Savage

Chapter 12

Xev stood in the garden, waiting for Myone. It wasn’t like her to be late.

He was just about to go seek her when she finally appeared in front of him. Tears streaking down her face, she grabbed him in a fierce hug.

Stunned, he held her while she trembled in his arms. “What’s wrong?”

“Tisahn…he betrayed Kissare and Braith. He told the Primals who Monakribos’s father was.”

Xev’s gut tightened at those words. How could anyone have been so incredibly stupid? “Do I want to know what happened?”

“They’ve taken Kissare.” She was crying so hard now, her body was racked with the force of her sobs.

“I’m sorry.”

She clutched him even tighter. “You were right about everything. Braith tore Tisahn apart. It was so awful, Dary…” She broke off into more sobs. “Cam had to take his corpse away from Braith just so that she’d stop resurrecting him in order to torture and kill him, again and again.”

That was what he’d feared.

Well, not exactly. It was even worse than his nightmares. Xev shuddered at the thought of her vengeance.

The goddess of destruction was good and tearing things apart.

Myone drew a ragged breath. “I wanted to be second-in-command. Not the leader, Dary. How can I lead the Sephirii? Especially like this? And after…after…after that!”

He cupped her face in his hands and gently tilted her head until she met his gaze. “Who better to lead them?”

“I don’t know what to do. It was so brutal. So awful. She tore him into pieces.”

“I know you, Myone. You will be their best leader yet.” Xev kissed her brow and used his powers to knock her unconscious to save her from this. She needed a break from the horror, and there was nothing better than sleep to help someone heal.

It might upset her later that he’d done this, but he couldn’t stand seeing her so distraught.

Swinging her up in his arms, he took her to his room and placed her on his bed. He covered her with his blankets then made sure she was comfortable. “Rest, my precious.”

They all needed a break from the unnecessary drama of the Primals.

Not to mention, he wanted to see what was happening, and Myone didn’t need any more nightmares.

Honestly, he didn’t know what to feel right now. Unlike Myone, he’d been through so much that whenever things became unbearable, he went into a scary level of numb. As if all his emotions retreated because they knew their presence wasn’t needed or wanted. That having emotions would only cause him more pain and trauma, and he’d had more than his fair share of both.

Right now, he felt nothing other than anaesthetized calm as he left her and went to where the Primals kept those they wanted to punish.

A small building in the center of their temples in Hurrian City. He knew this was where they’d have imprisoned Kissare. What better place for the creature they wanted to make an example of for all their subjects to see?

Unfurling his wings, he made sure to keep himself invisible as he flew by the first set of guards who lined the inner corridor. They didn’t flinch as he swept past them.

When he neared the room where Kissare was imprisoned, he saw the primary guard, Atticus, slumped on the floor.

Xev went to the demon to make sure he was still alive. He appeared fine, which meant someone had drugged him or knocked him unconscious.

Only a god would have dared such.

Sliding into the shadows, he entered the inner room, then drew up short.

Even though the room was dark, he instantly saw the Sephiroth who’d been chained inside a cell. That was what he’d expected to find.

What caught him off guard was the sight of Braith reaching through the bars in an effort to touch her son’s father, who’d been beaten to the brink of death.

Even worse? They’d shorn the wings from his back.

Xev cringed as his own wings ached in sympathetic pain. With the exception of losing Myone, he couldn’t imagine anything worse than enduring that punishment. Wings were limbs. Integral to them.

And in his mind, he saw the image of his mother slicing them off and handing them to Noir. Of course it would have been Azura who meted out such a horrific punishment for the Sephiroth. Her cruelty was legendary.

Swathed completely in black, Braith stood with her ebony hair flowing freely around her lithe body. She was a stark contrast to Kissare and his white hair that was marred by his own blood.

Even broken and bleeding, Kissare reached through the bars to embrace the goddess he’d fallen in love with. “Apollymi,” he breathed, using an endearment that in the Sephirii language meant the light of my heart. “You shouldn”t have come here.”

“I had to.” Choking on her grief, she cupped his face through the bars. “I drugged Atticus and have stolen the key.” She released him so that she could pull it from the folds of her cloak and unlock the door to free him. “We can?—”

“Nay,” he said, cutting her off. He placed his bloodied and bruised hand over hers to stop her from opening the door to his cell. “I can’t leave. It”s the only way to protect you and Monakribos.”

She sobbed at the mention of their young son, and Xev felt terrible for both of them. This was so unfair. They didn’t deserve to have their lives destroyed because of love.

“I don”t know how to live without you, Sare. I don”t want to live without you.”

“Shh,” he whispered before he placed a tender kiss to her cheek. “You’re a goddess. The most beautiful of all. You lived centuries before I was born, and you were fine without me.”

“No. I survived and endured. The last thing I want is to be cast back to that lonely hell I used to call home.”

“And now you have a baby who needs his mother.”

She choked on a sob. “He needs his father, too. How can he ever learn kindness without you? I can teach him nothing save murder, torture, and hatred.”

He buried his hand in her dark hair and locked gazes with her. “The other gods will never leave us in peace, Polli. You know that. We”ve broken their sacred law, and they are a hateful lot. My execution will make amends. Better they punish me, alone, than you and Kri. But I will come back for you. I swear it. No matter what it takes. Death cannot keep us apart. Nothing can. I love you too much to stay away.”

“How will I know it”s you?”

He took her hand in his and placed it over his heart. “You will know, and you won”t doubt me. Ever. You”ll see.”

“Then I will wait for you. No other shall ever touch me. You will forever be my only heart.” She turned her black hair snow white to match his.

He gave her a sad smile. “You will always be my precious Apollymi.” He kissed her lips. “Now go, before they find you and punish you, too. Raise our son and never let him doubt how much his father loves him. One day, I will return for you both. You can count on it.”

She nodded and let go of his hand. “I will wait for you! Forever!” She turned and walked away, but even so, Xev saw her grief.

And her hatred. Just as he’d warned his father. She would never forget or forgive this transgression.

Is this my future, too?

Was this what would happen to him if they ever learned that he was in love with Myone?

In the shadows, he stared as Kissare sank to his knees and wept even harder than Myone had.

The mighty Sephiroth had been broken by their cruelty. Kissare was nothing more than a shadow of the warrior he’d been.

Xev wanted to help them. But there was nothing he could for him now.

So he went after Braith.

By the time he caught up to her, she was in her temple, holding her son in her arms.

The baby looked confused by her tears.

Braith straightened and turned toward him. Even though he was still invisible, she clearly saw him. “What do you want, son of my enemy?”

The fact she could see him was terrifying.

Xev started to flee, but he wasn’t a coward. He forced himself to appear to her. “I heard what they did, and I came here to see if you needed anything.”

She laughed bitterly. “I need my husband.”

“I can free him.”

More tears streaked down her face as she held a regal composure he didn’t understand. “He won’t let us.” She placed a kiss to Monakribos’s head. “And he’s right. The others would never let us live in peace.”

Then she turned to face Xev. “You are the son of Azura and Jaden.”

“I am.”

“You knew who the father was, yet you said nothing.”

He stepped closer to her so that she could see his sincerity. “I didn’t think it was any of their business.”

She sneered at him. “You were afraid of me.”

Damn, her powers were terrifying. “Only a fool wouldn’t be. But that wasn’t why I kept my silence. What they’re doing isn’t right. No one should pay for love with blood.”

She pursed her lips. “There is something I want from you.”

That sent a chill down his spine. “Dare I ask what?”

“Your blood.”

He widened his eyes.

“Not your life, fool.” She manifested a goblet in her hand and held it out to him. “Fill this with your blood.”

“Why?”

“You’re a god of chaos. A son of Jaden who was fostered by an Inari demon. Give me your blood. I demand it.”

He really wanted to tell her no, but this was Braith. The deadliest of them all. Given her powers, he didn’t dare deny her. It never went well for anyone who did.

Besides, she could take it if she wanted. The fact she asked was a good thing.

So he took her goblet and set it on the floor, then sliced open his palm with his dagger so that he could give her what she wanted.

The cut burned like fire as he watched his blood pour from his fist into the goblet.

And once the cup was full, he handed it back to her.

Braith healed his hand then inclined her head to him. “Thank you.”

Xev rubbed at the healed injury as he watched her staring down at the warm red liquid. “May I ask what you plan to do with that?”

A sinister smile curved her lips as she handed the cup over to a Charonte demon who’d come forward out of the darkness. “I intend to create an army to protect my son so that no one will ever be able to threaten him again. But don’t worry. I will tell no one what you’ve done.”

* * *

Braith’s wordshaunted Xev as he returned to his room to find Myone still asleep.

A part of him wanted to let her rest and stay in blissful slumber as long as she could. The selfish part wanted her awake so that he could confess what he’d done. Have her soothe the terror inside him at the thought of Braith creating an army with his blood.

What would they do to him when they learned about his part in this?

Images of Kissare continued to haunt him.

Knowing there was nothing either of them could do, he decided to let her sleep longer, as he was terrified of how she’d react once she learned that Braith was using his blood to create a race to rival the Sephirii.

No one is going to harm my child. I will burn down the world before I let that happen. Do you understand?

He understood Braith’s determination, and those words haunted him. Even now, he saw her mixing her blood with his and the Charonte’s to create the Malachai race. If he’d had any doubts before as to his father’s ability to create demons, that was put to rest when she began making her own.

As he’d told Jaden, he knew his mother didn’t have the power to create. His father did.

And so did Braith.

What have I done?

Pulling Myone into his arms, he held her sleeping form as fear tore through him. He was the father of a new class of demon that was stronger than anything his father had made.

If anyone ever learned what he’d done, they’d kill him. He had no doubt.

Even Shadow.

He’d just unleashed utter destruction into their world, given Braith even more power than she’d had before. Never mind the fact that her Charonte friend, Xiamara, was terrifying…

This was something else entirely.

Something with all three of their powers combined.

A Malachai race that she intended to infuse with the blood of her own son to make him even stronger, too.

Myone would hate him for this. He was sure of it.

Tears clouded his eyes as he stared down at her beautiful face. “Please don’t hate me,” he whispered.

He could bear anything else in this world.

But not that.

He’d rather have his own wings ripped out and be cast into eternal slavery to the gods than lose her. She was everything he wasn’t. Good. Kind.

Decent.

He was a monster Braith had used.

“Dary?”

He opened his eyes to see Myone staring up at him. Unable to speak, he held her tighter.

“Honey, what happened?”

Rather than tell her what haunted him, he opted for the safer events. “I saw Kissare.”

“What?” She sat up. “When?”

“After you fell asleep.”

She gave him a pointed stare.

“After I made you fall asleep.”

Shaking her head, she sighed. “Why did you do that?”

Xev cupped her cheek in his hand. “I can’t stand your tears, Myone. They destroy me.”

She covered his hand with hers. “I love you.”

“I love you too. But we can’t see each other anymore.”

Shock filled her eyes. “What?”

“I can’t risk them doing to you what they did to Kissare. I’m not worth it.” He cringed at the hysteria he heard in his voice. But the thought of that being her…It was more than he could handle.

“They’re going to execute him.”

She winced. “I can’t bear to let you go, Dary.”

Xev kissed her. “We have no choice. For both our sakes, we can’t be together.”

Myone nodded. “I will go, but I’m never far away.”

And that was the worst part about all of this.