Page 2 of My Blood Is Yours

The palace staff are already spread across the front gardens, each one doing their own headcount to ensure everyone is here. Though it doesn’t look that much safer out here than it does inside. Crevices spiderweb beyond the horizon, growing wider with each passing moment as new ones form.

My mother’s voice is breathy both awe and horror as she clutches the front of her dress.“Akash almighty, what is this?”

Theriel steps up to her, checking her hands.

“Themundrapedra.Where is it?”

Mundrapedra. World Stone.

Her jaw drops. It’s our most precious family heirloom, invaluable in its worth because it’s what enables us to reach oursoulboundmates—no matter what realm they’re in when we experience the Summoning.

The Summoning is what all daemon males or dominants experience when theirsoulboundcomes of age, which varies—some at twenty years, others at a hundred or more. Whensoulboundsunite through vow and consummation, their magic strengthens exponentially. Without the mundrapedra, finding one’ssoulboundbecomes far more difficult, often requiring the aid of seers and mages—though success is never guaranteed.

Sometimes, fate allowssoulboundsto meet naturally. But when a Summoning goes unfulfilled, a daemon loses part of their soul and mind, becoming one of the broken who tarnish daemonkind’s name. And ultimately, the mundrapedra is likely what secured my family’s rule as the archdaemons of Vassileo.

My father’s expression hardens as he draws my mother against his chest. “It’s in the safe in our closet, as it always is. Leave it. We can search for it in the rubble.”

Theriel’s expression turns pained as he rubs at the centre of his chest, brows knit together. He shakes his head, tossing his thick horns from side to side.

Gods, has he been Summoned?

My mother steps forward, grasping his shoulders, my father her perpetual shadow. “Darling, please. What good is themundrapedraif you’re dead? Please, just wait until this subsides.”

As if to punctuate her words, the soil beneath our feet heaves, sending many of us tumbling to the ground. Fifty feet away, a fissure bursts wide and several palace staff are swallowed by it. My father scoops my mother off the ground and takes flight to hover above it as he barks at the staff to follow suit.

Theriel and I hover in front of our parents, watching in horror as the quaking increases—and what lays beyond the chasms it forms comes into view: clear skies and the lush, verdant forest of another world.

My father can clearly see the determination written all over Theriel’s face. “Don’t you dare go in there!”

“How else then? How else will I find her? And how else will we maintain the throne?”

My father’s expression contorts with fury. “If I have to choose between you and a throne, I will choose you every fucking time! Don’t you dare risk your life for that fucking rock! You can search the?—”

“There won’t be any rubble to search!”

Theriel, and our parents look to me—ever the calm middle man in our family arguments. I canfeeltheir determination for me to side, as if my decision will decide the future.

I want themundrapedratoo. I need to be able to find my own mate. It’s an easy choice for my parents because they’ve already found one another, thanks to the priceless heirloom.

My eyes dance between the three of them as the world around us is gradually swallowed, bite by bite, in an apocalypse.

Finally, my eyes settle on Theriel. “I’ll go with you.”

Without hesitation, Theriel turns and soars toward the palace, miraculously still standing. I swoop to follow close behind.

We barely make it inside before the palace begins to collapse. Dodging falling walls, pillars, and chandeliers, we reach our parents’ bedroom closet, where the safe remains untouched.Theriel quickly works the tumbler until it clicks open, and the thick metal door swings open. He sifts through my family’s treasures, pocketing my mother’s favorites and tossing others away whilst searching for themundrapedra.

Seconds tick by, each one lowering the guillotine closer to our necks as the palace gives another shudder and booms with finality. Theriel’s voice is sharp.

“Where the fuck is it?”

The world tilts. We slam into a wardrobe as the rest of the safe’s contents spill—everything vanishing into a gaping fracture in the floor. Everythingexceptfor themundrapedra, which rolls into a corner. In the gaping fissure, the palace floor and wall are gone, replaced by a jagged opening into another realm. But this one is wholly different from the alluring forest we’d seen in the cracks outside. This is something darker—yet glittering with city lights. In place of a majestic forest, towering metal and glass structures piercing the sky. I can hear the distant rhythmic thumping of music.

The closet door swings open, slamming into the wall as the world turns yet again, and gravity yanks us toward the glittering chasm. My wings beat wildly, slamming against falling wardrobes and drawers. I manage to grab the door handle with one hand, Theriel’s wrist with the other. He flaps desperately, but the unseen force drags us down.

Theriel’s dark lilac eyes meet mine—wide with an emotion I’ve never witnessed in him—fear. His grip begins to slip. And so does mine. Realizing this, Theriel’s fingers loosen around my wrist.“No, what’re you doing?!”

“If I don’t let go, we both fall!”

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