Chapter 28

28

A ll around me, the battle rages on. I’m covered in blood, but I’ve managed to stick by one of the guys at all times. And even though the enemy has tried to separate me from the others, I’ve managed to slip through their grasp.

I promised Dax that I would always stay next to one of them, and I won’t break that promise. But I have managed to move slowly enough that whichever guy sticks with me hasn’t noticed me moving closer to the king.

He was the first person I searched for when the battle started, and I’ve been trying to make my way in that direction ever since. I’m not sure how I managed to sneak as close to the king as I have, to be honest, but I have. I’m surprised neither his men nor mine have noticed me inching closer.

I’m shocked when I look over to find myself only a few feet from the king. This is my chance. Kas has fought to stay by my side the longest, and I quickly look to see where he is in my proximity. He’s just at the outer limit of what would be considered too far, surrounded by men, and won’t be able to keep me in his sight.

This is something I need to do, though. I am so close. I need to prove that I can be just as ruthless as my men and kill if necessary. I slowly make my way over to him using the stealth moves Kas taught me. The king doesn’t have those odd tentacles around him, which is strange, but regardless, I can’t lose this chance. I’m almost close enough to slide my knife across his throat when I feel a pinching pain in my back. I can only assume it’s a knife. Fuck .

The king turns, offering me a malicious smile. The mirrored tentacles finally gather around him as he laughs. Over my shoulder, I catch a mirrored person form from the mirrored goo. It’s not holding a knife, though, its hand is the knife. My attention is dragged back to the king when he says, “ If you bow to me now, I will spare your life. My son has already chosen his side, but there is still time for you yet.”

I shake my head and feel the knife dig further into my back, causing me to gasp out, “ Never .” I will never willingly go back to this man. I would rather spear myself on the knife at my back than ever think to agree to that.

He arches a brow as he steps closer. “ Kings and Gods have bowed before me. What makes you think you can refuse for long? Come now, Little Snowflake . Bow .”

I wait until he steps even closer before I say, “ Kill me if you must, but I will never bow to a cowardly king who is proud to wear a crown studded with jewels symbolizing every life he has cut short. I will never bow to a king who wears the colors of the kingdoms he devoured.”

The smell of iron and death surrounds me, but I refuse to let it make me lose my resolve and waver in what I must do. As quickly as Kas taught me, I spring forward and stab my knife directly into the king's throat. I grin when his eyes widen in surprise, and I use all my strength to lacerate as much tissue as I can, proving to him that underestimating me was a fatal mistake.

I hear a feminine sounding scream behind me, but I ignore it in favor of staring into the dying king's eyes. I gasp when I feel the sharp pain of a blade in my abdomen. Looking down, I see the king had his own blade ready, and it is now buried in my stomach. My eyes meet his as he begins to spit up blood.

His words are garbled as he says, “ Taking … you… with… me.”

I push him away, letting him fall, as I try to stay standing. He lands in a puddle of mirrored goo, and I watch as his body is slowly consumed by the liquid. Odd is the only thought that streaks through my mind when a feminine voice whispers in my head. I can’t make out anything she’s saying, so I try to block it out. I don’t want to hear her; I need to get to my men.

I don’t have the strength to look behind me for Kas . My eyes scan the distance, and without fail, they find Dax . His are wide as they take me in, his icy-blue eyes seeming to glow in realization.

Exhaustion takes over, and I drop to the ground. Each breath requires more effort as I stare up into the bright blue sky. The edges of my vision start to fade into black, and the feminine voice whispers in my mind again, but all I can make out is, “ Free me.”

Before unconsciousness pulls me under, I watch darkness explode through the battlefield like a bomb. Consuming the land and the sky. I smile when I hear my name roared in the distance. It sounds guttural and demonic; I can’t help but feel comforted by the sound. A villain's love is dark, obsessive, and selfish. It is all consuming and will dig its claws into you so deeply you will never be able to escape. The king made a grave error in taking the only thing keeping him sane. That kept him from destroying the kingdoms completely. Me .

I’m drowning in the darkness when a searing pain drags me from the recesses of my mind. I can’t stop the grunt I release when I feel hands apply pressure to my wound. I can vaguely hear yelling in the background, but my brain is filled with too much fog to make out the voices. My eyes flutter open to find Kas standing above me, his face streaked with blood. I look briefly at his hands covering my wound, then groan. “ That’s a lot of blood.”

Kas’s dark hazel eyes snap up to mine, and for the first time since meeting him, I see devastation and fear in his gaze. His eyes flick back to my abdomen, and he stutters as he says, “ I - I can’t stop it. I’m sorry… I’m so sorry, Princess .”

The nickname sounds like a prayer on his lips. I smile as I try to console him, “ It’s okay, shh, it’s okay. Just breathe. You don’t have to be sorry for anything, Grumpy Man . I’ve got you, and you’ve got me.”

“ I can’t make it stop,” he chokes out.

I can feel the talons of darkness taking hold. Wanting to drag me away from my men. I try to fight it, to hold on. I need to make sure everyone is okay. My voice is weak as I try to reassure him. “ Shh … it’s okay.”

He must hear the exhaustion in my voice because his turns panicked, “ Don’t close your eyes!”

I force my eyes open again and find him staring at me. “ I was just resting them,” I say with a sigh.

I hear another voice yell, “ The healers are on their way!”

Kas’s eyes never leave mine as he nods. “ Keep your eyes on me, Princess .”

Breathing is getting difficult, and I can feel each stuttered beat of my heart. My voice is weak as I ask, “ Where’s Dax ?”

His eyes flick out to the distance before landing back on me. “ He’s … busy.”

I laugh weakly, then groan. “ He’s killing everyone in sight, isn’t he?”

“ Don’t worry about him. Worry about yourself.”

My hand lazily lifts to rest against his cheek. I’m leaving streaks of blood behind as I caress his cheek, but he doesn’t seem to mind. “ I’m not worried… you’re with me…”

My eyes fall closed; it’s getting too hard to hold them open. I feel a shift in my midsection and then a hand holding mine. I fight to open my eyes again and see Kas has shuffled closer, so he can hold my hand tightly against his cheek.

“ Stay with me, Princess . Please … please stay with me. The healers are almost here. Just hang on a little longer,” he pleads.

His eyes are consumed by black but almost appear to shimmer like black diamonds. “ I’m trying,” I whisper. When his eyes squeeze shut, I notice streaks running through the blood on his face. As if being wiped away. My heart stutters, and I know… I know I have to say something in case this is my end. He will never accept an ‘ I love you’ from me because that’s not how he shows he loves me. I lick my dry lips and whisper, “ I h-hate you, K -kasim. W -with every b-beat of my h-heart.”

He lets out a mournful cry as his eyes open again. He knows. He knows our ‘ I hate yous’ have turned to ‘ I love yous’. We can never give up the ‘hate yous’ because it’s our thing. But the tone of them changed over time. Changed from hostility as we said it with venom, to affection with smiles. He will always be my grumpy man, and I will forever be his princess.

I watch the blood smear across his face as he sucks in a breath. “ I - I hate you, too, Princess . So much. It hurts how much I hate you. So don’t leave me. Don’t leave me, Princess .”

I know even if I were to leave, Dax would come find me. He promised he would rip the very fabric between life and death if anything were to happen to me. He will come for me. My vision blurs, and my breathing grows labored. When it clears again, I look up at several figures standing around me; one who stands out from the others.

Swirls of darkness weave around him as he kneels next to my head. He cocks his head as his inky eyes take me in. “ Are you trying to fly away from me, Little Raven ?” he asks, his voice hoarse.

It takes a bit of effort, but I manage a weak smile. “ You better capture me before I get too far.”

He shifts, and I feel a hand rest against my chest. “ Your soul is mine for reaping. You will forever be tied to me… to us. A raven forever trapped.”

I take in the blurry faces surrounding me, and I find it hard to understand now that I fought this connection. My eyes land on Dax , and I say, “ I l-love you.” Then my eyes shift to take in all of my men, till finally they land on Kas again. I suck in a breath as I force out the words, “ I love you all.”

My eyes drift closed, and I sigh. I know Dax will catch me before I fly too far. His hand warms before it turns into a burning pain. I scream when my flesh starts to feel as if it’s being seared away, but I’m too weak to escape it. All I can feel is pain. PAIN . PAIN . Then … nothing.

The cold embrace of darkness is all that greets me. I feel the sensation of fingers caressing me before they grasp me. It feels as if they are holding on so tight. Too afraid to let me go. My men. My men are holding onto my soul. Onto me.

I smile as I finally let the darkness take hold. To consume my every cell because I know I’ll be safe. I’ll always be safe with my villains. A villain's love is obsessive, and they are too selfish to let me go.

The souls that tether you in life shall hold you captive in death until your return.

Forever bound until death himself severs the tether.