Chapter 35
Icast a spell to transport the bag we prepared to the Underworld, grateful that inanimate objects can be moved in this way. I hand Elly her toiletries, and she heads to the bathroom while I pull out clean clothes for both of us, following closely behind.
The bathroom is sleek and modern, even more impressive than the room itself.
Elly fumbles with the buttons for the multiple showerheads, yelping as one finally activates and drenches her.
Again. Watching her back, I see the moment she stops caring, letting the tension in her shoulders melt away.
She begins to strip in the shower, tossing her clothes behind her, where they hit the tile with a wet plop.
“Are you going to keep staring?” she asks, grinning over her shoulder.
I set the clean clothes aside, undress, and join her. Elly reaches for the soap, but I snatch it from her hands. She shoots me a look, but her irritation fades as I begin lathering her up. A soft hum escapes her lips as she leans back into my touch, clearly enjoying every moment.
Next, I wash her hair, massaging her scalp, and any remaining tension dissolves. She claims she prefers it when I’m an asshole, but it’s clear she enjoys this tender side of me, too. Perhaps I should embrace being gentle every now and then.
Yblis is waiting for us on one of the sofas in the main room, turning to face us when we enter.
“You always let yourself into your guests’ rooms uninvited?” I ask, annoyance clear in my voice.
“This is my home,” Yblis replies flatly, as if that makes it acceptable. He rises from the sofa, straightening his jacket. “Nahesa awaits you in the throne room.” He moves to leave, not wasting any more time on pleasantries.
“Wait,” I say, and he turns back. “You trust us alone?” I know I didn’t voice this concern earlier, but he must realize that I might try to do to her what I want to do to her son.
I don’t care that her actions ultimately led me to Elly; I would still revel in pulling out her spine and putting it on display.
He glances at Elly. “I assumed she would be joining you.”
“She is, but still.”
Yblis shrugs. “I really don’t care. Not anymore. If she gets hurt, I won’t lose any sleep over it. I’ve been avoiding her for centuries, and I plan to keep doing just that.” He leaves us with those words, not looking back as he steps out.
I let out a sigh and turn to Elly. She silently meets my gaze, and I’m uncertain how to interpret the expression on her face. “You okay, love?”
Elly takes a deep breath and nods. “I am,” she says, but her smile doesn’t reach her eyes.
She doesn’t know the truth of what happened, and I should tell her, but my heart aches too much to do so.
She knows I won’t betray her, but I can’t stop her from feeling insecure.
It’s as if the prospect of seeing Nahesa siphons the life out of her.
I hate seeing her like this. It twists my stomach in knots, hurting me more than I ever thought possible.
“Hey.” I cup Elly’s face in my hands, seeing her insecurity reflected in her eyes. “You have nothing to worry about.”
She sighs, her gaze distant as she mumbles, “If you say so.”
The emptiness in her words feels like a knife piercing my heart.
“Hey,” I repeat, my tone firmer this time.
I hold her chin in a tight grip. “I’m serious.
It doesn’t matter who she is or what happened between us once.
You’re my wife, and I would never disrespect you like that.
” I mean it, and I need her to know that she always comes first.
She remains silent, and I find myself growling at her, my voice low and dangerous. It makes her blue and green eyes lock onto my golden ones, her pupils dilating. “I need you to understand that. I might be many terrible things, but I’m not an adulterer.”
Elly bites her bottom lip, then hesitantly asks, “Nahesa?”
“There’s more than one side to a story, love.” I grit my teeth, swallowing the lump of emotions I’ve been refusing to acknowledge since everything with Nahesa transpired. Emotions that are too fresh and raw after my confession to Yblis. I don’t know if I can repeat that just yet. “Please trust me.”
A multitude of questions flickers in her beautiful eyes for a moment before she gives me a hesitant nod.
“I’ll make a blood vow if you want me to.”
Elly’s heartbeat quickens at this, the seriousness of a blood vow weighing heavily on her. “No,” she replies softly, her blush deepening as she briefly looks away. “I believe you.”
When she looks back up, there’s something new in those mismatched eyes of hers. “I trust you.”
Three simple words, and my heart nearly bursts from my chest. For her to trust me after everything I’ve put her through and will continue to put her through…
My grip on her chin tightens as I tilt her head up and kiss her deeply, pouring all my emotions into the kiss—feelings I don’t know how else to express.
She owns every single part of me, and she doesn’t even know it.
A shuddering breath escapes me. I think I’m falling—
“Elly.” I rest my forehead against hers, knowing I should tell her the truth about what happened. I will regret it for the rest of my life if I put it off any longer. I don’t want to risk losing her trust, which is a fragile thing at best.
She can tell something’s wrong, her hands coming up to hold mine, still resting on her chin. Her voice is soft, trembling when she whispers, “Mal?”
I take a deep breath that does nothing to help my fear and insecurity, and I tell her what I told my brother—about what happened between Nahesa and me, what she did to me, how she set me up, and how Yblis punished me for something that wasn’t my fault—not really.
Everything that happened then and afterward, and how it changed me in the worst possible way. It’s why I tend to be obsessive, possessive, and crave control. But I’ve come to realize that it’s also why she touches me so deeply, why I’m so fiercely protective of the beautiful woman in my arms.
Elly listens, her arms wrapping around my waist, holding me close. She cries while I continue talking, the first tears she’s spilled since I took her in the shower in our prison—tears she has kept locked away ever since.
And I hold her even closer when I feel my own tears break free.
I’m no longer falling. I’ve already fallen, and she has caught me.
Elly sucks in an audible breath when we enter the throne room and see Nahesa standing in front of the fire, my confession still too fresh between us.
The woman’s presence is overwhelming—a dark silhouette against the thrashing flames, sucking life out of the air by just standing there.
The only sound in the room comes from the roaring fire and the crackling wood that suffers its wrath.
I place my hand on Elly’s back, sending a thread of magic through our touch to ease her mind—at least a little.
Nahesa turns to face us as we approach. Her long, bright red hair cascades in waves down her back, and her piercing mint-green eyes scrutinize us unapologetically.
“Nahesa,” I say when we stop in front of the dais, my voice cold and unwavering as I try to conceal how much I despise her, how badly I want to rip her to pieces for what she did to me, for dragging me into the biggest mess of my life.
“Malakai.” Her emotionless gaze flicks to Elly, and I feel her tense beside me. “Never thought I’d live to see the day you got yourself a wife. And a human one at that.”
Elly’s magic stirs, but she wisely keeps it in check.
Nahesa clicks her tongue and looks back at me. Even through her cool and collected demeanor, I can tell she’s annoyed at us for making her wait. “What do you want?” she asks, crossing her arms and inspecting her nails, clearly bored.
“We need to find your son.”
“My son?” Nahesa raises an eyebrow.
“Nagamaru,” Elly clarifies, and Nahesa’s cool gaze shifts back to her.
“Let me guess,” Nahesa says, her voice harsh, “the little shit finally crossed the line?”
Her words catch us off guard. My eyes widen, and Elly visibly flinches.
“Wh-what?” Elly stammers.
Nahesa descends the dais and steps directly in front of me, bringing with her the smell of ash that nearly overpowers my delicate scent of blossoms—something I share with my child, and I should have noticed.
“They’ve been obsessed with you. Knowing Nagamaru and their obsessions, they probably took it too far. Again,” Nahesa explains, looking Elly up and down.
“Again?” I question, irritation creeping into my tone. “You mean this is a recurring thing?”
She shrugs, unfazed. “They tend to get quite obsessive over things from time to time. I knew they had their eye on someone new, but I didn’t know it was your lovely little wife.” Nahesa reaches out, stroking Elly’s hair. Thankfully, Elly doesn’t react, but I feel her freeze completely.
“As my firstborn, I might have spoiled them a tad too much.” The way she says it makes it seem as if this is a valid excuse for Nagamaru’s behavior. “Though I have to admit, they have it pretty bad this time around.”
The way Nahesa talks about Nagamaru and how she looks at Elly—like my wife is nothing but a nuisance—makes my blood boil more than her mere presence already does. I bite back my anger, knowing that it will do us no good.
“Honestly, I don’t understand why they’re so infatuated with you, little human.” Nahesa withdraws her hand and turns to face me, her black dress swooshing with the movement. “Frankly, it’s getting annoying, and it’s about time they were put in their place.”
But there’s no way in hell I’ll let her be the one to do it.
“You’ll help us?” Elly asks.
“What do you need from me?” Nahesa completely ignores her.
I catch a gleam in her mint-green eyes that tells me she knows something.
The woman is cunning above all else, as she has proven time and again.
I suspect that helping us find her child will further her own agenda.
After all, she never cared about anyone else before, and I highly doubt that has changed.
“Some blood will suffice.”
“Of course, you and your blood.” Nahesa clicks her tongue and pulls up the sleeve of her dress, revealing her wrist and the delicate, shimmering red scales hidden beneath. She puts her nails to her flesh, but I interrupt her before she can do more.
“What’s your price?”
She gives me a blank look for a moment before her face splits into a snake-like smile and she croons, “A favor.”
Elly flinches next to me, and I hesitate, looking at Nahesa’s finger as it hovers above the vein in her wrist. Giving this woman a favor is dangerous—more so than giving one to Azraella—and I most definitely don’t want her to have this kind of power over me.
It terrifies me; knowing what she can take without consent pales in comparison to what she can take with it.
Elly’s magic runs over my skin in warning not to go through with it, but she knows as well as I do that there is no other way. I won’t continue to put her at risk, waiting for Nagamaru to return and take whatever the hell he wants from her.
“Fine,” I say through gritted teeth. “A favor it is.”
Nahesa’s smile widens as she proceeds to cut her wrist. Blood wells up, and as it drips down her arm, I catch it with my magic.
Nahesa tsks at the sight of it, at the way her blood is contained within a hue of black magic.
She has never liked magic, so it must have been something to have a magic user as a child.
Once I’ve collected enough, I use some of my magic to close the cut on her wrist. Lowering her arm, Nahesa looks at the floating orb of her blood with disgust.
“Tell your brother not to contact me again,” she says as she steps away from us, closer to the door.
“And Nagamaru?”
“Do with them as you please.” She waves a hand at me without looking back.
Nahesa steps out, and I frown at her retreating form, unease settling in my stomach.
I can’t help but ponder how easily she offered her child up to us—her eldest, at that.
Then again, Nahesa tends to be unnecessarily cruel, so she might see this as fitting punishment for Nagamaru stepping out of line.
“I don’t like her,” Elly suddenly admits.
The admission catches me off guard, even if it doesn’t surprise me. “Don’t worry.” I snicker. “Most don’t.”
She gives me a look that holds a thousand remarks about my past with Nahesa, and I respond with a shrug.
“You shouldn’t have agreed to her terms,” she says after a moment of silence. “We would have found another way.”
“I’m not taking my chances,” I retort, making it clear that this isn’t up for debate.
“And I don’t like you being indebted to someone who would do what she did.”
“We should ask Yblis where we can cast the spell.” Elly abruptly changes the subject, clearly not amused. “I don’t want to assume it’s okay to do it right here.”
I nod, and we step outside, the sphere of blood floating behind us. As we enter the courtyard, a raven caws and flies away. Moments later, as if summoned by the bird, Yblis joins us.
“She was lenient for a change,” he says upon seeing the blood. “Surprisingly enough.”
“Yes, well, it seems she expects me to do some parenting,” I retort, deciding not to tell him about the favor, uncertain how my brother will react to that particular kernel of information.
“Ah.” Yblis snickers, as if that explains everything. “He’s your child as well, so I’m not surprised.”
“I shouldn’t have to go after my child for posing a threat to my wife,” I respond, anger threading my voice.
“Mal.” Elly gives me a stern look, and I let out a breath. “Where would be okay for us to cast the summoning spell?” she asks Yblis.
“Preferably outside. I’ve cleaned up after enough spells gone wrong to last me a lifetime.” Yblis gives me a pointed look.
“Please.” I bristle. “The others were far worse.”
“That’s beside the point.” He waves my remark away. “Keep it outside. And I’ll be stepping out while you’re at it. Something tells me I don’t want to be around for this.”
His wings appear, and with a final glare in my direction, Yblis takes off.
My shoulders sag, tiredness threatening to take me over even though the worst is yet to come.