92. Kami

92

Kami

I return to the massacre in the palace courtyard, blood and bodies everywhere.

And then I'm caught up in several arms, and the guys are all talking at the same time.

Oz and Crash and Ries.

And Malkar.

I pull back and stare with my one eye in shock. "Y-you're alive?" I squeeze Malkar to me, so hard he squirms.

The others are laughing.

"Ease up, Kami. Don't break our boy after he tried so hard to survive the demon."

I can't stop crying.

The laughter fades.

"Kami?" Crash tugs me back. "What's wrong?"

"Malkar died."

Malkar blinks. He's mussed and a little bloody but appears fine. "Um, no, I didn't."

I pat him down, then pinch Ries.

"Ow. What was that for?"

"Are we awake? Is this real?" I want so badly to believe it. But I saw Malkar die. I talked to the goddess and made my choice.

Oh shit. What if I messed up somehow? What if Beyrthnel is right now being reborn?

Malkar frowns. "Kami, slow down. One, I'm very much alive. Two, Beyrthnel died. Or went back to wherever he was supposed to be. We're all okay."

"Somehow." Oz looks as puzzled as I am. "Look, you were gone, and Caethybdue was bitch slapping Beyrthnel all over the place. They froze for a while and then vanished."

"Poof." Ries makes an exploding motion with his fingers.

"Poof." Crash nods.

"But I saw the war god break your neck," I tell Malkar.

"I don't know what to tell you, but that didn't happen."

I puzzle it over. "It was a test?"

"Kami, tell us what you think happened." Oz pulls me down, and we sit in a circle on the last clean part of the ground.

I explain all of it and wait for the accusations. That I didn't love them enough, that I sacrificed Malkar when he never would have done that to me.

The guys look at me oddly.

"What? Just say it."

Malkar shakes his head. "You're stupid."

" What? "

"You made the only choice you could. I would never want to be alive in world with constant war, alive only because my mate made a deal with a god. I'd get to live while innocent people died so Beyrthnel could get his jollies?"

"Yeah. That's messed up." Crash leans forward to kiss me. "You'd never be that stupid."

"I was tempted." I'm relieved they don't blame me for wondering. But I'm still not sure why we're all here. And the war god is not.

Oz looks pensive. "Kami, remember your brother? What he said before he left?"

Ries nods. "He said, and I quote, ‘One by one, you are bidden. Burn away your pain."

Crash nods. "Which I did by burning the shit out of these fuckers."

Ries continues, "He told me to, ‘Wash away your sins.' And I used water to drown away the ugliness of the enemy. And to hurt Algraas, which was just awesome."

He turns to Oz. "He told you to ‘Break the ties that bind.'"

All the guys say to Oz, "Your mom."

Oz gives me a shy smile. "She's gone, and I don't feel bad about it anymore."

Ries nods. "And you?"

Malkar answers, "He told me to protect my hoard at all costs. He meant you all. My treasures."

Oz smirks. "Treasures is much better than ‘pets.'"

"Truth," Crash says.

Ries turns to me. "Kami, remember what Ahza told you? ‘The burden sits on your shoulders, my sister. If you make the wrong choice, there will be no tomorrow. No After. Nothing but pain and misery and solitude. Forever.' He meant you'd be tested."

"And apparently, you passed." Malkar sweeps me up into a huge kiss. "Thanks for keeping me dead. But honestly, I stood here with the others and watched two gods fighting. That's it. I didn't die. I'd remember getting my neck crushed and my insides torn out."

I cringe. "Please, stop."

He blinks, and I see a faint blue flush on his cheeks. "Sorry. "

Crash bursts into laughter. "Oh man. The Better is blushing. Classic."

"Shut it, Firefly." Malkar frowns, but under it, he's smiling.

"So what now?" I ask.

The others grow silent.

Oz shrugs. "Now we get to celebrate ending those assholes. And then, who knows?"

Crash looks devious. "Hold on. Remember, we beat Rilitar."

"Technically, Beyrthnel killed him," Ries reminds him.

"Well, yeah, the point is, Rilitar died. Because of us. Sure, the god played a part, but you know we'd have ended him if Beyrthnel hadn't cock blocked us."

"Ew, but okay." In my opinion, the word "cock" should never be said in conjunction with Rilitar or Beyrthnel.

"Don't you get it?" Crash looks at all of us, and I know I'm not the only one staring back blindly at him.

"Dumbasses, we own Lancer. We probably own Godtown too. And it'll be easy enough to take over Asrai. Anyone left who didn't support the Radiant Trials is cool. And we can take them all on if we have to. Bitches, we own Sacred Lakes!"

It dawns on me that he's…right. "Really? So, we, ah, can we make it open to everyone who wants to live here? Monsters especially?"

"Yes," Oz says with relish. "Necromancers too."

"And we burn down all those fucking chapels," Ries growls. Then he gets a big grin. "We get to take over the lakes too."

"I don't think we can own everything," I say, but they're talking over me. Making plans for our future.

One we'll have together.

"Hold on," Malkar says sometime later. "There's something we never addressed."

"Yeah? What?" Crash says.

"Kami didn't want to lose us. She loves us. "

Everyone looks at me with laser focus. It's embarrassing…and endearing. Because I can see how happy they are.

"I love you, Kami. You know that." Oz smirks at the others. "I already told her that."

"I love you too." Ries smiles. "It should go without saying. You're mine."

"You mean she's mine," Crash corrects him, then turns red. "I mean, I guess I love you. If I love anyone, it's you."

"How romantic," Malkar says, his tone droll. "Kami, I took you for a mate. While my kind rarely loves those of lesser?—"

Everyone growls.

"Less power than my kind," he makes the distinction with a smile. "I couldn't help loving my adorable dryad." He beams. "Do you realize I now have my own family? Soon my own clutch, with my own menagerie?"

Crash scowls. "That's pet talk again."

"We definitely need a huge castle with lots of room for gold and treasures." Malkar winks at me. "And a big ass bed so we can have a ton of sex with our dryad."

All around us, Caethybdue's Tears spring up, and the scent of our future is sweet in the cool air.

I make a request, and the trees absorb all the death around us, taking it in, soaking in the blood of our enemies to make new life for the richness of the forest, grasses, and nature all around.

I glance around us, but I'm drawn to a different place.

"Guys, let's go clean out Rilitar's palace. I want that house. And the forests around it. That's ours."

Crash shrugs. "I was never stuck on Godtown. Oh. Maybe we should call it Crashtown now."

"Gods, he's losing it." Oz shakes his head, but his smile is wide when he pulls me up. "Well, family? Let's go to our new home before some other fae decide to take it over. "

Ries rises and smacks me on the ass. "And before we forget, I need some special playtime with our girl. I never did get to tap that ass."

"Oh, yeah." Crash's eyes glaze over.

Malkar grins. "So much we have to get to. Where will we find the time?" He pauses. "I think I love all my pets. Even you, Crash."

"You're an imbecile."

That starts the arguing. And as we leave behind the war and chaos a god once wished on us, I let that love burn through the misery that was holding me back.

And I swear I hear Ian cheering me on.