The Weight of Trust
Jayce
The sight of the drakaths all kneeling before her is fucking bizarre. These are creatures capable of destroying cities. Monsters we have fought out here for weeks, and we know the damage they can do – the power they possess.
Every single one of them has lowered their head to her.
My gaze turns to her as she stands there, where the egg was once rooted. It’s now gone, and the cocoons are all connected – to her. I can’t see it, but I feel it. Her aura swirls around her as the air around her hums with her power.
She did it.
Against every fucking odd.
She went head-to-head with the Will and came out victorious.
Relief and pride hit me simultaneously, and for the first time in what feels like forever, I allow myself to believe this might finally be over.
Then someone starts clapping, and the sound cuts through the silence.
Slow, measured, and mocking.
My aura surges as my senses sharpen. I know who it is before he even comes into view. I turn as I close the distance between Sienna and me, just as a figure emerges from between the shattered rock formations.
Vincenzo.
Several others walk beside him, powerful enough that I recognise them instantly as some of his strongest followers. Velasara is missing, meaning Sienna probably did more damage than I thought.
But I keep my attention on Vincenzo, and for some reason, he looks pleased. Not angry or frustrated, but pleased, as if he’s just watched the final piece of a puzzle fall into place.
“Beautiful,” he says, his voice carrying effortlessly across the battlefield.
The drakaths shift as one, their eyes snapping to him, and yet he doesn’t seem bothered at all...
He’s like a fucking cockroach, I sigh through the mind-link. Sienna’s mouth quirks upwards, and she steps towards me, closing the remaining gap between us.
Yeah… and that face throws me, Sienna murmurs.
I know. I rest my hand on her back for a fleeting moment, needing that contact, and the way she instinctively leans in shows me that she does, too.
Vincenzo’s smile widens.
“Truly beautiful.”
Lightning crackles around my gauntlets. “You’ve lost. You’re too late.”
His eyes meet mine, and for a moment neither of us moves.
Then he laughs softly. “Have I?”
Unease settles in my stomach; that’s not the response of a man who’s lost.
His eyes now flicker to Sienna, and the satisfaction in his eyes puts me on edge as the drakaths remain kneeling around us.
“Did you know...” he begins softly, his gaze still trained on Sienna, “That every demon possesses two names, or in your case, three?”
The battlefield grows quieter.
“The name they’re given. Sienna Electra Kendall Rossi of the Black Storm Pack. Mordana of House Silver…”
Then a cold smile touches the corner of his lips. “And the deadliest of them all, the most powerful, their demon name.”
Sienna frowns as unease twists in the pit of my stomach.
“What are you talking about?” I ask sharply.
For a moment, Vincenzo simply studies her, ignoring me entirely, as if he’s done with me. “The name that’s carved into their very soul.”
Something about the way he says that makes my skin crawl.
“The first word spoken by the darkness that you come from, the name spoken when it recognised what you would become.” His eyes lock onto Sienna.
“Most never learn theirs, and some are unfortunate enough to have it discovered for them.” His smile grows, and I know where this is going. “It’s my gift to you, Nyth’arael.” The moment those words leave his mouth, something shifts through the air.
For the first time since taking control of the drakaths, uncertainty flashes across Sienna’s face, and then Vincenzo begins speaking in an ancient tongue at the very same time Sienna shouts.
“Attack!” And the drakaths turn, racing towards the Indomitable, but then they stop.
I turn sharply to see Sienna frozen, and then I look at Vincenzo.
I don’t understand the words, but each one clearly holds power. The drakaths’ attention returns to Sienna, their eyes glimmering dangerously, as if awaiting her next command.
Suddenly, I feel the ground hum, Sienna’s heart pounding at an excessive speed.
“Sienna?” I turn towards her, but her red eyes remain staring at Vincenzo.
And Vincenzo doesn’t stop. Pain flashes across her face, and then her body jerks violently.
Anger surges through me, alarm bells going off – I need to stop him.
“Don’t move! It’s too late for her,” one of the men I haven’t seen before, who stands beside Vincenzo, says emotionlessly.
This ends now. I make to turn, but I can’t move, as if something is suddenly keeping me in place. My wolf snarls in my mind, and just then Sienna’s knees buckle.
“No!” The word tears from me as she’s lifted into the air and then thrown to the ground a few meters away.
Lightning erupts around me, but I can’t move!
“Sienna!” But she can’t hear me, or she can’t respond.
Whatever he’s saying, it’s affecting her badly. She’s fighting it; I can feel that through the bond, and see the way her body is tense and straining.
Is this… how one gets a demon to submit?
Terror grips my chest at the only thought that makes sense. Do I stop him, or do I get to her and try to break her out of it? Either way, whatever’s keeping me in place is causing precious moments to be wasted.
Black smoky chains begin forming around her wrists, emerging from the air itself, wrapping around her arms before another forms around her throat.
MOVE! I roar to myself, but my body doesn’t work. I glance back at Vincenzo’s group, not knowing which one is the cause behind my immobility. A snarl of pure rage rips through me, more animal than human, and I shift, feeling whatever is holding me crack, and I leap towards Sienna.
Sienna! I reach her just as another chain appears. Snarling, I bite into them, ready to tear them off her, but instead, agony explodes through my teeth and head, the force throwing me backwards. And all through it, Vincenzo continues. Each word he speaks pierces into my mind.
Every instinct is screaming.
Kill him.
Kill him now.
My aura surges, every instinct continuing to go haywire – he’s trying to enslave her. Not on my fucking watch!
Lightning explodes across the battlefield, and my wolf’s snarl drowns out the thunder.
“Need a hand?”
My eyes snap towards Royce, blinding power surging around him, his sword in hand. Then to Ahren – his wings out, eyes glowing red. Heaven, with black markings running down her face and hand, and Ares with water forming a hurricane around him. Each one ready to fight.
“You protect Sienna; leave the rest to us,” Heaven says. The rage in her eyes is one I’ve not seen before.
I don’t hesitate, turning and racing back towards Sienna. The process isn’t complete; he’s still uttering the words, with his people around him.
Yet Vincenzo doesn’t even look at me.
His attention remains entirely on Sienna.
The chains continue forming. Her demon name – it’s what’s needed to bind a demon… He didn’t want access to the dome; he wanted us to get here, for Sienna to take control of the Will so he can control her.
The very thought makes me sick as understanding sinks in.
Vincenzo stops speaking the words and begins moving towards us, the rest of the Indomitable members engaging with the others in battle, but Vincenzo dodges through them all.
I shift back and try to break the chains with my gauntlets, but even then, I’m failing.
“I spent years searching for the Deimos Temple, for the treasures that the Deimos King shall possess. I spent years hunting for ancient knowledge.”
He steps closer.
Sienna. Darling, can you hear me?! She doesn’t respond, her body forced to bend over as chains now spread across her legs and her ankles, and even trapping her wings.
“To think I was so focused on the Deimos King that I didn’t realise for far too long that the greatest treasure was not something he possessed but something standing beside him – it was never you.”
He came after me because he fucking thought I possessed something so great when it was her…
“There are three steps to enslaving a demon. Their name, the incantation, and then breaking them into submission. I think the third is going to be my favourite part,” Vincenzo hums.
“Sienna! Can you hear me!” I shout, forming a barrier around us, buying precious moments as my gauntlets evaporate and I cup her face, the bond sparking between us.
Her eyes flutter as they stare at me weakly.
Jayce…
Come back to me. He can’t win over you!
The drakaths will become his… We can’t let it happen.
The chains tighten again, and Sienna sucks in a sharp breath, her nails digging into the ground, refusing to bow her head despite the pressure being exerted on her. Even now, she’s fighting. Even now, she’s refusing to break.
Through the barrier, Vincenzo watches us with quiet satisfaction as he closes the distance between us.
“Jayce…” Sienna whispers, her voice cracking, but I’m relieved she’s still fighting. “You have to do it.”
My heart clenches sharply when I realise what she’s insinuating.
“Sienna...” My voice comes out rougher than intended.
Her eyes meet mine instantly, and she shakes her head, not afraid, as certainty burns in her eyes. “You know the words… Your memory has always been incredible, so do it now.”
It isn’t a question; she’s not asking me.
No. I can’t do that to her. Her eyes soften, as if realising what’s going through my mind.
It’s the only way, or I’m his.
The very thought feels like a knife through my heart. For a moment, neither of us speaks whilst the battle continues around us, and somewhere in the distance, lightning cracks through the darkened sky. The drakaths wait – their future as uncertain as Sienna’s in this moment.
“No. I can’t,” I whisper. All logic tells me it’s how to go about it, but what if it cannot be undone? What if she’s bound to me forever in a way I don’t want her to be?
Sadness flickers across her face, and she smiles as if understanding it.
Jayce-
No. I can’t. You’re my queen; I’m not- The very thought turns my stomach.