by Tigris Eden
“Amara, what about her?”
Enri turned to Royce, and he could see the glint in the male’s eyes. He knew the name well. Why wouldn’t he, he was responsible for her birth? Or creation. Shit.
“Amara is a part of the collective, yes, and she will be gunning for everyone in your father’s bloodline. But she is not the only one; the collective has a debt to collect on everyone. They were promised dominion over Earth, but they took to doing what they wanted. I may have been the one to put them under the dirt, but it was with the help of others.”
“The help of others?” Jesminda asked.
“Yes, most if not all of your ancestors had a part in their capture. It was the only way to bind them, and until recently, they slumbered.”
“Yes, well, Gregor went on a killing spree,” Jourunn imparted. Something they all knew.
“That to was my doing,” Enri spoke up. He wasn’t ashamed in the least.
Douche exclusivity.
Enri winked in Royce’s direction, a wide fangy smile on his face. In return, Royce flipped him the double bird. “Basically, this is all your fault. Why should we help you? You’ve put our entire existence at risk, and not just us, but the humans as well. Amara is not the forgiving kind, and that’s just from the stories I’ve heard about her.”
“Royce, we have to help, it’s the only way to ensure our way of life remains.” Jorunn argued.
“I say we don’t help the fucker, and just all go back to the mountain. Belinda is the Matria, and if she says we can stay, we stay. We regroup, find a way to beat this thing, but on our terms.” Royce pointed at Enri. “Not his.”
“Have you not been listening? There is no place, be it realm, or other world that is safe from their wrath. It’s far reaching.”
“So how do we stop them?” Draven asked.
“We don’t. Even with the Sahidic, we won’t be prepared.”
“And my sister, how does she play into any of this,” Dietrich interrupted.
The brother was only concerned about his sister. Figures.
“She doesn’t. She will be safe bringing in the dawn. I will see to that. She will not be harmed. There is no realm, no plane, no existence where anyone will be safe. Eremiel lied to you. Used Faith, and showed her things that will come to pass. We can try to stop it, but the battle is coming, and it’s only a matter of time.”
“Well if you’re Chaos, then you should be able to stop them.”
“I should, but everything I’ve created has a purpose. If they are destroyed, things will be set into motion that can’t be undone.”
“Like what?”
“The Defiant Ones were not spurn from my creation. They are the seed of Ophiuchus. He was the last of the Zodiacs, but he was also the most defiant. They all sat on the Council of Creation, and his children were the ones who would go out and do the council’s bidding. I thought it was under control. It wasn’t. There were consequences, and things were undone once before, and had to be remade.”
“You fucked up.” Royce grunted.
“I don’t fuck up, but it would seem my creations got away from me.”
Royce glanced around the room at everyone and declared. “In my book, that’s called a fuck up, and let’s just tag it as a fuck up with epic consequences of unquantifiable damage. It was probably the reason you were usurped. You couldn’t handle the gift given to you. Daddy didn’t show you enough attention, and so you acted out.”
“Say one more thing Feral, and I’ll have no problem showing you my brand of attention.”
“Enri.,” Yewa’s voice was soft and cajoling.
“I will not quiet my tongue to set you at ease, Sundara. He insults me.”
“You said so yourself, we have more pressing problems. We need their help. Kaunar.”
Enri’s eyes flashed to Yewa at the word Kaunar, but his eyes held stars and galaxies—fucking galaxies. Royce had never seen anything like it. He watched as the male looked down at Dietrich’s sister with warmth and fondness. He would have gagged and maybe even laughed, but he could see the male had true feelings for Yewa.
“Alright, you have my attention, Enri. What do we do if we can’t stop them?”
“We bargain with them, Royce, give them something else to focus on.”
“How do we do that?”
“We dangle something in front of them that they can’t possibly ignore,” Enri said with complete confidence.
“I will offer them the chance to sit on the council.”
“A council that no longer exists.” Draven put in.
“Oh, it exists, the Zodiacs have never left; they’ve been asleep.”
Well lucky for them. Royce thought.
“Adam will need to get in contact with the Agency, this changes everything. They are going to try to instill their laws upon us now. Especially if this were to come to light,” Draven reminded everyone in the room. The fucking Agency, always with their hand in the cookie jar.
“It’s a little too late for that,” Enri said on a harsh breath. “The Unveiling starts now.”
Chapter 26
Right on cue, the television flickered on. Royce knew it had to be Enri’s doing. There was an image on the screen. The oceans were riotous in their vigor as huge swells of waves swallowed an entire fleet of ships off the coast of the Mediterranean Sea right where Egypt rested.
“This is Connie Brafford of World Wide News. What you’re seeing is not a joke. It appears that a large, beast-like creature, likened to what can only be called—dare I say—Alien, maybe, has risen from the Mediterranean Sea and is swallowing entire ships at the port of Alexandria.”
The group looked at the screen. Tension in the room was high, and Royce didn’t know what the creature was. It wasn’t a Kraken, hell, it wasn’t even a Hydra, but something more. It had the head of a dragon and black scales covered its body. Four arms, and a long tail spiked with horns. Its underbelly covered in clear scales, and inside its belly was fire. It took the form of spiders, and every time the creature would open its mouth, the flames would erupt, and crawl up the side of its intending target, incinerating it into nothing. This was more than a problem. This was a fucking catastrophe of epic proportions.
“This can’t be for real,” Jes said, walking over to the television. She stood right in front of it, worry clear on her face.
“It’s real. Tahl said he couldn’t hold them back.”
Royce looked to Enri, but Draven beat him to it. “Who the fuck is Tahl?”
“The Primordial. He was in existence long before Darkness or Light came to be.”
If there were ever a moment for a mic drop, that was the time. Everyone, including Royce, had nothing to say. They’d all had their form of their tall tales, of the be-all end-all, to existence. Humans had their one true God. Most of, if not all, the unit members knew of multiple gods and deities. But there was always the origin story, the one thing that was never true, or really considered. Enri sat down with Yewa at the table and a gave them the footnotes version.
There weren’t truly multiple gods, but twenty-four true entities. The deities came to their believers in whatever manifestation the person believed to be true. Twelve females and twelve males, Enri Tahl, Erebos, Immaru, and Ekho, represented a slew of different deities as well, but weren’t truly gods or goddesses. They were the beginning inhabits before the design of multiple life forces and the places they dwelled.
To Royce, Enri resembled a Fallen—an angel of sorts who had fallen from their place in the heavens. Not necessarily an Angel like Gabe and his brothers, but someone who fell from their perch. Fallen’s once held great powers but due to some dastardly deed, could no longer be redeemed. Enri laughed at that and said, in a way, he had fallen from the heavens. Cast out by Erebos and sent to Hades after his memory was taken. But it was the Zodiacs, along with Darkness, Light, Ekho—who turned out to be Sound—were the true deities. The Defiant Ones, were just that: defiant. Going against their father and wanting to do their own thing
. They were a collective of three souls, one of which, being Amara.
And Enri was right. She would come for them. A tale of a woman scorned by the one male she thought loved her above all others. She’d come to their father’s father as a maiden. She’d fallen for his blood, and not the man. As punishment, she’d turned them over to Jupitar, which led to the capture and enslavement of his kind, only for their father to lead them to freedom. But not before turning her over to someone Royce now knew was Enri. Fucking hell.
“Well, quite the story,” was all Draven had to say.
“These are not stories, but truth. Do I need to speak to Black?”
Jes was the first to balk at that idea. They all were. Black was a sadistic fuck, and although he was a part of Draven, no one wanted to meet that bastard in a fight. He was ruthless.
“Adam, you should try to handle the Agency.” Draven said.
“I’ll assist on that. I’m already in conversation,” Enri announced.
“Enri,” Yewa said, her eyes going wide with concern.
“It is alright. They aren’t cooperating very well, but I can’t kill them all. Some are going to become useful.”
The bastard can be in multiple places at the same time. Fucker. I could be nestled balls deep in my girl, while squashing shit here.
“What’s the next step?” Royce asked.
“I drink from the cup. It’s up to me to do the rest.”
“Wait! Do we even know what’s going to happen once you drink from the cup?” Jourunn asked.
“Yes, we’ll have the location of the ancient texts, the Sahidic. We’ll need to retrieve that as well, but one thing at a time.”
“Agreed,” Draven said. His gaze reached Dietrich, and Draven cleared his throat. “D, man, you gonna flip your lid?”
“Why the fuck for? Enri drinks from the cup, not my girl. If he sticks to that, we’re golden.”
“Well let’s get on with this dog and pony show. Are there words that need to be spoken?” Royce asked.
Enri shook his head.
“Excellent. Xee can you grab the cup?” Draven asked.
Xee nodded her head, and walked from the room. Dietrich talked with Jo, who looked a bit nervous.
“Jo, you have nothing to worry about, it’s just a little blood, and then Enri drinks from the cup.”
“Yup. Got it.”
Xee returned with the cup. It wasn’t anything to write home about. Jo had already gone through her chrysalis phase—a phase Dietrich had not been completely excited about, but knew it was necessary transformation. She was healed, and able to provide the blood needed to find the ancient scrolls. Xee sat the cup on the table, and Jo took a deep breath.
“We don’t have all day.” Enri seethed, his fangs bared for all to see. It was Yewa that calmed him when she placed her hand on his.
“Jorunn, how would you like this to go down?” Draven asked.
“I’ll do it. Jo and I already talked about it.” Dietrich grunted, pulling a blade from his pant leg.
Jorunn walked to the table, placing her wrist over the mouth of the cup. Dietrich was quick. He sliced, the blood poured, and as it did, it sizzled in the cup. When the cup was half-full, Jorunn pulled back. Dietrich was there cradling her arm. Adam looked away—he couldn’t be around blood, but he braved it for the others. Royce hoped Adam would do the right thing and soon. He couldn’t keep starving himself.
“There,” Jorunn said, peering up at Enri.
“You have to bring it to me, little one. Present it to me. Like an offering,” Enri said with a tilt of his lips.
Royce wasn’t sure if the other male was doing it on purpose or not, but Jo went willingly. She walked the cup over to Enri, who took it from her. He looked to Yewa first, and then the rest of them, before downing the contents of the cup in one swallow.
Nothing happened. No light opened from the heavens, the ground didn’t shake. Nothing. Everyone eyeballed Enri, and Royce first thought was they’d been scammed again. And right when he would have said something, Enri clutched his stomach and groaned. Then he did some truly gross shit no one expected. He tore off his clothes.
Stripped. Butt ass naked in front of everyone. Yewa went to him as he hunched over, his clothes a shredded pile at his feet, as he dropped to his knees and doubled over.
“Didn’t this dude have wings?” Royce blurted.
“Yes, but he can mask them,” Yewa replied.
“Check out his back, look. There’s a map.” Jes interrupted.
Sure enough, a map of some kind formed on Enri’s back. There were words as well, written in a language Royce couldn’t decipher.
“The map on my back is what you’ll need to find the Sahidic.” Enri groaned.
“Fuck, so we’re stuck with you even after all this bullshit with the wannabe Kraken?”
Enri who was no longer on his knees grunted, and looked to Dietrich. “Will you cut this thing off my back? It can be kept that way.”
“Enri, no.” Yewa hissed.
“Yes, Xee will need to start working out the location.”
“Hey, let me cut into him, I’ve been wanting a piece of this motherfucker for a while,” Royce volunteered.
And of course, Mr. Chaos couldn’t take a joke. Not that he’d been joking, but still, he could have been. Enri stood to his full height and grabbed Royce by the throat, his fangs lengthened, and as the stars and cosmos collided inside his fathomless orbs, he murmured, “Boy—and trust me, you are just that—I can end you with a thought. Unravel your life span until nothing is left but a speck of dust.”
“Enri, please. Set Royce down. As it is in your nature to react with violence, it is in Royce’s nature to react in the same manner.”
Royce was pissed, but he wasn’t going to rage out now. Yewa was right. They were both reactive people, which meant they’d go at it and the only who’d suffer from a fatality would be him. Enri was a true immortal.
Enri released the grip on Royce’s throat and motioned for Dietrich to cut the map from his back. Everyone in the room watched as D carved the flesh from Enri’s back, and it wasn’t a small section either. It was his entire back. Enri didn’t move, didn’t even wince. He lay there as if he were getting a tattoo. The only thing missing was the sound of the needle. Instead, it was the sound of flesh and blood as it spilled down his sides and onto the floor.
When it was over, Draven had Jesminda get Enri some clothes.
“Now that that very disturbing scene is over, what the fuck do we do now? Royce asked.
“We deal with the threat. Yewa is to stay here until I can return for her. I will see to Hades later. Someone will need to locate Eremiel while the rest of us deal with what’s happening off the coast of Africa. I know there is a Unit there and have already briefed them.”
That got everyone moving Draven left Jesminda with their young. Royce talked Ronin into staying with Belinda and the twins and keeping watch over the women and children in the Unit. Hawke and Adam were all set to finish negotiating with the Agency while Royce, Draven, Sam, Gabe, and Enri made their way to the gate beneath the Unit’s building. It was the quickest mode of transportation, and they really needed to get Alexandria.
Yewa sat with the others in the game room, all of them watching the television. Enri and the others had left. The only male there with them was Ronin, and a few others she’d never met before. They weren’t part of the Unit, but part of Draven’s pack.
“I’m going to put the twins to bed,” a tall beautiful woman, with black hair and purple eyes said. She’d arrived right after the others had left, with two beautiful babies, Ece and Erastus.
“Alright, Deva, but put them in the room closet to the game room and leave the door open.” Ronin kissed the forehead of the woman he called Deva. She knew that word—it was a term of endearment, like the one Enri used for her. She’d called Enri Kaunar, it meant love in the language of her village. It had been easily said, and without thought. She knew he understood the meaning, if t
he look he gave her was any indication.
“I’m going to do the same with Caleb and Faith, it’s getting late.” This was from Draven’s mate, Jesminda. Her daughter, Faith, was already asleep on the sofa and Caleb, the little wolf cub, was rolling around on the floor with a child called Reese.
“I can help,” Yewa said, standing. She didn’t know what else to do. She felt so useless. She wanted to be with Enri. She knew she couldn’t protect him physically, but felt her presence would calm him. He had a knack for being impulsive. It was his way, she knew, but if she could save a life just by being with him, it was something. She wondered now if he was fully with the others, or if he was around, watching her.
Enri. Are you here?
She tried to reach him in her mind. She knew the Blood Kiss connected them, and she’d also bonded with him, as he’d done with her. Some bonded mates could communicate via telepathy. But when she got no response she assumed he was fully in his form, which was a good thing. It meant he would be at his best and better able to help the others.
“Thank you Yewa, it’s appreciated. It’s going to take a while to calm Caleb down.” Jesminda looked over at Reece, who was all giggles. “Reese honey, it’s time for you to get to bed, as well. Why don’t you sleep in the room with the babies and Faith?”
“Yes ma’am.”
The little girl stood and walked into the room closest to the game room. Jesminda picked up a sleeping Faith and Yewa reached for the little cub, who was all too happy to be picked up. She snuggled Caleb in her arms, and he licked her face until she couldn’t help but laugh.
“He’s only like that with people he’s comfortable with,” Jes commented with a smile on her face.
“He’s a very sweet boy.”
Draven’s mate’s eyes warmed at the compliment. But then her face grew concerned. “Yewa, I don’t mean to be nosy, or pry....”
“But you are going to, anyway.”
“Well, yes. You’re Dietrich’s sister, and I know he loves you. He’s family—that makes you family.”
“I see.” Yewa placed Caleb among the sleeping children. “You may ask your question. I’ll answer it, if I can.”
