Page 91 of Horns of Wicked Ebony (Deathcaller Duet #2)
She let out a soft sigh, draping her arms over my shoulders. “You could have broken me. Instead, you helped me bloom.”
My throat thickened. “I was awful to you. At first.”
She pulled back and cupped my face. “And you have more than atoned for that.”
Grasping the back of her head, I pulled her into me. Our mouths met with the passion of a wildfire. Our tongues with the ferocity of a battle. Our wills with a heady mix of love and hate.
Breathless, I broke our kiss. Assyria’s lips were redder than her eyes, swollen from how I’d claimed them. “We’d better go or we’ll be late.”
She offered me an unguarded smile dripping with adoration. “I can’t believe so many mate bonds snapped into place.”
“Nor I, little imposter.” Rising, I adjusted myself. A small laugh escaped Assyria. Threading my fingers through hers, we exited our room. Grem and Zeec trotted on either side of us, tails wagging.
Hushed voices reached us the moment we stepped into the valley.
The army—both sexes mingling—had already gathered, their leathers gleaming and collars flipped up.
Among them, many of the people of Kohszak stood.
Their sturdy wool cloaks hugged their bodies as the wind swept between the peaks.
Assyria’s teeth chattered as a shiver wracked her frame.
“We’ll be warmer among the crowd,” I told her.
“You lead the way. I can’t see over everyone,” she replied, stepping behind me. Together, we worked through the throng toward a nearby hillside where Kiira, Rapp, and Trol already waited, along with the newly-mated pairs .
Excited whispers reached my ears as we passed group after group of soldiers. The myth of Assyria and I’s bond had spread faster than a mountain blizzard. At least here, with those under my command, we were succeeding in driving much-needed change.
Discordant caws sliced the air as we ascended the hill. Our gazes jerked to the cloudy sky, where three black dots stood in stark contrast to the grey. Assyria sucked in a sharp breath. Kiira too lifted her head, mouth parting and silent words passing her lips.
We joined the High Priestess in surveying the gathered as the birds drifted out of sight.
A mosaic of red reflected back from the sea of faces.
My attention sliced to the pairs kneeling on a makeshift platform below us.
Dug into the hillside, upheld by the magic of a handful of former priestesses, the dozen were visible to all.
Kiira’s black dress billowed as another breeze swept through the valley. She waited until the wind died before lifting her arms wide and high. “Come now and bear witness to the divine weavings of the Fates.”
A hush fell over the army.
“The three have brought us more blessings with the bonds between these brave soldiers,” she began, sweeping toward the mates. “By their holy will, they are shaping our lives, our victory, that we may rise unified in our new order.”
Rounding them, she came to stand beside Assyria and me.
My mate straightened her spine. “If it weren’t for the path they wove for the Halálhívó and the Szélhámos, these pairs would have never met.
Their threads would not have become one.
Their lives would have been like drinking from an empty glass. ”
She approached the crowd again, letting her words linger in the air.
“But now, they are full. ”
More than a few mates glanced at once another, small smiles tugging at their lips.
“Let us pray,” she whispered, dropping her head to her chest. Like a wave, the gathered knelt.
“Weaver, who entwines soul to soul with threads unseen, bless these bonds you have spun. Let their steps fall in perfect harmony. Let the colors of their tapestry blend. May the path before them be unbroken, even in war.”
Muttered affirmations to the Weaver abounded. I grasped Assyria’s hand again. “Blessed by the Weaver.”
Kiira intoned again. “Giver, grant them magic not just to wield in battle, but to sustain each other in weariness. Let their power rise in tandem, their union a force that sings your name in every breath and blow. By their combined might, may they bring majesty to your name.”
The soldiers and townspeople prostrated themselves. So too did the mated pairs.
“Reaper, let your eye pass over them, for they walk the path you have permitted. Should they falter, let them rise together. And if death comes, let it come to both, for what you have bound shall not be easily undone.”
Assyria’s fingers tightened in mine. Kiira looked to the cloudy sky like she could peer through their heavy gray and beg the Fates to let them all live.
With how close the two were, there was no doubt my mate had confessed to my cousin her fears about my survival.
Our survival. Simply because we loved one another.
Releasing a shuddering breath, I rose to my full height. Our bond hummed with bliss, rather than contention. Like a beast with a mind of its own, it had fought us both, forced us together, and we’d faced our reckoning because of it.
Now, it needed to do no such thing .
Kiira lifted each couple one by one, offering them further blessings. The rest of us watched on.
“Bound by the Weaver, sanctified by the Giver, protected by the Reaper, go now as two who are one, and let the world tremble at what love has wrought.”
Kiira’s final words sent a chill straight to my core. Assyria looked up at me, those dark lashes fanning against her cheeks.
“Always mine, little imposter.”
“Always yours.”
As the army dispersed, I knew, deep down, that our love would send tremors through the Angels in the coming days. For our departure was imminent. I only hoped that empowering Assyria, aiding her in impersonating high ranking officers, wouldn’t result in her death.
Because if she perished, I’d follow. Leave the whole army to burn to ashes. There was no point in saving the Demons if I couldn’t have my mate with me after.