23. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

A ya would murder the first person who dared to walk into the room. By the time they finally fell asleep, she was fairly sure it was morning. Footsteps sounded past the door, though no one knocked or came in.

Ruminating on bloodshed, she peered down upon the waterfall of fiery curls splayed across her chest. Elaine's warm cheek was pressed against her breast, soft breaths tickling her chest. She didn't mind at all, smiling softly at the sight. Though she'd had her fair share of women before, nothing was like this. Sex had always been good, but this was soul shattering. Consuming. Sheer fucking perfection—and she truly didn't deserve one scrap of it.

It fed the primal side within her, loving the control Elaine gave her. She treasured it as though it were a gem of the rarest order, cut and polished to a shine. Mounted, she imagined, on a golden necklace and framed by other delicate and glittering gems.

"I can feel you staring," Elaine mumbled into her chest.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I just woke up."

Elaine stirred and peered at her blearily beneath those dark auburn lashes. Aya could drown in those emerald depths, like the vast seas she vaguely recalled from her childhood. Not quite blue but a little green, wild and vast, churning against an unbridled storm.

"I should punish you," she said with a yawn.

Aya hooked her leg and flipped them. She pinned Elaine's hands over her head. Curls fanned out across the furs. Elaine's breaths rose and fell, stealing her sanity.

"For what?" Aya retorted.

The damn witch took her shot.

Aya blinked and she was the one on her back.

Elaine laughed and before she could fight back control, she watched in frustration as Elaine rose from the furs. They fell away, exposing every inch of that glorious skin and curves that Aya ached to trace with her tongue. Welts and scratches marred her pale skin, etching every inch of their night together. Flashes burst through Aya's mind, leaving her burning to drag the witch back and repeat it all over again.

Light sparked beneath Elaine's skin. A second later, all marks melted away, as if they were never there to begin with.

"I can feel you frowning from here," Elaine said with a chuckle as she pulled her dress back on.

"I like my marks on you."

Elaine's smile only deepened. "Then I suppose I have given you a chance to make more."

Heat burned through Aya. Fuck it. She was going to drag her witch back to bed if it was the last thing—

"Oh, no you don't. No more for now."

Aya's brow shot up. "Oh?"

She tried her best sultry grin and let the furs fall away to her hips, leaving her chest bare and on full display. Elaine's gaze dropped. Hesitation flickered there and she started to move back to the bed when she stopped suddenly, straightened up and quickly turned.

"No, no, I am not letting you distract me."

It was clear there was going to be no repeat, much to her dismay. Aya lurched to her feet, barely containing a smile as she padded to the bedside table. Atop it was a small bowl of fresh water and a folded cloth. She took her time, wiping herself clean as best as she could. It wasn't exactly the bath she craved but they would head back to the house soon. To home. Somewhere safe and theirs.

By the time she finished and turned around, Elaine was dragging on her boots. A teasing smile curled her mouth, as if she took utter delight in Aya's misery over the situation. Vicious woman. And Elaine had the audacity to call her wicked.

She hauled on her clothes, picking one of the shirts Elaine had made for her. Like the few poorly made ones she'd done herself, this one covered her front. It partially draped over her shoulders and around her waist, coming together in some ties around her wings. Once she was satisfied it was in place and she wasn't going to flash anyone beside Elaine, she turned.

The damn witch was still grinning.

"Don't make me throw you back into the furs and rip that god damn dress from your skin," Aya growled.

"You wouldn't," Elaine retorted.

Aya took a step forward.

Elaine darted to the door before she could even touch her, shrieking with delight as she escaped into the hall. Aya, left staring, fighting back her own smile, finally went to follow.

Everyone was up, seated around a long table, in a large, communal hall. Platters of food were piled high, intermingled with pitchers and cups. Steaming hot savory pies, boiled eggs, a few loaves of bread, spiced sausages, a rainbow of sliced fruit filled the air with their heavenly scent. As she approached, Tobias poured Elaine a cup of what appeared to be a kind of juice. She wished it was wine, something to spark her awake.

Nora and Zari were nowhere to be seen. A few of the former's women ate silently at the far end, paying them no attention at all.

Alexios sat pressed against Tobias, one arm looped around his waist. The former lifted his head from his mate's wrist, lips blood red and curling into a smile. She dipped her chin in response as she sat down beside Elaine. Without missing a beat, she pressed a kiss to her witch's cheek. Her lips lingered for a moment, drifting to the shell of Elaine's ear.

"Tease me like that again and I will punish you," she whispered.

Elaine's breath hitched, saying nothing.

Across the table, Sabra coughed into her cup of juice. "Most of us have very good hearing."

Aya slanted a wicked grin at her friend. "But it wasn't meant for you."

Before Sabra could retort, Tobias snorted. "Does this mean I can whisper the wicked things I want to do to Alexios?"

Realizing she'd walked right into that one, she rolled her eyes. Low chuckles eddied around the table, friendly and warm, as she piled food onto her plate. As she reached for a cup, Elaine already poured her some juice and was handing it over. The other hand slid beneath the table and gently squeezed her thigh.

"Consider us warned," Elaine said with a smile.

Conversation flowed onward to plans and every little piece of information they'd gleaned over the past few days. As Elaine regaled news of what lay beneath the ruins Aya had died in, a shiver rippled down her spine. The cold brush of death, how very permanent it had felt in the moment, confronted with Tobias's dead body, and forced to watch Sabra bleed out, turned over in her mind. She didn't realize she must've fallen silent and scowling when Elaine's grip on her thigh turned sharp.

The sting of pain snapped her back into focus.

She blinked.

All eyes were on her.

"Aya?" Sabra's dark eyes burned through her.

"We need to take another look at the ruins," Aya announced. "Elaine and I will go. Sabra, can you speak with Nora and Zari? I want to know everything about this order of theirs, every scrap and secret, every lie they ever told."

Sabra stilled. "They told us everything."

"Have they?"

A silent question followed. Have you?

She trusted Sabra not to betray her, to not act as Marisol had, leading them to death. But Zari's appearance complicated things.

Love made fools of everyone.

Sabra pushed up from the table. "Consider it done."

There was a little note of defiance in her voice, as if she was going to prove Aya's fears wrong. Aya hoped she did just that, though she wouldn't admit it aloud. Certainly not in front of everyone.

When the door clicked shut behind Sabra, Tobias and Alexios rose from the table. Tobias rolled his eyes as he stacked his empty plate with Alexios, then collected the one Sabra had left behind.

"Want some company to the ruins?"

Aya glanced at Alexios. "I was hoping you might see if your birds have learned anything new."

"Nothing, I'm afraid." Alexios rubbed the back of his neck. "I was hoping I might be able to stay here but some pressure there might coax out some information."

Aya smirked. "What, scared of your flock?"

"My coven," he corrected. "And they're just being, shall we say, a little difficult."

Tobias slipped a hand around Alexios's waist. "To their credit, the fate of our lives hangs in the balance. Do you think anyone really wants to take on that utter disaster?"

Aya rose from the table. "Tobias is right. Just you see, once we sort this entire mess, all your heirs will suddenly appear. That way, whoever follows after you will only have to deal with politics and maybe a little power imbalance in Purgatory. Easy for the right fit.

As they headed to the door, Alexios released a little grumble. "I'm beginning to think the ‘right fit' doesn't exist."

Elaine swept past her and held open the door. "Take heart, if we fuck this up, then we will all be dead and there won't be much chance to complain."

Without Sabra, they journeyed to the ruins on horseback. Hooves crunched over leaflitter and twigs, the only sound in an otherwise haunting forest. No birds fluttered in the trees, nor mice or deer darted among the thickets.

Death lingered here.

Aya felt it on her skin—it's icy presence impossible to ignore—and in every breath she dragged in. She had raised the dead in these woods, and she felt their bones close by. There was no spark of their soul, however. She didn't know if that meant they had moved on, or simply ventured elsewhere in Purgatory.

There was still so damn much she didn't know.

And it made her want to scream.

Breakdowns would have to wait, however, as the trees yielded to the ruins and fell away to the familiar clearing. The sun speared through the smattering of clouds, brushing over the crumbled ruins. If it was meant to be a sign, she didn't like it.

"Are you okay?" Elaine whispered.

Aya forced a smile. "I'm fabulous."

It was a lie, of course, one it seemed Elaine saw right through as she tilted her eye. A spark of worry burned in those emerald depths. It nearly pulled the worries and fears right from Aya's lips. She slammed her mouth shut and looked ahead.

There was something wrong about this place and yet, despite the whispers at the fringe of her mind to walk away, something else tugged at her chest. Like a thread pulled from her heart, guiding her to the temple where she was murdered.

She pushed on, striding up past Alexios and Tobis, before she paused at the steps. A lump lodged in her throat. Elaine called out her name, but she strode forward, throwing the doors open. A gust of wind surged in from behind her, whipping up flurries of dust. Aya peered around, swearing for a moment that Marisol would appear from the shadows. When no one appeared and only the darkness greeted her, her brow dipped.

Cobwebs stretched over every wall and corner and pillar. As the doors shut behind her, the dust settled. Elaine appeared at her side, eyes roving over the shadows. What was turning over in that mind of hers? Did she think about what happened here? Or was her mind elsewhere? Aya wanted to ask when Elaine swept forward, boots clicking against the stone. Echoes tapered off, devoured by the hallways splintering off.

"This way!" Elaine called out.

The thread pulled again, following Elaine.

Aya hurried after her until she caught up. Falling in beside her, they moved quietly through the ruins. Once they were beyond what Aya recognized from before, a little tension eased from her body. A quiet breath escaped before she could snatch it back.

Once they descended a narrow set of steps and came to the room Elaine described, Aya stopped dead. Her gaze locked on the murals, each one detailed and still bright after so many years. Wordlessly, she closed the distance to the first one and reached out. Once her fingers brushed against the stone, a bolt of lightning shot up her arm. She snatched it back with a gasp.

"What happened?"

Aya reached out again and pressed her palm flat against the mural. This time, she was ready for the magic as it surged through her veins. It plunged right for the core of her own power. Her eyes fluttered shut as a strange familiarity stirred in her chest. Understanding dawned. Aya stepped back with a gasp, cradling the hand to her chest. Blood roared in her ears. Her heart was a wildfire, blazing uncontrollably.

Elaine was suddenly in front of her, cupping her face. Worried clouded those glimmering green pools. Aya vaguely realized her lips were moving and it took a bit for the words to brush against her ear, for the magic to simmer into silence within her. She reached up and touched the hands on her cheek.

"I'm okay."

"What happened? You weren't with me for a moment."

Aya gently removed the hands away and gazed once more upon the murals. "I can sense Akaria's magic here. It's in the stones or the paint."

Elaine pivoted on her heel. "Akaria was here?"

"That or a necromancer came here before…" Aya's voice thickened. She shook her head. "Let's keep looking."

She tried not to think about the chance that another necromancer might've wandered these ruins before her. It was cruel to even indulge. Even if it was one of her people, then either they never bore any children, or had never developed any of their powers. Perhaps after enough generations, it died out.

But that still meant there might be someone in Purgatory, perhaps several, who bore a similar heritage to her. However small it might be, it sparked a tiny flame at the very edge of her mind.

Unless this is Akaria…

Aya's jaw tightened. She squinted at each of the murals, wondering if there was perhaps something hidden in the scenes. Some detail the others hadn't picked up. A clue to confirm Akaria's involvement.

When she came to the final scene, depicting the moment Aurora was imprisoned and betrayed, Aya looked at Akaria's face. Zari captured the power in those fathomless dark eyes, the way she held herself. A true goddess of death. But there was something else there. Hidden in the way her face was pinched, as if she was fighting to hold herself together.

Was she imagining the grief, picturing how she might look if Elaine was taken from her?

No, that wasn't it. If anyone hurt Elaine, let alone took her away, Aya knew with a terrifying certainty the grief wouldn't last. It would be rage, the true depth of her power unbridled, unleashed upon whoever the enemy was. And if there was a chance of bringing Elaine back or saving her, she would channel that wrath and level an entire fucking city. A kingdom, even.

Perhaps even the world itself.

Maybe she was more like Akaria than she'd ever admit.

"Was there anything else?" she asked aloud.

More footsteps joined the room. From their stride and mirrored pace, she knew immediately it was Alexios and Tobias. They appeared at the edge of her vision, looking upon the final scene with unreadable expressions. It was the first time they were seeing it for themselves.

Tobias whistled softly. "You know, when all this mess began when you arrived Elaine, I didn't picture this being part of it." He turned to everyone. "Did anyone else have godly involvement in their original ideas?"

No one spoke.

Aya moved forward again and reached for the mural.

"Are you sure?" Elaine asked.

The thread tugged in her chest again, harder this time. A force rising from within her, teasing out through her limbs. She pressed her palm flat against it before she could talk herself out of it. Instinctively, she braced for the shock.

Nothing happened.

Aya tilted her head. There was no magic in this one. She turned on her heel and quickly checked over the others, lightly brushing her finger along each one. All the while, the others made no move to stop her, saying nothing as they watched on. She pushed on until she was back at the last mural. Just as before, no magic brushed against her fingers. Nothing.

"It's…" Her voice died again as she stepped up close and pressed her other hand against it, then her forehead.

Aya plunged down into the core of her magic, calling upon Akaria's magic. It answered in a rumbling of thunder, stealing through her veins until it settled in her palm. Warmth bloomed in her chest, rippling outward. The world tumbled away. Her focus sharpened on the mural before her. She pushed a small blast into the mural.

In her mind's eye, she pictured herself pushing through a syrupy darkness. A blanket of sticky heat pressed against her skin. Something surged back against her. Aya dug her heels in and shoved back. The defiant force held firm for a second.

Then shattered.

Aya's mind burst through.

The cold song of death flooded her.

Fresh death, the stink of rotting bodies filling her lungs. She tasted the fetid odor on her lips. But try as she did, she could not see through the darkness. The force might not be able to keep her mind out, it was doing something to keep her from seeing whatever was there. She withdrew with a curse, letting her hands fall to her side.

"What did you see?" Alexios inquired.

Aya pulled back one hand and curled it into a fist. "Something that I am going to break."

Someone shouted.

She didn't stop as she drove her fist into the stone, the full force of her dark magic compressed into the blow. Stone exploded on impact, blowing inwards. Dust whipped up around her in a hazy cloud. She spluttered and cursed, eyes stinging with tears as she stumbled forward.

Dimly aware of the others following behind her, a flame lit beside her. An amber glow swept over Elaine's face, capturing a frown. She tossed another flame upward and with a whisper beneath her breath, it widened. Aya's gaze fell upon the great room—and her blood ran cold.