Page 21 of The Gods We Defy (All Gods Must Die #2)

CHAPTER 21

A n icy frost envelops me, seeping into my bones. The bitter cold cutting, slicing across my body, and waking me from my slumber.

I gasp and wince at the sharp throb in my head.

The bitter breeze brushes across my face, and I realize my mask is missing.

Even though it’s dark, I recognize the thick, snowy forest around me.

The forest from the purge. I remember passing the twisting trees across from me.

My hands are chained behind me and bound around the trunk of a thick tree, and my legs are bound in a rope from ankle to thigh, ensuring no way of escape. It’s so tight that even a slight shift causes the coarse rope to cut into my skin.

I scan my body and the injuries I sustained during the competition still ache and sting. The blade wound on my thigh feels particularly raw. A few ribs feel broken or bruised, and there’s a deep ache throughout my muscles.

Something warm and wet slides down my face and lands in the snow beside me.

I glance down to see a spot of red.

Blood . My blood.

The head wound. My eyes widen when I realize why I have been bound here.

The sidhe hounds hunt when blood is spilled.

Whoever knocked me out and left me here not only wants me dead, but they also want me to suffer.

A monstrous howl bellows out around me, and the fog seeps into the clearing.

Wait… if the fog is already here, that must be at least the second howl. And the beasts hunt on the third.

Adrenaline thrums through my veins, helping me push past the pain as I try to move. The chains rattle behind me, but I can’t shift even half an inch.

Drawing up my Sidus light, I focus, willing it to become as sharp as a blade, like before.

The strings of light form and weave around me and the rope but pass through them harmlessly instead.

I notice something moving on my left. I quickly reach down for my shadows, for any power, and try to drag it up. I search and search for even a seed of power.

But nothing comes.

Panting, I open my eyes to assess the threat as it comes closer.

After getting through the purge, first trial, and the competition. After being taken from my home and forced to fight in an underground prison. After never giving up and fighting back no matter what, somehow, this is how I die. Tied up, helpless, and eaten by a vicious hound that will drag my soul to the Otherworld when it’s finished with me.

I’d laugh if I wasn’t so damn exhausted.

The shadow lurks closer, making me shake off my hysteria.

If I’m going to die, I want to make sure this beast knows I will destroy him. Even if that means he chokes on my damn bones.

The beast clears the trees and moves into the moonlight… Only it’s not a beast that steps forward. It’s Yasmin.

She rushes over to me with a dagger in hand and cuts the rope from my legs, moving on to the chains.

“How—” I start, but she shakes her head and stops me with a warning look.

“The beast is near,” she whispers before inspecting the chain. “I can’t break through this.” She glances at me. “But I don’t need to.”

Grabbing my leg, I feel a familiar rush of cool energy wrap around me. Relief fills me when I realize how she is going to get us out of here.

Another howl rings out as her Caligo shadows rise and curl up around us. The beast steps from the forest and lets out a deep warning growl before rushing us.

He reaches us just as we disappear into the black smoke.

We move through the void and out into a small stable that has half its roof missing.

“You made it.” Indira rushes forward. She and Yasmin help me move to one of the old stables onto a layer of hay.

“How did you know?” I glance between them both. Neither are wearing their masks. I remember Indira’s brown hair and pale skin, but her hair is wild and curly, and from this close, I can see a rim of gold lining the outer edge of her irises.

Yasmin has long, dark raven hair. Her ice-blue eyes stand out against her dark skin, making her look otherworldly.

“We arrived in the main building just after you,” Indira says, grabbing hold of my arm. She squeezes it and I hide a wince. Glancing down, I find thick, raw lines of redness where the chains were digging into me.

“We heard what happened at the competition,” Yasmin says, and a flash of rage crosses her face. “They cheated. I knew these trials would not be fair, but…” She stops herself, shaking her head, sharing a look with Indira.

“We wanted to make sure you were okay,” Indira starts when it seems Yasmin is too angry to continue. “We were on our way up to you, trying to figure out where your room was, when we saw a large male with a small body thrown over his shoulder looking damn suspicious.” She shares a look with Yasmin.

“We followed him, getting a closer look, and we saw your mask.”

Yasmin clenches her fists. “We were going to approach him and take you, but he met up with a couple of others and they headed toward the forest.” She looks at me, her eyes growing angrier as they scan my body. “We followed and waited until they left, and you know the rest.”

I swallow against the lump forming in my throat. I learned to trust Hunter after what we went through, but now, after tonight, I have two more allies to add to that list.

“Thank you,” I tell them both.

Yasmin nods while Indira glances around the ruined stables.

“I hate it here,” Indira says. “I regret ever coming. If I could do it all again, I’d never have come.”

I frown. “Why didn’t you leave before the first trial? Before your energy melded with it.”

“We tried,” she says, making me freeze. She shares a sad look with Yasmin. “And were nearly killed for it.”

My heart stutters at her words.

“Apparently there’s a little catch that many are unaware of once you enter Túr Rí,” she says, and she pulls in a sharp breath. “All chosen have an energy signature. That’s how the servants are able to find us for the trials wherever we are. The energy doesn’t leave us until the trials are over. If we try to leave, they’ll kill us. But none of it matters because we’ve completed the first trial. Even if we were to figure a way past that, we’d still be called to the trials.”

My chest tightens and my shock quickly morphs into anger as my pulse speeds up.

Everything is against us. Everything .

“I wouldn’t go back to your room. It’s no longer safe.” Indira shares a worried look with Yasmin before squeezing my hand.

“Stay with us,” she says, her eyes pleading. But I couldn’t put a target on their backs too. And if I go with them, that’s exactly what I’ll be doing.

“Thank you, but no. You’ve both done enough for me.” They’ve risked their lives and saved me. Something I will never forget.

“You saved my life, Seren,” Indira says. “ Before we even knew each other.”

“Then we’ll call it even,” I tell her, hoping to unburden her of whatever debt she thinks she owes me. “Besides, I have somewhere else I can go. I just need to rest for a bit.”

Yasmin narrows her eyes on me, but I hold her stare and after a moment she nods her head, believing my lie.

“Go,” I tell them, but Indira pauses.

“Maybe we could wait?—”

“I’ll follow you soon,” I promise, telling them another lie.

She sighs but nods her head. Getting to her feet, she gives me a sharp look. “If I don’t see you in the next twenty-four hours, I’ll come hunt you down myself.”

Yasmin nods, giving me a warning look. “She’s not joking. And I have no problem becoming her backup,” she says, but softens it with a smile that lights up her entire face. Dipping her head with a warning to be careful, she drags an annoyed Indira along with her.

I wait a few moments until they are gone before dropping my facade of trying to be strong.

Bringing my hand to my mouth, I allow myself a moment of weakness and bite back a whimper.

I’m tired. So damn tired of this. Of these constant trials and competitions. When will it end?

I just want my family. My mother. I want her warm hugs and smiles, and I want to not feel so lost all the time.

A heart-wrenching sob pulls from my chest, and I curl into myself and cry. I cry until no more tears are left and my eyes drift closed, giving up.

Kestral

W iping the blood from my hands and straightening my clothes, I still feel nothing but rage rush through me.

Those four fae may be dead now, but it does nothing to ease my inner beast. Nothing to quench my thirst for more of their blood and suffering.

They hurt her. My mate. My mate.

They lay their hands on her and left her bruised and battered. I could see the pain in her eyes. See it and feel it as if it were my own. And for a moment, it was. I felt it through our bond.

She thinks I locked her out when I blocked her from accessing my powers, cutting the growing bond between us. But the only way I could do it was to pull more of her into me and use her powers to hide it deep within her.

My powers are still there and the bond… has only grown.

I sometimes feel her and her pain, hoping I can somehow take it from her if I concentrate enough. It’s how I always know where she is. And something I desperately reach for now, hoping to sense her nearby.

The thought of her brings a spike of pain slashing through my head and body, making me pause.

“Seren…” I whisper and try to sense where she is.

Shock and fear follow her pain. It immediately gets me moving, heading in the direction that is drawing me to her, when my mother summons me using the curse.

The dark energy wraps around me, but I push against it, trying to fight it to get to my mate. Every muscle in my body fights, but the curse is too strong.

“Come…” Her sharp voice echoes in my head, and my legs start moving in the opposite direction of where my heart is telling me to go.

Clenching my fists, I walk into the room where my mother is waiting.

“Where have you been?” she asks with a faux calmness I’ve come to see through.

I thought she might have missed my reaction to Seren jumping for that damn cage, but I can now tell luck is not on my side.

I lock down every emotion and try to wipe the thought of Seren from my mind.

“Cleaning up a mess,” I tell her, my voice flat and bored, emotionless, like she thinks I am. Emotion is a weakness that only causes mistakes.

“Who is she?” she asks, and fear, my own this time, spears through me.

“Who?”

“Don’t play coy.” She gets up from her seat and walks toward me.

I stay still, my eyes forward as she places her hand on my arm.

“Who. Is. She?” Her claws lengthen and dig into my skin, but still, I show no emotion. No weakness .

I turn to her and raise a brow. “No one.”

No one. No one. No one.

She watches me for a moment, digging her nails in a little harder. I show her no hint of caring about anything, including the pain she’s causing.

Seemingly happy with my answer, she releases my arm, leaving a sharp burn from her nail punctures.

“If I find out you’re lying to me, I won’t have to kill her,” she reminds me. “The curse will do it for me.” She gives me a vile smirk, reminding me again of the curse she tricked me into when I was a child.

The mate curse. Something she created under the guise that it would always protect my mate, should I ever find one. But it ended up doing the opposite. Along with giving her absolute control over me.

I didn’t realize how bad it was until I actually met her. Seren. My mate.

I knew the minute I saw her she was mine. Knew in one look that my entire being belonged to her.

Because of the curse, our bond brings me pain. Physical and mental pain as we physically grow closer. Every time we touch is a flare of fire along my skin, as if stripping it raw. But I would rather spend every second of every day in pain than have to go without her touch. I would rather bleed myself dry than ever forget her.

“You will kill her,” my mother promises with a cruel smile.

No… Never… I will never allow Seren to be hurt by me. Or anyone else.

“If she’s your mate, you will have no choice,” she says, as if reading my mind, making me fortify the defenses and shields I’ve built up over the years.

“The curse will destroy you both,” she continues, oblivious to my internal panic. “But it will be you who causes her death, and by your own hands, too.”

“You’ve nothing to worry about,” I tell her and clasp my trembling hands behind my back, pushing away the terrifying image she invoked.

She watches me with suspicion. “I don’t know if I believe you.”

I raise a brow at her, daring her to test me. But instead of backing off like I had hoped she would, she smiles. And I instantly know what’s about to happen next.

Yanking me to my knees, the dark energy from the curse wraps around me, trying to purge my lies and reveal the truth.

But I hold on to it. Hold on to the thought of Seren. My mate.

The curse lashes against my mind, making me gasp.

“I find no joy in causing you pain,” she says with a lazy sigh.

But I have long seen past my mother’s lies and manipulations and would not be standing in front of her at all if not for this curse.

While the curse gives her power and control over me, the ability to call me at will, she’s also used it to ensure I can never kill her.

A smart move on her behalf.

And even though I have not yet found a way to break it, when I finally do, I will make sure she begs for her death. There is no love left between us, nor will there ever be. Her tests are nothing but an excuse to torture and control me.

But the pain she inflicts is nothing compared to the thought of losing Seren.

Pain slashes, rips, and tears through me as the dark energy tries to strip every defense I have, every shield and barrier I’ve created.

I hold on to them, re-building them again and again as invisible claws tear through them.

Panting, I shove the curse back and start weaving the lie inside me once more, making it come to life.

If I cannot escape my mother and this curse, then I can at least protect Seren. I can keep her hidden and safe as I have from the moment I realized she was my mate.

I think of the hate I feel towards my mother and weave it around an image of Seren. Even if it sickens me to do so.

But it works every time, and the dark energy pauses as if confused once more.

Hate her… You hate her… I repeat over and over until the dark energy slowly starts to slide away.

You hate her… I continue to repeat like a mantra. Because hating her is the only way to protect her.

I double down on that raw, never-ending hate I have inside me, and the curse slithers away, falling for deceit.

“Good,” I hear, just as my mother releases me. I tilt forward, my face cushioning my fall as I pass out.

S eren… The thought of her has me waking with a jolt.

“Easy,” Asra says, gently pushing my shoulders back to the table I’m lying on as he applies cool ointment to my back.

“Your mother is an evil bitch. How she can get away with doing this to her own son…” He sighs.

A son that is only a tool to her and her insatiable greed.

Standing, I ignore Asra’s grumble of protest and pick up my clothing from the chair beside me. I glance over my shoulder with a wince as I spot my back in the mirror. There are multiple large red welts in streaks down it.

“As soon as we break the curse, I’m going to kill her,” Asra vows.

“Get in line.” Veles appears and leans against the table, watching me with a wary look.

“Where is she?” I ask, too exhausted to pinpoint Seren through the bond right now. The vow they created doesn’t tell him where she is, but he’s been keeping track of her whereabouts. He should know where she is.

“I don’t know,” he admits, and I freeze. “I haven’t seen her since before that idiotic competition your demon of a mother created. She’s not in the ruins beneath the building either. Nor her room or any other. She’s not in the kitchen or the hallways. I scented her outside and found a trail of blood in the center of the forest. But it completely disappears.”

I throw my clothes on, ignoring the sharp pain slicing across my back, and move toward the door. But Asra and Veles move faster, blocking my path.

“Get out of my way. I need to find her. She’s hurt and my mother…” I swallow hard and stop myself from thinking that thought, the nightmare that plagues me. Among others.

“I hate to tell you, but you’re not faring too well yourself,” Asra retorts.

“My mother will hurt her if she finds out what she means to me. I’ve already put a target on her back. Help me,” I ask, pleading with them both. “Help me find her. Protect her.” I need to see her with my own eyes. To see that she’s safe.

They share a look and sigh. “I’ll take the west of the courtyard,” Asra says to Veles. “Shift and head further into the forest. Stick close to the main building. She more than likely didn’t go far.”

Asra steps forward and places a hand on my shoulder. “She’s strong, Kestral. Far stronger than we give her credit for. Don’t forget that.” He nods to me before turning and leaving with Veles.

I know she’s strong. It’s one of the many things I love and admire about her. But just because she’s strong doesn’t mean she always will be.

I make it out past the courtyard when something draws me to the left. I walk past the training building that’s half burned because of us and keep on moving until I come to the ruins of an old shed.

My heart picks up speed as I move closer. Something in me telling me she’s inside.

Dipping my head under what’s left of the roof, I search the small stables, until at last I find her crumpled form.

Black bruises line her face and jaw, and the back of her head has a fresh gash in it.

Her mask is missing, her clothes destroyed and covered in blood. Her wrists… I clench my jaw. Her wrists are red and raw, as if someone had her tied up.

“Kestral?” she questions, sitting up and pulling me from the brink of rage. Her green eyes find mind as her brow furrows in confusion.

“I’m here,” I tell her.

She’s here. She’s safe. I can keep her safe, I tell myself over and over.

She stumbles to her feet and winces, making me black out for a moment in rage. It takes more than a moment to shut it down completely.

Taking my cloak off, I step forward and wrap it around her. She looks so frail and exhausted.

“You can’t stay here,” I tell her.

“I know. But my room… It’s no longer safe,” she admits.

“That’s not what I meant.” I narrow my eyes on her. “But something that we will be discussing. I mean, you cannot stay here, in Túr Rí. It’s not safe.”

She chuckles humorously, her eyes void of any light. “When was it ever?”

Something about that darkness in her eyes has my heart dropping. Dread fills me as I try to come up with some way to keep her safe. Keep her alive.

“Tell me what I can do to get you away from here?” I beg. “Tell me and I promise you I’ll make it happen.”

Her eyes widen at the complete conviction in my voice. But how can she not know? How does she not understand how far I will go for her?

I would tear this world apart to find her. I almost ruined the fae lands when she was taken. I will do anything to protect her. Anything .

“I can’t…” She starts, but squeezes her eyes shut, her entire body stiffening in pain before tilting forward.

With wide eyes, I catch her and hold her as I move us down toward the hay.

“If…” She starts again, but her body curls in on itself as she winces in pain.

My chest grows tight with the need to help her. “I need to take you to a healer.”

She shakes her head, and I pause as she attempts to catch her breath. “They can’t… help.” Her hand reaches out and wraps around mine.

She looks up at me and pleads with me to listen to her. “If you take me… from here…” She winces again and closes her eyes for a moment.

“Seren—” I start but her hand tightens on mine before she continues.

“You’ll… be killing me.”

I blanch, but I hear the truth in her words. We know she made a deal with a fae. It was probably her only choice. But it doesn’t make this any easier.

“I hate this,” I tell her. Hating even more that I can’t help. That I can’t hunt and torture the one who made the deal with her. Tear them apart piece by piece until there’s nothing left.

I gaze down at her, thinking of the bloodshed I will cause when I do find the one who forced her into this deal. But instead of looking at me with fear, she smiles.

“You care,” she breathes before slowly closing her eyes.

My heart swells at the hopeful look in her eyes. If she only knew…

“More than you know,” I whisper, drawing her closer to me and holding on tightly. Even as the curse sears my body, I keep holding her. Vowing with everything that I am that I will protect her. No matter the outcome.