Savage

Chapter 22

“What have you done?”

Myone froze at the thunderous sound of Jaden’s voice echoing off the walls of her room. The ancient god didn’t bother to announce himself. He merely appeared in her doorway without any preamble.

This was Cam’s hall. Jaden had no business here. And he had no right to yell at her.

Rising from her desk, she set her quill down. “Can I help you, my lord?”

The expression on his face was terrifying and deeply unnerving. She wanted to run but refused to. “Don’t play with me, woman. Have you any idea what they’ll do to you? To Daraxerxes?”

She released the breath she’d been holding. So, it was exactly what she thought had brought him here.

The baby.

Jaden’s eyes turned a deep, dark red as he glared at her belly. “Of all the creatures you could have chosen…My son? What were you thinking? Why would you do something so foolish? He’s not even on our side!”

She had to bite her lip to keep from denouncing Xev as a traitor to his side. The last thing she wanted to do was betray him or cause him harm. But she couldn’t stand here and let his father insult him. “He’s not what you think.”

Jaden entered her room and slammed the door shut with his powers. “You’re such a fool to put any faith in him. Trust me. I made that mistake once and lived to regret it.”

She stood her ground and refused to be intimidated by the much larger god. He might put her through a wall, but not before she said what she wanted to. “And you know nothing about Daraxerxes. You never gave him a chance.”

“There you’re wrong.”

She shook her head. “I know what happened between you…and why. You never allowed him to trust you. Never gave him a reason to. At every turn, you’ve hurt him, starting with the moment he was born.”

A tic beat furiously in Jaden’s jaw. “And what do you think will happen now when the others learn about this? A baby shower? No. They’re going to demand your life. Are you prepared for that?”

Myone lifted her chin defiantly. “Yes, I am, because I know Dary will protect his son. I know what he’s suffered already to protect me from you and the others. Never once has he given me any reason to doubt him.”

Jaden paled. “What? What are you talking about?”

She let out a tired breath. How many times had they been here? It felt as if they were on an endless loop. She defended Xev and Jaden dismissed her out of hand.

Why do I bother?

Because she loved her husband, and she would do anything to protect him. Even argue relentlessly with his arrogant father, who refused to listen to her.

She gestured at her window. “You know exactly what I’m talking about. The night you caught Dary here and had him dragged away for torture. I’ve told you time and again that he was on our side and bringing me information about Azura and her plans. Did you listen? No. Because he has to be evil, right? There’s no chance that he could be decent.”

She gestured to her belly. “Now you have proof of what I told you that night. He was always giving me information on how to defeat the Mavromino. That’s why we’ve won so many battles against them. Dary’s the only reason we’ve won so many battles against them,” she repeated for effect, hoping to get through to him. “He’s never been on his mother’s side. Not once. As bad as he hates you, and he has every right to do so, his need to protect me, his love for me, has always overridden that hatred. For that matter, you hate him for trying to protect himself when his mother threatened his life if he didn’t swap necklaces with you. He had no idea what your necklace or hers would do. But once he did, he went back for you and made it right, even when he knew you’d punish him for it. What he never dreamed was that you’d abandon him, again, to his mother for her torture.”

She shook her head as she raked him with a scathing glare. “You left him there to rot, with no regard for his life or for the fact that he’d been lied to and threatened, and had tried to make amends with you. Had I not gone to Apollymi, he’d still be imprisoned by his mother…and you better thank the Source every day of eternity that you didn’t suffer what he did when he went back and freed you. He didn’t deserve any of that.”

Tears blinded her as she remembered what Azura had done to Xev for that. “You are such a bastard. I hate you for what you’ve done to him. Just being around you sickens me. Do whatever you want where I’m concerned. I don’t care. How a god as wonderful as Dary came from you and Azura, I will never understand, but I regret nothing because I know exactly what a wonderful man he is, in spite of everything you and Azura have done to him.”

Jaden stared at her as if she spoke a foreign language.

And maybe she did. She was asking for kindness from someone who obviously didn’t have any comprehension of it.

Poor Xev.

She’d taken the love of her own father for granted. He would do anything to protect her. She couldn’t imagine having this as a parent.

Neither of Xev’s parents cared if he lived or died. If he suffered. Neither of them should have ever had children. They didn’t deserve them.

Heartbroken, she cradled her stomach, which was just beginning to show signs of her child that was forming there. She could never allow her son to know the pain of his father. To turn her back on him. Not for anything.

They would make sure their son had all the love and protection they could manage. No one would ever threaten him.

A tear fell down her cheek. “I will never understand you and your coldness.”

Jaden sneered at her. “You have that luxury. No one has ever betrayed you.”

That was a pitiful excuse, and she knew it. “My husband has known nothing except betrayal, and yet he loves in spite of it. More than that, he protects. No one is allowed to threaten me or his child.”

Jaden tried to understand that. Was she right? Could he have misjudged his son so badly?

He hoped not. Because if he had…

Then he was the monster she called him.

Yet as he looked at her, he saw the sincerity. The love she held for his son. She believed in Daraxerxes with a faith no one had ever shown Jaden. No one.

Not even his sons.

What do I do?

His siblings would tear these two apart. Especially after what they’d done to Kissare. Apollymi would demand blood for blood. She would not take mercy on them, and there would be no way to talk her out of it. She’d be entitled to it.

Even if she had spared Daraxerxes before, she wouldn’t do it now. Her wrath would be absolute. And his son would pay the price for what they’d done to her.

Wouldn’t matter that he’d argued against her punishment. She was all wrath now. All she wanted was to make the world burn, and tear all of them down.

Even Noir and Azura. They were just too stupid to realize it.

And that is my grandchild.

Jaden stared at Myone’s stomach, awed by what she was willing to do for the idiot he’d fathered.

At the end for the day, he’d failed his sons, and he knew it. He’d never been there for any of them.

How could he fail another generation?

If what she said was true, Daraxerxes fought for their cause in spite of everything he’d done to him. In spite of the fact that he’d betrayed him.

Meanwhile, Malphas had turned on him completely. He didn’t even know why. And that pain still burned deep inside him. He’d done everything he could for Malphas. He’d wanted his love. Had tried his best to keep him on the right side.

In the end, the demon in his blood had won out.

Her child…

There might still be a chance for him. He was part Sephiroth and held the blood of both sides. Would his mother’s blood be enough to override theirs?

I can learn from my mistakes. If Daraxerxes can be saved, maybe I can be saved, too.

And maybe he could help them. Maybe he could do what he should have done when the demon had brought his son to him as an infant.

“Perhaps there’s a chance for the baby.”

She stepped back from him. Suspicion hung heavy in her eyes as she wrapped her arms protectively around her stomach. “What kind of chance?”

It was a stupid one. But it was the only thing he could think of. “Marry me.”

All the color drained from her face as if it was the most terrifying thing she’d ever heard. Her jaw went slack.

Jaden held his hands up. “I won’t touch you.” How disgusting did she think he was? He’d never hurt his son like that. “But it will shield you and your son from the others.”

“How?” she asked, aghast.

“If you’re my wife, they won’t dare touch you. Apollymi snuck around with Kissare. That was her biggest mistake and what upset Cam and Rezar most. She hid her actions. Besides, we’re at war with her. Her opinion won’t matter right now. So long as we’re open about our supposed relationship, Cam and Rezar won’t be able to speak out against it. They have more important things to think about while we’re at war. If I take you as my wife, I can bully them into accepting it.”

Myone’s head spun at what he was saying.

Marry her father-in-law? That was the craziest thing imaginable.

Wasn’t it?

“Think about it, Myone,” Jaden insisted. “I share the same blood Daraxerxes does. The same basic powers, as does his mother. They won’t be able to differentiate ours from his. When they sense the Source powers in your child, they’ll assume it’s from me. If we tell them it’s my child, they will assume any deviation comes from the mingling of your powers with mine. No one will dare question the child’s parentage. You both will be safe. As will Daraxerxes.”

She wanted to deny it. But what he said made sense. Too much sense, unfortunately.

“And I will protect Daraxerxes as best I can. I swear it.”

Did she dare trust this god? He’d betrayed her husband, time and again.

Moving back to her desk, she sat down as she grappled with this. “I need a minute. Because this doesn’t make sense. Why would you help us after everything you’ve done to Dary? You’re an unforgiving asshole.”

He winced at the words that they both knew were true. “You’re right. I am. From beginning to end. I won’t deny it. But you have no idea what I’ve had to navigate through with my siblings. The eggshells I walk on every day because of them. I’m not perfect, and I’ve made a lot of mistakes. There’s a lot of bad blood between me and my siblings. A lot of things I regret, that you can’t imagine. I can’t fix what I’ve done. But I don’t want you or your child to pay for my mistakes. Or to be punished by their cruelty.”

He let out a bitter laugh. “And you’re right about Xev. I should have protected my son. But I knew if I let him into my heart, his mother would have used it against me. I would have been at her mercy and everyone would have suffered.”

That didn’t placate her at all. If anything, it made her hate him more. “So you let him suffer in your stead?”

At least he had the decency to look ashamed. “I can’t change the past, Myone. But I can give your son a future. If you’ll let me.”

How easy he made it sound. But this would kill Xev. She could hear the screaming fit already. And who could blame him?

For once, she wanted to join his tirade.

Even if it made sense.

Sighing, she nodded at Jaden. “I need to talk to my husband about this.”

He went to her door, then paused. “Don’t take too long. The one thing we learned with Apollymi, that”—he indicated her belly—“won’t stay hidden long.”

No kidding. She still had nightmares over all of it. “I know.”

Inclining his head, he excused himself and left her to think about what he’d offered.

Myone sat in silence, considering her options. She could run away like Xev wanted. Those hours they’d spent on Trisa were wonderful. It was where she’d conceived their son.

She would love to raise him away from war and politics. Just the three of them. Closing her eyes, she could picture it so plainly. Their little house with Xev and their son.

But how long until they were hunted down out of spite? Azura wouldn’t let him go. He was one of her top generals.

Apollymi relied on him to guard Monakribos. Kri relied on him as his best friend, confidant, and advisor.

While he would give her the information she needed to fight their army, he still protected Kri, and she respected that. They had an unspoken pact that she would never lead her army directly against Kri and his forces.

Just as she’d tried her best to avoid Malphas.

Yeah, look how that had ended.Over and over, she kept replaying that last fight where she’d stabbed Malphas.

The look in his eyes as he’d fallen away from her, toward the human realm—it was hard to live with the guilt. What would she do if she were responsible for Xev’s death?

Or that of her child?

What am I to do?

“Is something wrong?”

She gasped at the sound of Xev’s voice coming out of the shadows behind her. “I was just thinking of you.”

“With that frown? Whatever I did, I am so sorry. I won’t do it again. You just have to tell me how I screwed up and I swear I’ll fix it…and bring you your favorite food from Trisa.”

Laughing, she held her hand out to him. “You did nothing wrong.”

“It didn’t look like nothing. It looked like I left the toilet seat up or ate your last friggle. Again, whatever I did, I am forever sorry.” He took her hand and kissed her cheek. “Better yet, can I blame my brother or father for it?”

She laughed again. “You did nothing wrong, but in this case, you can blame your father for my mood.”

Relief spread across his handsome features as he moved to sit down beside her at her table. “Whew. I’d much rather he have your ire. So what did he do, and do you want me to kill him for it?”

She loved whenever he teased her like this. If only she was in the mood for it.

“No,” she said sadly. “But you might kill him when I tell you what he said.”

That caused one of his dark eyebrows to shoot up. “What?” While he might not be demonkyn by blood, his voice had a very demonic sound to it.

“Don’t take that tone, Dary. It’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

“And that just made it worse.” He stood back up. “What in the name of the Source would he have to say to you?”

Given his mood, she wasn’t sure if she should tell him, but if she waited any longer, it would just make it worse. So she took a deep breath and blurted it out. “Well…he propositioned me.”

His jaw dropped, then his cheeks darkened with color as his eyes glowed with rage. Both wings shot out. “I’ll kill him!”

“Not like that! Ew!” She screwed her face up at the very thought, then cringed. “Well, kind of like that, but not the way you think. Calm yourself, Dary!”

That didn’t work quite the way she’d hoped. He hovered to her right as if he was about to fly out the window. “Wait. What?”

She pulled him to sit down beside her. “He knows I’m pregnant.”

He looked as if he’d bitten into something rotten. “Is that his thing?”

“Would you stop?” She shoved playfully at him. “He knows you’re the father.”

Xev sobered instantly as he realized what that meant. “What did he say?”

“You can imagine.”

Yes, he could, and none of it was good. “Does he plan to tell the others?”

She shook her head. “He offered to marry me.”

Xev choked as he felt his anger surge forward again. At this rate, he was going to kill his father before the night was over. “He offered to do what?”

“No. Now. Wait. Stop!” She grabbed him to keep him at her side as he started to get up and leave again. “Breathe, Dary. Just breathe and think about it before you go after him.”

He was thinking, even though his wings were twitching…and so was his eye. Thinking of how much he wanted to beat his father until he bled. Thinking of how much of his mother he had in him right now, and how he should have left his father chained in that room.

And then he began to calm down a bit and really consider what she was saying.

To his utter disgust, it actually made sense. As much as it galled him, it made sense. It made sense…He kept repeating that to his lizard brain that was having a hard time grasping all this without sending bolts of power toward his father.

Myone played with his hair, which went a long way toward calming him. “He said he wasn’t going to touch me. It would be in name only, to protect us.”

That was the most surprising part of it all. “And you’re sure it was my father who said this? My father. Big, tall…asshole?”

She snorted. “Positive. Big. Tall. Asshole.”

“My father?” he repeated. He just kept doing that, as he was having a hard time fathoming everything she was telling him.

“Your father.”

He still couldn’t quite wrap his mind around it. “Did you hit him in the head with something? Did he have a battle wound? Aneurysm? Hangnail?”

She laughed and rolled her eyes. “I think it was a change of heart.”

“He has no heart to change.”

Myone tsked at him. “I know, but people can change.”

“He’s not a person.”

“Gods can change. Even Apollymi learned to love.” She leaned against him. “Stop being so contrary, Dary. Don’t let your anger get in the way.”

Maybe, but he had a hard time believing it. This was his father they were talking about. Jaden was barely one step up from an amoeba. All he could see was the look in his father’s eyes when Jaden had left him to his mother’s tender care after Xev freed him.

He couldn’t bring himself to ever forgive his father for that nightmare.

But as much as he hated to admit it, Myone was right. He needed to put his anger away and think clearly. What she said made sense.

If she was the wife of his father—he shuddered at the very thought—it would mask the baby’s powers. He couldn’t deny that. Because they were so closely related, no one would know.

This could very well be the best chance she had. The only chance, really.

Damn them all for it.

Xev placed his hand on her belly. He still couldn’t believe that there was a part of him in there. That she loved him enough to risk so much. To risk her life.

This wasn’t really his decision to make. And he wasn’t about to make it for the one it would impact the most.

“What do you want to do?”

She didn’t hesitate. “I want to be with you, Dary. But I want you both safe. You and our baby.”

He loved her for that. “Do you trust my father?”

“I think I do. At least on this matter. You didn’t see him when he came to me. He was being honest. He regrets what happened with you.”

Sure he did. She might believe Jaden, but Xev wasn’t so easily won over.

He clenched his teeth as he debated the best course of action. “I still don’t trust him. At all. But I trust you. Whatever you decide, I will back you with everything I have. I know that when it comes to him, I can’t make a logical decision. My emotions are too invested in my hatred, and they always will be.” He sighed. “I just wish this was all done with and we didn’t have to live in fear.”

“Me, too.”

Taking her hand, he pressed her fingers to his lips and kissed them. “Just promise me one thing.”

“Anything.”

“Whatever happens, don’t let my son grow to hate me.”

Myone cupped his whiskered chin in her palm and forced him to look at her. “I will never let our son hate his father. How could he?”

“I’m a monster, Myone, and I lead others of my kind. I hate everything I’m forced to do.”

Those words broke her heart. “What do you mean?”

“You are the only thing I don’t regret. But everything else…I don’t know how much longer I can hold on. I’m so tired.”

She pulled him into her arms and held him. “It’ll be all right.”

Xev drew a ragged breath as he let the warmth of her arms wash away the horrors of his memories. The nightmare of his day. Too many battles. Too many bodies. He was done with war.

Done with killing.

But there was no end in sight.

He’d never understand the joy his mother had in taking lives. Why Noir wanted to destroy everyone around him. Or Apollymi.

Or Kri, for that matter.

They’d laid waste to an entire human village today. He couldn’t get the sound of innocent screams out of his head. People begging for mercy.

Or death.

The carnage…

The smell of burning flesh.

He well understood the need for revenge. Wanting to make someone pay for having wronged him.

Killing for killing’s sake?

What the hell? It was twisted and sick. The only thing he’d learned in all this was that everyone bled. It didn’t matter if they were gods, demons, humans, or other. Pain and suffering was universal.

Creatures who declared themselves superior or completely different from others were more alike than they were different. It didn’t matter their species or country. They all were veterans of this war, brothers and sisters of misery, who cried out for mercy when they were dying.

And he was tired of serving it up to all those he met. Old and young. Innocent and guilty.

He needed a reprieve.

Sighing, he lifted his head to meet her gaze levelly. “Marry him and protect Jared.”

She scowled at him. “Jared?”

“Our son. Our descendant. Let us hope that he’s a much better man than his father is. That he has his mother’s heart.”

Brushing his hair back from his eyes, she winced. “You sell yourself short, Dary. I hope he’s just like you. I can think of nothing better.”

“And I hope he has much better judgment than his mother. Poor thing, she chose such a loser to marry. Both times.”

She laughed so hard, she actually snorted, then playfully slapped at his arm.

Sobering, she sighed. “To Jared. And I will make sure that he never hates his father. He will love and respect you every bit as much as I do.”

Someone knocked on her door. Myone gasped at the sudden sound that intruded on their moment.

With a sad smile, Xev gave her a quick kiss, then vanished.

Heartbroken that he had to leave so quickly, Myone took one quick look around to make sure there was no trace of him. Which saddened her even more. She would love to be able to keep something more than her necklace. And even that, she had to hide.

It wasn’t fair.

One day, though, they wouldn’t have to keep this secret. They’d be able to let everyone know they belonged to each other.

But that wasn’t today. Today she was living for that future moment when they would be a family and there would be no more lies or secrets.