First things first. Let them go, Aden demanded. Now.
The rain slowed to an icy trickle. Sorin nodded, as if happy to oblige. Of course Ill let them go. Their freedom in exchange for the crown. Simple, easy, and you dont have to die.
He could accept, but as the new king, Sorin could later kill the boys anyway, and there would be nothing Aden could do to stop him. Only a coward would offer such a bargain.
Is this the part where I erupt into a rage and attack you? Sorry, no rage from me. Call me whatever you like. It doesnt matter. Very soon everyone here will call me King.
Cocky.
Confident. But all right. You dont wish to save your friends. I understand. Callous of you, but lets see if youll relinquish the crown to save your girlfriend.
During Sorins speech, one of his men had snuck through the crowd and closed in on Victoria, grabbing her by the back of the neck and forcing her to her knees. She tried to fight, but her strength was clearly no match for his.
Before you ask, she cant teleport away, Sorin said. She came to see me last night, and I drugged her drink.
Victoria trembled and gave her brother a look of cutting betrayal. Aden felt a twinge of betrayal himself. Shed left him and gone to see her brother, might have even told him secrets about Aden.
After the way you treated her, could you blame her? Elijah said.
Way to help me remain calm, he thought darkly. Not that the souls could hear him. How can you treat her that way? he asked Sorin. Shes your sister.
A negligent shrug. One thing Ive learned over the centuries. Everyone is expendable.
Victorias chin trembled, and Aden knew she was fighting tears. He stiffened. No matter what shed done, no matter what had gone down, he hated the thought of her upset. Strong emotion? Yeah, if anything could cause it, he realized, she could.
Any questions he might have had about his feelings for her were answered in that moment. Aden didnt just like her, he loved her, and he would do anything to protect her. More than that, he trusted her. She might have gone to see her brother, but she wouldnt have done anything to jeopardize Adens health. Just as, even at his worst, he had not jeopardized hers.
Aden, Elijah began, nervous again.
No, he said. No more distractions.
Hes without his beast, Victoria called, the last word emerging on a cry of pain. The man must have increased the pressure on her neck.
Elijah cursed as fury sparked to sizzling life inside his chest. In the back of his mind, he heard the plaintive cry of a newborn. Just like before. Only stronger this time, and as angry as he was. The souls began to argue, Caleb and Julian demanding answers, Elijah refusing to give them.
Aden tuned them out as best he could and focused on Sorin. He would pay for Victorias pain. In blood. Swords? he asked, because that was the method the warrior had chosen in every vision Aden had had of this fight.
A moment passed as Sorin unraveled the meaning of his question. There would be no surrender. They would fight. Surprised flickered in those blue eyes before smoothing into eagerness. Lets make it sort of fair. Hand to hand.
Aden nodded, surprise flooding him. Nothing was happening as hed seen. What did that mean? What had caused things to change? The fact that he hadnt taken the pills?
If anything happens to Victoria or my humans, Ill kill your men when Im done with you, Aden said to Sorin. And he meant it.
Now whos the cocky one, hmm?
I want your vow. No harm will come to them. Now, during or after. No question, no matter the outcome.
Sorin nodded. You have my word.
The ease with which he offered the concession made Aden think hed never planned to hurt the foursome. That wasnt going to save him, not now, but it did defuse the hottest threads of Adens fury.
With a shrug, the black robe draping Sorins shoulders fell to the ground, leaving him as bare-chested as Aden. Difference was, Sorins torso was covered in fresh wards. There was not an inch of pale skin visible. Only black ink on top of black ink, circles on top of circles. Aden briefly wondered what the guy was warded against before clearing his mind. He had to concentrate.
Together they approached the center of the metal ring, then stopped, only a whisper away from each other. Aden had been in more fistfights than he could count, but theyd always been spur-of-the-moment, his mind lost to whatever emotion or insult that had brought him to that point. Hed never coldly, calculatingly planned to brawl like this.
I think I would have liked you in other circumstances, Sorin said. Just before drilling his knuckles into Adens eye socket.
His arm moved so quickly, Aden registered only a blur before tumbling backward, pain exploding through his head. He managed to remain on his feet as the entire world went silent, black. There was no rain, no crowd, no souls. Noanything. Not even time. He was deaf, dumb and blind, his brain completely shut down.
Aden just stood there, lost, barely breathing, until he saw a sudden flash of white. A return to black. Another flash of white, one that lasted a little longer. Black. White. Black, white, as if someone were playing with a light switch inside his head.
Then he heard a little whoosh of noise, the only precursor to the sudden boom as the world slammed back into focus. He heard, he knew, he saw, but there was no time to react. Sorin was on him, fists pummeling like a jackhammer, over and over again, raining down, never stopping.
Come on, come on. Get in this thing. Using all of his strength, Aden kneed him in the balls. And if Sorin had still possessed his beast, the creature would have come roaring out at exactly that moment in a bid to protect Aden from further damage, because Sorin hunched over and screamed with unholy rage.
The down and dirty action gave Aden a necessary reprieveand time to jerk his knee up, slamming Sorin under his chin, sending him soaring to his back.
Aden raced to him, intending to pin the guys shoulders with his knees and just start whaling, but Sorin pulled up his legs, rolling with Adens weight before kicking. This time, Aden was the one to soar to his back. A blink of his swelling eyes, and Sorin was on him.
Punch, punch, punch. Any time you want to give up, all you have to do is kneel before me and proclaim your loyalty.
Go screw yourself, he managed between blows.
Original.
Appropriate.
Punch, punch. Several of the bones in his face shattered. His nose might have snapped in half; some of the cartilage definitely shifted to one side. Adrenaline shot through his veins as if hed injected it, warming him up, strengthening him. But was it enough?
Calm. You have to stay calm.
Elijahs voice.
Ignored.
With a roar that matched the one in his head, the one growing, growing, growing in volume, Aden threw a punch of his own. Then another and another and another, until Sorin stopped hitting him to save his own face from a battering. A golden opportunity. Aden reached up, grabbed him under the arms and shoved, flipping the warrior over him. He didnt release his hold, but allowed himself to flip, as well, so that he was finally the one on top.
He spit blood and what looked to be a Chicleta tooth! Then he held Sorins face with one hand and rained down the fury with the other. Boom, boom, boom, so fast he couldnt see even the blur. Or maybe his eyesight was too cloudy, his lids desperate to glue together and (hopefully) heal.
To Elijahs delight, every punch calmed him.
But Sorin didnt stay down for long and gave another kick. They were thrust apart. Aden slammed into the wall of spectators. Some fell with him, others pushed at him, but he felt the desires of their beasts. The desire to emerge and save him.
No, he yelled. Dont. Stay.
They obeyed, none slipping from their hosts and solidifying. How much time before they forgot his command and did as they wished? Probably not much. End this, he had to end this.
Sorin must have felt the same, because they leaped at each other, rolling together, throwing elbows and knees, going for soft spotsnose, throat and groin. Every new punch Aden threw would have fortified the calm, if every punch he received hadnt fanned the flames back up.
Soon blood was flowing from a gaping cut across Sorins hairline. Blood that snared Adens attention. Maybe because it was a vampires blood. Maybe because it had the same sweet, dark scent as Victorias.
Tastemust taste
As distracted as he was, Sorin managed to knock him sideways. He stumbled into the spectators, and this time he could hear their beasts. Roars, so many roars. Still they remained in their cages, but just barely.
Would have served Sorin right to lose that way. To be humbled by the very beasts hed mocked Aden for taming. But Aden had a point to prove, or Victorias brother would never take him seriously.
Wait. Youre going to let him live? Hed decided to end him, hadnt he?
Taste
Aden shoved from the crowd and dove for Sorin. Again they rolled, again they twisted and fought like animals.
I didnt want it to end this way, but Im glad it did. Sorin bared his fangs and swooped down to bite Adens neck.
Only, he couldnt. His fangs wouldnt pierce the skin. The warrior was shocked, yes, but reacted as if hed trained for such a thing. Before Aden could extract himself, Sorin raised his hand and removed the covering of a ring very similar to the one Aden wore. He dribbled the contents over Adens neck. The burn was instantaneous, sweeping through his entire body in seconds and engulfing him with flames. Felt like it, anyway.
His throat clogged up, cutting off his air supply. His fury was joined by fear and pain, all three consuming him.
With a snarl, Sorin pinned him, his fangs drilling deep into the wound. Suction. So much suction. Taking the flames and replacing them with ice. No matter how much Aden struggled, he couldnt dislodge those teeth.
When his struggles slowed, stopped, he knew. He was going to die.
The roaring inside his head increased so much, became so loud, it was all Aden could hear. Roaring, roaring, roaringquieting now. No, not quieting, he realized hazily. Leaving him. Ripping at his insides. Rising from his head, something sharp shooting from his back. Soon a creature was hovering over him, moving beside him. A black mist, taking shape. A snout, wings, claws. Roaring, roaring, roaring, blending with gasps of terror.
Someones beast had escaped.
Sorin was torn from him, fangs practically taking Adens trachea with them. He lay there a moment, panting, sweating but cold. He could still win this, he thought. He hadnt admitted defeat, and he wasnt yet dead. How could he be, when every muscle and bone he possessed ached? First, though, he had to ensure Victorias safety.
Gingerly he sat up, the wound in his neck pulling, stinging. Blood poured down him, washing away in the steady drizzle of rain. Dizziness was a bitch, and a while passed before he could focus. When he did, he saw Victoria, her face pale, her cheeks wet with rainand tears? Her chin was still trembling. She was no longer on her knees, but her brothers warrior was still beside her.
Relief speared him. She was okay.
Aden, she said, both dazed and frightened. Your beast.
Something whizzed through his line of vision, breaking their connection. He lookedand nearly choked on his own tongue. A baby beast, monster, whatever was chasing Sorin around the circle, nipping at him with saber teeth.
Your beast, Victoria had said. Thats what the mist had been. And it had risen from him. The rending of his insides, the sharp sting at his backyeah, it had come from him.
The beast was smaller than any of the others Aden had seen, but no less fierce. Those wings stretched into razor sharp points. His scales were a glossy gray, like smoked, polished glass. His arms were short and thin but tipped with ivory claws. His hoofed and clawed feet slammed into the ground, disrupting grass and rattling metal.
Hes mine, Aden thought, dazed all over again. He actually came from me.
And hes what I didnt want to happen, what I didnt want any of you to know about, Elijah said on a sigh. Hes been growing inside of you since that last day in the cave. Hes who looked through Victorias eyes before slamming into you and rendering you unconscious.
How? he managed to say despite his wound, having held the torn skin together.
He was birthed to life inside you with the first blood exchange, then entered Victorias mind when we did, growing all the while, then finally stopping the switching altogether.
Why keep him secret? Good. His words were getting stronger, clearer.
I didnt want you or the dynamic duo to panic. Strong emotion was the only thing that could push him out, and yes, Im purposefully using birthing language because thats basically what happened, and he wasnt ready to be pushed out. Hes now, well, a preemie.
Which meant he waswhat? Fragile? Vulnerable?
Hungry. Hes very hungry, very determined, and will never be easily controlled. I didnt want to tell you, but youve been battling his nature, as well as Victorias. You were doing an excellent job, too. Until this.
So what does this crap mean for us? Caleb asked.
Elijah sighed. The little guys had a taste of freedom now. He will never be happy caged.
At least Aden survived the fight, Julian pointed out. You said hed die without the pills.
No, I said he could die. Theres a difference. A lot of new mothers die giving birth too soon, and thats what I saw.
Caleb snickered despite the severity of the circumstances. Congrats, Ad. Youre a mom. Why dont you breast-feed the little guy?
Julian chortled.
Finally the little guy captured Sorin and forced him to the ground, holding him by the stomach. And the funny thing: his own beast could have helped him, but hed come to this fight without the creature.
Now go finish this fight, Elijah said. Youve been given a golden opportunity. Lets use it and end this the right way.