Chapter 24 Thayla
Thayla
“Open the door, you piece of shit!”
My fists bash against the cold, solid surface where I believe the door is. Each bang endlessly echoes around me. The haunting symphony has my bellows growing louder.
More deranged and desperate to drown out the empty sound.
“I will end you for this, you moth—”
A soft hum vibrates in my mind, halting my next round of attacks. I back away from the wall and force my heavy pants to slow so I can hear.
That tender buzz intensifies as I wander back blindly to the center of the room.
“V…is that you?”
The only response that comes is more of that hum.
“V, please. If it’s you—”
My knees crash onto the floor and a guttural scream rips from my throat as I grip my head. No matter how hard I pull my roots or block my ears, the now screeching hum doesn’t stop.
It doesn’t relent.
It gets louder and louder and…
A hoot and a flash of light break through the madness, and I breathe a sigh of relief as I stumble to my feet. The glow of white and shining teal eyes leads me straight to my Vedarya.
“V. Oh, thank the Valories, that was fast. Are the guys here?”
“No. They aren’t coming. You need to follow me.”
I jerk back and blink repeatedly as he spreads his wings wide. The radiance surrounding him intensifies and his power brushes across my skin.
The feathers closest to his body are pure, moonlight white, and they flash before me like a warning as he beats them a few times. They’re so blindingly beautiful.
Just like the first night I saw him at the sacred hot spring.
“Follow him, Thayla.”
“Seismet. Where are you?”
I peer over my shoulder and darkness greets me. No matter how much I try to force my sight to adapt, all I see is a veil of black.
“Go, Thayla. Now!”
The urgency in his tone has me jumping to my feet and sprinting to catch up with V as he spins in the air, flying off into the dark distance.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t strong enough to solidify our connection, my companion.”
Seismet’s tone fades in and out, and I frantically spin while trying to keep V in my sights.
“Don’t say that. Where are you?”
“Thayla…”
A breath hums through my mind and panic pulses in my chest.
“Seismet? Seismet!”
The silence that responds is the furthest thing from comforting.
“V, wait. Something’s wrong with Seismet.”
He ignores my calls and pleas for him to slow down.
The only way I can follow him is by keeping my eyes peeled for the highlight of his body.
His stunning white feathers seamlessly slip into a frost-blue that fades into a lavender. That light purple merges into a rich, deep shade that reminds me so much of the Angel Aura Amethyst.
All of it bleeds downward in a rush until the tips of his wings are a near-black indigo.
The whole ombré embodies divinity.
As he soars through the starless sky, it’s as if the night is chasing his light through the colors of his wings.
That’s because it is.
A gasp gets lodged in my throat as I trace the thin black ropes slithering across his body. My legs and arms pump faster as I race toward him.
“V!”
He answers my warning with a painstaking screech that’s so powerful, my hair flies behind me.
The entire realm slows, spinning in sync with V’s body as he plummets toward the ground. When he makes impact, everything—the very core of existence—shivers and a fissure splits between my feet.
I can’t pull air into my lungs as I skid to a stop and fall to my knees at his side. A ray of moonlight beams on his form that’s no bigger than a couple of feet and only a few pounds. I cradle his softness in my arms.
Black bleeds into his beautiful white.
“V. Please open your eyes. Look at me.”
His lids flutter, but his bright teal irises are muted. Dull.
“Thayla…”
“I’m here, I’ve got you. Everything’s going to be okay.”
“I failed.”
“No, don’t say that. No, you didn’t. I’m going to get you out of here.”
I scour the darkness, looking for someone, something, help, but all there is, is night.
“My first…and last time guiding blindly. I failed my Calling.”
A breath laced in death rattles his chest and my eyes widen through the tears clouding them as his color fades.
“No! V!”
No, no, no, this isn’t real.
This isn’t really happening.
It’s not.
Why do I feel his feathers in my hands?
Hot, sticky black replaces the weight of his body as he fades into the starless sky as a vapor of white.
My fingers curl together and the liquid painted in my palms covers my whole hand. It doesn’t matter how much I shake them or wipe them on my shorts, the evidence that’s really blood is undeniable.
My gut-wrenching sobs cut through the stillness as tears drench my cheeks. The harsh thunder falling from my mouth leaves my throat in a shredded, raw mess.
“There was only one, but now there is none.”
I silence my sniffles as my eyes skim the darkness for that boisterous laugh and slow clap. Everything within me trembles with the force of a deadly storm.
“You.”
Kirabaddon emerges from the shadows with a victorious smile across his face. I want nothing more than to stab daggers through the dimples in his cheeks.
“Hello, Thayla. I’m delighted you got to witness my long-earned victory.”
A shrill of rage burst out of me as I jump to my feet and call my power forward.
His black ropes slink around my body, killing my command before my power could process a move. The tight coils constrict me the more I attempt to fight free. My thrashing doesn’t stop until he steps in front of me and snatches my face toward him so fast I see stars.
“Give up this tiring resistance, Thayla. You’re too special to fight life like this. My sons are far too special. I created the commanders of Duality, Death, Knowledge, and Time. The pillars of society.”
He runs his fingers through my tear streaks, jerking me back to face him the second I snatch away.
“Choose our side, bring me back that Binding you’re hiding, and life becomes easier, freer. No rules, societal norms, or provisions over your power will hold you back any longer.”
“I will never choose you. They will never choose you.”
He chuckles low and pats my cheek. That condescending tap has my nostrils flaring.
“Poor, desperate girl. They already have. They need more power to protect you and I’m the only one willing to give it to them freely. With conditions, of course.”
He throws his head back, laughing. The satisfied sound sinks into my bones.
“This isn’t real. You aren’t real.”
I gasp as his rope of power sucks all the breath from my lungs.
“Isn’t it?”
He whispers close to my face and his hot breath fans across my earlobe. The sensation of his wet lips touching my cheek has me writhing in his grip.
“Fuck you.”
The curse blares from deep within my soul. The humor evaporates from his face when he wipes my spittle off his cheek with his thumb.
He sneers in disgust.
His backhand cracks across my face faster than I can blink. He shouts something my muddled mind can’t make out as his power releases me and pain ricochets through every cell in my body when I slam into the ground.
The realm grows fussy and pitiful whimpers escape me while black spots dance across my vision.
The dizziness sends me spiraling, and I lurch to all fours, gagging on the blood pooling in my mouth.
Arms wrap around my stomach and I shriek. My legs kick behind me while I try with all my might to crawl away.
“Stop fighting, Thay, it’s me.”
All the air in my chest rushes out of me. My hands claw at the grass as I spit the metallic wad out.
I cling to the hands helping me stand.
“Lambrit. You shouldn’t be here.”
The slow rising sun provides the smallest hint of light and the confused features on his face have my mind whirling. He cups both of my cheeks, forcing me to look at him.
“What is happening?” I ask.
“I don’t know. I don’t even know where we are, but you have to get out of here. Run.”
I try to shake my head, but he tightens his hold.
“Run…run where? Where is everyone? Rose, Yemi, Havar, Sevryn? Derivius? My Valtrue? Where are they?”
His lips tighten as he glances over his shoulder and nods. A shimmer flows through the air, revealing Havar, Rose, and Yemi. I huff a breath of relief until I notice how red Yemi’s eyes are.
I tug out of Lambrit’s grasp and in two strides, I have her wrapped in a hug. Her trembling body has me squeezing once before pulling back and gripping her shoulder.
“What’s wrong? What’s going on? How are all of you here?”
“I don’t know. The God of Chaos summoned all of us to your house. Everything happened so fast. One minute, we were there and everyone was yelling. The next, I know your Valtrue and…Sevryn…they…”
Panic clenches my heart as her mouth opens and closes repeatedly. I shake her, attempting to snap her back to reality as gently as I can.
“They what? What happened, Yemi?”
“Nero, Iric, and Doren said they were going to Valveilious, but I refused. I wasn’t leaving Sevryn. Then your Valtrue, they just left. They starshot out and he…followed. He left me. Now, fuck, I don’t even know how to get to Valveilious. I don’t—”
“Hey, hey. It’s okay. We’re going to figure this out. Everything’s going to be okay.”
Where the hell did my men go?
Why did Sevryn just leave her?
“No.”
I whirl around at Lambrit’s bark, and my eyes widen at the anger on his face. My head twists back toward Yemi as Havar pulls her out of my hands and tucks her behind him. Rose’s bottom lip trembles as she gives me a sad smile and moves toward Lambrit’s open hand.
“What…”
“Go.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You’re going to run.”
I swallow the lump in my throat and clench my shaking fists at my sides.
“Then we’re all going to run. We’re going to go—”
“No. None of us are going with you. We’re going to get somewhere safe until whatever is happening is over. The Godsdawn is on lockdown and your Valtrue has dove off the deep end. We’re staying as far out of this as we can from now on.”
My lip trembles as I stare into his unwavering but watering eyes.
“Lambrit…”