Standing next to the man in the middle was a gorgeous platinum blond. Her hand rested lightly on the Rumilus’ shoulder, and I assumed she was their mate. I wondered if she didn’t sit on a throne, too, because it would be considered too presumptuous.
Suddenly, a booming voice to my left announced Axton, Sylan, Rowen, and me to the rest of the room. It was another Specter guard. He spoke in English, a courtesy that I appreciated.
When I took in the rest of the colossal room—which must be the throne room—there were only three other Trifectas who were in their Rumilus form. I didn’t know why I expected more to be present; I knew from my mates that very few Trifectas in recent years had found their mates and survived through the war.
Looking around the rest of the room, all the other occupants were in Specter form. Some were obviously guards, but the other shadowy beings that shifted in my peripheral were not, making me wonder what they were doing here.
Axton walked confidently ahead, bowing his head slightly to the three monsters on the thrones, although they were not the true rulers of the land. But they kept everything in order until the time came—if that time ever came—and so they deserved some respect.
“Honorable rulers, we have come to present our mate, who is claimed and marked by the Trifecta that consists of myself, Sylan, and Rowen.”
“Congratulations!” the Rumilus leader in the middle boomed. “Please join the other Trifectas while we wait.”
“Are there more coming?” Axton asked.
The middle leader once more answered, but in the language of Paratiisi this time. I frowned, not liking being left out of the loop. My monsters had taken to only speaking English, and everyone thus far at the castle had as well. Whatever the ruler’s answer was made Rowen and Sylan shift behind me. I peeked up at them to see them wearing concerned frowns, and I wondered what was going on, but I held my peace for now.
I had to have faith in my Trifecta.
My attention was diverted by the three other human women that we joined as we walked to the other side of the room. I could faintly make out their features, the glowing crystals around their throats helping me to see them. One had strawberry blonde hair, another was a brunette, and the third had dark raven hair. When her eyes met mine, they were equally as dark as her hair, and a part of me expected her personality to be off-putting. But surprisingly her gaze warmed, and we shared a smile of understanding. Sliding my gaze over, I met the brunette’s eyes, and they were full of poisonous hate. So much so that I nearly stumbled back in shock.
Why would this woman have such a strong distaste for me when we had never met before? I had done nothing to her.
Rowen and Sylan stepped closer and reached out to steady me. She continued to seethe with an anger so palpable, I swear I could reach out and touch it. It was a living, tangible thing that unsettled me. She was an enemy, of that I was sure.
I looked away to the third girl with strawberry blonde hair. When her green eyes met mine, I smiled softly in friendship and welcome. I wanted to become friends with these women, because they were the only ones who truly knew how it felt to be in our position. It would be a welcome addition to my life down here.
But her face remained expressionless, as if she didn’t even register that I was even looking at her. Alarmed, I looked at Sylan, who just immediately shook his head as if to say “not now.”
What the fuck was going on here? What was wrong with this woman who seemed dead in the eyes, and why did the brunette seem so hateful?
I glanced back at the dark haired girl, wondering if she knew. She gave me a slight nod and shrug of her shoulders. She saw it too, but didn’t have an explanation.
Rowen was right—I must be easier to read than a book if she could sense my question to her that quickly, but for once I was glad that someone understood what I was saying without speaking.
I needed answers.
Chapter Eighteen
ROWEN
The presence of other Specter Trifectas in the presentation room was palpable chaos. They were like wild animals salivating at the thought of getting a mate of their own, and I hated it.
I hated this.
I hated what we’d become.
The usurpers who betrayed us and those from The Above that started the war had turned us against one another, made us nothing more than rabid animals. I wanted to sweep Sera up, run from this place and take her away from the ugliness of it all. But I couldn’t.
I wouldn’t do anything that would bring our claim into question. We would take her to the crystal and then get her back home where she would be safe.
Standing as close to her as she would allow, I sensed her unease as well as her need as she leaned into me. I had to admit that I loved the small gesture of faith the movement provided. She knew I was safe and dependable.
Taking in the three other claimed women, I could see one woman was not likely to make it based on the way she seemed like an empty shell already. There was no light to her eyes and no fight within her body. She was dissociated from her surroundings, like her mind had drifted to another world. I felt a true agony for that Trifecta, knowing that when their mate perished, they would too.
Trifectas were intrinsically tied to their human mate once claimed. You couldn’t have one without the other. And while I knew they would do everything to try to keep her alive, you could see it on her face that she had already lost the will to live. Her fear of our world and us as creatures was too much for her to overcome.
It broke my heart to think of Sera in her shoes.
It made my heart hammer in my chest in anger at how the relations between our kind had dwindled so far. In another time, she would have felt cherished and loved. Safe in knowing that her Trifecta would do anything for her.
That was my deepest fear, the dread of what would happen to Sera if we couldn’t restore Paratiisi. That one day the ugliness of this world would overshadow the feelings we provided her. That she wouldn’t want to be a part of this world anymore.
If the True Queen was never found, would she become like this woman? Alive but dead on the inside for being stuck in this land until we died along with her? Or would it be the other way around? Would we slowly perish because our land was sick? And then our mate would follow.
I wanted to be optimistic. To believe that only the best would happen to us, but that wasn’t how life worked. Just because you wanted something so badly you could fucking taste it, didn’t mean that you could attain it.
I turned my attention away from the redheaded to the other Selected whose gaze bothered Sera so much. So much so that I nearly stepped in front of her to shield her from it.
That woman stared at my mate with such seething hatred that I narrowed my eyes in warning at her Trifecta. This could get messy quickly if she didn’t back off of Sera.
If she tried to attack our mate, we would be forced to defend her in any way: including hurting their mate if it came to it. We knew how rare finding our mates was, so that was the last thing we wanted to do, but the three Rumilus didn’t pay me any attention when I tried to catch their notice. They were focused only on their mate, who stood apart from them and refused to be touched. You could tell in their eyes that they thought she hung the damn stars and were just waiting for one ounce of her attention.
As much as I pitied the other Trifecta with their dying mate, I felt worse for this one. We had all heard the rumors about mates like her who fought their Trifecta tooth and nail. These women were the most dangerous, inciting violence and trying to turn other Selected against us.
Seeing as this woman had been claimed, I could only imagine what she said about her mates from the nasty, violent glare she sent them. I couldn’t imagine with the looks of absolute adoration on their faces that they would ever force or harm her, just like we would never have with Sera.
I wanted to say that without a doubt her Trifecta tried everything to prove that she was loved and cherished, worshiped, and that she gave into the claiming of her own
will. However, looks could be deceiving, and despite wanting to believe the best in my kind, we had fallen far from the species we once were.
Whatever had occurred between them, it was obvious she’d never wanted to give in to this bond and that she wanted to take as many people down with her as possible.
Sera was truly rare in her understanding and caring nature. She had provided us the opportunity to explain so that we could clear up any lies she had been fed. Without that side of her, we probably would be in the exact same place as that Trifecta.
I did notice that the black-haired woman and Sera had shared a smile, and I hoped that perhaps they could become friends. She seemed to have a similar relationship with her Trifecta from the way they interacted with her—a brush of a hand over her shoulder, the hand in the small of her back, and the way their eyes kept shifting around to search for any danger to their mate.
While my kind still kept to themselves, it might help Sera to have a friend, someone in a similar situation that she could lean on and talk to. As much as I wanted to keep Sera’s company only for myself and my brothers, I understood that Sera would need someone other than her Trifecta.
Humans were a social species, and we would never want her to feel trapped or controlled. The only thing that we were controlling over was how many orgasms she’d have.
The Rumilus leader in the middle suddenly stood up, addressing everyone once more in the tongue of my species, riling those in attendance. “The fifth Trifecta has been spotted. They will be here soon. This final mate has been unclaimed. Do I hear anyone who wishes to challenge them?”
From the opposite side of the room, growls and roars of approval met these words, making my heart beat faster. There were no words to describe how glad I was that Sera had allowed us to mark and claim her, because what would happen now would show the true savage nature of our Specter forms.
The Trifectas gathered would fight the one coming with their unclaimed mate. It was a brutal and deadly show, one I really didn’t want Sera to see.
I whispered my concerns to Axton in our tongue. Thankfully he nodded to me in agreement, stepping up once more to be in front of the Paratiisi rulers. Bowing his head in respect of the leaders, he waited for a nod of acknowledgement before proceeding.
“I do not wish for my mate to see the other Specters fight for the unclaimed mate. Is there a room we can wait in?”
Sera grumbled from our side about how rude it was to speak in a tongue she couldn’t understand, but she would know soon enough. Knowing our fiery little mate, she would be pissed that we were planning on putting her in a room for her own protection.
She was damn strong and faced challenges head-on, so the thought of being babied in this manner was likely not going to sit well with her. I’d be the villain in this scenario, though, if it meant her being safe and not having to see such savagery.
The council conferred amongst themselves before the middle one spoke up. “We agree. We do not want these women to see any more hostility, but your Trifecta and the others must stay here to witness. We can put the human women in another room where they can wait with guards protecting them.”
I looked over at Sylan, not liking the idea of leaving Sera by herself with the three other women alone, but I disliked the idea of her watching the fight even more.
Chapter Nineteen
SERA
Something was happening, but I didn’t know what. It pissed me off to be kept in the dark, not knowing their language. By the tones, I could tell it wasn’t anything positive, that’s for sure.
“What’s going on?” I whispered to Rowen as he gently grabbed my arm and steered me out of the room. Not before I was able to get a glance at the angry look stamped on Axton’s face.
“I’ll explain after,” he whispered back, “but for now, you and the other Selected are going to be taken to a room while we…talk with the leaders.”
They were going to leave me?
I started to shake my head vehemently as panic gripped my chest and crawled up my throat, making my voice tremble. “No, I don’t want to go anywhere without you.”
Why was I suddenly feeling like they were parting ways with me forever? It was illogical, but I couldn’t help the way my mind immediately reverted to that scenario.
I wasn’t sure if it was because they had claimed me or if it was because they were the only people I knew in The Below. All I knew was that they were the only people I trusted. That unknown thing that was inside of me, controlling my emotions, had me in agony at the thought of not being with them.
Sylan rubbed my back reassuringly as we followed a Specter guard that led us down a long hall connected to the throne room. About halfway down, he stopped and opened a door to our left, gesturing for us to go inside.
“Don’t touch me!” a woman screamed behind me, causing me to jump in alarm. If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say it was the one with hatred simmering in her eyes.
My Trifecta steered me into the room and I gazed around, saddened by the emptiness of it. Once upon a time, it looked like it might have been a study or maybe even a library. The walls were lined with bookshelves, but they were all empty. A part of me ached to see this room restored, overflowing with books from The Below and The Above. I could picture myself so clearly in here, lounging with a good book and losing myself for hours.
The room sparkled with the crystals embedded in the walls, making it feel like a true fantasy world. It would be so easy to fall into another world in here if it was a library.
A small bubble of hysteria cropped up inside of me as Sylan began to pull away from my side, and I gripped his arm tightly. “No. Please.”
He tucked me into his side and dropped kisses to the top of my head, murmuring that I would be okay and they would be back shortly.
I heard a similar pleading from my right, and I looked over to see the black-haired chosen who smiled at me in the same predicament. She didn’t want to be left alone, either.
Were we the only ones who felt this need to be glued to our Trifecta’s sides?
Flicking my eyes to the other two, I saw the strawberry blonde looked the exact same as she had in the throne room. Absolutely no sign of life in her eyes as she just stared absently at the wall at the back of the room. I was really concerned about her, and maybe this would be my opportunity to try to help her.
The nasty piece of work was glaring daggers at her Trifecta with her hands on her hips. “You can all go now,” she snapped. The anguish in their eyes was so clear that it made my heart pang in sadness for them. They did as she wished though, and so did the other Rumilus, leaving only mine here now.
When Sylan turned to leave once more, I clung to his arm tightly, not giving a shit about how desperate I sounded or looked. In the pit of my stomach, it felt like I was being poisoned as I thought of being without them.
“Please don’t leave me.”
I had no idea where this was coming from. I had always been so fiercely independent, able to stand on my two feet, no matter what happened. But here I was, acting like this was the end of the world. I wanted to say this was a gut instinct, but it wasn’t, and I couldn’t explain it.
“Don’t worry, you’ll be safe here. We’ll be back,” Axton promised as he rubbed my back and dropped a kiss to my forehead.
Rowen eyed the brunette hard as if in warning to not fuck with me, before leaning down and pressing a chaste kiss to my lips. “Stay away from her,” he whispered against my mouth before pulling back.
I snorted at his words. He didn’t have to tell me twice.
My body arched into Rowen, refusing to break contact. I wanted nothing more than for them to pin me to the wall and fuck me.
The thought startled me, seemingly coming out of nowhere because underneath that, I really just wanted them to hold me.
Keep me close.
Touch me.
My brain craved their comfort, but my body yearned for them.
Grinding my teeth in irritation about this wo
man I had turned into, I let go of my monsters and stepped back, plastering a fake smile on my face. Internally it felt like pin pricks under my skin, but I held still. “I’m sorry. It’ll be fine. If you say it’s fine, it’s fine.”
I doubted that I sounded reassuring to them. I didn’t even sound that way to myself, but I needed to know that I could do this. That I could still stand on my own two feet and be okay. That I could conquer whatever was growing inside of me.
Rowen still looked apprehensive, and Sylan didn’t look happy at all. But Axton forced a smile to his face as well, nodding at me in goodbye before they turned and left the room.
I bit my lip to keep from crying out when the Specter guard shut the door, sealing the three other humans in with me.
The black-haired girl came over to my side, and I was immensely thankful for the camaraderie between us.
“What do you think is going on?” I asked her, eyes darting around the room nervously.
“I’m not sure,” she responded shakily, “but if it makes you feel any better, I feel it too.”
I looked over at her, startled by her words, and asked, “Feel what?”
She blinked furiously, and I saw a blush creep up her cheeks before she responded, “The need to be by them, for them not to leave.”
I sucked in a sharp breath at her words and grabbed her hands. “Is it like there’s something inside of you that’s untamable trying to claw out?”
She gave me a small smile and squeezed my hands. “That’s one way of putting it. Yeah.”
Taking a deep breath, I held it for a few seconds, processing her words before I blew it out and dropped her hands. Running a hand through my hair, I asked, “Why does it seem like you and I are the only two Selected feeling that?”
With a shrug of her slender shoulders, she admitted, “I don’t know, but it feels really good to have someone to talk to about it. I’m Julie, what’s your name?”
The unease I felt still skittered through me, but I genuinely smiled at my new friend. “I’m Sera. Nice to meet you. So, how long have you been down here?”
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