Chapter 11
“Mate,” Tyran greeted me as I sat next to him at breakfast.
Mate, again, was I? Probably because our power play had tipped in his favor since he caught me collecting blue gems.
“Good morning, my king,” I answered. Did he know about the dream Carmine and I had shared? That was the only thing I cared about right now.
“Satiate your hunger. We travel to Earth shortly to decide terms for my mother’s release.”
We would?
Ha. He didn’t trust what I’d get up to if he left me behind. “Is this about my old lover again?”
The demon king regarded me. “How is it that you could stand to be there?”
I filled my goblet with pli juice. “Where? With… him.” Shit. What name did I give my fake lover?
His gaze narrowed. “Where I caught you?”
“The desert?” I blurted, genuinely surprised. “What do you mean?”
Tyran was in the driver’s seat as he scanned my expression. For the truth? For once, he’d received it.
He forced a smile after, then rose. “I’ll expect you shortly.”
Yes, sir!
I didn’t need the hurry up; my appetite had disappeared. Tyran had that effect. Not because I feared him. I feared what might happen if I couldn’t eradicate him. Then I lost everyone I loved, and if that happened, what was the point of my existence?
How is it that you could stand to be there?
His question whirled around my head. Where was a fucking yellow friend when I needed him?
The answer dawned on me as I nibbled at one pitiful slice of dunkr. Tyran hadn’t left his portal to step out onto the sand. My chewing slowed.
The desert was Neti’s turf! The desert must have the same effect on strengthening Carmine against the wrath curse that the dungeons did.
He wanted to know why I—a being controlled by his white magic, or so he assumed—didn’t appear affected by those places.
I’d be confused too. I’d be worried that the other person had figured out something big.
As I made my way to the hangar, the revelation solved other mysteries.
That was why I’d successfully hidden in the desert for three years. And that also had to be a reason why Tyran was so obsessed with expanding demon territory on Earth. When he did that, the desert shrank—Neti’s territory shrank.
Tyran wanted to eliminate the Istg presence in the realm entirely.
But the long and short of his question to me at breakfast was… Tyran believed that I might know something he didn’t about evading or overpowering Istg influence. In his mind, that must make me unpredictable or stronger.
Who needed a yellow’s brain? Mine was just fine.
The soldiers guarding the hangar opened the doors, and I joined the others inside. Gratia was there, too, next to Carmine. Gu was here as well.
Out of the three reds Carmine had first invited to war council, only Gu remained. I would’ve chosen Hiub. She might lack confidence, but she’d been the only one to recommend killing Andie.
My focus drifted to the gate beyond them, and I was struck by the realization that I might be about to see the supernatural leaders again.
The ones that I’d kind of betrayed in the last battle.
We’d had Carmine on his knees. Well, buried to his neck and copping a ghost beating from my mother and grandmother.
His army had fled the scene.
The war could have ended there and then if I’d severed the mating bond.
Instead, I’d saved him. If I ever got into a room alone with the leaders again, I’d have some serious groveling to do. Especially with Kyros after blasting him for going against the master plan in the past.
Tsan entered the hangar. He glanced at me, then stood apart from me. Gu shifted farther from the yellow. He must be worried about catching intelligence.
“My mother wouldn’t expect us to relinquish or concede anything on her behalf,” Carmine said.
“She’s a powerful demon with vast knowledge.
She is valuable to the realm, and if there’s a way to capture her again, then I will take it.
The point of this meeting is to uncover where she is, and anything else concerning the security on her. ”
“Will they ask for our surrender, my king?” asked Gu.
Carmine smirked. “They know better than that. They won’t settle for words. They want to guarantee future attack is impossible. They will ask for my life.”
His gaze landed on me. “Come, mate. The rest of you follow. We are meeting them in pack lands.”
He strode toward one of the Luther gates, and I trailed after him. Gratia fell into step behind me, then Gu. Tsan at the back. Soldiers swept in to flank us on either side.
All for show. Carmine and I were each an army of our own.
We entered the thick fog beyond the gate, and when we exited the fog onto Earth, the demon king turned to offer me his forearm. I curled my fingers over his fist, and we walked together a short way through a thick forest.
I couldn’t hear any signs of the pack, so Sascha and Andie were keeping us away from their village of Luthers. Understandably.
Ahead, chairs were arranged in the forest, and the supernatural alliance leaders were already seated, aside from Kyros, who stood behind Basilia.
My stomach lurched at the sight of them.
The thing was, if I’d known that an epiphany about my mate would hit me square in the forehead in the midst of battle, then I would have said something. Probably.
Tempest could see most future paths and hadn’t guessed either.
No one had seen that coming, including me.
Perhaps I’d had a tiny thought of what if leading into battle, especially after the divination journey back to the day my grandmother and mother were killed.
The knowledge of the wrath curse and seeing Carmine try to resist it had tested my prior resolve, but I’d still resolved to go through with my plan.
I’d formed a new plan about one second before portaling to Carmine and dragging him back to the demon realm.
For me, Adeuto had always come first. With him safe, and in the face of Carmine’s torment, I’d decided to give my mating bond a chance.
For these leaders, their mates and peoples came first. I’d risked thousands of lives with my actions, and I was still set on continuing down that path.
I was sorry for the suddenness of the shift in my sentiments, but I also felt sure on this path.
There was a rightness to it that never existed in all my strategies to save my son.
I was meant to save everyone I loved.
“Sister,” Tempest greeted me as Carmine stopped before our seats. I was sitting directly opposite her.
I dipped my head. “Sister.”
Basilia glared. Andie was as calm as ever, though she didn’t acknowledge me.
Carmine sat, and I sat after. Gratia, Gu, and Tsan sat in turn.
Kyros circled the row of alliance leaders to sit last, and I felt my lips twitch at the power play.
“We have your mother,” Tempest said.
“You have captured a messenger,” Carmine said. “If you are going to capture my messengers, then we will soon have no way to communicate off the battlefield.”
“Your messenger killed three members of my coven,” Tempest replied. “The capture was warranted, and it’s only because she’s a messenger that we didn’t kill her.”
That did sound like Athira, and I expected that Athira had told them to say that.
“I will give you three demons in exchange for the lives of those my mother killed,” Carmine said.
Kyros smirked. “We will take your mate. We have no need for three.”
Carmine had called it when he’d said the leaders would want to assure no future attack was possible. He’d just assumed they’d ask for him.
I also could not be traded right now. I had shit to do in the realm.
Hello? a small voice said in my mind.
I jerked in my seat, and Carmine rested a hand over mine. “I will not trade my mate. Do not fear, Syera.”
Fear? What did that have to do with a tiny boy’s voice in my head?
I murmured my thanks to the king, then focused my thoughts on a single, silent word. Axel?
Yeah! It’s me. Mom, she can hear me!
What. An. Idiot. I’d never thought to use Axel to communicate with the others. Even after Carmine and I had discovered our mind speak in the dream. Each time the gates opened in Luther territory, I might have a shot to speak with Axel.
What do you have to tell me, Axel?
Sascha and the others want you to know that… uh… oh! They want you to know they understand why you did what you did. Your sister says the murkiness of the future is gone. There’s a chance this could work out in the way you want. Hey, Mom, what else did I need to say?
I waited, trying to behave normally. Andie cast me a look, then returned her focus to Carmine.
Hold on, Mom is telling me… yeah, I said that part. What was the other bit?
There was a brief silence.
“What deal would you put forward if no other demon will suffice in exchange for my mother?” Carmine asked.
Axel blurted, Tempest is okay with you pretending to kill her. Wild can drain her magic into him until she’s pretty dead. But actually not. Just fake. He’ll go nuts after, like he would if she was really dead. Mom, why will Wild go nuts after?
He went offline again.
“The word of a demon is useless,” Kyros was saying.
’Kay, Axel said. So that’s the plan. Tempest says that…
if you attack her with good… what’s the word…
intent! Then you guys should both stay awake.
When your power touches hers, she’ll do her stuff, then Wild will do his.
The others will fight the demon king. I hope they win! Mom, is there anything else?
Sascha growled. “You wish for your mother back and offer nothing of value, demon.”
This negotiation wouldn’t last much longer.
Tempest says you should collapse, too, so the demon king leaves. They don’t want the army to attack after she’s fake dead. Or she can’t stay dead. Mom says they want to know if you want the mean demon lady back. I said you wouldn’t.
Did I want Athira back? No.
Did I need her back? Yes. I need her back, I thought at him.
You sure? Mom… she wants her back. Yeah, that’s what she said just now.
Axel, I thought after, Please tell Tempest she’ll need to keep her head down for a couple of weeks after I kill her. I need to complete another ritual with Carmine before he learns she’s alive.
I understood that Tempest had to protect her coven and the other supernatural races. She couldn’t stay dead forever. If Carmine attacked again, and the magus barriers weren’t enough protection, then Tempest would have to come back from the dead.
Which meant I had to complete the next ritual as soon after killing Tempest as possible. Which meant collecting more blue gems.
That decided it. I had to tell Tsan where the hiding spot was and send him for more.
Got it, Syera, the little Luther said. Anything else?
I didn’t want to overload him. Tell her, and them, thank you. I didn’t intend for things to work out this way. Please pass on a “hello” and an “I love you” to Adeuto for me too.
If I’d been speaking with Andie, I would have downloaded the last several weeks into her mind so the alliance knew everything about Carmine’s imprisonment within Tyran.
I didn’t want that information to get garbled through the filter of a young child.
It was important that the alliance believe Carmine wasn’t acting of his own volition.
“Mate.”
I blinked back to the present and stared at the forearm in front of me. Carmine was standing before me, waiting.
I set mine on top of his on autopilot. Thank you, Axel.
Nice to talk!
I missed having a young boy around. My young boy most of all. But Owu and Axel too. They were so alive and focused on the moment.
Carmine led me through the trees and into the thick fog. When the Luther gate was closed and sealed, he glanced down at me. “You were deep in thought during the meeting.”
He’d noticed, and I’d anticipated that. I had an excuse ready.
“I felt like there was something important I was missing. I couldn’t figure it out,” I told him.
“To do with negotiations?” he murmured.
I frowned. “No, not that. Something else. A person, maybe. A child close to me.”
I hadn’t mentioned Adeuto at all since the smoke ritual. As far as Tyran was aware, I had no recollection of my son.
The demon king extended his forearm again. “Perhaps your sister’s son.”
My sister’s son? Is that what he’d told his armies? The armies who’d witnessed Adeuto running to me on the battlefield. Surely they hadn’t believed that.
Except… they would have sensed Adeuto was magus. Demon power didn’t come in until sixteen. I was a magus, too, but clearly everyone had swallowed Tyran’s lie, or else the realm would be alight with the news of our son. I’d wondered why no one was whispering about that.
“What did you glean of your sister?” he asked.
Such a subtle topic change. “That she is no stronger than the last time I saw her. She would not meet my eyes. She’s afraid of me.”
“You saw fear?”
I nearly snorted. Fear? In my twin? No, I saw a badass who would help me destroy Tyran even though some of my recent actions didn’t make sense to her or the other leaders. “I’m ready to kill her at any time.”
Carmine stopped, and I looked up at him again.
His eyes gleamed, and I was certain that Tyran anticipated victory for demons and the Ronj, but mostly for himself. “We will extract my mother at the same time. She is strong enough to warrant a rescue attempt.”
How nice of him.
Fingers tilted my chin high and a hard mouth pressed against mine. Nothing like the mouth I’d kissed in my dreams. My body tensed, but I went through the motions, trying to keep bile from surging up my throat.
“Soon, mate,” Tyran murmured. “I will let you know when. But soon. And then I will keep my end of our bargain.”
I fought back a shiver of disgust and instead rested my hands on his chest. “That’s all I want, mate.”