Chapter 55
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
Michaela
Morax, my mate and husband, was struggling with the revelations of the evening. The sun was setting behind the castle, and stars glittered above us as the moon rose into the sky. We sat together, staring up at the stars, as the events of the day settled in. I squeezed his hand.
Since the end of the fight, Morax refused to let me go, and I didn’t mind one bit.
There were several moments today when I thought we might lose each other.
Just as my visions predicted, Seraphina and her mates arrived and turned the tide of the war in our favor, but not before we lost a few of our own.
Hundreds of daemons, lumens, witches, and humans lost their lives in this final battle between good and evil. Because in the end, that’s what it came down to. I knew our side had also made some bad choices, but we saved countless lives, too.
“Should I be feeling bad that I don’t feel bad about my sister murdering Laszlo Blackbyrn?” I mused out loud, knowing what his response would be.
“Absolutely not,” Morax growled, pulling me into his arms. He lifted me effortlessly until I was straddling his hips, facing him, our bodies melting into each other.
“I would have killed him myself, given the chance, for what he did to you. It wasn’t murder, little lumen.
His death was a deserved punishment for his crimes. ”
I nodded, but Morax continued before I could respond. Cupping my chin, he forced me to look into his eyes when he spoke next. “You, my gentle wife, must not waste any more feelings on the Obscuritas Kings, or anyone else undeserving of your attention.”
He was right, of course. They didn’t deserve our attention, or our mercy. “What about you, are you okay with Belial’s punishment?”
Corson couldn’t bring himself to kill Belial, so for now, the evil prince was locked away in an impenetrable cage. My sister insisted on being present and making sure it was secure. I trusted her, and for now, the prince lived.
Mor sighed, and his golden eyes dimmed. “It is difficult to understand my feelings. For most of my life, I believed my father was the villain. He was horrible to us. To our people. But it was Belial all along. That is a lot to reconcile. And my eldest brother’s actions played a major role in all the pain and suffering of your family.
If not for his choices, you may never have been harmed the way you were by that ridiculous cult. ”
The traumatic memories of what Darren Radnor and the other Obscuritas Kings did to me were locked away in a vault. Not because I was afraid to face them, but because they didn’t deserve my time.
“And if not for Belial, perhaps I would not have summoned you, and we would not be here, in each other’s arms,” I murmured against his lips. “I will always carry heartache for the ones we have lost, but a life without you, Morax, would have been no life at all.”
My mate smiled at me, some of that golden power returning to his beautiful eyes. “Aren’t you wise, mate of mine?”
I nodded. “Oh yes, I am very wise.” I wiggled against him, and Morax growled.
Mor nipped at my lips. “And asking for trouble, sassy princess.”
Voices carried to us, and Morax lifted me into his arms and stood in one graceful movement. He carried me toward the growing crowd, only setting me on my feet when we got close enough to hear our friends sharing their stories of the day.
A giant pyre had been erected, with several bodies of our friends carefully wrapped and laid on the logs.
Delphine. She sacrificed her life to save Gremory and Tabitha, and countless others.
Gremory and Tibby were huddled close together.
Neither had spoken much since the battle ended.
Mor shared the news of his father and brother with Gremory, and he only nodded, accepting the information without giving much away.
Nuriela had done something similar. Only, while Delphine channeled her magic into a stone for Tibby to carry and use when needed, Nuriela had done something even most daemons and lumens had never heard of.
The lumen mate of my eldest sister had somehow transferred her lumen power to Lo.
It was unheard of, considering Lo was a human, or so we all thought.
It was supposed to be impossible for mortals to become daemons or lumens.
The mechanics of that entire scenario were still being worked out.
My sister stood close to Tibby, offering her support to one of the only friends she’d made over the last ten years. Gremory wasn’t letting anyone close to his mate, but Seraphina was the exception.
Phen carried another body onto the pyre, stating the daemon’s name as he laid the body with the others.
The young male, Elgo, was the one to lead my sister and her mates to the mountain.
He’d arrived to join us in battle, letting us know they successfully entered.
And then Elgo had been one of the first to die by Belial’s darker creations.
Elgo joined a group of truxens fighting in their animal forms. The truxens fought more fiercely than any, taking on the monstrous creatures in Belial’s army, including those crazy devil dogs.
Only after they started dying did we realize they were once daemons and lumens.
Belial’s dark magic had forced them into animal form permanently.
The sins of the daemon prince were long and varied.
Phen took the young daemon’s death quite hard. Seraphina pulled him into her arms when he stepped away from the pyre.
The gathered crowd waited in silence, the air heavy with loss. Seraphina cleared her throat, and we looked to her as one.
“I’m not exactly the speech-giving type,” she began, almost shyly.
“But I wanted everyone here to know how much it means to me that you fought at my side. That you came together after so long to finally free yourselves, this world, and my own from tyrants and would-be kings who encouraged only hate and submission. I don’t know what the plan is now, but I know I will do whatever I can to help restore what was lost.”
Murmurs of agreement flitted through the crowd. Several louder voices mentioned the Valdis name, the royal bloodline.
Phenex spoke up next. “Seraphina is the one the prophecies whispered about. The one with power unlike our world has seen for centuries. The one who would change what was and bring about a new age for all daemons and lumens. She is my queen, my mate, and I would kneel for her, now and always.”
Phen’s declaration had the murmurs growing even louder, several people looking to their neighbors to see if any would kneel, but my sister stopped them.
“While I love having my mates on their knees, I have no desire to be queen in any true sense,” Seraphina declared, holding up her hands in surrender. “I’ll be your champion, your muscle, whatever you need, but I’m no ruler. And if I had to choose one, it would be my sister, Michaela.”
“What the…” My words failed me at her announcement. My cheeks turned hot with the hundreds of eyes now staring in my direction. King Corson remained silent, a giant in the shadows with his new mate.
Morax brushed his hand against my back, reassuring me before he stepped forward.
“Perhaps I am biased, but I too believe Michaela Valdis would make a just and compassionate queen. Do we need a royal to lead us? I cannot say. Today is not the day to decide. Let us mourn our dead, celebrate their accomplishments, and cherish the time we shared with them.”
I loved him so completely, so thoroughly, I thought my heart might burst from it.
And Seraphina. These people believed in me so fully, it was the most loved I’d ever felt in my life.
Tugging his arm, I pulled Morax to me for a soft kiss.
I really wanted to attack him with several inappropriate kisses, but now wasn’t the time.
Later, mae domina. Later I will worship my queen.
Seraphina used her power to light the pyre, and we looked on in respectful silence.
The stars above us twinkled and glowed brighter than normal, as if they too were welcoming the souls of our fallen friends.
One particularly bright star with a hint of pink to it shone above the others.
I gasped when a new star joined it, a soft blue color emanating from it.
How I knew, I couldn’t tell you, but I was certain those stars were the souls of Lailah and Nuriela.
While my heart wished they were here with us, I was happy to see them finally together again.