41. THIRTY-SIX

THIRTY-SIX

Damien

“SowhatamI supposed to do?” I snapped my teeth together, ignoring the pain fizzling at my skull as my horns grew.

Rowan folded his arms over his desk as he squeezed the sphere in his palm, the fiery rage swirling within it. “Your goal is to wipe out the sirens, humans, and stray dragons and drakes. All of the demons have the same goal. Kian and Blair have both had the visions of the war, and they continue having them. Maybe this will change, but as of right now, this is our best bet.”

I ran my hand through my hair, slicing my wrist on my horn, pulling it back with a hiss. Worry swirled chaotically inside me. “I get that. I fucking get it, but how am I supposed to focus when the only thing I’m gonna be focusing on is Wren and if she’s okay?” I snarled, slapping my hand on his metal desk, leaving an imprint in the metal.

His eyes narrowed at it, and I sheepishly placed my other hand underneath it and pushed it back up with a slight nudge. “Sorry.”

“Damien… I’m going to be worried sick about her too. So are the other five, but according to the visions—”

“Yes, I know according to the visions, but we only have one day left until the war. Which means most likely they’re not going to have another vision that’s going to stop her from going into that fucking room in the human facility alone to destroy that stupid fucking relic that could possibly drain all of her magical energy! What if it does drain her energy, Rowan? What if she’s no longer a supernatural? Will she even still have a matebond with us? The matebond is fucking magical!”

Heat pricked my eyes out of frustration, and I swallowed the lump in my throat.

Rowan’s grip on the sphere tightened so hard I heard it crack. “The bonds are magical, yes. Even if she lost her magical energy, her bond would still be there because of us. Her father has mated to a human. That’s proof enough.”

I rubbed the back of my neck as I began pacing the room. “Yeah, you’re right. She’s gonna be just fine, right?”

“Yes. She’s going to be fine. If I thought otherwise, I’d fly us all away from here—consequences be damned. Why don’t you go to the Demon Capital and let your parents know the plan?”

“Hasn’t the council kept in touch with them?” I sneered, my shadows filling the room.

The muscle in his jaw bunched up. “Damien.”

“Fuck. Okay. I’m going. I get it.” I let the shadows swallow me whole before I stepped into my family home.

A maid’s gaze went wide before she scurried the other way, and I realized it was the maid whose tongue I had threatened to cut out. Probably a good thing she left because I was aching to cause pain.

“My baby!” Mom squealed, rushing through the corridor and throwing herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck and pressing a kiss to my cheek. “We were so worried about you. How are you holding up?” Her eyes softened as she pulled back.

Dad walked over and clasped his hand around my neck. “We know she’ll be fine, but we also know you’re worried about her.”

I nodded, concern flaring in my chest. “She’s supposed to go alone to destroy the relic. Alone!”

My mom’s gaze snapped to mine, her hand flying to her chest. “Why in Kalista would she go alone?”

“The seer and Kian have seen it. It’s the only action with a positive outcome for us in this war.” I growled.

“Kian?”

“He’s another one of Wren’s mates you haven’t met yet. He has visions just like a seer, and every vision that they’ve had with one of us going with her, we die.”

Mom’s gasp was sharp. “Then you can’t go. That would kill us and your mate to lose you.”

“What happens when you don’t go with her?”

“She destroys the relic and everything’s fine or she loses her magical energy but destroys the relic and is still alive.” My chest tightened. I heard Kian mumbling about it in his sleep so my fear wasn’t completely wrong.

“She’s going to be fine, son. You need to trust in the powers of the seer and of Wren’s other mate. He was given the power of visions for a reason. Wren is strong. She’s your mate, and you’ve marked her so she has your shadow with her,” Dad said, and the tightness in my chest eased a fraction.

“Kian’s a good brother-mate,” I muttered. “He has such a pure love for her. He doesn’t like it as much as the rest of us, but she faces the relic tomorrow.”

“We all go tomorrow,” Mom reminded me.

“Been a while, Damien.” A haunting voice crawled down my spine, and I glanced up to see Death stride down the hall toward us.

Dad rolled his eyes while Mom nodded respectfully.

“What are you doing here?” I tilted my head.

He gave me a respectful nod. “We will be at the camp tomorrow morning, but we wanted to make sure our favorite vengeance demons are front-line for the battle. I was also hoping that they would pass along the invitation to our favorite psychopath shadow demon.”

My lips curled into a cruel smile as I nodded. “Count me in.”

I would do anything to claim my place in this war because my mate was risking a lot. I had to risk just as much so we could come together at the end and finally have fucking peace.