Chapter 24 Callum #2
“If this all goes according to plan, you would really give your blessing to their union? This is a man who’s taken souls from evil men. This is a man who’s served the evil forces of this world for hundreds of years. This is the man who’s responsible for whatever Lily endures—”
“I don’t need to be reminded of his atrocities.”
“Then there’s no way you could grant your blessing.”
“I don’t think my blessing matters,” Talon said quietly.
“I know Lily. She would never marry someone her father despised.”
Talon was quiet for a long time.
I heard a glass hit a wooden surface, so I assumed Viper took a drink and set down the glass.
“I don’t despise him.”
A heavy silence followed Talon’s words, a silence that I could feel through the wall.
“He’s not my first choice for my daughter, but…” Talon fell quiet again for a while. “But if I believe that Lily is qualified to rule the Southern Isles, then she’s also qualified to make decisions about her own life. If he’s the man she wants, then so be it.”
Now Viper was the one who was quiet.
“She served, protected, and led the Southern Isles during my indisposition. She’s a grown woman who’s wise beyond her years.
She’s earned my respect and my pride. She’s more than I ever could have hoped for in a daughter.
Because of that, I will respect whatever she decides.
I should have realized it before she took Callum’s place… and I’ll always regret that.”
A heavy silence fell in the room, and neither of the men said anything for a long time.
I wasn’t sure if I should just go back to my room and pretend I hadn’t heard this, but I wanted Talon to know that Lily had protection beyond the armor she wore. I waited several minutes before I rounded the corner and knocked on the doorframe.
Viper sat in one of the armchairs, the first time I’d seen him without his heavy armor. He was in casual attire, but his muscles still stressed the fabric of his clothes. He was a strong man frozen in the prime of his life.
Talon continued to wear the same dead expression, like he was utterly lifeless in his despair.
Viper took a drink as he looked at me, acknowledging me in silent hostility.
“Lily still has my strength—the strength of a god.”
Talon’s dead expression brightened with life. “Why do you assume this?”
“Because the occult is comprised of witches, women who worship power that they can feel. If they believe Lily to be a goddess, it’s because they can feel her power, which means she still has the gift I gave to her. It remained with her from life to death, from the mortal world to the underworld.”
Talon moved to the edge of his seat as he straightened. “You’re certain of this?”
“As certain as I can be. It’s the only possibility that makes sense. And that means there are two gods in the underworld.”
“Why would she still have the power after death?” Viper asked.
“I don’t know,” I answered. “Perhaps because she’s fused with a dragon. They’re possessive over those they love, their treasure, their scales… Perhaps Zehemoth’s power naturally bonded the ability to her without even realizing it.”
“Why did the power stay with her when you were stripped of your title?” Talon asked. “Because you lost the ability to command the dead, but not your strength as a god.”
“I can’t explain that either. It must have something to do with her, specifically. Perhaps the power of her bloodline. It stuck to her like a plate of armor and never came free. Somehow, the Covenant didn’t notice when they chose Leviathan as the new god. They replicated the power while unaware.”
“So what does that mean?” Viper asked.
“It means that she’s Leviathan’s equal,” I said proudly.
“Which means she’s as strong and fast as he is.
That she has the ability to lead others in the underworld if she chooses.
It means that the occult will carry out her orders without question.
It means she has power and protection. And I think it means she’ll be okay until I can get to her. ”
I slept well that night, knowing Lily would be okay until I could make it there. That she still wore the invisible armor I’d gifted to her, marking her as an equal to a god and superior to all the other monsters that occupied the underworld.
The next morning, we departed Viper’s kingdom.
We only had two dragons, so there had to be two riders on one dragon, and Viper quickly chose to ride with Talon…for obvious reasons.
Because he marked me as an enemy even though I considered him an ally.
It was a three-day journey on the way back because of the wind, and we had to camp for one night before we reached the dead island. We agreed that we all needed to be rested before we made this attempt because anything could happen.
No one kept guard that night. We all slept in the wildlands without a fire, everyone needing a full night of rest before the final step of our journey.
The next morning, we ate what the dragons caught for us, and Viper didn’t ingest anything because he’d fed right before we left.
Then we departed once more, arriving at the edge of the shore of the dead island, the dragons splashing in the water when they landed.
We all dismounted, the dead island covered in a thick fog that masked the details of the trees and everything farther inland. There was an energy that I could feel as a mortal, an energy I hadn’t felt since I’d walked into that dead forest four hundred years ago.
Viper had never been there before, but he wore the same intense but indifferent expression, like he wasn’t the least bit affected by the darkness that reached every corner. “Lead the way.”
The three of us traveled to the center of the small island, a dot out in the middle of the sea, only accessible to expert sailors who knew exactly where to look.
Most of my visitors came from the other doorways around the world, three of them altogether.
And people always seemed to know where to find me, the legends of the demon passed down from generation to generation.
We stopped when the clearing came into view. I turned to look at Viper. “Ready?”
He stared at me with that scathing expression he wore every time he looked at me. “You’re the one who needs to be ready. So, are you?”
“Yes—”
“Because if you don’t bring her back, I’ll kill you before Talon gets the opportunity.
” He seemed even more wounded by the loss than either of us was, but he was still lost in the throes of his rage.
He behaved the way Talon had for the first days after he’d found Lily’s body in the courtyard.
Lashed out at me just the same way, even though this wasn’t my choice.
“I return with her, or I stay with her. Talon knows what to do if the latter comes to pass.”
“But the latter better not come to pass—”
“Stop acting like you’re the only man here who loves Lily Rothschild.”
He finally shut his mouth.
“We’re all devastated and broken and hollow. It’s not just you. Stop eviscerating me and put that energy toward Lily’s rescue. When she’s back safe and sound, you can rip into me all you want.”
His eyes showed their viciousness as they stared, but his words didn’t match his rage. “We have a deal.”
Talon remained behind in the tree line, while the two of us went forward. Viper stayed outside the ring in his armor and cape, and he watched me circle around the edge to the rear of the enormous skull carved by a hundred slaves. When I was in place, I gave a nod in his direction.
His eyes shifted forward, and he crossed the line of torches, the fires coming to life in the morning light.
He didn’t look in my direction again as he walked farther, kicking aside a femur as it poked out of the sand.
He surveyed the area before he looked ahead again. Then his eyes stopped in place.
Because Leviathan appeared.
In the uniform of the king of the dead and the armor of a god, he stepped forward as he surveyed Viper. “This is the first time an immortal has sought my audience. Tell me, what more does your heart desire?”
Viper retained his composure as he faced off with a god, a demon that could shape-shift with only his intention.
When a breeze moved across the island, it shifted his cape around him.
“You’ve taken the woman I love—and I want her back.
” He said it with so much conviction that it didn’t seem like an act to distract Leviathan but a genuine plea.
Leviathan took a step forward, taking the bait that Viper dangled in front of him.
That was when I made my move, stepping over the line of torches against the side of the rock. I inched around, careful not to let my boots disturb the sand audibly or leave a distinct trail behind me.
I moved to the front of the entrance and entered the mouth of the skull before I was plunged into the darkness of the interior. It took my eyes a moment to adjust as I moved farther inside the skull, leaving the daylight behind and inching closer to the eternal darkness.
The door came into view, completely comprised of the bones of those who had traded their soul for a temporary gift. The door handle was the tip of a femur, and I grabbed it before I gently turned it and felt the door come free.
The second I opened it, I recognized the dank and stale smell of my former home. The constant humidity that came from nowhere, the darkness so rich that even torchlight could barely penetrate it.
Unsure of how much time I had before Leviathan noticed, I stepped through and closed the door behind me.