22. Sabre

CHAPTER 22

SAbrE

"Why the fuck did you bring me all the way out here?" Cage asks as he kneels in front of one of the overgrown dark stalks and plucks at the vine.

"Careful," I say, not answering his question as the red moon rises on the horizon of the broken blood fields. It won't be much longer now. "If you touch one of those, it might grab you and drag you all the way to its nest."

Although, that's exactly what I intend. This particular vine leads to one of the largest nests in existence, and it's no coincidence the nest is located in a tunnel between kingdoms.

Cage leans back and frowns at the plant, then glares at me. "Sorry, I guess my Morpheus Kingdom botany lessons are lacking, given none of my family has had access to the blood fields in generations."

"It wouldn't be in any botany books," I correct him. "It's a relatively new pestilence."

Cage rolls his eyes. "So you brought me out here to show me a new weed growing in your fields. Awesome, Sabre. I'm not a fucking gardener, if that's why we're here."

I chuckle at the imagery. "Hardly, Cage. But I think you'd find it doesn't need a gardener. It is a changed form of the preexisting stalks, and it feeds off of soil tainted by corpses, hence the name ‘Rot.' It also serves to keep the scent of decay to a minimum," I add with a nod. "Which is a plus."

"There aren't supposed to be corpses here," Cage points out.

He's not wrong. The blood fields house sleeping humans kept in suspended animation underground, and the stalks that grow above offer fruit filled with their blood.

And their dreams.

Now, the Rot has taken over large patches, sprouting black stalks that only bear necrosis.

"You're correct," I admit. "It's probably what attracted the Corpse Fae who touched the stalks, creating the Rot in the first place."

Cage gives me a raised brow. "What's a Corpse Fae even doing out here long enough to infect the stalks with Rot?" He blows out a breath. "Your father is a shit King, you know that?"

I chuckle at the insult that would cost him his head if any other member of the Sanguinis line had heard it. "He is," I agree. "But at least now the Strigoi and Corpse Fae have something to bond over, hmm?"

He rolls his eyes. "I will never understand you having Corpse Fae friends. They're assholes."

"Perhaps," I concede as I slip a note from my pocket. "But not all of them are."

Cage's blue eyes flick to the item before he snatches it and unfurls the papyrus.

He reads the inscription, then pales. "Why am I looking at an invitation that has both our names on it?"

"It's from Maliki," I reassure him. Our relationship is a well-guarded secret, and Maliki is one of the few friends I'd ever confide in.

And in this case, I'm glad I did, because Maliki gave me an opportunity I can't ignore.

Cage's bright blue eyes flash up to meet mine. He doesn't hide his emotions.

Surprise. Panic.

Trust.

They swirl together in a symphony of color that's all Cage. He doesn't have to practice hiding his feelings, mostly because he works in the shadows. Anyone who sees his face will soon be dead.

"What did you tell him?" Cage asks, mostly because I know he's trying to get on the same page.

He doesn't accuse me of keeping secrets, even though I have more than a few I've kept from Cage. I think he already knows that. He might even have discovered some of them by now, given how distant he's been with me lately.

But now that I have his full attention, he patiently waits for my answer. This invitation holds a promise that has him daring to hope for something more.

Like a future where we can be together. Neither of us has entertained that asinine possibility, mostly because our pairing will never be tolerated, not with centuries of bad blood between the Van Drakken and Sanguinis lines.

Not to mention the brutal truth he dragged out of me days ago—we aren't enough for one another. Or, specifically, he's not enough for me. Not with the kind of power drain that I have on my soul. Besides, as much as I love Cage, I need a female mate in my life. Preferably one whom Cage and I can share.

That would be impossible in this reality, but Maliki told me of another dimension, one where monsters openly hunt for their brides out on the streets.

The event is called Monsters Night.

An event I intend to join.

Maybe we'll simply play with a new toy. Fuck. Bite .

Or maybe we'll find what we're looking for.

It doesn't feel real.

It's like a dream, and as Strigoi, we know how fleeting dreams can be.

"You can ask him yourself," I say instead of giving him empty promises.

My expectations are low. All I can allow myself to hope for is a reprieve and a chance to recharge my strength before I take the Strigoi throne. The only way my father can stop draining me is if I leave this dimension entirely and find a clean source on which to feed.

And when I return, if I return, I will take his heart for all that he's done to me.

No matter what happens, the idea of hunting for fresh blood, new dreams, and a chance to rid myself of my father has me saying yes .

But I hope Cage comes with me. I need him to, or else I'm not sure I can go through with it. There will be repercussions to using an illegal portal.

But we won't be the only ones, at least.

"Is he waiting for you?" Cage asks.

"Us," I confirm as I pocket the invitation and hold out my hand. "Will you come with me?"

Cage considers my hand for a moment. I'm a dreamwalker, but so is he, and he always has his walls up. I can't enter Cage's mind no matter how close we've become. I would trade anything to know what he's thinking.

To my relief, he slides his hand into mine. "Let's see your new boyfriend, then."

Maliki is hardly my boyfriend, but I know he's just teasing.

Grinning, I delve us into the dream plane, and the world around us explodes in darkness and shadow. The Rot reacts to the invasive magic and bleeds death into the soil.

It makes the ground beneath our feet soft enough for us to sink. I don't react. Instead, I let it happen.

Cage watches me, and it says something about how much he must trust me that he follows my lead. His skin bleeds over with black shadows, and his eyes glow with a fiery red as I take us into the depths.

The blood fields swallow us up, the roots of the Rot dragging us down until we deftly land on the hard surface miles below.

A tunnel filled with Nightmare Fae spans out around us. The vines of the Rot nest take up the entire ceiling, but it has rooted this place securely enough to make it a hub between kingdoms.

The Morpheous Kingdom and Netherworld Kingdom exist on separate planes, but this is a place where they overlap.

All because of the rotted death stalks in our blood fields.

All because of my father's incompetence… I have the chance to destroy him.

"Where are we?" Cage asks as he backs into the darkness, but we can't hide. Not from the grouping of Nightmare Fae who have gathered in front of a massive void. I know it will soon turn into a portal, and my dark heart skips a beat.

Excitement? I ponder. It's a new sensation, one I haven't felt for a long time.

I like it.

"A communal tunnel between kingdoms," I briefly explain as I spot Maliki already approaching us.

I'm surprised there isn't a female, or a male, hanging off of him at all times, given how incredibly beautiful he is. Like most Hell Fae, he is a unique mix of species. In his case, I know that he's part Corpse Fae with some other powerful blood types mixed in. Even if I don't know the details, it's obvious by his striking appearance and aura of power that he's exactly the type of "abomination" the Hell Fae Realm was built for in the first place.

Strigoi are no less of an abomination deserving of Hell's protection. Any mixture of fae or supernatural bloodlines results in power that can't be checked or controlled. Pureblood fae don't like that, which is why Lucifer created this realm to keep us safe from their overwhelming numbers.

We might be stronger than the purebloods, but there are just more of them than there are of us.

We're supposed to be united in our focus under Lucifer's ultimate leadership. This is an unauthorized event. The King of our realm doesn't know about this little gathering, and the only Hell Fae who could get away with this sort of thing is Maliki.

He happens to be Azazel's half brother, and Azazel is one of Lucifer's bonded mates.

Talk about having a Get Out of Hell Free card.

I know Maliki isn't the one behind all this. He's being used as a tool by one of the Gods; of that I'm sure. I don't know which one, and I don't need to know.

Strigoi stay out of Gods' games.

"Aren't you two adorable, already holding hands," Maliki says with a wry grin as he ventures within earshot. He runs his fingers through his dark hair, swiping it away from his uniquely gold eyes.

Cage doesn't drop my hand like I think he might. Instead, his claws scratch against my skin as he sizes up Maliki. "Call me adorable again and I'll hold your cock with this," he threatens as he flexes his clawed hand. The lengthy black talons extending from each finger might as well be blades. The tunnel is illuminated by magical orbs, providing a low, flickering light that makes Cage look particularly dangerous.

Maliki's grin widens. "I see why you like him, Sabre. He's hilarious."

"And serious," I add with a raised brow. "I wouldn't test him if I were you."

My old friend chuckles but clearly isn't threatened. As he probably shouldn't be, given that even Cage is no match for a Hell Fae like Maliki. He might rough him up and eat a couple of his favorite dreams, but in the end, Cage would lose without the element of surprise on his side.

Maliki is a mystery, which is precisely why I was drawn to him in the first place. He's one that I never solved, but that's fine by me. He's proven to be a good friend over the years.

But tonight, he's truly outdone himself.

"It's almost ready," he says, peering back at the dark void that seems to be breathing like a sleeping creature trapped in a cave. "It's only going to be open for a couple of hours, so keep that in mind, or else you'll be trapped there."

I frown. "A couple of hours?" That didn't sound like the reprieve I was promised. "I thought you said the portal would be open for at least the entire night?"

Maliki shrugs. "Lucifer is going to notice the second I open the portal. He'll find it and shut it down, and he usually works fast. In all reality, it'll likely only be open for an hour or two and then never be used again." Maliki glances up, his bright eyes glinting with nightmares that I'd find a tasty meal if I noticed them within anyone else. "The Rot you told me about provides the perfect coverage, though. It'll take him some time to locate it between kingdoms. He won't expect the Netherworld Fae and Morpheus Fae to have common territory like this."

Maliki has clearly thought this out, but I don't ask why. Someone must be putting him up to it. I just hope his promised reward is worth the Hell Fae King's inevitable wrath.

"That sounds like a very big risk for opening a portal for an hour or two," Cage observes. His glowing red eyes flick to the groupings of Ghouls, Baku, and Corpse Fae. It's not common to see all those types of Nightmare Fae and Hell Fae working together, but they're surrounding the portal, eagerly waiting for it to open.

They're salviating for brides and willing to risk Lucifer's wrath. The Ghouls especially are hungry and starving, needing mates to survive. They're tired of waiting, and I don't blame them.

But I agree with Cage. It's not enough time to accomplish much of a hunt. At least, not the kind of hunt that a Strigoi requires.

When I feed, I take my time.

Maliki only grins. "In this case, it's worth the risk."

"Do you intend to find yourself a mate, Maliki?" I ask honestly. It would explain why he's going through so much trouble.

"No," he answers. His eyes darken with ancient nightmares that pique my curiosity. "My time will come, Gods willing. But I need to stay on this side of the portal and keep it open." He jerks his chin toward the void. "Now join the others and slip in, blend with the crowd. You won't be noticed."

"Because everyone has pussy on their mind," Cage says, his fangs glinting with amusement. "I'm going to need a little more than a few hours, though, if we're going to play." He gives me a predatory look, one that says if we hunt, it'll be done right. He's no less of a Strigoi than I am.

"It's up to you," Maliki says as his fingertips turn black. The air turns cold as he dips into his Corpse Fae magic, and the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. "But if you choose to stay beyond the portal's closure, you won't be able to return. Not unless the Gods bless you with a means to do so."

I doubt we'll run into any Gods, even in another dimension, but stranger things have happened.

"Let's go," I urge Cain and drag him toward the portal that has started to swirl.

Regardless, I intend to feed. I need my strength for the inevitable fight for when I return.

My father wants me to take the throne? Fine. I will.

But his head will be my crown.

The vortex opens, spinning with darkness and nightmares and death . I can't help the grin that stretches over my throbbing fangs.

The crowd is roaring with excitement now, sending mating cries beating against the stone walls. I haven't seen this sort of energy from the Nightmare Fae in years, if ever.

Excitement of my own builds in my chest, but I don't cry out. Instead, I hold on to Cage and don't let go. He doesn't say anything as my claws dig into his skin.

The void yawns open, drowning us all in shadow.

Like walking nightmares, we step in.

And for the first time in my life, I don't know what I'm going to find on the other side of a dream.