Chapter 9

Chapter

Nine

SELENE

" Y ou think you're some savior of these people? A great liberator?" one of the Lords of Sonus, Argyll's capital city, spat out at me as I held a blade to his neck. "They say you're a Queen of the Broken, but I see nothing but a spoiled little bitch."

"And I see nothing but a dead, pompous asshole," I smirked before Oberon's head disconnected from his pudgy body.

Blood spurted from his neck, spraying me in the face as my shadows shredded his legs and arms from his torso. His decapitated skull rolled away from his torn flesh, hollow gray eyes still staring out at the chaos before him.

Moans of agony and disorientation still permeated the air as Keva, covered in crimson gore, sprinted through and released the bound people of Gambriel that had been taken as prisoners. Comfortless clouds moved overhead, their murky presence weighing down on us as I searched for any lingering Raken to extinguish.

My nostrils burned, the piles of burning flesh saturating the dense air with their potent stench. All the Raken and High Fae warriors from Argyll were dead, their bodies burned to ash by my magic. They were all gone but I still felt like I couldn't breathe, like this fucked up day wasn't over yet. And by the distraught look on Keva's face as she searched through the muddy ground of Sonus for any more survivors, she felt the same.

The Queen of Gambriel and I had followed the underground path I created on foot until we heard the clashing of metal against metal and the sound of chains rustling above us. It turned out that the underground tunnel that started in Gambriel led straight down and under into Argyll, right next to the Castle of Sonus. I had shifted underground, causing the rocks and debris to shoot up and kill the Argyllian soldiers that were assisting the Raken in taking more people as prisoners.

Oberon Mattel—may he rest in pieces—had been leading some of his warriors under oath of the High King to take as many people as he could and send them to Inverness to be changed into Raken. Only this time, they weren't just turning humans into the undead, but the fae as well.

He had begun his culling of any who would not bow months ago. Any creature or person he could sink his dark magic into was a target. Hundreds of cages were tucked in closely to one another and packed full of prisoners from Rimont and the neighboring cities surrounding it. It was abundantly clear that Durreos Seraphim would never stop, not until the entire realm bent to his twisted will.

Only a few Raken were left when I bursted through the earth and I obliterated them within minutes before fighting off the soldiers following orders of the Lord of Sonus. The corruption of Ladon and Atrium ran so deep that even in times of their clear loss, they still fought tooth and nail, defending what they believed was right.

With no sign of the King of Argyll, the High King had taken over the throne of the country I grew up in. We had all assumed that Arron Lennox, my adopted uncle, was either as good as dead the moment he was released from the Blood Oath with Radha's death, or hiding out somewhere.

And now chaos was in full force in this once beautiful but harsh country of Argyll. There was no proper leadership, no greater power for the people to turn to in their time of need. The only option left, besides death, was bending the knee to those corrupt tyrants who wanted to enslave the entire world.

Long, black, and matted hair rose above the rest as a fierce cry sounded out over the groans of pain. "Fucking asshole!" a woman shouted, the same one with raven hair, as she beat senselessly on a dead body near her. "I wish I could kill you ten times over, you piece of shit!"

She kept beating and slicing with her chipped nails, purple dress disheveled from her capture and constant fight. Even with all the blood and gore covering her, she was absolutely stunning with a button nose and full, plump lips. And she looked so damn familiar .

Another scream tore from her throat as she punched and sliced a very dead High Fae male on the gruesome ground. Tears streamed down her angelic face as she kept snarling, her rage so palpable I could taste it in the air. That agony she felt, so distraught and tormenting, I had known all too well.

This woman had lost someone close to her and the male she was still pulverizing was the culprit behind her loss. My fingertips tingled, the light gray tendril of power swirling with radiance in the pool of my magic. Bomris, the God of Mind Manipulation, had blessed me with his ability to seep into people's souls and control their thoughts, their emotions. That strand burned brighter, the magic calling to me, wanting to ease her torment and suffering.

Moving slowly to her, I crouched down and put a soft hand on her gore-covered shoulder. "He's dead," I remarked, looking down at the corpse she was still attacking before it all hit me at once. The moment my hand connected to her skin, her emotions flooded my mind, little images of a dusty tavern flashing through along with a large burly fae male and the smell of ale-soaked floors.

Laughter pealed in the background and there was so much warmth.

Almost like pure sunlight.

Next was the bitterness she felt, the rage and pain that was overtaking her soul. There was no sadness, no grief. Only pure anger and hatred for the one who took her loved one.

I couldn't control it, couldn't control anything as her emotions overflowed from her and funneled into me. This power of emotional manipulation had worked like a charm on unsuspecting soldiers, but her distress was far too great and too familiar—too heartwrenching.

It all came rushing back to me, like a tidal wave crashing roughly against the shore. So cold and startling, like a shard of ice slicing into my chest, bleeding into my veins.

It was that same despair I had experienced after Wesley's murder and Emrys' capture. The helpless sorrow of losing the one you loved when there was nothing you could do about it. I had felt so powerless, so weak and forlorn, like there wasn't a power strong enough to stop this torment.

My hand retracted along with her vexation as her dark brown eyes, now bloodshot from tears, looked into mine before she crumpled to the ground and sobbed. Guilt churned low in my stomach, not from my inability to console her but from the violation I had just made within her psyche.

But that shame was replaced with a flash of recognition when I remembered those usual soft soil-colored eyes and black hair that'd stared at me helplessly just moments ago. Hell, she even had on the same short purple gown she had worn the night I first saw her.

She worked at the brothel that Wesley had taken me to and had been the one serving us our drinks all night. Her name was Tricia and she was married to Gus, the large High Fae male who owned the bar and supplied the Rebellion with his renowned fire whiskey. My heart swelled at the memory, back when Wesley and I thought our biggest problem was uniting the people of Ladon. That burning vanilla taste of whiskey as bright blue eyes flared with humor and longing nearly overtook me.

But now Wesley was gone, nothing but a memory, and I feared the same for Tricia's husband.

"Tricia?" I prodded while not touching her skin again. I wouldn't be able to help her if we were both suffering. "What happened?"

"This fucking dickhead," she kicked the very dead soldier by her as bloody snot ran down her usually pristine face. "Killed Gus!"

Even though I suspected as much, her words set my spine straight. "Where is he?" My eyes searched the muddy field for his presence but there was too much death and decay surrounding us.

She sniffled and wiped at her tears which only spread more mud and blood across her cheeks. "He's over there." She pointed in the distance to piles of bodies that hadn't survived the Raken and Argyllian warriors that invaded the terrain. "I–I–I can't look at him like that."

More tears flooded her vision and I wanted nothing more than to stop her suffering but I didn't know how. Didn't know how to correctly use those powers that kept stirring in my middle. I could connect us, could feel her pain, but I didn't know how to lessen it.

"I–I–I—" she stuttered before sobbing again as some of the freed prisoners gathered around her for companionship. Another human girl from the brothel they worked at wrapped Tricia up in a woolen blanket and consoled her as I marched in the direction she had pointed.

I didn't know what I was going to do once I found his body but there was this nagging within my soul telling me to find him, to help him.

Groans of affliction came from within the piles, as if the people who were close to death and those who were already dead made no difference to the ones who had taken them. The High King still could've used the souls on the brink of death to turn them with Medies so it didn't make sense to me why they would discard them.

Keva stepped up towards me, her rainbow braids still soaked from the earlier downpour. "The cages are all open. The non-injured are helping the others out and giving them the medical attention they need." She flicked her chin towards two newly erected tents in the distance. "There were a couple of healers that were taken, so they've got that handled."

"Thank you, Keva." I held onto her hand, squeezing it tightly. "For everything." Nodding towards the piles of bodies, I released her. "I'm looking for a male named Gus, he's a large High Fae with piercings, you might've heard of him. I'm going to scour through and see if I can find him and see who is still alive in there."

"I know exactly who Gus is. He owns The Windy Dragon Brothel just down the way from Gambriel's Castle." Her blue eyes went wide before she tied her braids off with a leather strap. "He was a good male, always helping those lost women, human or fae, who needed a safe space. And Welsey loved him." A flicker of pain passed through her eyes at the mention of her son's name. "I'll help you look for him."

There was never a moment that I wasn't reminded of how strong and resilient Keva was. Her heartache went deeper than anything I had experienced but she was still here for her people and country. I wouldn't ever stop being grateful that she existed. "Thank y?—"

"Don't even finish that, Selene," Keva put her hand up while trudging forward, mud slinging across her leather-covered legs. "I've already heard it five times today."

"Old habits die hard," I muttered while following after her.

Nodding at the goblins that were undoing the bindings of the people of Rimont, one of them caught my eye and had my heart racing with recognition. It was Igor, the kind and knowledgeable goblin who had worked in the library of the Gambriellian Castle. His black eyes pinged with recognition when ours met and I had to fight the urge to run over and check on him. But those agonized moans kept coming from the pile of bodies, keeping me on my path of searching for survivors.

"This war is already turning into chaos and it hasn't even begun," Keva sighed while shifting body after body, checking for any heartbeats. Sweat beaded across her brown skin—she was exhausted and still needed more time to recharge her energy—but the Queen of Gambriel wouldn't rest. Not while her people were suffering.

"I have a feeling that this war started thousands of years ago." Putting my finger to the pulse point of a teenage half fae male with light brown hair, I grunted in irritation that no beat came through. Closing his open green eyes, I gently moved him to the side. "Gus!" I shouted, making Keva jump as I hauled the large male out of the mass of death.

His pierced arched ears were missing the golden earrings that adorned them when I last saw him during the Festival of Lights with Wesley. The flesh that held the hoops in place was shredded beyond repair, his High Fae healing not stitching it back together. His hulking form was covered in mud and gore from being crushed by the weight of countless dead bodies.

Laying my head on his chest, I could still hear his faint breathing and the way his lungs crackled with every inhale, like there was fluid trapped inside. "What did you just say?" Keva asked but I ignored her as I listened to Gus' fading heartbeat and weak lungs.

He was alive, but barely. Right on the cusp of death, but enough that I could possibly heal him and bring him back to us. Trepidation trailed up my spine as his heart beat faintly, almost too slow to catch a pulse. I didn't call Tricia over to show her that Gus was still alive, not wanting to give her false hope in case I couldn't heal him.

My hands warmed with the healing power given to me by my mother, and my fingertips started to glow with a soft pink light as the power writhed in my veins. Closing my eyes, I imagined strong lungs pumped full of oxygen, and a heart pounding steadily in his chest. Flesh stitching back together and deep, big breaths raising his chest over and over and over.

In and out, in and out. My magic pulsed, fingertips tingling with every passing second as the breaths became deeper and the crackling finally quieted. A loud thud pulled me from my haze and Tricia was there, right across from me on her knees as she sobbed on Gus' moving chest.

A faint smile curved my lips at the sight of them being reunited and was quickly brought back down to a grimace when Keva shook my shoulder. "What did you just say, Selene?" Did she not just see me bring him back from the edge of death? The Queen of Gambriel kept going, ignoring the reunited couple on the ground clutching each other. "Something about a thousand years ago?"

Turning towards Keva, I crawled back towards the mass of bodies and started checking pulses again. "I said, ‘I have a feeling this war started thousands of years ago.'"

"And what did you mean by that?" She tapped her heeled boot on the soil with impatience. We needed to sort through these people and save the ones we could but she wouldn't stop pestering me with questions. The faster we got these people the help they needed, the faster we could get our answers, and the faster we could get Emrys back.

Sighing and now getting frustrated by whatever the fuck she was up to, I said, "The original Choryrth fought off Raken and then made the Blood Oath with the Gods to save his people. We've been fighting these disgusting creatures and corrupt assholes ever since."

The queen had a large grin on her face, perfectly angelic despite the blood splatter. "What?" I asked exasperatedly while I ran a gorey hand down my face.

"That's where this all began, Selene." She pointed north, towards the nation of freedom, towards my home. The home my parents had been murdered in, the home I hadn't seen since I was seven years old, stolen away by Radha. "In Menodore."

My heart stopped at that moment, along with the spinning of the earth. It was as if a candle had finally been lit in this endless darkness. Like we finally had an answer we needed. I stared at her dumbfounded and repeated the riddle the dying fae had told me again and again, "It ends where it begins."

Shooting up, my body shifted instantly while people screamed around me from the display of power. The muddied ground shook with every oversized intake of breath as rage fogged my vision. My wings stretched and shuddered as I readied to take flight to Menodore, to him.

To my Mate.

"Selene!" Keva screamed, her voice shaking before I lifted off the ground. "Stop!"

My reptilian eyes locked onto her blue ones and I snarled at her demand. She stood her ground, lifting her chin defiantly even though I could kill her in an instant. "You get there and then what?"

" Then I get him back, " I answered immediately with a growl. I would shred whoever stood in my way, kill every being that had kept him from me.

"The High King cannot be killed, even by you." Keva held up her hand, trying to calm me with her motherly touch upon my iridescent scales. "This isn't only about Emrys and you know that. This is about our people, our continent, our fucking world . This is bigger than just you and your Mate."

Fire built in my chest as a mixture of guilt and tantalizing anger moved through me. I was to be the Queen of Menodore, the savior of my people and our realm, but I had already spent most of my time searching for my Mate. There was no world without him, but there also wouldn't be a world at all if I only focused on him rather than finding a way to stop the High King from binding himself to the powers of Infernum.

I was being selfish with my actions and I knew that, but I couldn't lose him . Fuck. I couldn't sacrifice the world for him either. I was constantly torn, my soul being shredded in two once more by a choice I couldn't make.

My instincts raged against all logical thoughts. I knew I was being reckless in my blind pursuit of Emrys but I didn't know how else to act, what else to do. The gaping hole in my chest grew wider by the day, the longing for him bringing me to the brink of madness. Looking around the Castle of Sonus, its purple banners stitched with Reombarth's form flowing in the dreary wind, I was reminded that they still needed me here in Argyll.

These people still needed healing, needed our help, and I couldn't abandon them now.

The Queen of Gambriel stroked my scaly leg again, her calming, motherly voice soothing my anguish. "We need a plan to end this once and for all. We stop the High King, you get Emrys back, and our realm doesn't fall into darkness."

My wings settled despite the natural inclination to fly into the clouds and towards Menodore's fog because Godsdamnit, she was right. "And what would that plan be?" I bristled while tucking my wings into my side, breathing through my large nostrils to keep my anger in check. It was always more complicated within this form, my emotions in a frenzy and bloodlust coursing through my golden veins.

"Those books in Gambriel were just a hope in giving us some answers, but they could still help us. We still need those but we can also call upon the Sibyl like you did before and ask for her help again." Light flashed before her eyes as I shifted back into my High Fae form. Keva stomped her foot in irritation as I tried to pick up the newly shredded cloak she'd given me. "You've got to stop ruining all of my clothes with this incessant shifting."

The already healed people were going through and pulling more survivors from the mass of death, not even noticing my nude body. I ignored Keva's comment and gave her a crazed grin instead as my plan started to formulate. "Got any expensive jewelry?"

"Wha—of course!" she looked at me like I was insane while I grabbed a discarded coat and wrapped it around myself for some warmth. There were still more people who needed healing and only a handful of healers with an ability similar to mine. Keva was right. I needed to help our people, our nation, and then we could get Emrys back and finish off the High King.

Walking towards the healer's tent, I shoved my hands into the pockets of my new coat. "Selene!" She yelled after me, "Why do you want my jewelry?"

"Get some rest, Keva," I shot over my shoulder before lifting the leather flap. "It's going to be a long night."