Page 37 of Destined to the Reaper

The wind blew around us as if we’d been caught in a vortex. My entire body tingled, and a queasy falling sensation swept through me before settling. I blinked through my blurred vision to make sense of what resembled tall columns framing the entrance of an imposing mansion in an environment I’d never seen before.

“W-what…?”

“We’re home, my Kali. My home. Yours is not safe for now. Rest, my bride. I will take care of your wounds.”

I opened my mouth to ask another question… not even sure what. But my eyelids felt too heavy and my mind too foggy. A veil of darkness fell before my eyes, taking away my pain and confusion.

Chapter 10

Pharos

Itightened my hold around the unconscious form of my mate as I crossed the large terrace of my domain. Even though she hadn’t given me her soul, I could feel her pain. I hated that she should have suffered because of that damn covenant. As I approached the tall doors into the living area, my eyes widened when they parted open on the frail silhouette of Myress.

“Welcome home, Master,” she said in a breathy voice. “It has been a long time.”

“I told you not to call me master,” I gently chastised her.

As was her wont, she shrugged but didn’t otherwise comment. It bothered me that she perceived me that way, even though I understood it was genetically impossible for her to see it otherwise.

“I’m surprised you’re still here,” I said, marching with determined steps towards the bathroom.

“Where else would I go, Master?” she asked, seeming genuinely baffled.

“You could have explored the realms, found a mate, or crossed the Veil,” I said gently.

“That world is not for me,” she replied with a shudder. “Here is home. Here is safe. Here, I am happy.”

I nodded, my chest constricted for the Cambion. Born of the frolicking of a human male and a succubus, Myress had gotten the short stick of the DNA lottery. Physically, she’d inherited enough demonic traits to look unnatural to humans, but too few of her mother’s offensive and survival powers to be welcomed among her peers.

“Such a pretty soul,” she said wistfully while peering at my mate. “She’s dying. Are you going to reap her?”

“No. I’m going to heal her. And I can use your help. Please, bring me healing herbs for Skarach and Bone Fiend poison.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. Confusion sparked in her oversized, golden eyes, before giving way to a sliver of worry. Before I could question her as to what prompted that reaction, my servant hurried out of the bathroom, her flowy white dress making her look even more skinny and fragile.

I filled the huge, recessed tub with warm water, then proceeded to remove Kali’s clothes. A wave of anger surged within me upon seeing the extent of the injuries she had sustained. Angry welts puckered around the edges of the wounds where her skin had been flat out peeled off by the acid of the Skarach’s phlegm. Where the Bone Fiend’s darts had pierced her upper arm, a network of dark tendrils spread outwards around the puncture wound, indicating where infection and necrosis was spreading.

Myress returned just as I was finishing to undress her.

“I will help with the poison,” she said in a muted voice while setting the couple of flasks and jar she had returned with down on the bathroom counter.

“Thank you,” I said with genuine gratitude.

Her presence was truly a blessing. I never hoped she would still be here after my unexpected absence for half a millennium. But what she lacked in offensive skills she more than compensated for with defensive ones. And right this instant, her ability to extract and assimilate poison couldn’t have been more welcome.

I held Kali, partially sitting at the edge of the counter, and partially leaning against me. Myress leaned her unnaturally narrow and long face towards my mate’s leg, which had sustained the most grievous injury from the Skarach’s phlegm wrapping around it. She slightly parted her lips, then her narrow tongue shot out, stabbing into the wound. It vaguely resembled the hooked tongue of a fly, but with a straight dart at the tip instead of recurved.

Magic radiated from her, and the narrow funnel of her appendage discreetly undulated as she drained the poison from Kali. After a few moments, she pulled her tongue out to stab at an unscathed part of my mate’s upper thigh and repeated the process. She eventually moved to the wound on her upper arm before straightening.

I couldn’t deny that the satisfaction with which Myress licked her lips—like one does after a delicious meal—unnerved me. It was a good thing my bride had been unconscious through it. There was no question in my mind she would have been creeped out.

I hope they will get along.

“It is done. But by the Gods, there was a lot,” Myress mused aloud, looking surprised. “As a human, she should be dead already. You circumvented the covenant.”

“She’s my bride,” I said, the pride I felt audible in my voice.

“So I see,” she replied pensively, the narrow slit of her vertical pupils widening as she studied Kali’s features. “You willhave to tell me the story of how that came to pass and of your whereabouts during all those centuries.”

---