The wrath, p.34
The Wrath,
p.34
“Kill me,” she commanded Azar, the words echoing from the throne room walls.
Silence. Then chaos. “No!” Rathbone shouted, his denial gutting her. Had to be this way. “Don’t you dare.”
Lore grappled for control. “Do me no harm.”
“Kill me,” Neeka repeated as Rathbone’s curses and threats intensified. Seconds ticked away.
Azar reared back and shook his head. His defenses toppled, nothing shielding the lust in his expression. “I don’t want to do it.”
Lore attempted to gain control again, but again, she was weakening. Neeka drew from her bubbling well of love and waged the final battle. “Ready your sword, soldier,” she shouted at Azar. “Take my head, then my heart. Separate my bones. Do whatever is necessary to ensure I never rise again. Do it now!”
Groaning, Lore covered her lips with her hand. But it was too late. Neeka retained the helm as Azar lifted his sword. He was fighting the compulsion but losing.
“I will bring you back,” Rathbone vowed.
She raised her chin, calling, “I love you, too, Red.” As Lore contended for dominance, Neeka dropped to her knees. “Do it, Azar.”
The midnight hour rang out.
He swung the sword. Whoosh. Darkness came, bringing silence. Neeka died, taking Lore with her.
* * *
Rathbone watched as his female lost her head, then her heart. A ragged roar escaped him. Erebus cursed louder. He’d lost this round.
The Astra and harpies cheered. They’d won without lifting a finger.
Hades removed the chains Rathbone had failed to shed on his own. He sprang over and collected Lore’s headless body. Neeka’s shell. Tears welled as the General rushed over to crouch beside him.
His oracle was gone. His fated. The one he couldn’t live without. But not for long.
“Get me a chisel,” he commanded the General. He would bind Neeka’s spirit to the bones. He just needed time to figure out a better plan.
“On it.” She vanished in a puff of smoke, and from his post, Hades groaned.
“Have you learned nothing?” the god called.
Wait. Why was the body so hot? Rathbone frowned. His skin blistered. Flames erupted from Neeka’s—Lore’s pores. He released her and eased back. The inferno spread, burning away the body... Dark smoke collected around the bones, creating a curtain.
Rathbone waited, daring to hope. His oracle was very good at pre-planning. Taliyah arrived with the desired item as the fire died and the curtain thinned...
He sagged with relief. A naked, smoldering Neeka stirred and stretched, as if waking from a peaceful nap. With a grunt, he scooped her up and yanked her against his chest.
“You’re alive,” he said, pulling back just enough to let her read his lips. “And you are fully Phoenix apparently, after only four doses of the toxin.”
Head falling back, she laughed. “I saw you through the flames and it was glorious! But how? Why? Because I didn’t arrange this.”
“I gave her six doses of the Phoenix toxin as a child,” Grenwich announced, approaching their side. Neeka hadn’t noticed her yet. “Her father predicted her death the day of her birth, and I took measures to prevent it. There was no other way to trick Erebus into using me and choosing her. Tell her.”
He did, and Neeka swung her attention to her mother. “Are you saying you have treated me as an enemy to...protect me?” she asked, dumbfounded.
“Yes and no. I don’t want you dead. How then will you feel pain?”
The tracker offered the question so casually, it took him a moment to catch up and decide he had a cell with his harpy-Phoenix-in-law’s name on it.
“Worst mother ever,” Neeka stated as Grenwich strode away.
Rathbone flashed Neeka to their bed. As she wound her arms around him, he peppered her face with kisses, saying between each, “I love you. Adore you. Cherish you. But I am going to punish you for dying.” Each of his irises lit up with colors.
“I love you, too,” she said, laughing up at him. “I’ll take whatever you’ll give me.”
“Uh, I guess I should go?” The question came from Maximus, who was in the process of loading himself with Rathbone’s weapons. “I was preparing to save you both, so, thanks for nothing. You guys are gross.” He stomped from the room.
“I’m going to figure out how to age him,” Neeka promised as Rathbone kissed a path down the elegant length of her throat.
“I know you will. You can do anything. Even tame the untamable Crimson Thunder.”
“I can, can’t I?” she said, cupping his jaw and pressing her lips to his. She might not know what tomorrow held—yet—but she knew her future had never seemed brighter.
* * *
Azar stood in the throne room, unmoving. Lore, his gravita, was dead once again. Shock locked him in place as he stared at her bones. The ash had collected, and each piece had been rebuilt. If something wasn’t done, she would soon develop flesh.
He’d hated her, but... he wanted her back.
Chaos declared him the winner. Erebus fumed and flashed off. Taliyah cleared the harpies from the room but stayed behind with the Astra. They hadn’t left the dais. None of them had spoken a word.
Then Roc commanded, “Silver, when Azar is ready, scatter the bones across the galaxies. But do not wait too long. She is not to revive under any circumstances.”
Silver nodded, his manner as cold as the metal he worked with. There was no task too gruesome for the male and no chance anyone could stop him from completing a duty.
Somehow, Azar gathered the strength to tear his gaze from the body and focus on his comrades. Roc seemed pleased. Halo and Roux, the other mated Astra, projected understanding. Sparrow, who never lost his calm, looked strained. Bleu and Ian conveyed confusion. Vasili was focused and alert, an unusual occurrence. Azar loved them, yet he’d nearly killed them all.
“I don’t know what happened behind the scenes.” The Commander closed the distance and patted his shoulder. “And I don’t need to. I have experienced the allure of a gravita.”
Absolution. Exactly what Azar did not deserve. Still, he nodded.
“Go,” Roc called to one and all. “Celebrate the win but remain on guard. Soon another among us will face Erebus. He has planned ahead. Expect the unexpected and trust only your brethren.”
“Or you will pay dearly for it,” Azar croaked.
They left the room, one by one. All but Silver, who remained behind, at Azar’s side. “You hoped to break your own soulbond.” A statement.
“Yes.” Freed from Lore compulsion, he could answer honestly.
“I’m working on something. If, after we ascend, you want to try again, I’ll have a way.” Silver showed mercy and let the subject drop there. “Erebus knew he was going to lose today. I think he wanted to.”
Ignoring the raw pain in his chest, he demanded, “Explain.” Because Azar had observed the opposite.
“He sent phantoms to me this morning. They delivered a message. I’m next, special horrors await me, and I shouldn’t tell the Memory Keeper he’ll get another chance to shine.”
Azar went cold. “He’s going to pit us against each other?”
“That is my guess.”
“I will not turn against you.” Not ever again. Lesson learned. “I might want her back, but I will never accept her as mine. Will never give her an opportunity to spawn her eaters.”
Silver studied his face for a long while before holding out his hand. “Brothers until the end.”
He accepted, clasping tightly. “Brothers until the end.”
* * *
Also available from Gena Showalter
From Canary Street Press
The Phantom
Ruthless
The Immortal
Heartless
The Warlord
The Darkest King
Frost and Flame
Shadow and Ice
The Darkest Warrior
Can’t Let Go
Can’t Hardly Breathe
The Darkest Promise
The Darkest Torment
The Harder You Fall
The Hotter You Burn
The Closer You Come
All For You (anthology featuring “The One You Want”)
The Darkest Touch
Burning Dawn
After Dark (duology featuring “The Darkest Angel”)
The Darkest Craving
Beauty Awakened
After Moonrise (duology with P.C. Cast)
Wicked Nights
The Darkest Seduction
The Darkest Surrender
The Darkest Secret
The Darkest Lie
The Darkest Passion
Into the Dark
The Darkest Whisper
The Darkest Pleasure
The Darkest Kiss
The Darkest Night
The Vampire’s Bride
The Nymph King
Jewel of Atlantis
Heart of the Dragon
Twice as Hot
Playing with Fire
Catch a Mate
Animal Instincts
Prince of Forever
Prince of Stone
From Harlequin Nonfiction
Dating the Undead (with Jill Monroe)
From Inkyard Press
The Glass Queen
The Evil Queen
Everlife
Lifeblood
Firstlife
A Mad Zombie Party
The Queen of Zombie Hearts
Through the Zombie Glass
Alice in Zombieland
Twisted
Unraveled
Intertwined
ISBN-13: 9780369717634
The Wrath
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Gena Showalter, The Wrath
