Chapter 9 Thayla
Thayla
My eyes scour the daunting hallway for Amick and Kyzen as soon as I step through the threshold.
The air in my lungs stalls as the last of the other Valtrues turn the corner, disappearing from my sight.
Fuck, they got down there faster than I got in here.
I swallow the nerves attempting to strangle me, and my power swirls beneath my skin. My lower belly cramps, and I rest my hand there to soothe it. Although Riven’s waist bags block the contact, the added pressure helps ease the sensation.
Slightly.
I’m not sure if my powers are trying to push off this sickening buzz that lingers in the air or feed off my desperate desire to get to Riven as fast as possible.
Whatever the motivator is, it’s strong.
That looming, realm-ending mentality that plagued me left the second we stepped out of the forest. My mind entered a whole other space, but not only for me.
Everyone refocused on what was important. The overwhelming thoughts that were haunting us fled.
I’ve said it before and I’ll continue to say it…the Abandon is wrong.
The breath of relief that leaves me when Yemi steps through the door is short-lived. Sevryn snatches her to his chest, and she slumps into him as she wipes the sweat from her face.
Fuck.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
“Tired.”
“Are you going to be able to starshoot home?”
She nods once. “As long as I don’t exhaust myself anymore. That was really fucking difficult.”
I don’t show it on my face, or at least I try not to, but that answer doesn’t sit well with me at all.
What the hell are we supposed to do if she can’t starshoot?
I sure as shit won’t be leaving her and Sevryn to walk back until she rests enough to recoup her power.
Too bad her power doesn’t feed like Sevryn’s…or Creed’s, even Amick’s, sort of, I think. Damn, do Kyzen’s and Riven’s do that as well?
Will mine?
Actually…let me not think about that while we’re in a place that calls people feeders.
“We need to move,” Creed barks as he wraps his hand around my elbow and drags me through the Bardot Valtrue, who are now looking more scared than cocky.
Obviously, some real thought went into creating this building. I’m not talking about the color schemes, design, or massive layout. More so, the power pulsing through here that manipulates everything.
The music was louder from the outside, as though its energy was purposely drawing you to this place.
In this hallway, though, it’s lowered, growing again in volume the closer we make it to the fork. Both directions stir something inside of me, and my body doesn’t know which way it wants to go more.
My mind knows we have to take a right, but if I didn’t know that, I’m pretty sure I’d stand in the middle, warring with myself about which way to go.
My poor mind, body, and soul are going to be so discombobulated when we leave this damned place.
Yeah, well, think how Riven and the others are going to feel. This place is doing a number on them.
Gods. I can’t think about that too much.
A lump forms in my throat as Creed’s fist closes above his head, ordering everyone to stop. I force myself to stay put as he inches forward so he can look both ways.
He turns back to us with a grim glare, and I reach for one of my swords in my holster. He shakes his head at me and unsheathes one of his.
Wordlessly, he passes it to me and takes one of my powerless ones for himself.
“Listen to me, okay?”
“Always.”
I can’t even smirk at the glare he’s giving me. I’m being so serious. I’ll do whatever he orders right now.
“There’s no one down this hallway but the room we’re going to…” He trails off, and the muscles in his neck grow tight as he swallows hard. “This is a sex chamber, Thayla.”
My lips press together. “Yeah, I got that.”
He shakes his head.
“We didn’t want to go into detail about this and upset you or slip up and mention the shit Riven’s been through.
We don’t even know it all, but between his dark jokes and our imaginations, we can think up the worst. You’re about to see things being done to people that don’t even happen to the damnedest of souls.
There are going to be willing participants and unwilling ones here.
You can’t do anything about that right now. ”
My chest rises and falls as heat flows through my blood like wild rapids.
“Isn’t everyone here under a Domain of Seduction? Doesn’t everyone come here because they want to…eat the sexual energy? I don’t know what you mean by unwilling.”
His eyes soften in a way that I both appreciate and can’t stand. I’ve noticed they all give me this very look when I say something I guess isn’t normal, but it’s normal to me.
“You know.”
I jerk my head.
No, that can’t be.
I mean, yeah, they warned me things went on here. They called it vile and reassured me they never participated, but they didn’t make it seem like it was nonconsensual.
I told myself that since these beings—Dark Gods or otherwise—came here looking to, I guess, prime their power, everyone who was here was doing the same thing. Willingly.
“Riven…are they…is he…Creed.”
My breathing grows labored as my vision swirls. It takes every drop of restraint I have in my body not to sprint down the hall.
Valories. Let him be near the fighting. Not the fucking.
I’ll kill anyone who’s laid a hand on him.
I’ll chop them up into tiny little pieces.
I’ll—
“Come back to me, my endling.”
His soul continues to stroke mine even after I get my breathing under control, but there’s no simmering the fear-induced rage.
I need my eyes on him. Now.
“We have to find him. Now. I can’t wait another minute.”
“I know, we’re going. I didn’t want you to see what you’re about to see and then flip the fuck out. Now you have a warning. Prepare yourself.”
Prepare myself.
How the fuck does he suppose I do that?
I bet his ass waited until this very moment to say anything because if he’d told me in the woods, no doubt I would’ve lost my shit, and my power would’ve slipped.
Honestly, he just shattered my whole reality. I had it in my mind, based on this alluring music, that we’d walk onto a dance floor with bodies flowing together.
Yeah, sure, there’d be people tucked away doing shit in a corner or private rooms, but he just made it seem like we’re about to walk into a room full of people fucking everywhere.
Judging by the look of disgust on his face and the strain in his soul, that’s exactly what we’re about to walk into.
He ducks his head back around the corner once more and then gives us all a nod.
My heart thunders in my ears with each step.
The pressure in my lower belly builds, and I continue to command it back down. It senses its source floating through the air, and repulsion grows in my stomach right along with its desire to be free.
My breath hitches when a door closes shut, and faster than I can blink, he has his palm slapped over the mouth of a female, and the sword he took from me to her throat.
“Don’t scream.”
His warning has her bobbing her head, and her red cheeks darken even more.
Fierce fury surges through me when her power brushes against mine. It isn’t as strong, but the Seduction swirling in my stomach senses a being with abilities like mine.
“You push another smidge of your power against him, and it’ll be the last fucking thing you do.”
The glow in her eyes dims as I press my sword against her belly.
She may want to think longer about her decision than I thought about mine. One wrong move and she’s done for, but I won’t be pulling this weapon away until all her power is back beneath her skin and skimpy little outfit.
She nods, or at least attempts to, and Creed pulls his hand from her mouth. He keeps his sword pressed to her throat as he maneuvers around her until he’s beside me.
I slowly lower my weapon before I ram it through her. The way her eyes track his every move infuriates me. She’s watching him like she can’t decide where she wants to lick first.
I’m two seconds away from snatching her disrespectful little orbs out of her skull.
“Where’s the Goddess of Seduction?” he asks.
“Mother is away.”
Mother? She’s not supposed to have children.
“Where’s the son of Obliteration?”
Her face falls blank.
“Working.”
What the hell does that—
“Fuck. You two hold on to her.”
Creed practically slings the female toward two of the Bardot Valtrue. One makes a grunting sound the second his hands are on her, and Sevryn whirls around.
“You get that shit under control or you’ll know nothing but pain when I’m done with you.”
My body moves before my mind. Something on her face cracks, and the noise echoes down the hall. As does the sound of her body hitting the ground.
I shake my hand out and glare down at the half-naked heap she’s in. I feel guilty for a split second until I realize the guy who touched her has turned his back to me so he can adjust himself.
It’s different when I give my guys random boners.
I have permission to do that.
“Were any of the rest of you affected by her?” Creed asks as he presses in close to my back.
The sheepish look on all the men’s faces—aside from Sevryn—has me cussing under my breath. Their Binder’s red cheeks prove her discomfort.
“Yemi?” I ask.
“I wasn’t, but I also don’t think I was her target.”
“Don’t leave Sevryn’s side for a second,” Creed demands.
He and Sevryn share a long look. I swear they communicate a whole-ass plan without ever uttering a word out loud. Then he turns his attention back to the Valtrue, who’s utterly useless to us at this point.
“You’ll all have to stay outside the Chamber. Do not follow us in unless shit goes down out here.”
The embarrassment is evident on their faces as they nod at Creed, but there’s nothing we can do about that.
He grips me by my elbow once again, but this time, instead of walking cautiously, he sprints.
My hands shake from the unease thrumming in my body. I make a conscious effort to hold my death sword away from my leg.
“Creed, what did she mean?”
He tightens his lips, refusing to answer.