Slay My Soul

Our circle has gathered in the war room with the generals, minus Garret and Sirus, who are both still under lock and key for everyone's safety, including their own.

"What if we take a leaf out of the Demon's book and burn their kingdom to the ground?" Carino suggests. "Us witches could come up with some fire spells that detonate on impact. The dragons can drop them in different areas and throw them into chaos. Humans use planes to drop bombs successfully on the enemy. This would essentially be the same thing."

"That is brilliant! We could portal in while they are running around distracted and grab Eve. I like it! Set your people to it immediately." I look at the dragon general. "Gather your men and ask for volunteers, we can't discount that the vampires may have harpoons, so it is not without risk." The general nods and hurries out of the room but pauses at the doorway.

"Your highness, they will volunteer, but they won't go without their king's order."

"I'll make sure he is present before they leave," I say, scowling. Stubborn dragons. They would have just done it if Eve was here.

"What is the plan with the Demon army?" Lysario's brother asks.

"Do not engage, it would be a slaughter," Darius growls. "The mission is to get Eve out and complete the circle, then we have won."

"So run away like little pussies," Irinda mutters. "Got it."

"By all means - engage if you want to. Why not finish off the extinction of your race? It's working out well for you so far having to live off the pack lands like leeches," growls Acassus. The light Fae roars and launches himself over the table, while Lysario grabs at him, and Mikyda and Acassus laugh. I rub my temples. This is how it has been for days now. We can't seem to remain civil to each other for more than five minutes. Everyone knows what is at risk without Eve safely in our fold. We know she was close to death at one point, the strain on our lax bond at breaking point. Luka had managed to get Hardyn on the phone and half an hour later he was able to report that Eve had successfully fed and was healing. I was hoping it would be enough to pump the drugs out of her system, so we could link to coordinate the attack with her, and find out if she had succeeded in getting to the Demon.

"Lysario and Mikyda can you find us Fae volunteers to portal us into the castle?" I ask. The Fae nod and stalk out of the room. "Acassus, when we get there, if we find her, take her out of there immediately. Portal straight to Max and take them both somewhere they won't be found. Guard them until they have completed the circle." Acassus nods. He might act recklessly and play the part of a brute, but he will do anything to keep Eve safe. I'm well aware he has been testing the defenses at the vampire's border in his desperation to find a weak point for our army to penetrate. He has also killed quite a few of their guards, stalking them from the shadows. He will get himself killed if he keeps it up. "Hopefully, Max will be strong enough to do what needs to be done. I will go and see if I can knock some sense into our Dragon, so he can focus on his task," I say as I get to my feet.

"Good luck," Darius calls after me. I shoot him a wry grin because I definitely need some luck and patience to deal with the outraged beast in the dungeon.

As I descend the steps to the cool musty jail, I listen to the tormented sounds coming from the end cell. The dragon is suffering from his link to Eve lying unresponsive, he is not used to being away from her, and not being able to reach her through the bond. While the human side knows she's alive, the beast side is riding him as though she is dying. I motion for a guard to unlock the cell and step away. I enter and see Garret scraping his nails down the rock face of the back wall while systematically thumping his head against it, trying to knock his dragon side out. His chains jangle as his claws shred themselves against the hard wall. I spin him around and punch him hard. He staggers for a moment and shakes his head to focus on me. He snarls and throws himself forward, the chains stopping him short as I move just out of reach.

"Dev! Let me out!" He roars, his voice distorted by fangs, his eyes - his dragons.

"That's what I'm here to do idiot, but not until you calm down and listen. We have a plan to get our girl and we need you to be level-headed to help us pull it off. Can you do that?" I demand. He frowns, the beast side trying to make sense of what I'm saying.

"We get Eve?" He asks. I nod.

"That's the aim of the plan. Get her out, get her to Max, and complete the circle. Then you can pull our enemies to bits once Eve has them under command." The dragon grins and nods. His fangs recede and his eyes return to his human side. I breathe a sigh of relief. "What do I need to do?" He asks.

"We have called for dragon volunteers to carry and drop spelled fire bombs on the kingdom, creating chaos while we slip in and steal back Eve. Your general said they won't fly without you or your orders." He nods.

"I can do that. But you must let me know when you find her, when she is safe, and what condition she is in if I am not to be there with her. Agreed?" I nod eagerly in agreement so we can get this show on the road. Garret's not the only one fighting his beast, my Lycan feels like it's raking its claws over my insides, in its desperation to get to our mate.

"Let's get you cleaned up man. You smell and you have blood all over your face and hands," I offer. Garret shrugs.

"I'm just going to get more blood on me," he states.

"Dropping bombs Garret, not hand-to-hand combat. And you missed the part where you smell... a lot." Garret growls at me but holds out his hands to have his chains unlocked. I motion the waiting guard forward. Garret rubs his wrists once the chains fall free. "Grab a shower and get ready. I will meet you on the training field. Garret shoves past me, obviously unhappy he was chained up to begin with, and stomps off to make himself presentable. One less obstacle to deal with. Hopefully Eve will be home soon and things will hopefully go back to some sort of normal.

I head up the stairs and move toward the armory. I plan to be armed to the teeth to take out any opposition we face in the dungeons. Darius is already gearing up when I enter.

"I've asked Max to stay behind and have the med crew waiting for our return," he informs me.

"Wise move. It's better we don't risk him being hurt in the rescue and he's ready and waiting for her if we succeed." I say as I strap knives to myself. I freeze as the links in my mind suddenly go haywire as many try to link at once. Darius does the same. Then Luka's voice barrels over the top.

We are under attack! The Demons are here! We madly grab for extra weapons and race out to the field. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Of course, they decide to attack us now when we've finally decided to move on them. We are so screwed!

The field is chaos. Demons are still crawling out of the ground to join the ones already slashing through warriors. Asmodeus stands at the other side of the field, confined to his glowing orange ring as he commands the Legion. This is not a simple test of the waters or a reduction in our numbers, this is the moment we had fought against. This was the battle. I see a portal blink into existence and the King comes through, flanked by two soldiers dragging a woman's bloody, limp, naked body by her arms and Belestine and another man bringing up the rear. The soldiers throw the woman on the ground and I hear Garret's roar of outrage. One of the soldiers grabs her by her hair and places a knife to her throat.

"Behold your broken Queen!" The King bellows. "Surrender now or Asmodeus will flatten you with the full Legion he has at his command." Everyone stops and looks at him, an eerie silence taking over the field as everyone holds their breath.

A laugh travels across the field, accompanied by a clapping sound.

"Haven't you learned by now? You can't break my daughter," Sirus chuckles. "She's just catching up on her beauty sleep aren't you sweetie?" Eve stirs, eyes blinking as she fights the drugs.

"Why is she waking so soon?" The King demands.

"Probably my fault." the man who entered last with Belestine says, his voice monotone. I recognize that voice.

"Hello, Hardyn, old friend," Sirus coos. Hardyn flashes him a grin and then throws a dagger at each of the soldiers holding Eve. His aim is true and deadly. He helps her shakily get to her feet, holding her against his side for stability. To my surprise, Belestine doesn't move to stop him.

"I thought the lady might appreciate being able to watch the battle," Hardyn says, shrugging at the King. The King scowls at him.

"Fine, it makes no difference and I will deal with you later. "He turns his attention back to Sirus and the circle. "Do you yield?" He demands.

As one, we lift our hands and flip him the bird.