Descendant of glory, p.14
Descendant of Glory, page 14
part #4 of Descendant Series
“I don’t know how to give it,” I mumbled softly.
Her hands tilted my chin down, and she spoke in a soft, understanding tone. “Stop hiding from me, River. I’ve seen both sides of you. I love both.”
My eyes widened at the words coming from her lips as a warmth infused her gaze. I opened my mouth as I went to return the sentiment, but instead my history came spilling out without permission. At least part of it. She had to know and understand what she was saying, who she was admitting to loving…because I couldn’t let her go. Especially now that the words had left her mouth.
“I’m a ghost, Nova,” I growled. “I have no past. I shouldn’t have a future either.”
“You have more than a future, and you need to accept that,” she murmured. “What do you mean you have no past?”
My eyes darted to the glass, glad everyone seemed distracted as I buried my head against her neck, picking her up against me as her legs wrapped around my hips. I settled against her as her soothing hands ran up my back and into my hair, making me let out a low rumble.
“I don’t remember anything before the pain,” I whispered softly. “The first memory I have is being beat senseless by a kid much larger than me. There was always someone bigger than you at the House.”
“The House?” she asked softly.
“It was an orphanage on the outskirts of the Horde, and it was my home until the Red Masques. It was all I knew until I broke into the fighting rings in town.”
“River…” Her voice was filled with compassion as I continued.
“The House was owned by a blood mage that collected the orphans that he felt like he could use, almost exclusively boys.” I closed my eyes and exhaled slowly. “He made us fight. Made us kill one another so that he only had the strongest. He didn’t want losers in the fight rings, he said, so he created killers to make him money.”
“And that’s what the video—”
I pressed my lips against hers and nodded, unable to think back to the sound of his voice echoing through the space from the video tape without losing it.
“I met Ever at the fighting ring,” I explained softly, “but before that, it was all darkness. Pain. Blood. I may have escaped the House, but I didn’t come out with any of my soul intact, Nova. I slaughtered children my age, older and younger. It severed something in me to ignore the part of me that wanted to heal them instead. Now I’m broken, and the part of me that fostered that side…it’s fucked up, Nova. It’s fucked up, and it wants you. I want you. I don’t deserve you. You don’t deserve to be subjected to my twisted, fucked-up needs—”
“River,” she growled, yanking my jaw down to keep my gaze as I let out a rumble, my rambling cut off.
“It’s true.” My lip pulled up in a sneer, disgusted with myself.
“I don’t care what you think you deserve.” Nova’s voice was firm. “I just care about what you feel.”
“How I feel about you?”
“Exactly,” she murmured. “About us.”
I stared into her eyes and realized I had absolutely nothing to lose. If she rejected me…I had no idea what would happen. I would probably delve into the darkness fully. She was the crackling lightning that made me realize how long I’d been in the shadows, and I craved her electric soul.
“I love you.”
I didn’t have any flowery language to describe it. It was a raw confession. One that wasn’t done in a special way or in a special place. I kept her gaze and watched several emotions flash across her face before tears welled up in her eyes and her lips tilted up, a surge of her magic wrapping around me comfortingly.
“I love you, River. I love every part of you, and if I have to do it for both of us then so be it, but I’m not going anywhere,” she promised.
A shuddering breath came from my lips in realization of what she was saying. I nodded, choked on emotion as I buried my nose against her neck and held her there, not able to move. It was overwhelming. It was wrecking me. When her elegant hands continued to soothe me, I brought us both to the ground and laid back on the marble floor, not knowing how long we had in this odd portal. Almost everyone was trying to rest, and Nova laid across my chest was bringing a sense of contentment that was second to none. I found myself breathing in her scent and completely absorbing her affection.
I was a sadistic monster that loved the embodiment of chaos.
…and she loved me back.
My eyes stung with tears as I stared up at the glass ceiling, memories surging through me as I let the darkness well up. I let it take over as a memory ripped up from my subconscious, leaving me in a nearly numb state of awareness.
“Kill him.”
My hands covered my face as my magic tried to spark defensively. My entire shoulder hurt from where my mage marking had been branded to my skin. Even at seven, I knew I was too young to handle the type of magic that kept trying to break out. I felt overwhelmed and sick, unable to focus long enough to defend myself. This kid was going to kill me, and that realization had tears streaking down my face.
I was scared but okay with that.
All of this was far too painful. I wanted out. I wanted to give into the darkness that kept trying to drown me. As his shadow came over me, I gave into it completely.
A cool energy streamed over me, and giving over control allowed me to feel almost transcendent. My eyes closed and I let out an exhale of relief, ready to give into death. Ready to be done with the pain associated with this realm.
So when I heard clapping, I was confused.
My heavy eyes had opened, and immediately bile rose in my throat. Blood soaked me, and the internal organs of the boy that had been standing over me were spread in all directions at least ten feet. I leaned over and puked out a liquid substance that burned like acid in my throat, no food to pad the process of it coming up.
I had killed him.
I’d killed him.
My magic wrapped around me like a metal suit, and I realized that it hadn’t been just me. We had killed him. My magic had taken care of me and used our ability to heal to do the exact opposite. That realization was terrifying and overwhelming.
Except I didn’t have a chance to mourn the kid’s loss…a kid whose name I didn’t even know. Instead, the House Master was tugging me to stand and talking excitedly, clapping my back and leading me towards a large table of food where the other ‘good kids’ sat. All of them stared at me with empty expressions, their faces splattered with blood.
The wood seat was cold under my butt as he motioned to the food and strode back towards the line of kids waiting. I looked down at the food, and my hunger roared up. I had to eat, and my body associated our winning, our killing, with food to fix our starvation. I think that was when I realized just how messed up all of this was.
It didn’t change anything, but I saw the world in a new light. A dimming light that aligned with my lack of hope. I was betraying myself, my magic.
We may have been surviving, but I wasn’t sure a monster like me deserved that.
“Sprinkles.” Nova’s soft voice in my ear had my eyes opening as I realized the sensation of us moving had halted. How long had I been asleep? How long had we been traveling? I had a feeling this way of traveling was slower, but it left me feeling more well rested than I would have expected. I also assumed it was safer than the other way.
I found Nova looking down at me, her expression soft and curious as I ran my fingers through her hair, unable to say anything for the moment because I was so caught up on how unbelievably beautiful she was. That fierceness was gone, and in its place was this sleepy kitten that was practically purring against me, the vitals of everyone else in the room in a similar sleep-like state.
“I think we stopped moving, but I can’t tell,” she murmured and brushed her nose against mine. “There is a door now, though.”
Sitting up, she slid onto my lap, her legs going on either side of me as I looked at the door over her shoulder, noticing that it was made of what appeared to be solid gold. I sent magic through the space, both healing any remaining wounds and pulling everyone out of their daze. I wanted to believe they’d fallen asleep naturally, but there have been times when my magic had acted out and picked the best path for our team, and given that we’d had quite a few injuries today…or whenever the hell it was.
“Fuck,” Ramsey grumbled, standing up as I lifted Nova with me. She squirmed out of my arms, causing my cock to harden. How the woman managed to look so alluring in combat pants was beyond me.
“I didn’t realize how tired I was,” Rowan admitted as August nodded in agreement.
“We landed on the outskirts of the God realm, so we still have a bit of travel,” Nour admitted, opening the door and letting a warm breeze run through the space. I grabbed some of our bags as Nova bounced out of the odd portal room ahead of everyone despite the warning rumble that broke from my throat. The sly smile she tossed back at me had me knowing that she was well aware of the buttons she was pushing.
And the woman did it well. She was skilled at pushing me.
“Shit,” Nova mumbled.
As we stepped out of what appeared to be just a rip in space, I was greeted by twilight skies and vast plains of prairie grass to all sides. A crescent moon rested in the lavender and navy skies, but outside of that and the faint sound of the breeze, there was nothing. As the last of us left the portal, it closed with a snap, and I looked to Ramsey and Nour, who were walking towards the top of a nearby hill. Nova bounced along as I followed next to Everett and Cassian, both of them looking as tired as I felt.
“How’s the injury?” I asked Cassian, already knowing the answer. He had received a nasty burn from a blast of magic earlier, his side torn up but now practically healed.
“Much better.” He inhaled and shook his head. “I don’t like being caught off guard like that.”
“I think we need to be better about being prepared from now on,” Everett admitted. “That was far too close of a call, and shit is only going to get worse now that we are here.”
I really hated to agree with him.
Nova’s laugh had all of us looking forward as we began to trail down the other side of the hill, her form outlined by the night sky as Rowan picked her up and August walked next to them, their lighthearted conversation making me feel slightly better. I had a good read on how everyone was feeling physically, but I knew there was a component to this that was mental and emotional fatigue. We had been going nonstop now for at least two weeks, and while I knew we were up for it, it didn’t mean it was healthy.
We walked in relative silence with Nour and Ramsey leading the way, the two of them talking quietly as I trailed behind, making sure no one came up behind us. I couldn’t lie—I was distracted. My focus was on Nova, of course, and the connection that was growing between us. Not only the one made of love and affection that I’d finally admitted to, but the other one, the darker strand intertwined with the first, my magic’s feral need for her.
I had to trust her. She wanted me, all of me.
I wanted to believe it so goddamn bad, and her words had my control loosening. I knew that if I ever turned into the dangerous creature inside of me, my brothers would stand by my side, and I think…I think Nova would as well. So my control was starting to slip because both my magic and I knew that protecting her was our main priority. If we had to sacrifice the part of humanity we’d attempted to build up since joining the Red Masques to do so, then so be it.
“You talked to her about your past,” Ever noted quietly. He was walking next to me again, everyone else ahead of us as the horizon turned into a midnight blue.
“I did.” I had barely talked to Everett about it.
“Did you also tell her you killed that fucker who kept all of you?”
My lip twitched. “No, it didn’t come up.”
“You should probably tell her,” he drew lazily.
“Why?”
“Because if we ever go back to the Horde, it will be the first thing she wants to do,” he chuckled, making me tilt my head in thought. Would she really?
“Yes, she most definitely would,” he answered my unspoken question.
The two of us walked in silence for a while longer, and I realized it had been a bit since Everett and I had been able to talk. It had felt like everything since finding Nova in Toronto had turned into a chaotic, hyper-speed time warp. It felt good to walk side by side with the man I considered my brother, even if he was mental on his good days. Although, I didn’t really have any room to talk.
“When we first met her,” I spoke softly, “did you think any of this would happen?”
“Being in the God realm? No. Being with Nova? Yeah, I did, actually.”
I offered a questioning look, and he explained. “We’ve been working together since we were thirteen, River, and the others nearly as long. After nearly a decade of working with a group of people, you start to realize when something occurs that is different than normal. All of our reactions to Nova were…”
“Ridiculous.”
“Intense,” Everett chuckled, “but that as well.”
“You think?” I drew sarcastically.
“Like when you tried to kill John,” he pointed out. “First day, too.”
“That was before I even knew he was her supposed fiancé—”
“Betrothed,” Everett growled. He wasn’t wrong. I hated to think about John as her ‘supposed’ anything, let alone her fiancé.
“I hated that fucker,” I muttered, “but you’re right. I almost gave him an aneurysm just for the hell of it.”
Before he could respond, we crossed over another hill, and Nova’s sound of surprise immediately had my gaze searching the space to find her. I watched in amusement as we approached a black and gold carriage along with four black horses tied up nearby that seemed to be waiting for us. I heard Nova interrogating Ramsey and nearly felt bad for the man.
I could tell Ramsey had no idea what to do with Nova. Well, actually I think he knew exactly what he wanted to do, but he also knew it would cross a line. A self-imposed line, but still a line.
Nova, though, was absolutely skilled in bulldozing through those barriers, so I didn’t expect him to last very long.
“How did they know to be here? And why can’t we do something faster?” she insisted, not seemingly upset but very curious, her eyes vibrant in the darkness of the space.
“Magic,” Nour answered the first question, and she scowled at him.
“We don’t want to be noticed if possible, at least until we are in the gates of the capital, and even then we should try to stay quiet. If what you heard at Broken House is right, then we need to visit Titania’s court in the capital before heading to the Egyptian sector. If we announce your presence, Set will immediately want you back.”
Nova blinked at him. “Okay.”
“Just okay?”
She nodded and stretched her arms before hopping up into the carriage, leaving the door open and no doubt spreading out. I dropped some of the bags on the back holder of the carriage as Ramsey continued to stare at it with a frown of confusion.
“You should sit in there with her,” August pointed out quietly to me. “She needs more sleep, and I don’t think she plans on getting any.”
Which means I would probably have to force it.
With the exception of Nour and Everett, who sat in front with the horses, everyone else would be walking, so I felt a bit guilty. I nodded and climbed into the carriage where I found Ramsey sitting diagonal from me, Nova curled up against the window. It wasn’t nearly as tight of a fit as I assumed, finding that the outside of the carriage was nothing like the inside.
“This is some Harry Potter shit, like when they go to the Triwizard tournament and have the cool tent that looks much smaller on the outside.”
“Harry Potter?” Ramsey asked as Nova snapped her head towards him in shock.
I nearly laughed at that.
She blinked. “You do know what Harry Potter is, right?”
“No.”
Nova’s smile grew as she clapped her hands. “Well that is about to be fixed.”
CHAPTER 10
NOVA
“Sunshine…”
“No.” I turned my head towards the window, keeping my chin up in a prim manner as River chuckled, his mood considerably lightened now that I was giving Ramsey shit. To be fair, it had nearly been an hour, so the man was well on his way to relaxing and nearly falling asleep. I, on the other hand, had been explaining the intricate world of Hogwarts. I mean, could you blame me? I get into a carriage that is nearly four times the size on the inside and Ramsey says he doesn’t know anything about the iconic series…it would have been a sin to not explain it to him.
“I don’t understand what I did wrong,” the man groaned, running a hand over his face. I narrowed my eyes and leaned forward, his gaze dipping momentarily to my breasts before returning back. I almost got derailed, because Ramsey checking me out was totally a win, but I could not forgive his latest transgression.
“You said I would be in Gryffindor instead of Slytherin,” I growled. “It’s like you don’t even know me! How are we supposed to get married when you think I could ever be in that house! I mean, Ramsey, I am literally a demi-goddess of chaos, and you want me to be with those courageous and loyal sons of bitches?! Those colors don’t even look good on me. I would have even taken Ravenclaw! You know what, this doesn’t even surprise me, you would totally be picked for Gryffindor.”
“Those all sound like good things!” he groaned, confused.
“You’re not going to win this,” River mused.
“All you did was tell me about the school and the characteristics of each house!” Ramsey exclaimed. “I was trying to compliment you!”
I offered him a solemn look. “Your intentions may have been good, but you have grievously injured my pride.”
“Which is why you would be in Slytherin,” he conceded as my mouth dropped. I had to give the man this—he was quick on his feet and clearly had been paying attention.
