Blood of Two Crowns (Hallowed Fates #2)

Chapter 15

Chapter

Fifteen

NAKOA

“ Z urie is your only hope.” Of all the heinous words uttered in the history of time, that had to be among the worst of them. As soon as Mareina had left with Azrael, I could feel it deep in my bones that he wouldn’t bring her back. My Knowingness was only confirmation. Fear and determination fisted my heart as Miroslav folded us to my mother’s home instead of to the palace. To Zurie. “Why are we here?”

“Because Zurie is gone.”

My hands shook as the priceless relics around us began to tremble, along with the mountain housing the cave. To keep my magic leashed stole every ounce of my energy. And if the flames igniting and guttering around Malekai were anything to go by, he was feeling very much the same.

“What do you mean gone?”

Wearing a blank expression, Miroslav willed a roll of parchment into his hand and passed it to me. Without entirely meaning to, I snatched it away.

Nakoa,

I realize I haven’t earned the right to call you my son, and I wouldn’t blame you if you never allow me to. While I don’t deserve such an opportunity to be given freely, I do hope you’ll understand why I must take things into my own hands. That, and I found a favorable alternative to living in a dungeon. Perhaps even a kindred spirit to share life with.

Despite my previous actions, I only want the best for you.

That being said, I’ve taken the liberty of notifying your military and palace staff. In addition, I’ve sent the couriers to all the Lords and Ladies of Atratus to notify them of your birthright and ascension to the throne. Your coronation and inauguration shall be held four days henceforth, as per the invitations already sent. The staff have already begun preparing.

This was done in both of our best interests. It brings me no small amount of joy that the two align.

Your ally,

Z

P.S. Someone tried to assassinate me at my inauguration. I would be supremely grateful if you didn’t die. To ensure you remain unharmed, I will be there to gleefully murder anyone suffering from fatal idiocy.

… For several long moments, I stared in blatant shock at the parchment. Where does one even begin to decipher that message and what had taken place in order for any of it to be possible?

Finally, I lifted my gaze from the paper as Rumiel and Malekai’s gaze weighed on me, expectant and increasingly impatient. I attempted to harden my heart to wrought iron steel, but if ever I had a love language, it was violence being wielded in defence and honor of a loved one.

Swallowing back my emotion, I rolled the parchment up with more care than it deserved, telling myself it was only in case I needed to return to it to search further for clues as to where this wretched female had gone.

I passed it to Rumiel, who unrolled it, and Malekai came to stand over his shoulder, both murmuring curses.

Azrael no doubt had something to do with it. Was it he who had offered her exile? They’d make a fine pair.

My Knowingness whispered a name I was only vaguely familiar with.

Keres.

“Who is Keres?”

Miroslav didn’t often look bewildered. In fact, in the short time I’d known him, I couldn’t fathom him being confused about anything.

“The Goddess of Violence?”

My Knowingness filled me with certainty in response.

Now I was doubly confused. Fuck me.

Keres is Mors’ sister, my Knowingness supplied.

“What in Akash’s name would she want with Zurie?”

Miroslav gave me a weary look. “I don’t know.” I didn’t miss the way Malekai’s brows lifted in surprise. “I have found that the gods tend to prohibit anyone snooping around in their timelines, lives, whereabouts, and affairs. It’s not a gift many possess, but the most powerful and well-trained of them, like Mors and his sister, are among them. I’ve already tried peering in on Zurie and am only able to see her timelines prior to Keres showing up. Apparently, the goddess has extended her protection to her.

“As for your timeline, my visions have shown me few options. The least detrimental of which is that you take the crown. I am certain that The Well will reveal this to you. It has been your destiny since before you were born.”

I could only pray The Well would actually show me how to bring Mareina back.

My previous visions of my coronation as King suddenly made painful sense. This was why she hadn’t been in them.

Perhaps The Well wouldn’t even reveal how to retrieve Mareina or fix the portals.

I’d grown up sneaking into this ancient cave that my adoptive mother had carved into the side of this mountain to hide dangerous relics and artefacts that would be catastrophic to have in the hands of someone with mal-intent.

I took a seat on the cushion in front of The Well, not bothering to wait for the three males behind me. The moment my eyes focused on the surface of eerily still, black water before me, the world around me shifted into one of sleek, white marble. I found myself standing in a foyer with ornate, flowing gold and bronze archways and staircases.

Naturalistic sculptures, all of the same female in various states of undress, held glowing lanterns, wielded vines and water in motion. The space was both stunningly beautiful and entirely foreign, as though from a different age, dimension, and realm… I turned slowly, lips parting in awe as I craned my neck to gaze up at the astoundingly beautiful painted, cavernous ceiling featuring depictions of the same female.

My mouth snapped shut as the enormous front double doors slid open. Azrael stepped inside, shortly followed by Mareina. Looking exactly as they had only minutes ago before he’d folded her away. My breath caught at the realization that this was the present. Her name was a hushed whisper on my lips as my heart leapt into my throat.

“I have never witnessed such peace and prosperity in a place where everyone is thriving…,” Mareina murmured thoughtfully.

“All of this, along with Avernus and Bellorum, will be destroyed if the beings of Vassileo break through its barrier.” Azrael’s gaze shifted from the beauty of his city to hers. “So you see why I must protect it.”

“The beings I speak of are in the eleven hell realms I rule, only two of which are reserved solely for the dead.”

Azrael gave a subtle wave of his hand and black vapours spilled out of thin air, growing in size until an opaque black portal formed in front of us. Mareina hesitated before Azrael held open his hand to Mareina like a father would his child. Mareina didn’t accept his hand, instead stepping beyond the portal ahead of him. My eyes narrowed as I watched Azrael give a small, appreciative smile at her backside.

The world shifted, replacing Ouranissa with bleak stone buildings and icy mountains surrounded by cumulonimbus clouds so dark they were nearly black. Five red suns, all of varying size and local, peppered the sky as they kissed the horizon in their lazy descent. In seconds, the sweltering, oppressive heat had sweat seeping from my pores.

The sound of thundering beats had Mareina and I bolting around, whereas Azrael took his time. A black, wolf-like creature of gargantuan size with three heads ran straight for us. Each of its fangs were the length of my forearm and its eyes glowed the color of lava.

“You have nothing to fear, Mareina. Her will is my own.”

Mareina’s four wings stretched wide as if in anticipation of taking flight. The beast skidded to a halt in front of Azrael, dousing him in slobber and kisses as she whined and lamented his absence, making my heart clench for Peanut and Bellona.

Azrael stroked and affectionately gripped the creature’s fur as he cooed to her. “I missed you too, my sweet baby. Look how gorgeous you are. Such a good girl. You wanna give her a tour of Malovada city, hm? I brought some tiramissu just for you, sweet girl.”

Cerebus yelped excitedly before laying down, pressing her neck flat against the ground, and Azrael slipped over her shoulders before looking over at Mareina who hesitated. “Unless you’d prefer to fly? But I can’t promise you’d be the only one in the sky…”

Cerebus titled her head as Mareina approached, sniffing her in rapid breaths that sent a gust of wind through the thick black sheet of her hair as she extended her hand for Cerebus to sniff. The creature’s tongue lapped, covering Mareina’s arm in drool. A grin spilt Mareina’s face and Azrael’s expression lit up as he gave her thickly muscled neck a heavy pat.

“Cerebus is the only true light in this place. Aren’t you, baby girl? She’s my acranum. ”

Mareina stilled for a moment as if surprised by the news. I had no idea what an arcanum was, but I would be sure to find out. Azrael extended a hand to help Mareina settle herself in front of him between his thighs. A flare of jealousy seared my veins, but Azrael’s hands didn’t wander in the slightest. He curved his broad chest over her in an attempt to give her a respectable amount of distance between her back and his front as his fingers sank into Cerebus’ fur.

Without any other visible direction. Cerebus rose to standing, causing Mareina to give a little yelp of surprise just before it took off at a galloping pace.

I half-expected The Well itself to take me with them, but I only found myself standing in the wake of their dust. My wings heaved, launching me into the air to fly beside them.

As we rode through the small city, depravity that I’d only witnessed on occasion proved to be common place. Every manner of violence and indulgence unfolded around us. Murder. Brawls. Theft. Sex of debatable consent. And no one batted an eye outside of Mareina, whose face was set in a grim line.

“My father’s after realm is nothing like this. There is anguish and all manner of suffering but only in the way of the soul’s grieving at its wrongdoings in their former life that they purge until their karma is cleared from it….”

The familiar mask of guilt lined Azrael’s features. “First and foremost, this is one of the living hell realms. I won’t burden you with visiting the hell realms of the dead. I wish they were as peaceful as your father’s, but unfortunately, my hell realms are exactly that: hell. I cannot fathom how your father created a world that heals instead of destroys. In Avernus they have hope. Here we are bereft of it. And it because of that, for many centuries, my people have been restless and determined to break free.”

Mareina’s scowl deepened as she takes everything in, both our surroundings and Azrael’s words. “You make it sound as if you are losing control.”

Cerebus kept at a trotting pace, weaving around the pedestrians in the street who maintained their distance. Though it was impossible to miss the sinister glares of many of them as they watched Azrael and Mareina pass. My hackles rose and my anger burned brightly like wielding iron in my chest. I wanted to eliminate all of them.

Azrael took a deep breath, gaze fleeing Mareina’s to pass over his people, each of them watching with expressions ranging from wariness to fear to outright glaring.

He heaved a sigh as if his next words cost him to speak aloud.

“That’s because I am. I do not know how much longer my power, already being stretched so thin between eleven hell realms and one divine realm, can hold them back. When I threatened you saying that you do not have a choice in the matter, it was because I don’t have a choice either. Such an event is inevitable if we do not appease them. If we do not give them hope.”

Mareina shook her head as despair began to seep in. “So give them hope… I cannot allow you to destroy Avernus and Bellorum?—

Before Mareina could reply, a deep voice echoed from the skies just as a shadow crept over us.“What a pretty consort. I cannot fathom why you would bring her here.”

Tipping my head towards the orange and red sky revealed a dark-scaled drakonati soaring over us before diving down. Just before it crashed into the ground, it shifted into the form of a male.

“Unfortunately, this is not my consort. She is your chance at freedom, if you have any, and you will pay her the respect of one, Erius.”

Erius approached Cerebus with a fearlessness that could only come from a larger predator. Still, she gave a low growl in warning. Erius raised his hands as if to appease her, and he gave a dramatic bow. The male was dressed in tattered fighting leathers. His black hair was shorn close to his scalp, and his skin, littered with even more scars than my own, was nearly as dark as the black scales of his drakonati. His eyes devoured Mareina in a way that made my hackles rise. “Is that so? Do you plan to liberate us? Or oppress us? My guess would be the latter... Did he tell you what happened the last time we were promised freedom?”

Realization hit me like a hammer. The drakonati genocide.

Azrael frowned. “It was an unfortunate event.”

That earned them Erius’ cackle; a dark, raspy sound. The crowd surrounding us—including every being from demon to human and orc to fae—began creeping in on us.

Azrael paid them little attention, and panic for Mareina rose swiftly in my chest.

“Is that what you call the genocide of thousands of drakonati? An unfortunate event?”

Both mine and Mareina’s jaws dropped in realization.

“And I mounted his fucking head on a pike,” Azrael seethed.

Erius smirked. “Far too little, too late.”

My desperation threatened to turn into panic yet somehow Mareina’s face remained impassive as she held Erius’ gaze, drawing a smirk from him. “I’d be careful with this one, young goddess. Duplicitous is the last of this male’s?—

“You forget your place, drakonati,” Azrael roared. Infused with his magic, his voice wove through the air in a way that crept upon your skin and seeped into your mind. “It is by my will alone that you maintain this form. Perhaps the time has come for your soul to return to the chasm?”

Erius smirked. “And start a war with the drakonati? You and I both know that Ataraxus wouldn’t take my death lightly.”

“I could just as easily return all of you to the chasm,” Azrael snapped.

Erius’ head tipped back with laughter. “Hmmm, yes. Send us all back to the chasm only for your own soul to join us. Have you forgotten your place? That your fate is equal to our own.”

Realization hit me like a tidal wave. That’s why he needs her. If he kills them, he kills himself. And he hoped another god or Goddess of Death would be the solution.

Azrael stared down from Cerebus’s back. “It would be a better fate than having to tolerate the sound of your voice.”

Erius merely chuckled and gave another dramatic bow. “My lady. Your majesty.” The male turned and strode away, abruptly shifting back into his drakonati form and nonchalantly crushing nearby buildings, along with anyone in them, before he shot into the skies.

The crowd in the streets had gathered, staring at Azrael and Mareina with nothing short of malevolence. A voice in the crowd cried out, followed by another, and another.

“ Mortatum ad’ Azrael! ”

“ Mortatum ad’ Azrael!”

“ Mortatum ad’ Azrael!”

The crowd beneath us— filled with demons to humans to orcs and fae—heaved as what I could only describe as black vaporous archestratum appeared to push them back as they cried out to chant in unison, “ Mortatum ad’ Azrael.”

Death to Azrael.

Azrael did nothing as the crowd closed in on them.

“Why don’t you stop them?” Mareina shouted to him to be heard over the chanting.

“Because the more of them that die, the more of my power dies with them. And they know it.”

Without warning, the world shifted before me as Azrael folded with Mareina and Cerebus in tow to stand in a barren alien world. Steaming pools of black, murky water bubbled in a patchwork array of salt-crusted pools that blanketed the land as far as I could see.

And only a few feet way, a torn hole in the fabric of this realm hovered in mid air. Instead of the opaque black of the portal Azrael had previously opened, we could see straight through this, directly into another world. A crystalline sea of green and endless fields of aetra lay just beyond a few hundred foot drop as if a window had opened in the sky. Whorls of black curled away from the small three foot opening.

Electricity bolted through me in shock.

The Kahlohani Islands.

Mareina’s features went slack with shock. “You’re sure no one has found it?”

Azrael shook his head. “I honestly can’t say. I wouldn’t feel if one or two people left. It would take a mass of them to leave before I noticed the loss.”

“What happens when you try to close it?”

Azrael lifted his hands. Dark and gold magic poured out of him, weaving together like a blanket until the hole disappeared.

“Another one opens.”

Azrael turned in a circle, searching, before laying a hand on Mareina’s shoulder, transporting us to a desert.

Fuck me.

The hole is slightly bigger now, and instead of peeking out on the Kahlohani Isalnds, I see a sandy desert.

Azrael heaves a sigh. “There are more like this peppered throughout Vassileo. It’s a blessing they’ve only shown up in remote locations… Perhaps because it’s where there’s less magic in the vicinity, but eventually, when they grow big enough, someone will feel the pull of magic.”