by Jaime Marks
Grifyn and Byryn each braced under his arms and lifted as he pulled himself to his feet. “Stephynia, will you please rest your eyes, caria. Lay against my chest, there is naught else to concern yourself with at the moment.” He was relieved when she did as he asked. The last thing they needed was for one of them to somehow come into view.
When he looked around they stood in a circle of dust as if something had displaced the Earth around him. Marcus stood a few feet away with Reyana nestled in his arms. They nodded to one another in reassurance that both their loves would be alright. The Guardians that stood watching in awe all fell to their knees. He had no idea what they had witnessed, what had happened when he had been in Stephynia’s mind, but then even the sheer force of her ancestral power was awe inspiring. He had a feeling so much more had occurred than he was aware of however. Fae were glancing between Stephynia and Reyana in reverence.
Marcus turned and headed to the Palace. Cymeryn limped beside him with Kato’s assistance. He followed them with Grifyn and Byryn on either side of him. Staryana remained on the steps to the Palace watching as they approached but Byryn grabbed her hand as he passed pulling her to his side.
“I want you with me for now, brightness. Stay right by my side,” he spoke so quietly Mythos barely heard him, but he already knew the reasons. They needed to manage this situation to keep them both safe.
They walked in silence to the suites stopping in the corridor. Mythos cleared his throat and they all turned to face him. “We will need to address what provoked this very soon. I will get the Lady Stephynia settled. How long will it take you two to heal?”
Marcus glanced to Cymeryn seeming to study him. “We could meet in an hour, maybe, my lord.”
“Then an hour in my sitting room?”
They all nodded and went to their separate rooms. He needed to know what had occurred on that plateau and deal with the unawakened that had harmed his caria. Once he was sure she was stable and safe he would deal with the pain they had caused her.
Chapter 5
Kyle cursed as a Fae shoved him into the room, knocking him on his ass. He could fight them but there was no real point to it. Really aside from the attitude he’d given Byryn he hadn’t resisted at all. If he revealed his hand too soon it would kill any advantage he had of making it out of this alive and they hadn’t learned anything useful since they got here.
This entire situation was screwed right from the start. He’d known the moment Cymeryn had shown up with the Fae they were in way over their damned heads and things just kept getting better. Byryn apparently held some position of authority which meant there was no way in hell he was gonna let him get anywhere near Star. He hadn’t even seen her yet to even know what state she was in and he had no fucking clue what the hell had just happened with Steph out there. There was too much shit going on and he had no way to account for any of it without more information. How the hell was he supposed to come up with a plan if he was locked the hell up?
John had just fucked up everything. They were supposed to be fucking gaining their trust so they could get close enough to Star and Steph to get them out of here, not getting themselves killed. Now they were locked up and there was no way in hell that they would believe they’d come here to seek Redemption or whatever the hell Byryn had called it. What the hell was he thinking?
Kyle waited until the door was closed and turned on his mentor. “What the fuck, John? You really do have a fucking death wish, don’t you? First you’re making deals with the Brood. Then you’re egging Steph on right there in the open and fighting off the fucking Guardians! Have you lost your damned mind? What the hell are we supposed to do now?”
Weighing through everything in his mind he realized he was probably screwed anyway. The last person he’d expected to see show up at that group home was Cymeryn, and he even had Demytria by his side. They’d fought alongside the Fae to free the female unawakened. What the hell did that mean? He knew the former Supryn had supposedly betrayed his post but he was supposed to be working his own agenda not joining up with the enemy. He didn’t know what the hell to make of it but if they figured out who he was he was dead on the spot. There was no love lost between their lines.
In all reality once Cymeryn was wounded he should’ve summoned Syneous or even Alayne to deal with him but he could give two shits about the fucking power struggles of the Shade. He needed to reach Star. Besides, so far as he knew Cymeryn was the only being alive that could hold his own against his bastard of a Grandfather. Hopefully the two of them would keep each other busy enough for him to get the girls to safety. Who the hell was he kidding? There was no safety.
“Relax, Kyle. We need them to throw us in the dungeon anyway,” John shrugged as he sat down on the bed.
That caught his attention. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Come on. Did you really think I just threw everything away like that? I came here to get Steph. I’m not stupid enough to fuck that up.”
Kyle breathed deeply hating this shit. Every time he turned around John was changing shit up without including him. He was so fucking done. He knew once he went against Alayne to protect Star he was as good as dead anyway. If he was gonna die he may as well have the satisfaction of putting John in his place first.
“You’re an asshole, John. I’m sick and fucking tired of always being left out of the damned loop. You say want my loyalty, you expect me to fucking pull off this impossible shit, but then you change the rules without even telling me. I’m done with this shit. Tell me what the hell the deal is or you’re on your own,” he growled in frustration.
John smirked as he rose slowly from the bed, “About fucking time.”
Kyle arched a brow but held his ground as the male stalked him. He couldn’t beat him physically, there was no fucking chance in hell, but he had a few tricks up his sleeve if he needed them. He sized him up waiting for him to react.
“You need to start fucking standing up for yourself. You let Syneous walk all over you, hell you let me walk all over you.” John lunged gripping him by the throat and taking him to the wall. “I will always own you, Kyle, but I want you by my side and you need to stop fucking doubting yourself.”
“Then trust me enough to fucking tell me what’s going on,” Kyle challenged.
“Syneous is leading an attack on the realm once he’s given us enough time to get in place. Star’s going into her awakening and Alayne wants to awaken her himself.”
“What the hell do you mean Star’s awakening? She’s younger than us,” he scoffed.
John leaned against him in an attempt to calm him. He always restrained him when he started to lose his shit. For some fucked up reason that he didn’t want to think about, it generally worked. “I know this whole thing has you on tilt but you need to chill. I don’t really know why she’s awakening now but Byryn’s obviously awakened and he’s my age so maybe it has something to do with this place. Either way, the order came down from your Grandfather and they’re moving to claim her. Once they get here we’ll grab the girls and get out while they’re handling the rest of the bullshit. I know how you feel about Star but there’s nothing you can do to prevent this. I will find a way to make all of this up to you. Once this is over I’ll take you out and get you a slave, but you need to fucking let this go. Don’t do anything stupid.”
“I don’t know if I can do that, John,” he admitted hesitantly. “You have no idea what Alayne will do to her.”
“Yeah I do, but you don’t really have a choice now. He’s claimed her and unless you plan on killing your Grandfather and taking his place as High Priest there’s nothing you can do.”
“Maybe I fucking should. Then we could be done with this shit,” he cursed, even though he knew it would never happen. Alayne would never allow him to live through his awakening if he thought he was really a threat.
John’s lips crashed into his as he ground against him. “Have I ever told you how fucking hot it is to see that anger, feel that strength r
olling off of you? If you’d just fucking let go and embrace that Darkness things would be so much easier.”
Yeah, never gonna happened. He’d been down that road. He’d tried to be the monster they wanted him to be. It literally ate at his soul. There was a lot of himself that he’d sacrificed since his Mother’s death, a lot of things he’d done, but he refused to deny who he was completely. He wouldn’t become Alayne.
“Someday you might get the chance to take that Bastard out, but we both know that’s not gonna be today. Bide your time, Kyle. Once you awaken we’ll see what happens.” Releasing him with a smirk John walked back to the bed and laid down. “Get some rest. We’ll need it when all hell breaks loose.”
Kyle sighed and lay down in the other bed. Things were worse than he thought. If Star was awakening he didn’t have a hell of a lot of options. He couldn’t just hang out here trying to come up with a plan because Byryn would take advantage of her, if he hadn’t already. He couldn’t just take off back to Earth because Alayne would never stop hunting her. Shit he needed some fucking options.
He thought about what had happened on the plateau. He’d never seen anything like it in an unawakened. She was wielding ancestral essence. It was raw and untamed and a hell of a lot stronger than he’d ever witnessed before, but he recognized it. Steph was strong and she was Cerulyion. That meant she had access to the knowledge and strength of her line and she had just as much at stake in this as Star. If he could teach her how to control it, how to focus it so that she could avoid nearly blowing herself up or whatever the hell she’d done, then maybe they could work together.
He didn’t feel any better about Alayne getting his hands on her but Steph hated him. She wasn’t exactly gonna jump at signing on for his suicide mission. Maybe, just maybe, if he told her the truth though, laid everything on the line, she would trust him. If there was one thing he could count on it was that Steph always put Star before herself. It wasn’t perfect but if he opened himself up, used some of what his Grandfather had taught him and taught her to use her strength, maybe together they could get the hell out of here before it was too late. Shit, either way he looked at it he was as good as dead. He just hoped he could find a way to get Star out of this mess and find a way to mask her so she’d be safe before he died. She was all that mattered.
Byryn pulled Staryana close trying to decide how much of this he had a right to explain. He could sense the questions in her mind but most of the answers weren’t his story to tell. Steph needed someone she could trust right now and if he broke her confidence he knew she’d never come to him again. As much as he wanted to explain what was going on to Staryana, there wasn’t too much he could say without crossing that line.
He grimaced when she finally sat up to stare down at him but rolled over leaning on his elbow as he waited for her to speak. He knew she was upset that he wasn’t just volunteering the information. There wasn’t really much he could say unfortunately and really there were other things they needed to handle now. All he could do was provide the bare minimum and hope it was enough.
“Spill it, Byryn,” she demanded.
“John and Kyle are here,” he replied studying her for a reaction.
Confusion clouded her for a second but realization followed quickly and she punched him in the shoulder.
“Ow,” he faked. She never really hit him hard but she would if she realized it didn’t really hurt. “What the hell was that for?”
“For not telling me they were unawakened…especially since I can only assume they’re Shade,” she scowled at him.
“You had enough to worry about the last time we discussed them. There was no reason to add to it.” He shrugged, “Besides I’d already dealt with it.”
Staring at him shrewdly she raised a brow, and taunted, “Riiiight. Well, I assume since they aren’t in the cells they came for Redemption. Seeing how you’ve already dealt with it I guess I’ll just pop down to the unawakened corridor to say hello.”
He ground his teeth, grabbing her wrist as she went to stand. He knew she was pushing him for a reaction but she had no idea how hard it was not to exert the control over her that he knew he could have. It was something he still craved and in situations where she was at risk it was damned near impossible. “You will stay away from them, Staryana, or I will likely lose at least my rank. It’s not a request. I won’t stand for you being anywhere near those bastards. I’ve already made it more than clear that you’re off limits to them and I’ll tell you the same. Stay the hell away from them or I’ll kill them.”
She nodded crossing her arms. “That’s what I thought. What did they do to Steph, Byryn? I’m not stupid. I know there’s more to this and I know that you’re protecting her. She’s been hiding something and there’s no way she reacted that way just because she was worried about me. Those bastards hurt her.”
He couldn’t meet her eyes. The Darkness in him was too close to the surface and he hated showing her even that small glimmer. It may not be as hate fueled and evil as it had been but he would never be truly Light. Right now he wanted nothing more than to tear John and Kyle apart but the reasons he wanted them dead were the same reasons his own sister wanted nothing to do with him. He hated himself right now as much as he hated them. The only thing he could do was try to respect Steph in this and find some way to protect Felycia.
“Brightness, you know I tell you everything when I’m able. I hate secrets but this one really isn’t mine to tell. I’ve already told you everything about it that I can without breaking Steph’s confidence…Not that she really confided in me, I sort of figured it out on my own. The thing is, if you were having a difficult time and there was only really one person who you felt comfortable talking to, I wouldn’t want to mess that up. She doesn’t trust anyone to begin with and if I didn’t already know she wouldn’t have even talked to me about it.”
She sighed in exasperation, “Alright, but will you at least tell me if you think she’s in danger?”
“After today? I’d say it’s John and Kyle that are in danger. I wouldn’t particularly take issue with that but the way her essence was earlier?” He shook his head still wondering what the deal really was with Steph. “I’m just not sure if she would be held to the Covenants or not. We can’t let her harm a human.” He stared into her eyes knowing she was all but certain that she already knew the answers to her questions. He didn’t really have a way to make this easier for her though.
“I know you’re worried about Steph, but there’s something else we need to discuss.” He pulled her into his arms. There was no part of him that was ready for this, but he needed to give her everything if he was going to make this decision. “I want to discuss moving Felycia up here so I can be sure she’s safe. I don’t trust John and Kyle and I’m pretty sure Dracyn already tried to target her to get to me. It wouldn’t surprise me if they went after her as well. It’s not exactly a secret that I protect and provide for her.”
“I’m ok with that, if you think she’ll be alright.”
He blew out a slow breathe. “I don’t want your answer yet, brightness. If I’m going to do this you have a right to know what happened that night. You should see it all before you awaken, anyway.”
She visibly paled when she realized what he meant. “Why Byryn?”
He searched her eyes as he spoke, holding her in his arms afraid that this would be the last time he could. “Because you’re on the verge of awakening. Once we mate you will know all the secrets of my mind and we won’t be able to go back on our actions. You have a right to know beforehand.”
Her eyes suddenly widened. “This is what had you so upset last night. You’re worried that once I know everything, I won’t love you anymore. Or worse, you think I won’t be able to accept it and feel trapped with you.”
He sat up looking away from her a moment. “I’ve done a lot of horrible things, Staryana. I may not be that person anymore, but being aware of it and knowing it firsthand are very different things.”
&nb
sp; She studied him, “I know who you are, Byryn. I’ve fully accepted the fact that your past is loaded with painful memories and things you’re not exactly proud of. You don’t need to be worried about this. I don’t have to see it.”
He took her hands and met her gaze. “That’s just it. You’re going to see it, Staryana. Whether either of us like it or not when we mate during your awakening, creating that bond, all of my thoughts, my memories, their all yours baby and if you can’t deal with it now, you won’t be able it handle it then. It isn’t fair to do that to you, especially during your awakening.”
She winced in resignation. “You’re not going to let this go are you?”
He shook his head. “I’ve thought about it a lot and I won’t deny that it terrifies me, but the only thing that scares me more is you being locked into a Bonding with me if you can’t handle this. You would grow to hate me, Staryana, and that would destroy me.”
He felt her essence flow over him and he opened himself to her. After a few moments she nodded. “Alright. If this is what you need, then alright.”
They sat there holding hands as their essence merged and she entered his mind. It felt so comfortable to have her there, so right. Byryn could only hope when this was over that she could still find it in her heart to love him. He wasn’t sure if it was the right time for him to be doing this. He hated the idea of not being by her side when Kyle and John were here, but he knew he could rely on everyone else to protect her if she could no longer bear his presence. No matter what happened, they would always keep her safe.
Chapter 6
Mythos walked into his bedchamber and lay her in his bed. He removed his robing and lay beside her pulling her onto his chest. Light still pulsed along her skin and he wanted as little barrier between them as possible without crossing lines in case the awakening set in…or began to cease.
