Chapter 18

CHAPTER18

Ashen’s hand has been resting on my mark. I feel the warmth in every line of blue and gold, even when his palm slides across my breast. The hot length of his erection twitches behind me and I smile, wriggling closer in an invitation. He slides into me, my pussy already wet and ready for him before I was even awake. I sigh with contentment as Ashen kisses my shoulder.

“My wife. You smell like the sea. Like a spring wind that carries the scent of ice still clinging to the green shoots of grass,” he whispers next to my ear. I tilt my head toward his warmth and reach back to run my fingers through his dark hair. I trace lines and patterns across his scalp and he hums a purr against my neck, his strokes languid and slow.

This isn’t our usual way. Even after more than one round, there’s so much dark energy and consuming need for one another that we fuck with desperate, sometimes brutal force. Our desire is like an imploding star that lives between us, sucking us in with inescapable gravity. But this? This is not fucking. This is love stripped to its purest core. Gentle. Careful. Reverential. Warm, like the early morning sun that filters through the window, heating the dark tiles of the floor with the first promise of a new day.

One of Ashen’s hands caresses my breast while the other slides down my belly, the pads of his fingers tracing a slow line to my center. He groans when he touches the creamy soft skin of my freshly waxed pussy as though it’s a revelation, even though he already spent half the night worshipping it.

“So soft,” he whispers as his fingers trace light patterns across my flesh before finding my clit. “I could live the rest of eternity right here, touching you. Being inside you.”

“You could, but imagine how much you would miss butter. Maybe one day I’ll just have to lather myself in it so you can lick it all off.”

“Do not tease me, vampire,” he says past a groan, biting my shoulder as though imagining the taste.

“But teasing you is my favorite game. And speaking of breakfast—” and I don’t even finish my thought before Ashen is shifting, pulling out to lay me on my back. He glides back in, offering his neck to my fangs. My teeth puncture his throat in a shallow bite and I sigh with contentment as his blood fills my mouth, my walls aching as his cock slides with steady, deep strokes.

“Christ, vampire,” he hisses as I suck in a long draw, the blood fizzing on my tongue and down my throat. I feel the depths of his desire burn beneath my mark. “It’s almost too much to bear.”

I pull my fangs from his neck and run a fingertip over one of the needled points, drawing a channel of blood from my sliced skin. “Then let’s make it truly unbearable, shall we?” I whisper as I slide my teeth back into his skin. I trace a line down his spine with my undamaged fingers and he shudders, stalling the steady rhythm of his thrusts as I caress the rise of his ass. His breath catches in his lungs and his body tenses as my fingers follow the line to find the clenched rim of his hole. I tease a few circles around it, testing the entrance before slowly easing my bloodied finger inside.

“Emush laatzu,” Ashen curses through gritted teeth as I smile against his skin, my touch gently massaging inside him as a long moan rolls from his chest. “You are going to be the death of me, wife. Again.” His long thrusts resume as I take more pulls of blood from his neck. The power and depth of his strokes builds, my flesh stretching around him.

“I thought you said you wouldn’t complain,” I purr, my voice low and seductive. I put more gentle pressure into the massage of my finger and he hisses another curse.

“You are mistaken. I am not complaining.”

“It sounded almost like—”

“Vampire, I would die a thousand deaths at just to feel your touch.”

Ashen holds my gaze for a long moment as his erection glides slowly within me, and then his lips claim mine, our tongues tangling and dancing. The ache inside me twists until it unravels, my center clenching his girth as my back arches off the bed. I swirl my finger in gentle strokes and Ashen cries out as he spills into me, his body shaking with a shattering orgasm. He pumps in slow thrusts as we wring every breath of pleasure from the moment, wrapped in one another and the endless need that never lets us go.

“Good morning, husband,” I say when the orgasm subsides and Ashen rests his forehead to my shoulder, his unsteady breath fanning across my skin. I hear the heavy beat in his heart that pounds with my words.

“Don’t say that. I will only want to fuck you again and we are already going to be late to meet the others,” Ashen says, his cock twitching within me as though fighting his mind.

“I think your dick has other ideas.”

Ashen huffs a laugh but slides out of me nonetheless. “It always does when it comes to you,” he says as he offers a hand to help me out of bed.

“We can appease it by fucking in the shower. It’s called multitasking,” I reply. I take his hand and pass him, leading him to the bathroom. When we’ve finished making love once more beneath the rain shower stream of scalding water, we pack up and head down to the lobby to check out.

Our driver is waiting when we pass through the doors, and we speed away to the east, taking a dirt road that winds through agricultural lands to stop at a dead end where the others are waiting. Eryx and Cole stand off to one side with Mr. Hassan while Ediye speaks with my sister, her gestures toward our approaching car like some explanation about the vehicle and how it works. My heart pains a little for Aglaope and the confusion she must feel walking into a world that’s advanced so much since she last felt the touch of the sun. But her expression is one of interest as she nods with Ediye’s words, and she smiles as the sedan rolls to a halt.

“Morning, newlyweds,” Eryx says as we approach, his eyes lighting in that glitterball thing that he does when he’s excited about anything to do with love. I give him a smile as Ashen’s hand tenses around mine, already eager to rip those glitterballs right out of Eryx’s angelic face and squish them underfoot.

Ediye snorts a laugh. “Sex fiends, not newlyweds.”

“Sex fiend newlyweds,” Cole supplies.

“Shhh. Not in front of our…elders…” Eryx says, waving them to shush with a pointed nod in Mr. Hassan’s direction. The old man scoffs with a gruff bah.

I smirk as I look between them, watching as Eryx’s cheeks heat with a pink glow. “You’re so wholesome, even for an angel,” I say. Cole and Ediye bark a synchronized laugh as Eryx’s cheeks turn from pink to crimson.

“Right. Wholesome.” Ediye gives him a sardonic smile before she turns her attention toward Mr. Hassan, who is unperturbed by our banter. “On a more serious note, Mr. Hassan, I mentioned that Lu and Ashen here need some help.”

“Ah, yes,” the old apothecary says, his ancient eyes shifting to me. “The sahira mentioned you needed a Resurrectionist. I can do this for you, but I will need to gather some supplies before we travel to your realm. This is not easy. It will be costly, though I doubt that will be a problem.”

I blanch. I don’t even know how much gold coin I have, and it’s the preferred payment of apothecaries. What I’d squirreled away in my life before the Shadow Realm is hidden all over the place and will take time to track down. Thankfully, Ashen seems untroubled by the payment issue and bows his head in gratitude. “Whatever it takes. We will pay.”

“There’s something more,” I say as I glance at Ashen. He nods and lets the strap of our bag slide from his shoulder. I turn my gaze back to Mr. Hassan as Ashen unzips the backpack. “I found something in the Shadow Realm that we wanted to show you, to see if you could tell us anything about it.”

Ashen pulls the humming orb from the bag and recognition flashes across the apothecary’s face. His eyes widen and he reaches out to cradle the sphere in his palms. “Where did you get this, azizati?”

“It was at the bottom of the Black Sea. Kind of a long story.” The old man’s gaze flicks up to mine before he examines the stone. I clear my throat, trying to rid myself of the taste of memory. “It was in some kind of door made of metal rings. There were inscriptions in a language I didn’t recognize. Almost like Sumerian, but different. And there was a sort of whisper ribbon…thing…in a repeating chant.”

“What did it say?” he asks, knowing I’ll remember it all as though it only happened moments ago.

“Hursanu y aabba, ziana y anzu. Os naru nibiru insabatu. Elu lo zaqru. Nadna lo sagzal Mitusitum,” I reply, reciting the unfamiliar words.

The old man blows a thin stream of air through tense, wrinkled lips. His thumb caresses the polished surface of the black stone. It hums beneath his touch like a cat in the sun. “The language is Dingir. The language of the gods. It says ‘mountains and seas, valleys and skies. I call upon the convergence. Raise the veil. Relinquish the key of Deathfate’.”

“Deathfate,” Ashen says, his eyes narrowing on the old man who only nods. “The key of Deathfate?”

“That doesn’t sound so good,” I say as Mr. Hassan hands the stone to me. “When I managed to get the sphere, the door opened, and there was a woman in the distance.”

Mr. Hassan’s face pales but his eyes are sharp and bright as they lock to mine. “What did you see? Did she say anything, azizati?”

I nod, glancing at Ashen as I feel his worry pull at the boundaries of my mark. “I saw threads of light. I couldn’t see her face, but she spoke to me. She said, ‘Leucosia Anthemoessatum. Rakbu mitusitum. Eteru sut.’”

“Leucosia of Anthemoessa. Guardian of Deathfate. Save us.”

Fuck. That doesn’t sound good at all. Mr. Hassan can see the dismay rising in my face. His eyes soften and he smiles as he reaches out to pat my hand. “There is another stone,” I say.

“Yes. Soulfate. It resides in the Realm of Light. Not just anyone can take or wield them. They must be worthy, an ancient immortal. One who has earned the right to travel the three realms without a chaperone.”

Ashen’s hand tenses around mine. “The Nephilim. That’s why they need Lu, to retrieve the stones. For what end?”

“As the legend goes, if the stones are brought together, they could open Alahalsu, the gateway to the fates. The fates on the other side are the last of the gods. If someone were to pass the gates, they could usurp and control them. They could remake destiny to their liking. Destroy enemies. Destroy entire realms. Put themselves into rule over whatever they wished to keep.”

“Where is Alahalsu? And the Soulfate stone, do we have any idea where it would be in the Realm of Light?” Ediye asks as a quiet sense of dread descends on a low, gentle breeze.

“I don’t know, sahira. I will take the oldest texts with me when I gather my things, but most of this was oral history so ancient that it became myth,” Mr. Hassan replies.

“And the enemy, the Nephilim, what do we know of them?” I ask. “They were like campfire ghost stories thousands of years ago. I’ve heard nothing about them for millennia until Aloros and Leander both mentioned them. Does the Guild have any knowledge of the Nephilim?”

“Most of what is known about them was kept in the records of the anunnaki. Many believe they were fallen, corrupted angels, cast out of all the realms for wicked crimes against the gods. They do not exist directly in the realms. But this could be more of your campfire tales, told and changed each time with the telling. We will look for clues, but there is no guarantee we will find anything. It will likely be the anunnaki you must seek for answers.”

“Anything?” I ask when I turn toward Eryx.

“Mr. Mistoffelees,” he says with a shrug, and I snort a laugh at the memory of Club Caelum as he smiles. “I don’t know, but I can pay a visit home soon and try to find out.”

Ediye gives a single, decisive nod. “Eryx and Cole, can you go to Valentina’s and gather our things, let her know we’ll be heading out? I’ll take Mr. Hassan back to his place. I’ll need more supplies too.”

Ashen’s already rigid stance hardens even further. He takes the tourmaline sphere from Mr. Hassan and places it back in the bag. “Lu and I will open the corridor to Cairo and will meet you there.”

“Aglaope,” I say, turning to my sister. “Did you know Valentina? She was created by Molpe.”

Aglaope nods. “Yes, I remember her. I met her only once.”

“She has an estate not far from Castle Bran. She is temporarily staying with a coven of witches not far from her home. It would be best for you to go with Cole and Eryx, and Valentina will make sure you can hunt safely.”

Aglaope gives me a warm smile, her hand trailing over my hair with affection. “All right, sister.”

I turn to Cole next. “Tell Valentina we’ll be back to deal with the hybrids and werewolves when we can. Take the corridor to the Shadow Realm as soon as you’re done. We’ll make sure it’s open for you. And bring Davina.”

“Is there…is there something you could make for me, so I can go to the Shadow Realm too?” Eryx asks as he steps forward, his eyes fixed to the apothecary with an expression both hopeful and full of longing. My heart cracks watching Cole take the angel’s hand with a rueful smile. “I don’t want to stay behind.”

“Yes, I think I can make something to help stave off the burn and allow you to stay for a few days at a time,” Mr. Hassan says, a glint in his eye. He smiles at the wash of relief in Eryx’s expression. “We’ll make sure to bring plenty of what we need.”

I take Ashen’s hand and shift my gaze across my group of friends. My family. The people I love and depend on. The people that I hope depend on me in return. “Okay. Let’s all get going. I don’t want to linger any more from the Shadow Realm now that we know what they’re after. I never thought I’d say this, but it’s probably the safest place for us right now.”

Words of agreement pass among the group and Ediye lays out the circle of charred bones and pine needles and fragrant herbs to make her portal. When it’s ready, she chants her spells to raise the black orb of spinning stars, and Cole, Eryx, and Aglaope walk forward to slip away into Romania. When they’re gone, she forms a new portal, and takes Mr. Hassan away to Cairo. As the orb bursts in a spray of black glitter, Ashen and I head back to the sedan that takes us to the house in Pamukkale.

We leave through the cauldron in the basement, the Shub Lugal soldier who was our driver following after us, and once safely back in the Shadow Realm we shut that corridor and leave it under guard. We check on the status of the realm with one of the soldiers, and when Ashen is satisfied that all is still safe, we walk in silence to House Urbigu where the corridor to Cairo awaits. When we take it, we arrive at the Reaper house in the suburbs of the city, the memories of this courtyard flooding back to me from months ago. The mosaic fountain still trickles, the scent of limestone dust and cooking spices still perfumes the air. Ashen smiles as he takes my hand and we walk toward the house, and I think he must be remembering that time too. It seems simpler, even though it wasn’t all that long ago. It’s a funny trick of memory, because fighting both love and loneliness wasn’t any easier than fighting an elusive enemy with my new husband at my side.

We walk through the house and into the garage, pulling the canvas from the two Triumph Scramblers and rolling our motorcycles into the afternoon sun. I follow Ashen through the busy streets as we drive into the heart of the city, to Khan el-Khalili market, parking at the same cafe as we did the last time we came. I pull my helmet off, remembering how Ashen grasped my handlebars, how the lights of the cafe and the passing cars illuminated his pained, almost desperate expression. I remember the feeling of his hand on my cheek, and my fingers trace my skin as I hear his words echo from memory.

If you’re trapped in the Realm of Light, I will still find you.

And just as he promised, he did.

My hand falls away and Ashen is watching me. He reaches out to catch my fingers and gives them a kiss. “Come, my sentimental vampire,” he says as my cheeks heat with a blush. His warm smile grows wicked. “Let’s get the old man and go home so we can make love and figure out our next moves with these stones.”

“Oh, you’ve got it all figured out, don’t you,” I say as I twine my fingers with Ashen’s and we start walking.

“Of course I do. Planning is a large part of the role when you’re Master of War.”

I snort a laugh as Ashen takes my helmet with his free hand. “I don’t know if planning sex breaks counts.”

“The job description leaves much room for interpretation.”

“I dunno. I think I might need to talk to HR. You’ve been pulling jaws out of faces, taking eyeballs… I’m not sure that would reflect well on your performance review.”

Ashen scoffs. “You know I…perform. Do I not exceed expectations?”

“I’m not sure, I haven’t seen this job description of yours. If it includes being broody and ragey, glaring at friends, threatening angels, and outbursts with swords, I’d say you’re killing it. Pun fully intended.”

“You know me, vampire,” he says, nuzzling just below my ear as I lean into him. Gooseflesh erupts across my neck and prickles down the backs of my arms. “I aim to please.”

I laugh as we draw near to the entrance of Mr. Hassan’s building. “You do, don’t you. Maybe you deserve a raise. Maybe a new title.”

“Such as?”

“I dunno. Maybe King?”

I watch as Ashen’s playful expression turns serious, his lips setting into a grim line. He takes my hand once more as we enter the building and start up the winding staircase, the door drifting shut behind us to muffle the sounds of the market outside. “I am more effective as your consort. Some things the Shadow Realm demands are not pretty or pleasant, but they still need to be done, and I can do them. But a king, that is not me. I’m not ready.”

I pull Ashen to a stop on a landing, scrutinizing the worried crease crinkling his brow. The invisible thread between us seems to pull tight with his anxiety, scratching at my mark as it tugs. “You don’t want to have an equal say?”

“No. I don’t. I don’t deserve one.” I open my mouth to argue, but Ashen’s hand leaves mine to caress my cheek. I wrap my fingers around his wrist and lean into his palm, watching as his gaze shifts across my face. “I can be the darkness to your light. I belong where I am.”

“I’m not that light,” I say with an eye roll. “I fed someone to a snake just because she was a crusty bitch.”

A breath of a laugh escapes from Ashen, his scent flooding my skin. “To be fair, you didn’t know she couldn’t come back.”

“Still. No guarantees I wouldn’t do it again.”

Ashen smiles and presses a kiss to my lips before taking my hand once more. “I know you. You wouldn’t.”

“Ye of too much faith, demon. Those are probably words never spoken before in this realm, by the way. If you’re not—”

I cut myself off, the words dying on my tongue in a flood of venom. I take in a breath to be sure, but it’s not my imagination. I know it.

It’s blood.