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The Father waves his hand. “I’ll let you and my son work that out since you would need to form a new blood oath ever since the dissolution of your nuptials.”
That’s when it hits me. I gaze down at the lack of a bride mark on my wrist. There is no more blood union. No more requiring me to sleep in his bed every night. No more honesty oath. No more Spitfire in exchange for Neo’s lingerie.
“I still get the wedding memories.” I stipulate just as our last bargain did.
The Father presses his hand to his chest. “Of course, honey.”
“And our one night,” I remind him, glimpsing up at Neo as if reading his mind and considering what we will do when it’s time for the Father to bend the laws of nature.
“Following the battle, yes.” I hiss, but the Father throws his head back and cackles. “Oh, you two are far too much fun. I shan’t miss out on this.” He sweeps his hand toward the gathered army of ten thousand bitten vampires strong, his pupils dilating in eagerness. Then, the Father raises one finger to declare, “But I promise the only one I will battle will be your lovely mother.”
“You’re giving her to me as an ally tonight?” My eyes stray to my mother’s, to her ragged cinnamon brown waves, and her ever-strong shoulders, though she doesn’t meet my eyes. Instead, she and Nita are deadlocked as if she cannot wait to fight alongside her again: the Hydra and Phoenix united for a shared goal. And I know that goal is me.
“Of course,” says the Father, dipping his head low to me. “You are missing one. Unless you’d prefer to resurrect him here and now, sugar and spice.”
Narrowing my eyes, I shake my head. “Pass.”
“Do we have a deal?”
“An amendment to the Triumvirate. So, everything else is the same after the battle?” I test one last time because the devil is in the details, but lift my hand so Neo may draw a line in my palm with his fang.
“As long as you and my son hold a new ceremony and resume your blood oath, yes.” The Father cuts his palm at the same time Neo does.
“No more surprises?”
The Father cackles before clicking his tongue and wagging a finger back and forth. “There are always surprises, dear Elysia. But you’ve already proven yourself well-equipped to handle them. Does that suffice?”
Sighing, I face Neo one last time, considering how the Scourge is still ravaging the human population. He knows I can’t allow it to spread further. remembering his promise to me the first time I made the contract.We are strong enough.If we survived all of this, there’s nothing we can’t overcome.
“One more thing!” I exclaim, tempting the Father with my palm oozing pure blood.
“Speak your angel refrains.”
“Restore all the bodies that the Scourge claimed. Every last man, woman, and child.”
“Elysia…” Neo grips my waist, pivoting my body toward his because he understands the deeper meaning behind this request. He knows what I intend to do. There’s only one way souls can cross back over the Soul Plane and to reality.
When Neo shakes his head, I rise on my tiptoes and kiss him, invading his mouth and reminding him of how much I love him. “It’s the right thing to do, Neo. Damn the consequences. Damn whatever happens.”
“Done!” the Father agrees, and the three of us crash our palms together and join our blood, amending the Triumvirate. As if on cue, the earth shudders in the distance. Judging by the thundering jeers, I know he’s held up his end of the bargain: the corpses have been restored, and the Scourge has ended, releasing its claim on any sick. With that ravenous wolf grin, the Father announces, “Now, we battle. And by the by, I saidIwould not claim Neo’s heart. I didn’t say anything about Lux. Darling…” he swings a hand, gesturing to her.
As soon as Lux steps forward, I mirror her actions and lower my body into a crouch, my lethal eyes preying on her amber ones. Pinching my eyes, I raise one brow, confused because if the Scourge is gone, why are they still amber?There’s more to her than meets the naked eye, I almost hear Thanatos’ voice in my head.
There is almost no description of what happened during my fleeting reflection. Too intense of a recognition that Lux was the Scourge, I forgot about her multiplicity. Something moved beneath the flesh of her naked belly, shifting and churning. Now, it nearly protrudes through her skin.
Sickened and disgusted because it’s no budding fetus inside that womb, I unleash my Halo like a shield to protect me. Bones cracking, stabbing right through her flesh, Lux drops to her knees. She splits…no, shehatches!
“Demon spawn!” Nita screams and swings in front of Neo in a ferocious defense while Lux divides into multiplicitous demon vampires. I do a rapid count: one hundred and one in all, including the host. Every last one is a naked replica of her, but they swarm with amber veins and black capillaries branching out all over her flesh, crawling all over the black wings that have sprung from her shoulder blades, and twirling around her eyes like flaming snakes.
I almost retch.
When Neo tries to step forward, I jut a finger back at him and scream, “Don’t you fucking move, Neo!” Then, I cock my head toward Lux, focused on the host. She will be ten times harder to kill than a bitten vampire. No, she did not come out of the Chasm unscathed.
She grins, puckering up her lips to blow Neo a kiss while showing off her wrist mark: the horned crown. “We are still married, my husband. I gave you a new heart once. I can do it again!”
Oh, damn it all to hell. Some women are just plain irredeemable.
“You cheap, bitch-ass, silicone whore!” I scream at Lux.
