Chapter 55 #2
“So, that means the rest of what the Goddess showed her will also come true,” Ishim bit out, that same manic energy I’d witnessed upon him learning of the fate of his lover surfacing again.
My heart beat a staccato rhythm against my ribs.
The Halálhívó’s fingers tightened. “Whatever you think, Ishim. We know how your predictions have gone in the past.”
The Zahal huffed a laugh. “Quite well, if I remember all the times we ambushed you correctly.”
A long moment passed, and I couldn’t help but study the female beside him again. Her eyes…they weren’t quite the same color as burgundy beside her.
Have I been mistaken?
“What do you want this time? To retrieve those who you deem traitors?” the Halálhívó finally asked, breaking the silence. He beckoned toward the watchtower, and two males pulled open the twin doors.
My attention snapped there as an Angel emerged. Not just any Angel.
Saethir. Maelsar’s brother. And as I had Seen, he dragged a female with him. A dark hood covered her head, but by the way Ishim stiffened, it had to be Iskarya.
The two stopped between the groups, and Saethir yanked off the fabric, confirming what we already knew. A gag silenced her, and blood dripped from the corners of her mouth.
“So what do you have to exchange for her?” the Halálhívó prodded.
Ishim tore his gaze back to the Demons’ leader. “Someone you’d love to carve up again.”
I held my breath as he shouted for someone to bring our offering. Even if my mate and Maelsar thought him annoying, by handing him over to the Demons, they were signing his death sentence.
Zaph of House Faelira, escorted by two males who looked like they picked up boulders for entertainment, flew atop the wall. The disgraced noble was shackled in bronze, much like Iskarya, to prevent him from accessing his magic.
Without any fanfare, the soldiers threw Zaph at the feet of the Halálhívó.
The male’s laugh was cruel and violent in a way I’d never heard before. “Ah, you finally see how useless he is.”
The female beside him snorted and shook her head, offering the male who had kidnapped her a disdainful sneer. Her hand covered her mouth like she was trying to stifle further amusement. It was too forced…like a performance. Like exactly what I was doing now.
“Sacrifices must be made for the greater good,” Ishim purred darkly.
Three caws sliced the air, and my attention snapped upward, finding crows gliding overhead. A crystalline flash behind them told me Ilae and Ysolthe were chasing them down.
“What might that be?” the Halálhívó said.
“Extermination of your race. The time has come to slaughter all of you. Our most powerful Seer has been blessed by the Goddess with the exact way in which it will happen.” He gestured to me.
Fuck.
My entire body went cold. Fear rolled down my spine as the Halálhívó’s attention fell over me.
“It starts with you handing over the traitors.”
He said it so confidently that disdain shattered my fear. Of course we’d fed him this lie too. Every bit of posturing would lead to the outcome we wanted—his death, and the death of the monarchs.
The corner of my lip twitched despite my best attempt at a neutral expression. Because that stormy rage inside me savored making someone who thought himself so powerful our puppet.
“And why would you reveal that?” The Halálhívó’s head tilted to the side. “If that is truly how our end begins, why would I give them to you?”
“Do you actually believe me?” Ishim taunted. “So I have placed an option at your feet, Halálhívó. One that you know will affect whether you win or lose.”
It had all been Vaeron’s idea, but whatever.
“You won’t know if you chose correctly until you are about to meet the Reaper, the pretend Goddess whom your filth thinks takes your soul onto the next world.”
Fury rolled off the Halálhívó in palpable waves. “Take the Padisa, then, if you care about her so much.”
Saethir threw her forward like she disgusted him. Zaph attempted to squirm away while everyone was distracted with Iskarya. But one of the black hounds flanking the bone thrones shuffled forward, lips curling back and revealing sharp canines.
“I want the others too,” Ishim snapped, widening his stance and crossing his arms over his chest.
Saethir shook his head. “I’m not going with you.”
“Nor am I,” another Angel female declared. I blinked, peering around a body and finding her standing among a group of Demons—wearing their leather armor too. Beside her was another male with burgundy eyes, his posture tight like a cat ready to pounce.
I tucked away the pair to examine later. Perhaps the Goddess could show me something about them too if I directed my power toward them.
“Traitor! How dare you turn your backs on our Radiant Mother? On the Koron? On your noble houses?” Ishim spat in Angelic so the Demons wouldn’t hear.
“Because I will live,” the female volleyed back.
Hope fluttered its wings in my chest. If she was choosing to stay because she thought she had a chance at life after the war…
“And the Halálhívó is merciful to those who aid him,” Saethir pronounced in the common tongue, standing taller. “It’s why I’ve been entering our camps and trying to convince the others to join us. It’s why so many have.”
“Birdshit,” the Zahal swore, switching to Angelic again. “You never would have given up so easily. The male I knew would have killed himself to honor our Radiant Mother rather than side with those beasts.”
Whispers rose around me, and I desperately wished to speak about all of this with Vaeron. If Saethir were truly convincing other Angels to join him, maybe we could hunt him and get him to help us too.
“If we could return to the matter at hand,” the Halálhívó growled in the common tongue, waiting for the hush before speaking again.
“Will you take the Padisa alone? Because I will not force them to go with you, knowing they’d be going to their deaths.
Not when they’ve changed their allegiance.
They’re too valuable for me to willingly relinquish. ”
He flicked a curious glance in my direction, like he was weighing my worth. I merely lifted my chin in defiance.
“We’ll make the trade,” Ishim gritted out, like each word was the slide of a blade against his skin.
Chaos erupted, Zaph attempting to rise and shouting at us. Iskarya wept, tears streaming down her face. Two soldiers rushed forward and gathered her, helping her away and over the wall before the Demons’ leader could change his mind.
“It was a pleasure as always, Ishim,” the Halálhívó taunted, and although his mouth was hidden, I got the sense he was flashing a predatory grin.
“I’ll enjoy killing you,” Ishim replied, a taunting lilt in his tone, white wings emerging from his back. We all called on ours again, keeping our fronts to the Demons as we took flight and retreated to our horses.
Yet my mate lingered, glaring at the Halálhívó like he could read his mind and uncover his motivations. My focus flicked between the two males. “What are you doing?”
But he didn’t reply. Instead, he turned and followed the rest of us. When we reached our horses, he beckoned Maelsar and me closer.
“That wasn’t Saethir,” Maelsar said immediately, his voice barely audible.
“I didn’t think so either,” Vaeron agreed, his expression grim.
“What do you mean? How could it not be him?” I asked, confusion pulling a frown to my face.
“Saethir has a birthmark right here,” Maelsar said, tapping the side of his neck. “He hated it, which is why he always wore a high collar.”
“And the Demon leathers didn’t cover that spot,” I said slowly, processing the implications.
“Do you think Ishim noticed?” Vaeron asked him.
Maelsar shook his head. “He was too busy puffing up his feathers for the Halálhívó. Plus, my brother wouldn’t have flashed it to his commanding officer.”
“Okay, but if that wasn’t Saethir, then who was it?” I pressed.
Vaeron glanced past me. “We need to mount up before anyone gets suspicious. We’ll have plenty of time to discuss on our ride.”
I huffed but did as he suggested. Then, I cast one last glance at the wall behind us, scrutinizing for any sign of what deception might have occurred, before digging my heels into my mare’s side and trotting after the group of Angels.