Chapter 31 Kyzen #2
I fall forward, holding myself up against the wall and her head falls back against his shoulder. I run my nose down her cheek, then seal my lips to hers.
It takes her by surprise for a split second, then she gives in to my kiss.
“That was mind-blowing.” She smiles up at me as I help her stand, but her legs wobble and I quickly wrap my arms around her waist.
She gasps, pressing her body to mine. “How long have you two been in here?”
I peer over my shoulder, and my gaze collides with not one, but two pairs of eyes that are a combination of desire and definitely jealousy.
There isn’t a hint of teasing on Riven’s face. He’s still wrapped in his towel and not bothering at all to hide what watching her just did to him.
Creed’s leaning casually against the doorframe, but his jaw muscles are locked so tight, I can’t believe he hasn’t cracked a tooth.
“What the hell is wrong with all of you when it comes to watching and not asking anyone for permission?”
“They did have permission,” Amick says as he lathers up a rag and starts washing Thayla.
“From who? We didn’t even know they were there.”
“I knew they were there the whole time. Hence why I asked Thayla if she’d be okay with them watching.”
I keep one arm wrapped around her to hold her steady while the other pinches the bridge of my nose.
“Is it not okay that we watched?” Creed asks darkly, but his eyes don’t meet mine or Amick’s. They never leave Thayla.
“I…” She trails off. He pushes from the doorframe and stomps to the threshold of the shower.
He reaches out, wraps his fingers around her bicep, and I let him pull her from my arms.
Her sudsy, naked body collides with his fully clothed one, and her breath shudders.
“Answer me. Honestly.”
“It is okay. I just don’t want my desires to cause problems. You and Riven look a mix of pissed off and turned on. I don’t know what to think. I’m not intentionally trying to make anyone jealous, nor do I want to cause problems.”
“We are pissed off and jealous. We just watched the woman we want get fucked and suck the soul out of our brothers and not us. That doesn’t mean you’re causing problems. We didn’t have to stand here, but we did.
I’m biding my time, enjoying every little piece of you I can get until I devour you whole. ”
My hands shoot out to catch her before she can crumble as he steps away, but Riven’s there. Ready and waiting.
His arm wraps around her back as his hand grips her jaw.
No words pass between them. He stares into her eyes intently, for a long, intense moment. Whatever they see in each other, though, they recognize it at the same time as their bodies relax into one another’s.
He eventually turns her head and lays a kiss to her cheek before making her walk backward into my awaiting arms. Then he leaves the bathroom as she watches his every move.
I lean in closer to her, splaying my hand across her stomach. “When you finally break down those last few walls of his, little goddess, make him worship you.”
“I plan to,” she breathes, and I chuckle.
Wordlessly, Amick gets back to work cleaning her up and she uses my body for support. I keep smiling down at her, laying kisses along her shoulder as she fully embraces being taken care of.
The three of us finish up our shower and step out more relaxed than we have been since we left the Godsdawn.
“Where did my clothes go?” she asks, then looks over into the hot spring and groans. “Riven!”
His laugh filters through the bathroom as she hauls ass out the door with nothing but a towel wrapped around her. I shake my head as their bickering fills the silence. Amick snorts behind me and the sound makes me jump.
The smile on his face makes my heart stop.
I haven’t seen that singular dimple in…
Fuck, since we were children.
I’m almost too afraid to speak.
“You good?”
His smile does slowly fade, but not from him hiding it from me. He lets a small smirk linger as he nods.
“Better than good.”
My head whips toward the bathroom door as Thayla crashes into it, hopping around as she tries to shove her leg into a pair of pants.
“Get out here right now and get dressed. Havar and Collum are fighting. Rose just came to the door for help, freaking out.”
She skips back through the door and my power bursts free, wrapping around Amick and me as we shoot out of the bathroom behind her. In the time it takes her to finish putting a bra and shirt on, we get ourselves completely covered, then sprint out the door.
Yemi and Lambrit are pressing against Havar’s chest, holding him back as Creed, Riven, and Sevryn stand between Gladian, his Valtrue, and Collum. Everyone’s shouting to the point it’s impossible to follow what’s going on.
“Enough!” My voice bellows over the upper deck and all heads turn toward me. “What the fuck is going on?”
“I’ll tell you what’s going on. Your Escort thinks that because we’re not in the Godsdawn, he can slack on the fucking job. Then dare lay his hands on me when I try to correct his error.”
Error? Havar doesn’t make mistakes when it comes to Seismet and Verlet. Any of the Veilatara as far as I’ve seen.
“Verlet, what the hell happened?”
“Collum attempted to move our strappings back over our wings. Havar confronted him and told him not to touch us. Collum continued to try. Havar pushed him away. The argument has escalated from there.”
“Did you try to touch my Veilatara?”
Shit. Verlet spoke to all of us.
Riven’s giggle flutters through the space and his eyes start to swirl burgundy. Thayla yips and races to his side.
I can’t hear the quiet words she says as she tugs him by his arm until he leans down.
Whatever she says works.
To an extent.
His eyes stop swirling, but that dangerous smile stays plastered on his lips.
“You know the rules, Kyzen. I’ve let it slide so there wouldn’t be issues, but now issues have come up. Go back to following the rules of the Godsdawn,” Gladian declares and my fingers shake.
I take a slow, steady breath and put my hands in my pockets.
I suppress the desire to slice him in half and throw him over the edge.
Barely.
“I never said the rules of the Godsdawn didn’t matter out here. Did it ever occur to you why we didn’t strap the Veilatara’s wings back?”
His eyes narrow on me, but he doesn’t respond.
Which is answer enough.
“No, it obviously didn’t. We’re on a highly dangerous, secretive quest set out by the Beginning Gods.
At any moment, something could happen. Does it not make even the slightest, most logical sense to you, either of you, that having their wings free gives them the opportunity to get us, our carriages, or even themselves away from the danger as fast as possible? ”
My glare pivots from Gladian to his foolish Escort. He looks madder than hell, but he at least has the sense to nod.
“The Veilatara’s wings stay unstrapped. I won’t hear another disagreement about this.”
“I’m fine. Let me go,” Havar tells Yemi as he backs away from her. His fists flex and his breathing is heavy as he stares Collum down. “Regardless of that being cleared up, explain to me and all of them since they’re out here now, why you warned me to stay the fuck away from Thayla.”
My brothers’ and my bodies pivot toward him.
“Gods, I beg you, please say something stupid.” Riven smiles, shoving Thayla behind him as he takes a step forward.
“You all don’t have a claim over her just because she’s your Binder.”
I don’t know where his stupid ass is going with this, but it’d be for the best if he shut the fuck up.
Even Mellcom and Jeremiah stop standing in front of him defensively and turn toward him.
I don’t like that shit either.
“I say we leave this conversation where it is. For everyone’s health,” Thayla says, holding her palms out, facing all of us.
My eyes narrow as they move between the two of them. Yemi lets out the realm’s smallest laugh, but I hear it.
“No fucking way.”
Thayla whips her wide eyes to me. She knows I’ve figured it out.
“He’s the god who asked you out.”
“Yeah, and until she formally rejects me, I can ask and express my interest however I want. Again, you all don’t own her.”
He’s lost his fucking mind.
The ship creaks as my brothers and I step toward him.
The sea falls deathly still, and we all freeze as power swells in the air.
“Brace yourselves!”
Brogden’s shout comes a second before the ship lurches so violently the deck beneath our feet tilts and slings us to the side. A low groan of wood straining echoes, followed by the sound of…something thumping against the side of the ship.
“Oh shit.” Havar’s golden eyes blaze.
“What?” I shout as my power shoots out of me.
Time speeds forward only a few seconds in time before I snatch it back to me with all my might.
“Lambrit, move!”
He grabs Rose by her arm, yanks her away from the edge, and hauls ass to the center of the deck.
An arm—no, tentacle—black as night, thicker than the sail post, rises from the water. The dark sea rains off its suckers that are the size of shields as it slams down on the floor.
I try to warn everyone to get to the lower deck, but I’m not fast enough.
Another one crashes down right across the threshold to the stairs to get below and the ship teeters hard to the right.
We all freeze for a heartbeat, too stunned to breathe.
“This one isn’t friendly and doesn’t give a fuck about what I’m asking,” Havar roars as he throws his hands out toward the sea, snapping us all out of our stupor.
The deck slants again, causing us to stagger.
“Here.” One of Brogden’s men races toward us, hands full of swords that he drops at our feet. “That’s a Ravarie. Nasty fuckers. Their suckers are sensitive. Stab there if you can.”
“How do we kill this thing?” Gladian snarls.
He shakes his head. “We don’t. We hold it and however many more that join, off until a Valmareri arrives.”
“A Valmareri?” Havar asks.
“The original creature that this one was mimicked from. The protectors of the sea. They’ll hear the Ravarie’s commotion and come. We hold them off until then.”
Fuck us. Them.
I grab two swords and race over to where Thayla has shoved Lambrit, Rose, and Yemi behind Seismet and Verlet.
“You put one up and you protect them and yourself, Yemi. I know you can do it.”
Put what up?
“Here.” I grip her elbow and turn her toward me.
Panic flares in her eyes as power floods my veins. Her breath hitches as I command it to surround her.
“Stab it in its suckers and stay near me.”
The ship heaves and Thayla crashes into my side. I hold her steady as chaos, unfortunately, not of my brother’s creation, breaks free.
Six more tentacles slap down on the deck, forcing everyone to react.
Havar stands in the middle, eyes blazing, hands stretched out as he tries to use his power to reason with the beast. A black rope of death shoots out of Creed’s hand and wraps around a ligament. It slams down on the wood with a heavy thud, yet it still twitches.
“This thing’s blood and soul are not normal.”
“No shit,” Riven yells as he withdraws his sword, and not red, but black blood, almost like ink, gushes from the wound.
Thayla and I jump into the fray, our swords slash through the air as my power coats ours and my brothers’ bodies every time they come near me.
For a moment, my mind empties as my heart thunders. I go through the familiar motions. This is a different kind of flesh than I’m used to slicing. It glistens with slime and salty seawater and is as thick as a tree.
One hit of my sword doesn’t cut through like butter.
It leaves the rubbery skin hanging in a mangled mess.
A scream pierces the air, and my body runs cold as the sound tears through my soul.
I turn, as if in slow motion, not of my command, and all the blood drains from my body.
My bellow follows me as I lunge forward, power pulsing, hand outstretched.
“Kyzen!”
My fingers skim across the slippery skin of the single tentacle wrapped around Thayla’s waist for a millisecond before it snatches her overboard.