Chapter 27 #2
Niko opens his mouth and aims for my face.
I block him with a punch to the side of his head, and he snaps at my hand.
While I’m distracted by his teeth, his paw lands in the center of my chest. My feet fly out from under me, and my back slams to the ground.
He places his huge paw on my chest, holding me down.
His other leg pins my hand with my sword above my head.
I yank his fur, scratch, and punch. But my one-handed efforts are laughable.
I twist my head to the side, watching Greer and Ashavee fight.
They’re relentless in their attack. Greer doesn’t let up, taking every free swipe she can at the wolf.
My shifter friend isn’t faring quite as well.
Blood oozes from a wound at her side, but she forges on, clawing and biting.
Their opponents are panting, and their movements are slow.
It won’t be long before my friends take them down, but it won’t be in time to save me.
I’m completely dependent on myself, so I let go of all my training and let my fury loose. I thrash, swinging my arm and kicking. Lifting my head, I bare my teeth and snap my jaw. I can act like a rabid animal, too.
My knee jerks up and makes contact with the apex of Niko’s legs.
He roars in pain and releases my other hand.
I fumble for my sword, but don’t grab it in time.
He pins both my arms to my side, making it impossible to move.
I curl my fingers, grabbing for anything I can.
Something hard bounces off my palm, and a shot of energy zips through me.
I buck my hips, trying to jar him away from me.
The same object falls into my hand again.
This time I clench my fist around it. The pulse of energy continues to flow through me, but it’s not enough for me to gain the upper hand.
I tug and tug at the object, realizing it is inside something and stuck.
Inching my fingers up, I discover I’m pulling on a pocket.
The side of Niko’s shredded pants that holds the Imperium.
I need it. I’ve never wanted to feel something in the palm of my hand as much as I want that stone.
I pull on the opening of the pocket, ripping the fabric.
The Imperium breaks free and falls to the ground.
All I need to do is get a hold of it and somehow throw it to Kyron. He could end this madness.
I continue to flail underneath Niko, my fingers searching for the stone.
He growls and slaps his paw against the side of my face, dragging one claw down my cheek.
I scream as my skin splits in two, burning pain searing through me.
He opens his mouth, saliva dripping onto my chest, and leans down.
This is the end—the part where he sinks his teeth into my neck and rips out my throat.
I squeeze my eyes closed and move my hand faster.
My fingertip grazes something smooth. I reach further, stretching the tendons in my arm until a shooting pain races down my forearm to my hand.
Flicking the stone with my middle finger, I rock it toward me.
Hot breath blows over my face and teeth prick each side of my neck.
I clench the Imperium. The overwhelming sensation to pull comes over me. I yank at the power.
In a blink of an eye, Niko is no longer a bear but a man. His naked body pressing down on me. I jab my knee up again, hitting the vulnerable flesh between his legs. This time he rolls off me, his hands cradling his smashed testicles. I snatch my sword from the ground and scramble to my feet.
I don’t make it upright. Niko grabs my hair and pulls me down again.
“What did you do to me, you fucking bitch?” he wails, wrapping his meaty fingers around my throat and squeezing.
It’s not his injured testicles he mourns for; it’s much worse.
The power of the Imperium stripped him of his gift to shift.
He is just as helpless as my people that he tortured in the Allaji fields.
“I made sure you would feel worse pain than you inflicted on me before you died,” I croak and shove my blade up.
It pierces through the front of his neck and exits at the base of his skull.
I shove him away with my boot and tug my sword out of him.
With wide frightened eyes, he chokes on his blood, and I leave him to die.
Getting to my feet, I sheath my sword and hold the Imperium in the center of my hand.
Grasping that same thread of power I felt before, I pull.
The two Allaji fighting with Greer and Ashavee gradually shift back to their human forms. Neither of them makes a full transition before Greer runs a dagger through the gorilla’s heart, and Ashavee strikes at the wolf’s throat.
Greer wipes her blade on the thigh of her trousers and raises a brow at me. “Should have known you wouldn’t need a king to save you.”
I turn to the alcove as Kyron and Terro pull the last restraint from Ulric’s wrists.
The two collapse against opposite walls, but Ulric staggers to his feet.
He grabs a blanket from the ground and stalks toward Ashavee.
The jaguar remains frozen at Greer’s side as Ulric wipes the blood from her mouth.
He wraps the blanket around her and gently says, “Shift. Let me clean up your wound.”
My jaw drops when she obeys, shedding the black fur for smooth brown skin. Ulric lifts her in his arms and presses his lips to her forehead. She doesn’t push him away or demand he put her down. Her head falls to his shoulder and her body goes limp in his hold.
“So beautifully fierce and wild,” he says, carrying her to the dying fire and setting her on his lap. He lifts a canteen to her lips, watching intently as she drinks.
I glance at Greer, who curls her lip and shrugs a shoulder. She claps her hand on my back before wrapping her arm around me and guiding me into the alcove. I leave her at the fire and crouch in front of Kyron.
“You’re pissed,” I say.
He lifts a dark eyebrow. “I’m pissed.”
I sweep his hair back from his eyes and examine his face. He’s mad, but it’s only a fraction of the emotions written on his features. “I won’t say I’m sorry,” I say.
He scoffs. “I don’t expect you to. You’ve never been one to apologize for following your heart, no matter how much it terrifies those who love you.”
I smile at that. He falls into that category of people, and I’m grateful every day that he does.
Opening my hand, I show him the Imperium. “It was worth it. I don’t understand why it worked for me.”
“I do,” he says, lifting the stone from my palm.
He twists and turns it, mesmerized with how uniquely beautiful it is.
“It’s always been you or nothing. There is no heir to the crown without you, no restored Pliris.
I’ve told you from the start that you are my queen.
It’s a truth that transcends the Statera and the bond it created between us.
” He lifts his gaze to mine. “I love you Raelle Mansi, and nothing will ever change that.”
I slide my fingers behind his neck and pull him to me until our lips brush.
“I love you, Kyron,” I breathlessly say, and kiss him.
My eyes flutter closed, and I savor the soft give of his mouth.
It’s a balm to my battered body, making every sting and ache surrender to need.
Our kiss is slow and lingering. The kind of exchange where you breathe each other in and drown in the sensation.
I want to exist in the exact same space as him, for his taste to always be on my tongue and his voice forever in my ear.
I want to give and give and give and for him to take it all.
He presses his hands to my cheeks and holds me in place as he peppers my face with kisses before pulling away.
He plucks the Imperium from where he discarded it on his lap and pulls the thin leather tie from my hair. I watch in confusion as he wraps the cord around the stone, fashioning it into a necklace. He lifts it and wraps it around my neck.
I open my mouth to protest, but he speaks up first, saying, “We fight what’s ahead together, but this power is yours to control.
It’s safe with you. I don’t trust myself not to use it to entirely wipe out the Allaji.
One day you can teach me, but not now. Not when I want them all dead for idly standing by while Zekel harmed you. ”
I nod before lowering my head so he can tie the necklace in place.
The stone hangs heavy against my chest. Not just the physical weight of it, but the power it holds.
The ability that comes with this Divine Gift is unlike any other.
I don’t fear it, but I respect it. And I will treat it with the utmost care.
I stand and hold my hand out to Kyron. When his fingers wrap around mine, I say, “Let’s go stop a war.”