Chapter 57 Korithax
Korithax
The room is still ringing with the echoes of the applause that has only just begun to die down.
I keep Daisy’s hand in mine, her touch steadying the storm behind my ribs.
We’ve done it. Crowned in the sight of the realms, bound in blood, in magic, and in soul.
She’s utterly radiant beside me; my queen, my mate.
She pulls me into a soft kiss, her plush lips melting away the remaining sounds of the room as I pull her in closer, deepening the embrace with desperate need for her.
Gods, I’ll never tire of tasting her mouth on mine.
A sickening quake splits through the floor just before the large doors burst wide.
A cold silence swallows the room before the crowd erupts into screams. I stand instantly, pulling Daisy behind me on instinct, my wings bursting free and flexing wide as the stench of divine energy slams into me like a wall.
Six figures emerge from the white fog curling through the open doorway.
Seraphiel steps in first. Her silver armour blinding, and her white eyes gleam like polished bone. “What?” She drawls, like bile on her tongue. “No invite for us?”
Behind her, the rest of the Divine Six form in their usual fucking crescent—Calrix with his burning sword drawn already, Mal’Thariel, unmoving, glass-flesh gleaming under the firelight, Amarithe’s beauty is venom, her golden aura humming like a curse, Elaron smiling faintly, his lips barely curled in that infuriating way of his, like he knows something we don’t.
And Velentha—hood up, silent—her face entirely unreadable.
Daisy doesn’t move. She stands frozen, small behind me with her fingers locked firmly in mine as she begins to tremble. I squeeze her hand in reassurance, but don’t remove my eyes from the assholes in front of me.
“Your timing is fucking shit, Seraphiel,” I growl.
“Watch your mouth, Child of Ruin,” Calrix snarls.
Seraphiel’s gaze flicks to something behind me. “Oh. You brought some little toys,” she smirks.
I glance behind me quickly, noticing Ezra and Talia have moved behind us, just a step back. Ezra shields Talia instinctively, but they both shake in terror. Talia’s usual tanned complexion looks almost pale as the horror sweeps through her.
“Leave them out of this,” I snarl. “This is between us—”
“We warned you not to return, little mortal,” Seraphiel interrupts, her eyes locking on Daisy.
I feel her go rigid beside me. Seraphiel takes a lazy step forward, her armour shimmering. “Yet here you are. You defied us. So… let’s choose your punishment, shall we?”
Her smile is almost vicious as she raises her hand to point a sharp tipped finger. Then she begins and all the warmth drains from my body. “Eenie…”
“No,” I say, voice in low growl. “Don’t you fucking dare—”
“Meenie…”
Ezra steps forward. “No. Take me. Don’t touch her—”
“Minie…”
Talia clutches Daisy’s hand and whispers something I don’t catch as I train my focus on Seraphiel.
“Mo.” Seraphiel’s grin widens, her finger landing on Talia. “Catch a mortal by the toe… if it screams…”
“Stop.” I step forward.
“We won’t let it go.”
“Don’t,” Daisy chokes out.
“Eenie. Meenie. Minie—”
“No,” I snarl.
“—Mo.”
She points back at Talia, a vile, high-pitched laugh breaking from her.
Talia blinks, going stiff with fear. Seraphiel nods once, and Calrix’s dagger flies before I can blink.
It plunges straight into Talia’s chest, landing with a crunch of bone and a wet, sucking sound.
She stumbles, gasping as she looks down at the dagger protruding from her flesh, then collapses into Daisy’s arms. Blood pours fast, a river of red soaking the throne room floor as Calrix’s laughter booms through the room.
“No. NO!” Daisy’s scream tears through the air as she clutches Talia’s body. “Talia, no. Please, no… please stay with me...”
But there’s nothing left to save. Her eyes are already dimmed, her body sagging and lifeless. I see red, everything in me screaming for vengeance. But I have my Queen breaking beside me, and I have Ezra—
“Aran,” I bark.
Aran doesn’t hesitate for even a moment.
He moves forward quickly and grabs Ezra, who’s stands frozen in horror, staring at his lifeless friend.
Aran pulls him backwards as a portal rips open behind them, just as Talia’s body hits the floor.
Ezra shouts Daisy’s name, but it’s too late.
Aran shoves him through the portal with an apologetic look, sealing it shut before Ezra has chance to dive back through.
I offer a small nod to Aran in thanks. We could’ve run, we could’ve gone with them. But the Divine Six would chase us down, and bringing their power down on the mortal realm would be utter devastation. At least one of Daisy’s friends is safe.
Daisy lowers to the floor, cradling Talia’s corpse like a child, her entire body trembling as her gown pools around her, soaked in blood.
Seraphiel tilts her head mockingly. “Such fragile little things,” she tuts.
My voice breaks as I stand over Daisy. “Your first mistake was coming here,” I say, death in my tone. “Your second was murdering my wife’s best friend. I won’t let you make a third mistake, you fucking cunt.”
Seraphiel raises a brow in a way a mother would scorn her child. “Language.”
I bare my teeth, moving slightly to block Daisy. I can’t move to her, I can’t risk turning my back to them. I quickly glance around the room, the sight of the small children sobbing in their mother’s arms making my wings twitch, itching for violence.
“Let my people leave,” I say, voice like steel. “This is between us. Not them.”
Seraphiel, to my surprise, nods once. With eerie calm, the Divine Six turn to the crowd, and Amarithe lifts a hand, murmuring a spell.
The realms’ leaders stay put, refusing to move.
Even Aran stands his ground. Everyone else vanishes or is ushered out by divine pressure, the door sealing shut behind them.
I use those few precious seconds to move to Daisy’s side. She’s still kneeling, hands trembling on Talia’s blood-drenched chest. I kneel beside her, gently reaching down to lift the girl’s broken body, to take her away from this place with some shred of respect.
“No need,” Elaron says calmly.
A pulse of light and Talia’s corpse evaporates, gone in a flash. Daisy’s scream is soul-rending.
“I didn’t even get to say goodbye,” she whispers, her voice shaking. “You tore everything away from me once… and now you’re doing it again.”
She stands slowly, her legs unsteady as she takes a single step in front of me.
Her crown ignites, white flame bursting from her head like a star exploding in the cosmos.
The Divine Six simultaneously freeze, taking in the sight of her.
Velentha’s the first to move, falling to one knee with her head bowed.
“The Queen born of ash has risen. Reborn as the sun,” she whispers. “And she has come to burn us all.”
Seraphiel’s mouth opens and closes several times like a fucking fish out of water. “No,” she mutters. “That does not belong to you.”
“Why are you wearing that crown?” Amarithe snarls, her lip curling in disgust.
“That does not belong to you, mortal,” Mal’Thariel growls, his otherworldly voice sending a shiver skittering down my spine.
“I believe,” Elyistria says calmly, stepping to Daisy’s side, “you’ll find it does.” The two stand together, hand in hand. Sisters, light and rebirth, magic and fire.
“You let her wear Dasmyrin’s crown?” Seraphiel spits. “You stand by this mortal and call her your equal? You truly are a fucking idiot, Elyistria.”
Elyistria’s expression doesn’t waver, even when Seraphiel speaks Dasmyrin’s name with such hatred it makes my skin prickle. She looks at Daisy, giving her a nod of reassurance. Daisy raises her chin, her spine straightening, and I can’t help but smile at my fierce little flower.
“I am not mortal anymore,” she says, her voice strong and steady despite the chaos surrounding her. “And I remember what you did to me. Especially you.” She raises her hand, pointing a finger at Elaron, venom lacing her tone.
“You cast the soul-erasing spell. But you forgot something, didn’t you?” She moves from between Elyistria and me, stepping closer, her fury radiating from her. “I created you.”
The room goes so silent I can hear every heartbeat within it; each beat like a war drum, warning of the storm about to break loose.
“You could never truly defeat me,” Daisy says, voice like fire. “It was only a matter of time before I returned.”
She raises her chin, staring each of the Six down as she squares her shoulders. Her crown blazes on her head like an ancient warning.
Seraphiel’s shriek pierces the air. “NO! She’s just a weak, pathetic mortal. She is not her!”
Daisy doesn’t blink, doesn’t falter. And she sure as shit doesn’t stutter as she stares down the biggest bitch in the celestial fuckery known as the Divine Six.
“You led the charge to destroy me, Seraphiel. I will not let you succeed a second time. This is my kingdom. This is my universe. And you need to remember, I created you—not the other way around.”
Seraphiel staggers back like she’s been struck, clutching where her heart could be—if the cold bitch had one. Calrix roars and hurls another blade straight at Daisy’s chest.
This time, I don’t allow myself to think; I just react. Hellfire surges from my hand, catching the blade mid-air and turning it to ash.
“And that,” I say in a calm, deadly voice, “was your third fucking mistake.”
I reach my arm up over my shoulder, drawing my sword from the sheath at my back. I move to Daisy’s side with Aran, holding the sword in my right hand, the obsidian blade hissing to life as pure black flame licks down its edge.
Sariya moves to Daisy’s other side. “This does not have to end in violence. I know what happens if war breaks out, and nobody fares well from that choice.”