Page 42

“Well, as much fun as this has been, I think I will leave before the massacre starts,” Cain said, his voice full of forced confidence as his eyes flickered to mine.

He tried to hide it, but I could hear the panic pulling at every word. He moved to reach for me then stilled as Dukovich stepped between us.

“Touch her, and you will have the wrath of every realm to hide from,” Dukovich said, taking another step toward him.

“Are you bedding her too?” Cain deadpanned, smiling as he let his eyes fall to mine. “Are you giving everyone a turn, Dearie?”

The words barely left his lips when Dukovich’s hand clasped around his neck, cutting off his air supply.

“You will show your God some respect,” Dukovich snarled as Cain’s eyes widened and shot to mine. I watched as Dukovich’s grip tightened only for a second before he shoved Cain backwards and let him go.

Cain smiled, his fingers gliding over the reddened skin on his neck. “I will be seeing you very soon.” And with a wink, he vanished before our eyes. My stomach dropped as I stared blankly at where he had been.

He was going to be a problem.

This bond was going to be a problem.

“Come on,” Dukovich said, pulling on my arm as he strode past me toward Landers.

I hesitated, sucking in a heavy breath, then followed after him, trying to will away the nerves that were exploding inside my veins.

Landers reached for me as I stepped to his side and steeled myself for whatever would come next, my eyes roving over the five of them. Three of the five were women and as I studied them, I struggled to keep the shock hidden from my face. They looked so much younger than I had been expecting.

They looked so . . . normal .

I wasn’t sure what I had expected them to look like—I hadn’t given it much thought past waking them.

One of the women stepped forward, her dark brows creasing against her tanned skin as she began to circle me.

Her violet eyes flowed over my body as her head tilted to the side, rustling the golden locks flowing over her shoulder.

“Are women allowed to wear trousers now?” she asked, and I smiled at the genuine curiosity in the question as she looked down to her own clothing.

She wore a long maroon dress, the top of it resembling the neck of a tunic as a corset pulled tight around her waist. A belt of daggers was strapped over the binding cinched over her core, full of different shapes and sizes of blades. It looked so similar to mine.

“Do not be rude, Sigagrid,” one of the other women scolded as she stepped toward me and smiled.

“My name is Nantia,” she said, placing a palm over her chest and bowing her head in respect before gesturing to her left.

“That is Sigagrid, but we call her Siggy.” Siggy smiled sheepishly as her eyes darted away from my boots and locked onto my gaze.

Nantia gestured over her right shoulder. “And this is Essara.”

I blinked back at them, shock and confusion rippling onto my features at how kind and casual they were being. I was expecting more . . . hostility.

“Hyacinth,” I responded, mirroring Nantia’s gesture and bowing my head in respect.

“No introduction for us?” one of the men asked, stepping forward, his hands clasped behind his large frame.

My gaze lingered on him. His fair skin looked so pale after centuries without the sun, the raven hair falling around his face only paling him further.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see Landers tense as he took another step toward me.

“Azeyr,” he said, bowing at the waist, “and this is my brother, Royion.” I smiled politely at them, not knowing what to say—what to do.

“Why exactly have you woken us?” Royion asked, his tone sharp as his gaze lingered on Dukovich.

“W-we need your help,” I said quickly, my eyes flashing to where Landers’s hand stayed rested and ready on the pommel of his blade. “War is upon Nimbria, and we need your help to win it.”

Essara laughed, the sound clipped as she pushed tendrils of long auburn locks over her shoulder. “Why would we care about your war? What use is it to us to meddle in the affairs of common folk?”

“You will help us,” Landers said calmly, though I could hear the threat laced in his words.

“Rather bold of you to assume you have the power or authority to command Gods,” Azeyr shot back as a wicked grin slithered onto Landers’s face.

“As I recall, you are no longer Gods, and I am not the one commanding it, she is.” He gestured his head toward me. “And she does have both power and authority to command you.”

Five sets of eyes locked on me and narrowed.

My brows furrowed as I glanced up at Landers. He did have the power to command them. He was just as much of a God as they were and one of these five was his sire.

“Who are you?” Essara hissed, eying me cautiously.

My back straightened at her stare and I prayed my voice would not betray me. “I am the daughter of Elianca, my grandparents are the Gods who exiled you.”

The five of them collectively stilled, rage seeping into each of their features as they stared back at me.

“You . . . are the half breed?” Siggy breathed, her eyes widening at her own words.

A deep menacing chuckle sounded from Royion’s throat and the hairs across my skin straightened as he spoke. “The Alpha and Omega will not be happy with you, child. And now that you have woken us, they will do everything in their power to find you.”

“Let them,” I hissed, the surety in my voice surprising even me as it rang out around us.

“I’ll make you an offer,” Royion started, taking another step toward me as a low warning growl vibrated from Landers’s throat.

Dukovich took a half step closer to my side as Royion continued.

“We will do what you ask, help you fight this war, but when we win it, you will help us decimate your grandparents.” He stretched his hand out to me as a smile split onto his lips.

“Hyacinth, n—”

“Deal,” I snapped, cutting Landers off before he had a second to stop me and pushed my hand into Royion’s grip.

A burning sensation shot through my palm as our hands connected and I could hear Dukovich curse from behind me as Landers lifted his chin to the sky and dragged his hand down his face.

I pulled my hand from Royion’s and stared at my palm that now had a small brand burned into it, a circle twisted around itself like an infinity sign.

“Take it back,” Landers snarled, his eyes locking on Royion as his fingers wrapped around my wrist.

“There is no taking back a branded deal. The deed is done.” Panic shot through me as Royion’s words sank in.

“What is a branded deal?” I asked, my eyes flickering from the burned flesh to Landers.

Fury was etched into the lines of his face, his knuckles cracking as he clasped his fists together to reign in the anger simmering off of him.

“That brand will mark your skin until the deal has been completed,” Landers breathed, his voice lethal and quiet.

“If one of you dies, all of you die. They are under your command until their side of the agreement is fulfilled, and when it is—they will be the one commanding you until you have completed your part.” I slowly nodded.

It was bad, but not as bad as it sounded.

I wasn’t going to die, so this wouldn’t be a problem. This would just go away once I completed the deal, no one else had to be hurt or be involved if they didn’t want to be.

A heavy breath pushed between my lips as I pulled my eyes away from my hand and let my gaze fall back onto the five of them. None of them said anything; none of them opposed Royion making the deal on behalf of them.

“Now that that is done and we have come to an agreement, we have some things we need to take care of. We will meet you in Locdragoon,” Royion said, his gaze lifting to the sky as dragon wings beat above us. Siggy’s eyes fluttered to mine for only a second, an apology speaking behind her irises.

“No,” Landers clipped, stepping forward.

“As of this moment, you have a deal with Hyacinth. If you do anything to break that deal—to go against it—I will rip the heads from every last one of you and feed them to your dragons.” Siggy took a timid step behind Essara at the threat as Royion lifted a brow in challenge.

“You will fly overhead so Dukovich can glamour you as we make our way to the realm passage into Ithia. If you fly anywhere else, it will be considered a breach of your deal. You will follow every instruction given you, without hesitation. And you will stay in Ithia, until I can trust you to come into Locdragoon.”

“I did not make the deal with you. You do not command us,” Royion spat as the two men took a step closer.

I took a step in front of Landers as my shadows shot from my body and pushed Royion back two paces. My eyes locked on his as I spoke with a sharpness that would bring the God of Hell to his knees.

“He may not, but I do. If you so much as defy him, do one single thing to put our chance to win this war in jeopardy, I will turn you back to stone.”

That was the threat they were scared of.

I could see it on Royion’s face, the wince that shook his features as the words hit their mark. “Do not forget that you are no longer a God—that Higher Magic no longer flows through your veins while my own blood is overflowing with it.”

Royion’s eyes flickered to Azeyr whose features were so hard he could have still been stone. From the corner of my eye I saw Nantia smile to herself, almost as if she had been waiting for someone to put Royion in his place.

I looked at him one last time, my gaze more threatening than any words. “You will follow us to Ithia.”

Dust began to coil from the ground on the tail of my words and I watched as each of their dragons landed behind them, huffs of smoke streaming from their nostrils.

The five pulled themselves onto their backs, not looking back at me as their dragons pushed back from the ground and soared into the skies.

A shaky breath fell from my chest as I watched the wings grow smaller, my heart racing frantically. No matter how hard I tried to avoid it, it seemed like confrontation was determined to find me.

Dukovich chuckled as he dragged both hands over his face. “You really should stop making deals with strange men.”

I snapped my head toward him, my eyes glaring daggers. “Maybe strange men should stop offering me deals without sharing all of the information first,” I scolded, knowing full well that he was right.

It was becoming a habit I needed to break.

This day was quickly turning into an absolute disaster and I was beginning to wonder if the help they would provide would be worth the things we now had to give in return—that I had to give in return.

Landers looked at me, his face softening as he let out a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair.

“You need to tether back to Locdragoon as soon as we touch Ithia’s soil.

The mating bond—” His jaw flexed as he said the words, his teeth grinding as he worked to control his anger.

“The mating bond will make it easy for Cain to find you—it will pull him toward you, but he will not be able to get through the wards around Locdragoon. I put a blood lock in it for him hundreds of years ago; they should still hold.”

I nodded, knowing that now was not the time to argue, no matter how badly I wanted to go stay in Ithia with him.

“We need to get going. Now . Those dragons left when they woke before I could glamour them and there is no way they were not spotted flying over Mornos. We need to get out of these mountains before an army descends upon us, glamoured or not,” Dukovich said as his gaze scanned the peaks surrounding us.

“When you get back to Locdragoon, send Andrues to meet me in Ithia. I will need him there with me. And Hyacinth—” Landers reached for my cheek, pushing a curl behind my ear before pulling my chin up to meet his gaze that was glittering back at me with chaos and rage and amusement.

“Please, for the sake of everything I hold dear, do not make any more deals.”