Blood Flows Deep in the Empire (27 page)

“Yeah, I guess. They say even regular people can feel the energy there. At least that’s what I’ve heard.”

Ismini nodded.

Eve motioned with her head toward the two assholes in the front of the van. “Any idea who the mystery voice that ordered these ugly ass fuckers to leave us alone was?”

Lisrn growled from the driver’s seat. “We can fucking hear you, human! Watch it or I’ll forget those orders.”

“Don’t let her goad you. She likes that,” Enteax said from the passenger seat. He had earphones in and was busy watching
The Vampire Diaries
on his tablet. Look at that. Even the pieces of shit animals in the Universe had a use for technology and Netflix.

Evesse’s voice dripped with poison. “How sweet. You’ve taken the time to get to know me.”

Ismini still wanted to know who the woman was. Whoever she was, she had no problem with seeing them killed, but she did have an issue with either of them being sexually abused beforehand.

Oh, yay. Somebody anoint her for sainthood.

She turned back to Evesse, fighting back tears. “I’m so sorry. I dragged you into this.”

Eve stared back at her. “Shut up. I’m doing my job as your friend, and I do believe Nylicia would say this was destined. Everything happens for a reason. And I’d rather be here with you than with anyone else, even if it means we’re going to die together.”

Ismini felt unworthy of so much loyalty. Blinking, she looked at the floor of the minivan. The only way she could imagine this working out was if she were the only one who got hurt. If she could somehow get Evesse the fuck out of there, and if, impossible as it might have been, Dyletri loved Dimithinia.

Not me. God, he can’t be mated to me.
As it was, things seemed pretty impossible, and that broke Ismini’s heart more than the unrequited mating had. She and Evesse couldn’t use their powers to break out. Whatever the thing holding them was, it made any gifts Nylicia had given them obsolete.

Nylicia. Please. Please hear me. Save her. Please. And . . . if Dyletri is mated to me, then save me. Don’t let either of them get hurt. Please.

The vehicle stopped suddenly, throwing Evesse and Ismini against the energy field that held them. Their captors exited, walked around to the back doors, and threw them open.

Enteax smiled at them. “All right, pretty ones. Time to meet your destiny.”

Ismini would have loved to wipe that smug expression off his face, but it looked like she wasn’t going to get the chance. This was it.

At some point, the fuckers had left the highway and driven deep into the desert. The stars and moon lit the nighttime sky, and huge mountain formations dotted the dry landscape.

A current rippled through the air, barely a whisper compared to what she’d felt before but enough to make her skin tingle. They were close to the vortex. She felt it with her new powers, could almost pinpoint its location.

I’m going to die.

The thought finally registered. She’d always known it. It’d been a given fact for years. But now that she was being dragged into the desert, realization sank in. There was a part of her that wanted to be afraid. A very human part that was close to terrified. But there was another part of her that would be fine as long as Evesse didn’t die with her.

“You don’t need her,” Ismini said. “Just let her go.”

Lisrn turned to look at her. “No. Don’t think so. I think I’m going to have a piece of that anyway.”

“Lisrn, we have orders—”

“No, Enteax. I don’t give a fuck what Ver—”

“Watch your mouth!”

They came to a stop at the foot of one of the mountains.

“They’re going to die anyway!”

“I said shut it!”

Their restraints loosened some. Perhaps the energy holding them was reacting to the pure energy vibrating around them. The moment Ismini realized the dark energy around them was failing, the instinct to fight came out.

She took a deep breath, preparing to do just that, but Evesse beat her to it. And consequently got smacked right into the mountain wall with a huge sword pointed at her throat.

Enteax inched the sword closer to Evesse. “Try me, little girl.”

Ismini froze, furious and unable to move for a moment because the rage was so raw. It was a moment too long, however, because next thing she knew, Lisrn had her by the hair and was dragging her closer to the mountain. She caught sight of Enteax grabbing Evesse.

Fucking hell. Was this really it? Was this really Evesse’s fate? Ismini was already determined to fucking die, so why did she have to suffer, too?

She locked eyes with her best friend. This wasn’t supposed to happen, damn it.
I’m sorry
, she wanted to say.
I love you. I’d save you if I could.

Eve’s eyes were tormented. “Just kill me with her, asshole. Just do it. I don’t want to live without her, nor do I want to be around for another fucker to ever try to force himself on me again.”

Lisrn quickly called out to the
Illion
and snapped Ismini’s head around painfully fast. He held her still while he screamed out something about the sacrifice. He said something else, something in a language Ismini couldn’t understand. Everything inside her seemed to slow down after that.

A burst of light illuminated the sky. It tainted the air until what looked like a tornado began to form. Evesse screamed in the background as the wind picked up and began ripping at them. Lightning twisted and swirled and grew until the air around them was a huge roar.

Ismini inhaled shakily, just as Lisrn yanked her by the hair, lifting her off her feet. She kicked at him, trying to fight back, trying to get him to let go. She clawed at Lisrn’s hand, nails digging deep. A shock of power slammed into her, making her fall limp.

It took a split second for Lisrn to fling her into the vortex. Ismini managed to turn her head even as she felt the raw power begin to shred the surface of her skin.

Evesse screamed out her name, tears streaming down her face. She pushed Enteax off her and ran. Helpless and horrified, Ismini watched as Evesse was sucked into the whirlwind with her.

At first, Ismini couldn’t feel what was happening to her, but she could see it. The matter that made up her body, her skin, was torn from her. Then raw, white-hot agony consumed her, mixing with the unbearable sound of the energy swirling around them.

Chapter 24

Dyletri’s opened his eyes, his entire body pulsating with blood. Ismini’s blood.

His neck cracked when he lifted his head. His muscles protested, refusing to listen when he told them to move. Sweat rolled off him, pooling on the floor.

Cringing, he forced his upper body to be useful and lift him up. He got to a sitting position before the dizziness went on an all-out assault. He cradled his head, squinting out of one eye and looking around the temple.

Gone. Ismini was gone.

He swallowed, feeling the burn in his throat. In a flash, all the memories came back. His stomach clenched, reminding him of what was inside him. A pang of hunger hit him so hard he was almost slammed on his back again. His forehead abandoned, he wrapped both arms around his midsection and rocked back and forth like a pussy, trying to keep his common sense intact.

He was all for hunting his woman down and sinking his fangs back into her, but he had to get a clear head to do it. She’d fucking run from him—he’d known it the moment he realized she was gone. He just had to pull his shit together and figure out why.

A few minutes later, Dyletri was engaged in the type of mental war that made his issues with his powers seem like nothing. His veins hurt, his blood rushing at full speed and demanding
teeth.
Ismini’s to be exact. If he hadn’t known he was mated to her beforehand, he would have been in for one hell of a surprise.

When he peeked down at his left arm he saw the ends of a new design etched into his skin, one that blended in with his black tribal tattoo. He didn’t need to see the whole thing to know the design reached up toward his neck. He knew it did, and he knew what it was. The colors were the same as Ismini’s aura. Enough said.

Determined, Dyletri closed his eyes and breathed deeply. He had to get himself under control, had to think past the howls in his fucking head. He focused on her blood instead, ignoring the need it caused and honing in on the connection it gave him instead.

Like the click of a lock sliding home, his thoughts aligned with her blood. Dyletri’s eyes shot open, freezing on the floor, unseeing. Ismini’s intention was clear as day through his connection with her. Everything was. He easily caught the echoes of her thoughts.

Thirty seconds after that, he realized a couple of really fucked up things.

One, he’d been knocked out, completely naked on that temple floor for over a day. A fucking day. Two, Ismini still fucking believed that he loved Dimithinia. Her panic, guilt, and pain lashed at him in wordless waves, each one hurting more than the last.

Dyletri wanted to fucking shake her until she admitted to herself that she mattered to so many beings and that none of them could imagine a world without her. Shake her until she realized that he was hers.

Only hers.

Hold it, asshole. Keep yourself together.

Easier said than done.

Misguided as his little one was, Ismini had run for the sake of a woman she didn’t even know—and for the sake of others.

And even as she was doing so, it was obvious how afraid she was. Afraid of what she suspected and something that was very much a reality. The mark on his left side said it all. If she died, he would die with her.

Whoa . . .
A rush of adrenaline went through Dyletri like nothing he’d ever felt before. The Illion didn’t have shit on the raw energy coursing through his veins.
He had to find his woman and make it clear that the Universe could kiss his ass, because she wasn’t dying. Hell the fuck no.

If
he even contemplated allowing that to go down, she wasn’t doing it without him next to her, damn it all.

He got to his feet, stumbling only once. Why hadn’t anyone come to look for them? What the fuck was going on? But he knew. They probably believed Ismini and he were in there and didn’t need to be interrupted. Yet too much time had passed. Dyletri knew this. He was going to fucking lose his
R’ma.

The thought sent his body on a rampage. Infuriated, he dematerialized and shot across Enzyria. He stormed into the compound, still naked, and roared out for Ismini.

“Huh? Who? Wha—Ah, fuck! I’m fucking
blind
!”

Cy wasn’t kidding. His head whipped around when he saw Dyletri, and when he turned back, his eyes had gone entirely gray. Cy stumbled, his hands out in front of him, trying to brace his fall.

Dyletri had seen that happen to other gods before. Hey, it had even happened to him. Sometimes, even a god saw shit he couldn’t handle and his brain would shut down visual processing for a bit.

Still, when Cy fell face-first into one of the statues, his forehead nearly shredding the thing, Dyletri felt no sympathy. He stormed up to Cy, grabbed him by the collar and landed a solid smack against his head. The idiot was doing it on purpose, and Dy was in too much of a hurry to put up with it.

“What the fuck is wrong with you? I’m not the one with my dick hanging out! Don’t you dare press that thing against me, you sick fuck!”

Dyletri smacked Cy again for good measure. “Ismini’s gone, you fidiot.”

Cy blinked, the gray fading from his eyes as they returned to their normal shade of gold.

He pushed away from Dyletri, focusing only on his face. “Put. Some. Fucking. Pants. On.” Cy turned away from Dy with the kind of expression that said he might never be the same. “Visions are one thing, motherfucker. Seeing that shit in person is traumatizing.”

“You’re such a little bitch.” Dyletri forced himself to materialize into his armor and then went to leave. “Something’s not right about this. Get the others. I’ll meet you the—”

He didn’t get to finish. Zen stormed in, clad in the black and red armor that he had never worn as Zeniel. No, Mavrak had been in charge last time Dyletri had seen it on his friend.

“Evesse is gone.”

Dyletri was sure he saw Zen’s eyes flash the same color as his armor as he stormed past. He ignored it, following Zen out of the compound and dematerializing with him once they were outside. He willed himself straight to Earth, grabbing on to the bits of Ismini’s essence that he could feel.