Chapter Thirty
Sage
“How dare you.” Atlantis stands to his full height, all at least seven feet of it, and waves his hand in the same way he did to freeze me in place.
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what he’s done because Hack is now frozen too. Only, his mouth is also being held shut because I can see his eyes practically bulging as he tries to talk.
“I thought Slash was the dramatic one.” Dei Samhain barely turns his head to look in our direction.
“Just kill them both and be done with it.” This comes from the one they’ve been calling Zhang.
The Dei start talking over each other, their voices getting louder and louder as they try to be the one that is heard. It’s near-deafening.
You would think that a group of the most powerful kyn to ever exist would act less like animals.
Throughout it all, Hekate just sits there, watching everyone go at it, that permanent regal look of knowing on her face. Shifting my eyes to glance at Hack again, the frustration and fucking anger from all the shit creeps back in. I was scared before, yeah, but now I’m fucking livid.
Why can’t they act like the old fucks that they are and get over themselves?
“Stop!” I scream out as loud as I can, pressure building inside me until it bursts free, shattering whatever spell Atlantis used to freeze me.
Nobody stops, but I am free. Turning to Hack, I try to harness the same feelings as before, hoping the power I hold knows exactly what to do. My muscles are tensed, my face scrunched up, as I push everything I have into freeing him too.
“Yes!” I celebrate too early because as Hack’s body begins to move again, no longer under the enchantment or spell or whatever, he just as quickly goes flying back into the wall a few feet away. “Shit!” Running over to him, I crouch down to make sure I haven’t done any serious damage.
He groans a little and rubs his head, but then his green eyes land on mine and he huffs a laugh.
“Think you used a little too much juice there, but thank you, Satapti.”
“She’s escaping!” I don’t know which of the Dei is shouting louder than all the rest because as I turn, my view of the table is blocked by a huge body. The purple locs give away the owner of said huge body and I’m confused as to why Slash is here.
Quicker than I can question anything, Slash falls down to the marble floor with a thud that sends vibrations through the room.
Everything is silent.
The Dei are as still as statues.
Slash isn’t moving.
He isn’t threatening war or telling a sexy tale. His chest isn’t rising and falling.
Worst of all…his head is not attached to his body, his purple locs spread out like spider legs two feet away.
The first noise to break the silence is an ear-splitting cry of pain coming from my chosen as he folds himself over his brother’s still form. The pool of blood spilling from Slash’s neck has reached my shoes, and it travels around them, merely an obstacle for the crimson lake.
“Slash!”
More cries of anguish fill the room, along with a mass of black shadows. The walls start rotting away just as the Dei leap into action. They’re frenzied, scared, and they fucking deserve it, too.
Pierce pushes Hack away from Slash as soon as he nears, and he holds his palms over his brother, pushing a green glowing light into him.
“Put his head back with his neck, Hack.”
He obliges, his hands and knees covered in blood.
Pierce is the healer of the group, he’ll save him.
He has to.
The fear of losing Slash slams into me with a vengeance I’m ready to enact on whoever the fuck it was that did this. Looking around at their faces, the only one who has an air of smugness about him is Reilly as he sheathes what looks to be a sword that disappears quickly.
Are all djinn complete assholes?
I focus all of my attention on him, sneering at him as I imagine the way he’ll blow up, just like his brother did.
Before anything happens, he’s being dragged through what looks to be a portal, along with most of the other Dei, leaving behind Hekate and Samhain. The black shadows of Slay disappear through the portal before it closes and I hope he kills that djinn.
With all the threats in the room gone, I turn to Slash’s body, my heart in my throat, but before I can run to them a cold cuff around my wrist makes me jump. Furious, I glare at Hekate, now by my side, all politeness flying out of the room like the cowardly Dei.
“What the actual fuck? I need to save Slash, get this thing off me!” With every word, I become more irate, but none of my powers are working because of the damn golden cuff.
“You cannot interfere. This moment is for the Horsemen, and them alone.” Hekate can be really informative, but also really vague, and in this moment, it’s annoying the crap out of me.
“Slash is lying there headless!” My voice cracks on the last word, but I inhale deeply and continue. “If I can do something, let me go!”
“You can’t. Listen to your mother.” Patronizing prick. Samhain watches as Hack and Pierce do everything they can to save Slash. I swear he’d break out the popcorn if he could.
“What the fuck am I supposed to do then? Just stand here and watch the love of my life break in front of my eyes?” I slam my hands onto my hips and stare both Hekate and Samhain down. I give exactly zero shits that they are more powerful than me.
“You hold more power than even Grandei Atlantis. You should never have been able to break free of his magic. But you did…just like I knew you would.” Hekate smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes that dart behind me toward Pierce healing Slash.
“Well that’s irrelevant, but also, if I have more power than him, why can’t I heal Slash?” Angry tears are burning the corners of my eyes, but I blink them back.
“There is strength in destruction, daughter mine.” The way she elegantly raises her head tells me she isn’t about to elaborate on that, and it just makes me angrier.
I never knew what powers or magic felt like before I became what I am, but now I don’t think I can live without it. I feel like I’ve lost a vital limb with this cuff on.
“The destruction of Slash isn’t going to strengthen anyone.” If looks could kill, both Samhain and Hekate would be six-feet under. Just saying.
“The Horsemen or his chosen are the only ones who can bring him back. There has to be balance, and you are not it for him.” Okay, so she does look genuinely saddened by that fact.
It doesn’t help a great deal, but it does alleviate some of the guilt I’m harboring for being stuck over here rather than with them.
“I can’t just stand here and do nothing!” Losing my battle, the hot tears begin sliding down my cheeks.
“You have to. If you interfere, the Grandei will take back his decision to keep you alive.” Her brows are raised now, like she’s silently pleading with me to be compliant.
“He decided already?” I’m not complaining, of course, but I am curious about why he’s letting me go.
“To make the final decision of execution, he would need to clear it with the Moirai. He said you’re not worth that kind of visit, but if you ask him why, it’s because he feels that for such a young kyn, you have a lot of potential, and Rafi should have been executed years ago.
” Hekate steps closer. “If you ask me, it’s because you’re his daughter and, as much as he hates the fact, he can’t deny it.
Requesting and ordering the death of his daughter would not look good for the king of angels. ”
“Noooo!” Roars of pain so loud they make the room shake almost make my eardrums burst. The look Hekate gives me—her brows creased together, her lips downturned—says what I know in my gut to be true, and yet I so wish it wasn’t.
“No…” Shaking my head, tears stream down my face now as I still try to hold them back. I’m determined to turn around and realize they’re pointless because Slash is going to be sitting up, that silly smirk on his face, and he’s going to call me something ridiculous like Sageypoo.
“I’m sorry.” Hekate tilts her head, her eyes projecting a sympathy I want to reject.
“No.” I don’t want to turn around, but I choke on the single word, knowing I have to. The cries, the yells, the outright pain emanating from the two demons behind me is thick and heavy.
Hekate doesn’t speak again, she doesn’t offer a hug either, but the cuff does evaporate from my wrist and I slowly turn.
Pierce and Hack are both covered in Slash’s blood, the marble flooring splattered too, but it’s the paleness of Slash’s skin that breaks me.
I fall to my knees beside Hack, who grabs me instantly and squeezes me like his life depends on it. And it just might, because Slash is gone. He’s dead. Just like that.
I don’t know how the brothers are going to come back from this. It hurts me so fucking much I can barely breathe, the tears and sobs unstoppable, but the other Horsemen…?
Fuck.
Even Samhain is angry, flames licking across his skin as he growls, clasping and unclasping his fists.
“I hope Slay fucking kills that djinn cunt, because if he doesn’t, I fucking will.”
“Sage…”
I shift my eyes to look up over Hack’s shoulder, finding Hekate holding a rectangle of glass. She blows on it, making it expand, and it becomes clear what this is. Things aren’t shaped like coffins for no reason.
“Use this. To hold some kind of balance, the Four Horsemen must exist as a unit. His body is all we have. This can be used to create a shrine in his honor, and therefore, hopefully, ensure balance isn’t lost. It will keep his body in a stasis, but his soul is no longer with us.”
“What good is a fucking body without a soul?” Hack sneers at her, his breathing deep, heavy, and growlier than I’ve ever heard before. Vines are crawling up the rotted walls, twisting and curling, snapping anything that isn’t already damaged.
“The question you should be asking, Liege Hack, is what good is a soul without a body?”