Page 31

Chapter 28

Aaliyah

P rince was curled around me, his chest to my back, his fingers intertwined with mine, the same way they'd been last night when we finally went back to sleep. The steady thrum of his heartbeat was a mantra I leaned into, cherishing it as the lull of sleep faded away, just like the chill in front of me that slowly registered as another person.

I blinked once, twice, before smiling.

Dark sooty lashes fanned over pale cheeks, and Adrian snored softly. His hair was disheveled, his upper body exposed where he'd shoved off the blankets from last night when he must have crept in. He still slept blissfully, one of his hands draped over my hip, one of his legs wedged between mine, and his face so close I could see the flutter of his eyes behind his closed lids … and where the gentle slope of his high cheekbones were marked with vicious black lines that stretched from his eyes along the veins on his face. They reached down his neck, covering his skin in savage patterns that looked raw. I'd hoped that my blood would help them heal from their encounter with Archon.

It hurt to know it hadn't.

I settled farther into Prince's arms as I reached up to Adrian's face. I pressed my fingertips against those lines, achingly careful as I traced them out, willing them to fade away. He looked so sweet, the softness in the rise and fall of his chest settling like a warmth in my belly that contrasted with the ache I still felt for him.

I hummed, continuing to trail as Adrian's face scrunched up.

"Having fun, love?" he grumbled, peeking one eye open, smiling lazily at me as I moved to twirl a piece of his hair around my finger. "Did you mind me joining you? I … I really needed to hold you."

A surge of protectiveness grabbed hold of me at the vulnerability in his cracked words, one that pushed me to move. Adrian swallowed as I leaned forward to claim his lips. It should have been odd, kissing him while Prince cuddled against my back, but it felt as natural as breathing. I needed it, too, the reassurance of his presence. The last few days had been a hurricane of the worst kind. Having him here was all I'd wanted. The only thing that would make it better would be having the rest of my men here, too.

It would take nothing short of the Hallowed Themselves to pull me away from them now that I got them back.

The kiss ended as quickly as it started, a brush that left my body on fire and both of us pulling in shortened breaths. He'd gotten closer, until he was chest to chest with me, erasing the last of the space between us as I laid my forehead on his bare skin.

"I'm glad you came. I love waking up to you," I whispered, blushing when Adrian groaned and turned his face into the pillow before whispering something I couldn't hear.

"God, I'm lucky I can't blush," he mumbled, and I laughed, trying not to wake up Prince.

An act that failed, as the body at my back grunted, soft lips finding the curve of my neck as he nibbled at the space there. A pleasurable, full body shiver racked its way down my spine as I felt the imprint of fangs. "Five more minutes."

"I see you're still not a morning person," Adrian hummed, laughing again when Prince grumbled.

"I'm about this close to making you bleed if you don't go back to sleep, Adrian." His voice was gruff, clouded with irritation as he pulled me closer to him, curling around me so he was touching every bit of me he could. "I said five more minutes."

He was already snoring again when Adrian's head tipped back in a hearty laugh.

"Now, none of that. There's breakfast to be made, and I have a feeling our girl is rather famished." Adrian wiggled his eyebrows as I ducked my head.

I wasn't ashamed of what I'd done with Prince, but that look always had the tendency to make me blush. Memories of the night prior had me shuffling, trying not to accidentally grind on Adrian's leg as Prince chuckled. His arms tightened around me before he was standing. The abrupt loss was a daze, and I looked over my shoulder just as he stretched out his arms, raising them above his head, and giving me a wonderful view of a toned back.

He was a piece of art, every dip and curve on him something I wanted to savor, and touch again. Suddenly, I was hungry for something a little different from the food Adrian promised. My thighs clenched, and the delicious soreness between my legs made itself apparent. I shouldn't have wanted another round, not after the three we'd had—the third catching me by surprise after we'd lain down, Prince at my back, sliding in without resistance, making love to me slowly as he'd whispered to me. Never anything too heavy, or sinful … just my name. The way he said it was somehow the sexiest thing I'd ever heard. I should be too worn out for more.

But that didn't mean seeing him like that didn't make my mouth water all over again.

He must have known I was staring, that little piece of him that was attuned to me letting him know as he looked over his shoulder. The twist of Cheshire lips was deepened by a look that promised everything I wanted would come true … if I just said so.

Until my stomach grumbled, and both he and Adrian chuckled at the sound.

"Food it is. Everything else can wait," Prince said, smirking as he shrugged on a shirt.

Adrian sat up next, bare from the waist up, every inch of skin flexing as he rolled his shoulders and stretched away the lingering effects of sleep, begging for me to reach out and touch. I hesitated for only a moment until his hand grabbed mine, and he pushed it flush against the skin of his abdomen.

The shock from his touch was enough to make me gasp, the muscles there rippling as he chuckled and leaned in. His fingers trembled around my wrist.

"Food first, Ali. We can play later," he whispered, his lips suddenly flush against mine.

His kiss demanded my attention, and I savored every second of it before he pulled back. The part of my brain that wasn't muddled with lust tried to come to the forefront. The need in me was overwhelming, something I'd never experienced so acutely before.

Control was something I'd grown very used to having, but this felt … feral.

"It's the blood exchange. It's got you both wired. That's why you're still feeling so feverish," Adrian filled in, without me having to ask. The lust had faded to the background of his voice, a gentleness to it that followed in the brush of his fingers against my heated skin. "It'll fade. Though … there are some activities that can help with it."

One suggestive tone, and a trail of his finger over my jaw, and I was lost again. His words dug in, my mouth watering as the fangs there itched to find a place in his skin.

"Can you guys stop teasing? I'm really not going to be leaving this room if you don't." Prince's husky words got me moving sluggishly, because as much as I did want to do exactly what he'd said, I was starving.

Adrian helped me find my clothes—and "helped " me put them on, almost derailing us again—before we all headed out to the main living room. He didn't let me go, keeping his hand tucked firmly in mine, brushing his lips against the back with an indulgent smile. Just like last night, it had changed again, though this time the differences were much less noticeable.

The wallpaper was a couple of shades darker, the furniture more toward the tastes that I had seen at the Vivas house in smaller ways, like the table that was now reminiscent of the old oak that I'd grown so used to sitting at. Even the décor on the walls had changed, small paintings and flashes of color to break up the blank space.

It breathed homey, like things had been placed with care and not spawned by an ever-shifting Eternium.

"When will it stop changing?" I asked, looking around as Prince wrapped his arm over my shoulders, and Adrian's hand settled on my back.

"When it's found all that it's looking for," a cryptic voice said.

Had the gnarled tone not given them away, the taste of boggy water that suddenly flooded my mouth would have. Magelav had an air about them, a power that crept up on you and hid behind the crazed shadows in their eyes. I had a feeling they rivaled Osiris's, even Sebek's, and the way they spoke, the echoing tone of their voice …

Bog. That had been their word, their warning that I hadn't been able to see coming for what it was.

I turned to see them standing in the doorway, the hall empty behind them. They picked at their talon-like nails, flicking the grime onto the floor with disinterest. Their eyes had changed again, shifting to a vicious rouge that popped against ivory skin and ink-like hair. It was the feral gleam in them that got me, that froze me to the spot.

"Ah, good morning, Mags. Haunting as always," Prince said, kissing the top of my head before walking over to the kitchen. He barely even blinked at the odd behavior, not seeing how Magelav turned a sour glare his way. "Any other words of wisdom, or can I drink some coffee in peace?"

Adrian and I followed, watching the Sorceri warily as we walked. The kitchen was broken into two main parts, with a dining table and a set of counters that wrapped around the space in a C . There were several stools next to the counter, facing the living room, and I took a seat just in time for a chill to spread down my spine.

Red danced among us, and I took a second to settle in his presence. Ghosts weren't new to me, but that didn't stop me from shivering even as I smiled at the lazy way Red prodded against me. It was so different from how Prince had behaved, from how he'd felt. There was character to the way Red almost joked, his emotions closer to the surface. More savage, more raw, like it was all that was left of him.

"Aaliyah, is there a ghost here?" Prince asked, suddenly brushing the back of his head like he felt something lying there.

His face scrunched, and Red hovered over him, almost teasing until Prince was swatting again.

"Yes. Red," I said, grinning and trying not to laugh as Prince scowled and flipped around like he might find Red standing there. "You can see him?"

Prince shook his head, now holding up his coffee mug in front of him like it might ward off a mischievous spirit. It didn't, as Red took the challenge in stride, moving to Prince's back to prod again.

This was probably the most physical I'd ever seen him, an outline of a body, even the smooth features that could almost be distinguished as a face.

"No … just. I can feel him, all cold and dead like. Have since I found you," Prince grumbled, rubbing his eyes. "Not to mention the brushes I'm getting off of him. The bastard."

Red seemed to light up at that, agitation suddenly bubbling up from him as he pressed more incessantly on Prince. For a second … it even looked like Prince's hair moved, and Prince snarled as he ruffled it back out.

"Like what?" I asked, curious as to what he meant.

Red swayed away, swirling around me once again, his form dusting the air in front of me. Almost a caress, like an apology. I couldn't very well be mad at him, and he seemed to know that as he settled comfortably around me, almost like a shawl on my shoulders.

Or a cat on my lap.

Prince just grumbled again, sipping his coffee, before Red dashed at that, too, causing Prince's hand to slip, sloshing the drink onto his fingers.

I had to physically hold in the laugh as Prince's face grew taut, and a vein showed on his forehead. "Nothing. I'm just glad he's dead. We have enough competition as it is for your attention."

The door I'd been sleeping behind before going to find Prince slid deftly open, and Fallon stepped through, rubbing his hazy eyes. The rich green was clouded, his nose scrunching as the lights in the kitchen beamed down at him. He covered his face, swatting as if trying to brush the rays away. His hair was ruffled, and even with a scowl, he looked adorably sleepy, a fact I would stow away so he might never get wiser about it. It was like watching a switch flip when he looked up, finding me. His eyes lightened, the green softening as his shoulders lost some of their rigid tension. He crossed the room in a few long strides.

I leaned into him without hesitation, kissing him softly when he reached me. His lips were icy, and he held me there for a few brief seconds, short and sweet, just like the lazy smile that lit up his lips as he brushed his thumb over my cheek. "Good morning, Ali."

The black lines that had graced his skin were mostly faded now, a bit more than Adrian's, though the ones that had been more prominent shone through. He didn't limp, per se, not in any way that anyone beyond me would recognize, but there was an ache to his step, a pain that was hidden in the tremor of muscles as he tried to hide it behind a stoic facade.

I reached up to trace one of the lines, preening as he leaned into the touch. I'd have to see about giving them another dose of blood.

"Good morning, Fallon," I whispered back.

Prince hummed happily from the kitchen, bickering with Adrian as our resident chef mumbled something about making the food. I was more than content to stay like this until Fallon told me to pull away, and from the look on his face, that wouldn't be anytime soon.

But suddenly, and with basically no warning, I was out of my chair, gasping as I was settled into another set of arms. The initial shock and burst of fear faded as I caught the scent of the sea and saw Eirik's ink-covered skin. I laughed as I was pulled to his chest, a bubbling purr bursting under my ear. "Eirik, put me down!"

His nose ran along my jaw, and I could feel the smile that graced his lips as he doubled down, his nose trailing along my neck before burying in my hair.

"What's with you and holding me recently?"

There was a distinct playfulness to him, a wildness that told me it wasn't him in control. That was only confirmed when his voice lit the air. " I hold you because you're mine . "

His beast nipped at my neck, as if pushing me to join in and do the same. The want to do just that was buried by only one thing, the pain that split down my neck, from behind my ear where Eirik had moved.

The blocker that Sebek had placed there, to keep me from using my gifts … I'd forgotten about it. With everything else that happened, the remains of the spell just hadn't been at the forefront of my mind. It pulsed beneath the skin as my mouth flooded with saliva and I grew dizzy, held up only by Eirik as the room swayed around me.

" Elskan ?" Eirik said gruffly, his voice a blend of him and the beast. His nose touched the mark, and I jolted away with a gasp. A strangled noise worked its way up Eirik's throat before I was suddenly on a couch. "What happened?"

Firm hands tilted my head, and I struggled to stay still under Eirik's sharp gaze as he inspected the mark there. I hadn't had a chance to look at him yet, really look. The others showed their experience in the marks on their skin, but Eirik seemed startlingly calm about his time at Archon's. His body was healed, his demeanor unchanged … but I didn't like the shadows under his eyes or the tension that didn't seem right in the clench of his jaw.

He didn't give me time to ask as he got too close, a spark of residual power arcing off and singeing his skin. His curse was pointed as he jerked his hand away.

"Sebek put something in to stop me from fighting," I said, as I reached up, pressing my fingers against the tender mark. It pulsed under my hand, and I shivered. "I thought I broke it."

I kept the fact that it had been the severing of their bonds, the fading of the ink from my wrist, that had been the final straw that had cracked through, breaking it. It was a pain I held too close to my chest, one I didn't want to burden them with after their own ordeal.

A clicked tongue sounded before Magelav had taken the space of Eirik. "Curious. A block. Still active, if not cracked."

It wasn't as if the Sorceri had pushed him; they hadn't even moved, but Eirik faded away, replaced with Magelav as they tilted my head. They used more force, were more vicious with their prod as the magic reacted to how close they were.

"Needs to come out. There is no Reaper without its claws." The pain was instant as their fingers brushed against the raw skin, and I grit my teeth as I tried to jerk away from their hold.

Tension built, fangs falling as I was surrounded by blood-red eyes. The others snarled out threats, and my head throbbed. I lost their words to Magelav's as they glared at each one of them, not letting me go. "She leaks magic, the killing kind. I thought you liked her alive?"

Fallon was the one who stepped forward, a vein popping on his forehead, the dark black marks on his face growing more vicious. The rage there simmered openly, not hidden by a mask of ice, his eyes a frantic gleam. A spark danced along his skin, the Flame crisping his shirt. He bared his fangs, his entire body tense as he stood toe to toe with Magelav, snarling. "Get the fuck away from her."

A pin could have dropped, and tensions grew in the room as Magelav's hand tightened on my chin. The spark of a response started in their eyes, their mouth opening to spew what had to be venom.

One look told me they would fight; one look told me we couldn't afford for them too.

"What do we need to do to get it out? The right way?" I asked, breaking the tension as I reached for Fallon.

His jaw tensed, hesitation a visible war on his face as he ground his teeth, before he jerked his head away from Magelav's wicked stare and walked to me. I relaxed when his palm fell onto mine, trembling as he rubbed his thumb over the back of my hand.

Magelav grunted, pulling back and shaking their head.

"A block to stop it from spreading further, a knife for the skin. A sever for the broken magic," Magelav counted off, sounding bored as they turned away. They mulled over the words for a moment more before looking at me curiously. "Something to bite so you don't squirm."

Their hands opened, something like leather appearing there. It was a thin strip, a black bind that I would have sworn I saw the wary groves of teeth marks in, carved in the material like a remembrance of the past.

Pressure found a place behind my eyes, toying with the sight in front of me, shifting it, warping the hands that held it into that of a monster. Castillion replaced Magelav as I stumbled back, his face lined with a sickening sweetness.

Never make noise.

The room dulled, color becoming shades of gray, coiling around me until I couldn't breathe. There was a brush against my face, like cold fingers or the bite of metal on my cheeks.

They get more violent if I make noise.

"Look at me, Aaliyah," a voice whispered, cracking from Castillion's lips, which didn't move with the words, before he was blocked from me entirely. A face that had dragged me back from hell itself a thousand times more than I could count took his place as sharp silver eyes and unruly brown hair filled my vision. "You're not there. You're not there."

I blinked slowly, looking around with shaky breaths. I'd managed to back myself off the couch, and I choked on the words that I tried to get out. I could disassociate before, remove myself from the memories that didn't quite feel real. That wasn't the case anymore, not now that I'd felt the steel table under my back and stared into the harsh lights that had burned my eyes day in and day out.

A brush of cold sent a chill down my spine, and Red helped me to swallow as he pressed against me. There was a comfort to be found in his presence. His encouragement kept me moving. "It's all I can see, Prince."

When I closed my eyes, I felt Sebek's hand on my wrist, dragging me forward as he pulled me through the doors I'd agreed to walk through.

I thought I'd be fine, that I'd pushed away the memories like I'd done so many times before. Still, they lingered, and still they haunted me.

Never make noise.

"It's gone now. Burned to ashes with everything inside of it, Aaliyah. I promise," he swore, clearing some of the panic, but I couldn't fight off the inkling in the back of my head, the worry that it'd find a way back.

It didn't have to be around in a physical sense; it lived in me now, was a part of me in ways I wasn't sure I would be able to get rid of.

But Prince's sure face made me trust him, and I hoped that step by step, one day I might be free of Ascension. The physical bonds, and the ones that trapped my mind.

"Mags has not the time for drivel," Magelav drawled, and I looked up at them.

Prince had taken their place in front of me, and it was like watching him grasp for patience as he swallowed, his nose flaring as he looked at Magelav over his shoulder. "Mags, have you ever—in your many years of life—considered learning how to read a room?"

Mags didn't have a response for that, just scowled.

A moment later, Adrian was by my side, his gentle fingers pulling back my ear to inspect the wound. I let him, not hesitating to move as he adjusted me to see it better. "It looks … infected."

"Magic doesn't like bonds," Magelav replied.

Adrian hummed, gently letting my ear go. "Tell me what to do. I'll get it out."

He rolled up his sleeves, showing the softly defined muscle along his arms as he did. He tapped his wrist twice before he went back to inspecting the mark.

Magelav's laugh was bitter. " You ? She's better off leaving it."

"You seem to be under the assumption I was asking." Adrian's voice was forcefully bright, his stance protective as he joined Prince to block me from Magelav's view. "I was training to be a doctor before I was turned. I'm the only one I trust to get it out. Fallon, pain meds and a knife, one that's been boiled?"

Fallon nodded once before he was gone. Seconds later, he was back with a box in hand, a soft scent of gas lingering on him. Adrian searched through it, grumbling before pulling out a bottle of pills. He counted them out, looking worried before he handed me three.

I knew this was going to hurt, regardless of the medicine he gave me, but I took them anyway, to make him feel better. I still traced the lines on his face, the worry that crept into his smile as he tried to hide his own fear. "You won't hurt me."

I could take the pain, mine and his. The dark marks on his face stretched when he grimaced. "Never, love. I'll do all I can to make it quick."

I nodded, smiling at him as I took his hand. I brought it to my lips, kissing the back of his knuckles while we waited.

"I know," I whispered, sitting up so he could have better access. It was a tense few moments before Fallon returned once again with a hot knife. I nodded to them both, doing my best to smile. "I'm ready."

Magelav grunted from somewhere on the other side of the room. "Wow, so sophisticated . Should Mags get a plague mask?"

Adrian didn't respond, just looked to Magelav to begin their part, before I felt a weight settle in the air. Their magic spread through the room, the heavy scent of boggy water making my eyes water. It seemed slower to come forward than their other spells, almost reluctantly.

"You can't move. Understand?" Magelav whispered, the strain in their voice emphasized by the grunt they gave as a bead of sweat formed on their forehead. "Spell is ready. I'll hold the binding together as long as I can. It will fight you."

Adrian nodded, and I noted the glove on his hands, the knife that he clutched gently in his deft fingers. I had to close my eyes, block away the image that it dragged to the forefront of my mind.

This was Adrian. A man I loved. A man I trusted.

I took a steadying breath that cinched my lungs before a warm body settled at my back.

"Eirik?" I whispered as one of his hands settled on my hip, the other laying palm down over my mouth. It kept him out of Adrian's way, while still holding me.

"You're not fighting this alone. Take what you need, give me the pain," he said, his thumb brushing over my nose. "We're here."

I let out a breath, ready to fight the suggestion, when his wrist touched my mouth. His pulse was a steady beat under his skin, unhurried, as he settled firmly against my back. His breath hitched, a steady thrum starting in his chest as his purr soothed the remaining anxiety I held.

Fallon squeezed my hand, never having let go.

I nodded softly, my mouth watering as I ran my tongue over the thin skin. I bit Eirik carefully, slowly sinking fangs deep as the taste of him lit up inside of me, stars blinking behind my eyes. There was a question of starting, and I nodded, still attached to Eirik's wrist.

The first cut of the blade was enough to drag me out of the euphoria, freezing me as the pain turned sharp.

"Almost got it," Adrian whispered.

I held on, staying completely still as Magelav chanted in the background. Sweat pooled on my neck, a clammy chill making my hands shake as my fangs slid back into my gums.

"Hold on, trouble," Fallon said, as I clenched onto Eirik's wrist, using him as a weight to keep myself steady.

Several seconds later, Adrian's cry of triumph had me sagging into Eirik's chest. He vibrated beneath me, his beast soothing me without words.

"This was what was inside her? It's so tiny," Adrian said before Magelav took it from his hand.

It was just a small thing, barely a few centimeters long. Magelav was much more careful with their handling of it, watching as the blood dried. Their magic came forward, and the bead grew red hot as my blood burned off it, until only the strange seed was left.

"Kali was crafty. Her magic, her power, her greed , " Magelav explained.

Before promptly popping it into their mouth and chewing . I heard the crunch, saw the burst of magic from the seams of their mouth as they swallowed the remains whole.

Silence was a friend as we all stared-slack jawed.

"Mags, I thought we talked about eating random shit." Prince groaned as he rubbed his temples, breaking the silence as Magelav showed a dangerous smile lined with razor-sharp teeth. "You're going to get sick one of these days, and I don't think there's a doctor alive that'd be able to help."

The wound behind my ear began to close, the skin stitching together as my body registered the lack of foreign magic.

It was almost numbing, as though there had been an ache I was ignoring, something I'd pushed out of my mind. Now that it was gone, I felt it. Persistent, irritating.

One of the marks on my wrist began to itch, the ancient font woven with archaic swirls. I squeezed Fallon's hand as I closed my eyes, leaning my cheek into Eirik's palm. "Where's Osiris?"

"He went to go get Drakon," Eirik whispered, silencing the rest of the room.

"The Eternium starts tonight, right? Officially?" I asked, and each of them nodded.

I pulled in a shallow breath. This was it. The start of the last fight. The beginning of what I could only hope was the end. Ascension Rising had started this, Sebek had started this.

Now we had to end it.

I hated the part of me that still saw Sebek as the man who lived in the stories my father used to whisper fondly to get me to sleep. That wasn't the man who had made these men. That wasn't the man who had locked me up and saw me tortured.

"When the clock strikes midnight, the devils make their deals," Mags whispered, their eyes hazing over, a shadowed look in them.

"That means yes, I think," Prince whispered, as he crossed the small distance to me, taking the seat by my side.

"Tonight's mostly an informal declaration and a lovely little masquerade ball. The First Rights, when everyone is allowed to officially call for Challenges and Retaliations, starts in three days' time," Adrian chimed in, placing a plate in my lap. The pasta was slightly cold now, covered in a white sauce with bits of green sprinkled throughout. "Come on, love, nothing to be done about it now. Eat something. You need it," he whispered, kissing the top of my head.

At the end of the day, whatever happened tonight would lead the way into the rest of the Eternium. Our lives were on the line, heads already hanging over the block under the executioner's ax.

There was still so much I didn't know, so much that hung in the balance. There was a very real possibility that if we failed here, we'd end up dead. Or worse.

Those black lines on his skin sank home for me, and I picked at my food in silence.