Page 102 of Horns of Wicked Ebony (Deathcaller Duet #2)
I crouched down, still more massive than both of them. “So what will it take?” My voice was low, deadly, dangerous. “Alcohol? Lust? The threat of death? Will it take watching each other die before you admit what’s already been done?”
Banand sat back on his heels and grasped Araquiel’s hand. He held her gaze, deep enough that I almost felt like an intruder in their intimate moment. In a way, I was, because I’d caused it, forcing their hand rather than waiting on them to work it out.
“You’re already mated. The bond is unraveling you, piece by piece. Shredding your sanity. And when the next battle comes, you can bleed together or bleed alone.”
Banand’s throat worked like he was swallowing glass. “This is not easy. I never saw myself in this position. Everything I thought I knew was thrown into question. But this is happening for a reason.”
Araquiel nodded, rolling her lips like she was trying to hold back a sob.
“My people would execute me for this bond alone. They’d call me cursed.
It is the gravest sin to lie with a Demon,” she admitted.
She looked at her mate like he was a puzzle her Goddess needed her to solve.
“I don’t know. How do I walk away from everything I’ve ever been taught and choose you? ”
“Together. You move forward together.” I straightened to my full height. “And you move forward under the Demon banner. Because we will not kill you, Araquiel. Not if you and Banand accept the blessing of your bond. Would your people offer him the same kindness?”
A tear spilled over and tracked down her cheek as she shook her head. “But what about after? If you win?”
“ When we win, you will have a home on this continent. Believe it or not, our goal was never complete extermination,” I told her.
Banand nodded in confirmation. “If we needed to stamp out every Angel to ensure our survival, we’d do that.
If we could cut off the head of the snake and everyone else would fall in line, then we’d do that. You can make the latter a possibility.”
Banand helped her to her feet. To my surprise—and his—she went straight into his arms. With her wrists bound, she couldn’t wrap him in an embrace, but burying herself into his chest was as close as she could get.
Her mate, on the other hand, broke, clutching her to him like she was the most precious thing in the world.
As he fucking should.
I massaged my temples, a headache pounding behind my eyes. “Whenever you are ready to accept the full force of your bond, you can remove her shackles. After that, she doesn’t need them any longer.”
“Thank you,” he replied, his voice thick with emotion.
“Take one of the rooms on the upper floor after our meeting. I’ll ensure no one else bothers you.
Then tomorrow,” I paused, waiting for Araquiel to look at me.
She did, her eyes rimmed with red. “You will stand by us. You will show Ishim and whomever else he brings with him that we treat our prisoners far better than they treat ours. You will fucking lie and go along with everything I say, true or not. Am I clear?”
“Yes, Halálhívó,” she affirmed. Stepping away from Banand, she awkwardly offered me a Demon-style salute.
“Good. I’ll see you in the meeting room in ten minutes.
If you do not show up in that time, I will send out a search party for both of you.
You will not come back from that alive.” With the threat still hanging in the air, I spun on my heel and made the remaining trek to the primary building.
I didn’t feel the least bit guilty as I ascended the stairs, coming face to face with my mate .
“Do you think they will?” she asked, her voice lilting and full of hope.
Devious little thing, spying through our bond.
“There’s nothing like the threat of death to make you realize what really matters.” I grabbed her waist and tugged her to me. We both knew the reality of that all too well. I planted a kiss on her forehead, then looped my arm over her shoulders and steered her toward the command room.
“I hope so. I like Araquiel. She reminds me of me before I let myself love you. They could be good together if they’d just allow it to happen,” she sighed, leaning into me.
Similar words, spoken by Rapp, rang in my head. It had been days since we’d had word from him or Trol, and when we were finished here, I planned to find the separated mates and request updates on both fronts. I’d inform them of Ishim’s location and our planned meeting atop the wall.
Settling in a chair, we waited, along with Zurronar, Olet, and the other Parancsok under my command for the bonded to appear. Banand would elevate himself to the fourth position as soon as he’d claimed Araquiel.
Because there was no doubt in my mind that the moment their bodies joined, there would be no going back.
They’d both be irrevocably changed, much like Assyria and I had been.
Except for Araquiel, there was no return to her people.
Perhaps not even her Goddess. Only forward, into a war that might chew them up and spit them out anyway.