32. Immortality Restored
Rhazien
Fuck you, Azael! Why did you set us back like that?––I mind-link him, clutching at his feather.
Gasping in pain, I try to stem the flow of blood from my chest.
Why couldn't he keep his mouth shut? He barely speaks half of the time!
I bare my teeth at him in displeasure, and for a change he looks wary. But a feeling of doom overshadows everything when Aleiraah coldly asks Anubis to petition Duat––to punish us.
In the next heartbeat, the floor responds like it's alive. Midnight-black chains erupt from below, snaking around wrists, ankles, chests, even mouths, silencing us in an instant. They wind around my body, squeezing my wounds.
Fuck!
The past and present blur, a reminder of my days bound as a blood slave in my sire’s dungeon.
I begin struggling instinctively, trying to tear free but the magical shackles tighten further.
Muffled cries and strangled screams echo around me. My own eyes brim with tears—whether from pain or panic, I can't tell—as I lock my gaze with Aleiraah's, silently pleading. This mortal shell is cracking—I can feel it—and it might not last through another cycle of pain.
My organs are being crushed, ready to pop like a grape. That's when I feel a thin tendril wrap around my cock, followed by a sharp sting!
Eyes going wide with shock, I fall to my knees. The coils hold me suspended and begin their assault in earnest. I'm not a stranger to torture but the pain in my lower belly intensifies to terrifying levels and bile rises up my throat.
Blearily, I notice Ifrinn gagging then throwing up from a fat tendril repeatedly plunging into his mouth. Silas is writhing on the floor, a high pitched whine escaping the gaging chains.
Azael dangles in a chokehold, lips turned blue, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, as his body shakes uncontrollably.
Baz and Alistair are both lying on the ground, knees wide open, hips twisting and arching as if to escape an invisible force that's hammering away at them.
Archie is shaking violently on the floor with his ass up in the air, pained grunts escaping him.
Just then I feel stinging smacks below my pelvis and wail, only for it to be smothered.
My gaze collides with Aleiraah's for the briefest moment, and the emptiness in hers cleaves through my soul. I flinch and shut my eyes tight, to block out the chill she left behind.
Azael
I'm agony personified, a trembling mess.
The humiliation doesn't even matter, buried beneath waves of searing pain. I tune out the voices in my head, all of them cursing up a storm for bringing up Jadeth.
I'd miscalculated. Pushed for answers too soon, driven by the sight of Aleiraah physically lashing out. She'd have regretted it later, and I'd wanted to spare her that guilt.
But her rage...it wasn't just fury. It was sadness—raw and heartrending—and it tore through my carefully crafted defenses.
I hadn't expected her to know about my meetings with my brethren.
It caught me off guard. They help in keeping my manna uncorrupted.
My halo powers the manna. And I need those pricks to purify the impurities that get accumulated over time.
It's a well-hidden curse of the fallen. Calling in past favors, I have been gritting my teeth through those clandestine meetings.
All because I need them to avoid going down a path of no-return––a being so corrupt that even heaven will be forced to destroy instead of turning a blind eye.
I had been treating their prattle as background noise but Aleiraah heard those wastrels somehow, and it crushed her. I never intended to sleep with a female angel, even knowing sex is the easiest way to siphon power. But I doubt Aleiraah will believe me.
Regret assails my soul, as the shadowy shackles wrap tighter around my throat. My eyes bulge as I struggle to breathe, remembering I'd done this to Aleiraah.
The impurities that night—when the Veilmoon rose—they flared beyond control. And I became the very abomination I've spent centuries fighting.
As punishment, unlike anything I've experienced before, rains down, I know what Aleiraah felt.
She must have been in so much pain. The sensation of being invaded by a fist repeatedly in my pelvis is not something I'd like to live through again.
This body—weak, breakable—is already at its limit.
Blood floods my mouth as invisible teeth bite my tongue, again and again, until I'm gagging on the taste of iron.
Black spots dance in my vision, but in fleeting flashes of lucidity, I see her. My Azizam. She stands tall like an avenging angel, glorious in her cold fury.
I'm sorry, Azizam. I didn't mean to tear open old wounds.
That thought lingers, just for a heartbeat—before I finally lose my grip on consciousness.
Aleiraah
The powerful males I’d claimed as mates now writhe helplessly on the floor that's turned ominously dark. It's my fault I'd regarded them as mates and not merely husbands. Our vows were not set in stone, unlike a true mate bond.
Were they as much mine as I was theirs?
No.
Maybe that's one more reason it cut so deep.
I thought I was their world, overlooking their faults, hoping our dynamics would strengthen over time.
That I'd just have to be patient and understanding for things to work out on their own.
A decade is but a drop in the flowing stream that's immortality.
I've no one to blame but myself for giving them so many chances.
Watching them suffer, I thought I'd feel good. Avenged. I even anticipated guilt. But instead I feel numb.
While running the gamut of emotions in the span of a few hours—bitterness, rage, grief, and satisfaction, I haven't even processed the new me.
Something unraveled deep within, pushing my true demonic traits to the surface for the first time. I couldn't believe it at first, then I knew I had Duat to thank for it.
I can feel my horns as I study my elongated claws.
My slender tail swishes beneath my dress.
With a sudden clarity I remember the mirror in that maze.
It showed me what was hidden, my true potential.
Now that it's become a reality, I should feel excited.
But there's a strange sense of detachment shrouding my senses.
Azael's pointed question about Jadeth brought my thoughts to a screeching halt. A resounding slap to my senses. And I was just done with this farce. It reminded me that ugliness hides behind handsome veneers. And I'll not be taken for a fool in love again.
I should probably tell them about the baby, but I've not come to terms with it myself. It'll have to keep for now. Besides, knowing them, they'd just use it as an excuse to stick around and be controlling.
I'm pulled from my reverie by Bastet who pats my cheek with her toebeans, asking if I'm okay.
Looking around, I don't know how much time's passed but their suffering no longer holds my interest. I reassure Bastet that I am, and approach Osiris and Aset who have been relatively quiet throughout the unfolding drama.
It's time I made an exit.
"Thank you, for allowing the judgement of my husbands to take place in the revered Hall of Truth.
I'm grateful and appreciate you presiding over this moment.
I wish to leave Duat and move onward with my life.
Your graciousness would always stay as a blessing with me.
" I slightly bow my head, looking at them steadily.
"Take care, child." Aset says softly, eyes full of compassion.
"Even though as a goddess I preside over marriage, I must say, staying in your current binds is questionable at best. Nonetheless, you must rejoice that you are finally emancipated.
" She smiles taking in my new features. "Just proceed with caution, for you have a long, difficult road ahead of you. "
"It was good entertainment!" Osiris comments crassly and Aset snaps at him—"Osiris! Behave!"—which thankfully wipes the smile off his face. I feel bad for Anubis. Having this fellow as a father would suck the joy out of life.
"What do you wish to do about them, Aleiraah?" Anubis waves in the general direction of the writhing seven, still very much under Duat's spell.
Bastet and Anput come forward and wrap me in hugs. Bastet rubbing her furry cheek on my head.
"I love your horns, Aleiraah!" She whispers excitedly and I offer her a tiny smile. Anput pats my back, uttering with the confidence of a born goddess, "You're a brave woman, Aleiraah. I see greatness in you. Everything will work out in due time."
Managing a nod, my smile grows tremulous. Anubis steps forward and pats my head thrice. And I have to gulp a few times to speak past the lump in my throat.
"You've been such good friends. I'll miss you dearly. Thank you, all three of you. For being there when I felt alone. And for helping me start healing. I'll never forget this kindness, god Anubis, goddesses Anput and Bastet." I offer them their due respect, my heart feeling too heavy.
Inclining their heads with a smile they say in unison, “What are friends for?” Ammit takes that chance to pounce on me, putting her leonine paws on my shoulders, and I stagger under her weight for a moment, but hold strong.
I realize I'm physically stronger than before. Thanks, Duat!
Burying my nose into Ammit's wild mane I circle her neck with my arms. "I'll miss you too, Ammit." I hug her tightly, tears stinging my eyes. I take a deep settling breath, as Ammit releases me and stands on her lion-hippo paws, glued to my hip.
Flicking my wrist in the direction of the pathetic males, I shrug, "Do whatever you deem fit, Anubis.
Mortal or immortal, I don't care either way.
I feel no joy or sadness seeing them punished like this.
And please offer my heartfelt gratitude to Duat for looking out for me.
She's been like...an avenging guardian."
A basket full of fresh warm fig pastries appears in my arms, making me tear up again.