Chapter 29

Chapter

Twenty-Nine

EMRYS

D arkness.

Cold, bone-chilling darkness was all that I felt.

I knew that when I died I wouldn't make it into Caelum, the Heavens of the Divine. All my past sins had tainted my soul but I didn't expect this, whatever the fuck this was.

It wasn't necessarily a place, because I couldn't see or touch anything. Couldn't feel any emotion besides emptiness and longing. That familiar spasm was almost a comfort, its heady presence alongside me my entire life.

Until one day, like the Moons of the Divine themselves, I was pulled into Selene's orbit. And she had taken that hurt I had grown accustomed to, that trauma, and burned it to ash before dancing upon their remains. But this suffering was colder, more hollow than anything I had experienced before.

This was the price I paid for my sins.

For the lives I had taken and ruined; but I would take my punishment with dignity. Knowing that Selene was safe from my father was enough satisfaction for me. She was still mine, the other half of my soul, and even with my soul no longer walking the earth, I was still hers.

We were bound together, our Mating Bond decided by the Fates and cemented through our Mating Ceremony. My Mate's tantalizing voice chanted those words, the memory so close. The vows reverberated through me, their inebriating words lulling the pain in my noncorporeal form.

"I, Selene Choryrth, accept this Bond for all eternity. For even when both light and darkness die, I will be yours. Soul to soul, body to body, blood to blood, our Bond transcends that of the mortal realm. I will forever be yours, Emrys."

I would see her again, I knew that within the pits of my already lost soul as the vows kept replaying in my mind, Selene's soothing voice tempering the ache.

A tiny ember flickered in the darkness as a chip of heat flowed through me but only for a second. Those vows faded to the back of my consciousness as my soul surged, searching for that minuscule glow. Like a beacon calling me home, it flickered again, for just a moment longer, making me lose all train of thought and memory.

That nagging yearning took over.

The emptiness within ached to be filled.

My soul yearned for that warmth, for that glowing ember within the dusky gloom.

THUMP.

My middle ached, an unyielding pressure crushing the heavy weight of despair as I focused on the heat that brought that familiar relief. The light burned brighter, glowing like a small sun but stronger and more brilliant.

THUMP.

That echoing thud filled the still air, like a heart beating for the first time, forceful and true.

THUMP.

THUMP.

Golden light surged to life, so pure and ethereal and blindingly brilliant.

"You are a Choryrth," a broken but tenacious voice urged as that light burned brighter than the sun and the moon and the stars themselves. That light surrounded me as the darkness receded to the corners of my vision. "What do Choryrth's do?" that angelic tone sobbed as I felt a light pressure in my middle. "They fight. "

My chest cracked as small but solid fists beat upon it, repeating those same words over and over. "You are a Choryrth! We fight!" The glowing became brighter and encompassed me, blinding me with its brightness. "Fight! Dammit!" that voice roared and my heart beat in tandem with the fists hitting it. "FUCKING. FIGHT!"

"I…" that angelic voice kept speaking and my ears ached to hear anything it would give me. She sobbed and my already scarred heart cracked and reformed at the simple words that meant everything to me, " I love you and I won't lose you."

A searing ache lit up in my palm, like the slash of a blade but deeper, more profound.

"No," another voice broke out over the buzzing in my ears, deeper and more guttural than the first. "Your soul might be lost," it spoke again and I could feel that light fading again as the darkness closed in on me.

Groaning out, I tried to follow that beautiful luminous glow but it kept fading further and further away from me, like a ship drifting out to sea with no return.

"It's already lost without him," the feminine voice snarled as another tendril of pain worked its way through me, right into my outstretched hand. My soul tugged on that small beaming light, trying to capture its essence and stay close to its warmth. "Emrys," the voice whispered as my heartbeat slowed and the blood within my veins cooled as I groaned once more. "Baby, can you speak?"

That voice.

For that sweet and loving voice, I would do anything. I would sacrifice my soul and spend all of eternity in Infernum if that's what she asked of me.

"Yesssss," I tried to slur but it came out a grumble of pain, the word probably not landing its mark.

Heated hands pressed against my face as light surrounded both of us, her soul glowing with soft golden waves and silvery hues. But it wasn't sunlight like I had assumed, its rays were not as harsh and severe, blistering the skin after too much exposure.

This light was calming and serene, its glow tranquil and soothing to even the most wicked of souls.

It was pure moonlight.

And I could feel it tickling my aching skin, trying to stitch the broken flesh back together.

"Repeat after me, love,'' the goddess instructed, her mollifying warmth bathing me. I moved to nod my reply but hissed instead as the darkness flooded in again. A pathetic whimper moved past my lips like the broken male that I was. "From blood to blood, from ashes to ashes."

"Frrr blood," I wheezed out as my heart sped up, pressure on my chest with every pump. "To blood. Fro—" I screamed out in agony as my chest started to burn and my voice came out slurred once more. "From ashes to ashesssss," I hissed the last word, barely a whisper in the shadows.

"From dawn to dusk, until both light and darkness die." That warm hand stroked back my matted hair and that blinding beam of moonlight burned brighter.

My breathing came out stronger, matching the beating of my heart as I repeated those words. "From dawn to dusk," my words were louder, more sure than before. "Until both light and darkness die."

"I, Selene Choryrth, bind and willingly give myself to Emrys Choryrth."

My eyes felt heavy but stayed open as the light burned them and I hollowed out. "I, Emrys Choryrth, bind and willingly give myself to Selene Choryrth." A shooting tremor worked its way into my palm and down my wrist as sweet-tasting blood flooded my mouth.

The dusk broke, the darkness no longer suffocating us as I swallowed down every drop of golden blood that filled my veins with remarkable power. My vision tunneled, not with darkness, but with eclipsing light.

To a swirling pool of glimmering hues. Deep crimson twirled with a shaded purple as a soft pink coil shined brighter than the rest, so warm and pacifying. A hulky white line danced in unison with a light blue strand as two braided coils, one of silver and gold and the other mixed with onyx. All the colors of the Divine rippled, Selene's powers huddling with my own as dark azure met pine green, only meeting but never meshing.

Just like a moonstone.

The light fractured, cracks of daylight peeking through the glass dome ceiling of the temple. My skin stitched back together, bones mending and muscles reforming as the ache lessened in my right hand.

My vision continued to blur between the tears as I was pulled into a strong embrace. The scent of moonlight and pine and cashmere and vanilla overtook my senses as I gasped, "Selene." My eyes still felt heavy, like two leaden weights but I lifted them to see her gorgeous, gore-covered face.

Twin emeralds stared back at me, tiny specks of gold floating in the irises as her arms stayed around me. Sunlight bathed her ethereal face, so stunning and fierce, leaving me breathless as I stared at the Goddess of Death. My heart was beating loudly, matching the rhythm of hers as our souls were now bound together in every way for all of eternity.

Through Mating Bond and Blood Oath.

Through soul and life force and our power.

Two becoming one.

My shackled hands went up around her neck, the singed iron getting caught in her loose hair to which she pulled back and snarled at the bindings still trapping my powers.

"What, little dove?" I questioned with a cracked voice, already feeling better from the magic healing every inch of torture that had been inflicted upon me in the past few months.

The cuffs jostled, the metal cut at awkward angles as Selene melted the clasps with her controlled Godsfire. They fell to the thrashed ground of the temple as I tilted my head to the side, humor lacing my deep voice. "You didn't like my new jewelry?"

A laugh bubbled out of her which quickly turned to a sob as she gripped my head to hers and seared me with a burning kiss, the taste of my blood still coating her tongue. She held onto me tightly and I closed my eyes, basking in the feeling of her arms around me and praying that this wasn't another dream.