Chapter 14 BRINGER OF RUIN, GIVER OF WRATH, THE PRIMAL GOD OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION #4
“Really?” Aydun replied dryly. “You leveled Pensdurth.” When I didn’t respond, he took a step toward the foot of the dais. “And then destroyed a large portion of the Blood Forest.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“Are you asking for our personal or professional opinion?” Kyriel asked.
“Honestly, neither,” I replied. “I really don’t care.”
“Personally, I don’t think either is bad,” Aydun answered anyway. “Professionally, I believe your actions are a reason for concern.”
“What part of I don’t care don’t you understand?”
“Your inability to control your powers when angry will result in tragedy,” Kyriel picked up the conversation thread when Aydun snapped his jaw shut. “Something many of us have had to learn the hard way.”
“Well, that’s…sad for whoever had to learn that.” I shifted, lowering my boot to the floor. “However, I wasn’t out of control.”
Aydun’s head tilted back as if that might help him process what I had just said. “Have you looked around yourself recently? What about the homes you can now easily see from the courtyard because you destroyed the walls?”
My thumb stilled. “I wanted to level Pensdurth, and those homes you speak of were either vacant or occupied by Ascended who fed on cruelty.”
“And what about the Blood Forest?” he challenged. “The wall?”
“Unintended consequences,” I said with a lift of one shoulder. “If I were out of control, you would not be standing here.”
Tension bracketed Aydun’s mouth. A moment passed, and then Kyriel spoke. “And what about the Revenant?”
My thumb pressed into the arm of the throne. “Which Revenant?”
He laughed. “As if you don’t know. But in case you need your memory refreshed, the one who is technically your wife’s brother.”
Eather stirred within me, and it took a hell of a lot of willpower to prove that I was capable of controlling myself.
Especially since this Kyriel seemed determined to break that control. “The one her sister and your brother are currently hiding from you.”
“He’s different,” I gritted out.
Aydun huffed. “Be that as it may, you cannot deny that there is a reason to be concerned.”
“I don’t deny shit that isn’t worthy of considering,” I spat. “I may have been reckless in my choices in my youth, and I may be known for impulsive…violence.”
He snorted.
“But contrary to an unfortunately popular belief, I am not prone to being out of control,” I told him. “What I do, I do because I choose to. Not because my emotions overrule me.”
“Unless it comes to her,” he countered softly.
I went incredibly still as I locked eyes with the Arae. Several moments passed in silence. I waited for him to say that she obviously thought as he did, while waiting for either of them to thrust that verbal dagger through my heart.
He didn’t.
Instead, Kyriel said something so off topic that I wanted to toss his ass back to Mount Lotho.
“Heartmates.”
I briefly closed my eyes. Aydun had done this when we’d last met—throwing out a word like he was answering a question only he was privy to. Apparently, it was a trait of theirs. Opening my eyes, I took a slow, long breath. “And?”
“They’re destined to bring about great change,” he said. “Seen in the dreams of the Great Creators from millennia ago.”
My brows rose. “You’re telling me that the Ancients dreamt of all the heartmates all that time ago?”
“The Ancients saw everything, Casteel. That didn’t mean they always understood what they saw. Nor…” His pause was quite dramatic. “Does it mean that what is born of the union of two hearts is always good.”
The blood in my veins froze. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Kyriel’s head tilted. “It means sacrifices must be made.”
“What sacrifices?” For the first time since I’d faced Kolis in this very space, my heart lurched. “And cut the bullshit. I want a straight answer.”
“Don’t we all?” Aydun said, having picked up a vine as he glanced toward Kyriel. A shadow of something I couldn’t read flickered across his features. “The love between mates of the heart is incredibly strong. All-consuming. Inevitable. There is strength in that.”
“But there is also weakness,” Kyriel asserted. “It is believed that not even death can sever that type of bond.”
Aydun dropped the vine.
“And?” I asked, voice thinning with impatience.
A flicker of a smile crossed Kyriel’s lips. “And, in a way, that is true. But it is also false.”
This conversation was proof that I had more control than anyone gave me credit for, because the effort it was taking for me to wait for this fuck to get to the point was inconceivable.
“The death of an unbroken mate bond cannot sever that connection. The souls will reunite,” Kyriel said after what felt like five minutes. “But that bond can be broken at any point, no matter the…insinuating circumstances.”
Based on the grin Aydun wore when his buddy said that last part, I had a feeling he was referring to the Joining.
“Just as your people seal your vows of union,” Kyriel continued, “it can be rejected by one or both.”
“Is there a reason you’re telling me this?” I questioned.
Aydun, shockingly silent, raised a brow.
“I’m telling you this because it’s something you should know,” Kyriel told me.
“Why?” The tips of my fingers prickled and burned. “I would never reject her, nor would she reject me.”
Kyriel was quiet for a heartbeat. “Would you believe the same if you knew your union meant untold lives would be lost and the realm would be left in ruin?” The flecks of color in his eyes churned. “Would she?”
The beat of my heart stuttered. She…she was better than me. Good to the fucking core in a limitless way I didn’t possess. But…
But there wasn’t a single part of me that doubted what she would be willing to do, willing to sacrifice for me. For our love. That was never something I questioned.
I met Kyriel’s stare. “I’m going to ask once more. Why are you here, telling me this shit?”
“As I said, it’s something that’s good to know.” He shrugged.
I stared at him, having no idea if there was some sort of hidden message in the shit he’d just spewed or if he was merely messing with my head.
I had a feeling it could be either-or with any of the Fates.
My gaze shifted to Aydun as he turned at the waist. He scanned the Hall until his stare halted.
I followed his gaze. Tension gripped the muscles along my shoulders.
To someone else, it may have looked like he was simply staring at the mass of vines twisted on the floor, but I knew the exact spot he looked at.
It was where what remained of my father had fallen.
Aydun faced me. “I am sorry for your losses.”
My head tilted at the genuineness in his tone, but I said nothing since there was nothing to be said.
“Well.” Aydun clapped his hands. “We should be going.”
“For once, I agree with you.”
Aydun pressed his hand to his heart as if wounded as he turned away. “By the way.” He stopped. “The realm is growing more imbalanced. The changes will be irreversible the longer you and Kolis remain in the realm.”
“I’m working on that.”
Aydun eyed me for a moment. “Good.”
He turned, but Kyriel hadn’t moved. He remained staring up at me. Because, of course, he did. “I almost forgot.”
I sighed heavily. Several of the ravens responded with calls that carried a sharp metallic note.
“You still make reckless choices,” Kyriel announced. “Attempting to enter Iliseeum is one of them.”
One side of my lips curved up. “I don’t consider that reckless at all.”
“Of course you wouldn’t,” he retorted dryly. “But Nyktos does. As does the Queen of the Gods.”
“And I’m sure you can guess what I think of that.”
“Unfortunately,” Kyriel remarked.
“Good,” I echoed, then waited for him to move. When he did, I spoke again. “You might want to pass this message along to the necessary parties.”
Aydun’s eyes narrowed as he glanced between Kyriel and me. “Why do I have a feeling this will be a message that won’t be well-received?”
My smirk grew. “Nothing and no one, not a Primal of Death nor the Queen of the Gods herself, nor any so-called Fates can stop me. If need be, I will go through any who stands in my way.” I let silence fall for a few seconds to give that promise time to etch those words into their bones. “I will get to her.”