Chapter Seventeen
Seraphina
We lay on the forest floor, my body half covering Phen’s, catching our breath after that fast and furious fucking.
Phen propped his head up slightly on one arm, the other brushing soft strokes along my back. “Tell me what you’re thinking, mini monstra.”
Dozens of thoughts and feelings swarmed in my brain, not the least of them being my guilt for what I’d done.
My shame. Even here, wrapped in his muscular arms, I couldn’t feel him like before.
Our connection was never as solid as it was with the others, but I still knew he was mine.
Now the uncertainty of us festered in my soul like an infectious disease.
“You first,” I countered. “Tell me something real. About you. About your home.”
Phenex sighed, brushing his thumb across my bottom lip.
His silver eyes glowed slightly, his power so much closer to the surface here.
“Well, the castle was never my home. At least, it never felt like a home.
Being the youngest, not long after I was born, and our mother was dead, father turned cruel and Belial was his constant, deadly shadow.
Mor and I were constantly running away into the woods.
We would often be away for days, staying in the witches' city further north.”
Every detail he shared with me filled my insides with warmth. He spoke with such vivid detail of his life. It was as if I was there with him, sneaking into pubs and causing chaos, Morax always there to clean up the messes, lovingly, of course.
Phen’s arm snaked down my side, tickling my ribs, and I swatted him away playfully. “I wasn’t your typical playboy. Obviously, I have the face of a god, but it wasn’t sex I craved.”
His eyes searched mine, seeking something from me.
But with our mate bond broken, I wasn’t certain what that was.
He looked away from me before speaking, suddenly shy.
“I never had a mother or any close females in my life. Never experienced the love of a woman in any true sense. I didn’t know how to love someone like that.
Deeply and fully. But I wished for it. When I heard I had a mate, a fire lit in my soul that finally I would have someone who was all mine. ”
His soft words crushed what was left of my shattered heart. I broke the bond he so desperately wished for.
“It wasn’t entirely altruistic.” He smirked. “I selfishly needed the bond, because I knew it meant my mate could never escape me, never leave me. Bonds like that were for life.”
Tears pricked at my eyes, and shame colored my cheeks.
His eyes searched my face in confusion. “What’s wrong, Seraphina? Have I upset you? You must know I can’t get in your head any longer.”
My body flinched at his words, and I desperately wanted to run from them, but he wouldn’t let me. “A lot of things. Who was that female? Mihra?”
He chuckled, pinching my side and rolling his eyes. “I met her years ago. She had a crush on me, but I had already discovered I had a mate waiting for me. We became friends. She was a link to the truxen daemons hidden away in the mountains.”
“My father’s people,” I added, and he nodded. At least he was letting me avoid his earlier question for now.
“Mhhm. They were not, and still aren’t, the friendliest.” Phen sighed. “Don’t blame them. Their powers are different from ours, and for that, they were hunted. My father stole away one of their princesses. Did…bad things. She didn’t survive.”
Rage simmered in my veins, and I closed my eyes, brushing my fingers against his jawline, hearing what he wasn’t saying out loud. Even without the bond allowing us to share our thoughts. “You are not your father, Phen.”
His arm tightened around my waist, and he stared down at me, his silver eyes shining. “And you are not what was done to you. Whatever happened, you did what you had to do, Seraphina.”
Tears burned the backs of my eyes. “I broke us.”
Phen sat up, pulling me into his lap and cupping my cheeks. “You escaped. You survived so that we could find you again. Belial and those cult fuckers broke us. And we will be whole again. I swear it.”
A small, hopeful smile played against my lips. “I swear it, too. Whatever it takes.”
Phen kissed me softly. “That’s our girl.”
Out of the corner of my eye, the dagger resting in the grass beside us pulsed with magic. I reached over and picked it up, examining the stone. A whisper of power teased my senses. It was so familiar. “What is this?”
Phen grinned. “Devon. Say hi, Dev!” He poked the deep-red stone, and my eyebrows shot up into my hairline. “It’s a strange story. Basically, Nuriella killed Dev—”
“WHAT?!” I jumped out of his arms, cradling the dagger to my naked body.
Phen rolled his eyes and stood, his half-hard cock bobbing at me, and I licked my lips, unable to help myself. “He’s just doing some soul traveling. As long as your sister’s new power brings the gang here in time, his sweet soul will go right back into his body, good as new.”
White-hot anger flooded my system. I was going to murder that fucking lumen, gods be damned if she was my sister’s mate. “What the actual fuck? Explain. Everything.”
My daemon prince pulled me into his arms, cupping my ass. “I will, my queen. But first, let’s get you some clothing. I find it impossible not to be inside you when you’re naked.”
Since I was still a newbie with my power, Phen conjured up some clothing for me. It was incredible the things we could do with elemental magic. He whispered a few words, and leaves and flowers floated around in the air, morphing and forming into a simple linen dress.
We walked together, hands linked since he refused to let me go, making our way through the forest to my father’s people.
Sure, we could have flown, but I wanted to hear every single thing that happened since I made that stupid blood oath.
Phen didn’t hesitate to give me all the details.
Absorbing all that went down, particularly the bit about Michaela now being a Seer, was proving almost too much for my brain.
I was a little less angry at Nuri, knowing Lailah left a message for her mate.
They were parted forever, my elder sister and her mate.
Lailah gave up everything, including the love of her life, to that ritual.
The ritual that saved us from the Obscuritas and the daemon king, Corson, all at once.
Because of the sacrifice Lailah and my mother made a decade ago, we were here now, fighting together.
There were still so many holes in our plans, but there was hope. A teeny, tiny flame, but it was there.
When the forest began to thin and the mountains loomed ahead of us, Phen said it was time to fly. We shot into the air. Even from the sky, the valley between the two largest mountains looked empty, beautiful, but uninhabited.
“Get ready for it,” Phen called out to me with a smirk on his sexy face.
Before I could ask what he meant, we flew through a cloud, and I gasped. The air thickened around us, and I sensed the magic in the barrier. It slithered over our bodies, looking for what, I wasn’t sure, but finally, we were through.
“If we were enemies, that barrier would have incinerated us,” Phen shouted happily.
I smacked his arm. “You ass. Thanks for the heads-up.”
Instead of responding, he flew at a downward angle, and I followed, gasping in awe at the scene before us.
Before, the valley was empty, now, it was teaming with life.
City lights glimmered below us. I didn’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t this.
The city below was bigger than a small town, with a handful of tall buildings rivaling smaller skyscrapers.
The buildings had a vintage vibe, mainly made of brick and stone and wood.
The streets were paved, but there were no cars.
Daemons walked, flew, or used their considerable powers to travel through the city.
Animals that were most definitely shifted truxen daemons meandered among them.
I followed Phenex, gliding over the city toward an imposing mansion separated from the main grouping of buildings. It reminded me of Vespertine Hall in some ways, but larger and happier. The entire city had a familiarity to it.
“Have I ever been here?” I asked aloud, not really looking for an answer.
Phen took my hand as soon as we landed at the gates of the mansion. “No, I don’t think you have. By the time you were born, the Valdis royal family was more secluded in their palace. But many things in your world came from ours.”
I cocked my head at him, a question on my face, and he continued, leading me through the gates.
“Daemons, lumens, and witches from this world have been visiting yours for centuries. And not only yours, there are other worlds with creatures from your fairytales, and your nightmares. Humans have been influenced by otherworldly beings since their beginning.”
“Well, that’s insane,” I stuttered, absorbing his words. “And I’m going to need to know more about these other worlds and different creatures.”
Phen smiled, his fangs on display. “All in good time, my queen. Let’s get you some proper clothing and ready to meet your family. More storytime later.”