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I nodded even though I knew the sight of Teodric’s hand flying off and his blood splashing out of him would haunt my dreams for years to come. It made me queasy, but at the same time, it made me… proud. Because I’d fought and I’d won against this evil man who’d been torturing and killing slaves his entire life.
I’d helped stop him. We, my lovers and I, and the Resistance, we all stopped him. We were making the world a better place.
I turned in Braz’s arms because I wanted to see what was going on but didn’t want to pull away from his warmth. He easily readjusted, keeping me close with his arms wrapped around my chest. I leaned back into him as I watched the rest of our family.
Wey and Florin were walking around, checking all of the king’s guards. They removed all weapons, even from the dead soldiers. The ones still living were put in a line against the far wall where other Resistance members were guarding them and putting them in manacles. I was sure our people would give them a choice about joining us or being thrown in the dungeon, but that wasn’t my worry, so I put it out of my head.
Nica was still near the king. I almost shouted for him to get away, that he was too dangerous, but I refrained because I knew the mage net would keep the king from using his magic. Nica had pinned the king’s arm down with one knee while he used a tourniquet on his stump. I didn’t exactly like that my lover was doing that naked, but the king was wailing in pain again, so I doubted he noticed.
After Wey finished going through all the guards, he found breeches for Nica to wear. Our gargoyle took over guarding the king while Nica pulled them on. I had no idea where they’d come from, but I was grateful my tiger was covered again.
I gave myself a few minutes before I pushed out of Braz’s arms and gently guided my half-orc over to Nica and Wey so we could help.
I watched in fascination as people came and went, all reporting to Weylyn since he was the highest-level officer—or maybe because he was Kasper’s trusted advisor—on the palace grounds. Wey didn’t hesitate, not even once, to give out orders and make sure the castle and surrounding grounds were ours.
We were there for close to an hour before Kasper joined us. During that time, a healer had come to look at the king—theex-king—and I’d had to turn away when they burned the end of his arm to stop him from bleeding out. The smell alone would’ve been horrible enough, but the screams… I’d probably replay them in my head for a long time.
After speaking with Wey, Nica, and me, Kasper marched straight to the king and pulled him up to a seated position.
The two of them stared at each other for a long moment before Kasper said, “We’ve already taken the city. You’re no longer king of Tisak. But you have two choices now. You can either live the rest of your days in a dungeon without your magic. Or I can take your head right now and be done with it. Either way, you will never see the light of day again. You will never use your magic again. You will never escape. You will never know a day of kindness. You will be treated the way you’ve treated slaves your entire life.”
To my surprise, the ex-king mustered up enough energy to spit in Kasper’s direction. It landed on the Resistance leader’s shoe, and Kasper simply stared down at it for a moment before meeting the ex-king’s eyes again.
Teodric sneered at him and said, “You will never be the leader of this kingdom, you disgusting beast. I will come for you, and I’ll take pleasure in making you suffer for days before I finally bleed you out. You were born a slave, and you’ll die one. You and every single one of your followers will die horrible deaths. You think this net can hold me? Nothing can hold me. Nothing can stop me. I will get out of this, and I will come for you and everyone you hold dear. You—”
His voice was cut off by Kasper’s sword slicing through the mage net and straight through his neck.
Bile rose up in my throat as I watched the ex-king’s head roll away, but I didn’t turn away. He’d deserved this fate. This and so much worse.
Kasper said, “I guess he chose option two. At least now I don’t have to worry about him trying to escape the mage net.”
Nica came to stand beside me, his arm pressing against my shoulder as he murmured, “Okay?”
“Yes.” And I was. I didn’t like this, I didn’t like battles or wars, but I knew it was the only way to help the people of Pelas. This, keeping my eyes open to all of this, was necessary.
Braz came and stood on my other side, rubbing my back for a moment. Then he leaned down to put his lips near my ear and whispered, “This is almost over, and we’ll get to go find a room for all five of us. We can all climb into a big bed together and cuddle the hell out of you.”
I snorted at that, happy for the distraction from all the blood and destruction of the day. “That sounds like heaven.”
“I think so, too.”
That made me smile because I knew he meant it. Turning into him, I wrapped my arms around his waist as much as I could, holding him tight.
A minute later, I felt Nica press against my back. I knew it was him without opening my eyes because I could feel his hard muscles and smell his musky scent. He started rubbing his cheek along my hair and the back of my neck, pressing sweet kisses there as he curled around me, squishing me between him and Braz.
Nica surprised me when he said, “Come here, Braz.”
I glanced up between the two of them to see Nica reach over and pull on Braz’s neck. Then my tiger pressed a kiss to Braz’s cheek, and my half-orc gasped in surprise.
Nica said, “I missed you, my friend. A lot.”
Even from my strange position, I could see Braz’s blush. “I missed you, too, Nica. Also a lot.”
Nica let out a little laugh, then began purring, his chest rumbling against my back. The whole exchange made me smile, so I closed my eyes and let both of their warmths and Nica’s purr comfort me.
I felt Florin’s presence before I felt his body press against my side. Turning my head, I met his lavender eyes, and he sent me a small smile before kissing my lips. He rested his forehead against my temple, and Braz wrapped an arm around him. A few seconds passed before Nica included him in our group hug, too, draping his arm across Florin’s shoulders. My sweet fae grinned up at him.
Wey joined our group on my other side, and I met his lips as soon as he came over. He kissed my forehead, then Nica’s cheek, then glanced over the top of my head and said, “Sorry, fae, but no kiss for you.” Everyone laughed, and Wey patted Braz on the back, their arms around one another as Wey pushed into Nica and me.
