Chapter 52 – Kian
Chapter Fifty-Two
KIAN
The sun god comes flying up and over the edge of the pit through a shimmering barrier I couldn’t see until now. This can’t possibly be happening. I didn’t hear everything that transpired, but I heard enough.
He lands hard on his feet, the cave floor shuddering beneath the force.
“What did you do to my wife?” The words come out in a menacing growl as I stare down the sun god, the one I’ve been searching for and thought could save my realm.
He straightens, nonchalantly brushing dirt off the rags he wears. Despite the obvious weakness in his body, he is still to be feared. “Watch your tone, son of Silenius. I am still your god.”
“How could you leave her down there? Your daughter?” I grasp for answers, but the god’s visage is cold and ruthless.
“The only reason I do not drain you where you stand is for her,” he replies, looking down his regal nose at me. His eyes flick to the binding mark on my arm, barely visible in the dim light he exudes. “They should have never bound you.”
“What? I don’t understand?”
The god growls, and with immense speed, he has me pinned to the wall of the cave. “Now that she is a full goddess, your life is bound to hers through your marriage bond. I cannot kill you without killing her. You were never meant to be bound!” he roars.
I start feeling lightheaded from the god’s grip around my throat, but no, I can’t pass out. Rae needs me.
“Luna is a meddling fool,” he barks out. “This has her written all over it.”
Confusion flares in my mind, but I’m seeing spots and my breathing starts to sputter. With a sound of disgust, the sun god lets go, and I slump to the ground, losing consciousness as the cave goes dark.
“Kian!”
My name on her tongue startles me awake with a fierceness. I scramble to my feet, groaning as my hand flies to my throat and the bruises that are certainly darkening from the god’s inhuman grip.
“Rae!” I gasp. The room is pitch-black, and I’m afraid that if I’m not careful, I’ll end up falling into the pit with her.
“Kian, are you okay?” her weak voice echoes up the walls of her prison. “Gods, please tell me you’re okay.”
I drop to my hands and knees and cautiously crawl forward to the sound of her voice. “I’m fine, love. Are you?”
A strangled cry reaches my ears, and it breaks something in me. “We never should have come. It was all a trap. He lured me here with his power, and I didn’t question it,” she says, her voice dissolving into sobs.
“Love, I’m so sorry . . .”
When my hand hits air, I stop and fumble around for the pack that has to be nearby. Relief courses through me when my fingers close upon the leather strap, and I drag it closer. There has to be something in here I can use. Rifling around, I find a small box of matches. They will have to do.
The match scrapes against the stone floor and flares to life, and I hold it up over the pit. The light is barely a spark, but after the darkness, it’s something. Though I can still barely make out Rae’s form lying at the base of the pit.
“Rae, my love, I’m here,” I say. “What can I do? Can I pull you out?”
She sniffs. “I don’t think you can, Ki. He made me take his place. I’m as trapped down here as he was.” Rae wraps her arms around her knees, curling up into a fetal position.
The match burns out, and I curse as the flame singes my finger. Within seconds, I light another one.
“There has to be something,” I plead, but who I’m pleading with, I don’t know. The god I worshiped above all has failed me and ripped away the woman I love.
“You need to go,” she says weakly. “He’s hungry . . . Sera and Alex . . .”
“I can’t leave you here alone.”
The match sputters out, and I light the next one.
“You must. I would never forgive myself if they died because of my impulsiveness.”
“This is not your fault, Rae,” I try to assure her. “You’re not responsible for his actions.”
She barks a bitter laugh. “That’s kind of you, Ki, but I never should have given myself to him so freely. I should have known better.”
I squeeze my eyes shut. The truth I don’t want to admit to myself is that there is nothing I can do from here. I need assistance, but the thought of leaving her alone breaks my heart in two.
“I’m going to get help,” I say. “Watch out. I’m going to throw my pack down for you, all right? It has a little food and water left.”
“Okay.” Her voice is weak and resigned.
I light the final match and carefully take aim, listening for the thud of the bag.
“Don’t forget about me,” Rae croaks out, and I want to yell and scream at the unfairness of it all.
“I could never forget you.” I almost choke on the words. “Hold on, love. I’ll come back as soon as I can.”
I stumble through the dark with hands outstretched, seeking the passageway back up to the falls. Each step away from Rae is a knife thrust into me, over and over. I might as well have ripped my heart from my body and left it behind.
Blinding sun beats down on me when I emerge from behind the falls. Gone is the cloud cover we came in under, which can only mean one thing: Kyros’ power is back.
Dread fills the pit of my stomach when I don’t immediately see Alex or Sera. If the sun god got to them, Rae would be devastated. She wouldn’t be the only one.
“Alex! Sera!” I cry out, praying to the other gods that they’ve been spared.
I run down the path we cleared, calling their names repeatedly. I don’t see any bodies, but still . . .
One moment, I’m running, and the next, a force takes me to the ground, filling my mouth with leaves and dirt.
“Would you stop screaming?” Alex whispers harshly, his body covering mine.
“Thank the gods you’re okay.” I groan. “Now, get off me.”
Alex rolls away and springs to his feet, and I push up to my knees.
“Where’s Rae?” Sera’s frantic voice cuts in.
“Kyros tricked us,” I say as I brush the dirt off myself and stand.
“I knew something didn’t feel right,” Sera grits out. “When that asshole came flying out of the falls, Alex and I ducked out of sight as quickly as possible. We can only hope your screaming didn’t draw his attention.”
“It’s a good thing you hid,” I reply, ignoring the dig at me.
“‘Ducked out of sight’? Ha, that’s one way to put it. Sera tackled me into the bushes.” Alex huffs. “What in the hells happened in there?”
I shake my head. These two . . .
“He made her take his place.” I run a hand through my hair. “Rae is a goddess now . . . but she’s trapped.”
Sera and Alex stare at me, mouths agape.
“I did not see that coming,” Alex says.
“How do we rescue her?” Sera demands.
“As much as I hate this, we need to find Lord Astoria.” Sera oddly perks up at my words.
“He was responsible for putting the sun god away the first time, so perhaps he knows what dark magic is holding Rae captive now. He’s our best hope .
. . but the problem is, Kyros has a vendetta against him, and I’m not sure if we can make it to him before the god does. ”
“Shit,” Alex and Sera say in unison.
“You’re telling me. I left some food and water for Rae, but we need to get back to Elsmont as quickly as possible.”
Alex and I march back into the jungle with Sera trailing behind.
The humidity is a million times worse with the sun out in all its glory, and we are sweating, panting messes when we finally make it back to the beach. We only have drops of water rations left, and Sera looks wan, her steps no longer sure as she favors her injured leg.
“Are you okay, Sera?” I ask.
She gives me a withering look, but there’s also a glint of . . . guilt? “I’m fine, Your Highness. Let’s just get to the boat.”
Without a word, Alex swoops her up into his arms.
“What in the hells are you doing?” Sera cries. “Put me down.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Sera. Your leg is killing you. Let me help,” Alex says, eyes straight ahead as he walks. “Besides, you’re only slowing us down.”
I wince. Wrong thing to say, buddy.
Sera crosses her arms and huffs.
Idiots.
Glancing out to the water, I startle at the small boat skimming through the waves, heading straight toward us.
“Uh-oh, we’ve got company,” I say, wondering how we should proceed. Is it angry fishermen coming after us for our boat theft? Though with their aversion to the island, I find it highly unlikely. “We need to get back to the boat.”
“No shit, Ki, but there’s no way we’re going to make it before they get here,” Alex grunts, sweat beading his brow.
He might be putting on a good front for Sera, but I can tell he’s exhausted after all the hiking we’ve done today. I’d offer to help but know there’s no way he’d accept it.
“Let’s pray to the gods they’re friendly,” I say as we continue to walk toward our stolen vessel.
When the boat gets close enough to see some of the men’s faces, Alex sets Sera onto her feet, but she refuses to look at either one of us. “Well, we’re either incredibly lucky, or shit is about to hit the sand,” he says.
I turn to face the boat, and none other than Lord Astoria is at the helm.
“You left her there alone?” Lord Astoria yells before throwing a punch straight at my face. I easily block the blow and knock him off-balance. We quickly filled him in on the sun god’s betrayal when he landed, and he’s not taking it well.
“Do not forget to whom you speak, Cary,” I growl. “Nor let us forget whose fault this is. Was it not you who trapped Kyros here to begin with?”
Cary straightens the lapels of his coat, chin high, ignoring my accusation. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done, princeling? Any idea what you’ve unleashed on our realm? You think things are bad now, but mark my words, it’s only going to get worse.”
“How in the hells did you even know we were here?” I ask. “And how do we know if we can trust you to help Raelyn?”
“As for your first question, I have my eyes and ears in the palace,” Cary scoffs. “Though it appears I was too late to stop you from making a potentially realm-ending mistake. And secondly, Raelyn is my daughter. Of course I will help her.”
I grit my teeth, trying to remind myself that he’s our only option right now.
Lord Astoria arrived with two men I didn’t recognize, but just then, the third comes to shore after securing their vessel.
Dylan Fucking Havordshire. I let out an almost hysterical laugh. “What in the realms were you thinking bringing him with you? Why would I allow him anywhere near my wife?”
Dylan gives me a wide berth, and I note fresh swelling and bruising around one of his eyes. That wasn’t my doing . . . His jaw, however, is a little crooked despite the healers’ best efforts. He’s lucky he can talk.
Cary looks almost abashed. “Despite his deplorable actions toward my daughter, which he’s assured me he will continue to pay penance for, I need him here.”
I’m feeling quite murderous. “You have some nerve, Cary.”
He glares at me. “She was meant to be with him! Everything was arranged, and you had to muck it all up by courting her seven years ago.”
I shove those memories down—I need to focus on the now. “Can you help us get her out?” I demand, changing the subject. “Can you break whatever spell is holding her there?”
Cary shakes his head, and something in me breaks.
“That pit has been here for millennia. It’s meant to contain gods.
I only knew about it because Kyros let the information slip.
Why do you think he was on this isle to begin with?
” Cary spits out. “He’s happy to paint me as the villain, but it was he who came here with the intent to trap a god. ”
Sera throws up her hands and grumbles, “You men and gods are all mad.”
“Watch your tongue, servant,” Cary says.
“Do not speak to her in that tone,” Alex cuts in, rage coating his words. “Speak to her again with such disrespect, and I’ll have your tongue.”
Cary is spitting mad, turning his attention back to Sera. “Don’t think I’m not aware of what you did. Delaying your message so I wouldn’t get here in time.”
Sera stands her ground, refusing to respond, and I’m filled with a sense of dread . . . betrayal. Alex looks between Sera and Cary, confusion muddling his features.
“What did you do, Sera?” I ask.
“What I had to,” she replies, face hard and unyielding.
Alex looks like he’s about to explode, but we don’t have time for this.
“Cary, you’re the one Kyros wants, and if you care about Rae at all, you will be the bait to catch him.”
“We should wait til nightfall,” Cary replies. “He’s too strong with the sun out. But you’re right, catching him is the only way to save her.”
“Where should we lure him?” I ask.
“Back where it all began.”