Destined to the Reaper (The Shadow Realms #2)

Chapter 14

Kali

M y pulse picked up when he broke the kiss. Eyes locked with mine, Pharos summoned his ghostly scythes by flicking his hands open on each side of his body. Memories of how things went sideways with his almathar flashed in my head. Obviously, that tragedy only occurred because Cornelius had trapped him. But I couldn’t help the sliver of nervousness that coursed through me.

“Do you trust me, Kali?” Pharos asked in a gentle voice devoid of any accusation or suspicion.

In spite of the slight anxiety I felt at the prospect of what was about to take place, I didn’t hesitate as I nodded firmly. “Yes, Pharos. I do.”

And I meant it, too.

“Are you sure you want to go through with this?” he insisted.

That, more than anything else he might have said or done, put to rest the lingering uncertainty that gnawed at me.

“I would lie by saying I’m not feeling a little worried and unsettled by this whole thing. But yes, I am certain I want to go through with this. I truly trust you, and it would only be delaying the inevitable and needlessly putting both of us in danger,” I replied calmly.

My stomach flip-flopped in response to the infinite tenderness with which he gazed upon me. Yeah, I was falling hard for my Reaper. Whatever misgivings I may have had, this felt right, like it had been ordained from the beginning of time.

“It will feel strange, but it will not cause you any pain,” Pharos warned in a reassuring tone.

“Okay,” I breathed out.

I rolled my shoulders and stretched my neck to release some of the tension building there. After shaking my hands to further loosen up, I gave him a stiff nod indicating for him to proceed.

He smiled again, then raised his blades in front of me. Very carefully, he poked the tips of each scythe in my chest, or more specifically into my lungs. I expected the sharp sting of a piercing wound, but it only provoked a cool sensation followed by a tingling. I stared in fascination as the ethereal blades sank deeper into me, the coolness of the tips reaching the base of my spine.

With the blades halfway in, Pharos stopped, and his eyes began to glow an intense red. Simultaneously, I felt a powerful tug, like when Cornelius was trying to pull Pharos back to him during the transfer I gasped, and my hands latched on to his waist, my nails digging into his skin.

I hadn’t meant to do that. Startling Pharos might cause him to involuntarily harm me. To my relief, he remained stoic, his eyes locked with his scythes, entirely focused on his task. The pulling sensation intensified. Like he had warned, it didn’t hurt, but it certainly wouldn’t qualify as pleasant either.

To my shock, the bones at the base of the blades of each scythe—and which gradually turned into the staff—began to fill with a bright and mesmerizing light. I didn’t need him to tell me that it was my essence infusing his primal blades. His ghostly scythes were an integral part of him, just like I was now.

For the briefest second, the nagging voice of doubt attempted to rear its head again, whispering that this might have been a mistake. But I immediately shut it down. It was done. And even if I could turn back time, I would still make the same decision.

A few moments later, Pharos pulled out his scythes. The cold sensation waned with their removal. A quick assessment of myself didn’t indicate any perceptible change. If not for him telling me this process had resulted in him now owning my soul, I’d have no way of knowing.

The affection, gratitude, and wonder shining bright in his eyes as he gazed upon me had me weak in the knees.

“My Kali…” he whispered with something akin to awe. “Thank you for trusting me. You are mine forever. And now, I will be yours forever as well.”

I blinked, confused as to what he meant. Before I could question him, he leaned forward and claimed my mouth. My lips voluntarily parted when he demanded entry. However, instead of the passionate, deep kiss I expected, I was shocked to receive instead a blast of energy similar to when he had transferred his soul to me in the crypt. It lasted no more than a few seconds, but even as he pulled back and straightened, I could feel his essence inside of me.

I pressed two fingers to my lips and stared at him wide-eyed.

He tenderly caressed my cheek as he studied my features with that same deep affection.

“I cannot give you my soul the way you gave me yours. But I can give you a part of me to always keep with you,” he softly explained. “I cannot take it back. Only you can return it should you no longer wish to have me—which I hope will never happen.”

Tears of joy pricked my eyes. I never would have demanded or even expected him to reciprocate in any way. But this cemented my conviction that I had made the right choice.

“My Pharos,” I whispered before melting against him.

We kissed again, this time for real, each of us expressing the depth of the feelings bubbling inside us and steadily growing for each other. He truly was my soulmate. Whatever the future held for us, we would surmount it together.

With much reluctance, we parted. I silenced the part of me that wanted him to carry me back to either one of our rooms and further seal our new bond in all kinds of naughty ways. But we had a serious matter to resolve before we could indulge in building our future together.

“We need to deal with Cornelius now,” I said with a frown.

He nodded, his expression hardening at the thought of his nemesis. “We do, but not now. Cornelius just arrived in Sageville,” he explained at my surprised expression.

“Sageville? How do you know?” I asked.

“I can feel him. I can teleport to people with whom I have formed a close bond. A simple thought suffices for me to know exactly where they are, and how to get to them.”

“That’s perfect!” I exclaimed. “Then we should go right away and take him out before he’s ready to perform his ritual.”

He shook his head and gave me an apologetic look. “We can’t. I need him to release my scythe from the secure location he currently holds it in. There are too many wards and protections on it. Cornelius is no fool. He will not make things easy for me. But even if I was willing to risk that, he has locked himself inside the Glocker Manor. There is no direct path to him. He stacked every possible banishment ward he could so that he could prepare. Only once he’s ready will he open them.”

“So you can’t teleport directly inside?” I asked, my shoulders slouching in advance as I already guessed what his answer would be.

“Correct. It is very much like with the crypt,” he explained. “Too much magic bars my ability to teleport within its walls. I can do so outside, but I would rather not. Cornelius knows the extent of my powers and limitations. There’s no question he will have set a trap to ensnare me should I be so foolish.”

“So what do we do? Ride there? It’s at least four or five hours,” I said pensively.

“We will fly,” Pharos replied. “You weigh next to nothing, and it will take me less than an hour to get us there. Then we can scout the perimeter and figure out the best way in.”

I nodded, my eyes flicking from side to side as I ran a variety of scenarios in my head.

“Is there any chance you could ask your brother Asheron to help?” I asked, hope audible in my voice. “He was seriously wronged by Cornelius as well.”

Pharos heaved a sigh as he shook his head. “My brother doesn’t know of my existence. He was born shortly after I was enslaved. Still, I doubt that would have stopped him from assisting me. And I even considered it, but he can’t. When Asheron came to recover his tail from Cornelius, my brother pledged not to harm him so long as he left his mate Ronika alone. Cornelius may be a vile snake, but he is no fool. He has not broken their agreement.”

“Damn it!” I muttered. “So what now?”

He smiled, the mischievous glimmer in his eyes piquing my curiosity.

“Now, we train you.”

I recoiled, more confused than ever. “Train me to do what?”

“We are bonded, my bride. That automatically gives you access to my regeneration powers. But now that you also have a part of me in you, it grants you additional access to most of my Death Magic,” he said smugly.

“Oh!” I whispered, my eyes widening with excitement. “By all means, train me!”

He chuckled then grabbed my arm before giving me a serious look. “Sorry about this. It’s going to sting,” he warned.

I nodded and watched with curiosity as the nail of his index finger extended into a sharp claw. He carefully raked it over the fleshy part of my forearm, making a one-inch incision. I barely winced and watched a few pearls of blood bead around the wound.

“Now pay attention,” he said. “Inside your chest, near your heart, you will feel some kind of spark. Normally it’s like a soft heat—although for some it’s a bit more like static or electricity.”

“Heat,” I replied instantly. “It’s not very strong, but I clearly feel it, and it’s rather pleasant.”

“Perfect. That’s your regeneration well. It is weak and small because your wound is as well. Try to push that little heat into your arm. Will it to go to your wound.”

I complied. Seconds later, my jaw dropped as the blood appeared to resorb into the cut, which sealed itself seamlessly, leaving flawless skin behind.

“Nine hells!” I whispered, flabbergasted. “Again!”

He burst out laughing, happiness and pride softening his beautiful features. He did it once more, but this time with a much longer gash. As he had stated, the spark in my chest felt stronger and bigger, proportional to the injury that needed to be mended. I repeated the process with the same amazing result.

“This is wonderful!” I said, my voice bubbling with excitement.

“It is. You cannot begin to understand how relieved I feel knowing that you now possess this ability,” Pharos said with a seriousness that made me melt from the inside out.

This man truly cared about me and my welfare.

“For the rest of the evening, you will need to practice that among other things so that it becomes instinctive, a reflex for you. During battle, you cannot pause to focus on healing while attacks are still launched against you. It must come to you as naturally as breathing,” he warned.

I licked my lips and nodded. During my apprenticeship as a Blood Mage, casting defensive spells on the fly had been one focus of our training. It had to become second nature to keep us from grievous harm. Your enemy wouldn’t pause to give you time to sort yourself out.

“But now, I want to show you how to deal with poison and toxins. Be warned that this will be far more unpleasant as I will infect you with the plague. Only a tiny amount in a localized area,” he added quickly when I took an involuntary step back. “It is slow acting, so you will not sustain any real harm. I just want to explain how you will counter it first so that you are ready.”

“Right,” I said nervously before rolling my shoulders to relax them.

“Whenever you are poisoned, you will feel the regeneration spark, but you will also feel the cleansing spark. To me, it glows red instead of white. But it also feels different, colder—which is counterintuitive with its color,” he said with a sheepish expression.

I snorted, finding him ridiculously adorable. “Okay, a red glow that feels cold. Got it,” I replied teasingly. “Go ahead, poison your soulmate. I’m ready.”

He scrunched his face at me, not in the least amused by my teasing. Although he was doing it to further protect me, he clearly hated causing me pain in any way. That just made me melt even more for him.

He stuck the tip of the claw of his index finger at that same spot in my forearm. He didn’t slice, simply kept it there half a centimeter in. I felt the Death Magic emanating from him a split second before he infected me with it. It instantly burned, as if a drop of acid had dropped there.

I hissed through my clenched teeth and fought the instinctive urge to yank my arm away from him. The skin around the infection spot immediately darkened. It didn’t spread at a terrifying speed, but quickly enough to have my insides in a knot. Black tendrils slowly spread outwards like spilled ink.

“Focus, my Kali,” Pharos gently said as he removed his finger.

I took a deep breath and looked inside me for that spark. Like him, it felt cold to me but also pulsated. It didn’t look red in my mind’s eye, but green. Following the previous lesson, I pushed it towards the infection site. While the regeneration spark had felt like heat gliding along my arm, this felt like an army of ants crawling all over it, but right below the surface of the skin.

Calling it unpleasant would be quite the understatement, but once again it worked wonders. A shadowy smoke rose out of the wound even as the dark tendrils receded and faded. It was as if the toxin was being burnt out at the same time the spark was pushing it out. The cleansing spark vanished as soon as the last of the toxin was removed. Without thinking, I pushed my regeneration spark in there, and it instantly sealed the remaining wound.

“Well done, my mate,” Pharos said approvingly. “You will need to practice this one more as poison and toxins can cause debilitating pain that makes it harder to focus. If you receive copious amounts of poison, trying to push it out might be too slow and could allow it to spread too far before you can tackle it. Do not try to heal while you are poisoned. It will only seal it inside. If there is too much, trap the poison in a container shield.”

He burst out laughing at my gaping expression. I could only imagine what I looked like. But what in the world did he mean by ‘container shield’?

“It is the same thing you just did,” he explained in an amused tone. “The difference is that once your cleansing spark reaches the infected area, harden the glow so that it forms a wall that will prevent it from spreading further in. It will grant you a bit more time to focus on the battle before you can properly expel it and heal. We will need to practice that quite a bit,” he added apologetically.

“No need to apologize. This is amazing. Poison away. We have the rest of the day!” I said excitedly.

“Not quite, my darling. I have a lot more to teach you after that,” Pharos said in a smug and mysterious fashion.

“More? Do tell,” I said with blatant curiosity.

“I did say that you have access to a lot of my Death Magic. I’m going to teach you how to use it all.”

“Blast it to Hell! Why didn’t you tell me I would get all these perks? I wouldn’t have played hard to get as much as I did!” I said in a playful tone.

“I wanted you to choose us freely, not because of any incentives. Then again, those perks only came from me giving myself to you because I’m crazy about you.”

The silliest grin settled on my face as I fought the urge to give him a bone crushing hug.

But train me, he most certainly did. We spent the rest of the afternoon practicing combining his Death Magic to my Bone and Blood Magic. I had never felt so powerful in my entire life. Showing off for him also made me tingle in all the right places. Pharos did not practice Blood Magic. However, as he had mentioned that his mother said there would be great power in combining them, I freely experimented, blowing both of us away by how potent it was.

That night, despite feeling properly exhausted from the intense training, we lost ourselves in each other. Our love making was passionate and borderline desperate. Tomorrow could be the end for one or both of us. I refused to accept that possibility, but my mind had a will of its own.