Page 25 of The Surrender

“It is my wind that breathed life into the very first spawn upon the earth. It is what is essential to all life. It is what connects us all, along with blood.” I jerk once—a small demonstration of respect to my partner. Then snivel, darkly chortling at the dragon. “Unlike fire which mankind discovered far after as they beat their chests like naked apes.”

Drago erupts. As do I. Shadow rises in my stead. For once, I allow my demon to take control of everything, including our form. The iridescence of our wings grows darker—blacker than blindness. Our muscles enlarge. We grow beyond the span of Drago. It’s the only reason that Drago’s flames dwindle for a mere moment. I retreat into the darkest places of our shared mind. Even Shadow’s whisper is deathly.

True to form, Drago shifts into half-dragon form. Cinders and flames rupture from his nostrils—only to be smothered by our wind because we may choose to feed or to snuff. That is the wonder of our power. The temperament of each scenario depends on me. And Mayce. But he always chooses to ground with his fucking rationality and his insufferable need to parent all of us.

Even now, he puts himself between Drago and me. If he’d bonded with Quintessa, if he bore his full power, he would be a force to be reckoned with—one even Shadow would find challenging. But in his limited form, he is little more than a pebble easily cast aside.

“She wears scars upon her flesh and in her heart...” croons Shadow, his eyes darkening as he taunts Drago. “But none can love her like an angel fallen apart. Will she fall or will she fly? You cannot save her even if you try.”

A vein in Drago’s neck snaps. Shadow crouches. We crouch. Gnash our demon teeth at the fucking cinder-headed dragon. Mayce wisely retreats to the far end of the hall.

And Merikh fucking plunges between us. The darkest shame and the coldest guilt throb deep inside my heart as my partner, the strongest of us, sacrifices himself to the pain. He surrenders to the violence and wrath of hell itself.

Eyes widening, jaw lowering, head bowing in reverence, Drago steps back. He shifts into the form of a man with his eyes fixed upon the vampire who doesn’t move a muscle, nor makes a sound. On his knees, he bears with the violence of my demon who rips his clothes, claws his back to bloodied gashes, and renders the flesh to tattered strips. Nothing beyond gritted teeth. Still as icy blood. Merikh takes the punishment, so Drago does not.

And it’s the greatest reason why Mayce and Drago kneel before him. He may be the darkest of us, but Merikh bears the torture of the worst of us.

Quintessa has not even scratched the surface of all that we are.

Mayce and Drago turn their backs. They leave. They give us silence. Privacy. Solitude. Respect. It’s only when the demon grows quiet that the storm has passed. By now, full-bodied tremors ripple up Merikh’s spine which trickles with a river of blood.

“I am the Shadow. You are the blood. If dark things may be loved, will she fly or drown in our unholy flood?”

When I surface, I circle to my partner’s front. I know better than to interfere with Shadow. Now, as one, we fall to our knees before Merikh and cup his face, touching our brow to his. We put our lips to his cheeks to taste the salt of his tears and the deep weight of the first and the last of the universe. One of many secrets Quintessa must unlock if she wishes to break us of all our curses. And bind all of us—as one incontestable force—to her resurrection spirit.

We are all varying forms of death.

She is our light within the darkness. She is our salvation in the darkness of our sin. While she may have faced demons, she has centuries and leagues to go before she understands the depth of ours.

I don’t disrespect my mate with feeble apologies. Instead, I bear him up with the strength of my wings, carry him to the lake, and coat the surface of his skin. Centuries ago, I learned to respect his choice to let the pain consume him. In some ways, Merikh possessed more demons than any of us, including mine. Not even I reserve the right to know all his secrets.

Once the skin seals itself with a new tapestry of scars, I lay my mate upon the cold earth near the lake, hover over him, spreading my black wings to shield us from the insipid light of the moon.

My wind meets his ice. My breath stills in my partner’s wake. His eyes become the eye. His body, the storm. Nothing simple or superficial about our relationship. Drago and Mayce belong to scorched earth. Merikh and I are deep water and dark blood.

Our lips crash. I become his scars. He becomes mine. Our demons share tears and trauma. Not once would Merikh ever accept me plunging into him from behind. Only facing him. By now, I’ve learned to keep my eyes on the dark swell of his pupils when I penetrate him. It’s his last form of surrender.

My heart darkens when I consider all the bloodshed I’ve subjected Merikh to. But it pales compared to what he’s endured. The realm of vampires was...nothing like any of ours. I can’t help but wonder how it’s changed in the centuries since Kronos took control of it.

Ironically, Merikh is drawn most to one like me. In our young years, I was little more than oil of the angels, unable to mix with his water.

But once we were cursed...once I fell, fuck!

“It was you!” I gnash my teeth at Merikh as I pump into him and clutch the velvet heat of his cock that throbs within my hand and kisses my palms with the icy metal of his magic crosses. “You were there for me, Merikh. From the beginning!”

I remember those days of darkness. Of how we, more so than Drago and Mayce, plunged into the Veil, battled the souls, but we’d transformed into nothing more than primal monsters—bound to our hunger and baser natures. No beauty. No emotion. No life. No redemption. No fucking hope!

“Fucking love you,” I growl. Accept my partner’s mouth as he kisses his response with his possessive mouth.

His tongue flicks mine, controlling with his emotion, his intimacy. Now, it’s my turn to surrender. I grip his cock, deadlock with his eyes, and rub him hard in a direct challenge.

Merikh snaps. He growls.

So, I don’t balk when the vampire reverses our positions to dominate me. Though a storm thunders upon the mountains in the distance, the same mountaintop where we left Quintessa, I meet his eyes. Our lust crashes together. We both tremble when Merikh pulls me out, so he may plunge inside me instead.

My cock throbs against his belly. He wraps his hand around it. And pumps. Merikh swings his eyes to mine. I watch all his walls crumble before my eyes. His cock pulses inside me. I come from that surrender alone.

I fall onto the solid chest of my partner, my wings caressing the heated skin of my back.

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