Chapter Nine
Giovanni
“Convert him.”
I slowly lifted my gaze to meet Malachi’s. “No,”
I said firmly. “Kyson would despise me for eternity if I turned him into a monster.”
Being human was his most prized treasure, his sense of self in a castle shrouded in darkness.
I would rather lose myself to the void than to dishonor him in such a heinous way.
No matter how much I desperately yearned to have him back—to see his smile, hear his laughter, and make love to him again—reviving him as a vampire would be a selfish indulgence of my own desires.
Not his.
My love for him ran too deep to betray him, even in death. He had suffered enough already, and I couldn’t bear the thought of seeing hatred burning in his eyes every time he glanced at me.
“But at least he would be alive to hate you,”
Malachi argued. “With your powers flowing through him, no vampire would be foolish enough to approach him.”
“Do you hear yourself!”
My arms tightened around Kyson, cradling him close because I wasn’t ready to let him go. I wanted to hold him, to make him feel safe, to know I was here for him, even though I’d failed him. “You would be willing to turn him into something he despises?”
I slowly shook my head, glaring at my brother. “That’s selfishness talking, Malachi. It’s your guilt for allowing this to happen! Where were you when he was being attacked, prince ? If you’d heeded my warning about not turning our home into a sanctuary, Kyson would still be alive!”
Guilt ate away at me like a ravenous beast, refusing me even a moment’s respite. For five long years I had lived with regret for not saving him from Osiris. Kyson had suffered greatly, only to face one final blow.
Ahorrifying death.
And I would carry that guilt with me as I welcomed the sun.
“He doesn’t have to be converted.”
Richard walked into the kitchen, his steps so quiet not even I had detected them. “Give him to me.”
I snarled, baring my fangs, crushing Kyson to me. “I don’t even know what you are.”
“All you need to know is that I can save him,”
Richard snapped.
“How?”
Dane shot to his feet, a glimmer of hope in his blue eyes. “I don’t care if you’re a goblin with fairy wings. How can you save him?”
Richard stared at Dane as if he were a loon.
“He’s a phoenix,”
Malachi confessed.
Dane’s brows shot up. “No way!”
Richard’s eyes glowed brightly as he glared at Malachi. “You said you would never reveal what I am to anyone.”
Black wings ruffled, the feathers shivering in warning. “Watch your tone, Richard.”
Each word dropped like a sledge hammer. “You might be the last of your kind, but I will not tolerate you speaking to me in that manner. It’s Kyson’s life we’re trying to save. I will do anything to bring him back!”
Richard lowered his head, his gaze darting to me. “I care very deeply for Kyson. He has shown me nothing but kindness and friendship. Please, allow me to save my friend.”
“Where were you while this was going on?”
I sneered as I stood, hugging my little bird to me. “You seem to live in this kitchen, yet you were nowhere to be found when he was being attacked!”
“I was regenerating.”
He met my gaze, his eyes begging me to drop the subject.
“He’s telling the truth,”
Malachi said. “If he hadn’t been, I would have hauled him out here the second this happened.”
“Did you burst into flames and were reborn from your ashes?”
Dane asked. “How long does that take? Does it hurt? Do you feel like a new man, ’cause no offense, you still look the same to me.”
“Can you interrogate him tomorrow?”
If there was a chance of saving Kyson without converting him, I didn’t want to waste precious time. The longer we waited… I forced the thought away, refusing to think of the breakdown of his body.
“Place him on the island,”
Richard said firmly.
I moved swiftly, but when I tried to put him down, I backed away.
“Giovanni?”
Malachi furrowed his brows.
“I-I can’t.”
My throat burned as I swallowed. “I can’t let him go. He needs to know he’s safe in my arms. What if I release him and he doesn’t come back?”
I gazed down at his handsome face, telling myself he was only sleeping, that he would wake soon, though I couldn’t convince myself of the lie.
I was terrified of hope, because hope meant I risked losing him all over again. I’d never let anyone in before, never opened my heart, and the moment I did, fate had ripped Kyson away. If this didn’t work…
“Giovanni.”
Malachi stood close to me but didn’t touch. “Brother, we’re not going to take him from you,”
he said softly. “There’s no safer place for him than in your arms.”
I watched as he slowly lowered to one knee, bowed his head, and pressed his right fist over his heart. “As your prince, your brother, and your friend, I promise that Kyson will remain with you, both in spirit and against any force. I place my sword at your feet, ready to accept my fate if I break this vow of honor.”
My breaths came out shallow, shocked Malachi had given me an oath. He was now bound by it, and breaking it would result in his death by my hands. “I accept your vow, brother.”
Turning, I placed Kyson gently on the countertop, pausing with my arms still around him. Leaning in, I whispered into his ear, “Richard will help you now, but know that I’m right by your side, petit oiseau . If you depart this world, I will follow. This is my oath to you.”
By sheer will, I slid my arms free, but gripped Kyson’s hand. “Do we have enough time that I can wash the blood off of him?”
Waking to his own blood coating his neck would only add to the trauma he was already going to face.
“If you wish to remove the evidence of his attack, I suggest getting him a fresh shirt as well,”
Richard said.
“I’ll get it,”
Malachi offered, which stunned me. My brother wasn’t exactly known for fetching things. But he was finally becoming the brother I had always yearned for, showing up in every way I needed him to.
As Malachi used the shimmer to cut down on time, I grabbed a dishtowel and wet it in the sink. My hands shook so badly, I forced myself to take a moment to blow out a breath. My earlier thoughts returned, haunting me.
Even if Kyson didn’t reciprocate my feelings, he would be alive. Which was all that mattered. Kyson had a lot of hurdles to overcome, and I wouldn’t allow my broken heart to be one of them.
Returning to the island, I carefully wiped at his neck, needing to scrub a bit harder in some areas. Thankfully, he wasn’t able to feel how roughly I was treating him. The dried blood was more stubborn to clean, but I was determined to erase it all. To erase the memory of what Osiris had done, to remove the demon’s fucking scent from the man I loved.
I was also wiping away my own failure , trying to erase the proof of what happened, as if making Kyson look untouched would somehow undo the nightmare.
As I tended to him, I made a conscious effort not to glance at the ragged flesh where Osiris had attempted to tear out his throat.
You rose from the ashes like a phoenix. You are powerful in mind, spirit, and body. A warrior was born from your trauma and you fought your way back. How could you not be the most beautiful man I’ve ever met?
I swallowed roughly as I recalled the moment I’d said those words to Kyson. I just had no idea at the time it would be a literal phoenix who attempted to save him.
Malachi returned, setting the shirt on the counter. “If you don’t mind, I would rather you didn’t tell Kyson I was in his room. He might burn it down for spite if he finds out.”
“I told you to talk to him.”
Dane gave him the stink-eye. “You can’t rebuild your relationship with him if you keep your mouth shut.”
“I just haven’t found the right moment,”
Malachi gently argued.
“He was literally at my door earlier!”
Dane exclaimed. “The perfect opportunity and ya let it pass ya by.”
As I continued to wash Kyson, I listened to their exchange, struggling to reconcile the image of the lethal warrior with this passive man. I never imagined witnessing the day when Prince Malachi, born of darkness and destruction, bent to the will of anyone, least of all a tiny human.
“Can we begin?”
Richard asked. “Change his shirt.”
As I reached for the hem of Kyson’s shirt, I paused. He wouldn’t want anyone seeing his scars. “I need everyone to turn around,”
I said in a voice that dared anyone to defy me. Kyson’s scars were his own, not for prying eyes. He hadn’t even allowed me the privilege of seeing them, and I would be damned if anyone else would either.
Malachi turned, spreading his wings to create a privacy dressing screen. Dane and Richard ducked behind the feathers.
I lifted his shirt then worked it over his head, feeling as if I was violating him in some way. Keeping my eyes averted, I reached for the clean shirt. But when I began to dress him, my gaze flicked to his torso.
The damage took my breath away. The scars were even worse than those on his legs. I felt both horrified and sickened by what Osiris had done to him. One scar in particular stretched from the right side of his collarbone to his left hip, the skin unevenly healed. How did you survive this, my sweet little bird?
My love for him deepened, and my admiration for him grew. I gently traced the scar with my fingertips. He was indeed a true warrior. I pulled my hand back and quickly finished dressing him, ensuring everything was covered. “You can turn around now.”
Malachi’s wings folded in, and Richard immediately moved to Kyson’s side. Instinctively, I reached out, ready to crush his throat for getting too close, but slowly pulled my hand back. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but no one would ever hurt Kyson again.
I was finished failing him, ready to scorch the earth if anyone so much as made him whimper.
“May I?”
Richard asked. “I promise I don’t have to touch him for this.”
My eyes narrowed, glowing red with warning. “Proceed, but be very careful, Richard. If this is some trick, you’ll burn, but you will not be reborn. You gave me hope, so fix him or die.”
He met my gaze, searching for something in my eyes, but the only thing they held was the promise of pain.
With a single nod, Richard leaned forward as I took Kyson’s hand in mine once more, watching as a single teardrop fell from the phoenix’s eye. It fell into the ravaged skin at Kyson’s neck, shimmering for a brief moment before it was absorbed.
Osiris hadn’t just fed though his host. He’d inflicted as much damage and pain as possible.
I took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, telling myself not to walk over to his corpse and kick the shit out of him.
“What’s that smell?”
Dane sniffed, glancing around.
“The vampire decomposing,”
I answered flatly. I wasn’t sure if Dane had no idea it was Osiris, and I wanted to keep it that way.
Richard leaned back. I glanced at Kyson, who appeared unchanged. My darkness stirred as my pain intensified. I felt myself teetering on the razor’s edge of sanity, prepared to plunge into the abyss.
“Why isn’t anything happening?”
Dane asked from where he’d curled into Malachi’s side.
Then Dane gasped as tiny golden lights radiated through the mangled flesh. My heart started beating once more, hope rekindling as I watched the skin began to mend itself. The rays weaved through the torn flesh, leaving behind not just healed skin but pristine skin, as if Kyson had never suffered an attack.
“How long before he opens his eyes?”
Dane asked, his eyes wide, watching as Kyson’s wound slowly disappear. “That’s freaky as hell.”
He glanced at Richard. “No offense.”
“None taken,”
he replied. “He’s lost a significant amount of blood, so it will take some time for his body to replenish it.”
My gaze darted to the floor where Kyson’s blood had formed a chilling puddle, my mind immediately attempting to piece together a scene I hadn’t witnessed firsthand.
“It’s too late.”
“No! Run, hide, fight, Kyson!”
My tongue swept over my lips. Not out of desire for the blood but at a terrifying reminder of what I had nearly lost.
An innocent bird among the carnage.
Solace among destruction. My tether to something pure.
Richard approached, his hands tucked into the pockets of his slacks. There were no words I could offer him. Anything that came to mind was a flicker of light against the vast, immeasurable depth of what he’d just given me.
Kyson’s life wasn’t the only one saved tonight.
“I’ll have the kitchen spotless before he wakes.”
A soft, understanding smile curved his lips.
A raw knot lodged in my throat, and I was too grateful to be pissed about his secret being kept from me. I’d almost lost Kyson and had barely pulled myself out of the darkness that had welcomed me home.
Richard started away, but I touched his shoulder. He turned his head, gazing at me.
“How do I put what I feel into words?”
I reached down and laced my hand with Kyson’s, drawing soothing circles over his soft skin. “You have my eternal loyalty and my daggers at your command. This I vow to you.”
“And my sword,”
Malachi said from across the counter. “Thank you for saving Kyson.”
He placed his right fist over his heart. “And my and my brother’s lives as well.”
Because if Kyson had died, I would have killed Richard for giving me hope. Malachi would have also broken his vow. I would have been compelled by unseen forces to carry out his execution then follow after my petit oiseau into death.
Kyson wasn’t just my partner, but the man who had unapologetically flipped my world upside down. He’d torn me open and laid me bare, capturing my heart and making me completely his.
That kind of power did something to a man, made them willing to do anything to hold on to that feeling.
It made him willing to lie, steal, even kill, and beg just to see a smile. To change my life completely to fit into his. The battles I’d fought had only been training, preparing me to fight like hell for the man I loved, to fight for our happiness, for our slice of heaven we needed but didn’t think we deserved. He owned every part of me—body, heart, and mind—and I would always fiercely protect the future his love had given us.
I slid my arms under Kyson, gently lifting him to me, then cradled him against my chest, keeping him close to my heart. Then I created a shimmer to get him back to his room.
“Giovanni.”
I paused and glanced at my brother.
“After you put him to bed, we clean house.”
“With pleasure.”
* * * *
Following Malachi’s interrogation of one of the vampires, we learned that every one of them had been plotting against us in some way.
When they were given refuge at Winterhaven, their sole obligation was their loyalty to their prince.
They’d betrayed that obligation.
Winterhaven wasn’t a sanctuary. It was a kingdom, and we were going to purge the rot from our home.
Not one of them survived the night.