I laughed. It was all I could do. “I wasn’t really counting on it.”
The room erupted into loud laughter, the weirdness of this situation just got stranger. Hearing demons laugh so sweetly is far from normal.
“Pye was our biggest threat.” She smiled. “Once he was out of the way we took care of the others.”
“You killed the demons for me?” I asked, shocked.
Her smile grew. “Makes you like us, doesn’t it?”
“This…” I gave my head a shake. “I…” I shook my head again, and glanced at Magnus. “You helped me?”
“They would have been a continuing threat if they had not been destroyed. You never asked if I planned to assist you. It was my intention all along to give you aid once Pye was destroyed.”
“So, you knew it wasn’t a private meeting?” I ground out between clenched teeth.
“I am the Lord of Underworld,” he said without remorse. “I do what I have to to get what I want. If you knew, you never would have agreed.”
Wasn’t that the truth. I sighed, deep and long. “I’m tired.” And I really was. I tried to give myself a little healing, but it only came out in little flickers. I didn’t have enough to fully revive me.
Magnus ran his hand across my face. “You are incredible,” he whispered.
I sighed deeper. “Not this again. If you even think of kissing me, I’ll find it in me somewhere to punch you. Got it?”
He laughed boisterously and the demons followed suit. “You don’t have the strength to give me the kiss I deserve. That will come later.”
I ignored that comment, wanting nothing more than just to get the hell out of there. “So, you are going to return Dante’s soul, right?”
He nodded, before lifting me into his arms. “It has already been done.” He began to walk out of the room. Apparently, he was allowing me to go home.
Being in his arms felt all too weird but I took it as an immediate invitation. With the only power I had left in me, I read into him. He smiled down at me, knowing what I was doing, but didn’t stop me. He opened himself up so I could understand his world.
The visions came quick. What I saw was far from what I expected.
Magnus was a leader and this was just his world to protect. Demons were indeed soul-takers, but it wasn’t innocent souls they were taking. The souls they took were ones given freely by humans who wanted something in return.
He never used the Black Magic against others to hurt them, nor did he push others to do so. He wasn’t looking to kill, only to keep his world alive. Human souls are what fed their magic. The choice was the only one.
It was definitely a rude awakening. I misunderstood the evil that dwelled here. Black Magic was from a dark source—that was undeniable—but it was just another source. Did it turn some to evil? Of course it did, but there was evil that came from the Otherworld too.
Was it something to fear? Absolutely, but not all who held this magic was out to kill. They were doing what they needed for survival. Did Magnus stop evil ones from taking innocent souls? No. To him it gave his world strength. That is where the Underworld differed from the Otherworld. We stopped evil from consuming the Earthworld. The Underworld didn’t.
Just because I understood it more didn’t mean it still didn’t scare the crap out of me, and made me damn glad that I wasn’t going to be a part of it.
When the visions stopped, a thought occurred to me. “Why did you draw the darkness from me?”
He was the reason I didn’t succumb to it, his hand on my stomach was the connection needed to draw it away. “You could have just let it take me and kept me here in this realm.”
His gave a clever smile. “Time will soon answer that question.”
Chapter Ten
When I landed back in Foyer, strong arms scooped me up immediately before I could even hit the ground.
“Zia,” Talon shouted. A second later, she was there, reaching out and gave me an oomph of healing.
Two breaths passed before I felt brand new again. Lord did it feel good. Having your magic drained is the equivalent to having the swine flu—horrible all around.
Willow’s rough tongue met my hand. “I’m glad to see you in one piece, but it was a stupid move. Very, very stupid.”
I smiled at her and patted her head. “It was a close one, that’s for damn sure.”
She nodded and purred into my embrace.
My gaze left hers as a body knelt down in front of me. I glanced up. Dante wore an expression of immense gratitude. “I owe you my life. What you did…” he smiled, “…was brave.”
“It wasn’t brave.” I shook my head. “It was right.”
Valor joined Dante then leaned in and kissed both my cheeks. “Consider your debt repaid. You are never to feel it necessary to do that again. Understood?”
I laughed, relieved that this night was over and my job was done. “Let’s hope we don’t have to do anything like that again.”
Zia reached down, placed her hand on my shoulder as she read my mind. Only a minute later, she gasped, appearing utterly floored. “Magnus helped you?”
“He did,” I replied.
“Why?” Zade looked about as surprised as anyone.
I shrugged deeply, unsure of that answer myself. “I’m just glad he did. I wouldn’t have survived that if he didn’t.” I gave myself a good shake. “Demons are nasty things.”
Everyone laughed.
“That is unheard of,” Brax said while he examined me with interest. “What does he want?”
Magnus’ gift to me wasn’t without consequences. The slimy bastard would always want something in return.
My gaze scanned every face here. I realized someone was missing. “Who knows? He said nothing and I never asked.”
“Where’s Kyden?” I asked Zia.
“He’s in the garden. He was having some trouble waiting for you to return,” she nodded toward the wall. It had been pummeled into pieces.
I stood swiftly. “I have to go find Kyden.”
“Wait,” Talon said quickly. “You need to tell us what happened.”
I chuckled, reached out to him and replayed the events in his mind. When it stopped, he stood there stunned. “You tell them.” I smiled, and started walking away.
Haven stepped forward and wrapped me in a warm hug. “I don’t have to tell you not to do that again, right?”
I patted her back, then laughed. “Nope. Heard loud and clear.” I gave everyone a little wave, heading out of the castle, walked quickly toward the garden.
Think botanical gardens, but better. I followed the rock path quickly as it weaved its way along the garden and halfway in, Kyden sat on the ground next to the pond. When I got close enough to him, I knelt down, wrapped myself around his back.
He reached up and grabbed my arms, hugging me tightly. “You’re home,” he whispered.
I squeezed tighter. “I’m home.”
He pulled me over his side so I was sitting on his lap, took my hands in his and sighed deeply when his gaze met mine. We sat there a moment just staring at each other.
“I have never stopped wanting to be a Guardian,” he finally said. “Never stopped wanting to live in the Otherworld until this very moment.”
“Kyden…” I whispered.
“It drives me to a place of near insanity knowing that you are in danger. Every part of me wants to keep you here, safe in my arms.”
“I know you do. I wish I could stay here too, but I can’t. This is what we’re left with. This is our life.”
He looked down to our joined hands, then slowly raised his eyes to mine. “It doesn’t have to be our life.”
That was completely unexpected. “You want to leave the Otherworld?”
“I want you to be safe.”
“Give me some credit. I made it through tonight.” There was no need to tell him just how close I came to not making it. Some things were better left unsaid.
He shook his head and concern masked his face. “I do believe in you. If I didn’t, Álainn, you would not have gone tonight. I would have chained you to a chair if I thought you couldn’t handle yourself. It is not that which troubles me.” He sighed deeply again, sounding utterly spent. “It is that I am not with you. I should be with you—always.” He released one of my hands and brushed my hair behind my ear. “You have always believed that my possession of you is a natural trait. It isn’t so. It is that I love you so undeniably, that it pains me that you are in any sort of danger. This is not the life I would wish for you. Then, on top of you being in danger, I cannot be there to protect you as I should be.”
“But you can’t be. It’s not safe for you and never will be.” I equaled his sigh. “I need you to be behind me—I need your support. You’re always right with me in my heart. I’m never battling alone since I have you there.” I leaned in, and kissed his lips. “And we cannot leave the Otherworld, Kyden. They need us.”