82. Kami

82

Kami

I 'm not sure what's come over me. So many emotions. So much sensation.

My head is still throbbing, half of my face scarring over while my missing eye makes looking at everything even harder.

Yet I'm surrounded by my guys, my friends who like me enough to want to help and protect. Who want me healed.

Who want to give me their most prized treasure. Iskae's eye to replace my own.

The idea is tempting, but I'm not so foolish to think I can contain a dragon's power. Not that I'd want to.

Iskae is a part of Malkar, and his intended sacrifice breaks my heart.

And heals it.

My idiot brother must love you, Iskae says, some part of her trapped in the ruby-red gem.

As I love him, I think, still enamored with him and the others in our group hug .

Then something happens, and I'm moving and calling him a Lesser and shoving the gem down his throat.

The guys watch in astonishment.

Frankly, I'm still shocked that we're not fighting off more enemies.

I barely did my part, stealing back that gem and asking a few trees for help.

But with Crash's fire power in addition to Oz and Ries, and obviously Malkar, we won against overwhelming odds.

I'm stunned.

And a little scared when Malkar suddenly chokes then transforms into his weird half form, part regular, part dragon with wings, a tail, and now… snow-white horns.

He glares at me and looms, growing.

And growing.

Then he's hovering over me, blowing smoke from his nostrils. His eyes, normally blue, are glowing red in the center, taking over the black slit of his pupils.

"Uh-oh."

"Thanks, Captain Obvious," Ries mutters.

He and Oz flank me, and all four of us take a step back while Malkar roars and growls and speaks in a language I know none of us have ever heard. But it's like he's arguing with himself.

Or with the spirit of Iskae.

"I think he'll be all right," I tell them. "His sister wanted him to have the power. What's hers is his. She loves him."

Loves. Not loved.

I smile, feeling that same affection, deep inside, from Ahza.

And for the guys around me.

We've fought and bled together.

And we've won.

I can't believe it .

I must have said it out loud, because Oz sighs. "For now. This fight was an easy one. Folas was weak. Going up against a monarch and his archdemon is going to be hard, Kami. Really fucking hard."

"Even with our powers?" Ries says, moving around Oz as if he's made of water.

I didn't know bodies could bend like that.

We're super fae now. He smiles at us. I'm in your head. Just think, Kami. I can be in all of you at once the next time we fuck.

I flush. Of course you'd have to bring sex into it.

He points his thumb at his chest. Merman. Water mage. Sex is in my blood.

Crash snickers. He's got a point.

Oz glances at me and says aloud, "All this talking inside our heads feels weird."

I blow out a breath. "Yeah, same. No offense, guys. But get out."

Ries shrugs.

"Fine." Crash sighs. "But we need to contain the raging dragon before he sets the rest of the woods on fire. The leshy is only going to tolerate so much."

Good point.

Oz prods me toward Malkar. "You talk to him. He likes you best." He pauses, pulls me back, then tosses Crash toward Malkar. "Or maybe he likes you best. It's a tossup. But if we have to lose one of us, it should be you. Not Kami."

"Yeah, good choice," Ries agrees.

"Fuck off," Crash swears at us. Me included, I notice. But he winks to take the sting out of it.

He turns to Malkar. "Yo, Your Royal Dragoness. Chill. We have to get going before Rilitar and the monarch show up. We need to plan. And you need to not upset the leshy before he decides to eat us. "

Malkar's wings flap almost too fast to be seen. Then he lowers himself to the ground and turns fully regular again. The red in his eyes banks, and he's normal Malkar once more.

Totally handsome, smug, and condescending all at once. "Thank you, pet. A decent reminder. Now, since we're all up to snuff, let's talk about our next step."

Oz nods. "Stop the war god or stop Rilitar and the monarch?"

"And your mom," Crash adds.

"Her too." Oz looks torn, sees me noticing, and hardens his expression. "She's the worst of them, in my opinion."

"We need to move fast." Malkar starts pacing. He seems agitated, but he's holding it together.

I wonder what it feels like for him to have a piece of his sister inside him.

Because holding her in my hand felt like trying to hold onto a tornado.

Ries looks at Oz. "Hey, you're the planner. Plan something." Then he frowns. "I wonder if Lou got away okay."

"Random thought," Crash says. "You here with us or what?"

"Sorry." Ries flushes. "That lumpy tree with all the roots over there reminds me of Bubba. Got me thinking how much she helped us. I hope she got out okay."

"Me too." I liked Lou. Because of her, we managed to survive Beyrthnel and the trials.

"A worry for another day," Oz says. "We're going to need to split up to attack them all at once. Because we need to hit them apart from each other. That's the only way to win. Together, as a whole, they'll crush us."

"Thanks for the confidence boost," Ries says sarcastically.

"I'm being honest."

I pat Oz on the arm, aware he sounds hurt. For as big as he is, he's a sensitive guy. I know he's still carrying guilt he shouldn't for leading us to that trap in the cave.

"Oz, tell us. What should we do? How do we head them off and defeat a god?"

Because the others don't bother me the way Beyrthnel does. And the guys have no idea how truly powerful he is. They didn't share his memories, his times of crushing all who oppose him.

Even Death itself.