Beloved wiped her face in his shoulder, belatedly realizing the taint made his skin blister. She blew on the angry blisters. Ensuring they faded away as if they'd never been. She played with his heart, a little surprised when he started playing the piano again.
There were nights when the wind was so cold. (It's all coming back to me now, Celine Dion cover)
Ashton slowed the beat, changing his tune to more of an apology.
Birdie, Birdie, if I kiss you like this.
Beloved smiled as the black tears continued to fall. Almost laughing as Nix became super quiet as he admitted to not thinking about her after he exploded. What a bird brain! She huffed as he then shifted this tone to coaxing her.
There were things I'd never do again, but they always seemed right!
He better not! He took so long to remember to come get her! Look how dirty he got without her around! Beloved didn't stop the grin as he continued to coax.
If you forgive me all this,
Beloved grinned as she asked, If I forgive you all that?
We forgive and forget, its all coming back to me. Ashton continued without missing a beat.
Beloved hesitated. Nix felt it, then started playing as she sang the first note.
Little do you know, how I'm breaking as you fall asleep. (Little do you know, duet nightcore cover.)
Ashton closed his eyes as he bowed his head over her shoulder.
Zane was relieved they weren't pulled into another emotional illusion. Still… to see Young, Nix. So humbled after seeing the destruction he'd wrought… oof, kind of hard to reconcile both as the same beast. Then again, most males capitulated to their mates. Zane glanced over Lord Caius… he still wasn't sure how to face the Beast of Lust.
Rommel sighed. When they had sent Lord Caius the missive announcing a beast of sin, with fire attributes… he'd genuinely hoped to foster closer bonds. According to his parents, Lord Caius had been much closer to the Adarian nobles when they were younger. His sudden shift in attitude had been well noted… whatever had changed... must have led Lord Caius to look for a specific kind of mate. One that could free him from his oath to Alaina.
Rommel had to admit, seeing Young Song like this… made him want to just follow the song bird around and listen to his songs for the rest of his life. Though… the one the female sang, with the immersive illusion… hopefully the next one was of a more pleasant memory.
Zane saw his cousins waving him over, they entered Lucera's topless tent. It was already night… did they need to sleep under the stars tonight?
Lucera gave a short cough to draw their attention, Zane, Rommel, remember back when Princess Hazel was looking at that bestiary? Of birds?"
Rommel gave a blank look, then rubbed his jaw, "I need more of a hint than that… we looked at thousands of birds…"
Lucera rolled her eyes as some tension left her shoulders, "I remembered seeing a white bird that healed. A Caladrius, also known as the kings healer."
Jantje nodded, "We were thinking along the same lines, one problem though."
Jantje sighed, "Right, no records show Caladrius that sing… or can cast illusions of any kind."
Zane looked over the bestiary notes frowning, "She may have learned to sing because her king sings. Did we find something that Young Song, or rather, Nix, could be?"
Lucera bit her lip, then after sharing a look with Jantje, pulled out a damaged page from her pocket. "I think… he's the Phoenix… which could complicate our relationship because according to this record… the last recorded Phoenix was the fallen god."
Zane paled… "That's impossible. No way Lady Alaina would let it run free…" Even he'd heard that legend… the fallen god was the reason Lady Alaina was able to start her coalition, she rallied thousands of beasts, hundreds of thousands of men, even some of the fae had joined forces to kill the mad beast… no… no way…
Rommel swallowed down his immediate reaction, took a breath to point out the inconsistencies. "The times don't match up. The Phoenix fell over a thousand years ago. The Caladrius wasn't hurt a thousand years ago… the death land only appeared 400 years ago."
Lucera squared her shoulders, "True, but Nix himself has stated he's had more than one body. Pheonix's, come into cycles of power every 500 years or so. If his mate, was also in 500 year cycles… then it would make sense why they didn't meet again even if she was alive this whole time."
Rommel hesitated, "I know the Phoenix went mad, killed half the population before he fell, but I've never heard the reason why." All things considered… Nix didn't seem unreasonable… but… the deathlands, desert of death, no mans land, whatever it was called… left no room for negotiation.
Lucera hesitated, "If there was a reason, I can't recall anything other than he demanded blood for blood. I asked my brother to send this after the female's song. The battle at the end… it reminded me of the battle with the Phoenix."
Zane stood up, "I will ask him." When everyone stared at him bug eyed as if he'd lost his last marble, "Tomorrow." He added a little less confidently.
Rommel burst out laughing. A moment later Lucera and Jantje joined him.
Zane flushed indignantly, then smiled sheepishly. "I will, so let's not jump to conclusions. I mean really, would Lady Alaina have let us come here if she thought the fallen God was in the empire? She was especially eager to invite him to ascend. Now, I'm sure there is some kind of tension, fire? Water? Who'd have thought?"
Lucera bit her lip as she composed herself. "Right, let's not jump to conclusions. Besides, it happened a thousand years ago… who knows what the truth is."
Rommel gripped Lucera's shoulder, "Come now cousin, have a little faith. Does he really look like some mad beast bent on the destruction of the world?"
Sebastian sighed as a servant summoned him to the emperor's tent. As he entered with a bow he sat down. With the exception of Aaron, the rest seemed rattled to varying degrees. "You summoned me your majesty?"
Jaxon eyed the duke, the only one who'd been unaffected… even before Ashton had shown him favor. "You've noticed our erratic behavior over the weeks yes?"
Sebastian slowly shifted his gaze to Duke Darnings, "Yes." Sebastian leaned back in his chair, adjusting his stance.
Jaxon nodded, "I'm having lapses of memory… and reason. After Monroe was injured, whatever was addling our minds decreased significantly, but not entirely. Do you have any similar instances?"
Sebastian eyed the unusually calm duke. "No, I appear to have kept my faculties the entire time. Though I have noticed more oddities about the empire that I knew of, but didn't register until spending the day in the sun."
Leonard nodded, "I realized the same. We've found a few common denominators between our selves. Your grace, have you, or yours spent any time alone with those of the Karbonovich household? Even their servants delivering missives?"
Sebastian raised a brow to glance from the Emperor to the empress. "The family of David Karbonovich, who Lord Caius ate the other day?" Sebastian did not mince words, even for the Empress.
Charmaine bit her lip but nodded. "It seems after every visit, we became more muddled, and my personal hostility toward Lord Reece grew. Just reeding old letters is enough to still cause me to be muddled. Mage Devlin and Priestess Katherine are examining all correspondences."
Sebastian shook his head, "I only admit this now, because your minds are clear. Ever since David was appointed one of your personal guards, I have ensured the Carlos duchy abstain from all personal contact. The Karbonvich family is also why I have been hesitant to welcome Duke Randel back into nobility. My father had similar concerns while he was alive."
Charles closed his eyes, beast gods above… how much more had they been blind too? Were Emma and Emmett?
"Trace every member of their household down to the last servant and page boy. I want to know if they are in league with the church, and how deeply." Lucian ordered.
Aaron coughed, drawing everyone's attention. He'd returned but had yet to give his report. "Majesties, I come with some good news, and… not so good news."
Jaxon slumped into his seat, "Let us hear the not so good news first." At least with their minds less muddled they had been able to reorganize their forces, along with the reconstruction of the city walls.
Aaron cleared his throat, "Um, the not so good news, short version, is that the fae are rallying their forces for war, and that one of the leaders has gone missing. Our informant says, he's a kind of fairy… who rivals the mother tree in ability. He's also the size of a hummingbird."
Jaxon's lips twitched, it was a serious matter. But… a fairy? "And the good news?"
Aaron hesitated, "We made contact with a tribe who worship a feathered serpent, they, archaically sacrifice young women to the beast every hundred years or so, that's not the good news." Aaron quipped seeing the disdainful frowns around the room, "The good news, is their head priest is a sixth-tier mage, who also wields holy power. He has agreed, that if we assist in the return of the missing sacrifice and her captor, they will help resolve the sacrificial enchantments. As a show of good faith, a fourth-tier mage and priest, gave instructions and one of the smaller enchantments in the northwest territory. Two of the… now deceased mages confirmed the enchantment was lifted, and the souls freed."
Jaxon stared at Aaron, then with a grin so wide it threatened to split his face, slapped the man on the back, "Good on you! That's the best news I've heard in a long time Aaron." If the enchantments could be broken, and the souls saved… that was more than he'd hoped for.
Leonard gave a bitter smile, "That must mean, the sacrifice is very well hidden, the Ophion tribe if memory serves? The sacrifices are to be the serpent god's wives… if I recall, supposedly when they are chosen they receive an ability or gift from their serpent god. What is hers?"
Aaron returned the bitter smile, "As always Lord Silas, your memory is impeccable. She has the ability to heal through dreams. She is also a fourth-tier mage, her captor, a master swordsman, and third tier mage who specializes in earth. Making them particularly hard to track."
Jaxon sighed, "That still good news. I'm assuming… they are headed our way. Otherwise, the Ophion tribe would have no need of our assistance."
Aaron nodded as he pulled out an enchanted compass and unfolded a parchment. "The arrow will point in her direction when she is above ground. She cannot be injured… we only have a portrait. She has green eyes, pale skin, black hair. She's about five and half feet tall. The guard's description is… black hair, green eyes, over six feet, carries a broadsword. No portrait." The portrait was of her in full ceremonial garb. She was stunning, late teens was Aaron's best guess. He was given no name, age, or possible family.
Sebastian raised a brow, "I would bet the duchy, she is trying to meet with Lord Reece. What happens if he decides to… adopt her?"
Jaxon's expression froze, then he fell back into his seat as he rubbed his face.
Charmaine glanced over the portrait. "Even so, I imagine it will be much like with Princess Hazel and the… flower beast. If nothing else, we can ensure she doesn't follow lord Reece when he leaves. Or better yet, we only have to provide her location. The priests will have to find a way to return her unharmed."
Jaxon nodded, "That may work, just to state it for all to hear. I do not believe we should challenge lord Reece for this sacrifice…" Everyone nodded. Good, now hopefully they would be able to intercept this serpent wife, have the enchantments broken, all the while keeping Lord Reece from growing anymore upset with them.
Sebastian glanced around the room. While everyone appeared to be in their right minds, hoping to catch this runaway bride without her getting to Lord Reece first was rather naive. "I also was wondering if anyone had plans for the… siren?"
Jaxon stilled then turned to Aaron, "Your thoughts? She's been surprisingly silent since you arrived."
Aaron hesitated, "Lord Vaha stated it was their offering for Lord Reece. I say leave it be, they cast several spells to keep it silent so it shouldn't be able to cause mischief. We should focus on finding the sacrifice, or at least keeping her from entering Lord Reece's territory."
Charmaine nodded, glancing up at the sky, how had she been so easily manipulated… "Is there any news on mage Amin?" After a deafening silence Charmaine closed her eyes. Hopefully Amin was safe, safe and on his way with the Ruby Tear.