Page 67 of Bonded By Savages

Obsidian snarls in pain. His twin Shadows tense up, their muscles flexing. A vein in Obsidian’s neck throbs, and he steps back, as if he’s been stabbed in the heart by an Orb-Blade.

“Just do whatever she says, do whatever she says,” he says, and for the first time, I see true fear on the War-God’s face, and I know he’s a man, just like my two men. He’s not only a cruel conqueror. He hurts, just like us.

The words escaped his mouth, and I realize he was telepathing his Mate. He could feel her. His Shadows crumple on the ground, the huge, monstrous creatures grabbing their heads. Hair sprouts out of the back of their necks, their long white teeth darkening as they transform into wolves, then it’s over, and they snap back to their Aurelian form.

Obsidian grits his teeth. “Queen Jasmine removes the Bond-Disrupter ring from my Mate, to force her to reveal that I am still here. She checks on me, thinking that if I am here, she is safe. The Queen believes I will lead my warriors into battle from the frontline.” He growls, and his eyes lose all their sorrow.

There is only pure hatred, and he becomes the War-God again. “I will guide my forces from here. She will never suspect. Not until her planets are crushed under the wolf fangs of my followers.” His twin Shadows pace, their trap muscles taut and huge on their necks.

They are fierce, but they don’t scare me. They want the same thing as all Aurelians. To be with their woman, over all else. I was always scared of the Fanatics with their brands on their chests, but my two men have shown me truth.

At the heart of even the most savage warrior, above all else, they serve their Mate.

Obsidian himself sets his sights on me. I don’t shy behind the bulk of my protectors. I look into his deep black irises, and see a man, not a War-God. “I will lose much of myself as war rages. I will have to become the monster they call me. It may be too late for me. But when I save her, when I find her…there needs to be some shred of what made Fay fall in love with me. It must remain.”

Fay.

His mate.

Obsidian growls, forcing down all sentiment and weakness. His face returns to a blank, stony slate. “Meet me in the center of the arena, on the sands. I cannot promise I can save him. I cannot promise that if I do, he will be the same man who was taken by the void… but I promise I will try.”

“My God,” says Damian, his voice filled with religious exultation, his aura swelling with hope. I grab his wrist, kiss his arm, bringing him back to the here and now.

“Whatever happens, I love you both,” I say to my men.

Damian looks down at me, his purple eyes gleaming like amethysts in a moonlight pool. “You made me whole, Athena. I pray this works, that you may have all three warriors you were promised when you felt our being. That you may have three protectors for our son.”

I nod, nervous but resolute, and Obsidian and his twin Shadows storm past us, leaving us in front of the holographic representation of the universe. I see the Org-Ships approaching the defenseless planet, and I hope that Obsidian is as powerful as he looks.

My two men stand, staring at the universe. The moonlight seeps in through the balcony, the black throne reflecting the light.

“Are you ready?” I ask them, taking their hands and pulling them down the stairwell. Around and around we go, until we walk through the hallway. The portcullis gates are open, the mirror standing in the center of the arena.

Obsidian stands, his Shadows on either side. The Priests are gone, but the triad of Fanatics who dragged the mirror into the center stand, their heads bowed, eager to serve their God.

Obsidian stares at the reflection. The three of us walk, standing to his side, all of us intent on the gleaming surface that turns pitch black as the War-God raises his hands.

His eyes go too wide. The black orbs seem to take up his entire face, his mouth open in a silent scream of rage as he raises his hands. I look into the mirror and I feel like I’m falling in. There’s this emptiness, deep as death, that’s grabbing me, pulling me in.

The Arena of Blood disappears and I am in dead space, total blackness, when I hear a strong, powerful heartbeat, slow and endless, like a thunderous drum. Then I hear another. It’s strong but muted, and we accelerate into nothingness, until I see an Aurelian.

He’s standing, frozen. His eyes are wide, his mouth gaping, his head cocked to the side as if he is frozen in place. He’s completely naked, as big as when I first saw him in my mind, the huge, powerful beast of a man. His barrel chest is broad and thumps with his heart. It beats ten times for every one of the drum that booms like thunder into the abyss. His hair is still in a braid, but it floats upwards, each strand crystal clear in my vision. He’s not standing in nothingness. He’s in front of something dark green, so dark it’s almost black, with a scaley hue, reflecting nothing.

Behind him, a huge eye opens. It’s three times Raython’s size, and it blinks with a double eyelid like a serpent. I’m snapped back to reality. I’m staring at the mirror, seeing Raython through it. Every muscle in Obsidian’s body is tense and contorted, black veins bursting on his arms as he holds them up, fighting to keep control. Raython winks in and out of existence, the eye opening and closing behind him. One second I see him, the next I see us reflected back, black blood dripping from Obsidian’s eyes.

He reaches into the mirror. Obsidian’s twin Shadows raise their heads and howl, roaring out in defiance, and Obsidian screams in pain as he grips Raython’s arm.

Then Obsidian pulls him through, and Raython falls to the ground, his body naked and shivering. He curls on the ground in fetal position, shuddering. The mirror snaps back to reflecting us, but the surface ripples like water hit with a stone.

“It’s real, all of it, it’s real,” says Raython in a faraway voice.

“What?” asks Obsidian, his voice hard as iron.

“The world-enders…they see us…echoes when we pass through their world…” His voice trails off.

Then he looks up and see his two battle-brothers, and his terrified eyes clear. He blinks. “Where was I? Oh Gods. Obisdian is real…my God…you saved me,” he says, his head moving from the powerful alien warrior to the two members of his triad. He stares into Damian’s eyes and registers the purple, and gasps.

“We have…” he whispers, in awe, not yet seeing me.

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