Chapter 78
Seventy-Eight
Autumn groaned beneath a pile of crates as a dark shadow loomed over her. A pair of deep purple eyes glowered in the flickering lights. She gulped. Crap. She’d royally messed up her rescue operation and she couldn’t see any way out of the situation she’d created. She was screwed.
Before she could think, long taloned scaly fingers wrapped themselves around the collar of her uniform and slammed her against the wall back-first, holding her up with one hand. Pain rattled from her spine through her tailbone. She winced, biting back a scream.
The Grand Supreme breathed his blood-soaked breath against her neck, fogging the visor of her full-face helmet. Goose pimples prickled along her skin. She tried her best to conceal her fear, but it was so intense, she risked passing out.
“Something is different about you. You smell so much sweeter than the rest, and your inexperience is apparent,” Emperor Izzo’s black tongue flickered through his dry cracked lips.
“Oh gods, please no,” Dante attempted to crawl toward her but fell onto his side, groaning.
The Grand Supreme whipped his head around and grinned. “My dear Elattion emperor, be patient—I’ll be with you in a moment.”
With his other hand, he removed her helmet, tossing it to the floor with a clunk. His smile widened.
“Why if it isn’t Empress Autumn Martyne. How nice of you to join us, and right on time too.” The drones swarmed around her face in a tornado before flying off to the center of the room.
Her eyes met Dante’s before she looked back at the Grand Supreme in silence. She coughed and choked as he placed her onto her feet.
Emperor Izzo turned around and waved. “Dante, I hope you’re paying close attention.”
He leaned over and brought his sharp teeth to her neck, piercing her skin. His forked tongue licked up the droplets of blood before they hit the collar of her uniform. Her strength faded, her legs wobbling beneath her weight. He was draining her of her energy.
She twisted and squirmed, trying to escape, before taking her hand and smacking him clear across his scaly face, causing him to take a step back.
“Stay away from me,” she shouted. “You creep.”
He shook his head before his face contorted with rage. “How dare you lay your filthy hands on me, human. I should bite them off,” his words echoed throughout the room, pounding against her eardrums.
Before she could think, his scaly palm connected with her cheek, and she fell onto the floor seeing stars. She sniffed, her nose trickling with thick blood. Dante punched the floor repeatedly, gritting his teeth, “Dammit.”
Emperor Izzo grabbed her by the collar again, pulling her from the floor like a ragdoll.
The Grand Supreme cocked his head to the side. “I should be more careful not to lose my temper, especially with someone in your delicate condition.”
Her eyes thinned to slits, fists trembling at her sides. “What are you talking about?”
His flaking mouth curled at its corners. “The rumors are true. It’s only taken four hundred years but it’s finally time.”
Emperor Izzo scanned her with his cat-slit eyes, and she remained quiet. Her mind raced a million miles an hour. “I can’t believe you don’t know. You’re about to give me everything I’ve ever wanted. Everything I’ve ever dreamed of.”
A wave of panic crashed through her body. Could he know about the portal? Should she just give it to him? Maybe then he’d let everyone live. Maybe then he’d stop hurting Dante.
“My dear, you’re with child.”
Her eyes widened, throat going bone dry. “No, I’m not. That’s not true.” She’d know something like that, wouldn’t she? She looked at Dante with pleading eyes.
“Yes, you are—I can taste the innocence in your blood. You have a traitor among you watching your every move who has confirmed my suspicions,” he cackled. “They report to me almost daily. The late night visits with your Emperor. The high fevers and nausea. The mood swings. All classic signs.”
Dante dry-heaved and all she could do was stare on in horror. Who?
Emperor Izzo continued. “Your child belongs to me. To consume a single drop of their hybrid blood is priceless. The key to immortality. I’ll raise them as my own to be the perfect warrior, the ultimate destroyer,” he paused. “I could’ve sent anyone on my team to conquer Earth, what a weak and pitiful lower-life form species,” he spat on the ground. “Why do you think I sent a pathetic heartbroken Elattion prince? I knew you’d do exactly what I needed you to do—fall in love with a human.”
So many emotions swelled deep inside of her—shock, hatred, disgust, and fear for her unborn child if what he claimed was true. There was no way she’d give him what he wanted. All she saw was red hot fury. Her energy spiked for a split second. She took her foot and kicked him in the gut, sending him hurling across the room into a pile of crates on the opposite side. Chains and limbs swung from the ceiling. He collided with a crash. The floating drones stopped and exploded in their places, pieces fluttering to the ground.
She went to go after him when a fist connected with her spine. He’d teleported behind her. The force knocked her to the center of the room where she landed flat on her face, feet bending over her head. Long, clicking toenails scraped against the silver tiles. Izzo’s tail thrashed, thumping, causing the floor to shake.
Dante gritted his teeth and punched the floor several times. He was beyond enraged that Izzo put his hands on his wife and there was nothing he could do to help her. His chest burned, sickness swelling inside of him. Their child was in danger. The child he’d always dreamed of.
He tried to stand up, but his legs crumpled to the ground. Sharp pain shot through his limbs. He was too weak, and his body had been badly damaged. He tried to fly, but he couldn’t get up the strength. The vials were too far from him.
Izzo loomed over her with a sick smile on his face. It was the same expression he always had before he made a violent kill.
“Please, you don’t have to do this. I’m the one you want. Take me instead. Just let her live,” he pressed his palms together. He’d do anything to save her life. Tears streamed down his cheeks.
Izzo rolled his eyes. “Please, Dante, save your breath. You sound pathetic. How many have begged you for their lives and you killed them regardless?”
Dante remained quiet and a deep painful sadness consumed him. A black hole.
He turned back to Autumn, ignoring him. “I’m not one to break my promises, little empress.”