He couldn’t say any of that, but he didn’t have to, because his mate understood. Rachen released a small sob, clutching Phoenix’s hand. “Where the fuck is that doctor?” he roared.
With the corner of his eye, Phoenix caught sight of the red bleeding out of this Rachen’s hair. As Karein took over once more, Phoenix told him, “Take care of him, please. He’s your brother, and he loves you. Just…take care of him.”
The emperor held onto Phoenix’s hand, looking at him with haunted eyes. Phoenix didn’t know what he was thinking, and likely he would never find out. He sent another “I love you” to his mate, and everything turned black.
* * * *
When his mate went limp on the bed, Rachen felt his world was collapsing. It didn’t even have anything to do with the obvious wrongness of what was going on, with the fact that his own brother had tried to shoot him and actually attempted to claim Phoenix as his. Well, that in itself was terrible, but Rachen might have been able to deal with it. He would have shown Karein and everyone else who doubted him that Phoenix already had a mate, Rachen.
But now, even that possessiveness seemed trivial, because Phoenix lay motionless in front of him. Rachen threw his head back and roared, his dragon threatening to burst free out of him, to burn down the citadel and bring it collapsing on top of all of their heads. He wanted them all to pay for what they’d done to Phoenix. He himself had failed his mate. In his zeal to taunt his brother, he’d set this entire thing into motion.
Karein was right there, within his reach, still kneeling next to the bed in shocked silence. It would have been easy for Rachen to attack him, to slit his throat and avenge his mate. But something held him back. His mate was seriously injured, but alive. His focus now had to be on getting medical assistance for Phoenix. Everything else could wait.
His dragon settled down inside him, and Rachen found himself reaching for Karein. “Tell them to hurry,” he said. “Phoenix needs help.”
Karein jumped when Rachen’s hand landed on his shoulder. He glanced at Rachen as if he’d never seen him before, then nodded. Without a word, he got up and directed his attention toward the still waiting men. “What the fuck are you doing, fools?” he snarled. “I told you to get a medic.”
For all of Rachen’s pain at seeing Phoenix like this, Karein seemed to be experiencing something similar. Rachen supposed that made sense, since the part of Karein that, in this world, had absorbed Rachen’s soul would feel the blow as strongly as Rachen himself had. If he could have experienced anything else but terror, Rachen would have been taken aback by the sheer anger and hostility emanating from his brother. The rest of the dragons obviously were, because a few of them froze, staring at Karein like a lamb would at a wolf. Others began to back away slowly, their gaze fixed on their emperor. They must have realized that, in this condition, Karein was very dangerous. What they didn’t understand was that Rachen represented the biggest danger. If Phoenix died, Rachen would have nothing to live for, except the destruction of everything and everyone that had made Phoenix suffer.
Now focused completely on his mate, Rachen held Phoenix’s hand and tried to speak to him through their bond. “Just stay with me, baby,” he said again. “You’re my whole world. I simply can’t be without you.”
He could understand now how Phoenix had felt when Rachen had sacrificed himself to defeat the Ancient Horror. If he’d had Phoenix’s power at his disposal, he might have tried to change things in a similar way. Mercifully, it wasn’t necessary, because Hareem arrived with a group of draechen doctors in tow.
“If you’ll please move back, the medics will start treating him,” Hareem said.
“I’m not leaving him,” Karein and Rachen said at the same time.
Rachen glared at Karein. “You don’t have the right to be at his side.”
“Really?” Karein asked, now sounding completely calm. “He seemed to disagree.”
Indeed, Phoenix had tried to soothe this world’s Rachen, which was frustrating, if understandable. Rachen remembered what Phoenix had asked of them, and he realized that his stubbornness was only delaying Phoenix’s treatment and making the doctors’ job harder. With a great deal of reluctance, he released Phoenix’s hand and stepped back, giving the medics space. Karein arched a brow at him, but nevertheless joined him, leaning against the wall next to Rachen.
They didn’t speak. Hareem ushered all the other draechen out of the room, but for some reason, he stayed by the door, his gaze going from the bed to Karein and Rachen. Rachen had no idea what Hareem was thinking, since his expression was completely blank. As his gaze met Hareem’s, the most obvious truth of this reality struck him like a ton of bricks. These weren’t his brothers, not really. The man in front of him wasn’t the Hareem Phoenix knew, the one desperately in love with a werewolf and whose main hobby was spoiling his son rotten. The dragon by his side wasn’t Rachen’s twin either, no matter how much he might look like it.
Phoenix had said that this Karein and Rachen were brothers, but that wasn’t true, not really. Or was it? Rachen couldn’t tell anymore. He was beyond confused. To what extent were the hearts and minds of individuals determined by their experiences? This Karein had obviously lived in a very different way than Rachen’s own twin, but did that make him any less… Karein?
In the end, did it matter? Without Phoenix, the world could very well end and Rachen wouldn’t give a shit. Phoenix had asked him to fix things, to mend the wounds of this destroyed reality, but Rachen couldn’t do it by himself.
As if guessing his thoughts, Karein suddenly said, “He’ll be fine. The doctors are very skilled at their job, and you’re not alone in this.”
Rachen wouldn’t have been more shocked if Karein had suddenly told him that the moon was made out of cheese. He’d just told himself that this Karein was nothing like the brother he’d grown to love, and now, Karein went and did something like this.
Karein himself seemed surprised, and maybe a little embarrassed at what he’d said. In a testament of the fact that he remained different from the man Rachen knew, he suddenly tensed, as if he’d just realized that he was acting stupidly. He snapped his mouth shut when Rachen looked at him, his back straight and his gaze fixed on Phoenix.
A million questions swirled through Rachen’s mind. Mostly, he wondered exactly what Phoenix had changed and at what level that had affected the people Rachen knew. Torn by guilt and confusion, Rachen reached out to his mate again. “Phoenix, baby, come back. I love you so much. I hate that this happened. I want to be with you, to marry you like we planned.” Tears burned at the corners of his eyes, but he pushed them back. “We can still do it. Just don’t give up.”
If he wanted to be perfectly honest, he never would have made such a promise half an hour ago. After hearing that werewolves were practically extinct, he couldn’t fathom what kind of destruction had been wrought over the world. It was his responsibility, but by undoing it, Rachen would have to die all over again.
It was unfair to try to tell Phoenix that they wouldn’t have to go through with that, unfair, and a lie. Rachen knew that, should Phoenix recover, nothing would have changed. They’d still be in the exact same position, stuck between a rock and a hard place. And yet, in that moment, Rachen would have pledged himself to eternal servitude, as long as Phoenix survived this.
He was no medic, but he had a grasp of what the doctors were doing, and they did indeed seem capable. They began by sanitizing and cleaning the wounds on Phoenix’s back and shoulders. Three spells had hit Phoenix, one coming from Karein, and the other two from guards who’d burst inside their cell. Phoenix didn’t so much as twitch as the medics poked and prodded, and anger swamped Rachen again.
“If he dies,” he said to Karein, “so will you. I’ll make sure of it.”
It was all Karein’s fault. In fact, Rachen was very tempted to rip out the hand Karein had used to create that damn fire ball and beat him to death with it. But that wouldn’t help Phoenix, so Rachen had to restrain
those impulses, for his mate’s benefit.
At first, Karein didn’t answer, but then, he said, “Good luck with that. I suspect you’ll have to wait in line.”
Rachen would have liked to reply, but then, the doctors began lifting Phoenix. They brought in a gurney and placed Phoenix on it. “Wait,” Rachen replied. “Where are you taking him?”
“Right now, we only gave him the most basic first aid. We need to transport him to the medical wing. We have machines there that can monitor his condition.”
“But is moving him safe?” Karein inquired. “Doesn’t it entail a risk we can’t afford?”
“His injuries are severe, but his life signs are stable and his wounds are closing,” another medic answered. “The process isn’t as fast as it would’ve been for a draechen, but he should make a complete recovery, given time. A lot of time.”
The words didn’t sound very promising, but at least they meant that Phoenix would survive. A measure of relief flooded Rachen, and to a certain extent, the fist clenched around his heart began to loosen. He was still terrified that the doctors were wrong, but he’d been given hope, hope that he’d have his mate again.
Even if it was hard for him to watch them carry Phoenix away, Rachen allowed it. Naturally, he followed, and Karein and Hareem came with him. They didn’t try to keep Rachen from Phoenix, which was both fortunate and somewhat surprising.
However, just as they reached the medical wing, Phoenix began to spasm on the gurney. Rachen instantly panicked, and much to his dismay, so did the doctors. Oh, they kept their calm, but Rachen could smell their fear. They obviously realized that if something happened to Phoenix, their emperor wouldn’t be very happy with them and they might have to pay a steep price for their failure.
“Quickly,” one of the draechen ordered. “Get him into the emergency room.”
The others rushed to comply. Distantly, it occurred to Rachen that the medical system now in Draechenburg seemed more developed than the one Rachen had been accustomed to see in his home. He couldn’t delve too deeply into the reasons behind it. He just hoped that it would be enough to save his mate.
The doctors entered a chamber in the medical wing, but Rachen wasn’t allowed to follow. “Stay here,” the lead medic told him. “We’ll let you know if he recovers.”
“When he recovers,” Karein said darkly with a clear emphasis on the first word.
The medic winced. “Of course, Your Imperial Majesty. I misspoke. When he recovers.”
Bowing, he disappeared into the emergency room. Rachen slid down onto the floor and buried his face in his hands. Just when he’d thought he could see the light at the end of the tunnel, it disappeared on him again.
For once, this Karein didn’t seem to care about Rachen’s suffering. “While we wait,” he said without preamble, “I believe you owe me an explanation. Who are you really, and how did you get here? What’s your connection to me and my family? And most importantly, why did you call that man Phoenix?”
Rachen just ignored the inquiry. He continued to stare at the door of the room where Phoenix had disappeared. In that moment, he’d have gladly died all over again, as long as it meant Phoenix would live.
Chapter Three
Meanwhile, Florenz des Draechen
Sari slipped through the shadows, his heart racing and sweat beading his brow. They were close to the camp now, so close Sari could almost smell the acrid stench of terror and hatred. In front of him, his mother lifted a hand, stopping his progress. Sari froze in his tracks, well aware that any wrong step from his part could cause disaster. Behind him, the rest of the fae soldiers who’d joined them on this expedition followed his example.
A draechen patrol flew above them, but Sari remained motionless. Fae shields weren’t designed to circumvent the senses of shape-shifters, but Sari’s parents were very good at what they did, and the intricate spells they cast together could keep the draechen from hearing them and possibly scenting them. They couldn’t create illusions like sprites did. If they’d had sprite backup, things would have been much, much easier. But any chance of cooperation between the two nations had vanished a long, long time ago, when the sprites had refused to help Sari’s people in the battle against the draechen.
In spite of being all alone when faced with the draechen threat, the fae had still managed to survive. In hiding, yes, but never abandoning the fight. Unfortunately, Emperor Shtamakarein Tersain now sent his agents all over the world, and one by one, they were being hunted. Sari and his family were the preferred target.
This time, though, the patrol missed them. The draechen flew past them without noticing Sari and his parents. Finally, Sari could breathe again, and they started their torturous, slow advance through the city.
Florence—or Florenz, as the draechen called it—had been among the first human settlements to fall to draechen rule. Once, it had been a flourishing city, but after it had fallen to the plague and the werewolf attacks, it had become only a shadow of its former self. Now, it had been practically turned into a slave camp, surrounded by draechen fortifications. There were very few people who would dare chance coming here, since it practically meant jumping in the proverbial lion’s den.
However, Sari and his family had a good reason for their decision to brave the danger. News had reached their ears of abuse committed by the draechen against Florenz citizens. The situation had always been unbearable, but now, the emperor was taking things to new heights.
Someone had to stop the draechen before the humans were completely wiped out. These days, humans were considered inferior life forms, only kept alive to become slaves of the draechen. At this point, the majority had submitted to their fate, since those who’d tried to fight it didn’t live to tell the tale.
As of late, the humans didn’t even have to challenge draechen authority to be killed. Already, a lot of citizens in Florenz had fallen to the new policy of terror instituted by Shtamakarein Tersain through his commanding officer in the area, Princess Akarawem.
Sari and his parents continued their progress through Florenz. They’d chosen to attempt entering the city during the day, because nighttime wouldn’t have made a difference given the sharp senses of the draechen and in the hope that there would be fewer guards around. Indeed, security seemed quite scarce around the camp. Too scarce, in Sari’s opinion.
His mother stopped once again behind the ruin of an old cathedral. “It’s a trap,” she whispered. “Sari, you have to go back.”
Sari shook his head. His parents were the most important thing in his life. He wouldn’t abandon them. He would fight for their cause until his last breath, because he believed they were doing the right thing. “We already knew that it was likely. I’m ready for this, Mother.”
His mother wasn’t one to be thwarted so easily. She had never wanted him to come on this expedition in the first place, but Sari had insisted, knowing his parents would need his assistance. “I want to help the humans,” his mother said, “but you’re more important to me than anything.”
“We can’t leave the humans to their fate,” Sari answered. “If this is indeed a trap, their suffering could easily be induced as a way to lure us in, and we’ve already established that we can’t allow it.”
Besides, if he left now, he’d be ruining the plan they’d put into place with such difficulty. He couldn’t do that to his parents, or to all the people depending on him. Fortunately, his mother didn’t phrase her plea as a command, because Sari couldn’t have argued against that. Outside the king himself, his mother was the highest Ivenian authority, and it was only through her that his father had gained decision-making power.
Before they could reach a conclusion in that regard, a moan sounded somewhere to Sari’s right. Sari turned, only to see a human crawling from underneath some rubble. He reached out to Sari, his hazed eyes glinting with desperation.
“Angelo. Angelo di Dio… Aiuto!”
Sari couldn’t deny helping a man who was so obviously in need. He rushe
d to the human’s side and turned him over, wincing when he saw the injuries littering the man’s body. Kneeling next to his patient, he summoned Jenarra’s power. He allowed it to flow over the human’s wounds, sealing them, giving the stranger strength both physical and spiritual.
When he pulled away, he noted with satisfaction that his abilities had done their job and had healed the human. But he didn’t get to enjoy the knowledge of his success for long. Another man appeared from beyond the ruins, and he glowered at Sari.
“Get away from him,” the new arrival said. “Get away from him right now.”
Sari lifted his hands to show he was harmless. “I’m not hurting him. He was injured, and I wanted to heal him.”
The second man’s glare became even fiercer. “We don’t want your kind here.”
“I was only trying to help,” Sari replied softly. He wasn’t really surprised. A lot of humans were wary of all paranormal creatures because of the draechen’s abuse, and Sari was obviously a magical being.
This man didn’t care that Sari was very different from dragons. The only thing he knew was that Sari’s power made him dangerous. Perhaps he even thought Sari had intended to harm the injured person.
He wished he could say something that would convince the human that he truly meant well, but his parents joined him before he could even make the attempt. His mother wrapped a protective arm around his shoulders, and the rest of the fae soldiers fanned around them, controlling the perimeter. Meanwhile, his father addressed the stranger. “We came to assist you, since we’ve heard you have problem with the draechen.”
“Problems?” the man repeated in disbelief. “The only problem here is your presence. It’s your fault the draechen decided to hurt us in the first place. They are our masters, and they were nice enough until you forced them to act like this.”
Sari’s mind whirled as he took in what the human was saying. So he and his parents had been right all along. The whole scheme had been put together to draw Sari and his family here. Well, the draechen would soon see that the Myrthylar weren’t so easily duped.
Hyacinth, Scarlet - From the Ashes [Chronicles of the Shifter Directive 7] (Siren Publishing Epic Romance, ManLove) Page 4
