speaks first. “But now that you’ve seen her, there’s no point letting her live.” Reselle sends out a burst of power and it slams into Shade, throwing her from the roof.

A scream tears from her throat, and I rush after her, my wings snapping out. Before I can move, Reselle smiles gleefully, sending power out that blocks my path.

“Don’t worry,” Prince Callan says in my head, and I notice his hand is out, power flowing from his palm. “I caught her. She’s on a balcony.”

“Thank you,” I send to him, and I finally realize I don’t have a choice. Spinning, I pull out the enchanted blade in one smooth motion and dart toward Reselle, but before I can drive the blade into her chest, Reselle smashes into me, and we fly through the air crashing into one of the castle towers. Stone rains around us, streams of magic flying past my head as we fight. I dodge and duck Reselle’s power, lashing out with the jeweled blade, but I can’t get close enough. Her power smacks into my chest, and I’m thrown back. My body skids as I crash back to the roof where Dad is. Prince Callan and Mason are in the air, their blades out as they go for Reselle, but she easily deflects their blows, cackling the entire time.

Reselle sets back on the roof, and she smiles. “I knew being Serafine’s daughter that you would be lively, but I hadn’t quite expected this much excitement,” she says, her dark eyes sparkling.

The blade! Where’s the blade? I stare around me as Reselle advances, and Alaric attacks, lunging at her. A roar leaves Nate’s mouth as he shifts, his armor growing and shifting to accommodate his large form. The roof shudders at his weight, and when Alaric gets thrown back, Nate is there, his fanged mouth aiming for her head.

Reselle flicks her hand, and power blows Nate back. The giant cat slips over the side of the roof and my heart catches in my throat, but Nate’s roar comes from not far away. He bounds back onto the roof, his claws digging in to the black tiles.

Around us, the chanting is so loud the voices pound in my ears.

“Ah, it’s such a shame child,” Reselle says, cracking her neck. “I had thought that I could teach you, and we would rule this land together. But if you’re this insistent, I guess I’ll just have to kill you.”

Before I can dodge it, her power slams into me again, only this time, she’s hit me with something different. Her power reaches into me, clawed talons tearing at my mind. A guttural scream rips from my throat as pain lances into me, my own power trying to fight against her. Trying, and failing… My mates shout out as well, the five of them frozen in place as her power keeps them from me.

Reselle gives me a wicked grin. “I guess I should have known. There’s only space for one witch anchor now.”

“No, Mom!” I wheeze.

There’s a flash of gold in Reselle’s eyes, and she snarls, clawing at her own head with her fingers. “Not now, witch!” Reselle growls, and the gold disappears, turning to black again.

My energy drains, and those claws scrabble more furiously against the barrier in my mind. Flapping sounds in my ears, and I look up, only to see the sky fill with birds. There are thousands of them, and they dive as they come toward us. I never sent out a call, but the birds race to my aid, filling my mind with all different images. Images of the sunset, of demons, of the city, of the dark clouds, of the birds perched on the roof with their friends. Their images are like a barrage of strength fortifying my mind against Reselle’s influence.

When they near the roof, I yell, “Don’t!” Screaming the command to them, desperate to make sure they stay away from Reselle. They reluctantly listen, but they circle the roof, forming a large blur of color as they fly around and around, creating a windy circle that tugs at my braid. The black of my crows mixing with the colors of the other birds in Seral.

Reselle’s laughter grows louder. “Oh, can’t you see child? Controlling birds is nothing. Not when you can control the minds of everyone else.”

“Princess,” Dante calls out, and I turn my head as the tinge of blue starts to disappear from his midnight blue eyes, Reselle’s power burrowing into his mind.

No. No. Dammit!

I grit my teeth, trying to walk forward and break free from Reselle’s power that’s still blasting into me. But I’m too weak. She might not have my mind, but my body hardly moves an inch, and I feel drained.

“I see now,” Dad’s voice sounds across the rooftop, and my gaze slides to where he stands, hidden from Reselle behind a thick stone chimney. The demon king holds the jeweled enchanted blade in his grip, but instead of staring at Reselle, he has the blade poised at his heart.

“What are you doing?” I shout at him, panic flooding me.

“I thought I’d have to drive this into her, but we’re connected, even more so now that our bond has been corrupted. Reselle will feel the power of this blade, just as I will.”

“No, you can’t!” I rasp.

“Know daughter, that I couldn’t be more prouder of the ruler you will be, and I am sure your mother feels the same. Remember, never surrender.” And he pulls his hand back, pushing the blade into his heart.

“Noooo!” The scream that tears from me is unnatural, coming from a place so deep within me even my birds feel it, cawing like they feel my pain.

Reselle cries out as well, her dark eyes snapping wide. “What?” Her mouth gapes open as she grabs at her chest, looking for a weapon, though it’s not there.

I can hardly speak, but I rush over to Dad, catching him before he falls. I hold him up, staring at the demon king as his breathing becomes more labored, and my mates form up around us protectively.

Tears well in my eyes. Dad pushed me to my limits, always putting me through strange challenges, but I see them for what they were now. Trials to make me stronger. In his weird, messed up way, Dad has always cared.

The demon grabs the handle of the shadow blade and wrenches the weapon from his chest. “Here,” he rasps, holding the dagger out to me. “While she’s distracted.”

Ignoring the weapon, I press my hand to the wound, trying to stop the blood leaking from his chest.

“It’s not healing,” I say, panicked. “Why isn’t it healing?”

“Take it, Blake,” Dad says insistently, still holding the blade. “This is the only thing that will rid us of Reselle. The realms need you now.”

Tears streak down my cheeks. “But I need you. ”

His lips form a soft smile, his gaze going to my mates before returning to me. “No, daughter. All that you need will be here even after I’m gone.”

“Blake,” Dante’s voice is gentle as he comes up behind me. “The king is right. This might be our only chance.”

“We need to take the bitch down,” Alaric growls.

“Let me do it, my mate,” Mason says.

I shake my head. “No,” I say, hardly able to get the word out. “It has to be me.”

“Go, daughter,” Dad says, and I blink back my tears as I finally take the blade from his hand. Dad leans against the chimney, and I release him, stepping out to face Reselle. My mates move with me, though they give me space.

Reselle is still grabbing at her chest, screaming, and I don’t give myself a moment longer to think about what I’m going to do. I launch forward while her gaze is diverted, and I plunge the shadow blade into her heart.

Reselle jerks her head to the side, and her eyes darken as she grabs hold of me, but just when I think she’s about to toss me from the roof, her eyes shoot wide with surprise. Her gaze flicks to where Mason is now holding Dad up, and then she peers at me before looking down at the blade. “Damn you,” she says, those thousand voices crying out at once, and her head snaps back as she opens her mouth and lets out a pained wail that goes on and on, the air whipping around us.

“Blake!” Dante shouts, grabbing my arm, but I stay where I am.

Slowly, the sound grows weaker, and when it cuts off all together, my mom’s head falls forward and she drops to her knees. I fall with her.

The air grows still, and my mates move close around us.

“Careful, gorgeous,” Nate warns, but I already know Reselle is gone. I can feel the release of her power over the land.

Mom’s chest rises and falls with ragged breaths, the blade still buried in her chest, but when she slowly opens her eyes they’re a bright gold, the color so similar to that of my own eyes.

“My Blake, my daughter,” she rasps, her hand reaching up to my face, and the moment the words leave her lips, tears spill from my eyes.

Dad stumbles toward us with Mason’s help, and he drops to his knees beside us, a harsh rattle sounding in his chest when he breathes.

“You did so well with her,” Serafine says, smiling warmly as one of her hands goes to Dad, and he leans into her, his head resting against hers. “She’s incredible.”

I struggle to breathe, my chest feeling as though it’s capsizing. Pain spreads from my heart like I’m the one who was stabbed with the blade.

“I’ve missed you, Sera,” Dad says to Serafine, a tear tracking down his cheek as he presses a soft kiss to her lips. When he pulls back, she lifts her hand, brushing the tear away.

“You were always with me,” she tells him. “And we did it. She’s ready.”

“No. No, No,” I repeat the word over and over. “I’m not ready. I will never be ready.”

“I loved you from the moment I knew you existed,” Serafine tells me. Mom. Not Serafine. Mom. “Be kind to the witches. I have hope that without Reselle’s influence, and with you as the new anchor, they will find a way to heal. They will need you now more than ever. And they will need a home. A real one. The witches were afraid, and without Reselle’s influence, and with a renewed connection to their ancestors, I know they can be good again.” She swallows, her throat bobbing. “Promise me.”

I can hardly see through my tears. “I will. I promise.”

“Don’t be afraid of the power, my daughter,” Mom tells me. “It will become a part of you. Normally there have been three anchors so they could balance each other and share the load of the power. You must rely on your mates. I can tell how much they love you.”

Dad reaches for me, his hand cupping my cheek, and I lean into it. “Do not mourn us, daughter. I have waited for this moment. Finally, I can be with my mate. Rule well with your bonded, and one day, we will see you again in the shadow realm.”

I nod, sniffling. “I’ll find you.” I don’t know if that’s possible. When we suffer a true death, our souls are said to roam the far reaches of the shadow realm. But I’ll find a way. Someday. When my time comes.

My mates crowd around me, crouching down. Dante wraps his hand across my shoulders, and Prince Callan grabs my hand, pressing it to his lips as he kisses it.

Mom smiles at my mates before looking back at me, those golden eyes full of warmth, even as the bright color starts to fade. “We love you, daughter,” Mom whispers. “More than anything.” Her last words are barely audible from her lips, and Mom’s eyes close as she holds onto dad, their foreheads touching as the blade remains buried in her chest, and the pair of them fall silent.

The world stills, and my birds stop flying. Hundreds of them land on the roof, settling around us, bowing their heads like they’re paying their respects to the demon queen and his mate. Like they’re there to support me. Others take to the sky, twirling and spinning as the dark clouds clear, streams of light washing over us.

I can’t stop the tears that keep coming, but my mates are there. Holding me. Not speaking, but just…holding me, each of them with a hand on me. Like they’re trying to remind me that I’m not alone.

The tattoos on my body glow brighter, until it feels as though the swirling marks are on fire. Instead of burning me, power flows into my body, golden sparks coming from Mom and landing on my skin. Like a part of her is coming to me.

I gasp, and a wind whips up around me and my mates, teasing our hair and pulling at our clothes. None of my mates let go of me. We all heard what Mom said. I squeeze my eyes shut and images flicker behind my eyelids, pictures appearing in my mind. Of a time when the witches lived in their land. Of the three anchors sending out the power to their sisters. The joy on their faces. The peace between their people. A peace Celzar shattered a long time ago. Yenna’s face appears in my mind, and she smiles at me. Beside her, appears my Mom, and even Dad is there. I don’t know where they are. Is that the shadow realm? All I know is that somehow, I’m connected to them. The power of the witch ancients implodes inside me, and there’s no darkness. Golden streams of light dance in my vision, and I feel the connections to generations of witches. The pressure builds, light shining from my tattoos.

“Let us in, our mate,” Mason says in my head.

“This burden wasn’t meant for you alone,” Alaric growls.

Prince Callan grabs my hand. “We’re here with you.”

“We need you, gorgeous. Let us help,” Nate adds.

“We’ve got you, princess,” Dante says softly in my head. “Always.”

Lastly, Mom’s words repeat in my mind: Don’t be afraid of the power, my daughter. With another gasping breath, I let go, and some of the power overflows into my mates, golden light filling them as well. They all brace against the strain of it, but not once do they let go of me. Not once. The power pulses within us, and then it flows down, connecting with the minds of the witches across Seral.

The witches drop their weapons, and they start sobbing, the whispered words of loved ones on each of their lips as they see glimpses of family members lost long ago. For just a moment, in their minds they see the ones they’ve been so desperate to connect with, and while the images fade, the memories remain and so does the power.

Freed from Reselle’s influence, the demons, archangels, water monsters, and shifters watch on in surprise as a different kind of magic flows from the witches’ fingers. Beautiful flowers burst up from the ground, the sky fills with light, and the sisters laugh.

My mates and I pull back, smiling as we stare at one another, and I send out a burst of power, letting our soldiers see what the witches see. Glimpses of the witches’ home that was destroyed when their magic was taken, just like Perstalia was destroyed. Of a time when the witches were content to keep to themselves.

“Blake!” Shade’s voice comes to me from across the roof, and I rush over, peering down the side of the building. The human girl is a few feet up from a balcony, and she grips the edge of the building, her muscles straining as she tries to climb the rest of the way.

“Are you crazy?” I yell, reaching down and grabbing her hands. “What are you doing?”

She peers up at me with determined violet eyes. “I’m coming to kick some ass and save you. What do you think?”

“It’s already over,” I tell her, my lips twitching.

I pull her onto the roof, and she falls on top of me.

“What? I missed it?” Shade says. “I always miss the good bits.”

Reaching around, I hug her tight, laughter bursting from me. She might not be the crow I knew her as, but I can feel this is my friend. My Shade.

My laughter soon turns to tears, and Shade holds me tighter. Her gaze finds my parents, and she lets out a pained noise. “Oh, Blake,” she says, her fingers stroking through my hair as she holds me tight. “I’m so sorry.”

We stay like that for a little while until my tears dry. “Uh Shade, your nipples are poking me.”

Grinning, she wipes her own tears and peers down at her naked human body. “Yeah, weird huh?”

“You didn’t know?” I ask her, even though that’s what Reselle said. That Shade knows nothing about the curse placed on her.

She shakes her head. “No one is more startled than me. I have to say, though,” she inspects her body, twisting from side-to-side. Not bad, right?”

I laugh. “Not bad at all. Though, we are going to have to figure you out.”

She gives me a cheesy grin, though I see the inkling of fear and uncertainty in her eyes. “I’d like that,” she says softly, and her smile lifts again. “Hey, who knows. Maybe I have mates out there, after all.”

“Of course, one of your first thoughts would be about finding your mates,” I chuckle.

“Hey, you can’t have all the fun,” she teases.

Prince Callan flicks his hand, and a moment later, a curtain flies over to us, carried by a gust of wind. My archangel smiles at me, and I grab the fabric from the air. “Here,” I tell Shade, helping to wrap it around her like a toga. I’ve just finished tying a knot at her shoulder when cheering sounds from the ground.

My mates, Shade, and I step to the edge of the roof, peering down at where the soldiers and witches are on the ground. Golden light still flies around me and my mates, and my heart squeezes as everyone falls to their knees before us. Witches. Demons. Even the archangels, beast shifters, and water monsters. They all show their respect, laying their weapons on the ground before them, and clenching their fists, slamming it to their chests.

I spot General Josek surrounded by demons, and I could be imagining it from this distance, but when he stares at me, all I feel is approval. And all I can think is that I finally feel…at home.