“Again, my quarrel is not with you, goddess. I only wanted to pay respects to my sister and her husband.”
She flung her hand out and this time her powers lashed across him like a razor whip, cutting deep into his flesh and leaving his clothes split and his body bleeding. “You ever breach my portal again without an invitation or key, dog, and I will send your head home to your father and your heart to your mother.”
To his credit, Ruyn barely reacted to the pain of that blow, which had to be agonizing. Rather he stood stalwart before the angry goddess and inclined his head. “Understood.”
And then he had the audacity to turn his back on her and walk toward Urian, who didn’t miss the white-knuckled grip he had on his staff that said he was barely keeping his temper in check.
Pushing himself away from his father, Urian moved closer to his brother-in-law. “I’m sorry, Ru.”
He wiped at the blood on his chest and shrugged. “I can handle physical pain.” Glancing back at Apollymi, he curled his lip. “Hers is no better or worse than my own mother’s loving touch.” Then his gaze turned stormy again. “Did Sheba suffer?”
“Nay. The attack was too quick.” Urian removed the necklace he wore that had belonged to his wife and handed it to Ruyn. A strange blending of her family, the amulet was a design of Thor’s hammer with a wolf and raven. “She would want you to have this more than me.” Urian tightened his grip in Ruyn’s hand. “I’ll also cede kingship to you. By all rights, it’s more yours than mine and I know she’d much rather see you as the leader of her people.”
Tears gathered in Ruyn’s eyes. His hand trembled. “Why would you give up a throne?”
He smiled. “I’m Greek. Apollymian. The Marzanni were Sheba’s. And I know what you did.” He projected his thoughts to Ruyn. Sheba told me the sacrifice you made so that she could live longer in spite of Apollo’s curse. What you did to save her tribe. He tightened his hand on Ruyn’s. “As Sheba said, we will always be allies. You and I will always be brothers, and while I may fight with my brothers over trivial things, I will never screw one over. Especially not for something as inconsequential as a throne.”
Ruyn yanked him forward into his embrace and held him for a long minute.
Urian felt his hot tears as he silently wept. With a ragged breath, Ruyn pounded Urian twice on his back and stepped away to clear his throat and wipe at his eyes.
Gruffly, he pulled his own necklace off and extended it toward Urian. “That is my mark. You need me, brother, you call and I will come. No matter what. No matter when.” He chucked Urian on the arm. “Remember, all roads lead to Ruyn.”
Urian snorted at his bad pun.
Then he sobered and cut a dark, serious grimace toward Urian’s family. “And let me leave you with one bit of advice, little brother, as I’ve lived a lot longer than both of you. Remember that you serve your goddess today. But loyalty given is seldom returned. Take it from a survivor of the Primus Bellum. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter who we swear our fealty to, we’re just a bunch of demons to them. Useless things they will cast off and leave to die without a second thought. Me, Caleb, Dagon, Shadow, Xev … countless others. They thought nothing of us. Yet we sacrificed everything we had to the Kalosum to make sure they’d win—even though we were born to serve the darkness of the Mavromino, we fought for the Kalosum’s light. In the end, those who were supposed to be good, who were supposed to reward us for our service and had promised to do so, turned their backs on us and chose not to see us for who and what we really are. Instead of looking into our hearts and seeing what we’d given and lost, they threw us aside like garbage. When all was said and done, they were no better than the ones they’d hated, and for all the reasons they hated the other side. So be careful where you lay your trust, and twice as careful who you serve. It’s not so much don’t bite the hand that feeds you as to make sure you sever your master’s hand before it has a chance to strike you down for no reason other than they judge you unworthy of breathing their air.”
Ruyn sighed as he settled Sheba’s necklace over his heart. “It is ever the saddest indictment against humanity that they cannot live in peace. Too many believe the path to happiness can only be achieved by walking over those around them. When the truth is so much simpler.”
“If you can’t be happy alone, you’ll never be happy in a crowd.” Urian said the words before Ruyn had a chance, as they were something Sheba had often spoken to him. It was the philosophy their mother had raised them on.
Ruyn nodded. “If you can’t stand yourself, why should you expect anyone else to? And if you seek to cause harm to others, it will always return to cause harm to you.”
He was right about that.
“Take care of yourself, little brother. I hope we meet again.” And with that, he was gone.
While everyone slowly and nervously dispersed, Apollymi made her way toward Urian.
“How is your son, Strykerius?”
His father rubbed his back. “As well as can be expected.”
“He looks as if he needs to feed.”
Urian felt his face heat up at those words, given their personal nature. At least that was the one good thing to come out of his two marriages …
No one feared feeding him anymore. He now had women lining up to give him their blood.
Men, too.
And not just Davyn. It was actually quite disconcerting how many wanted a piece of him.
“I’m fine, akra.”
“If you have a moment, then, I should like to ask you about your attack.”
His father opened his mouth to protest, but Urian interrupted. “I’ll be fine, Solren. Just a moment.”
“Are you sure?”
He nodded.
His father reluctantly allowed Urian to follow Apollymi back to her palace.
She didn’t speak until they were alone inside the marbled walls and out of the sight of prying eyes. Then she turned to face him with a probing stare. “Was it Helios, as they claim?”
“It could have been. But in all honestly, the attack was swift and fierce. I barely saw it before I was down.”
She cursed under her breath. “Keep your eyes peeled, Urian. There is much danger around us. Already, I’ve found one traitor and killed them.”
“For Helios?”
She nodded. “He’s after your grandfather and Rezar.”
He scowled at her words. While he understood why the Titan sun god would want to kill Apollo, who’d replaced him—there was no one alive who didn’t understand and know about that grudge match—Rezar was different. One of the oldest primal gods, he should have the powers to destroy Helios. Why would the Titan be so stupid as to pick a fight he couldn’t win? “I don’t understand.”
“And it’s good that you don’t. That will keep you alive. Just know that if you hear anything more about Helios, bring it to me.”
“Always, akra.”
“Good. Now go.”
Urian started away, then hesitated. “Before I go, may I ask one thing?”
She arched a brow at that.
“The dragon who guards your garden?”
Her eyes flashed red. “You needn’t worry over her anymore. She’s no longer here.” And with that, she vanished.
Those clipped words hit him like daggers through his flesh. They were a staggering blow that caused him to step back as he reeled from pain.
Gone?
How could Xyn be gone?
Urian stood without moving as he tried to come to grips with what Apollymi had just told him. A million questions ran through his head.
Had she died? Been killed?
What the hell did Apollymi mean she was no longer there?
Unable to accept that, he teleported to Sarraxyn’s cave so that he could see for himself what was going on. And to make sure it was the truth. Because honestly, he couldn’t accept it. He refused to accept it.
Until he saw the truth with his own eyes.
Her cave was empty.