Chapter 36
Calia’s mouth hung open in shock, her emerald eyes wide as she dug her fingers into Leonora’s arms. The bruising pressure of her fingertips did nothing to deter my mother as she greedily fed. Each deep pull of Calia’s blood was audible, a contemptible reminder of Corvina. I could not allow Leonora to cause my wife’s death as well.
Horrified, I watched Calia’s skin fade to a sickly pallor as Leonora consumed her vitality. With each pound of Calia’s fists, her strength diminished, movements growing languid until her body fell utterly still.
“Get away from my wife,” I growled, crawling toward them at a labored pace. The effects of whatever spell Ballard had cast still lingered, shrouding my thoughts in a dense fog that dulled my surroundings.
Elios lunged forward, but Ballard stopped him with a flick, binding the god’s wrists in a thread of golden light that hung from the ceiling. “I will kill you,” Elios seethed as Ballard rotated his fingers and hoisted his bound hands above his head.
The weight of his threat seemed to settle heavily on Ballard’s steadily drooping shoulders. “I know, but your interference now will ensure your daughter’s demise,” the witch answered, voice laden with remorse. He tugged on the shimmering bond, forcing Elios to stand on his toes.
Leonora pulled away with a pop, letting Calia’s body fall to the floor with little care. She smirked, swiping a drop of crimson from the corner of her mouth and licking it clean. “My, my, my… What secrets you have been keeping. I had wondered how the little wench survived,” she said, chuckling. “Here I was thinking I would need to kill that one”—she pointed a finger in Elios’ direction—“to gain power.” She looked down at Calia contemptuously. “You know, she tasted a bit like you, your cousin. Despite your impotent father”—Leonora made the shape of quotation marks in the air—“having no hand in your making, you and Brielle, was it? shared the same tang of weakness.”
Though faint, I focused on the beat of Calia’s heart.
Not dead.
Not dead.
Not dead.
The mantra did nothing to assuage my fear, not as my memories of the night she jumped resurfaced. Her body had hung so limply in my arms as I begged her chest to rise.
With a graceful fluidity, Leonora stood and walked toward Elios. Like his daughter, he met her gaze without hesitation, looking down his nose at the woman who stood before him. She showed him no reverence, no respect for what he was. Instead, her eyes flashed as she ran her hands across his chest, leaning into his body. “Where is the dagger?”
He barked a harsh laugh, tugging at his bindings. “Do you truly believe killing a god will bring you what you seek?” When she did not respond, he shook his head, looking between his captors. “It will only bring the wrath of the other gods upon you.” Ballard cleared his throat, shifting uncomfortably as Elios leaned forward. “And I will relish watching them tear you limb from limb.”
Careful to avoid my mother’s attention, I dragged myself to Calia’s side. Her eyes fluttered open, and a lone tear slid down her cheek as I cradled her head in my lap and applied pressure to the open wound on her neck. Leonora had not withdrawn her fangs before pulling away, tearing the skin and causing immeasurable damage.
Calia opened her mouth to speak, her lips forming Brielle’s name, but I shook my head. She had already lost too much blood, the viscous liquid turning her once vibrant auburn hair deep mahogany. “Shh, love,” I whispered, ensuring Leonora was still focused on Elios. “I have you.”
Each stringy thrum of her pulse was a step toward death. If I could not staunch the flow, no power would be alive to save her.
“It will not matter at that point,” Leonora said sweetly, “for I will already hold the power of gods in my hands. No one will be able to stop me.”
“Our power does not come with the ability to wield it,” Elios shot back, nostrils flaring as he spoke. “Ours is magic in its purest form—untainted and raw. It is not meant to be possessed by mortal beings. It will consume you. And if you cannot control it, it will destroy you.”
Leonora’s smile faltered. “Where is the dagger, Elios?” she repeated, tone-clipped.
Already, I saw the signs of her waning patience. Violent outbursts were her specialty, as was acting without consideration of the consequences that followed.
When Elios said nothing, she sighed. “Perhaps you need motivation.” She inclined her chin toward Ballard. “Will your own suffering loosen your tongue? Or will I need to resort to that of others?”
Elios cried out, back bowing as the bindings snaked down his arms in thick coils. Barbed notches dug into his skin, burrowing through muscle and sinew. The smell of burning flesh filled the air, and I looked on in horror as the smoke began rising from his scorched skin.
Still, the god gnashed his teeth together and said nothing.
I looked away from the scene, noting Calia’s slowly drooping eyelids. “No, no, no,” I whispered, pulling her closer. I searched for a barely audible heartbeat. She was running out of time. “Stay with me, love.”
Calia smiled faintly, bringing her frigid palm up to my cheek. I thought I had known fear before, but every moment I had been afraid now paled when I beheld the resignation in her eyes. “I’m so tired,” she whispered. “And it’s so nice to be held once more, maybe I’ll see her.”
My mother walked over to a small satchel near Elios’ feet. Though he had told me before leaving the manor that the artifact would remain safe, dread pooled in my stomach as she pulled the bag open and rifled through its contents.
“I know, love, but you must hold on, okay? I will fix this.” The inescapable resonance of Calia’s slowing heartbeat and Elios’ building screams was all around me—a maddening cacophony of sound that drove me to recklessness.
But what was life if I did not have her by my side?
In one final act of desperation, I bit into my wrist and placed the wound over Calia’s mouth. Her eyes grew wide as my lifeblood spurted across her tongue, filling her mouth to the point it ran over in thick, red rivers.
“Drink from me, love,” I begged, sweeping the blood-soaked hair from her face. “You cannot leave me again.”
She did not hesitate, keeping her eyes on mine as she latched on to my wrist and began to feed. I counted the seconds, watching as the color bloomed across her cheeks again. Each pull grew stronger than the last—restoring my fragile hope.
“We can move away,” I whispered, engrossed in the flickering colors that began dancing within her irises. My attention was wholly dedicated to her, to us, to this moment. “We can start over somewhere new—just you and me. Somewhere we can see every star glint against the evening sky.” Her grip tightened around my arm, keeping me upright as I made promises about our future. “I will build you a library and fill it with your favorite stories. You can decorate the house however you wish. And we can take the dogs, too?—”
“Rion!”
Sloane shouted my name across the room, but it was too late.
A sharp burst of power speared into my chest, knocking me back into the wall. White, hot light encompassed my hands, twisting into swirling tendrils which pulled me into the air. I kicked and thrashed helplessly, watching in horror as Leonora stood triumphant with a ruby-red blade in her hands.
No, no, no, no…
Though my blood would have lent her abilities my strength, it would not have healed Calia completely. Exhaustion would lull her into a false sense of security, unable to move.
And now she was utterly defenseless.
“Help her!”I shouted at Sloane, whose resolve faltered as she flicked her gaze between Calia and Jasper. When she did nothing, staring at me instead with a gaze filled with remorse, I began shouting again.
Help her.
Help her.
Help her.
Elios stilled, nostrils flaring as Leonora turned to face him. “I had hoped you would put up more of a fight,” she pouted, running the tip of her finger along the edge. “But I suppose it really would be easier to kill you and be done with it.”
“Kill me then,” he spat. “But know that your death will surely follow.”
She offered him a smile filled with victory. “That is a chance I am willing to take,” she said, running the blade along his chest. She stopped above his heart, digging into the flesh and drawing a single bead of crimson. She tapped her chin with a single finger, maliciousness bright in her eyes. “But you know, you are right! Thank you, for this helpful counsel. Perhaps I should first attempt to sacrifice someone of lesser power. I would not wish to anger my future equals, and I do have a perfect substitute…”
Elios began thrashing in his bindings as Leonora laughed, backing away slowly. “Do not do this, Leonora,” he warned, voice cracking. “Her life will not bring you godship as you seek!”
She paid him no mind, turning the full force of her hatred on me as she had done so many times before. All my life, I had allowed her to spew venomous words that seeped into my skin and poisoned both my mind and my beliefs. Now, the power she craved was readily at her fingertips, and she would use it like a blade, cutting into me until I was no longer recognizable.
The bindings sliced into my skin as I tugged against Ballard’s power, knowing there would be no escape and yet incapable of doing nothing. I would gladly rip flesh from bone and sacrifice my limbs for a chance of freedom.
“Any last words?” Leonora asked sweetly, crouching over Calia’s body. She cackled as my wife lifted a shaky arm and reached toward me. “How pathetic.”
Calia did not flinch, meeting my gaze with unwavering acceptance while I raged against her imminent death. She was far braver than I.
I feared the unknown and what waited for us after we took our final breath. I did not think I could traverse the plane of eternal dark alone.
She can’t have my last words,Calia said, reaching out through her thoughts. This was her goodbye, but I did not want it. Not yet. Not when we had just found our way back together.
“No,” I whispered out loud, not caring if my mother heard me beg. Let her listen and see the man I had become—one that overcame the wickedness she attempted to plant inside my mind.
Because it did not take root.
Calia smiled. You’ll be okay. She’s taken enough from me, I won’t let her have you too.
I shook my head, feeling the keen bite of the jagged cords of wicked magic dug into my skin. Blood rained to the floor below, the gaping gashes revealing the sinew beneath. Despite the pain, I would not stop, for if she would not survive this night, then let it be my end as well.
I will always be yours,I began through tears, as I have been since the night ran red. And will continue to be until our days burn bright, whether on this plane or the next.
Leonora clicked her tongue in disgust as she watched. “Fine then, keep them to yourselves.” She flipped the dagger in her hand before letting loose a shuddering breath. “All these years…” she murmured, tracing the decorative hilt. “And now?—”
Abruptly, Elios and I both crashed to the ground, free from our wretched bindings. The echo of a single gunshot reverberated off the walls, the silence broken by Leonora’s incensed, howling cry as she raised her head and took in her surroundings.
Sloane stood beside Jasper, holding him upright as he lowered the smoking gun to his side. She buried her head in his chest, soft sobs wracking her frame as Ballard’s corpse slid down the wall to land on the floor with a wet, pulpy sound. Unknown voices drifted in from down the hall. My apprehension gave way to relief as I heard the thundering boom of Castor shouting Calia’s name.
“It is over, Mother,” I panted, swaying slightly as I lurched to my feet. Each breath seemed harder to take than the last, but I could see the end before us. “You have failed.”
She looked around for a means of escape, more like a caged animal than the fearless, hateful tormentor I knew her to be. “No, I have not,” she whispered, finally turning crazed eyes on me. “Not yet.”
Time seemed to stretch and bend around us, becoming unbearably slow as I realized Leonora’s intent. She raised the blade above her head, flicking her gaze toward Calia.
Despite the nauseating shock of agony that threatened to seize my limbs, I lunged forward, knocking Leonora back just as she brought down the knife. Pain sliced through my chest as another gunshot cleaved the air. Blood sprayed my face, spattering me in a gory mist as a perfect bullet hole appeared between my mother’s eyes.
I would have thought death to be instantaneous, but I watched as the woman who had sought eternal life and power was faced with the proof of her own mortality. As she took her last breath, I felt almost disappointed at the ease with which she met her end.
She had deserved far worse.
Turning slowly, I faced Jasper and Sloane. Their expressions crumpled, the witch running forward in horror. “Rion?—”
I glanced down to where the hilt of the dagger protruded from the center of my chest. Through my waning adrenaline,the creeping promise of death crept in. I did not feel the bite of concrete as my knees buckled and I crashed to the ground.
Hot, viscous blood bubbled from my lips as my surroundings began to spin. Somewhere, over the overwhelming hum of beating wings, I heard someone shout my name. The world seemed to drift out of focus one moment, only to slam into me in jarring clarity the next.
Other than knowing from an early age I would meet my end at the hands of Leonora D’Arcy, I had never given much thought to how I would die. However, I took solace in knowing my mother had been stripped of life by the one person who had known the true depths of her depravity.
Someone laid me down, a dark blur silhouetted against the brightest light I had ever seen. I choked on the acrid taste of copper as it filled my mouth.
I craved sleep, to close my eyes and shut out the world for a few measly minutes. For if I slept, I could dream; if I dreamt, I could find peace. Leonora could not haunt my dreams anymore.
What a beautiful respite that would be.
Though I could not see or feel her, I knew Calia was near. I would find her again, whether in the final moments of this life or the first of the one that followed.
“Calia,” I whispered with my last breath. As the warm blanket of darkness settled over me, I took comfort in knowing her presence was a beacon. Where she led, I would follow.