Page 26 of Monsters in My Bed
twelve
SERIQ
Onesecond,I’mconsumedwith rage, fear, and guilt. The next, I'm completely dumbfounded, yanked out of my barbarous state when my mate lands at my feet in a wet, glowing mess.
“Seriq?” Her voice is a whisper full of hope and pain—pain that I've caused—and despite everything that's happened, she throws herself at my feet, hugging me tightly. “I love you.”
And just like that, The Fallacious’ hold on me is broken.
I stumble back, yanking away from her. Sick to my stomach, knowing everything that I've done. I shift into shadow form seconds before throwing up violently. Out tumble Xhoshad and Nerazi, intact but dazed. They land in front of Alexis, the same as her—wet, trembling messes. The only difference is that they're not glowing.
My mate scrambles back, her eyes bugging from her head. “You ate your trium?!”
A rustle nearby draws my attention, and I remember that The Revenant Swarm is still there. Now that I'm not under The False King’s control, neither is his army under mine. Meaning, I need to do something about it.Fast.But first I turn toward Alexis.
“I'm… sorry. For everything.”
I want to say more, but I don't know how to articulate the depth of my emotion, nor the confusion that I feel inside of me. But I must somehow express it because Alexis rises to her feet and walks over to me. She places a hand on my chest, so small and pale in comparison to the darkness of my shadow form.
“We all make mistakes—I'vemade mistakes—and the one thing that I've learned from them is that you can't punish yourself forever. Well, you can, but you'll just be miserable. And nobody judges you harder than yourself. If you're truly sorry, then I know Xhoshad and Nerazi will forgive you. I forgive you, and I still love you. I need you, Seriq.”
Her words are a revelation, a balm to my aching soul that I didn't know I needed. When I turn back toward The Revenant Swarm, something shifts inside of me. Not mere seconds before, I was too tired to go on, but now I feel invincible knowing that Alexis's love will bolster me through what I must do.
I flick my long tongue out, savoring the heady emotion. It's like nothing I've tasted before—sweet and addictive—and as much as I crave those negative emotions, I know I'll never get enough of feasting on this one.
Love.
I crouch down low, claws elongated in preparation to attack when I pause. Recalling what Nerazi and Xhoshad did in giving me their declaration of acceptance, I wonder if I can do the same for my brethren before me. I know that I have my own form of love for them, a concern for their well-being, and I set aside the guilt that swims back in.
Clinging to Alexis's words, I acknowledge we all make mistakes, and it's not the past but the present that changes those things. I stand tall, shifting back into my Vasura, walking before the towering Revenant Swarm. The False King's army stares down at me, a thousand eyes judging my every move. Taking a deep breath, I spread my arms wide and bend down on a knee before looking up.
“I'm sorry, brothers, but this is wrong—Iwas wrong. The False King is exactly as his name implies—a dishonest despot. He lied to us and kept you from your true destinies. All your mates are out here, somewhere in this realm. You can still go find them.”
It's a lot for me to say. I don't like talking in general, let alone about my feelings, but I can't let my brethren continue on this destructive path. It not only endangers everyone else but themselves. It's not fair for them to have lost all hope because it’s not gone—it was stolen by Zuriv.
Next to me, Xhoshad claps a hand on my shoulder. I give him a startled look, not expecting him to come to my aid, let alone touch me after what I did. He doesn't say anything, but just nods. To my right, Nerazi steps up and does the same. There is a familiar twinkle in his yellow gaze as he smirks.
“You owe me big time, fucker.”
I choke on a laugh, surprised I can even experience the emotion right now. Then again, Alexis saved me from ferality. I’ve never heard of a Vasura going feral that reversed course. My mate saved me from the bleak future that once awaited me, and the swirling mass of nihilism that held me in its thrall.
Between Xhoshad and me, Alexis worms her way in. My first instinct is to shove her behind me. I look over at Xho, noting he wants to do the same, but he shakes his head. I tense, my dark emotions roaring to life once more, but I force myself to relax and trust in my trium. If Xhoshad says Alexis should be at our side, then there she’ll remain. The three of us can protect her, and this is our demonstration of trust in her, of treating her like an equal. It’s the only thing she's ever wanted—and the one thing I couldn't give until now.
Nerazi shifts restlessly. “Come on. Let's go help our brothers. Let's just hope they don't swallow us like someone else I know.”
I bump his shoulder playfully, wanting to punch him in the throat, but I'm trying to behave myself. Nerazi’s grin says he knows this and the asshole enjoys egging me on, but I deserve his jabs. If this is the worst of his animosity for fucking eating him whole… then I’m one lucky bastard.
Wrapping a protective arm around Alexis’ waist—some habits never die—I approach The Revenant Swarm with the rest of my trium. The writhing mass of lost souls shifts restlessly the closer we come, but it doesn’t attack. My brow furrows in confusion as I try to calculate its next move. The fact that the False King’s army does nothing puts me on edge.
“Why isn’t it striking?”
Xhoshad grunts at my question, his red eyes glowing bright with understanding. “Because Zuriv shut down the portals. The swarm was under your command. When you became unferal, The Fallacious’ army basically became defunct without anyone to control it since the idiot closed the portals and he can’t. Of course, Zuriv never expected you to pull free from the darkness that gripped you.”
Understanding dawns, and with it the realization that The Revenant Swarm might be in the most perfect place to heal. Without the False King to whisper it his lies, there’s a chance my brethren might hear me and my truth, even though we’re no longer connected. Taking a breath, I tuck Alexis into Xhoshad before tugging Nerazi forward to sandwich our mate as I step away from them. I turn to the swarm, cautiously approaching until I can touch the swirling pit of shadows.
“Brothers, for eons, The Fallacious has kept us from our destinies. Only a handful of us had access to the portals, and my trium was lucky enough to find our mate. But all that has changed. You’re no longer under the False King’s control, and you don’t have to believe his lies. You’re free to roam the earthly realm, chasing the darkness from their brilliant sun until you find your mate. And I have no doubt that she’s out there if you but look.”
The Revenant Swarm trembles at my words, a thousand cries piercing the night. Alexis gasps, and I look back to see her clamping a hand over her ears as Xhoshad and Nerazi squeeze her between their bodies. The inhuman howls continue until the army bursts into a cloud of smoky wisps. They fly in all directions as if a bomb detonated inside the swarm.
