Chapter 25
Something roused Ducarius from sleep. He wasn’t sure what had awakened him, so he yawned and kissed Drexley’s short blond locks.
Wiggling his shoulders, Ducarius slid a hand down to cup the curve of Drexley’s naked ass.
It was tempting to caress much more of him, but Drexley required rest. So did Ducarius.
Ducarius’s eyes drifted closed as he yawned again.
A second later, he was wide awake. The ground beneath him rumbled, and the bed shook.
It was subtle but unmistakable. Was another section of the castle crumbling?
Worried that the bedroom where his mate lay would be the next victim of the shrinking realm, Ducarius opted to get up and survey the latest damage.
It was imperative Drexley remained asleep, so Ducarius moved slowly and let out a relieved breath as the shaking stopped.
Perhaps it was foolish to even bother taking a walk around when he could be cuddled with Drexley, but now Ducarius doubted he would find it easy to relax again without checking the castle.
As carefully as possible, Ducarius slid toward the edge of the mattress. He made it halfway out from under Drexley before the brittle building roared to life again. The quaking of the stones was louder this time around. Drexley’s eyes popped open.
Ducarius immediately sensed his confusion and fear. The connection they had gained hours earlier thanks to their matebond was reassuring, but also recent enough that it was odd to have feelings that were not his own. But that did not make Ducarius any less grateful to have the rare skill.
“More of the castle is falling apart?”
“Yes, I will go check and see what we have lost. Go back to sleep.”
Drexley rolled his eyes as the room continued to sway. “How could I rest now?”
The question was rhetorical, so Ducarius threw the covers aside and climbed out of bed.
Thankfully, he had worn one of robes earlier, which had allowed his uniform to dry.
Ducarius was far more comfortable in his own clothing.
As Drexley moved behind him, Ducarius grabbed his underwear and stepped into them.
Beneath him, the floor shifted violently, and he was flung into the wall near the hearth. He was slammed hard enough that the air rushed from his lungs in a whoosh. Ducarius’s bare ass hit the ground, and his teeth clacked together.
“Fuck,” Ducarius barely managed as he sucked in some needed oxygen.
Drexley’s panic crashed through Ducarius, nearly as intense as his short flight through the bedroom.
“Adney,” Drexley cried out.
“Dress swiftly,” Ducarius ordered as yanked his boxer briefs up his legs.
The grinding noise of the rocks and the popping of wooden planks were overwhelming. But Ducarius had to focus. On his hands and knees, he crawled to the trunk and snatched his clothes from the top. Sparks from the fire filled the air. But Ducarius paid no attention to any of it.
Drexley had crawled to his side. Ducarius paused long enough to help him yank a clean robe and hose out of the trunk.
Tears were swimming in Drexley’s eyes, but Ducarius had to wait to soothe him.
The pitcher and basin they used to wash crashed and broke into pieces.
A heartbeat later, the fragments poofed out of existence.
Ducarius’s fingers trembled, and the swaying made his belly roil. But he finished dressing. Once his boots were on, he grabbed his daggers. With a whispered word, they were floating at his sides. He shuffled to the wall and braced his palms to get to his feet. Planting his legs wide, he stood.
Ducarius used every ounce of strength he had honed in his two thousand years of training to haul Drexley upward.
The other sentinel nearly landed in a heap thanks to his robe, but Ducarius refused to let him go.
Air whistled through the room, and Ducarius whipped his head to watch half of the space disappear.
“Adney!” Drexley shouted.
“Head to the door,” Ducarius ordered firmly through their mindlink.
“I must go check on him,” Drexley replied, though Ducarius already knew his mate was in a near-blind panic thanks to his worry over Adney.
But their bedroom was zipping away. Thanks to the larger view they now had of the castle, they could see that the damage was far more extensive.
And ongoing. Ducarius urged Drexley forward, and they used the wall to brace themselves.
Once in the hallway, Ducarius sent waves of positivity to Drexley through their connection.
Ducarius was grateful that Adney’s bedroom was close. Another loud boom ricocheted through the castle. A wave of energy knocked Ducarius forward. He cursed as his forehead painfully met rock.
A fresh wave of terror swept Ducarius. This time he wasn’t sure if it was his emotion or Drexley’s.
Perhaps a bit of both. Shuffling forward again, they made it to Adney’s door.
Drexley kicked it in. Ducarius shouted his mate’s name as Drexley rushed into the bedroom, heedless of whatever danger awaited him.
Turning the corner on shaky legs thanks to the rocking of the floor, Ducarius found a sobbing Drexley crawling to Adney’s bed. Ducarius braced himself and followed Drexley into the trashed space. Like their own, Adney’s room was a mixture of broken shit and vanishing sections.
Drexley made it to Adney’s side first. On his knees, Drexley grabbed Adney’s frail hand and pressed it to his cheek. Ducarius hustled to Drexley’s side. But there was nothing he could do. Drexley was heartbroken, and his devastation was nearly too much for Ducarius to bear.
Adney was crossing the veil. Despite his desire to set aside everything that made him a sentinel, Drexley could not turn off the abilities granted to him at his creation. He was sobbing as they watched Adney’s soul gently lift from his body.
Never in his life had Ducarius been so helpless. Desperate to do something to soothe his other half, Ducarius rested his palm on Drexley’s back. Ducarius would have given anything to give Drexley comfort. But his instincts were urging him to find some measure of safety.
Nausea curled in Ducarius’s belly as the floor dropped slightly and rotated. Ducarius refused to give in to the urge to be sick. Instead, he focused on mustering every bit of comfort in his soul and sending it through his link to his mate.
The higher Adney’s soul rose, the more precarious their safety became. Ducarius’s gaze whipped up as what was left of the roof vanished. Above them, the world was a deep, endless void.
It was horrifying.
Ducarius’s heart thumped in his chest. The future was suddenly terrifying. But he could not panic. Not now anyway.
“He’s gone, Ducarius. Adney’s gone.” Drexley’s weepy, shattered voice filtered through Ducarius’s mind, and he ached so badly for his other half.
The sounds of destruction stopped abruptly. Ducarius took a breath, and it was loud in the sudden silence. Beneath him, the floor vanished. He had no time even to scream as he was hurled away from Drexley.
Making the mistake of glancing below him, Ducarius found another vast abyss. And he was rapidly falling through it. So was Drexley. But he was too far away to grab. What remained of the castle and its realm dissolved into nothing.
Whatever magical force was left forced Ducarius and Drexley into endless circles as if a funnel had formed beneath them. Ducarius squeezed his eyes shut to keep from vomiting. It did not help his dizziness dissipate.
“Drexley,” Ducarius shouted through their mindlink as they sank quicker through the inky blackness.
“Ducarius,” Drexley yelled, offering Ducarius a touch of relief. It did not last long since he had no idea where they were headed or if this was their destiny. To fall endlessly through nothing.
Ducarius desperately racked his brain for alternatives to being dragged through a void in gut-wrenching circles. Teleportation. It could work. Anywhere in the Council would do. But Ducarius had no cell phone. No picture to show his mate. And there was no way he was fucking leaving Drexley.
Something shifted. Ducarius was hurled ass over head. His body crashed into something solid. The crunch of bones echoed sickeningly through his head. At first, Ducarius noticed only that he was no longer moving.
Then the pain hit. And it was unrelenting.
Even worse, he could sense Drexley’s suffering.
“Love, where are you?” Ducarius asked. It took more than one try to gather the words.
Ducarius was sure he had broken everything.
His organs did not function fully for several heartbeats.
Breathing was torturous, and he lacked the ability to move.
Opening his eyes made no difference. His vision was too blurry to be of any use.
“I do not know. I cannot see.”
Unbridled relief surged through Ducarius’s battered frame. He was a sentinel. Everything was already healing. The important thing was that Drexley had to be close. With his pain slowly receding, Ducarius could feel Drexley’s distress and heartbreak again.
“Rest, I will find you,” Ducarius vowed.
He tried to wiggle his hips and immediately regretted it.
He needed at least another minute to mend.
It was both revolting and a relief to feel his bones knitting together again.
Some of his muscles had liquefied, and they tensed into tight balls the second they reformed.
The agony was indescribable.
Something brushed his hand. A surge of love filled him.
“I told you to rest,” Ducarius chided gently as Drexley grabbed at his fingers.
“How could I rest without knowing if you are well?”
Relieved that his sight was clearing, Ducarius turned his head. Drexley was at his side. His robe was dirty. His hair was disheveled. Tears stained his cheeks. But he had never been more beautiful.
Ducarius had regained the use of his limbs, and he was grateful to be a sentinel. While Ducarius had no clue how far he had fallen or where the hell he was, it was rewarding to mend from such horrible injuries so swiftly.
“Can you move comfortably yet, love?” Ducarius asked.
In response to his question, Drexley rolled toward him and laid his head on Ducarius’s chest. Ducarius kissed his head and wrapped his arms around him.
“I am so sorry about Adney,” Ducarius said aloud as he cuddled his mate.
“I knew the end was close, but…still, I am not ready. I can hardly believe he is gone.”
“Nothing was going to make it any easier to lose him. If it is any comfort, remember that at least now he is no longer in pain, and on the other side of the veil, his magic has been returned to him. He cannot resurrect anyone, but every other spell is now at his fingertips.”
“He is with his son again. That is what he wanted,” Drexley replied, his voice trembling with his tears. “If any of his body survived, I fear we may never find it. Can we light a pyre for him anyway?”
“Of course we can. Whatever you want.”
“I did not get to say goodbye. I thought…well, I thought there was time yet.”
“He knows your heart, Drexley. You bravely wear it on your sleeve. Adney crossed knowing he was loved. It is likely he passed in his sleep and did not suffer in his last moments.”
“I held his hand, but he may have already lost the ability to feel it.”
“Do not torture yourself, love,” Ducarius begged as he smoothed down Drexley’s tousled locks. “You did your best and aided him however he asked. The first thing you did was rush to his side. There is nothing more you could have done.”
“I watched his soul rise out of him, but there remains a part of me in disbelief that he is truly gone. How can that be possible? We were thrown from his realm, and I can no longer feel the thrum of magic.”
“That is a good thing,” Ducarius assured Drexley. “We are here on the planet I left and that Adney once called home. We will have a bit of rest and collect our thoughts, then we can teleport home.”
Drexley squeezed Ducarius’s arm. “I can feel your excitement and longing. Leaving behind the past will not be easy, but it pleases me that you will soon be reunited with your family.”
“I know the future scares you, but you will be okay, I vow it. And you may count on me to be at your side whenever you need me.”
“I love you,” Drexley said, his voice breaking on the words. “I am so grateful for your comfort. I miss him. I miss him already.”
Ducarius caressed Drexley’s nape and pressed his lips to his hair again. “If I could have one magical ability, it would be to ease your pain.”
Drexley lifted his head and smiled at Ducarius through his tears. His brown eyes were shattered, and it broke Ducarius’s heart. “I would argue that you already possess that power.”
Lifting his hand, Ducarius used his thumb to caress Drexley’s cheek. It was dewy thanks to his weeping. “I am grateful you think so. Let’s rest for a few minutes, get home, then find somewhere quiet to have a private funeral pyre for Adney.”
With a nod, Drexley snuggled into Ducarius’s chest, and they lay there lost in their own thoughts.
Ducarius tempered his excitement at being reunited with his family and introducing his wonderful mate to them to focus on Drexley’s emotions.
Grief dominated. But there were hints of fear.
That did not surprise Ducarius. The future was scary and unknown.
Ducarius had to remain mindful of Drexley’s fright and be a strong shoulder for him to lean on.
Especially since Ducarius knew what Drexley did not—as the hours away from Adney’s realm sped by, the other sentinel’s memory would return.
And Drexley would have to deal with whatever damage Adney had wrought.
Ducarius refused to give in to his anger with Drexley cuddled close.
But he was pissed, and he had a feeling his rage would grow as the past caught up with Drexley.