With each thrust, a piece of my heart—my soul—fell away, unable to withstand the assault being delivered.
“Please,” I croaked, the taste of copper filling my mouth. “Just let me go.”
“But I’m only getting started. I’m going to keep you to myself as long as I possibly can.”
There was a brief lull and everything went eerily quiet. His mouth and body were still moving, assaulting me, but he suddenly seemed far away.
A blinding pain exploded in my head and I was pretty sure I was screaming, but I couldn’t hear it.
This was it. I was going to die—broken, defeated, helpless. Regretfully I realized my time with Ryder was already over.
Letting go, the darkness mercifully consumed me.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Ryder
Anxiety fluttered through me and I abruptly paused, mid-flight, honing in on all my senses. Taking a deep breath, I tried to identify the alarm inside me. It was a new sensation, and one I was unfamiliar with.
“Skylar!” Immediately, I reversed my direction barreling with full speed back toward the planet. Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong with Skylar.
Focusing on the bond between us, it was as if I were tuned into a radar signal that was guiding me directly where I needed to go. Throwing all caution to the wind, I hurtled through the atmosphere, not giving any thought to being discreet or watchful. There wasn’t time for cloaking—not while Skylar was in danger. I could only hope the darkening skies would be enough to cover my rapid descent.
Whipping low over the rooftops, I felt the presence of the other Wanderer before I saw him. Pulling up short, I stared down into the dimly lit alley, horror filling my soul at the sight before me.
Skylar lay broken and bleeding, surrounded by torn and bloodied pages of bridal magazines. She appeared to be unconscious as Mahorela rutted into her body, grunting loudly as he released inside her.
He’d taken my mate! Rage like nothing I’d ever felt before exploded through my system as I dove down knocking hard into him, sending him sprawling away from Skylar. Laughing, he climbed to his feet, standing naked before me, his dick glistening with the fluid from my mate’s body.
“It’s against the accords for you to harm me,” he said, wiping a hand across the back of his mouth as he studied me carefully. “Besides, she’s just a human. Nothing to get yourself worked up over. I simply wanted her, this once. You can have her back, now.”
An unholy roar escaped me and I flew straight into him, knocking him flat on his back. Digging into his naked skin, I let my fingers tear clear through it, as if I were grabbing him by a collar.
“She is my bonded mate, you bastard. You will not live to see another day by the time I’m through with you.”
Fear shot through his eyes, but his jaw stayed clenched as he tried to hold himself against the pain I was causing him. “You can’t kill me, I’m immortal, just like you.” He attempted to remind me.
“Some fates are worse than death,” I spat back, releasing him and punching him squarely in the face. His head bounced off the pavement, the sound of his skull cracking as it hit the surface. I hit him again, my need for vengeance flooding every part of me.
With a flash of his arm, he hit me, sending me tumbling backward. Before I could recover, he scrambled to his feet, taking flight. Pushing off the ground, I rushed after Mahorela, speeding into the air and plowing into him from behind, sending him somersaulting across the sky. Bursting with even greater force, I slammed into him once more, my hands tightening near the base of one of his wings.
Roaring indignantly, I ripped it from his body. Tragic screams of agony filled the air as he clawed, first at his back, and then for me, his remaining wing flapping franticly unable to keep him from tumbling back toward the ocean beneath.
There was no way I was letting him off that easily. Diving after him, I tore his other wing from his body. Shrieking, like I’d never heard before, echoed through the skies as I plunged my hands into the bloody wounds on his back. Shooting high into the sky, I left the atmosphere of the planet completely, not stopping until the two of us were floating in the vast cold of open space.
Releasing him, I shoved him outward sending him unrestrained into the black void.
“You can’t do this,” he said weakly, his voice etched with pain.
“I just did. Good luck on your new journey, Wanderer.” Chest heaving, I watched without remorse as he floated further away from me.
“I can’t control my travel without my wings!” he replied, panicked. “I won’t be able to find food or shelter! You’re sentencing me to withering away into practically nothing.”
“After what you just did, I think you got off pretty easy.” Anger infused every part of me. “Maybe you’ll get lucky and another race will find you and take you in. If that happens, I hope it’s the citizen of Malauden who find you.”
Even at this distance, I saw him blanch. Malauden was a society that was almost devoid of women. The men there were depraved and very much enjoyed the raping of other men, doing extremely perverse and torturous things that eventually killed their unfortunate immortal subjects. If I had more time, I’d personally deliver Mahorela right to them for their pleasure.
But I didn’t have time.
Turning back toward earth, I pressed my arms against my sides, diving back toward the planet like a rocket, picking up speed as I rushed to Skylar. Even without our bond, I knew she was in a desperate situation. As it was, I was afraid I was on the precipice of losing her completely. I wasn’t ready for our time to be over, yet—not when we’d just barely started.
My feet hit the pavement with a thud and I rushed to her side. “Skylar?” My voice trembled as I took in how matted and bloodied she was. He’d beaten her badly. “Skylar? Sweetheart, can you hear me?” I tried to keep my voice gentle, but it was shaking uncontrollably.
Carefully, I pushed my essence inside her and she screamed, resisting the intrusion. I realized, then, that Mahorela hadn’t just physically taken her, but he’d raped her psyche, as well.
Quickly withdrawing, I knew things were worse than I initially thought and if I didn’t get her some help, immediately, she wouldn’t survive this trauma. Gathering her as gently as possible, I lifted her into my arms and flew toward home.
***
It had been hours—maybe even days—I wasn’t sure, having completely lost track of time. Her condition had remained unchanged ever since I’d brought her to Palacia and laid her on one of the beds we’d made love in so often, just a short while ago.
Most times she was deathly still as I sat vigilantly beside her, watching her breathing as it moved her chest shallowly up and down. I’d given up on trying to help her. Every time I tried to share my calming essence with her and strengthen the bond between us, she would begin thrashing and screaming incoherently.
I was losing her. There was no denying it. So now I sat here, watching and waiting for the inevitable to happen.
Jumping up, I paced at the foot of the bed. I wasn’t going to accept this fate. There had to be something I could do. Unfortunately, there was only one person I could think of who could help me with answers, and he was not close by. It would require me to journey through portals and time, something I was afraid to risk. I didn’t want to leave Skylar alone, but I didn’t see that I had much choice.
Decision finally made, I kissed her lightly on the forehead and left.
***
“I request an audience with the Great Avenging,” I said in my native tongue as I stood at the speaking point that bridged two separate realities.
“By what authority do you make this request?” a powerful unseen voice replied.
“I am his son, and I seek his wisdom and counsel.”
“Praise and Glory, your plea is heard. Please wait here. If Great Avenging wishes to grant your request he will meet you shortly.”
“Thank you.” I bowed in humble deference to whomever I was speaking.
Standing still and silent, it seemed as if eons were slipping by before I heard the soft, yet extremely powerful voice of my father.
“My son, Heaven and the Realm welcomes you,” he spoke the common greeting of our race.
“I welcome you, Father, as well.” I chose to not dance around with any other trivial conversation. “I seek thy counsel, Great One, on a matter most pressing.”
“Forget the formalities, son. Speak freely as you wish.”
Taking a deep breath, I appreciated him letting me talk normally. “I’ve taken a mate and bonded with her. I love her more than my own life.”
“Ah.” Even though I couldn’t see him, I could hear his approval in that single syllable. “I was beginning to wonder if it would ever happen. What race is she?”
“She’s human.”
“An earthling?” He sounded shocked. “I have to admit, I find that rather surprising. Their mortal lives tend to run short. I always saw you settling with another race that holds more longevity.”
I shrugged. “I didn’t go into the relationship with the intention of this happening, it just did. But now that it has, I can say I wouldn’t trade it for anything. She’s my world.”
“Love is indeed beautiful,” he agreed, and once more I could feel the joy at my situation in his voice. “Tell me, son, why is it that you sound so troubled, then?”
Gritting my teeth, anger surged through me once more. “My mate, Skylar, she was attacked by another Wanderer. He violently raped her, physically, mentally, and spiritually. I’m completely lost as to what to do about it. I don’t know how to help her. I’ve tried soothing her with my essence, but she fights it. It almost seems like I’m the one raping her whenever I touch her. She’s not conscious, but locked somewhere in her own mind; and I feel her growing ever weaker. I’m afraid I’m losing her. If I can’t reach her, how can I guide her to a safe place? If I can properly coach her through this, she could become a Wanderer; but if I don’t, I lose her, forever. Tell me what to do?”
Several moments of silence passed and I heard my father sigh. That wasn’t a good sign.
“I hate to tell you this, my son, but there is only one chance you have of reaching her.”
“Please tell me what it is. I swear I will do anything required of me, just help me save her!” My heart was pounding frantically in my chest.
“It won’t be easy for you,” he replied, still withholding the information I was so desperately seeking.
“I don’t care. Just tell me.”
“Because the two of you have bonded, sexually, when this rape by this other Wanderer was forced upon her, it interrupted the flow of your bond. Her body and mind are confused, warring, as they receive pressure from the two essences. While your bond to her still feels strong, her bond to you has been weakened by the interference.”
“Okay,” I said, following him up to this point. “So, what do I do to fix it?”
“You’ll need to lie with her, again, just as you did when you made the bond in the first place, guiding her physical and spiritual essence back to you.”
I blanched. “Didn’t you hear me? I just told you she was raped. Now I’m expected to rape her, again, to bring her back to me? No! By all that is holy, I won’t do it!”
Rage filtered through me once more and I turned my back to the speaking point, seething. I couldn’t do that to Skylar. I’d never force myself on her. I wanted to protect her, not push her even closer to the edge.
“Trust me, son. This is the only way. You aren’t raping her, you’re allowing your love to penetrate her and help her fix the chaos inside. It’s not an assault. It’s saving her, and it’s the only thing you can do—otherwise she will be gone from you. You said yourself, if you can coach her through this, and teach her the ways of a Wanderer—how they can separate themselves from their own mentality—she will become like you. She could be yours, forever. It all comes down to how much you’re willing to risk in order to have her.”
Agony tore through my heart at his words. I had no idea how I could complete this task. To me, it went against everything I believed in—everything I knew. Yes, it was technically sound advice, and I could see the benefit, but Skylar could barely stand my touch right now.
How was I supposed to do this?
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Skylar
Screaming.
Endless screaming.
With every breath I took, blistering agony threatened to consume me. He was touching me—always touching me—his vile essence invading and corrupting every inch of my soul.
There was no escaping it.
No protecting myself from it.
He branded me.
Broke me.
Over and over, again.
“Stay awake, bitch. I want you aware as I fuck you into oblivion!” His voice thundered—the nightmare of its sound plaguing me as he poured malice into me like I was an empty vessel.
There would be no redemption. No coming back from this.
He was death. And he had claimed me.
***
“Stay with me, sweetheart. Please!”
Ryder, my beloved Ryder. I shrunk from his voice, pushing his gentle pleading until it faded away and became the faintest glimmer in the stormy sea of darkness. He was lost to me, now. There was no way he would want the pathetic, dirty shell that I’d become.
Horror flayed my mind as memories stripped me down to nothing. He’d done this—the monster who’d taken all the joy and love in my heart and laid waste to it.
I was damaged.
Defiled.
Worthless.
Any hope for a future had been burned to ashes, shredded into pieces, and cast out over the wind.
Touching. He was touching me, again. His laughter filling my ears until it was all I could hear.
Bit by bit, I lost myself—my sanity fractured until the only reality I knew was him—the dark haired Wanderer with black eyes that matched his soul.
His cruel whispers mocked me.
Whore.
Slut.
Harlot.
His taunts burned as ruthlessly as each heinous brush of his fingers, mouth, and essence.
His abuse never ended. He never left me alone.
And in the suffocating darkness, I screamed.
***
I am broken.
I am lost.
I am nothing.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Ryder
It was too late. My agony over the situation and what I needed to do to her didn’t matter. During the time I’d been gone seeking advice, my worst nightmare had become a reality.
Thrashing and moaning about, she was lost to the terror of her mind. I gathered my beautiful Skylar into my arms.
“Stay with me, sweetheart. Please!” I begged her, my entire universe riding on this very moment. “I can’t go on without you. Not when I just found you. You’ve got to fight it, Skylar, fight it. I’ll help you through it and we’ll be able to be together much longer than we originally planned.”
Her wailing and struggling grew stronger and louder and she shoved against me.
“Skylar! It’s me, Ryder!”
Ever so slowly, I caressed her skin, gently trying to push my essence inside her to calm her, hoping she would recognize it and allow it to soothe her damaged soul.
A piercing scream tore from her and before I could even break the link, I felt her shatter into a billion pieces.
“No!” I hollered, shaking her as her body fell limp and silent. “NO!” I yelled again, burying my face against her chest, tears flooding from my eyes and dripping onto her bruised and beaten skin.
She was gone. Her soul didn’t survive. I’d lost the one person who’d so quickly become my world.
Unable to control my sobs, I held her in my arms, rocking her as if that would bring her back. “Don’t leave me,” I whispered, even knowing it was futile. This was the same as death. While her body was still technically alive, i
t wouldn’t be long before it succumbed to full death, too. When that happened, I would need to inform her family of the assault and that she died as a result of it. They would bury her in a mound of dirt and then even her body would be lost to me. She would become nothing but a fleeting memory that was the greatest, most beautiful light I’d ever seen.
The only way to save her, now, would to be to collect the pieces of her soul in the short amount of time her body had left, before it succumbed completely to physical death. No one had ever successfully collected a soul, however. Once it shattered, there were so many places the pieces could go, it was impossible to locate them all in space and time.
Precious hours passed and I continued to hold my love, staring blankly off at nothing, trying to comprehend how, in all my existence, I’d tried to be honorable and now, I had to suffer something so extremely cruel. I could feel my own heart hardening inside me, turning from something light to dark, as hatred and revenge began to creep into my soul. Eons of being careful, of never allowing myself to dwell on negative energy suddenly came to a halt, filling me, instead, with bitterness I couldn’t control.
Struggling, I attempted to concentrate on the last moments I had with her, that brief moment before she fractured, when I could still touch her beautiful soul. Over and over, I replayed the way she felt connected with me, trying to commit it to memory.
“Replay Palacia,” I commanded, and the hologram shifted around me, going through the last several days of our blissful time together. I wept, hating that this memory was all I now had left of her.
The scenes of joy and lovemaking continued before my eyes as I sat motionless against the wall, holding her limp body. When the end came near, I closed my eyes, unable to watch, my heart connecting back to that precise moment when she shattered. It was so violent I could actually feel the pieces of her break and scatter throughout the universe.
Suddenly, I sat straighter, realization dawning. I almost whooped for joy. My essence was entangled with hers. I could sense the directional pull of her shattered pieces! It was as if I had a map inside me, guiding me in the direction of the places I needed to look for her!
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