Chapter 40 Soren
Soren
Istood on the edge of the throne room while Morg and Dryden droned on, speaking of useless nonsense with the guests of the court.
Demons, shapeshifters, gods, and vampires all gathered in the palace for a celebration of Umbros’s latest victory against the shadow creatures polluting the realm.
I sipped my wine, half ignoring their words as I grudgingly studied Morg.
I’ve been hounding her lately, demanding answers about Cassia’s fated bullshit, only for her to snap back with empty threats.
Taking another drink, an echo of pain clenched around my heart. My hand tightened around my chalice, the glass breaking from my grip. Morg’s head whipped in my direction, my gaze colliding with hers as the ring hanging from my golden chain began to hover in the air before me.
The echo built, the ache now thrumming in my veins, and I hissed. Wrapping my hand around the chain, I pulled it from my neck as Morg rushed to me.
“What’s happening?” she breathed, her gaze darting between me and the ring, wild with panic.
“If I knew, I would tell you,” I snarled, biting back a groan from the throbbing growing in my chest.
Without another word, I called my magic to me, letting it whisk me away to Cassia’s cell.
As soon as I materialized, delicate hands fisted against my shirt, pulling me toward the iron bars.
Cassia’s voice was frantically yelling words I could not hear, not when I stood, frozen, unable to look away from the scene before me.
That female—my mate—hovered above the stone floor, her mouth stretched open in a blood-curdling scream.
Light spiraled violently above her head, and shadows writhed beneath her, snapping and curling like living things desperate to claim her.
Her eyes were open, but they were no longer the deep green I’d first seen.
One burned with pure light; the other was a bottomless, devouring darkness.
I swallowed, an excitement I hadn’t felt in decades taking over my entire being.
The ache in my chest grew, but I ignored it as I stood, mesmerized by the power that leaked from her.
Kieran
The camp was in an uproar when we returned.
Word had somehow already gotten around about the shitshow that occurred at the palace.
The survivors all stayed in the council room waiting for their turn to receive medical attention from Bryony.
My chest tightened when I realized people had noticed Viv’s absence almost immediately.
However, I haven’t had the heart to tell them yet.
I was still reeling from it myself, too stunned by what had happened with Sybil to put into words.
Orin sat a distance away; his face twisted in fury and pain.
The room went quiet when Ezra strode in. Not giving the rebels a single glance, he walked my way. Taking a seat beside me, he handed me a cold, wet cloth to wipe the dirt from my face.
“How bad?” he asked, his voice strained. When I shook my head, he released a tight breath. “How many got out?”
“The ones you see in front of us,” I murmured, unable to look away from the floor.
I couldn’t stand to see how little we came back with, how many of my soldiers were left for dead.
I felt his eyes on me and the question burning in them.
“Sybil and Samian were fine the last time I saw them. Daelan too. But I couldn’t find Ivara. ”
“Vivi?”
I closed my eyes, my fingers pinching the bridge of my nose, the words becoming stuck in my throat. The shock on Viv’s face as blood poured from her chest was burned into my mind, and I swallowed back the bile rising in my throat.
“What about Ambrose?”
“The motherfucker is still alive. He even—”
My words cut off, my breath whooshing out all at once.
Falling forward, I landed on my knees, my hand clenching my chest as my lungs seized.
I cried out, each breath sharp and ragged, as pain unlike anything I’d ever known tore through my body.
I couldn’t move, couldn’t think except for one thing. “Sybil,” I croaked, choking on air.
Orin rushed to my side, shouting out commands. Bryony fell to her knees, her hands searching for any wounds that she could have missed. I repeated Sybil’s name, unable to say anything else.
Understanding finally hit when Ezra cursed. “It’s the mating bond,” Ezra rushed out. “Ambrose is doing something to her.”
I tried to stand, but my knees buckled, sending me falling back to the floor. Ezra caught me before I could hit the ground and carefully sat me down.
“I can transfer to the palace,” he said, his words rushing out all at once. “If he is hurting her, he will probably do it in the dungeons, away from anyone in the palace. I can go.”
I nodded, my fist gripping his shirt tight. “Help her.”
Samian
As soon as the rebels staged their attack, all hell broke loose. I ran out to the arena, finding Daelan by the broken stage, surveying the aftereffects. Dead bodies littered the area, a mix of prisoners, rebels, and palace guards. I ran across the sand to Daelan, careful not to disturb the dead.
“Where is she?” I asked breathlessly. “Where’s Sybil?”
Daelan let out a harsh breath, cursing. “Ambrose had her taken to the dungeons. He noticed her speaking with Vivi and realized that she may know something about the rebellion and their plans.” Daelan faced me, his stern gaze boring into me.
“Where the fuck were you? I thought the plan was for you to be here to help us—to distract the guards?”
Swallowing, my hands curled into tight fists. “It changed this morning. Kieran had me split from the group so I could help Hale get his brother and some servants out.”
“And?”
I shook my head. “A couple of guards caught Hale. I was able to get most of them out before we were caught, but Hale and another servant were found closing the door to the hidden passageways. They killed the servant and took Hale before I could return for them.”
“Fuck,” Daelan shouted, causing a few guards to look our way.
“We need to get Sybil out of the dungeon. He’s going to command her to tell him what she knows. We need to get there to stop it from happening. If we don’t, either he will kill her or the bargain will.”
Not wasting any time, Daelan and I rushed through the palace to the entrance to the dungeon, only stopping when we found Arianna and some guards standing in front of the door.
I silently cursed, stumbling back to hide from view before they could spot us.
I scanned the room for something to distract them, something that would let us slip past unnoticed, when movement across the hall caught my attention.
A head appeared from thin air, followed by fingers waggling in our direction, though the rest of his body remained unseen.
“I thought you said you got Evander out of the palace?” Daelan muttered, his face turning pale at the sight.
“I did,” I breathed, a sickening shock washing over me. “He must have hidden himself and followed me back.”
We watched as Evander’s head and fingers vanished from sight, blinking in sickening horror when one guard’s head twisted at an unnatural angle, his neck snapping.
The remaining guards swore, heads whipping around just as another body dropped, a dagger lodged deep in his temple.
Arianna cursed before she transferred away from the door, escaping from Evander's attack.
“Aren’t you glad I came back?” A voice whispered beside us, making Daelan jump and mutter a string of profanities viciously.
“You were supposed to go with the other servants,” I said, reprimanding Evander.
“I saw the guards catch my brother,” Evander frowned. “I will not leave him behind. I’m sure you’ll figure out another way to get us out. Now, let’s go before more guards come for us.”
Holding back my annoyance, I nodded, not wanting to waste any more time.
I quietly followed behind him, entering the dungeon.
We wandered down the endless halls, searching for any hints of Hale and Sybil until we came up to Cassia’s cell.
Ambrose’s voice echoed down the hall, and I grabbed Evander, pulling us into a dark, open cell.
“Do you know how to shield your emotions?” I whispered. Evander nodded, and I let him go. “Keep quiet and keep up your shield, no matter what you hear. Daelan, avoid using your magic unless you must. We don’t want Ambrose to know we are here.”
We listened anxiously as Ambrose spiraled into madness.
I held Evander down, covering his mouth, when Ambrose turned that fury on Hale—leaving Sybil to die from the bargain’s magical backlash.
When Ambrose was finally gone, I took a step to leave the cell when Sybil’s screaming started, the sound so piercing and gut-wrenching that I lunged forward.
As I left the cell, my knees buckled, pain slicing through me as if someone had plunged a knife into my heart.
Daelan cursed, coming to my side as pure agony clutched my chest tight, slowly ripping it apart.
Soren
Cassia pushed against my back, shouting my name, for me to help the female in the cell across from me—Sybil, as Zarina called her.
But the excitement blooming within me kept me from moving.
I wanted to see more, to feel more of this power.
I wanted to see her swallowed up by the darkness curling up her legs, to see what she would become if it entirely devoured her whole.
I felt the smile widening across my face, my eyes still wide with wonder.
My breathing became heavy, almost labored, at the breathtaking sight.
A laugh escaped my lips, only to be cut off when my head was wrenched to the side, forcing me to bend down.
Letting out a murderous snarl, my gaze snapped to where Cassia stood, her hands wrapped tightly around my horns.
“Stop standing there like a brute and help her,” Cassia yelled, her face tight with fear. “You need to stop her; it’s not time yet.”
I looked back at Sybil, slapping away Cassia’s hands, my lips thinning. I wanted to see more of her power, to witness what she would become once it fully claimed her—but Cassia shoved me hard toward the bar, screaming my name.
I growled and walked through the bars, but hesitated when pained groans from the dingy hallway caught my attention.
I turned my head, finding the soul-meander collapsed on the ground, writhing as his hand clutched at his chest. Two males were beside him, their eyes wide and full of terror as they beheld me.
My eyes dipped back down to the soul-meander.
I sniffed the air, but I could only sense the tang of blood coming from Sybil’s cell, from the body slumped on the floor, and from Sybil herself.
My hand instinctively came up to my chest, the echo of agony growing stronger.
If he were in this much pain, it must be because of Sybil.
He must be her mate as well, which would explain why Cassia told me to find him when I first came.
Snarling, I looked back at Sybil. Who was this female—to bear Nemain’s power, to claim more than one mate? Cassia screamed my name, but I answered with a growl, wrenching the iron bars apart and storming into the cell.
As soon as I stepped past the bars, a pulse of magic slammed me back against the iron.
Waves of magic cracked the walls, sending small stones and debris crashing to the floor.
Grunting, I pushed myself off the bars, forcing my way toward Sybil.
Her screams pierced my ears, the sound growing more chilling and grotesque.
The ache in my chest swelled, but I forced myself to breathe through it as I finally stood before her.
I lifted my hand, pressing a finger against her forehead. “Sleep,” I murmured.
Her magic winked out, her eyes closing. Her body fell toward the floor, but I caught her before she landed. I laid her gently on the ground, my hands feeling as if they burned against her skin, and I swiftly pulled them back. Grimacing, I stared down at the female as the ache lessened in my chest.
I spun around, ready to leave the cell, when the body slumped on the floor moved. A wet breath rasped, whispering gravelly words in my direction. I stood above the male, and my lips dipped into a scowl.
“Will you save him?” Cassia asked calmly, though her face was pallid.
My gaze slid to hers, and my nose curled in disgust. “Should I? What would you be willing to give if I do?”
Cassia huffed, her lips thinning. “What would the God of Chaos want? An answer to a question or a treasure of gold, or maybe a crystal?”
My eyes narrowed on her, a wicked smirk curling my lips. “Why not both? I did save her at your request.”
“Fine,” Cassia said, her voice flat. “I will give you both.”
My smile sharpened, and I crouched down, sealing the wounds on his body.
I couldn’t fully heal him, and with his pulse this weak, he would probably die.
However, Cassia knew this, so it didn’t matter to me.
Once his wounds were sealed, I stepped out of the cell, finding the soul-meander watching me closely, terrified of my presence.
“You’re her mate?” I asked, though I already knew the answer.
When he nodded, I flashed him a vicious smile.
“I guess I’ll be seeing you soon, then.” The soul-meander’s face turned sickly pale, his chest unnaturally still, as though he’d forgotten how to breathe.
I dismissed the male and turned back to Cassia, my grin hardening into a glare as shadows curled around me, dragging me back to Dubnos.