Rebirth—Day 65, hour 4
We filed into the war room.
The space was narrow, with no windows.
Strategizing boards covered the dark-blue wall, and thirteen ornate wooden chairs were positioned around an oval lacquered table. The gold insignia of the High Court was carved into the center of the table. It was also painted on the ceiling.
In front of each seat was a thick white binder.
I rubbed at my bleary eyes and leaned my head against John’s shoulder.
Our arms were draped across one another’s shoulders like usual. We might be at the High Court’s headquarters in an undisclosed location, but some things never changed.
Sex had changed nothing between us in the best way.
As we shuffled sleepily into the room, Luka rested his hand on the back of my neck and he massaged his fingers against the bottom of my skull.
The demons and kings entered behind us.
Flames danced along Malum’s arms as he stared at the twins.
Luka’s fingers tightened around the back of my neck in a possessive show of ownership.
I smirked at Malum, and his fingers cracked as he gripped the back of a chair.
Luka pressed a kiss to my forehead.
There was a crackling noise as the expensive-looking wooden chair went up in flames beneath Malum’s hands.
I slumped down into a seat with a heavy sigh.
It was four in the morning—too early to be dealing with Malum’s bullshit.
I rubbed my eyes until I saw stars.
Since the competition had ended and my food had stopped being poisoned, most of the bruises and cuts littering my flesh had healed up and disappeared.
Only one wound on my face had scarred over. It was probably because the cut had been deep and repeatedly reopened.
It was an angry red streak under my left eye.
My jaw dropped when I’d woken up to find the massive ugly mark on my face. Then the emotion set in.
I was ecstatic.
The scar was sexy yet understated; slutty yet slightly horrifying.
It made me feel dangerous.
I leaned back in my chair and tried to seem mysterious.
I winced at the pressure across my spine. Even with my wings tucked away, my back was still overly sensitive. I could feel their heaviness inside me.
I was also still wearing John’s sweatshirt.
I sniffed the fabric and shrugged. Considering I’d worn it for the last three days and slept in it, it smelled pretty good.
Zenith glared at the kings as he pulled out a chair for Vegar next to John and sat down.
I agreed with him. Lately all the kings did was stare at me and mope.
They were a bizarre mix of repentant and angry.
It was so weird.
In the last day and a half since the end of the competition, each of the kings had cornered me and begged for forgiveness while also insulting me.
They were aggressively sorry.
Emphasis on the aggressive part.
Of course, I’d done what any gracious woman would do when they faced a suffering male who was finally taking accountability for his actions.
I pretended I couldn’t hear them speaking.
The method was mostly a success.
However, it was getting harder to pretend the kings didn’t exist, because Malum kept setting things on fire. Yesterday it had been a plant, and the day before that he’d melted a stained-glass window.
He really needed to find a hobby.
“Let’s do this thing, bitches.” Sadie burst into the room with her mates following behind.
I high-fived her as she walked past and took a seat next to the demons.
Jax patted my head. Xerxes and Ascher bumped my fist as they moved around the table and took the open seats. Cobra flipped me off, and I dragged my finger across my neck to mime slitting his throat.
Jinx hobbled in on one leg with a tall boy supporting her.
“Why is he here?” I asked as I pointed at Warren. The teenage omega was no longer in his shifted ferret form. He wore combat boots, camo pants, and a black shirt.
“He’s my bodyguard and crutch,” Jinx said in a “duh” tone, but she looked tired. There were large dark circles under her eyes. “Lothaire cleared him, since I obviously need the protection.”
She nodded her head toward Malum.
Since he was still standing behind his burning chair, she had a point.
Warren glared at the kings like he wanted to murder them with his eyes while the rest of the shifters glared at him.
“We’re trying to hunt down an enchanter with a degree in prosthetics,” Jax said as a way of explanation. “There are few in the realms, and it’s taking longer than we’d hoped.”
Cobra’s eyes flickered to slit pupils, and he hissed, “Until then, we’re stuck with the perverted ferret.”
Xerxes pulled out his knives and made a show of sharpening them, and Ascher cracked his knuckles.
Warren gently sat Jinx down in a chair, then leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. His posture was relaxed, like he didn’t care that most people in the room wanted to kill him.
Oh, to be a delusional teenager.
Must be nice.
“I see that fire ass still hasn’t gotten the psychological counseling he needs.” Sadie gestured to Malum. “I’d recommend you to Dr. Palmer, my and Aran’s therapist, but she told us that she was considering reporting us to the authorities.”
Orion narrowed his eyes at her, and Scorpius said something derogatory under his breath.
A flume of smoke trailed out of Malum’s nose as he exhaled.
“Sit down, you’re embarrassing our legion,” I snapped at Malum as I rubbed at my temples. I wanted to be back in bed, cuddling the twins.
Why in the sun god would Lothaire schedule a meeting at 4:00 a.m.? Who did that?
Malum pinned me with his steel-colored gaze, and a flush stained his cheeks. “So you can speak to us? It would have been nice if you’d acknowledged us the last fifteen times we’ve tried to talk to you.”
Not to get political, but men suck.
Leaning forward I buried my head in my arms and squished my face against the smooth table.
“Is the wind loud in here?” I asked petulantly.
“I didn’t hear anything,” Sadie pointed out helpfully as she went along with my joke.
The crackling noise increased as the chair burned hotter.
“You will fucking—” Scorpius began to snarl, but Luka cut him off and snapped, “Watch how you address our wife.”
“You’re not married yet,” Malum snapped back at him.
“Yet,” John said gleefully, and I could hear the smile on his lips.
He massaged the back of my skull, and I relaxed into his hands. Pinpricks of pain shot across the enchanted wound on my back, and I winced as I gently pushed John’s hand off my head.
The enchanted wound sucked when demon brew wasn’t obliterating my senses.
I made a mental note to get drunk.
Soon.
“Sit down and shut up,” Jax alpha-barked, and I sat up straight. Even if we weren’t shifters, his commanding tone was like a punch to the gut, and it made me want to obey him.
For a long moment, Malum stood behind his flaming chair and stared Jax down.
Tension swirled across the long table.
Malum slowly took a seat, but his chair was still flaming behind him.
Jax’s tone was commanding as he spoke, “Lothaire said we need to read whatever is in these binders and begin to formulate a strategy for the war.” He opened the white cover. “We have a meeting to discuss our preliminary plans with the angels later today, so we need to be on the same page. Let’s start reading.”
“Don’t tell me what to do,” Malum snapped, but he opened his binder like the rest of us.
Big red letters spelling “CLASSIFIED” crossed the first page.
I swallowed thickly.
Memories of skin ripping as ungodly exploded out of villagers made my stomach roll. I didn’t want to know what was in this binder.
The page shook as I slowly turned it over with trembling fingers.
The top of the next piece of white parchment read, “Phase I: The ungodly have taken over Planet 003XF. The planet needs to be cleansed of all primitive inhabitants. They are all infected. It is mostly civilian ungodly. It is recommended that the champions complete this task by themselves and other resources are saved to handle the outposts of battle ungodly.”
I sat back in my chair and refused to read further.
My pipe clattered against my teeth as I inhaled with all my might.
Across the table, Sadie and her mates looked at one another with uneasy expressions. They swore quietly and paled.
Jinx smiled as she read.
On the other side of the table, the kings, demons, and twins kept reading, completely unfazed by the words on the page.
After all, we’d fought these creatures in multiple battles; we’d slaughtered villagers as they screamed for help.
We’d sliced them open mercilessly.
For hours.
I exhaled a puff of enchanted smoke, and Horse settled onto my shoulder.
Cracking my neck back and forth, I forced myself to turn the page and keep reading like the rest of my legion.
I needed to concentrate, because this was real. The ungodly weren’t going to disappear because I didn’t want to think about what they were doing.
Hours later, all of us stumbled out of the room on shaky legs.
No one spoke.
The horrible things I’d read echoed through my brain.
“I need time alone in the bathroom,” I muttered as I walked across the pristine white hallway to the restrooms.
John called after me, “We’ll get you breakfast from the dining hall.” The shifters said something about going with them to get food, but I’d stopped listening.
I nodded hastily and shoved through the door.
Gripping the modern glass sink, I splashed water on my face. Counted to ten. Breathed shakily through my nose.
The door opened, and I turned to hug Sadie.
I stopped.
It wasn’t Sadie in the women’s restrooms.
The three kings took up all the space in the small room.
“We need to talk,” Malum said forcefully as he raked his hands over his buzzed head. Orion nodded beside him and stared at me with unblinking eyes.
Scorpius clenched his jaw and said bluntly, “We need to take care of you. You’re our Revered. You can’t ignore us.”
I slammed my pipe between my lips and sucked on enchanted smoke.
When my lungs felt like they were burning, I released it with a puff and said, “Yes, I can. Now get out of the women’s bathroom.”
Orion reached his hand forward and whispered, “We’re tied together, sweetheart.”
“You don’t get to decide,” Malum snapped forcefully. “I know we’ve made mistakes, but this bond between us is unbreakable. Let us prove that to you.”
“Hard no.” I clapped my hands sarcastically. “Immediate. No. Now move out of my way.”
A roll of paper towels began to smoke.
“You’re our destiny,” Scorpius said slowly like he was trying to hold himself back from sneering at me. “It is our life’s purpose to protect and cherish you. We exist to care for you. We need to pamper and touch our Revered.”
I blinked.
And punched him in the throat.
“How’s that for touch?” I asked. “Also, it looks like there’s no reason for you to be alive.” I smiled sarcastically. “Too bad. Might as well just end it all now.”
The paper towels burst into flames.
“You will let us care for you,” Scorpius said darkly as he massaged his throat then lunged toward me. His fingers wrapped around my throat and slammed me back against the mirrored wall. It cracked beneath me.
Personally, I was not feeling pampered, cherished, or protected.
Who was going to tell them?
The pressure hurt my sensitive back, but I refused to let any pain show on my face.
Nails gouged my skin.
“Good job of asking for forgiveness,” I spat as I kicked out and slammed my feet against his shins. “Really makes me want to be your mate. Not.”
Smoke streamed out of Malum’s nose. “You’re already our mate.” His voice rose, and he bellowed, “It is not a choice to be made!”
“Oh, really.” I widened my eyes like I was surprised, then drove my knee into Scorpius’s crotch. “It’s still going to be a no from me.”
Somehow the blind king moved quick enough to avoid my kick.
Scorpius pulled me forward and slammed me back against the mirror. I saw white spots from the pain streaking down my back.
Shards fell around my feet.
“If I need to hurt you before I can protect you”—Scorpius leaned close so his breath fanned my face—“then I’ll make it deliciously painful, Arabella.” He leaned forward and licked across my cheek.
Zips of pain did not streak down my back. Nope. Not at all.
“You’re disgusting,” I growled.
“Sweetheart, we just want to take care of you,” Orion whispered in my ear as he pressed his body against my side. Chocolate and raspberries overwhelmed my senses. He pushed at Scorpius and said, “Be gentle with her. She’s not like us.”
Scorpius dug his nails deeper into my skin.
Orion nuzzled his face against the side of my neck.
Malum stood behind them with a crown of red flames leaping off his shaved head. The bathroom became feverishly warm.
Orion slowly dragged his teeth down my sensitive neck at the same time Scorpius licked my face. I shivered.
Zips of pain shot down my spine.
“You’re ours,” Malum snarled roughly, and his erection tented his pants obscenely. “Our Revered.”
Orion palmed my breasts, and an inadvertent whimper whistled through my lips.
Everything was overly warm and hazy.
“Sweetheart,” Orion whispered reverently against my ear. “Let us care for you.”
Scorpius loosened his grip on my neck as he leaned his head forward. He nuzzled the exposed skin at the base of my throat, then bit down. Hard.
I yelped and twitched beneath them.
“Relax,” Orion breathed into my ear. “We already own you. Just relax. We won’t let anything bad happen.”
His lyrical voice was soothing, and I found myself going limp in Scorpius’s grip.
The blind king licked my sensitive skin, then bit down again.
Pain exploded across my back.
Malum grabbed at his crotch as he shed flames.
Scorpius released his grip on my neck, and I dropped to my knees before he could realize what I was doing.
With one quick movement, I grabbed a mirror shard, pulled down my sweatpants, and dug the sharp edge deep into my flesh.
For a second, I felt nothing.
Then I started sawing.
White spots danced in my vision, and I bit down on my lower lip to muffle the high-pitched scream that left my lips.
My vision narrowed, and my fingers shook.
Every neuron in my brain screamed at me to stop what I was doing. My slippery hand cramped around the shard as I forced it deeper and deeper under my skin.
Finally, after what felt like a lifetime of agony but was most likely a few seconds, a thick chunk of skin with a snake and chains flopped onto the pristine white floor.
Pain streaked across my senses.
I whimpered pitifully on my knees as a cold sweat broke out across my forehead. Red dripped from my fingers and side. It spread beneath me at an alarming rate.
“WHAT DID YOU DO!?” Malum bellowed. He was a ball of red flames staring down at me with a horrified expression. His voice cracked, and he whispered, “Why would you hurt yourself like this?”
“No. No. No,” Orion repeated brokenly.
Scorpius swore vehemently.
I stood up shakily and slipped on my blood.
Bang. The door slammed open, and there was a long second where the twins’ eyes widened as they processed what they were seeing.
“You fucking assholes,” John said darkly as he ran forward and pulled me into his arms.
Luka let out a war cry and started throwing punches at Scorpius and Orion.
John gathered me into his arms.
I felt like I was going to be sick.
Orion stared at where I was cuddling against John for protection with wide eyes. He buried his hands in his blond hair and tugged manically. “We’re supposed to protect you,” he whispered brokenly.
Crack. Luka slammed his fist into Orion’s nose.
Blood sprayed across the room.
I squeezed my eyes shut and buried my face in my best friend’s shoulder, overwhelmed by the intensity of the agony streaking across my hip.
“Let’s go, Luka, these filth aren’t worth it,” John said hastily as he ran from the bathroom with me in his arms. He pressed his sleeve to the wound to stanch the blood flow.
Luka wrenched himself away from where he was tussling with Scorpius, and he sprinted after us.
“Where are we going?” I gasped in between whimpers.
“To get you first aid,” John said frantically as he ran faster down the unfamiliar narrow white halls. “We need to find Lothaire.”
All my neurons exploded with a different type of pain, and I screamed violently. “STOP MOVING!” I shrieked at John as my body convulsed.
He came to a halt.
Luka patted his hands over me with a terrified expression. “What’s happening?”
“I don’t fucking know,” John said frantically.
“Let us help you!” Malum snarled angrily as he turned the corner and stalked toward me. Flames rolled off his tongue as he spoke.
Scorpius and Orion flanked him, their wide shoulders filling the narrow hall.
The pain lessened and I gasped with relief.
“You can’t keep running forever,” Scorpius sneered. “It’s not possible.”
A horrible understanding washed over me.
Darkness glimmered around the twins as they warily watched the kings approach.
Scorpius wiped the blood off his face where Luka had broken his nose. He dragged his tongue across his red fingers.
I gasped.
“Sweetheart, are you okay?” Orion whispered. His stunning brown eyes filled with concern as he rubbed at his chest.
I hyperventilated.
“But I cut off the tattoo?” I asked in between shaky breaths. “Why are we still connected?”
John’s arms tightened around me.
Luka stepped protectively in front of us.
“You’re our Revered. You can’t escape us.” Malum rubbed at his chest, his expression concerned as he stared angrily at where blood dripped down my sides.
“That’s why we’ve been trying to talk to you,” Scorpius sneered meanly as he continued to lick blood off his fingers. “We realized yesterday that it wasn’t the tattoo tying us together. It was bond sickness.”
“What?” I asked loudly.
Malum’s voice was cold, a sharp contrast to the flames pouring off his bronze skin. “When an Ignis and Protectors fail their mate, the bond becomes corrupted to ensure this wrong never happens again.” He shook his head. “We thought we’d experienced it with Orion because we couldn’t eat or sleep when he was hurt. But we were wrong. It’s much more than that.”
Scorpius smirked and said, “When you dropped your enchantment, our souls recognized the presence of our Revered and our mating song changed. It became soft and peaceful.”
“But then you got the tattoo,” Malum growled. “And you underwent intense agony while we watched and did nothing to protect you.”
“The incomplete soul bond tying us together became corrupted,” Orion whispered.
Flames tumbled off Malum’s tongue as he said, “Bond sickness.”
Scorpius laughed, and it wasn’t a nice sound.
“You can’t run from us, sweetheart,” Orion whispered. “We need to take care of you. Let us help heal you. Our souls are forcing us to stay together so we can fix what we’ve broken.”
My soul’s taste in men was officially a form of self-harm.
Malum nodded. “Let us fix our wrongs.” A muscle in his temple jumped as he gritted his teeth, and he said, “Please.” His cheeks blushed crimson. “We care. I care about you.”
“Put me down,” I told John with a shaky gasp.
John looked at me skeptically with worry in his dark eyes. “You’re still bleeding a lot. Are you sure you can stand?”
I nodded and tried to appear strong. “Do it now.”
John gently put me on my feet.
The world spun around me, and I pressed my fist over my mouth. Cold sweat poured from my face.
I felt like I was going to pass out.
Taking a deep, fortifying breath, I faced the kings.
They stared at me like they were starved men before a feast.
I recalled Lyla’s prophecy:
You will not be who you need to be until you embrace the dragon.
Mid argument I’d realized something.
I didn’t care.
I turned and pumped my arms and legs hard as I sprinted down the hall away from them as fast as I could.
My side burned with every step, and I left a trail of crimson behind me.
I would not be embracing the dragon.
The pain in my hip made my head spin, and the hallway warped around me, making me stumble.
“Fuck!” Malum bellowed. “Don’t run from us, Arabella! You’ll hurt yourself! You’re hurting yourself right now! Stop it!”
Footsteps pounded behind me as the kings gave chase.
Nausea churned in my stomach.
“Don’t run, sweetheart,” Orion sang loudly, and goose bumps exploded down my spine.
Malum shouted, “We’ll protect you. You’re our Revered. We want to care for you.”
“We’re sick for you,” Scorpius called gleefully.
I moved faster than I ever had in my life, and my feet didn’t touch the ground, but it wasn’t enough.
“Let us make it up to you!” Malum growled, and a flaming hand reached out. It wrapped around my clammy throat.
And ripped me back into hell.
War wasn’t coming.
It was here.
The blood was in the water.
