Slay My Soul

My mind is a shambles. They were told she was dead by me. I gave them the green light to bury our mate alive. I remember Eve's eyes flicking open and Garret being adamant that she was alive. A muscle spasm was what I put it down to. A fucking muscle spasm! I should have listened to the crumbling dragon and the crazy vampire. Jesus, was she aware? Did she know we had buried her in the dirt and farewelled her? That we had given up on her? My eyes dart toward her as she hugs Mikyda. Part of me wants to wrap her in my arms and the other part of me holds back, horrified by what I have done.

"Dropped the ball warlock," Sirus hisses in my ear. "Not only was she not all the way dead, but she had a little life growing inside her that you nearly got killed." I swallow the bile that rises in my throat. Oh my god!

Eve pushes him aside.

"Stop hogging my mate," Eve laughs, hugging me. I breathe her in and hold her tight. We nearly lost everything.

"Eve, I'm so sorry. I was the one that declared you dead." She just shrugs.

"I was. For the most part. No heartbeat, no breathing, no brainwaves. That's pretty dead in my book. I would have done the same. No harm done," she reassures me. No harm done. I choke on my spit. Is she for real? She heads over to Luka and I look at Max. He's looking a little better and standing without assistance. I discreetly check his vitals as I move behind him. It only takes a moment and I know. It's not enough. All we have done is given him a temporary boost and slowed his descent, delaying the inevitable. I need Belestine. Eve claps her hands together.

"Right let's get these doors open and deal with the riff-raff so we can get home," she hollers. Hardyn strolls over to the doors and lets in the waiting enemy. There is much less than I expected. Mainly members of the Dark Circle, but not all. A few vampires. That's it. Eve gets each one to step forward and asks them a variety of questions to see if they can be salvaged. Most are rotten to the core and Eve is swift to offer them into Hardyn's tender care. Two are all that Eve deems worthy of rehabilitation, the rest will be executed when Hardyn is done playing with them. At last, Belestine is brought forward and I am very interested in what Eve will do to him. Garret is growling and bristling at the kneeling man.

"What do you have to say for yourself Belestine?" Eve asks, her voice steady and strong. He offers his neck in submission.

"I avenged you, my Queen. I killed the King as soon as I realized what he had done," he bows.

"What about what you have done? All the people you killed. The souls you stole," Eve questions, unmoved.

"I was blinded by power. I made poor decisions."

I scoff. What an understatement! Eve gets to her feet and moves towards him.

"You told me you would protect my mates. I saw quite the opposite when I arrived," Eve queries, pacing.

"With all due respect, they attacked us, unprovoked," He defends. "We thought you were dead, the breaking of their bonds no longer able to harm you."

"What was your plan? You said you would protect my mates and set me free, but that wasn't the complete truth was it?" He hangs his head.

"No," he whispers. She digs her fingers in his hair and her eyes go white. She remains still but her mouth curls with disgust.

"The world you wove for me in sleep was a lie and I was able to free myself from it. Did you honestly think trying to weave it into the real world would bring different results?" She asks, genuinely curious. He shakes his head. "To love someone in truth is to want them to be happy. It is self-sacrifice. If Darius had come to me and told me he no longer enjoyed sharing me and wished to leave me, I would let him go. Not because I wanted to, but because his happiness is important to me, as is his free will. My men love me and I them, but they choose to be with me. You would take away my free will and destroy everything I care about. I would not choose you, ever. Can you tell the difference?"

"I fell for you Eve. I set a trap and caught myself in it. I can't let you go. I tasted something good in my life and I can't live without it."

"There are others, Warlock, that could love you in return, a true fated mate," Eve reasons stepping back. He lunges for her leg but she easily avoids his grasp.

"There is no one else, I will never give you up!" He cries. She crouches in front of him and cups his cheek.

"Then you are a fool and you will die. I order you to release the souls you have harvested." He nods and mutters under his breath and then his back bows as he releases his claim on his harvest. Asmodeus immediately turns to the spot beside him and starts to talk quietly. I have heard of the soul sight they have. Eve hurries over and also starts talking to the air. Her shoulders slump suddenly and she motions me over. "Max's torn soul is not here." She stomps back to Belestine. "What did you do with the partial soul you stole from my mate?"

"I used it in a spell. Partials wither too fast to deem worth keeping." Well fuck! I wrack my brain. There has to be something I can do.

"What's going on?" The Demon asks. I explain to him about Max and then enquire about who he was speaking to before. "Oh, Reece, he's planning on sticking around."

"Have you ever encountered a torn soul?" I ask.

"A few. They are rare, usually from assholes like him," he says nodding to Belestine.

"Is there a way to save them?" I ask hopefully. He frowns and I can almost see him back stepping into his memories.

"I remember one time when our healer was able to rejoin the soul, it was reunited within hours of being severed and I think it was relatively simple for the healer to do. There was one case I remember where the soul had already been destroyed. I think they attempted to heal it with the soul of a family member. But I honestly can't remember if it was successful. Unfortunately, the ones who would know are long gone and have moved on to whatever is on the other side." I curse under my breath.

"Do you see any souls lingering by Max?" The Demon shakes his head.

"Unfortunately, most move on. The ones Eve has just released have already taken off. Reece is the exception to the rule. Once they are dead, most don't see the point in hanging out unseen and unheard." I groan, there must be something. I'll need to gather my men to work through the archives. I can't let Eve lose another one of her men, she wouldn't survive it. I move back to where Eve is passing judgment on the Warlock.

"Belestine - I find you guilty of mass murder, of genocide, of using your powers outside the governing laws of your coven. I charge you with slavery - for the souls you took and entrapment for using another race to destroy those that stood in your way. I charge you for the planned executions of my King, and the future manipulation you had planned for your Queen. You claim to be changed by love, but you will never understand what true love is. I sentence you to death. I believe two of my mates are itching to do the deed. You not only stole my mate from me, but he also belonged to my Alpha mate too. The second soul you tore is his Beta. I believe he will take great pleasure in being your executioner." Darius nods to her in thanks. "My Dragon will also take part in your end. He holds a grudge against you for taking me from him and invading my dreams. He dislikes that you tried to take liberties, posing as a mate. He was also close to Reece and would like his pound of flesh. So I will give you to them - to appease their anger." Garret steps forward with an evil grin and his eyes flash to his Dragon.

I glance at Max. I'm sure he would like to take part if he had the strength. He will enjoy the end result as a spectator, regardless. The two men circle the kneeling warlock, plotting their revenge and deciding where to start. Garret likes to play the long game, but Darius's need for revenge may throw Garret's plans off track. But either way, it's bound to be painful, and the end result will still be the same. With the king dead Belestine will be punished for the crimes of all involved. I almost feel sorry for him.

Almost, but not quite.