Chapter Forty-One (Sin)

I went to follow Amaya, but Abigail stopped me, pulling me back, “let her have some space. She feels betrayed by all of us. Some fresh air will do her some good.”

She had a point so annoyed I sat back down and looked at my brothers.

“Why did you defend me with her?” Lazarus asked suspiciously.

I shrugged, “I am not a dishonest person, and she doesn’t need more tricks, besides it is the truth. Your mother is a piece of work. Just wish we knew what the fuck she was.”

“You and me both.” Rook commented.

“I was actually on my way to find you. My guards have been following her trying to find out what her end game is. She is surprisingly secretive.”

“What did they find out?” I asked, curious, hoping for some good news, I was also surprised he was willing to share the information..

“She is after something and is trying to find it in the Envy gate.”

“You mean the one Amaya was just drawn to?” Rook frowned.

"Drawn too?" Lazarus asked.

"She went into some kind of trance and ended up in front of that gate, reaching out to touch it. Sin Stopped her from trying to open it." Rook shared.

“Do you know what’s in there?” I asked him.

“Nothing different from the other gates aside from what sin they harvest their. I can talk to the villages and see what I can find out.” The gates led to different areas and villages in hell, each village helped to harvest the sins and guard the gates. The only other way to get there was to cross open fields, which brought the danger of being eaten by dragons.

“Thank you, if she is looking for something that is hidden there, we need to find it first.”

“Agreed.” Lazarus added.

“You are turning on your mother?” I asked, surprised.

“She just tried to have my fated mate executed. I am done helping her and have told her so.”

“There will be consequences to betraying her.” Rook pointed out.

“I know, she will go after you and Amaya. She wants Abigail dead, so we will have to heighten the surrounding guards.”

"why me?" Rook asked.

"She was using you leverage to get me to help her. We may not be close, but you are still my brother."

"I am also her son." Rook frowned, insulted.

“So, you turned on your mother put our fated mate at risk and we let her walk out of here alone?” I snapped as I rose from my chair, leaving the room as realization at the risk I had just put her in. 

“Wait, I found out what she is.” Lazarus called after me.

“Later. First, we need to find Amaya.”

"Very well."

Spreading out, we searched the castle for Amaya, but could not find her. I ran into Akuji and sensing something was off in her otherwise slutty demeanor; I stopped her.

“Have you seen Amaya?” I asked her, as she looked at me guiltily.

“No, Sire I haven’t. I don't know who she is.”

She knew very well who she was. She saw me arrive in the court earlier with Amaya in my arms. I narrowed my eyes at her, I knew she was lying, “I will give you one chance to tell me the truth before I send you to the dungeon.”

“She wanted fresh air, so I showed her the door.” She shrugged, not looking at me.

“You sent her outside?” I roared, “Where.” She pointed to the window where four or five dragons were circling something. My stomach in knots, I turned to the guards that followed me and ordered that Akuji be sent to the dungeon.

"You said I wouldn't be sent to the dungeon if I told you." She screamed as she was dragged away.

Ignoring her, I ran down the corridor and headed to the nearest door outside, praying that I wasn’t too late. Why hadn’t the bond worked if she was in danger or scared, I should know about it. Was she dead already? Had I done it wrong? I researched it and followed every step.

Panicked, I opened the door and headed out into the field. Scanning it, looking for her. When I saw her, I stood in disbelief? Watching the scene play out before me.

“The guards came and got me what’s going on?” Lazarus asked as he, Abigail, and Rook ran outside and stood beside me.

Abigail smiled. “She is her father's daughter, after all.”

In the middle of the open field, a large gold and silver dragon was standing in front of Amaya, its red eyes focused on her as if they were having a conversation. Amaya was talking to it with a smile on her face as she reached for its face, touching one of its horns and it bowed to her.

I turned to Abigail, “What do you mean, who was her father?”

She smiled, tears in her eyes, “He was the Druid Chief Ros.”

“I thought she was a human and a witch?”

“No, she is a druid and a witch, although the two often get lumped together.”

“That explains the elemental magic when she is angry. Does she know?” I asked her.

Abigail shook her head, “She had so much information given to her I thought it best to leave that bit out. It changes nothing. He is still dead." she paused, "The ground shaking when she is angry is not elemental that her sorceress ability that came out when she was threatened as a child, only she didn't know she had it until she came to a time when magic still existed.

"What do you mean threatened as a child?" Lazarus and I asked in unision.

"Someone tried to kidnap her fromt he orphanage." Abigail replied.

“What’s the difference between a witch and a Druid?” Rook asked confused while i processed the new information.

Abigail laughed, “You silly boy. Druids are elementals and can control nature and speak to its creatures where witches deal more with spirits and familiars, some witches even channeling spirits. We use chants and tools to help us with our craft, where druids use instinct and are born with an affinity for it."

The dragon snorted, drawing our attention. It turned its massive head to look at us, glaring at us as it moved to stand between us and Amaya. Amaya followed its gaze and looked at us a little unhappily, she replied. " I am angry with them, but don’t hurt them."

She told the dragon goodbye before she walked over to us. “What do you want?” she asked, annoyed.

“First off, you are lucky you didn’t get eaten.” Lazarus snapped.

She looked at us disbelieving, “Leviathan? He is harmless.” She laughed at us as she walked past us and into the castle.

“Leviathan? That’s his name?” I asked her.

“You never talked to him. He is their leader.”

“I can’t talk to dragons, well at least not to the extent that you are aparently able to. no one can.”

“Correction, druids can.” Abigail put in.

“So I’m a druid?” Amaya asked her, confused.

“Yes, like your father.”

“More information to digest, I guess. Why are there no dragons on our plane? and why do some look demonic and others don't?”

“They still exist. They are just hidden because they've hunted to near extinction, most are in the mountains far away from humans and their settlements.” Abigail shared.

The more I got to know Amaya the more it made sense as to why she was my fated mate, dragons had been picking off demons for centuries and to have someone who could fully communicate with them, I could finally put some treaties in place to make travel in the open safe. Normally, we had to use the gates to travel to other areas of hell. This could open up routes and areas of trade for demons in the kingdom.

“Can someone show me where my room is?” Amaya asked, looking exhausted. "I don't remember how to navigate the labyrinth of a castle you have."

"I can after you get something to eat." I replied.

She frowned, "I’m tired."

“I have coffee and pizza.” I offered, with a grin knowing those were her favorites from when I followed her.

She looked at me with a huge smile, “Thank you, I would love both.” She replied with a new boost of energy.

Abigail laughed as I led them to the dining hall where supper was being served. We all sat at the royal family's table, Hellebore staring daggers at Abigail and Amaya. Amaya did not seem to notice as she grabbed the cup of coffee in front of her and chugged it. Sighing happily as a servant poured her another cup.

"What is that?" Abigail asked, sniffing her cup with a frown. Before looking at the pizza in front of her.

“Trust me, you will love it. It is a potion to keep you awake so much better than beer. It's liquid gold.” She replied as she took a bite of pizza. "Gods, how I missed pizza." She mumbled to herself as she ate another bite.

 Abigail sipped the coffee and made a face, but sipped again, “It’s awful and delicious at the same time.”

Amaya laughed, and it was music to my ears. “What’s that?" She asked, nodding to my plate.

“Its lust?”

“Pardon?” she asked, confused, almost choking on her pizza.

I explained what demons eat and how the food is harvested, thinking she was going to think I was some kind of monster.

With a frown she said, "So you rehabilitate souls and let them be born again unless they are too damned, then you just eat them?" She confirmed.

I nodded, holding my breath, waiting for the worst.

“That’s kind of beautiful. Hell isn’t as bad as what I was told growing up. I’m glad they get a second chance, although I hope a certain somebody doesn’t.”

“Who?” 

“Pastor Gideon.” Lazarus spat.

Amaya looked down embarrassed as she pushed her food around the plate.  I didn't kill that fucker slow enough my anger resurface at the thought of him  touching her. In as calm a voice as I could manage, I vowed, “I promise to you, Amaya, he will never be reborn. besides i brought him to hell and he died here, he can't be reborn everything about him is now a pile of ash including his soul.”

She nodded, looking around, “Can you show me where my room is, I would really like to go to bed.”

She looked a little pale, had she eaten too much after not eating for so long, or was it the topic of conversation? 

"Of course, I'll take you and Abigail to your rooms."

"Thank you," she stood, grabbing the cup of coffee and the pot.

I looked at her, "I can have the servants bring it to your room." I laughed. She was adorable holding the cup but refusing to put it down.

"Ok, but I keep the cup." She smiled, sipping from it as she placed the pot back on the table.

The three of us left the dining hall and I led them to their rooms. Abigail seemed to be a bit jittery from the caffeine she wasn't used to.