Chapter 5 #3
My final wish had been to go through with the ceremony and ritual, side by side with my chosen King and Queen. I don’t know whether Daire is alive or dead, however, and this is the only way to at least make sure that Freya survives this.
“A blood oath,” I say. “If I do this, then you don’t kill, harm, or imprison my nestmates. You allow them to live under your protection.”
Isis nods. “Your life, for hers. Then I swear on my blood that your wishes will be honored.”
I clutch my hands on my lap.
This should be easy.
It is.
The voices have quietened in my head now.
There is a simplicity in dying that there never has been in living.
When I turn my head, unable to resist studying the beautiful, freckled face and flame-hair of my Omega for one final time, I wish that she could see me for one final time too.
Except, I don’t want her to watch me die. I have witnessed too much death, and I would save her soul from that stain.
“Give me a dagger then,” I snarl.
If I must do this, then I will do it quickly.
Isis shakes her head; the bitch is enjoying this. “How did you kill my son? I saw the body. You tore out his throat with your teeth and your claws. You’re a beast. Kill yourself like one.”
I am not a beast.
I am a King.
Yet I would do anything for my Omega.
I raise my claws, extending them to my throat. I prick my skin, and crimson blood beads, trickling down.
I swallow.
It is harder than I thought to sink my own claws into my throat.
How deep will I need to go to kill myself?
I glance at the crocodile. Her golden eyes sadly meet mine.
Finish the job, I command, if I can’t.
Will Lazarus be waiting for me?
If I die like this, for my Omega, despite everything wicked that I have done in my life, is there any chance that I will be joined with him after death?
I let my eyes drift closed.
I grit my teeth in pain, as my claws sink deeply into my neck.
Blood drips onto the marble.
Drip, drip, drip.
Unexpectedly, there is a sudden explosive frenzy of harsh caws. Then the violent thunder of wings.
My eyes snap open.
Above me, it is like a living shadow breaking apart.
I pull my claws away from my bleeding neck.
I catch a glimpse of a gleaming eye, a hooked beak, a spread wing, then another and another until the entire House of Crocodile seems filled with ravens.
Together, they dive on Horus, pecking at his face, lips, and his eyes.
He screams, blinded.
He drags his claws out of Freya’s neck to try to protect himself, as blood trails down where his tears had been.
Isis cries out in horror.
I throw myself forward, catching Freya before she can hit the floor. I cradle her in my arms.
Horus rolls on the floor, and the ravens swarm him, until he lies unmoving beneath the birds who are viciously tearing at him like he has grown a hundred wings.
I turn my head.
I watch in amazement as a fae, who looks like a primal god from the myths, swaggers along the walkway with a raven perched on each of his shoulders.
Daire’s expression is cold with rage.
I can sense his elemental magic racing through him. Somehow, Daire has been freed.
I shiver but with excitement, rather than fear.
I am mesmerized by Daire.
This isn’t the sweet Dove who I welcomed into my royal nest. It’s a savage king like me.
A warrior.
Killer.
Predator.
My Blood Lover.
Our gazes meet for a long moment.
Daire falters, before he glances at Freya in question.
I brush the hair out of her face. She appears confused like she is rising out of a deep sleep.
But she is unharmed.
“Dearheart.” I hold her close to my chest. “I am here.”
Then I nod at the crocodile. She has been patient and deserves to feed today.
Isis scrambles off her divan. “Stay back, or I’ll…”
“I owe my Blood Lover your death.” I wrap my shadows around Isis’ ankles and yank her toward the crocodile’s open mouth.
The crocodile’s jaws clamp down on Isis’ leg with a loud crack.
I ignore Isis’ cries for mercy, as she has ignored so many of mine.
Daire grins viciously. “For Barnabas and every Shadow Human you have ordered to be slaughtered. How do you enjoy being hunted like the prey?”
Still grinning, Daire saunters to join me.
Will he take this as a good enough wedding gift?
Should I have made it bloodier for him? Ripped off her head to present to him?
Daire drops to sit cross-legged next to me, pressing the back of his knuckles against Freya’s cheek tenderly. “I’m here too, love. Sorry it took me so long. I was…”
I glance at his wrists, noticing the burns on them but also, the absence of the dragon bracelets.
Now the moth’s story makes sense.
I frown. “You tried out the Bone of the Gods. Reckless.”
Daire shrugs. “I’m alive, aren’t I?”
I narrow my eyes. “You also attacked when Horus was still holding Freya. Impulsive.”
“Can we save the degradation kink for the wedding night?” Daire looks away.
“Sorry, I can’t see well. I had to take a guess.
I woke up after all the agony and…my Spark was gone.
My pinion feather should have drawn me to her through a portal if her life was in danger.
But it was like I couldn’t feel her through the bond. I was terrified that she had…”
I know what he’d thought.
“It was Hor’s compulsion. Our Queen and likely your magic didn’t know that she was in extreme danger. How did you find us? You shouldn’t have taken such a risk.”
“Aye, you’re welcome.” Daire licks up Freya’s neck, and I can’t help the possessive resentment that I’m not licking up her blood. “I did just save your arse, or did I imagine that you were about to kill yourself for her?”
“Of course I was. She’s my Queen.”
Daire’s expression gentles. “Then of course I’d be the idiot to fly here and save you.
You didn’t leave me to be bitten and claimed on the Hunt, did you?
We belong together. And if it meant that I wandered around an enemy court where I’m hated and people now know my identity, then call me reckless and impulsive anytime you want, Bat.
It’s daytime, most of the Bloods are asleep.
But Hor is…was…a gossip who needed to feel important.
He boasted while drunk to half the Shadow Humans about this plan.
Luckily, Shadow Humans are helpful when you treat them like equals rather than toys. They showed me the way down here.”
My shoulders relax. “My dear, Freya and you look beautiful in your wedding outfits.”
“Well, you look a mess. You have blood running all the way to your chest. Want me to lick it up too?”
I give him a steady stare. “Should I trust your fangs that close to my neck?”
“Aren’t I about to trust your fangs to be in mine?
” Daire leans closer, intense and serious.
Suddenly, I feel for the first time like I am one king speaking to another.
“On the sacred ash, is the past more important than the future? Are the screams of our ancestors more valuable than the birthing wails of unborn descendants? I was a fucking kid when I fought your ma. I was protecting the survivors of a genocide, clinging on against a tyrannical empire.”
“You want me to forget the past?”
“I don’t. We wear the scars of our past every day, aye? But I want you to concentrate on building the future of our kingdoms.” Daire glances at Freya, before looking back at me again. “Unite with us against Maximinus and the Draca Empire. They’re the oppressors.”
My brow furrows. “I have a blood and horn oath not to betray Relius.”
“Who’s asking you to? The bloody idiot is on our side, even if he doesn’t understand it just like he doesn’t understand his own emotions. Aurelius isn’t the same as his empire.”
Daire is looking at me with hopeful earnestness.
I wish that I could agree and become the type of rebel friend that Daire longs for and found in his Shadow Human, Barnabas, before he was murdered.
Now that I have survived, however, I must close the Void.
I must sacrifice myself after the ceremony.
Perhaps, it is not a bad thing to allow my mates to enjoy today as I am without telling the truth of what will come after.
Is it a cruel lie or the kindest one that I will ever tell?
“I forgive you,” I say, softly. “I will unite with you both in any way you wish.”
Daire’s expression — pure sunshine — makes the deception worth it.
“My brilliant Bat King,” he breathes, fierce with joy. “Together we’re going to topple empires.”
“First,” I stand, carrying Freya in my arms, “we’ll take our Omega to our nest. We’ll spend the day in the royal vampire nest as mates should. By my fangs, after a quick tidy because a scorned vampire is a destructive one. Then tonight, we’re going to marry our Queen.”