Chapter 43

NATHANIEL

I eyed Benjamin as he walked in through the doors, a triumphant grin on his lips. He had Ryker and three other demons behind him, but Samuel was nowhere to be seen.

“I honestly never thought it’d be this easy, but it seems we’ve placed you on this unreachable and unrealistic pedestal that we’ve let trap our minds and abilities.”

“All that speech and you can’t even handle shit on your own.”

“Yeah? Explain to me why I’ve got over ten of your Enforcers tied down right now. If those aren’t your lap dogs handling their master’s dirty work, then I don’t know what to call that.” He dug his hand into his pocket, pulling out a key, which he tossed at Tiana. “Good work keeping them busy. We’ve got it covered from here.”

She dove for the key like her existence depended on it, something akin to relief flashing through her eyes. Her gaze cut over to me, and she offered me a sad smile.

“It’s nothing personal,” she mouthed before promptly disappearing.

Nothing personal, my ass. If I got the chance to live, she better hope we never crossed paths, or I’d kill her myself.

Benjamin nodded at Logan. “We do not need him.” He smirked at him. “Don’t worry. He’s only going to put him to sleep.”

“Leave him out of this.”

“I know. We think alike so much. Put him to sleep, Ry.”

Ryker did as Benjamin instructed, because not a second later, Logan’s unconscious body dropped to the floor.

“So, here’s what’s gonna happen. Ishmael will bring Ozark out, he’ll hand us the bloodstones, and we’ll be on our way.”

“You’re not getting the bloodstones, Benjamin.”

“Then I’ll just have to kill your pack members until you surrender. You used to be so much better as a demon. You didn’t have liabilities hanging over your head.”

“And whose fault is it?”

He chuckled. “True. You had your time in the limelight. It was finally my turn.”

“I would have stepped down had you asked. You have no sense of loyalty.”

“There you go spouting that righteous bullshit at me. Yeah, I could have easily done that, but I didn’t want to.”

“Rozol was right about you.”

“Rozol is going to lose his life after I’m through with you. You two are pathetic. Maybe if you’d begged after I kicked you out, I’d have taken you back.”

“Not on your life, Ben...”

A deep rumbling sound that shook the building cut me off. I grabbed the windowsill for balance.

“He did it,” Ryker said, his voice filled with disbelief. “He brought Ozark.”

Ishmael was still unmoving, even in the pending chaos. I knew that was the package Ozark was bringing along.

“And now it’s time for you to do your job. Fetch me that bloodstone.”

I growled, pushing away from the window. Benjamin’s face twisted in fury.

“Tussle, it is.”

“You didn’t think I’d let you take the bloodstones without fighting back, did you?”

He grinned at me, flexing his fingers. “I suppose not. It’s time to redeem myself after the embarrassing fight years ago. It’s a pity you don’t have anyone on your side.” He turned to Ryker. “Handle Ozark. We’ll deal with Nathaniel.”

***

RYKER

I winced as Benjamin speared Nathaniel through the wall, crumbling half of the building. I heard them crash on the ground, but I remained rooted to my spot.

Benjamin could take care of Nathaniel on his own. I had to deal with Ozark on my own. Ishmael had some guts seeking Ozark’s help. I could try, but that would leave me temporarily incapacitated for a week or two.

Hell, it could be worse than that. I’d witnessed Odin summon a deity, and it drained him for a week. He didn’t return to training for at least three weeks.

Ishmael wasn’t on Odin’s level, so I knew the next few weeks wouldn’t be fun for him.

“I thought you got the hint when I didn’t respond to your blood sacrifi... “ The voice trailed off. “Oh. It’s you.”

My brows furrowed together as my gaze trailed over the space. “Where are you?”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to see me.”

“Why? Because you’re ugly?”

Ozark scoffed. “Ugly?” He sounded offended, and I knew we weren’t off to a good start. I had to amend that.

“I wouldn’t know otherwise unless you showed your face.”

“What’s the verdict, young sorcerer?”

I wasn’t prepared for the hand that clamped down on my shoulder a second later.

“That’s not very manly, is it?” Ozark mocked when a scream escaped my lips.

“What does my reaction to you scaring the shit out of me have to do with my gender?”

“You tell me.”

I finally turned to face him, and there were no words to describe how beautiful he was. I said beautiful because he had all the feminine features on his face; huge doll-like eyes, high cheekbones, thick lashes, a petite nose, and small lips.

“Your face doesn’t match your voice,” was the first thing I said.

He sounded like he gargled on glass for food, and he looked like this.

“Rub it in. Why don’t you?” He scowled. “I have Eris to thank for that. How is it my fault that the Great war started?” He paused. “Oh. It was partly my fault, but that’s by the way. She put a spell on me that drew all the attention to my face. She knew how much I loathed comments regarding my looks.

“She framed me for hurting innocent women. She tarnished my image after that stunt she pulled. All those people who used to look up to me have abandoned me.”

“That’s no punishment compared to the lives that were lost.”

He smirked. “You have no right to be judgy, Ryker. You’re doing the exact thing I did, only this time, you’re not deciding yourself. Your brother is.”

I balled my fists. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I’m pretty sure I do. Samuel, is it? He’s one vicious son of a bitch.”

“Don’t speak about him like you know him. No one does.”

“I’m glad you can admit that. You don’t know the evil he has in his heart.”

“Deservedly so. Nathaniel killed my family.”

Ozark shook his head. “The Brothers of Doom aren’t dead.”

My eyes widened. “How do you know?”

“That they’re your uncles, or that they’re still alive?”

I knew they weren’t alive, so I said, “The first one.”

No one knew about that. Not even Ishmael. Samuel made sure we kept that a secret from everyone because they’d kill us if they found out. Our uncles were the Blacks of our sorcery world; forbidden.

“You’re just like Loren. The mannerisms, face structure. You’re a germaphobe, just like him. I remember he went bat shit crazy when Jameson puked on his boots.”

“You sound like you know them well.”

“I did until they turned to dark magic. I don’t do dark magic. My brother does, so they quickly went over to him.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“No one is forcing you to. The only reason you aren’t dead is because of your uncles. Plus, things have been boring for centuries. It’s time we shake things up, no?” He held his hand out. “Let me translate the spell for you. Odin wrote it, I believe. Strange language.”

I dug into my pocket, handing the rolled-up paper to him.

“You know why Draven will destroy Nathaniel?” He asked without looking up from the scroll.

“Because we have him under our control.”

Ozark chuckled. “Ah, the confidence. You can’t have Draven under your control unless he’s bound under an agreement, and in this case, he’s not. He’s going to do it for his friend, so even if Nathaniel were to get his hands on the bloodstones, Draven will still kill him. It’s already a lost battle.”

“Why?”

He looked up from the paper. “Draven will tell you if you successfully wake him.”

“If?”

“Yes, if. It’ll be like summoning a deity, but it can take weeks. We’re drawing your energy in exchange for the visit.” He pointed at Ishmael, who was unconscious on the floor. “Just like him. He’ll hurt for a few weeks. He won’t be a hundred percent for the war.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“I don’t know. I like you better than the others. The Blacks aren’t all innocent, so I guess Nathaniel is paying for the sins of his fathers.” He smirked. “You should take your friends out of the building. I’m going to destroy it.”

“And your bloodstone?”

He looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “I’m not giving it to you. Four should be enough. I added a spell to make up for it. Unlike the other deities, I don’t want limitations on my power.”

He tossed the paper at my head before promptly disappearing out of sight. I shoved the paper back into my pocket, walking over to Ishmael. I threw him over my shoulder, teleporting out of the building.

Nathaniel paused mid-blow with a ball of fire that he was about to launch at Benjamin’s chest in his palm.

“What the fuck did you do to him?” He snarled.

“Gotta love the loyalty of werewolves.” I threw Ishmael to the ground. “Let’s go, Benjamin. We’re done here.”

The satisfaction I thought I’d feel at seeing the horror wash over Nathaniel’s face didn’t come.

One second.

Two seconds.

Nothing.

“I’m out of here, Benjamin.”

***

“What the fuck was that?” Benjamin hissed, shoving me back. “You left me with Nathaniel.”

“Why? You’re too pussy to handle your shit on your own?” I sneered, pushing back.

I had a lot of things going through my head, and Benjamin's tantrum was the last thing I needed.

“Excuse you.”

Samuel pushed off the wall, planting himself between Benjamin and me. “Take a walk, Ben. I’ll talk to him.”

“You do that, because the next time he talks to me like this, I’m going to obliterate his fucking skull,” Benjamin growled.

I scoffed. “Yeah, and I’m going to gawk at you without defending myself. You’d be dead without me.”

“Ry, shut up. Benjamin, go on. Let me talk to him.”

Benjamin shot one last glare at me before walking out of my room.

“You’re not on board with the plan anymore.”

I said nothing in reply as I tugged off my shirt, eager to wash today’s events off my skin.

“I’ve been monitoring you. You’ve been looking at past letters you exchanged with Odin’s granddaughter. Did he know you were fucking her? You know, she’s living with Ishmael.”

“What’s your point? That was nothing but a fling.”

“We’re going to destroy Nathaniel’s little island. When it comes down to it, will you be able to hurt Ishmael and Nikita?”

He knew I wouldn’t. He just wanted to hear me say it.

“You took Ishmael out of that temple. He’d have died there had you not helped him,” he went on.

“Nathaniel has wings, you know. He could have helped him, so what’s the fucking point of all this?” I asked, feigning disinterest.

“Our plan is in jeopardy because of you.”

“I don’t see what the fuck you’re going to do about it. Without me, the plan fails.”

“Oh, don’t be so sure, little brother,” he said before turning away from me.

What the fuck did he mean by that? Ozark’s words chose that moment to float into my head.

‘I’m glad you can admit that. You don’t know the evil he has in his heart.’

“Get some rest. We start the process tonight,” he said over his shoulder, leaving me in my room with Ozark's words playing in my head on repeat.

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**Two more chapters in a few hours✿◕ ‿ ◕✿.**