by Jaime Marks
Chapter 6
Kyle watched a calm, subdued Lazurys approached him. His demeanor was outwardly deceptive and there was no doubt in his mind that he was about to bear the brunt of the Dark Lord’s rage. It didn’t matter that he was still bound to the cavern wall. Byryn and his sister had escaped.
“How unfortunate for you, young Prince, that you now have my undivided attention.” Flames rolled over Kyle at the flick of the Dark Lord’s wrist and he groaned through gritted teeth. “Where are they? Did they make it to the Realm of Balance?”
“I…don’t…know…” He forced out. His answer didn’t make a difference. Lazurys knew where they were. He was toying with him. He had no doubt that the Dark Lord knew the moment they had misted from the realm. Really his suspicion was that he allowed it.
“No matter. I will reclaim them when I am ready. For now you have my undivided attention, Kyle a Syneous. Make no mistake that is who you are. You are Shade and hence, you are mine. It is time you learn your place.”
It was excruciating. His skin felt like it was melting away under the flames and a slashing sensation ripped over his torso as crimson streaks ran down his body. He needed to distance himself. He needed something to latch onto but he would never fully reveal her to him.
“Your insolence is tedious, Kyle. Tell me what I wish to know. I can sense her, there in your mind…your mate,” Lazurys murmured. “You will eventually show her to me. I have a mild taste of her essence already. It is only a matter of time before I find her in your mind or feel her in the mist. I know this girl in some way. I know all of my creations and when I find her, I will possess her as I do you.”
Kyle met his eyes in defiance. He wasn’t really sure what the hell the bastard was talking about but he wouldn’t cave. Sweat poured down into his eyes and his body shook violently. His Father would come for him. His sires wouldn’t leave him to this hell.
Lazurys smirked, “Your strength is admirable, even more reason for me to covet it.” The intensity of the pain increased to a crippling level and tears streamed down his face. He didn’t know how much more he could take but he wouldn’t give in. “I can feel you breaking, boy. The agony must be intolerable. Reveal her to me, tell me her name, and I will bring her to you. Swear your loyalty only to me and I will bind you together, strengthening you both. You need not endure this. You could come to me in pleasure as your sire and sister have chosen.”
Kyle groaned as the world around him pixelated. He would never surrender a female to this life. He would die a thousand deaths before he risked someone so free spirited and pure to this fate. As the pain swallowed him whole his world faded to black. The last thing he saw in his mind was an angel with short red, golden highlighted hair and sparkling green eyes.
Byryn’s eyes fluttered open. Everything was blurry and the disorientation was extreme. He wasn’t sure where he was. His arms were wrapped around someone. He prayed it was Staryana. The images that were rolling through his mind made him nauseous. He reached out with his essence and breathed deeply. He could feel her. She was still with him.
Two essences flowed over him and he could have cried. “Ma, Marc…”
“It’s alright, Byryn. You’re safe,” Marcus’ voice echoed around him as he tried to orient to his surroundings.
“Do not strain yourself. We are healing you. You will feel better in a moment. Just relax until everything clears. Your body has endured a major trauma. We had to burn the Darkness out of you,” Cymeryn explained.
He nodded and eased but kept Staryana tightly in his arms. It didn’t matter if the Palace burnt to the ground around him, he would hold her and keep her safe from the Darkness, safe from Alayne, and far, far from Lazurys’ touch.
Slowly the world came into focus. They were in their room, back in the Realm of Balance. They were safe. If Marcus and Cymeryn were able to burn the Darkness out of them, Lazurys wouldn’t be able to pull them back to his realm. They would be free of his control. His memories came rushing back as he sat upright clutching his chest. It wasn’t his pain he was experiencing though.
“Shit,” he gasped completely unprepared for the assault.
“Are you alright, Byryn?” Cymeryn studied him.
“Yeah…It’s not me. You could have warned me about the drawbacks of blood-links. I still would have saved him,” Byryn gritted through the torture.
“You did not exactly give me time,” Cymeryn replied but hesitated. “Is he alright?”
Byryn ran a hand through his hair. “He’s alive. If you had gone for him before, Lazurys would have been there. Kyle told me to wait.”
Cymeryn nodded. “He is torturing him.” It wasn’t a question. His Grandsire had endured the Dark Lord’s attention many times over the years.
A somber mood slid over the room. Byryn’s mind was open to them completely. Cymeryn and Marcus knew exactly what Kyle was enduring. The pain pulsing through Byryn was intense but it was only a portion of what he was experiencing. He could sense it, feel it, even see it. He’d tried to communicate with him but Kyle was just about delirious. All his thoughts were focused on protecting Astryn, hiding her identity, as he struggled to hold on.
Staryana shifted in his arms as her eyes fluttered open. He tried to shut his mind and block hers but the twins were still linked to him. Her memories rolled through her mind as she reoriented to reality and he held his breath. She had been unconscious since Lazurys had shared their bed and he had no idea what the fall out would be. He wouldn’t blame her if she hated him for allowing it to happen.
A loud crash sounded beside him and he knew that Marcus had overturned his desk but he didn’t dare look at him. There was no way to hide the images and thoughts. He had seen it.
Byryn could feel his rage and fury. He was livid over how his daughter had been violated and he had every right to be. The only thing Marcus had ever asked of him was that he respect and honor Staryana. He had not only failed but taken part in her assault. He didn’t deserve her, but he couldn’t bear to let her go.
She sobbed into his chest as her memories tormented her. No one spoke. They didn’t dare make a sound. What the hell could they even say? Nothing could take away the truth of what had happened. Byryn went to move away to give her some space but she clutched tightly to him. He didn’t know whether to cry or breathe a sigh of relief. He couldn’t bear to be without her but he had hurt her so badly. How could she ever forgive him?
“How could you?” Marcus demanded. “How could you treat her in such a way?”
“Marcus, stop!” Cymeryn ordered. “He probably saved her life. You have no idea the trauma that she was spared by his decision. Byryn knew what would be done to her and he chose to protect her in the only way he could in that moment. You cannot condemn him for this.”
Byryn shook his head. He knew what Cymeryn said was true but it didn’t change the guilt or pain over what he had allowed to happen. It didn’t ease her pain. She was his whole world and he had allowed Lazurys to have her.
Cymeryn shook his head at him. “Do not do this to yourself. You had no choice.” He stood looking between them. “You both need to pull it together. We need to get Kyle out of there and we must do so soon. If Lazurys cannot break him, or gain the information he needs to do so, he will change his methods. If the Divine Being’s supposition is right he will use him to reach the three of us and we cannot allow that to happen. The pain will be excruciating. He will not survive it in his current state.”
Staryana breathed deeply as her sobs subsided. Her body stilled to the point where he thought she may have fallen asleep but she turned her face up and met his gaze. The pain and fear he saw in her eyes about broke him. He tentatively reached out brushing the hair from her face and dried her tears. When she didn’t pull back from him he thanked every deity in existence as he waited for her to say something, reach to him with her essence, anything.
“You can’t go,” she whispered, her voice hoarse and strained. “He’ll never let you leave again. He’ll pun
ish you, Byryn. He knows I wasn’t strong enough to make it out of there on my own. My body…he left me a lot weaker than he left you.”
That wasn’t entirely true. Really the damage to his body had been far more severe, but he was versed in enduring torture. It had been a normal part of his existence growing up with Trevyn as his Father. He’d borne the brunt of it for her because he knew he could take it. She had passed out, the situation too much for her mind and body to endure, but he’d been so weak he had no idea how they’d even made it here. It left him with a lot of questions, but there was only one thing that mattered right now.
“I can’t leave Kyle there. He’s the only reason I was able to be there to save you.”
“No, let someone else go,” she cried quietly.
He sighed wishing he could stay, wishing he could hold her forever. “Brightness, you were there. There is no way Marcus and Cymeryn will be able to find him alone, but with their help I might be able to.”
“Why? How do you think you can possibly find him if they can’t?” She argued.
“Because there’s something I’ve been hiding from you and Kyle while I sorted out how felt about it and how to tell him. When we awakened your brother, he bled out. He needed more than essence to keep him alive. He needed blood. Without it he never would’ve made it. Marcus and Cymeryn were losing him. It took everything they had to keep him alive. There was nothing they could do but…I don’t know, somehow I knew I could. I fed him my blood and merged with his essence to keep him sustained while one of the Healers transfused almost three pints of my blood to Kyle. He consumed enough of my essence that Cymeryn and Marcus had to heal me. We’re blood bound. We don’t know the full ramifications of it but I can feel him, strongly. The connection is almost as strong as the link between Marcus and Cymeryn and it’s still strengthening. I can hear him in mind almost as easily as I can you.”
She blinked as she took in everything he said but breathed deeply and shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. He’ll kill you if you don’t bring me back.”
“You are not going back,” he ordered far more forcefully than he meant to and had to pause to rein in his temper. “Baby, I can feel Kyle now. I know when he’s alone. If I go, we can be in and out, hopefully before Lazurys even knows we’re there.”
Staryana huffed and pulled away. She was getting pissed. “Like hell, Byryn. He will feel you the instant you enter his realm and he won’t keep you waiting this time. He’s not going to go after Marcus or even Cymeryn. He’s going to go right for you, and if he doesn’t he’s going to find a way to come for me while he knows you’re distracted. Did you think about that? What happens to me while the three of you aren’t here to protect me? We all know no one else has the ability or the power to even attempt it.” She pulled further away. “I won’t be able to resist him if we go back. I know the Darkness is gone but I can still feel him, Byryn.”
He winced knowing he felt it to. The Dark Lord might not have power over them but he was still there. It was like a craving you couldn’t define. It wasn’t powerful enough to make him seek it out, or to have any control over him, but if he came face to face with Lazurys on his own he wasn’t sure he could resist it’s pull.
“It’s in your mind, brightness.” He tried to reassure her and maybe himself. “It will fade in time. There’s nothing to tie us to him now…but,” he turned to Marcus and Cymeryn. “She’s right. I can’t leave her here alone.”
Cymeryn met his eyes. “It is only in your minds, Byryn. There is nothing of Lazurys left in you. You must believe it and allow yourselves to heal.”
Marcus crossed his arms. “We won’t leave her alone. I’ll take her to her Mother. She’ll be safe there.”
Byryn caught an image of where they meant to take her and his brows rose. “The Divine Being?” He whispered.
Marcus nodded stiffly. “She is of him. He will protect her and help her heal.”
“As long as Lazurys holds Kyle he will have a direct link to you, Byryn, and through you a direct link to her. I am surprised that he has not already attempted to connect to you this way,” Cymeryn’s voice was urgent. He could feel his fear for Kyle, as well as the two of them, flowing through their bonds.
Byryn turned his attention back to Staryana. She stared at him with uncertainty. He could feel her disgust, not with him, but with herself. She needed her Mom in the very least. “Baby, you need to go with your Dad. I will always do what I need to do to keep you safe. I don’t want to do this, but I won’t risk leaving Kyle there.” He pulled her close and kissed her head. “You wouldn’t forgive me if I did. He’s your brother. I know you’re scared right now but when you calm down you’ll know this was the right thing to do.”
She clung to his chest. “No. No, don’t leave me, Byryn. I need you with me.”
She began sobbing against him. It literally broke him. He had allowed the cause of this pain. He had convinced her to let it happen, even seduced her into it. The only thing he could do for her now was to protect her by saving her brother.
He stood with her in his arms, surprised that his strength had returned so quickly. Carefully he carried her to Marcus. Still unable to meet the Fae in the eyes he waited until he was sure his hands were in place to support her weight before he kissed her gently and pried her arms from him. She fought to hold onto him and it about killed him to let her go, but it was what had to be done. It was the right thing to do.
He realized from the pattern in Lazurys’ torture of Kyle that he would be passing out again soon. That would be when they would have the opportunity to save him. She needed to be somewhere safe so he could prepare and they could go the moment their window opened. If they couldn’t reach him before he woke they’d be facing Lazurys head on.
“I love you, baby. I promise I’ll see you soon, but this is what has to be done. Be safe.” He stepped back out of her reached and nodded, letting Marcus know to take her. In a flash they were gone.
He dropped to his knees, the strength he’d portrayed for her suddenly gone. The pain and the guilt of everything overwhelming him. Cymeryn placed a hand on his shoulder trying to comfort him but nothing but his mate being whole again could do that. He’d have to turn back time to make that happen.
“Come, Byryn. Let me take you to your son. He needs to see that you are alright.”
He shook his head. “He’s been through enough. If he sees me now and we don’t make it back it will only hurt him worse.”
He forced himself to stand and went into his closet, grabbing robes and getting dressed. Although the robes were soft and silky they felt scratchy on his skin. He didn’t feel like he deserved any of this anymore.
He was the evil that had always permeated his life. The Darkness might have been burned out of him, but that didn’t clean his soul. His hands were covered in the blood and essence of the women he loved. First he had done the unthinkable to his sister. He’d hurt her so badly that he had questioned his right to exist. Now he had betrayed Staryana, seduced her into taking the Dark Lord into their bed, and abused her body for his own sick pleasure. He’d been right. She deserved so much more than him.
“Stop it, Byryn,” Cymeryn ground out from the entrance to the closet. “You were under Lazurys’ influence. You only allowed it to occur because the alternative would have destroyed her and you. You are not a monster. Even your sister has forgiven you because the actions that occurred were as much an assault against you as they were her. That was Trevyn’s doing, not your own, just as this is Lazurys’. You tried to protect them.”
He scoffed, “And instead of protecting them I abused them both…Let’s just focus on getting Kyle back. I need to stay focused if we’re going to make it out of there.”
“Fine, but this is not over. We will discuss this once he is safe and healed.”
Byryn breathed deeply. That was if he made it back. He started slowly reconstructing his walls. It was exhausting keeping anything hidden from Marcus and Cymeryn with the amount of essence they
had flowing through him from the healing.
He knew if it came down to saving Kyle and the twins or himself he would sacrifice himself to get them back safely. They would take care of Staryana. The Divine knew they would do a hell of a lot better than he had done. He had no intention of staying in that hell, but if it came down to it, he would die to protect them all.
Chapter 7
Felycia paced in Devyn’s sitting room. She couldn’t figure out why Byryn and Star hadn’t made an appearance yet. She expected Byryn to at least check on her and Kylion. Even if he thought she would be fine he should have checked on his son, but he hadn’t.
Something had to have happened. Either he and Star were severely injured, or he was going to do something insanely stupid. She knew Kyle hadn’t made it back and the only reason she could think of that would keep him from Kylion after all the kid had been through was if he was leaving again.
If that wasn’t enough to worry about, she was seriously stressed over what had happened at meal. She wished Byryn were here. He would know what to do about the situations she was seeing. He’d know what to tell her about her concerns. They accepted him, so obviously he knew how to manage this shit.
Strong arms stilled her, wrapping her up from behind. “Are you alright, dear girl?”
Felycia breathed in deeply. She didn’t like how emotional she’d become since her awakening. It was easier when she didn’t feel anything. Even when her emotions did surface she had always managed to control them well enough that no one else was ever aware. Now it was almost as if she’d become transparent to everyone around her. Devyn, more than anyone, could read her like a book. He also seemed to make it a habit of attempting to get her to face what she was feeling, or at least admit it. It made it really hard to rebuild her walls or slip back into her controlled calm.
