Rout of the Dem-Shyr (The Ascendant Series)

by Raine Thomas

  Then open your mind to me, she thought, bringing her hands up and touching the sides of his face, brushing her thumbs over his lips. Make love to me.

  Kyr, I…

  Don’t think. Just do it. Please, Ty. Do this for me.

  He didn’t resist as she leaned forward and kissed him. She kept it gentle, allowing him to adjust to the idea of being intimate with her when only moments ago she knew he thought he never would be again.

  She also used care in how she touched his mind. His scars had been issued quickly, but they ran deep. Her thoughts were as gentle as her kiss.

  I love you.

  None of this is our fault.

  We’re stronger together.

  I love you.

  I love you.

  I love you.

  He resisted, even at the lowest level of her influence. She wasn’t deflected from her goal, though. No matter what Ty had gone through, she knew him at his core. She just had to reach that core and connect with it again.

  Slowly, lovingly, she deepened the kiss. Just a little more pressure. A parting of the lips. A brush of her tongue against his.

  She knew the moment he began to respond. His hands came up and cradled her, pressed her closer. He made a yearning sound deep in his throat.

  The kiss became more insistent. More drugging. It became more.

  And as Ty allowed himself to react to her physically, it was easier for her to use her abilities to help him heal.

  I’m your balm, she assured him. I’m your comfort. I’m your heart.

  Their hands started moving, caressing. Feeling. Kyr reached up and ran her hand over his head. She felt the tickle of re-growing hair and relished it. It was part of Ty and it told her that he was there. He was alive.

  He was hers.

  She moaned against his mouth when he cupped her breasts. Gasped when he reached inside the low neckline and stroked her until she ached for him.

  And still, they kissed. Her abilities continued their equally insistent assault on his mind. She would do whatever it took—give him whatever he needed—to heal him mentally, physically, and emotionally.

  Eventually, they stopped kissing so she could undress him. She lifted his shirt over his head, then ran her hands over the muscular ridges of his chest and abdomen. Her lips followed her hands, tenderly brushing over his neck, his collarbone, and the defined region between his abs leading to the waistband of his pants. He held his breath as she slowly unfastened his pants and pulled them off along with his boots.

  Gathering what he wanted from his thoughts, she once again eased up his body. She paused when she reached the hard length of his arousal. Watching his reaction, she stroked him, gradually applying pressure and adjusting her touch until his eyes rolled back into his head. He moaned when she once again adjusted her hold and used her tongue on him, too.

  She allowed his mind to guide her. Through her touch, she reminded him what it was like to relinquish control to someone who loved him. With each caress, she felt him healing, succumbing to everything she offered.

  Embracing her love.

  When she took him into her mouth, he groaned loudly. “God, Kyr. Yes.”

  She knew he hadn’t been aware that he had sent out this particular desire. It was something she loved to do to him. She loved what it did to his control. She wanted him having faith in her again…having faith in their love. She wanted him to give up his control and surrender himself to her.

  Soon enough, he gave her what she wanted. He accepted the wicked pleasure she waged upon him. She once again used his thoughts to direct her, swiftly driving him to the brink of ecstasy.

  He stopped her before she sent him over the edge. She didn’t have time to be disappointed, though. He reversed their positions, pressing her back against the mattress and lifting her skirt so he could yank off her undergarments. His gaze met hers. She understood.

  He needed to take control now.

  He kissed her as he took her, desperately plundering her. Overwhelming her.

  She felt him reaching for her now in every way, craving what she offered. She opened her heart and her soul and she gave it to him.

  Tears touched her skin. She wasn’t sure if they were hers or his or both of theirs. It didn’t matter. They were a sign of healing, a sign of mending horrific wounds that neither of them had deserved.

  He broke away from her mouth. She opened her eyes and saw that his were glowing.

  Power built between them. It was stronger than anything she’d ever experienced. It was stronger than just her abilities, stronger than even her abilities enhanced by a portion of Ty’s. Somehow, even though she knew that some of the Dem-Shyr’s abilities still resided in her father and Sem, she felt as though she and Ty were climbing to a peak of power that no one could ever hope to match.

  Because he was no longer the Dem-Shyr, her mind and heart affirmed. He was the Faire-Amanti.

  Their eyes glowed even more intensely as that thought settled between them. Ty lifted her hands above her head and linked his fingers with hers. She understood what he was doing. He was recreating the last time they were together. But this time, no one would interrupt them. No one would threaten them. No one would separate them.

  No one would stop them.

  She held his gaze as he moved inside her. She lifted her hips to draw him deeper, used her legs to keep him close. As he filled her, she consciously joined her abilities with his in a way she’d never known she could.

  Wholly. Completely. Indestructibly.

  They were one, and no one else had any say in it. They were two halves of one soul.

  As that truth crashed through them both, all of Ty’s remaining resistances fell. He fully opened his heart to her again. The pleasure of it, the absolute, pure joy of it, brought them to climax at the same time.

  The resulting blast of power shook the world around them.

  Chapter 42

  Well, that was a hoot.

  Ty’s lips twitched over Sem’s dry thought. He had forgotten that his cousin now shared a more, well, intimate connection with his thoughts than he used to since Sem now housed some of the abilities of the Dem-Shyr.

  Sorry, Ty replied as he started undressing Kyr. But you’d better shut it off if you don’t want a repeat performance.

  Sem mentally grumbled, but Ty sensed him throwing up a barrier to give him some privacy. It took Ty a while to unlace Kyr’s corset, but he didn’t mind. He kissed her while he undressed her, then kissed her more when she was as naked as he was. Intercepting her thoughts, he lifted her and headed for the water closet attached to the room.

  “Is everything okay in there?” came Gren’s voice through the chamber door.

  Ty paused with Kyr near the door. “We’re fine, Gren. Sorry for nearly bringing the place down on your heads. We’ll try to avoid that this time.”

  “Uh…”

  If Gren had anything else to say, it was lost to them as Ty carried Kyr into the water closet and over to the shower. It was barely big enough for both of them, but he didn’t exactly need much room for what he intended. They were going to be up-close and personal.

  She smiled up at him when she picked up that thought. He smiled back.

  He felt like a different person. He was a different person, he amended. He and Kyr both were.

  And they were both much stronger for it.

  What Kyr had done to him—for him—blew him away. She had shared every part of herself with him. She had given him her essence and taken his. He felt her now in ways he’d never before dreamed, like a second heart beating in sync with his. Even though he knew she hadn’t returned all of his Dem-Shyr abilities to him, he felt stronger than he had ever been. He didn’t know how that was possible, but he knew it had everything to do with her.

  There was no thanking her for it. There was no need. Such words and expressions were unnecessary and frivolous between them now. They knew exactly what they were thinking and feeling without any effort at all.

  But tha
t didn’t mean he couldn’t make an effort to show her how he felt. So he set out to do just that. He started making love to her in the shower, continued as he dried them both off, and finished on the bed. And in keeping with his promise to Gren, this time they didn’t rattle the walls.

  Kyr laughed, loudly and brightly, as that thought occurred to him while he held her afterwards. He kissed the top of her head, appreciating her humor.

  She fell asleep a few minutes later. He knew she had expended a great deal of energy doing what she did. It touched him more deeply than she could ever know. It also made him feel fiercely protective of her.

  When she fell after she found him with the Marauders, it had brought back all of the pain and horror of his judgment. All of the self-loathing. He knew he could never touch her again, not when it led to this.

  Gren had run over to them and dropped to his knees beside Kyr. Ty hadn’t recognized him at first, but he was too numb to even think about protecting Kyr. Realizing that he was incapable of defending her on even the most basic level just reinforced his feelings.

  If he wanted her safe, he couldn’t love her.

  Now, although he understood where all of those thoughts had originated, he saw how wrong they were. Kyr was right. They were stronger together.

  While the Peace Keepers had taken them back to their stronghold, Gren had caught him up on what had happened at the palace. Ty had listened, but he hadn’t really processed it. In the back of his mind, he had been trying to figure out how to tell Kyr that he couldn’t be what she wanted.

  Once again, he leaned down to kiss the top of her head. He hadn’t been coherent when he’d had those thoughts. How could he have ever thought that he’d survive a life apart from her?

  Shaking his head at himself, he closed his eyes and settled back with the woman he loved.

  He slept without dreams.

  * * *

  It was a while later when he and Kyr finally emerged from the bedchamber. He spotted Gren sitting on a couch in the adjacent seating area. Scarlyt sat beside him.

  Ty had known about their relationship, of course. Gren had asked him not to repress his memories of Scarlyt when he conducted Gren’s Ruvex Rite after his last trip off-planet. Like Gren, he’d had no idea what Vycor had done. And he knew exactly how both Gren and Scarlyt felt right now.

  But judging by how close together they sat on the couch, they were helping each other start to heal. Ty hoped they found happiness. They had a long road ahead of them, but if he knew Gren, his friend would find a way to make it work.

  Neither he nor Gren would allow what they had now to get taken from them again.

  Gren and Scarlyt looked up as he and Kyr approached. Gren blinked when he saw Ty.

  “You…that is, your hair…” he started to say.

  Ty grinned. He knew his hair had grown several inches in the time he’d been with Kyr. It was lighter in color than it had been, as well. She had enhanced his healing abilities, bringing his body back towards its peak physical condition. He wasn’t a hundred percent yet, but he was a long way from where he’d been a few hours ago. Kyr was no longer as pale and fragile-looking, either.

  “You look different without the beard,” Scarlyt observed. “Younger. Much younger. Damn, I feel old.”

  “Welcome to my world,” Gren muttered.

  Ty led Kyr over to the adjoining couch. They twined hands as they sat down. A movement from Scarlyt had Ty glancing over at her. She looked like she was shielding her eyes.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  She closed her eyes. “The two of you…my abilities are repressed, but I’ve never registered such a strong connection between two people. It’s overwhelming my senses.”

  “Oh.” Ty consciously tamped down on what feelings he conveyed and felt Kyr doing the same. “Is that better?”

  She peeked at them with one eye, then opened both. “Yeah, thanks.”

  “No problem,” Ty said. “Is this a private space?”

  “Private enough.”

  “All right. We’d like to discuss things, if you’re ready.”

  Before Scarlyt could reply, Kyr spoke. “Thank you for allowing us to use your bedchamber, Scarlyt. I figure it’s yours. You don’t owe me anything, and for you to—”

  “It was nothing, Ma’jah,” Scarlyt interrupted.

  Ty heard the stiffness in her tone and knew Kyr did, too. He squeezed her hand. They would handle one obstacle at a time.

  Are you there, Sem? he thought.

  Waiting with bated breath.

  “I’ve been communicating with our contact inside the palace,” Ty said out loud, ignoring Sem’s sarcasm. “Vycor continues to interrogate everyone to try and find out who attacked Guardian Shaya.”

  Mention that I was interrogated first and didn’t crack, Sem thought. I was a rock.

  “Our contact was among the first to face the Inquisitors, but Kyr’s mental blocks held.”

  That isn’t what I said, Sem groused.

  Ty continued, “Our contact—an excellent embellisher—was able to fabricate a story to cover Gren’s disappearance from the palace.”

  Hey!

  “But if Vycor decides to investigate the story any deeper, he might learn more than we want him to. Conditions within the palace have begun to deteriorate. There’s general pandemonium and paranoia, and it’s starting to spread outside the Vawn megai. The longer it takes for the Vawn to make a decision about the future rule of Alametria, the worse it’s going to get. There will be uprisings, which Vycor has shared with the Vawn council. He’s advising the council to consider bringing in outside help to maintain order.”

  “What kind of outside help?” Scarlyt asked.

  “We don’t know,” Kyr said. “Vycor has some kind of mental shielding in place. I didn’t have an opportunity to try and get around it directly, but I wasn’t able to get past the shields he placed in Guardian Shaya’s mind.”

  Scarlyt frowned in consideration. “We’ve been working on infiltrating the mine as well as the Marauder camp,” she said, glancing at Gren. “We weren’t sure where the information was coming from within the palace, and we wanted to find out everything we could. I’ve gotten hints that the Advisor is behind things. Since we can’t get to the palace, I was working on devising a plan to flush him out.”

  “Vycor won’t leave the palace,” Gren said.

  Ty nodded. “He’s right. Vycor will never get his hands dirty if he can get someone else to do it. His plans always revolve around setting someone else up to take the fall.”

  “We need to find his contact here in the Dark Lands,” Scarlyt said.

  They all issued agreement, including Sem.

  “But we also need to get reinforcements within the palace,” Kyr pointed out. “Sem can’t hold everything down on his own.”

  See? She does love me.

  Ty issued a mental eye roll over his cousin’s remark. He told himself he wasn’t amused, but a smile threatened him just the same.

  “The people need protection,” Kyr added. “We have no way to know who else could fall victim to Vycor’s evil. I can’t leave them vulnerable to him.”

  “But how can we protect them?” Scarlyt asked, her frown deepening. “We can’t get to the palace.”

  “I believe I can,” Kyr said.

  Ty hesitated as he read her thoughts. “Kyr, what you’re thinking…it’s too dangerous.”

  “Ty’s right,” Gren agreed. “We’ve seen what happens when you try to do too much. You’ve been brought to the brink of death too many times already.”

  Kyr’s calm never wavered. “I understand your concerns. But I’ve been giving this a lot of thought. Vycor uses a number of people to maintain the protections, doesn’t he? It’s the largest mental blockade in the world.”

  Ty nodded. “From what I remember, he has hundreds of Mynders dedicated to maintaining it. Most of them live in the Dane megai.”

  “Then why can’t we use a number of people on this side to
disrupt it?”

  They all looked at each other as they considered this. Ty felt Gren’s reluctant agreement with the idea. He and Ty both had powerful Mynder abilities. Combined with Kyr’s growing power, that was pretty formidable. Who knew whether there was anyone else on this side of the protections that could help them? Even those without mental abilities could be of assistance.

  “I think it’s a sound plan,” Scarlyt said, holding Kyr’s gaze.

  Her tone held a little more warmth, as though she was really seeing Kyr for the first time. Ty felt Kyr’s happiness over the small victory.

  “Good,” Kyr said. “I think we have the beginning of a plan in place. Before we get into it any further, though, could I trouble you for something to eat? Preferably something that isn’t broth. No offense to you, Gren, but I don’t think I ever want to see another bowl of broth again.”

  This time, Scarlyt’s lips curved up. “I’ll see what we can do.”

  Epilogue

  You really could warn me when you guys are going to do that, you know.

  Ty was trying to catch his breath after making love to Kyr. Tremors of ecstasy continued to ripple through them both as Kyr’s body surrounded him with warmth and bliss. Sem’s thought was like a douse of cold water.

  Yen-Ki, Sem! Get a life.

  Apparently I need to get a sex life, at least. Shit.

  Groaning, Ty shoved his cousin from his thoughts. He kissed Kyr and rolled over, bringing her with him.

  I’m worried for him, Kyr thought after a while.

  Yeah.

  They were both worried for Sem. He was putting on a brave face, but Ty knew he felt alone. There was a lot of pressure on him. That was why he kept connecting with Ty even at inappropriate times. It was hard to be irritated with him, especially after everything he had done to help Kyr.

  Ty knew Kyr was also worried about her Kyndred and Avana, who were surely targets for Vycor’s suspicions. Sem said that they were all fine outside of their grief. But if Vycor discovered that Kyr was alive and back with Ty, they all knew the Advisor would go after the people they cared about first.