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Chapter 23: Eldritch

Chapter Twenty-Three

Eldritch

T he sight of the dragon pits makes me shiver as we materialize. Malice drops my half brother, along with Bane, down in the sand before siphoning us to the viewing deck.

He disappears again as my leather braces dig into the railing, and I lean over to get a better view. It’s a significant distance, since the pits are carved deep into the ground.

No matter the time of night, they’re never truly empty. There’s always a fresh crop of soldiers to torture under the guise of training.

“Everyone out,” Bane roars.

Those who don’t take a knee rush out with a fervency that would be humorous under any other circumstance. I can’t decide if they’re kneeling for the prince—now the king, if we want to get technical—or their former commander.

“I said get the fuck out,” Bane growls, spinning in a circle. The few stragglers quickly find their way to the exits. “Cyril has waived his immunity to be challenged. It might be the first truly honorable thing he’s done in his long life.”

Murmuring fills the air as Malice appears next to me again. “Sorry about that. I just needed to ensure Bane would have a fair fight.”

Wraith appears in his hood with Hazel in the crook of his arm.

Gods.

That is a terrifying sight.

She needs a tiny, baby reaper robe. The pink dress and purple bow headband seem to give the wrong impression.

Knight steps forward, turning to address the crowd. “Cyril is no longer your prince. He’s to be treated as any other challenger in the pit. If you break protocol, you’ll be removed by me or my partner.” Rather than turning to address the other side of the crowd, the sin eater does a backflip. “Have you been introduced to a reaper up close and personal? Would you like to be?”

“Knight does love to showboat.” Malice chuckles.

“Pick your form,” Bane commands.

“I’ve done nothing wrong,” Cyril hisses. “You’re the traitor to the crown.”

“Charity is my mate.” Bane slowly unzips his puffy black coat. I’m unfamiliar with the style, since it’s not something that would be worn in Faere. “You knew she was intended for someone other than you.” He tosses the jacket toward Knight, who catches it one-handed. “Then you had the audacity to kidnap her kid. Pick a fucking form, or I’ll do it for you.”

Cyril’s wings erupt, shredding his tunic.

Bane chuckles. “Yeah, why not break the rules from the jump?” He tugs off his harness filled with blades and his T-shirt in one swoop, tossing them to the edge of the ring.

Knight siphons over, catching them before they can hit the dirt. He grins like this is a game, but I know how dangerous my half brother can be.

Cyril doesn’t worry about his shoes or pants, simply jumping and fully transforming in the air.

Bane crouches slightly. Using his wings, he pushes off and lands out of Cyril’s reach. He works on his belt and jeans, stretching down to loosen his boots, which don’t hang open for once. He kicks out of them as he transforms.

The violent sounds of shifting fill the air as his bones break, stretch, and reform.

Wraith and Knight don’t leave the ring, which seems dangerous when the reaper holds a baby.

Technically speaking, the fighting rarely stays in the pit.

Cyril, in full dragon form, barrels across the fighting ring. His massive frame leaves indents in the sand as his tail swishes from side to side.

Bane shakes out his wings that are now in complete dragon form. His beastly head tilts, and he releases a screech that promises pain and suffering.

Cyril hits Bane as Bane’s dragon rears on its hind legs. They go tumbling, slamming into the wall on the far side of the pit. Even with my enhanced eyesight, it becomes difficult to see for several seconds as dirt and sand fly up around them.

They roll back toward the middle of the arena with their claws viciously slicing at one another.

Bane manages to get on top of Cyril, but Cyril takes a wild swipe at Bane’s wing.

“Am I the only one who thinks it looks a little like two T-Rexes slapping each other?” Malice asks close to my ear. “No? Just me?”

Bane snarls, stretching his long neck forward and taking a bite out of Cyril’s neck.

Cyril screeches and rolls. The struggling continues as Bane attempts to take Cyril’s head off.

It’s obnoxiously loud, but I’ve seen Cyril fight before.

I have little worry for Bane, unless my brother plays dirty, which incidentally, he’s been known to do.

Black blood squirts from Cyril’s neck as he manages to shove Bane off of him. Bane’s dragon slides across the sand, landing with a thump that shakes the wall on that side of the arena.

Cyril rolls to his feet, and his wings flap. He shoots into the air, sending dirt and debris flying in his wake.

“Bane seems to be done toying with him,” Malice says conversationally.

“Let’s hope it’s quick.”

Bane shakes out his wings and darts into the sky after my half brother. He’s slightly smaller than Cyril in dragon form, which makes Bane’s dragon more agile and swift as he races to catch up.

I held no allegiance to my father, and I certainly hold none to my corrupt brother. It’s just difficult to watch the carnage as Bane digs into Cyril’s wing with his teeth.

My wyvern knows how painful that can be. Cyril screams, his misery evident as he attempts to spin mid-air. His talons land in a solid swipe against Bane’s ribs, but Bane only clamps deeper.

The sounds are grisly as Bane attempts to rip Cyril’s wing from his back.

The death roll begins as Cyril realizes his wing will no longer flap to keep him up. He latches on to Bane, attempting to maneuver Bane’s dragon under him as they fall.

My hands dig into the railing as Cyril seemingly gains the upper hand, but Malice smacks me in the stomach with a shadow as I prepare to vault over the railing to shift to help Bane.

“He’s got a plan,” the nightmare murmurs. “Don’t fret.”

“What did we miss?” Athos’s voice appears before he does.

Charity has Veryn’s face pulled into her chest, like she’s trying to smother him with her bosom. I guess that’s a “Mom thing” because I remember my mother similarly hugging me the day Cadryn ripped me from her grasp.

“We didn’t wait long enough,” Charity hisses. “Ohmigod, is Bane going to be okay?”

“He’ll be fine,” Norah says from behind Charity. “We’ve all seen Bane fight. If Cyril wanted an actual chance, he should have opted for partially shifted, but he’s never been exceptionally bright.”

Cyril and Bane continue their long plummet toward the ground, struggling as they fall. Bane gets the upper hand with only seven or eight yards to spare. Cyril’s back slams against the dirt as everything freezes.

Glancing around, I see it’s actually everything, outside of the group we came with.

Wraith steps off the wall, and Baby Hazel seems to levitate right out of his arms. She turns until her middle is toward the ground and kind of crawls through the air. “You won, but my daughter is hungry. She can’t devour if he’s already dead.”

Bane’s dragon chuffs his displeasure, but as the demonling gets closer, even the twenty-five-foot beast scrambles away.

Athos snorts. “He’s afraid of the wee, tiny baby. This is my favorite day of all the days.”

“Would you like me to toss you down there to try your luck?” I offer, gently stretching away from the railing when I get a look at what Hazel’s face becomes.

Her mouth expands so wide, the top of her head falls back to allow for more space.

Looking over, I check to see if Veryn and Charity seem traumatized.

I blink slowly as my head tilts.

“Wraith left them out of our timeline,” Malice says, like the all knowing freak he is. “We don’t want either of them to experience nightmares or an irrational fear of the small devourer.”

“Right.” I scoff.

I’m fairly sure I’m going to dream about this.

Bane opts for his jeans and leaves his ridiculous boots open at the top. That dick—he just wants to show off his thick lines of muscle.

Athos and I are of a similar slender build, and while I’m covered in lithe muscles, I’ll never look as strong as the dragon.

His wings extend, and he flies up to our level. His boots hit the railing as Wraith collects the now-humanized Hazel.

“I’m going to return her to Nadia in the human realm,” Wraith says to Knight. “Would you like to go for Aline and Silence, or is that something you’d rather handle?” He directs the latter part to Malice.

“I’ll grab them,” Knight offers. “Don’t forget to unify the timelines.”

“You froze my mate?” Bane growls as he lands in a crouch next to me. “She’s fucking pregnant!”

“I know,” Wraith says with a nod. “Congratulations. She and the egg are both healthy. Would you like me to tell you the gender?”

“That’s never not going to freak people out.” Knight snorts, disappearing in a blink.

“Fuck no, that’s the kind of thing that’s meant to be a surprise,” Bane says. “It’s a boy, though, right?”

Wraith’s head tilts, and he pulls a robed hand up, snapping.

The crowd takes an audible breath, and it’s only then clear how eerily silent it was.

Veryn spins around, doing his best to peek over the railing. He doesn’t blink at seeing the desiccated corpse of his father’s dragon.

“You really did it!” He chucks himself at Bane, who bends to lift him. “If you didn’t, I was gonna when I got older.”

Charity bites her lip, studying Bane and Veryn. “Is it safe to go home now?”

Norah draws all of our attention by gathering her skirts and taking a knee. “You’ll make for a fine king one day.”

“No.” Veryn shakes his head of black hair. “Not me.”

“My queen.” A man approaches in the full Dragon’s Shield uniform. “What happened? Here, allow me to help you up. Did you stumble?”

Norah’s eyes widen as she allows the man to pull her to her feet. “I’m fine, Cain.”

Cain dips his head, brushing his lips over those of the shocked female dragon.

“Charity, my dear.” Athos claps. “That wish went more perfectly than any of us could have imagined. I’m such a sucker for second chance love, especially with two beings who will truly cherish each other. Also, I have to say, I think having a matriarchal society will suit the dragons.”

Charity blinks, but her face finally breaks out in a relieved smile. “Oh, thank God, but seriously, I have to pee. Can we go home now?”

My head tilts as my brain finally catches up to what Bane said. “You’re pregnant?”

Charity smiles, nodding.

“What? No way!” Veryn breaks out into a huge grin. “I’ve been wanting a baby brother or sister forever. I hope it’s a boy.”

Athos laughs. “Yes, I think we can safely file this under the win column.”

Now we just need to return to the human realm, so we can finally begin our lives.

Knight appears down in the pit with Silence and Aline. “Sorry it took so long. I had to wait for these two to find their clothing.”

“What?” Veryn asks, his nose wrinkling.

“Doesn’t matter,” Bane says quickly.

“The timer on my tits has run out.” Aline raises her hands, and shimmery pink magic fills the air. “If you’re coming back to Haven, you best get down here.”

Charity snorts, and a beautiful smile breaks out over her face. “Someone get me down there. I’m not missing this portal.”

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