Page 34 of The Magic of Eternity
Son of a bitch.
It worked.
Oh my gods. It actually fucking worked. I couldn’t believe it. I’d heard her clear as day. Her sweet voice had penetrated my soul, just the same way it did every single time.
“Fischer,” I said.“You are a fucking badass.” I was smiling so hard that my cheeks were aching, but I couldn’t stop. I wouldn’t stop, becausemy mate,my cub,was safe. She was alive. My future cubs were safe and alive. Sloane. My brother was alive. I hadn’t felt this happy for so long.
Balor had left just before Fischer brought us into the mental link. Time was running out, and we’d sent him to gather more loyalists to bring them in on our plan. I was glad that we’d had that moment alone with just us. The conversation felt intimate, the love we had for each other transcending all space and distance.
“She sounded good, right?” Fischer asked, looking unsure.
“Yeah, brother. I mean, she’s upset, rightfully so. Anybody would be. We all are. But I couldn’t have asked for better, given the circumstances,” Cam said, taking a seat at the small dining table by the window.
Before Balor left to go to rally his people, he’d brought back a whole serving cart, filled with different food and drinks. As soon as we ended our conversation with Saige and Sloane, we dug in. Gods, the food was so good.
I hadn’t eaten much during my isolation, and I needed to fuel up to have enough energy for this battle that was surely coming our way.
Cam was deep in thought as he ate, and I knew he was playing various scenarios through his tactical brain. That was just how the man operated—it was why he was our leader. If anybody would be able to lead us in a successful mission here today, it would be Cam.
Fischer was also quiet as he ate, and the silence was starting to drive me crazy. I had never been a quiet person, not when I had so much energy. So many things to talk about, places to go, things to do. I wasn’t made to sit and be left with my own thoughts. The times in my life where I’d been forced to do that, when I’d had no other options, that was when things always went bad for me. And that wasn’t going to happen today.
“So, you trust Balor?” I asked, looking between my two best friends while they paused their eating and glanced at each other.
Cam snorted. “Fuck no, I don’t trust Balor. The only people I trust are us—our family. We are the only ones who are in this for our survival.”
Fischer nodded in agreement. “That’s where I’m at too. We need the man right now, and I do think he is telling the truth about where his loyalties lie. But the only people we can be one hundred percent sure about are the seven of us and Khol. That’s it.”
I reached for a piece of fruit, one that I’d never seen before. But it looked good, so I took a huge bite. Juice exploded from the skin and dripped down my shirt, soaking me.
“Holy shit. What kind of fruit do they have around here?” I sputtered, wiping my face with a napkin. Cam laughed, and Fischer shook his head.
“I’ll be sure to pass on those.” Fish pushed the plate of fruit away from him.
I huffed. “Yeah, no shit. Let me see if I can find another shirt here somewhere.” Standing, I tugged my dirty shirt over my head and tossed it on the chair. As I turned and walked through the room, I heard a sharp intake of breath. Looking back over my shoulder, I saw Fischer’s face had gone as white as a ghost.
“What’s wrong?” I demanded. “Is it Saige? Is she saying something to you right now?” I raced back over to the table, my heart pounding. I was scared to death of what she could possibly be telling him to garner this type of reaction.
“Your back,” he growled. “What thefuckhappened to your back, Kai?” Fish slowly rose from his chair, like an avenging angel, or maybe a devil. Either way, he was terrifying. Personally, I hadn’t seen my back, so I had no idea of the extent of the damage left behind from Asrael’s cruelty.
Fischer was practically vibrating as he stood there before me, his eyes piercing.
“It was Asrael,” I confessed. “He kept trying to get me to shift into a dragon. When I didn’t—because obviously I fucking can’t—he dragged me out to the courtyard, strung me up against a post and whipped me. He wanted to ‘set an example.’ It nearly killed me. How bad is it?” My voice was nothing more than a whisper. I really didn’t want to hear that the stain of that trauma would be marked on my body for eternity. I wanted no part of it. And yet, I had no choice.
Cam cleared his throat, drawing my focus. His gaze captured me, and his face softened. “It’s bad, Kai. Don’t get me wrong, it’s much better than it was when I found you. But you have extensive scarring. I think whatever whip Asrael used was magically infused with something to prevent healing. He wanted to harm you. He wanted to mark you. This was personal and malicious.”
“Oh.” It was all I could say. I was deformed. Now every time I took my shirt off, everybody would see what had happened to me. They’d wonder, ‘Did he deserve that punishment? Is he a bad man, a criminal?’ That would be their first guess because men who were innocent, men who were good? They didn’t bear marks like these. At least, not typically. The thought of Sprout seeing my back like this was enough to make me sick.
Pushing back from the table, Fischer and Cam both stood before me. United.
“They marked me too, brother,” Fish said. “My scars aren’t visible, but they’re there. Promise me that tomorrow, when all of this goes down—promise me that there will be blood. Swear to me that we will have our vengeance for the wrongs committed against our family.” I watched as Fischer’s shoulders shook, his words a battle cry. “I amdoneasking questions. I will kill first and worry about the repercussions after. If the sun reaches its peak and those cobblestones in the courtyard aren’t sparkling with a sea of red, then justice will not have been served.”
Something passed between the three of us at that moment. Our bond. Tightening, strengthening, wrapping around us, pulling us tighter than ever before. We had walked through the fires of hell, and we were nearly free. Together, we would defeat our enemies and seek retribution in flesh and death.
Five quick knocks in succession on the door signaled Balor’s return. As Fischer strode over to the door, Cam tossed something at me that hit me right in the chest. I pulled the soft, warm t-shirt away from my body and looked over at him.
“Put it on, K,” he whispered, crossing his massive arms over his equally massive chest, which was now bare. He’d literally given me the shirt from his back because he knew—without me so much as saying a word—that I wouldn’t want these people at the door to see my scars.
Without hesitating, I slipped the shirt on, and the smell of a summer storm surrounded me. I could feel my cheeks heating, overcome with emotion. Embarrassment, yeah, but also love. The love I had for our stoic leader and the way he always knew what we needed without having to be told. My mouth opened to thank him but I stopped when I felt his eyes trailing down my body, taking in the look of his larger shirt on my leaner frame. When he finally focused back on my face, he winked.Winked.Then he turned his attention to the door.
