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Jezzie stared at the three masculine bands and one more delicate, feminine one. Clearly they were made from a metal not of earthly origins. They glittered up at her with a magic and ethereal beauty she’d never in her life seen before. Almost tauntingly they stared back at her, reminding her Roth wasn’t here.
“So, Roth knew the whole time how to open it, huh?” Jezzie looked at Athon, who shook his head as if to clear it of sand.
“It would seem so,” he muttered, as he reached in to pull free the ribbon wrapped letter which upon which the rings had sat, and read it aloud:
Athon, Jezzie, Nithe,
My beloved mates and bondmate. This is something I never thought I’d find myself experiencing, never something I thought myself worthy of attaining. It is with a heart full of love, acceptance, grace, and faith in our bonds that I pledge to love each one of you in a way that is unique to you alone. I promise to always put each of your needs before my own. As the humans would say, I promise to love, honor, protect, and support you in all that you do. My heart belongs with you all, and it shall never fade. No matter time, nor distance our love, our bond, shall never be forsaken. From now until eternity, or until the darkness once more devours all known things.
Ever Yours,
Azaroth
“Well, shit. I wasn’t expecting that.” Nithe’s voice broke the strained silence. They looked over to find him standing in the doorways, hands in his pockets with the look of dumbfounded confusion painted on his very handsome face.
“He even had a ring for you, Nithe. Why would he leave after doing that, after writing such things. Did I truly do something so wrong? Would he toy with us like this? Is that it? Is it a game?”
“It’s not a game, Jez. He wouldn’t do that.” Athon defended Roth, and it made Jezzie even angrier as her heart broke over their missing mate all over again.
“How do you know, Athon? Look what he did to you. You never thought he’d do that either, did you?” The look on Athon’s face stopped her anger in her tracks and shame filled her at his kicked puppy expression. She’d lashed out in her anger and pain and hurt him without thought. “I’m so sorry, Ath.”
“It’s okay, Jezzie. You are right. I never thought he would do that, but I should have had more faith in him. Dug deeper to find the truth. I know him, better than anyone else. He’d never do what he did if he wasn’t protecting one, or all, of us. This proves it.”
Athon held up a cream, recycled looking piece of handmade paper. By the folded creases marring its surface it had clearly been folded to fit in the box. Jezzie hadn’t noticed Athon remove it but he stared at it with an intense hatred that sent prickles along her spine. Great, who was she going to have to kill now?
“Mara.”
“What or who is Mara?” Nithe asked, as he sauntered over with his easy, long-legged gait and picked up his ring to spin it with his fingers. He liked it here, Jezzie knew. She loved seeing him make friends and find a sense of peace outside their bonds.
“Mara was someone we, Roth and I, once knew. She was my greatest mistake and my one regret. She cost me literal centuries with Roth, and was the cause of his most painful memories. Is why you struggle to see past the blackness of the void he created to hide those memories, even from himself.”
“Okay, but she’s in the past, right? What could she have done to make Roth leave us now?” Jezzie looked at him, dreading the answer. Instead, Athon handed her the letter, so she could read it for herself. Nithe propped himself behind her so he could see it too.
Azaroth,
Oh how the mighty have fallen. Look at you all loved up. Back with Leviathon, and with two new mates to boot? You’ve surprised me. I thought you’d learned your lesson the last time.
You are unworthy of love, you are the barren wasteland where hope goes to die. The crusher of innocent dreams.
How do I know? Oh, I know all, idiot. And if you don’t sever your ties to your beloved mates, I’ll sever them for you. Starting with the pretty redhead and ending with Leviathon. I’m sure I could comfort him as he writhes in the tortured agony of losing them. I may not be able to kill him but some things, some places, are worse than death itself.
If you want them to live . . . Run!
And never look back.
Your Biggest Hater,
Mara
Kiss kiss, sweetie
“I hate the bitch already. Where can I find her and what are her weaknesses?” Fiery shadows filled the room and Athon’s black shadows merged with hers. Nithe’s dragon roared his displeasure and projected his image into the whirlwind of their chaotic fury.
“Tell us about her,” the dragon intoned at the same time her shadows said the same words. Athon’s though, remained silent, petulantly so, and with great reluctance from what Jezzie’s shadows whispered in her ear.
“I can tell you what I know of her.” Athon sighed. “But some things only Roth can share. His story is his own, the same way Nithe’s story belongs only to him. Once a very long time ago, there was an idiot who tried to rush love. Who blindly sought a missing piece when said piece wasn’t even born. That idiot was me . . .”
Chapter 48
