Chapter 9 Thayla #3
Her body is curvy in all the right places, and her stunning blood-red gown clings to her like a second skin. It makes her wavy blond hair shine, her sun-kissed skin glow, and her green eyes sparkle even brighter.
How can someone so beautiful be so rotten on the inside?
I map out every perfect feature on her as she prowls toward me. Not because I may forget what she looks or feels like.
I want this precise moment seared on my brain.
When the day comes that I kill her, I’ll walk toward her with the same confidence, wearing the same smirk on my lips.
“Tell me about your power, Thayla.”
There’s a knowingness in her tone. I give her nothing—other than a breathy groan that I can’t control.
“Just as stubborn as my boy, I see.” She sighs, sparing my Riven a glance.
“You don’t have to share everything now. We’ll have time to get to the bottom of it. I’ll have to have a stern talk with Kira about you, though. He told me you were a being of Obliteration and would be a great addition to our dynamic. Yet, I sense plenty of me in you.”
I want to scream there’s no part of her in me.
That’s obviously not the whole truth, but I’ll be damned if I ever use the piece of Seduction inside of me to do and create the things she has.
She scoffs through her smirk at the glare of disgust I give her.
Her fingernail tips my chin up until I’m staring into the depths of her eyes. She lowers her voice into a breathtaking, sultry purr that has my lashes fluttering.
Gods, this is so, so wrong, but feels so right.
Riven’s song has my lids flying back open.
“I still see the revulsion on your face even though it’s more relaxed now.
It’s quite impressive. Like it or not, darling Thayla, you have more of me in you than you realize.
I’ll teach you exactly how to use it. I swear I’m not as much of a monster as you’ve already made me out to be in your mind. ”
Something…strange shifts in her gaze. It grows distant as though her thoughts are moving faster than her mouth can make words.
I flinch as she steps away from me with a squeal and claps her hands together once.
“I promise to apply the same rules to you as I have to Riven. No one will touch you, but if you crave touch, I won’t let the men have you. The females know how to take care of our needs far better, anyway.
“You will train directly under me. I’ll even have a throne made for you to sit right beneath me. Oh, this is exciting. With all the sons home, my lover will have no choice but to share you with me. This is perfect.”
I don’t have a fucking clue what she’s going on about.
A large part of the plan she made in her mind stays there. The half she shares is absolutely terrifying.
“Oh, or better yet…yes, yes. You will be the perfect gift for him.”
Not only is she evil, she’s crazy as shit.
Who in the hell does she plan to gift me to?
We’ve got to get the fuck out of here.
My head turns toward the battle going on in the middle of her sex chamber. I immediately find my guys fighting together in the center, desperately—I know—trying to make their way to me.
I want to scream at them to starshoot the fuck over here.
A happy little noise comes out of Sabelline, and I decide I don’t want them to do that at all. I don’t want them anywhere near her.
“Come, we need to get you out of that awful attire. No lady of Seduction should be dressed in armor and…outdated accessories. I’ll get you nice and cleaned up. For now, my Kira can’t sense you all in here, so I’ll have time to gather the sons and hide you away until we come to an agreement.”
My eyes widen as she drags me along by her glowing green rope, and panic takes hold. My soul thrashes around in my chest while my power tries to seep from my skin.
“Stop him!”
Both she and I whip our heads toward that command, and the stampede of feet charging our way from the single hall that leaves this platform. My mouth gapes open.
“Let her go!”
That familiar, thundering voice has my ears ringing unbearably loud, and my mind moves in slow motion.
Holy shit.
Mellcom.
His bruised and bloody body collides with hers, and the coils of her power slither off of me. My back hits the ground so hard and fast that the air is thrust from my lungs.
At the same time, the two of them disappear through a starshoot.
Where did…He just saved me.
Fuck, now he’s gone again.
Shit, shit, shit.
I force myself to roll over and desperately draw in a deep breath. My body rocks as I groan and push the remnants of her power from my body.
Fuck, and I thought what Dimitri did in Hellveilious was bad…
This is so much worse.
“He calls to his angel,
He calls to his angel,
Hey-he, Harmony,
He calls to his angel.”
“Get the girl!”
I snap my attention over my shoulder and then crawl like my life depends on it to my discarded sword. The second the handle is in my grasp, I roll over onto my back and plunge it up.
My heart pounds in my chest as the Dark God leering a foot above me falls statue still. I don’t have a second to catch my breath.
The sword slides out as easily as it pierced his skin, and I jerk to the side before his corpse crushes me.
I spring to my feet, evading the hand that stretches out to grab me. His palm slaps the floor milliseconds after my steel of death slices through his wrist.
The six remaining Dark Gods add a little caution to their approach, and I grab my handle with both hands as they position themselves around me.
Despite what I’ve been trained to do when I’m outnumbered, I don’t wait for them to attack.
I pounce.
The way they placed their bodies between mine and Riven’s sends a feral surge through me. There won’t be any containing it.
Blood splatters across my face and armor as I spin and stab my sword around. I don’t have time for precision or quick, calculated hits.
Creed’s weapons of death are already as merciful as they can be, so really it doesn’t make a fuck where I cut.
The last body falls, tumbling off the platform, and I take a deep breath, willing the tremors wreaking havoc on me to ease. My lids flutter for a second as I mimic the words to the song Riven’s been bellowing this whole time.
A dark, threatening sigh leaves my lips as I turn toward him.
“I’m warning you now, you better fucking move.”
Who this girl is or where the fuck she came from doesn’t make a difference to me. She’s standing protectively in front of my man with a sword at the ready, and that’s about to cost her, her life.
A determined bellow pours from her throat as she charges toward me. I shake my head at her lack of self-preservation.
With both hands gripping her weapon, she lifts it way over her head as if she plans to chop me in half. I sidestep her, sticking my foot out to trip her up.
Her scream follows her over the edge of the platform. The drop isn’t enough to kill her, but if she doesn’t get her stupid ass up, she’ll get trampled to death.
The crowd’s grown since the last time I had my eyes on everyone else, and my gaze frantically searches for them.
I don’t see any of them.
Fuck.
“V, I need the others. We’ve got to get Riven and go.”
His hoot responds as I race to Riven and sink to my knees.
“Don’t touch me,” he bellows as I cup his cheeks.
That short little break is the only pause he takes from screaming out his song.
“Come on, Riven. Snap out of it.”
“Creed says you have to get him free first. If they come up there to you two, the others will storm the platform after them.”
Damn it.
“Hey-he, Harmony,
The Empowerer’s in Seductions.
He calls to his angel,
He calls to his angel.”
I force his head back a bit as my voice joins in with his erratic shouting.
“Hey-he, Harmony,
He calls to his angel.”
He jolts frantically, but I don’t let him go. I tighten my grip and raise my voice.
“His angel answers the call,
His angel answers the call,
Hey-he, Harmony,
His angel answers the call.”
“No, no, no, no.”
“Come on, Riven,” I breathe before picking his melody right back up.
He continues to thrash around, fighting me, maybe himself. I don’t know.
My voice comes out more like screaming rather than singing as frustrated, angry, and fearsome tears build in the back of my eyes.
“Your angel is here!”
My palm slams against his cheek, and I suck in a startled gasp as his head snaps to the side.
“Oh gods, Riven. I’m so sorry. I didn’t…”
His neck turns torturously slow back to face me.
“Do it again, little burden. I liked it.”