Retribution

I made my way over to the centaur, where I placed a hand upon his bare chest making his eyes glaze over and bend to my will.

“My dear Lewis, would you be so kind as to kill Dorian for me in whatever fashion you desire and then return to me.”

Lewis gazed at me as I seized his mouth with mine, before pulling away and watching as he pulled out a broadsword.

Before Dorian could even react, Lewis was upon him with his broadsword cutting through the skin of his neck. A few creatures cheered as Dorian’s head fell onto the table, his lifeless eyes staring right at me.

I hadn’t got the same thrill when Lewis acted out my orders, so I knew I needed to be more inventive with my next victim.

Lewis soon returned to my side and I gave him another long lust filled kiss, as he looked upon me with adoration in his eyes.

I slid my hand across his chest, resting it over where his heart was situated, I then told him not to scream and he nodded.

In my free hand, I summoned a chain of fire and then whipped it across his chest, scorching his skin on impact and making blood flow across his tanned skin.

The only problem was, he wasn’t screaming. I hadn’t realised how much I enjoyed the sound until it wasn’t present.

“Okay Lewis, the next time I want you to scream and fill it with all the pain I am making you feel.”

His eyes widened as some of the haze began to disappear, before I wrapped the chain around his torso and his screams filled up the room.

By the time I was finished with him, his top half had been disconnected from his bottom half, the wound cauterised instantly.

Neither Troy nor Nero knew who would be my last victim, but I did. Nero wasn’t my choice not because I wanted Troy to be my groom, oh no. It was because I wanted Troy alive so I could revel in the conflict it would cause between him and Malachi. I wanted Malachi to win, at least I thought I did, but I also wanted to cause chaos and these two would be the best choice for that to occur.

I rounded on Nero and he knew he was my choice, he shifted into a great grizzly bear and swiped out at me with his sharp claws. Sweeping low, avoiding the onslaught, I tried to call forth my fire, but nothing happened. I was so distracted I didn’t see the claw coming in for a second swipe, until the bite of his claws was felt across my stomach.

My hands came to land on my stomach and when I pulled them away I was met with the sight of blood. Too much blood.

The bear roared in anger as it got ready to come for me probably to finish me off this time, but my bloodlust was diminishing as my own spilled out from me.

I heard a loud roar of anger, but it wasn’t registering. I couldn’t believe Nero had tried to kill me, how fucking dare he.

All I tried to do was incinerate him, was that so bad? Of course not, and in return, he gouges out my damn stomach.

The anger was returning, but I wasn’t healing fast enough to be of much use against the grisly, not in that exact moment anyhow.

I was drawn out of my internal ramblings by a series of gasps, I thought only I garnered that reaction down here.

My head snapped up to see, the bear who had returned to his human form, was lying flat on his back with Malachi sitting on his chest. He wasn’t even struggling as my sexy Incubus drained his life right out of him, only he didn’t.

For some weird reason he stopped right at the point of death, but he wouldn’t follow through. Instead he pounded his fists in Nero’s face.

The sounds of bones crunching and snapping resounded loudly, through the deathly quiet banquet. Hades had Malachi pulled off of the damn shifter’s body, I had been enjoying the visual, and then Semias was there stealing his life force in one swift move.

Malachi was before me in seconds, pulling me flush against his chest and slamming his mouth down upon mine.

14

Marcus

Surprisingly enough, I refused to give up the ghost, clinging to the faint life that continued to fight within my broken form. I wasn’t awake, but I was aware of my surroundings and the people milling about around me.

I could hear Ishira issuing orders, telling the healers to not give up. Less the same fate, that had stricken me, should befall them.

I couldn’t say at the time whether she meant it, but they clearly feared she did. I wasn’t sure why she was working so hard to keep me alive, although guilt could eat away at any soul, even Ishira’s.

That’s not to say she was callous or uncaring, far from it truthfully, but she didn’t hold the same qualms over preserving life like I did.