Chapter 54
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
Seraphina
With the unbridled love and trust from my mates, I deliberately clipped the ties binding my energy to the guilt of my past. My actions were not always noble, and I could never repay the debt of life I owed to those who died for my family, for my need for revenge, but I could make amends the only way I knew how. One final act of vengeance.
Laszlo Blackbyrn had tried to break me from day one.
He murdered my family, my friends. Tortured and brutalized the people I cared for.
But no more. Power bloomed within me; the blood in my veins carried the magic of two royal bloodlines.
I closed my eyes and embraced all of it, my daemon heritage, my royal lumen family, and even my mortal father, a sacrifice I would never forget.
The elemental power crashed through my body with the force of a tsunami. And something more.
Cancatiers are what humans think of as sirens. A creature who can lure others to their call with a song.
I’d been quietly practicing this strange power since I heard of it while being held prisoner. It was difficult to do when you also didn’t actively want to take away someone’s free will. But damn was it cool. With just a few words, Laszlo now belonged to me.
Slowly, I circled his rigid form, sniffing out his fears. This power could also taste the emotions of those around me, and while Laszlo was still angry and arrogant, fear was creeping in.
“How did you bind yourself to Devon’s sister?” I asked, using the song-like voice to force his response.
Laszlo ground his teeth, as if the answer was being ripped from his lips. “There are stolen manuscripts in the castle, taken by Belial from witches and creatures from other worlds.”
“And what else were you doing with these books? I know you weren’t planning to be Belial’s lapdog,” I taunted.
The dethroned king growled. “Never. I called on the gods. And I was going to bind one to me, stealing his power and immortality.”
Andras stepped up to my left side. “You called? As in, there is already a god under your thumb?”
Laszlo ignored his son, but I wasn’t having any of that. I sang out the words, compelling him to answer.
The man’s eyes were so furious, I nearly laughed. “No. I managed to open a way to bring the god to Earth, but he was too strong. I lost him.”
Andras arched an eyebrow, and we exchanged shocked expressions. “Well shit. Didn’t realize there were literal gods wandering around.”
My other mates returned, Devon carrying his sleeping sister in his arms. Several healers ran to us and took her to safety, but the battlefield was silent. Only Belial remained, and he was about to face a gnarly reunion.
It was time for Laszlo Blackbyrn to die. With my mates at my sides, I rose up several feet from the ground and glared down at the man I vowed to end.
“Laszlo Blackbyrn,” I stated loud enough for all to hear. “You have committed horrible acts against my friends, my family, and mankind. You deserve to die.”
His fear filled me with a heady satisfaction, and I continued. “You and all that you built will be ripped to shreds, stricken from this world and every other. No one will remember you. You will die here and never be thought of again.”
Laszlo’s body raged, but with my power commanding him, he could not speak. In his final moments, he could do nothing but watch and wait to die.
Ty laughed, a deep happy sound. “Do you smell that? Blackbyrn’s pissed himself.”
The others grinned, and a smirk touched my lips, knowing that in the end, he was alone and afraid.
I called on all the elements, building a tornado of power, surrounding him completely.
Because I was still a little sadistic, I gave him the ability to scream.
And he did. Boy, did that piece of shit know how to scream.
We could hear his terror through the wind as the elements tore him to shreds.
The powerful storm dissipated, and there was nothing left of the once Obscuritas King, Laszlo Blackbyrn.
Andras hugged me from behind, kissing my neck softly. “Thank you for freeing us of him. Tu es magnifique, mon ange.”
His words fed the unfettered happiness building within me.
I could feel the others through the bond, a wild joy overtaking each of us.
The Kings were finally gone. I looked across the field at Phenex, the final piece of the puzzle and much needed mate in our little family.
He and Morax had Belial caged, with Michaela’s help.
My sister was using her crazy Seer power to slow Belial’s movements so he couldn’t fight. She was a fucking badass.
We joined them, lending our own power to Belial’s cage so my sister could rest. She looked a little rough, and I was concerned she’d bottom out with so much power flowing out of her.
Brushing my shoulder against hers, I checked her for injuries. “Hey, sis. See you’ve been out here kickin’ ass today.”
She smiled, but it didn’t fully reach her eyes. “Yeah. We couldn’t save everyone, though.”
I was about to question her when a monster of a fucking daemon dropped from the sky with a petite human in his arms. The face of the daemon in question was all too familiar.
King Corson looked a hell of a lot like his sons, but at least a full size bigger.
He was like a damn bear. And the tiny human at his side, who was definitely radiating some not-so-human powers, was Leona.
“What in the fuck is going on?” I gawked, unable to hide my surprise. We’d heard from Phen and Mor that Belial’s connection to his father broke, but how that happened was still a bit of a mystery.
Ty snickered at my side. “Little Lo bagged herself a daemon king.”
Levi grinned. “Yeah. He nearly took our heads off when we went into the castle. Phen saved us.”
Phen winked at me and waggled his eyebrows, as if I didn’t know all the dirty promises he was already sending down the mate bond.
“My sons.” Corson spoke, his voice deep and commanding. “Belial. How did it come to this?”
Belial was like a feral cat, snarling and raging in his cage. This was one beast who would never be tamed. It was plain enough for us to see. If we let him go, he would do everything in his power to destroy us and continue his plans for domination.
Corson explained, in short, how his son had stolen away his free will with dark magic. It began more subtly, influencing the King’s decisions until he thought he was going mad. When he realized something was wrong, it was too late, and Belial sent Corson into a deep sleep.
Pain and sorrow speared my heart as Phen fully understood the weight of his father’s words. Corson was not the monster Phen and Mor thought he was. Belial, their twisted eldest brother, was the true devil hiding in their midst.