Chapter 42
SYERA
Carmine sat beside me. “He finally went off to play. Is he okay?”
I nodded. “Adeuto will be just fine, mate.”
He’d only left my side to play with Owu, who’d just arrived with his mother.
“But what if everything he’s been through has injured his spirit?” Carmine asked.
“What has he been through? Three years hiding from his tyrannical father, then months apart from his mother while she dealt with the tyrannical being controlling his father? That’s just a normal childhood for a demon.”
At his worried look, I smiled and said, “He’ll be okay, Carmine. Really.”
Carmine would feel the truth of my words.
Our souls were one now. There was no natural separation of our feelings.
Only with focus could we tune out each other’s emotions and thoughts or prevent ourselves from using the other’s magic by accident.
Our scales had changed with the final ritual, too, and now a crimson presence swirled in my black scales, and black did the same in his.
Our mating was complete, finished in the depths of our bond as battle had raged around us.
Perhaps we hadn’t spoken the traditional words, and perhaps the realm hadn’t witnessed our final ritual as was the norm, but what we’d shared had transcended any description of the last step in the mating bond that I’d ever come across in a book.
Against all odds—all desperate hope—we’d survived to be mates.
Probably because Utyrth had guilted Neti into sacrificing herself so Carmine and I could live.
I couldn’t believe any of it had happened sometimes, and that disbelief was yet to fade after a year.
“He’ll have immortality with a loving mother and father,” I reminded him.
My mate struggled with guilt. Regret. Shame.
All the feelings he didn’t need to have because none of what had happened was his choice. But Tyran had broken Carmine, as he’d done so with all kings. As he would have done with me.
I’d give Carmine all the reminders and love needed so he could build himself again.
Which was why I’d refused to rule the demon realm.
He’d wanted nothing to do with being king again.
I was of the secret opinion that he could only heal through seeing what kind of king he would have been without Tyran’s control.
I made sure to summon my circle of past kings at least once a month to speak with Carmine too. Nothing like an undead support group to help a king overcome slavery trauma.
He also found great peace in talking through his last meeting with Hge.
They hadn’t exchanged words during the battle, but the bond they’d forged in the dungeons long ago had shone again.
They’d risen side-by-side to defeat Tyran and to claim Carmine’s freedom at last. Hge had sacrificed his life to win both of those things for my mate, and I believed genuine love had been behind his actions, whereas Neti had done the same to achieve her own ends.
I couldn’t possibly understand the complex emotions Carmine felt at being on the receiving end of such an act of love.
But I did understand that Hge was responsible for anchoring hope and goodness and the will to fight in my mate as a boy.
Because of Hge, I’d had a mate to salvage when I’d arrived in the demon realm.
I was so very grateful to the Istg demon.
“Syera. Carmine,” Sascha greeted. “Are you prepared for battle?”
His use of the demon version of “how are you” brought a smile to my lips. “We are, Sascha. How are you?”
The Luther held up the wiggling pup in his arms. “Trying to keep up. She’s nearly one. Early shifter. I thought the first few months were hard.”
I grinned. “Eventually their impulse control kicks in.”
“How long until that?”
“Adeuto was nearly three.”
Sascha blanched.
“Maybe it’ll happen faster for a Luther pup?” I offered.
Andie joined us, beaming a smile at her daughter before leaning down to hug me. “The summit is going well, right?”
I nodded. Carmine didn’t reply, still watching his son.
Andie arched a brow at him. “Everyone treating you okay, demon king?”
He returned her look. “They treat me far better than I treated them. If they are uncomfortable in my company, it’s because I made it so.” His words were casual, but I felt the guilt pouring from him.
“Everyone here is well aware of what happened to you,” she replied.
Despite our decision to give the demon realm a different version of the truth, the other supernatural leaders had opted to tell their peoples the full story, with our agreement.
There would have been no chance at acceptance or true peace between demonkind and the others without it.
Eventually rumors of the truth would trickle back into the demon realm, but I’d be very surprised if demons would care. Or dare to care.
“They’re aware,” Carmine said. “But they cannot forget those lost, and I do not blame them for that. Their treatment of me is more than I expected considering the actions they saw me take.”
Sascha gripped his shoulder. “Time will convince them otherwise.”
Carmine nodded.
“How are our favorite Vissimo?” I asked Andie, tilting my head at Basilia, who grimaced as her heels sank into the grass.
Andie followed my look and grinned.
Basilia snapped her head up and narrowed her gaze at the sight of our amusement. The Vissimo queen marched over as best she could.
She sat on Andie’s other side. “Fucking grass. Tell your hippy sister to lay some concrete out here.”
“Tell her yourself,” I replied without heat.
Basilia was a lot of bark, with just enough bite. In the year since the final supernatural battle, she and Kyros had gained the space to truly settle into their roles as king and queen of the Sundulus Clan. Bluff City was more of a hustling, bustling metropolis than ever.
And… well, I now had two friends.
“Syera, Carmine,” Kyros said gruffly as he sat on Carmine’s other side.
Carmine shook his hand; then Kyros’s gaze settled on me.
“Still good for training after?” he asked.
Our friendship had been born of punching one another in the face in dire circumstances.
But as with Tsan, I just got the Vissimo king.
I got his power control issues. I got his coldness.
And he got me, I liked to think. Of all the leaders, we would always be the most ruthless in protecting those we loved, even against ourselves.
So yeah, I had two friends. Tsan was probably super jealous.
Especially because Tsan only had one friend again. I scanned the mingle of four races until finding him speaking with Andie’s best friend, Wade. Tsan threw a smile at Yiti, who stood pressed against his side. Tsan’s arm was around her waist.
Romance. Unmated, and true. Tsan had found love again, and I couldn’t have imagined a better partner for him than the royal tailor.
“Fuck,” Basilia muttered. “Tommy’s speaking with Rooke.”
We all looked at my cousin, Rooke, who had a tell-tale brightness in her gaze as she conferred with Basilia’s best friend.
“That’s her illicit substance look,” Tempest murmured from behind me.
Wild hummed. “Sure is.”
We watched as Rooke gave something to Tommy, and then Tommy walked toward Wade. Wade smiled from ear to ear, then spoke with Tsan, who shrugged and nodded.
“Ah, shit,” Sascha said. “Should we do something about that?”
Basilia winced. “Like what? Tell them no?”
Tempest sucked in a breath. “Rooke doesn’t like the word no.”
“Wade prides himself on being uncontrollable,” Andie said. “He’ll double down if I try to intervene.”
Carmine glanced at me. “You need to say something to your lucky yellow.”
I held up my hands. “Tsan’s smarter than me. I already know if I try to stop this, I’ll return to you guys convinced but confused about agreeing he should do whatever he wants.”
All eight of us regarded the four beings who’d found the loophole in our otherwise undisputed and respected power and leadership.
For all of our might, they remained outside of our control.
“Ready to make our announcement?” Tempest asked me.
I nodded, and leaned forward to kiss my mate before following her to a small podium under the summit banner.
“How are Mother and Grandmother going?” I asked on the way.
“Grandmother visits every so often,” Tempest said. “She has big opinions about people’s attitude toward Carmine. She said if people can’t get over him, they should get under him, and seeing as you’re the only one who can get under Carmine, they need to go with option one.”
I grinned. “And Mother?”
“She walks the knolls with Father. Usually in the evenings. My magus spot them from time to time.”
Our parents had found each other again in death, and even if I wished so much could have been different for them, I was still grateful they’d rediscovered each other in the next chapter.
“I noticed that your delightful mother-in-law isn’t here,” Tempest muttered.
“She doesn’t want to catch human. Her words. We brought Gratia. She’s better at faking that she cares.”
“Is that the criteria for demons who come with you?”
I scanned the demons in the meadow. “They’ll get better at interacting with other races with more exposure.”
More controlled exposure because my personal thoughts were that my conniving demons would run rings around most of the supernaturals here. The other races were just so trusting and restricted by their morals. “What about your in-laws?”
Tempest shuddered. “Worse than Athira by far. At least she owns what she does. Wild’s parents are pure evil behind big smiles. Convincing the other covens away from the influence of the original coven is an ongoing thing. But I’ll win.”
I slid her a look. “You know?”
“Yep.”
We chuckled together, and she took hold of my hand.