Chapter 26 Amari
AMARI
One month later
Carla returns from limbo days earlier than I expected. The moment I see the portal open in my office, swirling with pink energy, I jump from my desk and flash to her with vampire speed.
Moria and Kemnebi are back with her, their many legs clicking softly against the floor.
She’s been taking our children back with her a few at a time to personally rebuild her bond with them.
The separation during her ascension affected them all, and she’s been patient, loving, dedicated to healing those wounds.
I pick her up and kiss her with hunger I can barely contain. A month apart is too long. Even a day is too long.
She giggles against my lips. “Calm down.”
“No.” I kiss her again, deeper, holding her tighter. My hands slide into her curls, holding her exactly where I want her.
She laughs.
We’ve been doing well balancing out our mate bond with her duties in limbo.
I keep myself busy with the technology center, teaching the young supernaturals about the digital age they’re inheriting.
Bobby and I continue monitoring Brookstone and Blackburn, tracking their movements, waiting for Henry to resurface.
But I don’t visit the academy much anymore.
Too many memories of that night when I thought I’d lost her forever.
I set her down but keep my hands on her waist, unable to stop touching her. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too.” She tilts her head, studying me with those beautiful eyes that see everything. “How would you feel about coming to limbo with me?”
I pause, surprised by the offer. “Is it safe?”
“Yes. I’ve been working on making it safer for you.” Her smile is confident. “I’ve learned more about my powers. I can protect you there now.”
“I would love to be there with you again.” My heart beats faster at the thought of being by her side in her realm, standing with her as she rules.
She holds up a finger. “It’s still not safe for you to be there long.”
She tilts her head, exposing her neck. “Feed on me.”
I hesitate. “You’re a goddess. I felt too much power when we completed the claiming process again. It was overwhelming.”
She glares at me, that stubborn set to her jaw I’ve come to love. “Do you want to come or not?”
I grip the back of her neck, kiss her lips first, savoring the taste of her. Then I bite down on her neck, my fangs sinking into familiar flesh. Her blood floods my mouth and I groan at the potency.
Her blood is different now. Powerful. Divine. It floods through me like liquid fire, charging every cell in my body. I can feel the goddess power in it. My own power amplifies, strengthened by her essence.
I drink deeply, taking more than I normally would, knowing I’ll need the strength for limbo. When I’m finished, I lick the wound to seal it, my saliva healing her instantly.
Energy courses through me, more potent than any blood I’ve ever consumed in my long existence.
She opens a portal and I step through. The darkness of limbo envelops us, but I’m surprised I don’t feel the drain immediately. I don’t need a cloak to protect myself.
“The privilege of being fated to a goddess,” she says with a smirk.
She closes the portal behind us. I look around the void of limbo, so different from the living realm. It’s endless darkness, but in the center stands Carla’s throne.
The throne itself is magnificent. Mystical and otherworldly, it seems to be made of solidified magic rather than any earthly material. Pink webbing forms the base, intricate patterns. The seat rises high, back arching like spider legs reaching toward an invisible sky.
Then I see him. Nathaniel, bound in chains at the base of the throne.
I grin. “You caught him.”
“Yes. A gift for our mate bond.” Pride radiates from her.
The sight of him fills me with satisfaction. This man has haunted us, possessed children, nearly destroyed Wintermoon. And now he’s here, powerless, waiting for judgment.
I help Carla walk up to her throne. The stairs seem to materialize beneath our feet, solid pink magic forming a path.
She sits down with the grace of the queen she is, arranging herself on the throne that was made for her.
She is magnificent. Powerful. Divine. And I’m proud to be standing beside her.
Verto watches from his massive web above us, patient and ready.
“I want you to give him his sentence. His judgment.” She looks at me with those beautiful eyes, full of love and trust. “What is his fate, my love? He is of your culture, so I only saw it fitting.”
My heart swells. She understands. This is about more than just punishment.
I look at her with so much love, then lean down and kiss her passionately.
She breaks the kiss with a giggle. “You’re getting another bear fuck when we get home.”
I grin. “Fine by me.”
I walk down the stairs. I circle Nathaniel who begins begging for his life in Arabic, the language of our youth, our culture, our lost civilization.
I respond in our native tongue, my voice cold and precise. “Anta tatahaddath ‘an ash-sharaf al’an? You speak of honor now? You, who betrayed our people?”
I switch to English so Carla can understand every word of his condemnation.
“I read your journals, Nathaniel. Carla gave them to me. Every page. Every confession.” I stop in front of him, looking down at the pathetic creature he’s become.
“You and your brother were traitors of our culture, exchanging information for power with the Spanish invaders. You gave them maps of our city. Names of our leaders. Locations of our defenses. Yet you blamed me for not lifting a finger.”
Nathaniel’s head hangs low, unable to meet my eyes.
“Our people valued loyalty above all else. In Al-Andalus, we lived by a code. Honor your family. Protect your community. Stand firm in your faith and principles.” My voice grows harder. “You violated every single tenet of our culture for personal gain.”
“I was desperate,” Nathaniel whispers.
“We were all desperate!” My voice disappears into the void. “Granada was falling. The Reconquista was crushing us. But we stood together. We fought together. We protected each other. That is what our people did.”
I pace around him slowly. “I was bound by my sire, by the law of the vampire. He commanded me not to interfere in human affairs, and as a fledgling, I had no choice but to obey. It is the most sacred law of the vampire.”
I stop directly in front of him again. “But I would never turn on my own people the way you and Henry did. Even as a vampire, I still stand by our culture’s ethics and morals. I am Moorish before I am vampire. I carry Granada in my heart, honor it in my actions.”
Nathaniel looks up at me with desperate eyes. “I made a mistake.”
“A mistake?” I laugh bitterly. “You sold out Granada for promises and riches from the Spanish crown. You gave them everything they needed to break through our final defenses. You were the reason our people fell. The reason families were slaughtered. The reason children were ripped from their parents’ arms.”
Tears stream down his face but I feel no pity.
“You blamed me for not saving them when you were the one who doomed them.”
“Please,” Nathaniel begs, his voice breaking. “Just send me to hell. End this.”
“No.” I step back, my voice final. “You don’t get the mercy of hell’s fires. You get something worse.”
I look up at Verto waiting in his web. “Feed.”
The command is simple, but the execution is brutal.
Verto descends from his web above.
Nathaniel screams as Verto approaches. The spider’s legs are like tree branches, his body covered in coarse bristles. His many eyes reflect Nathaniel’s terror.
I turn and walk back up to Carla, taking her hand as Verto begins his work. Nathaniel’s screams echo through the void, inhuman sounds of agony and fear. But I don’t look away. Neither does Carla. We watch together as justice is finally served.
Verto’s fangs sink into Nathaniel’s spirit form. Unlike physical death, this is different. Slower. More complete. Verto is consuming his very essence, erasing him from existence piece by piece.
The screaming continues, then slowly fades. Nathaniel’s form dissolves, breaking apart like ash in wind, pulled into Verto’s massive body until nothing remains except his head.
When it’s over, silence fills the void. Pure, complete silence.
Verto brings Nathaniel’s head to the throne, holding it gently in his mandibles. He places it at Carla’s feet, bowing low before his mother.
She reaches down and touches Verto’s head affectionately. “Good boy.”
Verto takes the head to his collection in the web above, adding it to the others who’ve faced Carla’s judgment. Then he settles in to rest, satisfied.
I squeeze Carla’s hand. It’s over. Finally over.
I look at her. “Can I come back when you do Alexis?”
She giggles. “Of course. Now, you were saying about that bear fuck? Want to do it here, or home?”
I look around the dark void, then back at my beautiful mate sitting on her throne. “Home. I want you in our bed where I can take my time with you.”
“Good answer.” Carla stands from her throne gracefully.
She opens a portal to our bedroom and I pull her through with a seductive look, already planning exactly what I’m going to do to her.
The portal closes behind us and we’re home. Together. Finally balanced between our two worlds.
And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
THE END