Chapter 14 Rhadamanthus
Rhadamanthus
The wolf had been a prisoner of the usurper king.
His mentor a soldier under the same rule.
And their fellow bond mates were currently his prisoners.
How had Dante dipped so many fingers into my queen’s mate circle without being suspected?
The divination mage once attended the parties of the false king.
The vampire had been a target of his.
The charm mage is brother—and puppet.
It appeared like a cruel joke of the Goddesses making. Why would she design the mates of her Queen to be so enmeshed with the false king? How was it possible that a Queen’s mate circle could be so influenced by the dealings of a mind mage?
I ran a hand down my face as the rest of Ivy’s mates left the wolf.
The divination mage went in search of the witches to alert them of the change, that they might need to prepare for another prisoner to check.
Meanwhile, the vampire left to seek out the captured Fae lord and torture answers from his broken lips.
That left me with the shifter, who groaned as he swung his legs out of the bed. “Why are you still here?” he asked without looking at me, head bowed.
I pushed off the wall, stepping away from the corner of the room. “I was thinking,” I replied, moving to the window. “It’s strange how every single one of you has been touched by the false king. Without your knowledge—or sometimes, his own.”
From the corner of my eye, I watched the wolf stiffen. He didn’t look up immediately, but I was certain he was coming to the same conclusions I was.
“Chances are,” he said, voice hoarse, “there’s another who is just as prominent in all of our lives.”
I wasn’t sure I liked the emphasis on all. “Who?”
Finally, the wolf looked up. “Who else?” he snorted, rising to his feet. “The Seer.”
I hummed under my breath as the wolf grabbed his jacket from where the vampire left it after carrying him into the bedroom. He shoved his arms into the sleeves before reaching for his boots.
“What was it her son said?” I asked, crossing my arms. “She’s been several steps ahead this entire time?”
The wolf grunted. “We’ve known that for a while.” He put his boots on with a shake of his head. “I just don’t know what Dante meant about her hiding something from him about Ivy.”
It was my turn to stiffen. “Archer Seers are notoriously craft little wenches,” I muttered, looking away from the wolf.
“I gathered as much from the first Queen’s mate.” The wolf made a move towards the door but stopped. “I’m going to find a way to bring Cyrus in. But I might need your help.”
I raised a brow, shrugging. What else was I going to do?
I followed the wolf out of the room and into the quiet hall beyond.
There were more guards patrolling the halls, but we encountered none of them as we walked to the war room.
I would have to remind Sao to check the rotations.
There should always be someone in the halls, especially where the Queen’s mates slept.
There was no one in the war room when we entered, which brought me a small sense of ease. The door closed behind us, and I made certain to lock it.
“What is your plan?” I asked, watching as the wolf pulled a device from his pocket.
“I know where he is,” he replied, though he shook his head. “At least, I think I do. He has a cabin, isolated. Hasn’t been part of Phoenix for years and chose to live quietly outside of pack lands. If I can get confirmation he’s there, we should be able to shadow jump to him.”
His eyes met mine; they were dark with a careful determination that was strengthened by his resolve. The shifter might have once considered the older male a mentor, family even, but that was gone now. He was a target, someone capable of giving us answers about the false king and his location.
I bowed my head in a nod, summoning the shadows to me. “Find your target, and the shadows will do the rest,” I replied.
Answers would be ours, whether the traitor liked it or not. And I would help the wolf get them.
The shadows dropped us between tall trees that reached for a dark sky.
I’d never stepped foot in Avalon before. The new world created by the original witches and the last Queen of the Old World was entirely foreign to me. A land so different to the ones I once roamed. I recognised nothing about where we’d landed, or if the shadows brought us to our target or not.
The wolf, on the other hand, appeared to know exactly where we were. He shot me a dark look, holding up a hand. I remained still as he surveyed the forest, while I took in the canopy of trees.
The shadows came to me with whispers of warning, revealing the malformed magical signatures of those in the trees. Ten in total hid in the branches, likely with weapons of their own pointed at us.
Like they’d been waiting.
Would you like the traitors dead? I asked, communicating through our new deal tattoo. The smaller scorpion I’d gifted him appeared behind his ear, a sign of my protection over him—and all of my wife’s mates.
The wolf glanced at me, then at the trees. We don’t need them.
A smile curved my lips. Death was a sweet, welcome presence as one by one, the traitors dropped from their perches.
A mage with power over storms landed in a heap three feet from where we stood, his skin grey with death.
A Fae from the Aither Court landed first on their feet, like they thought they might win against the reaper’s claws around their heart, but soon fell like the others.
Another Fae, this one from Summer, dead. Two from Spring. Three more mages of varying ability crumbled at the appearance of my death magic. And two shifters in their mortal bodies joined them just as swiftly.
Ten traitors. Ten more deaths to fill the killing fields House Wrath ruled.
The reapers disappeared with their collected souls, disappearing from my sight—and mine alone.
Power surged through me at their deaths, at what they left behind. Souls were not my domain, but I could summon those who reaped them.
But life…life I could get drunk on.
And I took my fill from those dead now.
“That was helpful,” the wolf muttered, turning in a slow circle. “Maybe we should have set you loose on the army.”
I stiffened, hands curling into fists. “You would not like what I become when so many deaths are on my hands,” I replied, ignoring the way my heart raced with the power that came with the ten lives taken. Though not many, I still felt the boost their deaths provided.
The wolf spared me a questioning look, but he said nothing as he turned and started through the trees. I followed with a shake of my head, calming my racing heart with each step I took away from the bodies. I walked over one shifter, barely glancing down at the female’s glassy, dead eyes.
There were no other living souls in the forest, except for the one we sought. Ahead, the wolf shifter unholstered a gun, holding it up once the cabin came into view.
There was an unpaved road leading up to it, with no sign of any vehicles. Which meant either the traitors were shadow jumped here, or they’d been left by someone else. Either to protect the bear shifter, or wait for us.
It was possible the bear knew we were coming for him. If he were still in contact with the false king and his High Council, then he would know the wolf had learned of his origins within their army—and his involvement.
There was nothing particularly interesting about the cabin; built with logs felled from the forest, it was quaint, almost reminding me of the cabin we’d found Asael’s soul tied to. But unlike that cabin, this one was real.
And it was dangerous.
As if having the same thought, the wolf stopped at the edge of the road, gun still raised. You sense anyone inside? he asked without looking at me.
Only the presence of the bear shifter. There are no lingering signatures out here, either, I replied, eyes darting over the facade of the cabin, to the trees and mountain beyond. He cannot hide magic from me.
The magic within, tied to the bear, also wasn’t distorted like the magic of the ten soldiers we’d left to rot. The magic of the bear shifter was untouched by the dark, twisted hands of the false king.
The wolf bowed his head, took a rune stone from his belt, and tossed it onto the road. For a moment, nothing happened. I stared at it, the carved image supposedly designed by the compromised prince to disable charms, but after a moment, the glow disappeared.
That was all the wolf needed. He crept onto the road, and I followed, pulling blades from the shadows. I would not so easily be able to consume another life, not without the sickness that might follow. It was a weakness I refused to share with the wolf, and it was not something he should see.
To him, I was the infallible Elysian King, ruler of the Elysian Fields and protector of the Underworld. The husband to his mate, my Queen.
But even I had weaknesses. One was stored safely in the hands of my wife, even now.
The other could mean I lose control.
I raised my twin blades as we safely crossed the road.
Surrounding the cabin were wards, heavily fortified, but as soon as we approached, they dropped.
I frowned, fingers tightening around the hilts of my swords.
There was only a moment of hesitation from the wolf, who paused on the doorstep, but it passed almost as quickly as it appeared.
There were no words shared between us as he kicked the door in. The wood cracked, splintering as it caved in under the force of his boot.
No sound came from inside the cabin as we entered. The magical signature remained strong, a steady, beating pulse of power from the back of the house, but there was still no sign of soldiers. No dark magic. No remnant they’d ever stepped foot inside.
It made my frown deepen as we walked into the living room. Three old sofas made of leather surrounded a cold fireplace. The space looked untouched, save for the steaming mug of tea on the coffee table between the lounges.
“Kicking down the door was unnecessary,” a gruff voice said from the adjoining room. Kitchen, I assumed, based on the dried herbs hanging from the archway between the spaces. “You’re always welcome, Elias.”
A growl sounded from the wolf, who pointed his gun at the doorway. “You really think I believe you after what you did?”
The bear sighed when he appeared. The male was old, at least a century, hair silver, beard long. He was an unfamiliar face to me, and upon seeing him, I felt for his magic. For any hint that he’d been changed by his time with the enemy.
“You remember?” the old bear asked, coming to a stop before us.
“Yeah.” The wolf rolled his shoulders back. “I remember. Not everything, but enough. Like you holding me and nine other children captive while a pain demon whipped us to shift.”
The older male sighed. “Anything else?”
“I don’t remember how I got out, but I’m sure you do. Only a matter of time before I get those memories back, and you better hope you’re in our custody when it happens and not dead.”
“Well,” I drawled, releasing the twin blades to the shadows, “even if he does die, a spirit can still answer questions. I’m sure there are plenty of death witches who would be more than willing to help.”
The eyes of the bear darkened as he shook his head. “No need for that, or your threats. If you want me to return with you, then I will.”
My eyes narrowed. “And why would you do that?” I asked, stepping forward. The familiar tingle of death danced down my arms as I watched him. It wanted out and to claim another. “We can have a friendly discussion right here.”
“I figured you would want me in a cell. And I’ve got nothing to hide. Not anymore.”
The wolf hesitantly lowered his gun. “And why’s that, Cyrus?”
The bear tapped his temple with a dark smile. “No blocks, not anymore. My glamour is gone.”
“How did you manage that?” I asked, cocking my head.
The bear looked at me, then at the wolf. “I died.”