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The Keres scattered, some taking to the air, while others sprinted down the riverbank on foot. Erus watched for a moment before launching himself into the air. He caught two females by their feathers and flung them toward the ground. On his descent, he caught a male by the foot and swung him in a circle, tossing him into the retreating backs of three other Keres.
Another male broke away from the flock and flung himself toward Orrin, his lips parted, and his teeth bared. Erus caught him easily by his greasy, tangled hair and whipped him out toward the river. With a terrified scream, he splashed into the water where his body instantly disintegrated, and his soul joined the countless others awaiting reincarnation.
With his bloodlust still unsatisfied, Erus bent and scooped up a palmful of sand. Casually, like a small child skipping rocks over a pond, he hurled the grains along the shoreline. Several of the Keres screamed and stumbled as the sand hit them with a force powerful enough to flay their skin.
The flock thrived on death and destruction. They reveled in the misery and pain of others. They craved discord, blood, and mayhem, but they were impetuous and shortsighted, always leaping before looking.
Another minute or so of negotiation, and they might have gotten what they wanted. Instead, they had fallen victim to their instincts and had been unable to control their reckless nature. For that, they would pay the price.
If it was a battle they wanted, Erus would give them a fucking war.
Transporting himself into the middle of the flock, he materialized in front of a fleeing female. Her eyes went wide as she stumbled right into Erus’ waiting hand. He caught her by the throat and lifted her from the ground, holding her easily above his head.
He was still trying to decide whether he should let her live or not when a quiet, musical voice rang inside his head.
“Erus?”
Dropping the Keres, he teleported back to his mate’s side and knelt beside him in the sand. He no longer cared about the beasts or their treachery. His vengeance no longer felt important. All that mattered was Orrin.
“What happened?” The prince sat up with a groan, pressing a hand to the side of his head with a wince. “I feel like I was hit by a truck.”
“Easy, asteraki.” Conjuring a thick cloak of deep emerald, he wrapped it around his mate’s shoulders, then petted the uninjured side of his face. “Are you okay?”
“My head hurts like hell, so that probably means I’m not dead.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Why are you sorry?” Orrin’s brow creased, and he appeared genuinely confused. “You didn’t do this.”
Maybe not directly, but it was still his fault. If he hadn’t been so fucking arrogant, none of this would have happened. The Keres wouldn’t have revolted. Orrin wouldn’t have been taken. The Underworld would have never fallen into chaos.
“Erus, what’s going on? Why did you have to come back? Why was I brought here?”
“I’ll tell you later.” First, he wanted to get the elf back to the hotel where he belonged.
“I’d rather you tell me now.”
Erus sighed. “I was tasked with guarding the iron gates, and I did for a long time. After a while, though, I grew…dissatisfied. So, I enlisted the Keres to take my place.”
Which might have been fine if he had bothered to check in on occasion. The longer he’d spent topside, however, the less the cold, endless nights of the Underworld had appealed to him.
“Their natural state is chaos, and they need a strong leader to keep them in check. I know they might not seem like it, but they actually want structure.” He was only just beginning to realize how many people had been hurt by his absence. “When I left, that structure, and thereby, their security, fell apart.”
Now that his anger had dissipated, and he knew Orrin would be okay, it was a lot easier to view the situation with reason and logic. Which also made it a lot easier to see just how much he had fucked up.
“So, you came back for the Keres?” There was no judgment in Orrin’s tone or expression. Only curiosity.
“I was ordered back to clean up the mess I’d made. The Keres had abandoned the gate and were causing pandemonium throughout the Underworld.”
“Are they the ones that brought me here?”
“That’s my guess. Since my magic is tied to the Underworld, when I teleport between realms, it creates a sort of rift. It wouldn’t be enough for them to cross over, but it would allow them to pull something through.”
“Or someone,” Orrin added with a hint of sarcasm.
“Or someone,” Erus agreed. “Although, I’ve been here for days. The rift should have closed almost immediately.”
His mate chewed his bottom lip. “What about Pepper? Is his magic tied to the Underworld, too?”
