Chapter Thirteen

I flinched at the sound of my voice saying something that I didn't will it to say.
"Aria? Did you just say-?" My mother started.
"Kings." Both men finished for her, also seemingly surprised by their own voices.
"Fuck. I need to talk to my dad." Bastion groaned, running his hand through his dark hair in an exasperated gesture.
"What? What's going on, love? Why did you call me a King? And why did I call me a king? And why are we both kings?" I ignored Rory's anxious ramblings and faced Bas.
"Wait why your dad? Do you think he knows something about this?"
He nodded slowly, a guilty look written over his powerful features. "Before the ceremony he mentioned something about Kings. He seemed really hyped up about it, but then he started rambling about the prophecy so I sort of cut him out."
"Woah, what prophecy? Love, please answer me." He pleaded.
It broke my heart hearing and feeling his anxiety, so I opened my arms for him to come to me. He gave me a hopeful smile before dashing into them, but as soon as his skin came into contact with mine, he fell to his knees groaning.
I looked on is astonishment and horror as a bead of light traveled from his clenched fist, burning it's way up his arm and towards his shoulder.
"Rory!"
Suddenly, what appeared to be a flash of light like lightning struck him, and he fell back to the ground with a hard thud. A fading trace of light beneath his white shirt drew me in, and I immediately, frantically began to unbutton it to get a better look.
Rory was freshly unconscious, but I could hear his blood pumping strongly beneath his veins. He was alive. Healthy. Stronger? His heart sang along to a new, more powerful rhythm, and I couldn't contain the gasp that escaped my lips when I pulled back the high end fabric.
"Holy shit, what's that?" Bastion asked, one step away from a panic attack of his own.
"A tattoo?" My mother answered, stepping forward to get a better look.
On his right shoulder was what looked like a crown with a moon crescent just to the right above it and a foreign script that simply read, "King."
"He got a royal seal. How is this possible?" I mumbled so quietly, I wondered if anyone had heard me. I had heard about royal seals being granted before, but only to Alpha, Luna, Beta and Sire King titles.
I lifted my hand to gently stroke it invoking a flash of blurry images that flew through my mind like a silent movie. The woods in Pittsburgh. The gods. Their second point.
With a gasp, Rory shot up to a sitting position, breaking my concentration and embracing me in his steel grip. I could feel his rapid panting against my chest.
"Queen, send Bastion." He breathed against my neck.
"Nu uh, hell nah blood sucker. I'll pass." He stepped back, his hands crossing in front of him.
"Rory, what do you mean by that?" I took his eager face in my hands, giving him a light peck on the tip of his nose. He shivered at the contact, pulling me in tighter.
"Touch him, love."
My eyes shot to Bastion whose jaw was practically on the cracked desert sand. "If you touch me, I'll get struck by lightning? You gotta be kidding me."
"It doesn't hurt. Don't be such a coward." Rory scoffed, moving his face into my neck and kissing over where Bas had licked earlier, doing what I assumed was erasing his scent.
"Hold on, this is getting a little crazy." My mom chimed in.
Then, I heard the faint whisper of Rory against my neck so quiet that even with my heightened hearing, I had to strain to pick it up. "You have to touch him, Aria. His Goddess is calling for him. Concentrate on getting to him quickly, and your new speed will make it happen. All it takes is one touch, my love."
At his words, my eyes glowed red, and before I could even realize what I'd done, I was blinded by another flash of light followed by a hard thud. A similar pattern of light danced up Bastion's torso, settling on his left shoulder. I tore the thin cotton fabric of his black t-shirt to expose it, revealing a similar tattoo from the other, except the crescent was on the left instead of the right.
I could hear Bastions pulse picking up and I sat back on my heels, waiting for the same loving greeting I got from Rory.
His was not nearly as gentle, though, and as soon as his eyes shot open, I was knocked to the coarse and heated floor beneath Bastion's weight.
His mouth sought mine hungrily, desperately, and my body immediately responded to him by latching on and allowing him to devour me.
"Queen..."
Panic rose in my chest and I pushed him off of me, darting to my feet with urgency.
"Your dad. Now."